The Girl With the Red Scarf | ✔️ [DriKshit]

The Aftermath

RAKSHIT'S POV

As Mrs. Gupta walked out of the room, her face set in a fierce expression, followed by her coward of a husband and shameless son, I realized the gravity of what I had done. Back then, it had seemed like a spur of the moment thing, but now, the sincerity of my action hit me, hard. What have I done? Divya was still gaping, but mom's expression had turned grave. I could feel the air in the room getting heavier. But Drishti was still staring blankly at the floor, unaffected by what had just happened.

~ "Rakshit! Sindoor is not a joke! What did you do?!"

I remained silent. Mom walked upto me, but I was unable to meet her eyes.

~ "I know that if you hadn't done what you did, Mrs. Gupta would be spreading the dirt on Drishti's name as soon as she left, but did you even ask Drishti?! - Marriage is an agreement between two people, Rakshit - have you asked Drishti what she wants?!"

I continued to stare at the floor.

~ "Drishti? -"

Drishti turned and blinked, the blank in her eyes masked by what looked like anger.

She marched upto me and grabbed my collars, pulling my face towards her.

~ "Why did you do this - Rakshit - why?"

Her voice was sore.

~ "Why?! Didn't you see the message? He will destroy every one I have ever loved - I - you should stay away from me - why did you do this? Can't you understand this simple thing - I can't afford to lose you."

I was dumbstruck. She wasn't angry because I married her without her permission, but she was angry because she didn't want to lose me.

Divya's mouth hung wider and mom went silent.

Drishti was crying.

Not caring about what mom or Divya thought, I pulled Drishti closer to me, embracing her tightly. I tucked a strand of stray hair behind her ear and whispered into her smooth skin.

~ "Drishti, I will always be there with you, no matter what -"

She clutched at my jacket tighter, burying her head into my chest.

Mom coughed slightly. Drishti immediately pulled apart, dabbing at her eyes with the back of her hand.

~ "What was Mrs. Gupta doing here - what the hell?"

Sikhar gaped as widely as Divya, cut off mid sentence by the sight of sindoor in Drishti's parting. He looked at me and then at Drishti, making the connections.

~ "Why? How? When?!"

~ "I will explain later. Did you - er did you identity -?"

The colour drained from his face. Were the corpses this bad?

~ "Yes, bhai, I did all the formalities. I don't think there is any need of bringing the bodies home, we can just arrange for a small memorial service."

~ "Yeah, sure - umm -"

Mom spoke up before I could finish.

~ "We can discuss these later. For now, I think we should go home. And Drishti, Divya will come with us. It is not safe for them to stay here - alone. Er - as far as I saw - Drishti might have accepted this marriage, so she can - er - move into Rakshit's room if she wants. We can open the guest room for Divya. Yeah, come, I will help you two pack your things."

Mom guided Drishti and Divya out of the room.

~ "Bhai, how did this happen?"

I narrated to him the entire incident which had lead to this sudden marriage.

~ "No wonder Mrs. Gupta was behaving like a bull."

But there was no amusement on his face.

~ "Bhai, it was horrible, the corpses were beyond recognition... I am just - just glad that Divya and Drishti didn't have to see them..."

~ "I know."

~ "But what about Aakash, bhai? We cannot leave him in the open - god knows who else he will try to harm -"

~ "I know. But what can we do? We can't contact the police, he will bribe them. But as long as he is free, Divya and Dristi are not safe - he will try to -"

Even the thought of Aakash harming Drishti made my insides churn. No, I would never let this happen.

~ "What should we do bhai?"

~ "The least yet the most we can do now is keeping our eyes open and staying on the safe side."

~ "But what if he makes a move bhai?"

~ "I don't know, Sikhar... My brain is not working... All of this - this happened too fast..."

~ "Rakshit, Sikhar, we are ready to go. Divya, you go with Sikhar in his car. And I will come with Rakshit and Drishti."

Mom peeked in through the door of the living room, carrying two similar looking bags.

Drishti and Divya looked sick at the idea of travelling in a car, but there was nothing we could do now. As I proceeded towards the main door of the Sharma house, I wondered if it was the last time I would be seeing it.

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Sorry for this short and boring chapter, but I promise that interesting twists are upcoming. Also, I might be a little inactive from nowadays 'cause my exams are approaching and also am not feeling quite well. But updates will be there! So, stay tuned!