Broken By Love [COMPLETED]

Chapter 18

Sikha

"Are you sure you are fine, Sikha? Tell me if you feel any discomfort or pain. I can cancel all the meetings and stay with you today, too," Dhruv says to me, and I force my lips to curve, pretending to give him a small smile.

"No, Dhruv. It has already been two weeks since I got discharged from the hospital. You have been staying at home since then. You need to go to the office too."

"But, Sikha--" He begins, but I interrupt him.

"Go to the office, Dhruv. I will call you if I need something."

"If you say so, then I will go. But do call me the minute you do not feel well. I will come running. Ok?" Dhruv asks, affectionately stroking my hair, and I nod, fisting my hands beneath the duvet to stop myself from pushing him away.

"Take care, Sikha. I love you," he says and looks at me intently.

"I love you too, Dhruv." I do not let emotions betray me as I say those meaningless words to him. Not wanting to make him suspicious, as I say those words, I also give him a fake smile I have perfected in the last two weeks.

Kissing my forehead, he bids me goodbye, and turning around, he walks out of the door.

As soon as he is out of the room, I drop my smile, the anger replacing it.

I start counting from 1 to 100, trying to calm my anger while I wait to hear his car start and drive away from the front pavement.

Once he drives away, I take the duvet off my body and climb down the bed.

Then, I walk to the bathroom and stand beneath the showerhead. Turning on the shower, I aggressively wash my hair and forehead, trying to remove the memory of his nasty touch.

I keep scrubbing until I felt my scalp throb and my forehead sting.

After it is done, I walk out of the bathroom and go to the cupboard, which now contains a variety of salwar suits and saris. There is not even one nighty inside the cupboard.

A wry smile curves my lips, knowing why it is so.

It is because Dhruv Rathore is scared that one day I will regain my memory. That is why he brought me to a new home from the hospital. He does not want to show me anything that can trigger my memory.

Little does he know, I did not lose my memory in the first place.

I had to pretend because after what Dhruv did that day, I realized I could not just leave without punishing him for his crimes.

I still remember each detail of what happened that day after he let me go, letting me lock him and his bodyguards in the room.

*********

Running out of the main gate, I closed my eyes to let the tears fall. I slumped on the floor and sobbed, the relief of finally escaping the prison and its monster making me emotional.

After crying for a while, I controlled my emotions and wiped the tears.

I cannot waste my time now. Although Dhruv let me go, I could not trust his words.

Before he does something, I need to bail my parents out and disappear to a place where Dhruv and other Rathores, including Priya, would never find us.

Just thinking about Priya made my blood boil. She also had a hand in making my parents suffer. How could she? She is their daughter, their blood, and still, she did not hesitate to agree with Dhruv's plan and also did not do anything even after knowing they are in prison.