A Bond Of Intellect

Chapter - 22

As they entered the classroom, Riti sat down at her seat, squeezed her hands together, and became lost in thought. Kavya noticed her gloomy expression and said, "You should be celebrating! You got first place, and why are you sitting there looking so sad?"

Riti didn't respond, and Kavya was about to speak again when the professor in charge of the competition interrupted, saying, "Riti Singh, please come to the deputy dean's office." Riti stood up from her chair and followed the professor to the office.

As she entered, she saw the old man, Mr. Pur, sitting in front of the deputy dean's table. Her heart froze at the sight of him, and she felt a wave of disgust wash over her.

The deputy dean spoke, "Congratulations, Riti. Mr. Pur here has taken a liking to your art and wants to meet you to discuss something." Riti thanked him, trying to hide her unease.

Mr. Pur then spoke, "Oh yes, I had asked you if you wanted to pursue a career in this field, and I didn't get your answer." Riti felt a surge of fear, but she was relieved that the deputy dean was present.

She replied, "No, sir, I don't want to pursue a career in that field."

The old man, Mr. Pur, replied, "But you have enough talent for that." He offered Riti several options for pursuing a career in the field, but she denied each one. The deputy dean noticed that Mr. Pur was forcing Riti and intervened, saying, "Let it go, Mr. Pur. She doesn't want to do it, so let it go."

Mr. Pur said, "Well, fine then. There's something I want to tell you more about art. How about a walk outside?" Riti felt scared and didn't know what to say. She knew she couldn't deny the request, and the deputy dean also encouraged her to join Mr. Pur. Riti reluctantly agreed and walked behind him.

Mr. Pur stopped and said, "Come beside me, why are you walking behind?" in a cheap tone. Riti slowly moved beside him, maintaining a safe distance. As they walked, Mr. Pur boasted about himself, but Riti didn't listen, focusing on protecting herself.

She noticed Mr. Pur's hands moving towards hers, and she quickly created distance between them. When she realized they had walked far from the others, Mr. Pur grabbed her hand with both of his and said, "I really want you to become my student. That's why I was forcing you. I've never seen talent like yours before."

As Mr. Pur's hands moved towards her face, Riti pushed him away and said, "W-wait, sir... Let me go get my pen for your autograph..." Her voice cracked, and she felt like crying. She quickly ran away, tears falling from her eyes, her body trembling, and her vision blurring.

Riti wiped her tears and ran to the classroom, relieved that Mr. Pur didn't have the strength to chase her. She reached her seat, and Kavya noticed her distressed face, asking, "What's wrong, Riti? Did something happen?" As she heard it , Riti broke down, sobbing uncontrollably.

Kavya asks to, riti so many times about what happened, but Riti didn't replied anything, just crying with sobbing, as kavya don't see any more solutions.

She quickly covered Riti's face with her scarf, grabbed her hand, and took her to Evan's office. Kavya knocked, and a voice said, "Come in." Kavya entered with Riti, who had her head hung low, tears falling to the ground. Evan looked up from his register and asked, "What happened?"

As Evan saw Riti's face covered with a scarf and her tears falling to the ground, he became worried and stood up from his chair. He turned to Kavya and asked, "What happened to her?" Kavya replied, "I don't know, sir. She's not saying anything."

Evan approached Riti, gently lifting the scarf to see her face. He then said to Kavya, "Thanks, you can go now." Kavya left, and Evan cupped Riti's face in his hands, asking softly, "Tell me, why are you crying? What happened to you?"

Riti's tears fell even harder, and she didn't have the strength to speak. Instead, she grabbed Evan's one hand tightly with both of hers, holding on as if she would never let go. Evan's expression turned concerned.

With one hand, Evan gently touched Riti's face and asked again, "What happened?" But Riti's situation remained the same, and she couldn't bring herself to speak. Seeing her distress, Evan led her to his chair and made her sit down, still holding her hand.

He took out his handkerchief and wiped her face, which was covered in tears. However, he realized it was no use, as Riti's trembling figure showed no signs of calming down. Evan's concern grew, and he decided to take her home.

He gently covered her face with the scarf again and said, "If you don't want to tell me now, then let's go home." Holding her hand tightly, he led her out of his office through the back door, which allowed them to avoid meeting anyone else.

In the parking area, Evan stopped and said, "Stand there, I'll bring the car here." Riti remained standing, waiting for Evan to return with the car.

Riti's eyes were fixed on the ground, and she didn't notice someone approaching her. As she saw the figure in front of her, her heart seemed to stop. Mr. Pur, the old man, was standing in front of her, saying, "Oh my dear! What a coincidence, we meet again. I thought you were going to come for an autograph, but you never came."

As Mr. Pur spoke, his hands moved to touch Riti's face. Just as he was about to make contact, someone snapped his hand back hard. Riti felt relieved to see Evan return, his expression furious. "Move your hands away from her," Evan warned.

Mr. Pur became angry, saying, "How dare you do this? Who are you? Move aside, I'm talking to her." Evan's anger intensified as he noticed Riti hiding behind him, and he guessed the situation. "She's not interested in talking to you," Evan said, trying to lead Riti away.

But Riti grabbed Evan's arm, stopping him. She looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears, and said sobbingly, "H-he... touched me h-here and here t-too, and then h-he..." She showed Evan the areas where Mr. Pur had touched her, and broke down in tears.

Evan quickly pulled the scarf down over Riti's face, shielding her from the scene. He led her to the car, locked her in, and then confronted Mr. Pur. Evan grabbed Mr. Pur's collar from behind, slapped him hard across the face, and continued to hit him until his face was battered and bloody.

Fortunately, Evan controlled himself when he heard Riti yelling from behind, begging him to stop. He called his friend , suresh who is also professor at the college, asking him to handle the situation, and then returned to the car. Riti had never seen Evan's that much anger before, and she felt scared, wondering if he would take it out on her. As they drove away, Riti could sense Evan's still furious.