Limits

delicate

It was consuming a lot of her energy but once she heard footsteps outside, Riddhima kicked the closet as furiously as she could. Someone just had to hear her given the amount of noise she was making. She tried to scream but she couldn't get anything out. She stopped kicking and took in deep breaths to compose herself. Now wasn't the time to give up. If she didn't fight now, who knows when she would get another chance.

Taking another deep breath, she pressed her back against the closet. She bent her knees, and prepared herself for the amount of energy she was about to exert. She kicked against the closet repeatedly until she felt her calves burn. She couldn't stop now though. She had to get out of this damned thing today.

She thought she heard something clatter outside but she couldn't risk pausing just to find out. She continued with her kicks until the door at last opened. The air that rushed in wasn't fresh but it was the best thing Riddhima had felt in a long time. There was just the glow of a dim orange light to illuminate the surroundings in front of her, but she didn't need much to identify the man standing in front of her.

It was her husband, and her savior - Vansh.

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When Vansh pulled open the closet doors he was overwhelmed by an awful stench that wafted over him. He hid his nose in the corner of his elbow and looked away. He didn't want to identify what the smell was coming from but he knew he had to. What if something had been slowly decaying inside?

He forced himself to look back in the closet and he froze in his spot. His elbow was slowly brought down, his heart thudded, and his eyes widened.

"Riddhima." His voice shook.

The woman he had been searching for like a madman for the past two days had been here, in his home, this entire fcking time.

The first thing Vansh heard out of her was a small whimper.

"Riddhima!" He immediately scooped her up in his arms and gently placed her on the floor.

His eyes pored over every inch of her body. There were deep dark circles underneath her eyes, her nose was simultaneously runny and seemed to be crusted with snot at the corners. Her mouth was slightly parted by a white twisted gag and her cheeks were becoming wet with new tears that were making their tracks.

He immediately reached around her head to untie the gag. He gently removed the cloth and watched as she slowly closed her jaw. It opened back up again to the same length it had been when the gag was inside. He continued to examine her, and seeing her arms pulled away from her, he looked over her body and saw her hands fastened tightly by rope. He frantically reached over and began undoing the knots. He desperately hoped there had been some circulation going to them.

The ropes fell to the ground and Riddhima slowly brought her arms forward. She weeped as she tried to move her wrists. Vansh tried to hold them but she hissed. He pulled his hands away not wanting to hurt her any further. He scrunched his nose as the awful smell from before got stronger.

Seeing the lower part of her clothes dark in color, Vansh began to panic. "Riddhima, tumhe chot lagi hai?"

He immediately began examining her torso to locate the source of her injuries. Riddhima's face crumpled.

"Riddhima tumhe hospital leke jaana hoga." He had started to scoop her up when she put a hand on his chest to stop him. "Riddhima khoon lag raha hai. Tumhe kahin chot lagi hogi, chalo mere saath."

She simply shook her head and fell forward against his chest. The wails she let out would forever haunt him. He carefully wrapped his arms around her. He glanced at her back to locate any injuries but didn't find any.