"Please... please help me, he is selling me, please help me," she cried out to him, her voice cracking with desperation.
Rudra said nothing at first. His eyes fixed on her tear-streaked face .
"Shaadi karogi mujhse?" he asked, his tone flat, unreadable.
(Will you marry me?)
She just looked at him, frozen, her lips parted but unable to speak.
"Shaadi kar lo mujhse. Bacha loonga tumhe," he said again, voice steady and emotionless.
(Marry me. I'll save you.)
She stared at him, still mute, unable to decide what was worse.
Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed across the road. Another man came running, panting heavily, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he called out to her.
"Aakhir mil hi gayi tu!" he exclaimed, a mix of relief and fury etched across his face.
(Finally, I found you)
She turned slowly, horrified to see the face she thought she had escaped. Her husband.
He reached out for her hand, but she flinched.
"Chal, tera naya maalik tera intezaar kar raha hai," he said coldly.
(Come, your new owner is waiting for you.)
She took a step back instinctively as he advanced. The pain in her heart was louder than any scream.
"Kya daam lagaya hai iska?" Rudra asked, stepping between them.
(How much did you price her for?)
Her husband raised a brow, confused. "Kya?"
(What?)
Rudra remained still, his voice low and steady. "Jitna daam lagaya hai, usse das guna zyada doonga. Bech do isse mujhe."
(Whatever price you set for her, I'll give you ten times more. Sell her to me.)
Her hand trembles when she is about to sign the marriage papers. The very mention of the word marriage reminds her of her past, her first marriage.
She had not even peacefully come out of her previous toxic marriage and she is pushing herself into the same hell again.
But then fighting with her thoughts, she takes a deep breath and signs the marriage papers and a tear comes out of her eyes as she is not ready to face again all that she faced in her previous marriage.
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
" Never forget, the day you break even a single rule of this marriage, I will divorce you and after that you know the consequences." He says after signing their marriage papers
And his heart feels heavy as he says these insensitive words to her because after getting her he cannot even think of divorcing her, Divorcing her, isn't even the last thing he would do but still he has no other option except putting this condition before her.
And there after hearing his words she looks at him with her blank eyes.
Book start : 25.01.2025