Chapter 15( Innocent )
Priya stood there, unsure of how to process her emotions. Missing Mother Mary, blood dripping from her head, and her feet growing cold, she pleaded for someone to save her from this unbearable situation. How could one human treat another in such a monstrous way? He was a beast, ignorant of how to treat a person, and he continued to subject her to his cruelty. First, he had kidnapped her, and now he was inflicting further harm.
Tears streamed down her face as she desperately cried out for help, but the cold winds offered no solace. She regretted ever taking Lucky for a walk. It was unfathomable how someone could be so heartless.
In a low voice, she spoke to the guard, “Uncle, my feet are in pain. Please release me.”
Upon hearing her words, the guard felt a pang in his heart. He couldn’t comprehend how an innocent soul could suffer so greatly without having done anything wrong. He couldn’t fathom why she had to endure such torment. Her innocence was evident in her eyes, unlike Priyank Sharma, who only knew how to inflict pain.
Despite knowing the extent of her suffering at his hands, the guard couldn’t help but feel pity for the young girl. She appeared much younger than his own daughter, and as an old man, he had taken this job solely to provide for his family. He had nothing else. But as a father, he couldn’t bear to see her in such agony. It was becoming increasingly difficult for him to decide what to do, but he couldn’t allow this innocent girl to suffer any longer.
With trembling legs, he approached her, overwhelmed by guilt for being the one who had tied her up and caused her this pain. He had never felt so disgusted with himself, realising that he had blindly followed his boss’s orders. He went to her and asked, “Are you alright, ma’am?”
Priya heard his voice and, amidst her shaky cries, replied, “No, Uncle, I’m not fine. I’m in pain. Please help me. It’s very painful, and I’m bleeding.”
The guard felt as though his head had been stabbed a thousand times upon hearing the desperate pleas of this innocent soul. He felt terrible for standing idly by, unable to do anything to alleviate her suffering. In a soft tone, he responded, “I can only help you, ma’am, by removing these ropes. But you must run before you get trapped again. I can’t do more than this. I’m sorry for being so useless.”
Priya was shocked by his words. She innocently asked, “Uncle, how am I supposed to run like this? My hands and legs are bleeding. I can’t run. My body is in no condition to run.”Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.
The guard could see her condition and knew she was in no state to run. However, there was no other choice. She had to run if she wanted to save herself. She couldn’t stay here like this; she had to find a way to escape.
Speaking with a sense of urgency, he said, “I understand, ma’am, but we have no other option. You have to run as fast as you can if you want to protect yourself. Please try to understand.”
Priya couldn’t comprehend what she had done wrong to deserve this suffering. She had done nothing to deserve such treatment, yet here she was, injured and bleeding.
“Uncle, please tell me, how am I supposed to run in this condition? Can’t you see how injured I am? I can’t run. Please, just take me to Mother Mary. I can’t stay here. Look at how much he has hurt me. And you’re telling me I have to run, even though it’s clear that I can’t,” She cried harder and pleaded.
The guard didn’t know what to do. Priya was right; it was obvious that she couldn’t run in her current state.
Priya was in excruciating pain, feeling her throat dry. She feared her throat would be blocked if this continued. Her continuous shouting and rambling drained her energy, and she was in no state to continue talking.
In a painful voice, she pleaded, “Uncle, water.”
On the other hand,
Priyank watched everything unfold from the window, seething with anger as he saw the guard getting close to Priya. He despised the fact that she was showing these innocent expressions to someone other than him. His anger boiled, and his eyes darkened, mirroring the darkening sky.
He thought to himself, “This old man is waiting for his death. How dare he speak to her like that?”
Seeing Priya’s interaction with the guard only fueled his rage. He vowed to kill the old man for daring to get close to his “angel.”
Priyank muttered to himself, “You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into by showing your true colours to me. You’re so desperate for attention, but I’ll show you what happens when someone tries to play with me. You have no idea what’s coming.”
As the door knocked, Priyank grew even more infuriated. He stormed towards the door and opened it, finding his mother standing there. He asked, “What’s the matter, Mom? Why aren’t you sleeping?”
His mother replied, “Priyank, you’ve tied up that innocent girl like that. She’s a human being, Priyank.”
Priyank made a face at his mother’s words and retorted, “Mom, she got what she deserved. I’ve followed your every word like an obedient son. But you don’t need to interfere between me and my angel. She’s mine to do with as I please, and she has to accept it.”
Priyank’s mother was shocked, but deep down, she knew her son’s true nature. He was relentless in pursuing what he desired, showing no regard for anyone or anything. His obsession with Priya was obvious, as he did everything in his power to keep her by his side. He had an insatiable need for control and was unwilling to let go.
With great emotion in her voice, she tried to reason with him, “Priyank, please understand that she is just a child.”
Priyank burst into laughter and replied, “Mom! She’s 18 years old, and if you still think she’s a child, you’re mistaken. Even if she were a child, don’t you think they should be punished for their mistakes? Every mistake deserves punishment.”
“Now, you need to sleep. There’s no point in wasting your time here because I doubt you’ll listen. Priyank, I’m not requesting, I’m ordering you to leave her. She doesn’t deserve this. How can you treat her this way when she’s a human being, for God’s sake?”his mom angrily ordered.
Priyank was taken aback by his mother’s behaviour and her shouting. He responded with a shocked voice, “Mom, are you sure you want her to come in? What she’s suffering out there is nothing compared to what she’ll endure inside. I’ll make sure she remembers how much, of a child she is.”
His mother sensed the warning in his words and knew he was planning something even worse. She shouted back, “Priyank, don’t you dare do anything to her. I want her to go back to her home.”
Priyank’s eyes turned red with anger. He clenched his fists and said, “Mom, this is her home. She’s not going anywhere from here because this is her house, and I am her family.”
His mother realised that shouting wouldn’t make him understand, so she took a calm approach and said, “She means nothing to you, Priyank. She has her own family and loved ones. You can’t force her to be something she’s not. Try to understand, son. The way you’re behaving, she’ll never like you. In fact, she’ll hate you, Priyank.”
Priyank replied with a deranged aura, “Mom, didn’t I tell you? I am her family.”
He walked out of his room, passing through the small space between his mother and the door. His mother shouted, “Where are you going, Priyank? I’m here talking to you.”
Priyank replied as he walked away, “I’m going to fulfil your order. How can I disrespect your order? I’m going to make sure she hates me even more. I want her to feel everything about my mom, as I told you before. Whether it’s hate or love, she can only feel it for me. She can’t do anything other than what I want her to do.”
Priyank walked with long strides, consumed by anger at how she had behaved with the guard. He had expected her to be innocent, but she was engaging with people in such a provocative manner. He couldn’t understand how she had the audacity to do this. Hadn’t he scared or punished her enough?
He realised that she didn’t care about the consequences, so he decided to take things to another level. He despised being disrespected, and she was toying with his mind and his emotions.
As he stepped outside, he saw the guard standing close to her, holding water while she drank. He noticed how the water trickled down her body, wetting her shirt, which happened to be his white shirt. The sight of her skin through the wet fabric sent a surge of adrenaline through him.
He observed how intimately she drank the water, as if she were trying to seduce him. This sight further fueled his anger, and everything turned red for him.
“Fuck”,