Revenge of A Butterfly

Part 5: Flashback pt 2

Singhal cursed Mir for leaving his gun in the room. She slowly moved towards him with predatory eyes, not missing any movement from him. She knew how to use the gun since she had seen her father keeping it for safety purpose. Singhal rose from his seat and walked towards her. Initially he tried coaxing her in returning the gun but when she didn't deter, he started asking for her forgiveness. Not only that he blamed everything on Mir. He stopped when he was at an arms distance with her. He literally fell on his knees in front of her crying, keeping an eye on her. That was when another room opened and she removed her eyes to see if it was Rhea.

Just for a moment!

And she did not even realize what had happened, just that she heard a gunshot and then a pain pierced through her. Singhal had launched at her, snatching the gun and shooting her at the same time.

Rhea on the other hand was lying on the bed, lifeless. She heard the gunshot at far distance but could not comprehend. But then all of a sudden, she was scared that it was her parents who might have been shot. She tried getting up but winced in extreme pain that she was feeling between her legs. She half ran, half fell down, ignored the deadly pain and went out of the room just to find Kaya's bloody lifeless body on the floor.

"If you want to live, better not talk about it. Forget whatever has happened. But remember that your parents are still here. You can save their lives too." Mir howled at her.

She fell down and cried bitterly and fainted. She did not know how she reached home. She woke up with nightmares and found Rish next to her, trying to soothe her. Initially she felt it was a nightmare but pain in almost every part of her body brought her back to reality. She was not only ruined completely but had also witnessed a murder, in a way though. Seeing Rish made her cry her heart out. He was holding her in his arms, sobbing and soothing her. None of them uttered a word for long time but her eyes kept wandering in the house just to see if her parents are back and safe. After sometime, they also appeared with their eyes red and swollen.

At one side she was relieved knowing that her parents were safe, another part of her was filled with hatred and disgust but equally scared. As soon as she realized that she was raped, she shrunk back, feeling revulsed about herself, her own body and every bit of her own existence. She felt like she had been stung by various nauseating insects and still could feel them. She wanted to drown herself so deep so that she wouldn't be able to feel anything any longer. Rishab tried touching her but she just shifted back more, not seeing the hurt that had flashed his face. No one said a single word. All four of them just sat and cried.

Later that day, Kaya's father, Mr. Sethi came looking for his daughter. Usually she stayed overnight at friends' so he was not much worried. But when she had not called neither picked his call, he had called each of his friends asking for her. When he did not get any clue, he finally turned up at Rhea's.

Rhea's father made sure that they were out of the earshot of his family and Rhishab. He told him briefly about the "accident" that had happened and Mr Sethi collapsed right on the floor, not believing that the persons who were acquainted with him raped and murdered his only child. After gaining his compose, he was filled with rage. Instead of sitting and crying, he declared that he would file charges against them. He also tried convincing Rhea to support since she was the only witness and a victim too. He assured her of her family's safety as well and she agreed.

When she went for a bath and did not come out for some time, her mother went to check on her. She almost screamed Rhea's name and both her father and Rish came rushing. They were shocked to see that she had scratched herself to bleed, crying and still scratching vigorously. They all tried stopping her but she kept crying:

"It's not going. It's not going Rish, it's not going.. That loathing touch and feel..." And then she collapsed again.

After that they made sure that her mother would always accompany her to bathroom every time. They also made sure that she was not left alone any moment whether she was sleeping or just awake. Rishab had refused to leave her side at all and did not even go to his own house. Instead, he had brought a few of his important things at Rhea's place itself. They did not want to lose her.

But after a week of filing the case in court, her parents had to be shifted to another place for security purpose as Mr. Sethi had promised them. He had filed a case against Singhal and Mir. Not wanting to leave Rhea alone, Rish decided to move in with her completely, after getting the permission from her parents.

It took almost another 15 days for her to become a little normal but she still stayed within the walls of her room. It was a good thing that the horrible incidence had not given any disastrous fruit. She was not pregnant which she was thankful to God. Meanwhile Rish tried to boost her confidence and moral every day. For a few days he had helped her with everything, bathing her, dressing her, feeding her, tucking her to bed and snuggling her to sleep. Though he did not utter a word, every night he needed to take cold shower and he felt guilty for that. The worst part was he used to make fun of her when he would tease her earlier:

"Mark my word baby, you would cry my name when it would be our first time." He had never expected this. She did cry, still is crying but it is because of pain, hatred and disgust. His train of thoughts was stopped abruptly when he heard her:

"I still feel their hands crawling all over my body Rish. Whatever I do, it does not budge at all. What should I do?"

He felt her pain knowing that he would have to take his ultimate step now.

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What else the innocent Rhea has to face?

She seems to be quite lucky having Rishab at her side.