⚠️‼️the following chapter contains flashbacks of sexual assault, traumatic incidents, kidnapping and triggering personalities. Do not continue, if you're not comfortable with such stuff.
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Author pov
Indra refused to eat or even move an inch away from tulasi. He kept holding Tulasi's hand and caressing her hair.
"Tulasi…. please wake up." Indra cupped his face with her hand and held it there.
He didn't look away from her face. hoping that she'd wake up any minute and vanish all his sadness.
Anuja walks into the room. "I…Indra, w..woh your father's—"
"What is wrong with you, mother!! Why can't you see that my wife is on the bed and you're asking me to perform some rituals?" Indra yelled in anger.
He was in no mood to talk to anyone. Anuja flinched at his voice. She opened her mouth to request but shut it again. She decided that she'll make Rudra do it instead.
After an hour or so, Indra felt Tulasi's hand twitching in the moment. He immediately cupped her face and shook it a little.
"J…jaan, open your eyes." Indra said.
Tulasi opened her eyes slowly; her vision was blurry. She blinked twice, thrice. She came back to her senses.
When she felt someone's hand on her face, her eyes widened, and she pushed Indra away. She sat up and pulled the blanket over herself. "P…please let me go. Don't do this. D.. don't touch me, i…I beg you."
Indra was taken aback by her behavior. His heart was aching at her rejection. This was the second time he felt such a way.
"Tulasi, it's me… Indra. Your husband." Indra tried to make her look at him, but she refused to even let him touch her.
"N..no!! H…He's here, you're him." Tulasi started crying while shaking.
"J…jaan, no one is here. It's only us. Your husband and you. Please look at me once." Indra gently removed the blanket from her face. She covered her face with her hands while crying.
"P…please s..spare me. I'm b…begging you." Tulasi muttered out between her sobs.
Indra couldn't handle it anymore. He hugged her tightly and whispered into her ear.
"Shhh… it's your Indra ji." Indra said.
Tulasi started wriggling violently to get out of his grip, but Indra kept whispering sweet words while keeping his grip.
Tulasi's cries subsided… She recognized the familiar aroma of her husband. She looked at his face with a numb expression.
"You're safe, Tulasi. There's no one here." Indra says while tucking her hair behind.
"I…Indra ji, he's here… He'll kill me this time. I don't want to die, Indra ji; I want to have a happy life with you." Tulasi muttered.
Indra hugged her tightly and rubbed her back. "Tulasi… no one is here. I won't let anyone else even look at you, okay?" Indra reassures Tulasi.
Tulasi sobbed into his shoulder while shivering. Indra kept trying to calm her down. He had so many questions, but he didn't want to trigger her state again.
They both didn't speak a word; Tulasi stopped crying after 10 minutes or so. She was finally breathing normally now.
Tulasi was still scared; her mind kept overthinking that the man was still here somewhere.
"i…Indra ji, if I tell you the truth, will you leave me…?" Tulasi says lowly her body was too weak.
"Never, I'll never leave you. I'll always love you amidst everything." Indra says.
Tulasi felt better after hearing his words. She broke the hug and locked her eyes with his. She took a deep breath and started speaking.
• Flashback to the prior 4½ years ~
Tulasi was plucking flowers from the plants. It was a remote location, and then she heard a man's voice from behind.
"Yes, chacha?" Tulasi said with a smile.
"What are you doing here alone? Where are your parents?" The unknown man said.
"Oh… I was here with my father. He was working on the fields, so I decided to roam around." Tulasi said.
The unknown man looked at her up and down and smirked with an evil plan.
"Why don't you come with me? There's a mango tree nearby; you can get free fruits." The unknown man said.
"Really, chacha?? Okay!! I'll definitely come; I know how to climb trees." Tulasi says excitedly.
Without knowing the dangers about the world and the men, Tulasi follows the man's leads blindly. She kept singing songs along the way. She was unaware of the upcoming hell that she'll experience.
The man lures her to an abandoned shed. Tulasi was confused.
"Chacha, there are no trees here. And this place seems haunted." Tulasi says, looking around, she was starting to get scared.
The unknown man holds her from behind, and he ties a cloth around her mouth. Then he ties Tulasi's hands and legs with a rope.
Tulasi was looking at him with fear; her brain couldn't process what just happened. She was crying, and she tried that scream, but no use now. No one can hear her or know about her location.
Tulasi's poor body tried to get rid of the ropes, but to no avail. The unknown man was laughing, watching her struggle.
"No use, girl. You shouldn't be out in the first place. Since you belong to a poor background, no one will even bother to find your dead body." The man said while laughing historically.
The following 2 days are going to be the worst nightmare for Tulasi.
The unknown used to touch her however he liked and ripped most of her clothes when she struggled. He didn't use her yet; he was afraid that she might run away when he untied her legs.
He only used to come there at night and feed her one meal. Poor Tulasi lost hope that anyone would even save her. It's been 2 days, and no one has found her. She had no hope in her parents because she knew that they'd be happy without her.
These 2 days, she used to lie there like an object. There used to be no light or anyone's presence. She used to cry all night in fear until her body held no energy.
It was the 3rd day; it was raining heavily, and there was a thunderstorm. Tulasi was lying there lifelessly. She had no strength to even cry; her body gave up trying.
The unknown man walked in; Tulasi didn't bother looking at him; she knows that he's only here to torture her like every day.
He made Tulasi sit and fed her the food. Tulasi refused to eat, but he fed her forcefully.
"You'll need the energy today." He said.
Tulasi was confused. She saw his expression through the lightning, and it was terrifying. She gulped; her heart started beating at a faster pace.
She tried to scream but to no avail. It was raining heavily, and her voice was muffled by it.
The unknown man started removing his clothes. Tulasi's eyes widened. Tulasi tried to get a hold of anything to protect herself, but she couldn't even move.
He thought that Tulasi wouldn't have enough energy to defend herself. That's why he didn't feed her proper meals, so that she wouldn't fight back.
He untied her hands and legs, they were literally bruised now. Her gaze slowly fell onto his tall frame, which was standing above her.
Her body was shaking with unknown fear. The poor soul doesn't even know anything about male and female anatomy.
He held her and pushed her against the wall; he was trying to remove her clothes fully, and he was touching her in an extremely inappropriate way. His hands were traveling down to her private area.
Tulasi kept struggling, and she even tried to bite him; he was a lot stronger. When she felt him down there, her adrenaline hit her.
She spread her arms and grabbed something; it was a lamp. She hit him with it; the petrol traveled onto his chest, and some even fell on Tulasi. Since the lamp was lit, the fire immediately caught on both of them.
"You BITCH!!! I'll kill you!" He yelled out.
Tulasi ran out; she couldn't even feel the fire that was burning her inner thigh. When she was out, the rain put out the fire.
She kept running and running; she could hear him behind her. She didn't have the courage to look back. It was the only chance for her. One and only chance to escape the hell.
There was no sign of any human, and the area was so remote. Only one straight path to run.
Her body was exhausted; she had another strength left. Her pace was getting slower and slower. And the man was cursing her from behind about how he would kill her if he got a grip on her.
Tulasi tripped and rolled down the grassy side slope. Her body was injured. She thought it was over now. She closed her eyes while curling up in a ball and prayed to Shiv ji for some miracle.
Then she heard a thud. She immediately looked up at the path. She couldn't see properly because of the heavy rain. But she definitely saw a car with lights flickering, and someone got out of it.
Tulasi slowly managed to sit up, while clutching her knee and crying hard. She thought that this was the only chance to survive, and she was right.
The lady heard her cries and looked down. Tulasi smiled for the first time when she locked her eyes with the lady, and it was Saraswati. She imprinted Saraswathi's face in her heart at that exact moment and fainted.
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