▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰

Sameer felt restless,as his eyes searched for his wife but at the very next moment stood rooted to the spot seeing her embraced in the arms of a 'known' man.

"I missed you Dhanish!" Naina squealed as she hugged him tightly. She tilted her head upwards to look at him, simpering softly as he told a few jokes. Listening to him she started giggling like a kid. All of a sudden she felt someone pull but Danish held her in his embrace glaring at the person. Naina shivered seeing her husband scowl seeing them. Naina tried to move away from Danish, her efforts went in vain.

"I had told you not to come here." Sameer growled in anger, seeing their proximity.

"I wanted to meet her and you can see that she even wished to meet me." Dhanish replied with a constant smile on his face.

"Dhanish." Naina murmured his name, gesturing to him to leave her.

"Let's go to our mansion." Sameer uttered, "Even you can come along as I had promised my wife to let her meet you." Sameer said in a cold voice.

"I will be back in a minute." Dhanish said and went from there. Naina looked at Sameer who was not even sparing her a glance. She walked towards him and held his arm.

"I am really sorry for running from the hall like that. He is my friend,who stood by me when I had nobody. I am really sorry if you did not like me hugging him but he's not that bad." Naina spoke.

"I can't say anything about your friendship with Dhanish but the fact is we are rivals and not in talking terms at this moment." Sameer replied at which Naina bobbed her head in a way of understanding. As Dhanish came back, Sameer gestured to him to get in the car. He held Naina's hand, gesturing her to sit in the passenger's seat, next to him.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

"So this is your room, ahh sorry Sameer Maheshwari's room." Dhanish spoke with an impressed face.

"Dhanish, why don't you sort all things with Mr. Maheshwari.He is not that bad." Naina spoke,clutching his hand.

"Shaadi ko ek mahina hua nahin ki pati ki vakalat karne lagi. Good going Nain." He said, patting her shoulders,making her frown.

"I am serious." Naina spoke, pulling her lips into a pout.

"So serious, haina?" He replied, as he pulled her cheeks. She wailed at first but seeing him laugh, she gave a toothy smile.

"I will bring something to eat." Naina spoke and left the room. Dhanish roamed around in the room aimlessly noticing minute features about the room. He stalled seeing a file kept on the table, though he did not wish to see anything which was not his. But, something did urge him to have a look at what was in the file.

After a few minutes, Naina came into the room but stiffened as Dhanish pulled her arm, pinning her to the wall.

"What the fuck is this?" He questioned huffing in anger. Naina was taken aback by his behaviour and the language he was using.

"Wh-at? Why are you behaving like this, Dhanish?" Naina stuttered, pushing him away from her.

"I asked you something! What is this? Why did you sign such a contract?" He asked, holding her by her shoulders.

"How did you come to know about the contract?" Naina asked as her lips parted in vague while eyes widened in bewildered horror.

"I asked you something, why did you sign this baseless contract? Why did you hide all these from me? I won't leave that bastard alive! He himself had come asking for your hand right? I should have not trusted him, he is and will always be a fucking idiot!" Dhanish uttered in anger, hitting his hand on the table making her stiffen at her position.

"It's not his fault, don't use any abusive words for him please. It's just my fate. I wasn't unaware about this contract, they sold me to him and I am just paying it off."She replied as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"It's not fair Nain, you don't deserve this." Dhanish said.

"Life has never been fair to me, Dhanish. But, trust me I am happy, really happy with Mr. Maheshwari. He cares and respects me. I don't need anything more than this."Naina spoke.

"And what will you do after a year? Will you be able to bear the pain of leaving your child? Do you want me to talk to Sameer?" Dhanish asked her at which she nodded her head in a way of no.

"No please. I don't want to become a burden on anybody, in fact he has made it very clear that he can never love me." Naina replied.

"What does that mean? Does he love any other woman?" Dhanish questioned her.

"No, he does not love and can never love any other woman, it's just that he does not believe in such things. Dhanish, he is at no fault, please don't tell him anything. Tumhe meri kasam please unhe kuch mat kehna." Naina replied in a low voice.

"Tum chahti kya ho? Do you want to just be used up? Have you ever thought about yourself, your life after this contract ends? Naina, listen, you don't have to bear all these things."Dhanish spoke feeling helpless.

"Dhanish, it's my personal matter. It must not matter to you and you are nobody to question me."Naina snapped as she was unable to answer his questions. She did feel guilty for speaking so rudely with him but had no way left to escape his questions.

"Did he touch you? Did you tell him about yourself, about them, about the marks?" Dhanish questioned, not really bothered about her tone.

"He did not notice."She replied, not daring to look at him.

"So you hid it?" He questioned her again, scrunching his eyebrows.

"No, I-I didn't." She replied, stammering. Dhanish held her hand and pushed sleeves till her elbow. He shook his head in annoyance.

"Why are you fucking lying to me Nain! I am so pissed off. I seriously feel like killing someone at this moment." Dhanish spoke, clutching his head.

"Dhanish listen to me, please." Naina tried to hold his arm but he stepped back.

"Just shut up! Is there anything left to be explained?" He yelled, staring at her for a few seconds and left the room huffing in anger.

He directly barged into Sameer's cabin.
"I need to talk to you." Dhanish uttered.

"I am busy." Sameer replied not even sparing a glance to him.

"It's about Nain. We need to talk." Dhanish was swift to reply. Sameer looked up at him for a few seconds and bobbed his head, gesturing to him to speak.

"You are the Business Tycoon, the Mafia King, can't you defy the contract which has been made?" Dhanish spoke, tightening his grip on the glass table.

"Did she tell you about it?" Sameer asked him, narrowing his eyes.

"No she didn't but I wish she should have." Dhanish replied.

"It's our personal matter, we will sort it out. You don't have to interfere in our lives."Sameer snapped.

"She is suffering because of you and I have all the right to intervene because I care for her." Dhanish replied to him with the same raging intensity.

"She's my wife and I am still alive to take care of her." Sameer said sternly.

"You know nothing about your wife, she has suffered a lot. I have failed to save her, failed to save her from her family, from you! She does not deserve this. She deserves love and respect like others too." Dhanish spoke as his voice wobbled at the end. He sat on the chair clutching his head instinctively.

"Looks like you had a crush on her, right?" Sameer spoke while Dhanish simply glared at him.

"You are a disgusting human being. You have no idea of what that innocent soul has gone through in her life. Though she has mastered hiding her pain and emotions, she is just an inch away from getting shattered completely. I was a stupid who did not stop her getting married to an asshole like you. She does not have the strength to bear all these anymore, Sameer. She did try to save her dignity but those memories do haunt her." Dhanish spoke.

"I don't trust you. She would have told me if there's any such thing troubling her. What's proof? How can I believe you? I won't fall into any trap of yours." Sameer spoke, still pondering on his words.

"Scars." Dhanish uttered.

"Huh?"

"Scars on her body are proof. She covers it as it reminds herself about being ugly, about the tortures she faced in that hell. If you still don't believe me check it yourself. Give her the respect and love she deserves." Dhanish replied and left from his cabin.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

Sameer barged in the room as he folded his sleeves up to his elbows. Naina gulped in fear seeing him. He walked towards her and placed his palm on her cheeks making her stiffen at the position. "You are hiding something from me, Khaza?" Sameer asked her, looking into her eyes. She held her skirt tightly being scared.

"I asked you something, Naina!" He yelled, his loud voice was violence in the air. She hung her head down pursing her lips, nodding her head in a way of no.

"Take off your shirt." He said but being impatient he started unbuttoning her shirt in fury.

"Wh-What are you doing?" She faltered as she held his hand stopping him.

"I said remove your shirt! Dare you stop me." He glared at her and unbuttoned her shirt. She tried to protest, hitting his arm, pushing him away from her but he did not stop. He pushed her against the wall and pinned her arms over her head.

"Please don't do this." She cried helplessly and tried to stop him but he ripped off her shirt. She closed her eyes as painful memories from the past haunted her. The disgusting touches, the beatings she had received everything looped her mind making her cry harder. He stalled seeing her clear skin. "Naina, how do you take your makeup off?" He questioned her. She looked at him, widening her eyes.

"How do you take it off?" He yelled again impatiently.

"Remo-Remover." She stammered.

"Where is it?" He asked her again. She pointed towards the dressing table. He took it and poured some of it in a napkin which was kept on the table. He walked towards Naina and pulled her by her waist, rubbing her skin gently.

"Mr. Ma-" Naina trembled, feeling ashamed of herself as he noticed the fading scars on her skin. Once again fear engulfed her seeing his serious expression. Will he leave her after knowing that she is the ugliest girl?

"Is there anymore?" He asked her in a stern tone, she bobbed her head in a way of yes, not daring to look at him.

"Where?"

"Everywhere." She replied ashamed of herself as her head reeled with stinging pain. She could not take all these again, her legs turned weak while her stomach lurched. Her head throbbed with continuous pain, she closed her eyes, trying to fight off painful memories. She collapsed on the floor, crying her heart out. Sameer kneeled to her height, holding her face in his palms.

"Who did this to you Naina?" He asked as his jaw tightened in anger.

"Ma-Mama ji."She uttered, suddenly she took on a pale look, as if she was painted with white-wash. At the very next moment she crumpled like a puppet suddenly released from their strings allowing darkness engulf her.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

Sameer's Voiceover

I was a fool who used to believe till this date that smile is a sign of happiness. Naina, the girl who used to be cheerful always, who usually had a smile lingering on her face, had hidden so much pain within herself. But, I knew this was just a glimpse of her vulnerable side, there were a lot of things left to be unraveled. I caressed her hair gently as she slept like a kid, resting her head on my lap. I had not noticed these marks on her body even on the night when we consummated, maybe because it was too dark or in the flow of passions I did not notice scars.

Though she has scars I would still care for her the way I used to. Everybody has a disturbing past and even if something worse had happened in her past, I don't care. Even if she is imperfect, she's mine and I accept her along with her flaws.

Voiceover ends

Naina had fainted due to stress. Sameer did not panic because he knew that she was too sensitive. When she got back to consciousness, she was way quieter than she used to be. She did not speak to Sameer, he chose not to question her giving her time. After having the dinner he handed her a few medicines. He was thankful that Kabir and Shrikha were not present in the mansion.

He laid on the bed, carefully so that her sleep did not get disturbed. He held her in his embrace, nuzzling his head into her hair as he used to. She was unknowingly becoming his addiction but he chose to not accept this fact.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

Naina woke up in a jerk as she realized that she was sleeping in her husband's embrace. She pushed back her hair and stared at her husband's face who was sleeping peacefully. She felt disgusted about herself as she noticed her uncovered scars.

"Good Morning." Sameer wished to break her chain of thoughts. Naina nodded her head a bit. Sameer sighed and sat straight on the bed.

"Let's talk rather than just avoiding each other." He said as he held her hand.

"I am not avoiding you." Naina murmured not looking at him.

"Did I even say something like that?" Sameer spoke but Naina kept fixating her eyes on the bed fidgeting with the hem of her skirt.

"So I don't care about what your past is Khaza. You were always a beautiful girl for me with or without these scars." He spoke in a softer tone. She glanced at him, only to find he was being genuine and not saying such things for the sake of sympathizing.

"I am not beautiful," Naina spoke,
"I am ugly."she continued, taking a pause.

"These scars may be temporary but what makes a person beautiful is their pure heart. You don't have to be weak before anybody, Khaza in fact you must take a stand for yourself before those people who tried to harm you." Sameer spoke, pressing her palm a bit,assuring her.

"I am not that strong, nobody will trust me. When I tried to complain about him, my parents did not listen to me once. That man used to harrass me both physically and mentally but I had nobody to listen to me. Dhanish did try to help me, but he was just a friend of mine. He could not have interfered in my family matters." Naina spoke as a lone tear rolled down her cheeks.

"Dhanish is much senior to you. How did you become friends with him then?" Sameer asked her.

"He was in his last year when I joined college. I preferred staying alone while he was amongst the popular kids of the college. I used to spend most of the time in the library. He noticed me and had actually come that day with an intention of troubling me but we ended up being close friends." Naina replied while Sameer nodded his head in a way of understanding. He gestured her to come towards him, wrapping his arms around her shoulders he pulled her towards himself. She looked at him still being hesitant.

"You don't have to be so conscious about these scars because it does not matter to me. I will treat you in the same way Naina, with respect and care as I used to." Sameer spoke, pecking her forehead slightly. She smiled a bit resting her head on his chest.

"Thank you for understanding me." Naina mumbled.

"I will always trust you Naina." He replied, making her smile widen.

"Tell me something about yourself." Naina uttered, breaking the comfortable silence.

"I have nothing to say about myself." Sameer replied.

"Nothing to speak about yourself? That's strange. Agar koi mujhse ye sawaal puchta na so toh pura din khatam ho jata lekin mera bhashan khatam hi nahi hota." Naina said giggling while Sameer's heart fluttered seeing her happy.

"Toh sunaiye, main toh bas apke baate sunne ke liye beta hu." Sameer spoke. Naina looked at him for a few seconds.

"Why are you talking so sweetly?" She asked him, pulling her lips into a sad pout.

"Can't I talk sweetly to my wife?" He reverted back, adding a serious face.

"No you can. Lekin abhi na aapka khadoos shakal dekhne ki aadat ho gayi hai. Seeing you smile is a very rare moment." Naina replied naively.

"Suniye." Naina called him, pulling his arm.

"Sunaiye."Sameer replied, making her laugh.

"You do not look like your mother. I had seen your mother...Vi-Vishaka, right? You do not look like her. Aapki shakal aapke father se milti hai kya?" Naina asked, touching his face slightly with her palm. Sameer just stared at her for a few seconds, never expecting such a question from her.

"Mr. Maheshwari?" Naina called, seeing him lost.

"Wo-Woh meri maa nahi hai." He uttered, making her confused.

"Ji?"

"Get ready, we have to go to that wedding else we will get late."Sameer spoke, making Naina stunned.

"Ma-Maine kaha tha na mujhe nahi aana koi bhi shaadi mai. Mam-Mamaji waha honge, he will surely try to...I don-dont want to go there. Please." Naina stammered as she clutched his arm tightly.

"Not a word Khaza. Get ready, I am waiting for you." Sameer said as he left the room, giving her personal space to dress up.

▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰

Thank you for reading!

Do not forget to vote and comment down your views💜