In Sunshine or In Shadow ✔ [Completed]

Chapter 23 - Die, Die Lavinia and Thy Shame With Thee

Vansh was the one who drove that day, Riddhima had asked him for a favour and while he obviously hadn't been convinced, she knew that she needed to do this. She watched the scenery fly by. Her heart was pounding and she wasn't entirely sure why…there was nothing to be afraid of anymore.

And then sooner than she expected, they were there.

Her mouth went dry when Vansh parked the car and all she could do was stare out the car window at the parking lot. She barely remembered it, it had been dark and hazy and she'd been in shock of course. She remembered the streetlights though…and Vansh's horrified face.

"You sure you want to do this?"

Riddhima nodded numbly. It wasn't a matter of want but something she had to do, the final chapter that needed to be finished before she could finally close the book on this part of her life. "I can do this," she told him firmly before pulling on the door handle and getting out of the car.

Her knees did weaken a little when she realized she was standing on the same pavement she'd stumbled across eight months earlier. But it was the day; there weren't any cars around. The only thing familiar was Vansh; he was still her safe haven in this storm.

She glanced over at the spot where Vansh had picked her up and saw the sidewalk he'd stopped at. She did remember being cradled in his arms, smelling his scent and feeling a small bit of comfort in the overwhelming ocean of pain.

"Shhhh, it's okay. Everything will be okay."

Riddhima knew now that Vansh had actually been lying then but at the same time…he hadn't been wrong either. Nothing had been "okay" then but now, now she was stronger for it.

Vansh took her hand and she looked down at their clasped fingers before smiling up at him. She took a deep breath. "Okay, let's do this."

Somehow they made it around the building. She flinched when she saw the window she'd been looking through that night. The memories came pouring back. Standing there and watching the dancing…

Then a firm strong hand gripped the side of her head and slammed her up against the brick wall.

She'd been dragged by her hair along the sidewalk, he'd punched her in the stomach and pulled her along to the alley.

For a second all she did was stare into the horrifying place where she had been raped. It was still dark, dirty and truly terrible. It took a lot of strength to not break down and cry, it didn't stop the lump in her throat from forming or the memories of being thrown on the ground, her head slammed into the concrete and then her violation.

Those memories were never going to go away.

She walked into the alley and stood next to the spot where it happened. She could find the nerve to stand on it, by she stood by that small square footage where Rohan and forced her to the ground and raped her.

The blood was gone but the memories were still there.

Wounds could heal but scars would always remain.

Riddhima absently kicked a beer can and ricocheted off the wall. "They moved the dumpster," she noted, "It was right there last time." She looked up toward the roof of the building and smiled bitterly. "They installed security cameras too…boy that would have been helpful eight months ago."

Vansh must have caught the slight edge to her voice because he came up and drew her into her arms. "It's okay," he whispered into her ear, her back to his front.

She nodded. "Yes it is. I needed to see it, needed to know that I could face every part of it without falling apart…and I have."

Riddhima took in a deep breath and let it out. "I was raped. That is what happened to me and it will always be a part of me…but it is not who I am." She remembered how she'd struggled with that question over the months. Who was she? She'd answered it in so many ways. She was a fool, a victim, a martyr…she was Lavinia.

But none of that was true. She was who she'd always been. Special Agent Riddhima Mehra, no amount of tragedy was ever able to take that from her.

"It's over," she declared, "it really is over. For the first time I really do feel whole again." Vansh held her close and she smiled before turning in his arms to look up at him. "You did this you know?"

Vansh shook his head. "No it was you."

"Take credit, Vansh. I couldn't have survived this without you. I couldn't have healed without you." She smiled shyly and met his eyes. "Now I want to return the favour…I want to heal you."

He smiled softly at her and gently brushed away the hair from her face. "You already have. You've been doing it for years."

She stood up on her tiptoes to kiss him, a real soulful kiss full of gratitude, happiness and most of all…love.

Love was what truly had saved them both from the brinks of despair, and that was all that mattered.

When she broke away he pressed her forehead to hers and they just savored the moment for a long while. Then she opened her eyes to look into his. "Let's get out of here," she told him.

He smiled and nodded before taking her hand once more. They walked out of that alley together.

Neither one of them looked back.

A/N: The main man is still lurking behind, in the shadow. Justice AND revenge. You all can guess, kind of given you'll enough hints in the book.