Calm down Diya.

She will not eat you alive. Be strong.

Giving soothing words to myself I decided to go inside.

Before I place my legs into the house I felt someone push me back and dragged me to a dark place and with the hold, I can say it's Arjun.

Once he found satisfied with the scheduled place he shoots me a glare, "where have you been the whole day?" The fire in his visions is something that can scare anyone without speaking a word.

I pushed him away freeing my hands from his grip with a deadly glare, "why the hell do you care" I spat on his face.

"It's not about to care its obligation I have on you"

"No one asked you to protect me," I said.

He looked at me with a blank cold expression that was clearly shining under the moonlight and the dim lights that radiating on the side of the house.

Wait, is he searching for me?

No, it can't be, he will never be caring or whatever the protection he spells out.

Even if he cared I would have witnessed it long ago.

"I asked you a question," he asked again still with the glare.

"Are you scared you might not get the thing or business you want to attain by me if I go away from you by vanishing in the air? Then I would happily do die even it gives you failure and anguish"

His eyes studied me completely like a couple of seconds and casually put his hands inside his pocket.

Anger, fear, fury nothing I saw in him, just a calm composed look without acrimony.

"Let me clear one thing to you, I am a businessman I have multiple ways to get what I desire" his voice came as a warning to not mess with him.

His business mind.

He looked scary with a stoney expression plastered over his face.

I know he can get whatever he needs with the power and influence of his business world.

"And you being the first and easy priority, I have to keep you safe from your stupid Sherlock Holmes, now back to my question, where have you been the whole night?" I tried my best to not let even a single tear fall off my eyes.

My heart sank deep with his words and the emptiness in his eyes, I looked away to blink away my tears but he came close to me with his hot breathe touching on my cheeks.

Somehow it tells me I am testing his patience to a larger extent.

"Answer. Me. Were you at your home?" he said sternly grabbing my hand not hard but enough to grab my attention to him, "streets" a painful lonely tear dropped my eye while saying it. I looked at him to say something.

I have lost my destination. I lost the place which I called home. 

The love and affection I had for the place where I was born, raised is now nothing but a building with just bricks and sand.

"I don't have a place to call as home" I smiled, "it's all gone now"

"Are you trying to gain sympathy from me by proving you started to hate your father?" how come a man is filled with the only venom?

Taking his hand away from me, I spoke, "this is what you think of me? always coming to your own ethics, believe whatever you feel, huh?" the line he draws in my heart is much painful, "you married me just because my father said he would think about your decision of taking your assets after you get married, you wanted to try out whether my father will do the same thing if he will mol---" my words died in my throat.

He grabbed me by my waist making me fall on his hard chest which is beating hard in its a new way which I never experienced even when we were in love.

"I bet you have your own Disney land running on your head," he said glaring at me like I am saying something rubbish, "I onset to connect my brain theory as my heart always turned me down," I said.

He smiled and placed his hand on my cheek while his left hand on my waist loosened its hold but the next second he holds my waist tight enough to leave just a one-inch gap between us.

My heart started to beat fast and fast every passing second I being in his arms, he ruled my whole body with just a simple touch, "your body is saying otherwise snow" Because it still loves you apart from your taunts, hate, and anger.

His thumb caressed my cheeks slowly with his eyes fixed on my cheeks and eyes, "agony is ample in these eyes"

"And the reason is you" I removed his hand from me and made a safe distance between us, "you can never be truthful to a single person Mr. Verma" his eyes hardened, "when you were with me, you loved some other girl and now you are trying to get me back to your bed? How cheap you are Mr. Verma" I summoned him.

He remained intact without any expression nor lashed out at me, "you are a good observer" he again came close to my ears and whispered, "that night was unbelievable, do you have any idea to give me another one?" he moved away throwing me a smirk.

The rage, pain, hurt came out as huge anger, without thinking I slapped hard on his cheek that hurts my hand.

His face showed shock and uncontrollable anger, "such a terrible person you are" my eyes hurt from continuous crying from morning to midnight but still it never stopped shedding tears, I looked down at my body in shame, "god, how-- how I-- I wish to burn my body now" I cried hard unable to control myself.

I felt myself feeling his hands on me from that night, my skin started to burn like it has been set on fire, I looked at him stood there without saying anything just with anger and disbelief, "I have never felt much-- lo-- low in my life" I cried hard, "You are a MONSTER" I shouted pushing him away with my full force making him take a few steps back.

"god-- god" I brushed my cheeks with my palms getting his touch from me, my vision blurred away with continuous tears falling off my cheeks, "I feel low Arjun-- too low on myself" 

The more I thought about my love for him, the more I cried, without looking at him, I ran out of his house without a destination, seeing him is hurting my soul. 

"Diya" he called me, but I still ran but the lack of food from morning made my knees weak.

"Close the gates" he shouted in high pitch tone as the guards closed the gates in a snap.

I ran fast and begged them to open it, "Please open the gate" he gave me a pitiful look but refused to open it seeing his boss at my back, I removed my chain and forwarded to him, "Take it but please open it" my pleas went in vain as he walked away. I felt his presence on my back. 

I started to bang the gate, "Stop Diya" 

With my force the steel gates started to make noise, "Diya please--" I covered my ears then again started to bang it, "open the gate please" 

He seized my actions by grasping my elbow as I flinched under his touch, the hands which gave warmth once is now faded, it's on fire now "no..no...no...no no-no--" I cried trying to remove his hands, "leave me" it's burning.

A soft gasp heard when I looked at his back I saw his mother standing there, "Diya look at me" he shouted gripping my hand tight, "help me" I cried looking at his mother who came quickly to me.

"Leave her Arjun," his mother said trying to remove his hands, "I can't" he yelled at his mother, "I can't leave my wife, okay" he again yelled at his mother.

"she is hurt," his mother said looking at my weak state of opposing him, "let her hurt but I don't want her out of this house"

"Leave her or you are dead in my hands" his father's words came as a stern and strong but still he never loosed his grip on me, with fury in his eyes he focused his stare on me.

"Okay I won't let her go, leave her hand now," his mother said pushing him away making him leave my hand, I instantly hugged his mother and cried my heart out unable to control the pain my heart is releasing.

"Diya---" he called me, I turned to him and saw he is standing a few inches away from me, "don't come near me" I begged him.

"Hear me out Diya" he again said, "don't let him come to me," I said to his mom still crying.

"don't touch me

don't touch me

don't---" I chanted repeatedly.

"calm down Diya, I won't allow him to come near you" his mother rubbed my back, "he is asking me to---" my knees gave up resulting me fall on the floor, wiping the tears I looked at her who is looking at me with a tear-stained face, "I am not like that, I don't want him if he is just using me for his pleasure"

"Stop crying Diya, you are more strong than this," she said wiping my tear.

"But how can he say like that? Am I looking like a whore to him--" she shook her head, "you are pure Diya"

"No" my tears dried, I looked down at myself, "I don't feel pure, my whole body is in fire after said like that, can-- can I-- I erase that touch?" she shook her head, "let's get in Diya"

"No, let me go out of this house"

"No, you are not going out," his father told me more like an order, "it's a danger for you outside" my only hope is his mother now, "take me away from him or I can go by myself" I adjured her with my eyes.

She looks at her husband who stood without knowing what to do turning to me she nodded giving me a ray of hope, "I will take you to some peaceful place, there won't be my sons" I have never felt this much peace in me. But the thought of having peace while leaving him is killing me.

He was looking at me angrily once I landed my eyes on him he decided to not tear his eyes from me, "Arjun, to my room" he flinched not, still having eyes on me, "NOW" his father's cold voice made him walk behind his father leaving me alone with his mother.

"You don't deserve such words Diya, believe me, I feel shame on him" she cried but the hate in her eyes for him said otherwise.

"Am sorry for making you hate your both sons" she smiled sadly, "not like that Diya, this is their true colors" how much it will hurt a mother when her sons are totally out of their line.

"Advik is working with me" her body froze for a second but gathered herself, "he is not bad"

"did you forgave him?" she asked with a ray of hope in her eyes, "not yet, but I don't feel afraid around him"

She smiled dreamily, "yes, he is always our stress buster, teasing us all whole day without getting tired, he is always my companion when Dev is out. Do you how much he cried when we gave our Manya to my sister, he rejected to have food two whole days" her eyes shone in the moon's light, "his love is unconditional while his brother, never express his love for anyone. Both are opposite poles but can't undergo a day without having a proper word with each other"

She smiled faded away, "but I forgot to teach them how to treat a girl with respect" I hugged her feeling the pain she is undergoing, "we will go in afternoon 4. Be ready," she said breaking the hug.

.

.

.

I sat near the window hugging my teddy wondering how my life is changing within a month, it's pale than a roller coaster ride. I looked at the clock, it's 1.23 am. 

Still sleep is far away from me like happiness. 

I need to find some other job away from this city, far away from him after getting a divorce.

With a bang the door opened making me freeze in my spot, I saw Arjun entering the room with trembling footsteps. Drunk.

Fear craned in my heart, I stood up, when he took a step towards me I moved back to the back of the corner wall of the room.

He laughed softly, "you are afraid" his eyes are red and swollen. Is it due to drinks or--??

I gripped my kurta on the side with fear, he is not in his mind but after seeing my fear he sat on the floor below the television. Taking the half-filled bottle to his mouth he sipped a bit and looked at me again after placing a cover on the floor.

"It's the result of DNA test" I panicked but the fear of him made me stop from moving seeing me he spoke further, "it's positive" he smiled a painful smile. (The DNA test Diya gave with the blood sample found from her father's study... Remember the paper which has written as blood in blood???)

"The anger and pain I had at that time are just--- just--" he did not finish it, "that's when I wrote it and placed in your father study barging into your house" taking the remaining bottle he drank it fully, "that's when I first saw you talking with you teddy like that is your world. So first I decided to take your fake world and then destroy your real-world" he laughed and stood up and opened his dresser taking another hidden bottle of beer.

I sat there silently not even leaving the sound of my breath leaving me, with great silence he started to have his beer, "so you are leaving" he sounded low not just only by voice but something is wrong in him, I stayed quiet controlling my tears.

"where are you going?" so that you can hurt me there too? 

Silence.

"who else coming with you?"

Silence.

He sighed running his hand through his hair frustrated, "will you come back?" the sadness in his voice made my heart clench.

He is drunk, he is just blabbering something randomly, don't take his words to your heart, I pleaded myself. Or maybe he wants you to leave quickly.

"Or---" he thought for a second, "no, just leave it. Do you know why my father called me in?" he drank the bottle in one go and grunted placing the bottle to roll down the floor disturbing the silent atmosphere.

"Ah... there it goes. Empty-handed" he said seeing his palms, "again" he smiled himself I breathed hard swallowing the pain, the hidden meaning from his words didn't reveal much but it felt bad.

"have you ever felt like you have everything but you have nothing" every second I am feeling it, "they abandoned me" I looked away from his eyes?

I stiffened feeling the alcohol near me, I look in his direction to realize him standing a foot away from me, panicking I shivered, "don't touch me" his eyebrows shrink, "I am not going to hurt you. Promise"

He sat near me with dropping eyes, "can I lay on your lap?" my heart dropped a beat, "my mom doesn't want me" without hearing my answer he laid on my lap as I stiffened, should I push him or let him be?

"My parents abandoned, I abandoned my brother, no friends" he stopped and continued after a long pause while I sat there doing nothing but trying to register his words staring at the empty space, "and I lost my everything" I felt the depth of his words but I can do nothing for it.

"I will miss them," he said adjusting his head on my lap, I did nothing, for a minute I want him to feel my pain which is worse than him.