▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰

"Pani." Naina uttered as she stirred in sleep clutching onto some hard thing close to herself. Sameer patted her face calling her name but she hid her face in his arm which she had held close to herself. Sameer stared at his loving wife, there was so much to admire about her. She had a pure heart just like a child. He had started liking her raw honesty and admired how she never tried to pretend. Naina looked at him and passed a sweet smile.

"Mr. Maheshwari." Naina squealed as she got up. Sameer handed her a glass of water.

"Mr. Maheshwari aaj na maine sapne mai unhe dekha." She said, pushing a hair strand behind her ear and giggled. Sameer stared at her in confusion but then smirked.

"Badi yaad aa rahi hai aap ko unki?" Sameer asked.

"Woh bhi toh aap jaise khadoos hi thi." Naina replied but then pursed her lips realising what she just spoke. She glanced at Sameer who had a stern face.She held her ears and mumbled a sorry.

"Aap jakar tyaar ho jao hume jaana hai na." Sameer said. Her face drained off all emotions.

"I trust you and will always be there for you." Sameer uttered as he held her hand with slight pressure. His voice sounded like a whisper as if there was a force behind it yet sounded full of compassion aware of the vulnerability and fix she was in.

"Is it really important to go there? What if you would start hating me if they tell you something about me? That man would try to touch me again, I-I feel disgusted even when he sees me. I don't want to go there. He will surely speak things to manipulate your mind, against me." Naina replied as a lone tear rolled down her cheeks thinking about her 'so-called' parents and her uncle.

"Firstly, I am not that kind of person who can be manipulated by anyone. I have literally never listened to anybody. I own each and every action. Even Nanu, he just guides me. The final decision is always mine.

Secondly, I can understand the sort of pain you have borne these years is a disturbing experience. When I say I trust you, I mean it. It takes a great spirit to come through so much and become the person that you are. So yeah, trust yourself and also me. Now go and change yourself into a pretty dress. I haven't spoken so much in my life." Sameer said as he sighed. Naina chuckled at his last statement, wiping off her tears carelessly and went to change into a traditional wear.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

Naina shut her eyes for a moment, feeling the ambiance of the street and hearing the sounds as the cool breeze kissed her cheeks making them touch a pink hue, adding on to her beauty. Sameer stared at his pretty wife dressed up in a peach-colored lehenga, void of any expression on his face. He got out of the car and opened the door for her. Naina held his bicep while he stared at her for a few seconds. She forced a smile trying to cover up nervousness. Though the hall was decorated with lights, she felt empowered by darkness. The darkness felt heavy, oppressive, almost supernatural. She just wished to run away from this place but that was not possible at the moment.

"Are aap log aa gaye. Naina kaisi hai beta?" Naresh spoke, showing fake concern as he placed his hand on the back of Naina. She stiffened at her position, clutching Sameer's arm tighter.

"You can talk, keeping your hands off my wife." Sameer spoke as he pulled her closer as he held her by her shoulder.

"I was just-" Naresh tried to explain feeling insulted in public.

"You must have work, it's better if you do that than just attending us." Sameer said as he walked in the wedding hall with his wife. Naina was still scared and rested her head on her husband's chest. She was not bothered what people would think seeing them like this.

"Naina di!" A four year old baby called her in her broken babyish tone. Naina smiled a bit seeing her.

"Nia, kaisi ho?" Naina asked her sweetly.

"Teek hu di, aap chaliye na vaha Preeti di apki intzaar kar rahi hai." Nia said as she held Naina's hand. Naina glanced at Sameer who was engrossed in his phone.

"You can go, I have some work. If you need anything tell me." Sameer spoke.

"Aap bhi chaliye na." Naina uttered.

"Har jagah mai nahi aa sakta na Naina. You can speak up for yourself. Don't stress yourself, just go and enjoy yourself. Your sister must be waiting for you." Sameer replied. Naina stared at him but sering his stern expression she chose to go rather than making him angry.

"Thank you bhaiya!" Nia said, giving a toothy smile. Sameer smiled back in response. Naina looked at him in utter disbelief, did he just smile?

Naina kept replying to innocent talks of Nia as she walked towards Preeti's room. All of a sudden, her voice muted. Her brain stuttered for a moment while eyes widened in shock. Preeti smiled widely and hugged Naina tightly. "I thought you wouldn't come. I missed you so much." Preeti spoke with a genuine smile.

"Voh Mr. Maheshwari urged me to come here," Naina replied.

"Mr. Maheshwari, badiya ha. Badi pativrata nikali, shaadi ke baad pati ka naam na lene vali prata."Preeti said as she laughed.

"Aisa kuch nahi hai, pehle din se unhe aise hi bulati hu toh ab aadat ho gayi hai."Naina replied with a slight smile.

"Ab bata kaisi lag rahi hu mai? Ekdum Madhuri Dixit jaise lag rahi hu na, pata tha mujhe."Preeti said, praising herself.

"Chal chal hawa aane de."Naina said in an attitude. Preeti narrowed her eyes but then both of them laughed.

"Mai na maa se baat karke aati hu nahi toh chilane lag jayegi." Preeti said and left from there.

"Ab bhi gussa ho?" Naina asked as she held the person who was a silent spectator of sisterly conversation. 

"Kis baat par?" The person questioned back.

"Sorry, I must have not spoken in that tone to you that day. I know you were concerned for me but I was scared. I was so scared that Mr. Maheshwari will abandon me from his life once he gets to know about these scars." Naina said.

"So, what shall I do with all these things?" The person asked her. Naina pursed her lips not knowing what to reply and stared at his hand which she had still held.

"Don't act so cute Nain." The person said as he burst into laughter.

"You are not angry, Dhanish?"Naina asked, hitting his chest.

"Gussa tha hi nahi Nain tumse. I was just concerned about you. I am happy that he cares for you."Dhanish said as he smiled.

"Thank you for understanding me. Thank you for always being there for me. I feared losing a friend like you." Naina said as she hugged him.

"Ab zyada senti mat ban, aise agar Sameer ne dekh liya toh meri maut pakki hai."Dhanish said.

"He is not that bad Dhanish."Naina said but he simply rolled his eyes and tried diverting her mind with other talks.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

Sameer walked in the room as Naresh led him. Naresh poured the drink for them and handed him the glass. Sameer mouthed a thank you as courtesy.

"So she is beautiful, isn't she?"Naresh spoke. Sameer shot up his head to look at him.

"The most beautiful woman I have ever seen is her." Sameer replied, trying to keep his tone calm.

"Is she satisfying you or is she still a scared kitten?" Naresh spoke.

"It's none of your concern. It's our personal matter and you are nobody to interfere and speak such indecent words about my wife." Sameer replied, tightening his jaw and emphasizing on each word as he spoke.

"I was simply asking. Manly talks, you know right."Naresh said as he sipped his drink.

"I guess we could talk just about our business. Don't ever dare to drag my wife. She is my priority and people who trouble her will have to face the worst side of me." Sameer said as he looked at Naresh with a piercing look.

"Hey! We are just having a casual talk so there's no need to become this serious." Naresh said, evidently shivering from the glare he was receiving. Sameer walked out of the room as he did not want to create any scene else his plan will turn out to be unsuccessful.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

Shrikha stood with her hands resting on her waist narrowing her eyes. Kabir smiled sheepishly as he bit his lips in anxiety, praying to God to save him from her wrath.

"What is this Kabir?"Shrikha asked, gritting her teeth.

"I agree it's dirty. Pura room kharab ho gaya but trust me it's not my mistake." Kabir spoke.

"Tum kuch bhi bol rahe ho, you were in this room of course it's your fault! Yeh sab kya hai? Kitna ganda kaisa bana diya tumne room ko. I just went out for an hour and yeh sab. I will kill you Kabir, tell me the truth!" Shrikha yelled. The room had turned into a total mess. All the clothes were scattered on the floor, the trash from the bin had been dispersed over the floor, the broken bottle of ketchup laid next to the bed while the bed sheets were torn and crumbled.

"Shri, let me explain. I got a cat in the room as it was shivering on such a cold night. But little did I know she would do such things. I am really sorry Shri. I will book a new room for us, waise bhi yeh room acha nahi tha."Kabir spoke only to receive a glare from her.

"Book two different rooms! I won't stay with you. Do you get that?"She yelled again.

"Shri we are dating, right? We can stay in the same room."Kabir spoke.

"You have gone crazy Kabir. After seeing the mess you have created do you think I will stay with you at this moment? You are insane, just go and get yourself fucked up!"Shri replied angrily.

"I won't cheat you, Shri." Kabir replied as he kneeled down to pick up his clothes. Shrikha sighed in frustration and muttered curses for losing her cool, again.

"I am sorry, I was already pissed off with a few things and then seeing this. I am really sorry Kabir." Shrikha said as she kneeled next to him, holding her ears.

"I know that you are a cleanliness freak before I could clean all these things you came. I will book two rooms."Kabir said as he fished out his phone from his pocket.

"Just one, for us."Shrikha said as she pecked his cheeks. Kabir stiffened at his position and looked at her. He quickly got up and moved away.

"Kabir, are you okay?"Shrikha asked in concern as she touched his arm.

"Shri, mai aisa ladka nahi hu."Kabir said. Shrikha stared at him for a few seconds and burst into laughter. She hugged him as she still giggled.

"You are crazy Kabir." She mumbled as she wrapped her hands around his neck. Kabir too smiled a bit as he held her.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

"Tum toh aur bhi zyada khoobsurat ban gayi ho." Naresh said. Naina turned back in jerk listening to his voice.

"Aa-Aap yaha?" Naina uttered as she shivered like a dry leaf seeing. Her eyes searched for her husband but failed to find him. He walked towards her as his lips tugged into a frame of an evil smirk.

"Itne dino ke baad haath mein aayi ho, aise kaise jaane du tujhe. Har baar bach jati thi tu lekin aaj, bilkul nahi." Naresh said as he traced her hands.

"Dur rahiye mujhse! You can't touch me like this. I won't hesitate to kill you if you touch me again!" Naina screamed, pushing him with whatever strength she had. Naresh swiftly walked towards her and held her hands and twisted it, pinned it at her back making her wince in pain. She tried to push him but her efforts went in vain.

"Leave me please!" Naina screamed as he traced her face with his finger. He slapped her face, which sounded like a loud clap. Naina hissed in pain as tears rolled down her cheeks. He tugged off the dupatta from her body and pulled strings of her blouse as he placed kisses on her exposed skin. His every touch felt disgusting. Every part of her went on pause as the flashes of her past looped in her inward brain.

"Mr. Maheshwari! Help please!" Naina yelled in between her cries.The beast kept on kissing her, touching her inappropriately. All these made her feel like dirt in existence. She slapped him and hit him with the glass which was kept on the nearby table making him fall on the ground, groaning in pain. She ran from there having the only option left to escape from this demon. Her vision blurred with moisture as she ran aimlessly. She stumbled and staggered as she could hear faint whispers. She bumped into a hard figure who held her before she fell.

"Nain..Kya hua tumhe?" Dhanish mumbled as he touched her face.

"Mr. Mah-?" She uttered, moving away from his hold. Her hand subconsciously held her head. Dhanish quickly called Sameer as he helped her to sit. In just a few minutes Sameer came rushing to the spot and kneeled down before Naina to reach her height. Never in his life had he kneeled down before anybody or for anybody in his life. He was purely concerned for his wife.

"Khaza."He murmured as he touched her red, blotchy face in concern.

"H-He to...touched me. Touched me inappropriately." She said in between her hiccups not daring to look at her husband as she felt ashamed of herself. Sameer stared at her bloodshot puffy eyes. Her voice cracked as she tried to speak. Her breath stuttered as she was unable to breathe. Anger drew into his veins and the only thing he wanted was to kill that bastard.

"I will handle him for now, take care of her. She needs you." Dhanish spoke as he sensed the tense situation. Sameer bobbed his head in a way that was okay.

"I want him alive! I will send my men to bring that idiot to me." Sameer replied. Dhanish left with Sameer's men. Sameer glared at the people who had gathered and whispered things about his wife.

"Naina?" Preeti came towards them and she touched her head in concern.

"Kya hua meri behena ko jijaji?" She asked, feeling restless.

"Main sambhal lunga, aapki shaadi hai na. Aap chinta mat karna, Naina thik hai." Sameer said. He picked his wife in bridal style, Naina wrapped her hands around his neck and dug her face in his crook of neck. Her body was still trembling in fear. He took her towards their car, still holding her close to himself. It was painful to see her like this. The only thing that Sameer could do was to hold her close to himself and let the torrent of her tears soak through his shirt. Sameer could feel her clench her fists clasping his shirt as she clinged more to him. He took off his blazer and wrapped it around her as he noticed her blouse was nearly torn.

He could hear his wife's silent screaming which sounded suffocating with each breath she took holding onto her pride. The girl who never showed her vulnerable side to anybody was broken to this extent. Sameer ran his fingers through her hair, in an attempt to calm the silent war within her mind. He cursed himself mentally for leaving her alone as he had to manage a few things.

"I am really sorry."He uttered,having nothing to say.

"Do I really deserve this?"She asked in between her sobs.

"You don't deserve this shit nor does anyone deserve such things Khaza." Sameer replied to her as he pecked her hair softly.

"I want to go back home. Please." She said as her voice broke. Sameer hummed in response as he gestured to his man to drive back to the mansion.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

Immersing herself in the warm water of the bathtub, her body turbulent with that disgusting touch making her drown in an abyss of shame and loathe, Naina let the dam break! Salty tears dropped down her brown orbs, even as she squirmed herself more, as if trying to comfort herself in the warm embrace of the water surrounding her, hoping to get some solace. The wounds on her being which hadn't healed yet had been added to what had happened sometime back, it's pain much more than the previous times. Hadn't she been scarred enough that one more had been inflicted on her being?

More tears rolled down her eyes and she stuffed her fingers into her mouth to muffle the sound of her sobs, eventually biting onto them mercilessly, as the memory of that horrid touch on her kept playing repeatedly in her mind. The high of her emotions and the pain seemed to strangely satiate each time her fingers sustained a deeper cut and after 20 whole mins, she seemed to stabilise slightly. Her fingers pulled out of the mouth finally giving them relief and she rested her face against the side of the bathtub. But yet again the memory of his touch triggered her and immense rage crept up her being, her pain now taking the form of anger. She couldn't let it out each time she was subjected to it but today she felt the immense need to do so, maybe because that overwhelming fear wasn't so overwhelming now that she wasn't in that house any longer. She picked up the soap and rubbed it against her skin harshly, making it bright red. Yet again tears flowed down her eyes but she kept rubbing her skin, until all of a sudden she heard a knock on the bathroom door.

"Naina? Aise bhaag kyun aaye aap waha se? Theek ho na Khaza?"

His voice washed her with conflicting emotions of relief and agony, along with anger. She looked down at her body, the place where she scrubbed bright red and bleeding slightly, her fingers bleeding with her bite marks, her face tear stained and her old scars visible. Self loathe and guilt filled her again. She was scarred, a woman who had been violated and tortured. 

Did her husband deserve such a woman as his wife? The answer was surely a No! Even though he had said that he did not care about her past, how long would he keep ignoring such things? And he doesn't know the entire truth either! He doesn't know of the scars maligning her pure soul! 

"Naina? Aap andar ho na?" He said again worriedly but she remained oblivious to it.

"He doesn't deserve a tainted soul like you Naina! He might not say or may not believe but later on someday when he gets to know the entire truth, would his stance be the same?" Her mind shouted. 

She never wanted anything much in her life. All she wanted was love and care, the hope of which too she had given up long back! But after coming here, her hopes were somewhat revived that even if there wasn't any love, there surely was some care and respect! She was more happy here than that hell, undoubtedly. But she can't be so selfish and spoil his life! He surely deserves someone better,much better than her! 

With all these thoughts consuming her, she let herself submerge in the water.Her hairs flowed up in water while her face was eerily calmer!

"Sorry" She mumbled under breath , allowing herself to drown herself.

❝It's better to die than live a life which kills you daily.❞

"Naina! Naina! Aap darwaaza khologe ya nahi ab? Main jaanta hoon aap andar ho! Aisa kya ho gaya hain? Khaza bahar aao nahi toh main darwaza tod dunga!" Sameer shouted, extremely worried but she was still in daze, almost submerging completely in the water. 

"Naina!" he shouted and a bang could be heard against the door indicating he was trying to break in. This brought her out of her daze and she rose back out of the water, as if pulled out. Her breaths came out uneven and it took her some moments to make sense of the surroundings. Her gaze then fell on her state and her eyes widened. No, he shouldn't see her this way!

"Mr. Maheshwari! Darwaaza mat todiye aap! Mein...main kuch der mein bahar aajaungi"

"Aap abhi bahar aaiye Khaza! Jis tarah se aap waha se bhaag aayi, mujhe pata hain kuch theek nahi hai. Abhi aao!" Sameer said

"Aap fikar mat kijiye Mr. Maheshwari! Aap mujhe mere haal pe chod dijiye. Mujhe kuch der akele rehna hain" Naina said 

"Nahi! Aap abhi bahar aao!"

▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰

Thank you for reading!

Do not forget to vote and comment down your views💜