Scarred Love - Chapter 25

Manna stopped short in his tracks the moment he heard Ishani.

Dammit! This is not good.

Ram Singh looked from her to him and then back at her. He swallowed hard as he tried to frame a good enough explanation for him being here. If she remembered him then, she would also recall him being there on that ill-fated night at the time of the robbery. Quickly he turned and started to leave.

“What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be in jail?”

Ram stopped in mid step just as he heard her. Closing his eyes, he tried to block the accusations that had branded him all those years ago. Even after 14 years of being in that hell-hole called prison, maybe he still had some more retribution left. Slowly he turned around and looked at the woman whose eyes still lashed that age-old hatred.

“I got released,” he said in a small voice and turned towards the door to leave.

“Wait!”

Ishani strode up to him and looked at him with indignation.

“That’s fine you got released. But what are you doing here? What are you doing with him?” she asked pointing at Rudra.

Manna was about to come to his brother’s defence when his raised hand stopped him.

Ram Singh narrowed his gaze and said sternly, “That’s between me and Hukum. I am not obligated to tell you my occupation here.”

As she opened her mouth to scathe him, he turned and opened the door.

“I hope I have made myself clear, Ms Raijdas. Manna, I’ll be outside with the guards if you need me.”

Saying this he left.

Ishani stood there transfixed not knowing what to say. Then, she suddenly turned towards Manna.

“What is he doing here?” she asked accusingly.

“Ms Raijdas, I cannot answer that question. That’s for Hukum to tell you.”

He raised his hand before she could say anything else.

“And, he is my brother. So, it would be best if you don’t ask me any questions about him.”

For a minute, her brain stopped functioning.

What is going on here?

Why has Rudra employed a criminal?

Mentally she noted down the questions she needed answers for but the moment she turned around and looked at Rudra’s face, everything just vanished into thin air. The only thing she remembered was his smiling face and dignified stride that she so missed every morning.

Suddenly Ishani felt a compelling urge to touch him. Without thinking, she strode to the bed and sat down. She ignored the low growl from his dog lying next to him and clutched his better hand in hers. Every sense of hers came alive as she entwined her fingers with his.

Please wake up, she mentally pleaded as she caressed his forehead lightly. Even in deep slumber, this man looked more than handsome. Beautiful was not the word to describe him; it did not do any justification. Enthralling, exotic, mysterious, intriguing; she could think of so many more adjectives to describe him.

The almost non-existent scars on his face and the one on his left brow gave him a dark brooding look. But he did not scare her. Somewhere behind that hard steely demeanour, there was a heart hidden, which sometimes strained to break free from his rigid clutches. 

Ishani closed her eyes and remembered the way he had looked at her when he had apologised the other day. The concern in his eyes and the way he had held her in his arms had somehow soothed the pain that she had been holding inside for so long. In those fleeting seconds, he had made her feel protected, which was something she had always yearned for her whole life.

She wanted to feel that touch once again.

Picking up his left hand, she placed it against her cheek and buried her face in it. As his raw smell filled her lungs, her eyes misted with the same old gnawing pain.

Veera’s kind and innocent face flashed in her inner vision and she immediately let go, and Rudra’s hand fell on the bed.

Ishani got up and started to move away. As her legs stuttered a bit, she collided with an armchair and clutched it instantly to steady herself. Taking a deep breath, she slowly moved to the sofa and sat down.

She cannot do this; she cannot betray Veera. Who is Rudra? Why does he make her feel this way?

And, why does she always see Veera whenever she is with him?

She should leave.

But the moment she started to get up, her gaze fell on the man lying unconscious on the bed.

It’s not his fault, Ishani. You should stay. At least stay till he is awake.

Why?

Because you have to.

No, I don’t.

Yes, you do, her conscious replied. Sometimes it’s best to leave the past behind. Deal with it when it catches up with you. Always remember if you hold the hands of the present and give it a chance, the past will no longer have a reason to come back. You don’t owe this man anything. But you owe it to yourself.

Sighing, she bit her lip as the thoughts kept swirling in her head. Minutes passed like this and slowly her body slumped against the sofa as her eyes closed shut.

An hour later, Rudra’s body came alive gradually as the effect of the sedative lessened as time ticked by. Inwardly he groaned and managed to move his hands and legs a little. Slowly his eyes opened and he blinked twice to clear his vision.

The first thing he registered was him being alone on the bed. And the next thing he noticed was Ishani standing near the balcony door with her forehead pressed to the glass. 

His body jerked involuntarily as his demonic inner-self shrieked with anger. But then, slowly it calmed down.

Don’t make me do anything that would scare her.

Let me take care of this, he told his inner self.

He closed his eyes and slipped into pretended sleep. Less than a second later, he groaned, a little louder than usual and shifted noisily.

She hasn’t heard you; you are doing a bad job.

She hasn’t heard you; you are doing a bad job.

His inner self repeatedly said dancing mockingly inside his head and Rudra gritted his teeth in frustration.

Why can’t she hear me?

Keeping his eyes closed he breathed audibly pretending to wake up from his unconscious state and moaned hoarsely.

“Is-Ishani!”

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