Conditions Of Shashank | 18+

Chapter 27: Bruises

*Knock *Knock

"Ishika?"

Ishika is standing with her eyes closed, crying. She has bruises on both knees and one hand from her fall.

*Knock *Knock

"Open the door, Ishika?"

Blood starts to ooze slightly from her knees. Her legs are shaking, she doesn't have the strength to stand.

"Everything will be okay, Ishika."

Her head begins to feel heavy as thoughts flood her mind- Ujjwal will leave her under the pressure of relatives. She can't bear to see Ujjwal drift away from her.

*Knock *Knock

"It's me, your Kumar, Ishika, please open the door."

Hearing "Kumar," Ishika instantly snaps out of her painful thoughts. "Kumar," she whispers.

She quickly opens the washroom door. Ujjwal enters, and Ishika shuts the door behind him.

She hugs Ujjwal tightly and starts crying again. Ujjwal holds her, gently rubbing her back. "Everything will be okay."

"I'll go outside and explain everything to them," Ujjwal says, trying to pull away from the hug, but Ishika shakes her head, refusing.

Ujjwal calls his brother, Anay.

"Hello, Ujjwal, is everything okay?"

"I'm handling things here. Can you please manage things there?"

"Ujjwal, something's not right. I don't believe Ishika could do this," Anay says.

Surbhi whispers to Roshni, "Even after seeing everything, why isn't he believing that Ishika is..."

Ujjwal says, "Listen carefully. All the photos are deepfakes. Someone created them to hurt us. I already filed a complaint."

"Ishika must be shattered. Should I send Swara to comfort her?"

"No, I'll manage. Just tell everyone that the photos are fake and have them delete them from their phones."

"Okay."

Ujjwal ends the call and sends a photo of the complaint he had filed earlier to Anay, so he can show it to everyone.

Ujjwal's shirt is soaked with Ishika's tears.

"I told Anay. He'll explain everything to everyone, and they'll delete the photos," Ujjwal says, caressing her head.

Seeing Ishika stagger, he asks, "What's wrong?"

"I can't stand anymore," she says, her voice breaking.

Hearing her voice, Ujjwal's heart sinks.

"Sit on the commode," Ujjwal suggests.

Ishika shakes her head. Ujjwal understands that she doesn't want to be separated from him, even for a moment.

"I'll sit first, and you sit on me," Ujjwal says.

He sits down, and Ishika sits on his lap, facing him.

Once again, she hugs him tightly, clutching his shirt.

"Look up, Ishika," Ujjwal gently says.

She looks up without breaking the hug. Her eyes are wet and weak. The kajal around her eyes has smudged, and her hair is disheveled.

Ujjwal wipes away her tears. He can't bear to see her like this. He kisses her forehead.

"Am I a burden to you?" she asks, her voice shaking.

"No, Ishika," Ujjwal replies, wiping the smudged kajal from around her eyes.

Ishika gulps.

"Do you love me, Kumar?" she asks, still sobbing softly.

"Yes," Ujjwal replies, fixing her messy hair.

She rests her head on Ujjwal's chest again.

Ujjwal unbuttons three buttons of his shirt and tucks Ishika's head inside, not wanting her to inhale the washroom's unpleasant smell for too long.

Ishika feels his warmth.

*Notification ring*

"Anay just messaged me. He told everyone the truth, and they've all deleted the photos," Ujjwal says, hoping to ease her pain.

"Hmm," Ishika feels a slight sense of relief.

Meanwhile, Vihaan was watching the chaos unfold. He recorded a video and sent it to the person who had asked him to.

He wasn't expecting anything in return, as he just wanted to see Ujjwal suffer. But his joy knew no bounds when he received a message from the bank.

"3 lakh rupees." His eyes widened.

His eyes moved to the top of his phone screen as another message popped up: "Want more? Do as I say."

Vihaan smirked.

Anay, Swara, and their uncle wanted to see Ishika and give her strength, but for now, they left everything in Ujjwal's hands.

"I'm sorry, Ishika. I can't fight Shashank."

Ishika pulls her head out from under his shirt and looks up at his face.

"He's a renowned merchant with many people working for him. He has a lot of power. We have no choice but to face what he does to us. I can't fight him, Ishika," Ujjwal says apologetically.

"Don't apologize, kumar. He misunderstood the situation, and it's not your fault," Ishika says, cupping his cheek.

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