🔞Caught at Love|| Ishman

Chapter Fourteen

“I was raped as a child….by my omega stepmother."

Ishan didn't know if it was the recent pregnancy or just the mere thought of what Shubman said  but he felt the bile rise at the back of his throat. He watched as Shubman had averted his eyes now, and Ishan could feel it –he wanted to tell him - pushing at the back of his teeth, wanting to come out. Little things he could not have said aloud to anybody before, were finding their way to the surface.

As Shubman’s mind recounted his childhood torment, and as the tears welled up in Ishan's eyes, he reached out instinctively, wrapping his arms around Shubman, offering whatever comfort and solace he could in his embrace. "I'm here for you," Ishan whispered, his voice trembling with emotions.

A sob escaped Shubman's lips as he leaned into Ishan's touch, finding comfort in those arms, trying to hold onto that one person- 

“I thought she liked me initially….but she had just married my father for money." 

Ishan rubbed circles on his back, and didn't dare interrupt because he wanted Shubman to speak, let everything out so that he could feel the tiniest bit less cramped from within. 

“You know, she poisoned my d-dad…my sweet, innocent Dada, he didn't deserve that…he loved her so much..." 

Shubman couldn't help spill a rush of tears, choking on his own words and Ishan just held him tighter, trying to anchor him to the present. 

“Then…when I was crying there, begging and pleading for Dada to not leave me, to wake up, to take me in his lap….she, she, raped me Ishan!” 

Ishan swallowed several times, trying to keep his breathing steady. He couldn't parse out all the things that were churning inside him, but he knew with absolute certainty that they were not things Shubman needed. Right now it was time to be still and listen, to hold out his hands and let him hand over this pain.

"She held me down, with force, over the space beside Dada's dead body in the middle of the room. She had--" Shubman made the vaguest of gestures, "-- one of those straps that ties your limbs so badly, it hurts." He faltered again this time, shut his eyes and was quiet for a brief second.

"I just kept thinking, w-when she had sunk herself down on my…..I wanted to know why…why I was being treated like this and I was disgusted, a-and my father…was right there…and she let out noises….” 

Ishan wanted to throw up, he was having a hard time gripping onto Shubman's body as the man cried out his deepest trauma, fearing to say anything that would make Shubman crawl back into his hard shell again.

“Before, I could pass out, my u-uncle reached there…broke down the door and then, my vision became blurry. He had managed to throw her aside, and I t-think he called the police but I don't remember…..” 

“I was seven….” 

Ishan didn't realize that he was crying along with the Alpha, knowing what he had to go through at such a tender age, and he wanted to potentially murder the person who had caused him such pain and hurt. 

“Is she, in p-prison right now?” And for the first time, Ishan couldn't stop the words from coming out of his mouth.

“She was…my uncle had made sure….but now she is dead, had a heart attack in the jail.” Shubman was not moving anymore, his voice had given up and was as stoic as possible.