The Perfect Revenge

Chapter 35

Abhimanyu

"Akshara?" I whisper, holding her tight.

"Hmm?"

"Will you stay here with me tonight? I mean just be with me, holding me like this?"

"I'm so glad you asked" she says looking up at me "I was afraid to ask since you don't like anyone coming inside your room"

"You are not anyone. You are you" I kiss her forehead and take her to bed.

We sit down in a reclining position, with her head still on my chest, in absolute silence.

A few minutes later, I feel a wet patch on my tshirt and I realise she had been crying silently.

"Akshara? Why are you crying? Did I-?"

She cuts me off and shakes her head "I need to tell you something" she sobs and my heart aches.

"Yes?" I whisper, tucking her hair locks behind her ear.

"Sandeep Dhiman tried to molest me two years back" she says and I freeze.

I had known that she had faced something like that in the past but for her to say it out loud especially at such a time left me dumbstruck.

"He was almost successful but my father intervened. And not because he loved me but because he needed to keep me safe"

I look at her with a confused expression and then she tells me everything.

The contract, the terms of it, Sandeep Dhiman's second attempt at the party that night and how he made another attempt now that she was 22.

In that moment, all I could think was that Sandeep Dhiman was lucky he was dead. Otherwise I would have pulled his limbs apart with my bare hands and feed them to stray dogs!

I knew I could not say anything to make her feel better so I just tightened my arms around her to convey to her that she was safe here with me.

"He took away my first kiss Abhimanyu" she sobbed into my chest and I could hear my heart shattering.

That is why she was thanking me. That is why she was so happy!

"You must be thinking that I'm so weird. Desperate even so. And yes, I was desperate... but that was to erase his touch, erase those memories that haunt me till date"

"I would never think that Akshara, never! And I promise I will erase every bad memory and replace it with something beautiful" I say to her and she smiles.

I wipe her tears with my thumb and then cup her face and look into her eyes, that have now turned red.

I lean in and gently kiss her, in a slow, careful manner.

"You deserve to be kissed like you're so delicate, slowly and gently" I whisper "but you also deserve to be kissed raw, passionately and fiercely, like your kiss can revive a dead soul. You deserve to be treated like a queen and I promise you I'll treat you no less" I say as she slowly drifts to sleep in my arms.

I remain awake planning my next step to take down Raj Shekhar Goenka. I had a pretty long list to make him pay for but I swear, he's not walking out alive at the end of this battle!

.

.

I wake up the next morning, feeling more fresh and content than I've ever felt. And as soon as I open my eyes, I find the reason for my happiness in front of me.

I've seen her sleep a lot of times, in the car, the plane, her room but I must say, she looks the most beautiful right now, sleeping in my arms.

Her hair is a mess, some of it covering her face, her mouth a little open and the morning glow is working wonders.