Choices

CHAPTER | 18

Radhika was shivering and she was sure that it was not because of cold. She had already cried a river and there was nothing left except a few startles every now and then which shook her to the core.

Radhika had drawn her legs together and rested her head against her knees. To an outsider, she looked like a kitten who had been beaten to death only a few minutes ago. Though she had cried, her eyes were vigilant and observant of everything that was happening around her.

Things had gone past her so quick that she barely had the time to catch her breath. One moment she had been so happy that she would have forgiven all the sinners and the moment just next to that the very same happiness seemed to be out of her reach.

The person who had yanked her hand... he had to be Lalith. She had caught his voice and Radhika knew that it was him. Why had he pulled her and locked her in a room? He had promised to come back to her once the crowd had dispersed.

The initial fear was that Lalith knew the escape route that she had mapped out. That he knew that if she was lost in the crowd, then she would be lost forever. Had Daima or Nawab asked him to lock her to make sure that she stayed put?

Those unanswered questions shattered the confidence that Radhika had mustered along her trip to flee. She had crumpled on the floor, crying and begging Lalith to let her go. That she couldn't stay in that wretched place that everyone called it as her home. She had to leave!

The next moment, anger had flared up her senses. Who was Lalith to lock her up? All fucking sex addicts were running away while she was here in the dark room sulking about being sealed? She wanted to escape and if that was going to make her tear down the door, then so be it. She would do it.

She had banged the door, hit it with her fist and had even nudged it harder with her shoulder. But the stupid door hadn't budged. It stayed rooted to its spot, proving its loyalty to the master who had shut her behind it.

The next best thing she could do was to scream and let others know that she was in there. Perhaps, if someone heard her, they might unbolt the door and let her free. It was a mere possibility, but she had to try way before Lalith would come hunting after her.

Radhika had lost all hope and had almost given up when there was a noise at the other side of the door. Hope and fear clutched her like a second skin, making her heart beat erratically. Scared, she took a step back and then one more until her back was hitting the wall behind her.

No matter who it was, she had decided to make a run for her life. She wouldn't wait to see who was the one who had rescued her and would bolt. Determined, she wiped her face clean of tears, stuck the ends of her saree and placed her right leg further from the left, ready to meet her fate. As soon as the door opened, she hardly saw the rescuer, running to get away from the despicable place.

As she ran, a man caught her in his arms easily with a tight grip around her waist. Startled and frightened at the same time, her lips trembled as she looked at the guy who had held her. A khaki uniform was the only thing she could see before her eyes blurred her vision.

Police. They were the police.

A relived breath caught her throat as she sunk on the ground crying, happy that it was the police who had caught her. They would be rescuing her now, weren't they?

She knew she was in good hands and when the inspector asked her to go with him and his subordinates to the police station, she didn't hesitate, nor did she sketch a new course to bolt.

Now, as she sat on the cold ground, outside of a prison cell, she wondered why they hadn't let her go as yet. They had asked her a few questions and she had answered all of them promptly and honestly, worried that they might deny her freedom if she chose to lie to the legal workers.