Defence Of Desire

•Part Five•

The old house seemed to groan with malevolence as Zoya fled through its labyrinthine corridors, her footsteps echoing like thunder in the silence of the night. Shadows danced around her, twisting and contorting into grotesque shapes that seemed to reach out with grasping fingers.

Behind her, the man pursued relentlessly, his footsteps a steady drumbeat of impending doom. His taunting words hung in the air like a poisonous fog, seeping into her mind and fueling her terror.

Heart pounding, she ducked into a room, her breath catching in her throat as she pressed herself against the wall, her body trembling with fear. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she stifled a sob, her eyes wide with horror as she listened to the man's heavy footsteps drawing closer and closer.

For a moment, there was silence, broken only by the frantic thudding of her heart. Then, without warning, the door burst open, and the man loomed in the doorway, his silhouette a sinister shadow against the flickering light.

"You think you can hide from me?" he hissed, booming laughter like a snake slithering from his throat, "I'm going to get you, Zoya" his voice a chilling whisper that sent shivers down her spine.

Recoiling, her back pressed against the cold, unforgiving floor as the man advanced, his presence suffocating her like a suffocating blanket.

With a desperate cry, Zoya scrambled to her feet, her legs trembling as she made a break for the stairs. But before she could reach safety, the man's iron grip closed around her wrist, dragging her back with a force that stole the breath from her lungs.

She fought against him, her screams echoing through the empty house as she struggled to break free. But his strength was overwhelming, his hold unyielding.

With a kick of her leg, she fell forward, hands smacking the ground to save her face. Turning around so she could face her assailant, she skidded backwards, eyes widened with fear. "You don't have to do this".

The frown dropped from his face, sadness shrouding his features "I know" he watched the sigh of relief escape her, his hand out to pull her from the ground. The second her hand relaxed into his, he yanked her into his chest. "This isn't about having to, Zoya, it's about wanting to". With a savage growl, he shoved her over the bannister.

"NO" she screamed, grabbing onto his arm, she teetered on her heel, cheeks flushed at the almost fall.

Without warning, he shoved his knee into her stomach sending her flying down the stairs, her nails scratching angry red welts into his skin as she released him and hit each stair with a deafening thump.

Zoya's body tumbled through the darkness, pain shooting through her with every impact until she lay at the bottom, her limbs twisted and broken, her breath coming in ragged gasps. As she lay there, on the verge of surrendering to the darkness, a hand reached out, its touch gentle yet firm causing her eyes to flutter open, her vision blurry as she gazed up at the man standing above her.

A low whine escaped her as he stroked her hair from her face, her consciousness fading in and out like the wind rattling through the nearby broken glass. "Aditya" she gasped, her eyes now open fully, though for what she'd next see, she wished they weren't.

With a sickening crunch, his foot smashed into her face leaving her eyes now lifeless as her head fell to the side.

***

Within the cramped confines of the police interrogation room, Anushka and Aditya sat in tense silence, awaiting the arrival of an officer. The air was thick with anticipation, the weight of their circumstances pressing down upon them unrelenting.

As they waited, Aditya absentmindedly rolled down his sleeve, a habitual gesture that went unnoticed by most but his lawyer's keen eye caught the movement, her brow furrowing slightly as she observed the scratch marks marring the flesh of his arm.

Her gaze lingered on the scars for a moment, mind racing with questions. Before she could voice her concerns, the door creaked open, and an officer entered the room, breaking the uneasy silence with the harsh clack of footsteps on linoleum.

The moment passed, the unspoken tension between them hanging in the air like a storm cloud as they turned their attention to the task at hand. But in the back of her mind, she couldn't quite shake the nagging feeling that there was more to his story than she'd first believed.

Detective Basak took a seat, his earlier coffee strong on his breath as he sighed. Clicking the tape recorder, he sat back, eyes trained on the suspect before him.

A loud thud from the tape caused his lawyer to jump. Pushing away her own reaction, she turned to face her client who was looking down; still and silent.

"Aditya" Zoya's voice, tinged with something akin to desperation cut through the silence causing Aditya's head to rise with a force so quick he felt his neck ache.

The second it cut, his eyes turned red, heart clenching at his name from her mouth, a sound he thought he'd never hear again. "Play it again" the look on his face a silent plea.

"Mr Hooda, I don't think that's a good-" the burning anguish in his eyes enough to quieten her.

"Aditya".

Each syllable hung in the air causing his heart to clench. She had called for him, she had needed him and he wasn't there.

Basak turned to him, his eyes probing and accusatory. "How do you explain this, Aditya?" voice sharp, demanding answers.

Unbidden rage surged through him like wildfire. The pressure of the accusations, the weight of Zoya's final plea, it was all too much to bear. "Excuse me?" He glowered.

Shaking his head, he bit back a laugh "That was your name she called, right? Maybe before you bashed your foot into her skull as she begged you to just stop, just listen, just let her go!"

Aditya's temper flared, his control slipping through his fingers like sand. "How dare you!" he shouted, his voice raw with fury. "You think you know everything, you think you have me all figured out!" The words spilt from his lips like molten lava, burning with the intensity of his rage. At that moment, all sense of reason, all semblance of composure, was lost to the storm of emotion raging within him.

"Mr Hooda" Anushka warned, her hand resting atop his, her touch a balm against the ache of his grief.

Looking between the two, he scoffed "Oh, I see" he ignored the scowl thrown his way. "Banging the lawyer who looks like your wife so she'll keep your little secret, heed my words, Miss Raisinghani, he'll kill you next".

With those words, he'd sealed his fate. In the blink of an eye, Aditya had thrown himself over the desk, lunging for the detective and knocking him to the ground in a flurry of fists.

Everything happened in a haze, the younger man pulled off of him, cuffs slapped on as he was dragged back to his cell, his body loose due to whatever sedative they'd forced into his throat, but his nostrils still flared, his jaw still clenched and his eyes still stared right back at her, head turning to watch her even as he was dragged further and further away.