TW:: sexual harrasment, graphic violence

Vihaan's POV

It was dark. Pitch dark.

The silence was eerie, a heavy weight pressing down on me. I open my mouth, trying to speak but my words are stuck. My voice is gone.

I wander aimlessly in the dark, trying to find light.

I'm scared! A shiver passes down my spine, giving me goosebumps. It feels like something, something very scary, is standing behind me.

I run. Run as fast as possible.

Ma! Mayura! Someone, save me from this nightmare.

I see a line of white and make a beeline for it. I had almost reached the light when something grabs my legs and I fall.

I struggle to move, my legs heavy like cement. Suddenly, there is the sound of anklets and I look up, my vision blurry.

I see a silhouette - royal saree, jhumkas, anklets - walking into the light, her steps measured with the grace of a dancer.

"Ma!" I whisper, feeling my heart ache. I've missed her so much.

"Ma! Don't go, ma!" I scream, finding my voice. "I need you. Vansh needs you. We need you. Ma, mat jao!"

I scream with all my might. My lower body is stiff and my nails scratch the floor.

Ma stops at the threshold and another figure appears, a child who is around six to seven years old.

The two are talking, their words foreign to my ears.

Why? What's happening?

"Ma!" My scream echoes in the emptiness. She stops and looks at me. I cannot see her face.

Ma! My ma, the woman who gave birth to me, raised me for six years, and then abandoned me. The woman who I loved with all my heart - I cannot even remember her face.

I hate myself.

How can I forget the face of my own mother?

"Vihaan, you've disappointed me."

She says in a cold and stoic tone, her arms crossed. I hear her bangles click together.

"Ma! Ma, don't go." I plead.

She places her hand on my head. It feels like a weight, with no warmth.

"Don't hurt her, Vihaan. She's already been through hell."

Her? Who? What is she talking about?

I find it hard to lift my head, her hand forcing me to look down.

"Let him go na, Uma aunty. It's okay. I am not hurt." The little girl says.

Who are you? Why are you trying to save me? And why does your voice feel so familiar?

Ma takes her hand away from me. Surprisingly, I am able to sit up now and see everything. Ma embraces that girl, "No, beta. Don't defend him. He's not treating you right. He doesn't need you."

The little girl's face begins to clear up and I can make out her features - Mayura.

I gulp. Why? How?

"I should've raised my son properly. Then, he would've treated you properly."

There's an anger in her tone. And a sadness in it that makes me want to cry.

"No, aunty." She pleads.

I look up and Ma slaps me. I felt it, but there was no pain. It's obvious now - I'm dreaming.

"You're just like your father!"

No! Not that man. That dreaded monster. I am not like him. I'm his son, but not him. I'm different.

"No, you're not different from him." Ma rebukes me. "You're doing the same to Mayura as he did to me."

My heart drops to my stomach and I feel fear. Intense fear gripping my in its deathly claws. Choking the life out of me.

"Either love her with all your heart, or leave her. Don't play with her." Ma's tone is as cold as steel.

Ma goes back to Mayura and holds her hand. They head towards the door of light. I struggle against the invisible restraints.

Don't go! Don't leave me here alone. Ma, don't abandon me!

Pushing through the restraints, I manage to stand and follow them. I try to catch them but all I have is sand in my hands.

I keep pushing, trying to grab something, to make them stop. Or to join them atleast.

The light is blinding, forcing me to close my eyes. I place my palms my eyes to reduce the intensity. I feel a touch, Ma's warm touch.

She's coming back to me.

"Don't break her heart, Vihaan. She's very precious to me." Her voice is soft and broken, as if she was crying.

"Promise me that you'll love her with your everything. That you'll be her peace and home."

My eyes open with a jerk. My body is covered in sweat, limbs stiff and heavy. My alarm rings loudly, irritating me.

I sit up with a start, throwing the blanket away and slam the alarm off. The dream was way too real to be just a dream. But why now of all days?

I look at the calendar, realising the meaning.

Today is Ma's birthday. Which means Ma.... that dream wasn't just my mind's creation. Ma wanted to speak to me, to tell me something.

You have disappointed me!

You are just like your father!

I gasp, feeling my heart clench in sadness. I don't want to be that man. I don't want to be like Mr. Ajay Rai Singhania.

He's a monster. A devil. He broke your heart, Ma. He cheated on you, and hurt you. I... I didn't anything like that, then why are you disappointed in me, Ma?

Mayura's very precious to me, Vihaan.

She's already been through hell. Be her peace.

Hell? She's lived the best life among everyone of us. Caring and loving parents, has a house to call her own, warm and fresh food everyday, and over everything she friends with my rich family. Which means she gets everything easily.

How has she been through hell? She's privileged.

But... if she's so precious to you, then I'll do as you say. I'll be her peace. I'll love her with everything.

If that's your last wish, I will honour it.

I will do everything for you, Ma.

✎ ✎ ✎

I clear away my desk, abstaining from taking any projects for the day.

Going through my daily activities, I dress up in traditional clothings and go to the temple near by. As usual, I donate grains, money and clothes to the poor with the help of the Pandit ji.

"Arrey beta, where is your wife?" He asks with a smile.

"Pandit ji, she's away for some work. She won't be able to join us." I answer calmly. "And, she's not my wife."

"Not now, but in the future, yes." He says in a cryptic tone. After a while, he leads me back into the temple and we sit in front of the idol. Surprisingly, there's a lot of donation left this year.

"Dil chota mat karo, beta. Aisa hota hai kabhi kabhi." He takes the aarti ki thali and approaches Bappa.

"Lo, beta! Aarti lelo."

I look at the Pandit ji who offers me the Diya to take the aashirwad of Bappa. The moment I put my palm over the flame, it extinguishes.

The Pandit ji chuckles, putting the thali away. "Koi nahi beta. Hota hai kabhi kabhi." He tries to cheer me up by offering me the sweet Prasad.

But to my luck, it falls from his hand onto the floor. I am at my wits end.

"Lagta hai Bappa tumse naraz hai." He muses, a cryptic smile on his smile. He glances at the left over donations in the side. "Aur shayad aapki Mata bhi aap se naraz hai."

"Kuch hua kya, beta? Aapne aisa kuch toh nahi kiya jisse aapki Maa ko dukh hua ho?"

I sigh. "Pata nahi, pandit ji. Bas ek sapna tha. Bahut... dardnak tha."

I recall the dream, explaining it to him in as much details as possible, hiding nothing. By the end of it, Pandit ji looks at me with the same cryptic smile.

"Aapne apni Ma ko yeh wada diya ki aap Mayura ke saath apne saare sambandh theek kar denge?"

I nod. "Ji, Pandit ji. Ek baar voh ghar aajaye, phir mein usse maafi maang loonga."

Pandit ji scratches his chin, lost in thought. "Aapko Mayura se turant milna chaiye. Zyada der rukne se aapki Ma aur gussa ho jayengi."

"Par pandit ji-" I protest but he cuts me off. "Soch lo, beta. Der karoge toh tumhari Ma aur Bappa dono naaraz ho jayenge. Aur shayad rishta sudharne ka mauka bhi nikal jaye."

Picking up the Aarti ki Thali and bell, he disappears into the room behind.

With a sigh I pick myself and offer Bappa my salutations. For some reason, Bappa's eyes are closed and refuse to meet mine.

"I'll go to her tomorrow morning, Bappa." I promise, but he refuses to open his eyes.

"Fine." I surrender. "I'll leave tonight."

When I look up, Bappa's eyes are open and there's a smile on his face.

✎ ✎ ✎

The night is cold.

I drive through the streets at full speed. It was past midnight and the lanes were empty.

Vansh had come back to Mumbai half a month ago and our men were back at guarding her. I give them a call and they pick up immediately.

'Good evening, sir. Mayura madam hasn't made any movement ever since she came back from office.'

"Okay. I'm on my way."

Cutting the call, I step on the accelerator and drive faster to Bangalore.

Ma, I'm doing this for you. I hope you're happy now.

I still regret being mean to Mayura before, and not being able to make it up to her.

I hope she forgives me.

✎ ✎ ✎

Leaving my car to the men, I scale the wall and land on the terrace of her outhouse. I crawl along the wall towards the entrance of the terrace and stand up.

The guards were changing shifts and I had less than a minute to slip inside. Finding the key under a pot nearby, I unlock the door and keep it back in its original place.

Slipping inside the house, I slowly make my way to her room. Her house was dark, the silence broken by the squeaky movements of the fan coming from her room. The wooden floorboard squeaks against my weight.

I shift my weight to my toes, entering her room. The rays of the moon fill her room, making it look heavenly.

My beloved sleeps on her bed by the window, her delicate countenance tickled by the moon's light, making her looking ethereal and captivating.

Her soft lips are parted slightly, her chest heaving for every breathe she draws and releases. Her right palm rests on her stomach, her left hidden under the blanket. I kneel by her bedside drinking in her enchanting beauty while she sleeps in peace.

I suppress my desires - my need to kiss her delectable features, my need to hold her feet on my lap and massage them while she speaks to me about her day, my need to cuddle with her under the stars, my need to... just hold her tightly in arms.

She shifts in her sleep, whispering my name like a prayer. I gently rub my fingers through her hair and plant a kiss on her forehead.

Ma, this girl is precious to you, right?

Wrong! She is precious to me, Ma.

She's the most precious woman in my life. She's my lifeline, my support, my everything. And I'll give her everything I own to keep her happy.

She's my love, my queen, my Mayura.

Looking back on my recent treatment fills me with guilt. What was even wrong with me? Why did I treat her like that?

I exhale, my eyes landing on her phone lying on the bedside table. I pick it up, going to her blocklist.

My name was on the top with over nine hundred missed calls. I unblock myself. Before I close the list, another number catches my attention.

Actually, a series of numbers with the same starting digits. I scroll down, finding the first pattern dated to three months back. Mayura had answered only one call from them, and ever since then she put them blocklist without any second thoughts.

Seeing that this person hasn't stopped calling her even after her blocking them, I conclude that a man is behind this. A man whose ego will be satisfied by destroying my pumpkin's peace. He has called her nearly two hundred times from each number only to be an addition to her blocklist.

I switch over to her blocked messages, freeing our chats and deleting the unnecessary messages I had sent over the past few days.

I gently stroke her face with my fingers, her peaceful face making my anger dissipate. But it short-lived when I see the same man's messages in her blocklist.

I clench my teeth, my rage at its peak when I see all those disgusting messages -

Ek raat ka kitna leti hai tu?

Kitne paisa deta hai woh Vansh tujhe? Khush kar paati hai tu usse?

Kabhi Hume bhi khatir daari karne ka mauka dijiye. Aisi khatir daari karenge, zindagi bhar humse bhichad nahi payengi. 🍆 💦

Ek raat ki hi toh baat hai. Vansh se zyada khush karunga.

Zyada bhav mat kha. Tu Sundar bhi nahi dikhti. Bas maal acchi hai.

- followed by death threats in the second half because of her silence.

There were also a few pictures of his, assuming in his imagination, tempting manhood - I'm sure he used the zoom option to make that tiny thing look big - and some computer edited sexual pictures of my Queen.

The latest picture was sent an hour ago, labelling her as a bedwarmer and gold digger.

The audacity of this fucker to threaten
MY. GIRL!

My body tenses up in anger, trembling as I resist the urge to break her phone. My body feels like it's on fire, the adrenaline rushing through my veins demanding a brutal death for this man. Scenes of torture appear vividly in front of my eyes, each one a tempting experiment to try out on him.

Pulling out his eyes and nails, cutting off his tongue. Oh, and my personal favourite - castrating him. I lick my lips at the thought of him screaming and withering in pain as his only sign of masculinity is cut off from his body.

I forward all the messages and numbers to Rohit from her mobile and give him a call immediately after. He answers in the first ring, surprisingly. He usually takes a missed call followed by two rings to answer mine.

"Hello, madam?"

We are near to dawn and yet there isn't a hint of sleep in his voice, which is usually available when I call him at such times.

"Hello, Rohit."

"Boss," he yawns. "How many I help?"

"I've sent you some messages and phone numbers from this phone. Track that bastard, hold him in the Mud Island farmhouse and give him the highest degree of torture. Castrate him, no do that in front of me. Just keep him alive until I return." I demand.

It takes everything for me to not shout and wake her up.

"Yes, boss." He responds in simplicity and I cut the call. Clearing the traces of our communication, I leave her phone back in its place.

He has dared to mess with my woman, and I'll make him regret being born.

Turning my attention back to my beloved, I gently trace the her jawline. My heart aches as those disgusting messages flood my mind.

"Why didn't you tell me anything, my dear?" I whisper, lying down beside her. Out of habit, I take off shirt and toss it on the chair nearby, pulling her against me. "He won't bother you anymore, my precious. I'll get rid of him, I promise. Not just him, I'll tear away all such bastards from your life. Rest easy, my sweet."

"I will always protect you."

I kiss her crown.

✎ ✎ ✎

I wake up to the feeling of Mayura's finger tracing my jaw, feeling my clean-shaved cheeks.

I open my eyes slowly, locking my gaze with hers. She gasps in surprise, pulling her hand back. I hold her hand by the wrist, pulling it close slowly and press a kiss to the inside of her palm without breaking eye contact.

Her eyes widen in shock, a blush appearing on her cheeks. I giggle, trailing kisses up her arm to her shoulder. She shivers, the hair on her arm standing with every touch of my lips to her skin.

I am tempted to kiss her, but morning breath isn't romantic. Or hygienic for that matter.

I move over from her and she jumps off the bed, going out of her room and returns with a spare brush. Cleaning my teeth and mouth, after her, I meet her on her bed once again.

Her eyes are full of questions and pain, of doubts and insecurities.

"Jaan," I whisper, the name making her gulp and a tears threatens to mark her cheek. I sit beside her and take her hands in mine, kissing her knuckles with all my heart.

"I'm sorry, Jaan. I shouldn't have treated you like that." I confess sincerely. "I had become too arrogant and greedy, neglecting and hurting you ignorantly. Please forgive me. I will never do it again."

Her doubtful eyes search my eyes for the truth, looking for any possible opportunity that might break her heart again.

"You promise?"

Her voice was sweet like honey. And hearing after so long made me realise how much I craved it. Even the most melodious notes of music and birds fail against her voice. I feel like a starving man who had his first morsel in years. I feel like a wanderer who has finally found their home.

"With all my life." I manage to say, trying not to break the spell of the moment. "If I fail, may death be my only punis - "

She silences me with a finger to my lips, shaking her head to warn me from speaking further.

Wasting no time, she wraps her arms around my neck as we lay back on her bed, holding each other tightly.

I stroke her hair, planting occasional kisses on her forehead and crown.

"I love you, puppy." She says, her voice muffled against my chest.

"I love you the most, my kitten."

✎ ✎ ✎

हरे कृष्ण ❤❤

Been a while since I updated!

How do you all like the chapter?

Will Vihaan be able to find the man harrassing his Mayura? By now, the answer is very obvious.

See you all in the next chapter,
Ciao!