When The Heart Lies | ✓

[35]

Sakshi stepped ahead with her eyes stoned on him. She could see the discomfort on his face. There was a very raw emotion there in his eyes that she concluded, someone really had never asked him this question before.

"I have seen you shirtless before, Shrey. Those marks weren't there before." She whispered, staring at him in confusion.

He gulped, looking away as he shook his head. "Just some allergy from beach sites," he said while turning around.

"Shut up."

He raised his eyebrows, halting his steps immediately. He turned around to look back at her and sighed when he saw curiosity rising in her eyes along with worry.

"Remember, the trip to water park." She reminded him in a shaky voice. "We had spent a whole day. I remember for sure, that you were all clean. And these marks don't even look like tan lines that you are making up."

Shrey clenched his jaws, fisting his hands while staring at her. "Trust me, you wouldn't want to know this."

She swallowed, turning around. "Fine," she muttered while running hands through her wet strands. "But know that, they look bad. Really bad."

He blinked slowly, inhaling a large amount of air as he watched her walking towards the mirror and picking her hair brush.

"Sakshi, please don't mind it. I don't want you to symp. . ." She gave him a straight look which said that she didn't want to hear any excuses. Shrey's mouth shut in disbelief as she ignored him knowingly. "Sakshi. . ."

She combed her hair slowly, not looking at him. "Good night, Shrey."

So, she was really mad at him. Shrey gritted his teeth while walking in her room, shutting the door behind him, making her eyes-wide.

She turned her head at him. "What are you doing?"

He clenched his jaws and breathed, finally deciding to explain, "The marks are from the beatings."

She stared at him in shock. Putting the brush back on the drawer, she shook her head in disbelief. "What?"

Shrey smiled humorlessly, discomfort shown clearly on his face as he further described, "I have told you how they trapped me in the flat. They tied me up and did things. . ."

He blinked and breathed hard, his eyelids trembling as he shook his head. "Bad things."

Sakshi stepped ahead, looking at him in horror as his words were making the worst images in her mind. She observe his struggle when he whispered, "It's not easy to put them in words."

His nostrils flared as his eyes turned glossy, making her gasp. Sakshi immediately held his hand, tugged on it. "First, sit down." She squeezed his hand after sitting beside him on the bed. "If you can't, then don't. I understand."

He didn't meet her eyes. "No, you don't." His jaw ticked as he looked up at the ceiling, remembering the horrors of that night.

"After getting me all drunk to a level that I didn't have energy left in my arms to stop them from holding me, they tied me to a chair. Ropes all around me just like happen in movies," he lowered his tone so Aarush won't hear from the other room.

"I remember all the things because the intoxication was gone the moment, Vikas slapped me hard. His brother-in-law came from the main door, picked this big iron rod from behind the door while Myra tore her sleeves, and did all that shit to frame me. Then, the men finally began."

Sakshi's heart stopped when she felt his hand shaking in her hold. She listened to him carefully with teary eyes as he spoke, "Vikas began with here." He pointed at his temple.