39b - An absurd threat(S2)

At that moment, his phone rang. Without looking at the screen, he answered, his voice impatient. "Yes!"

"I found Ma'am's location," came the calm yet urgent voice on the other side.

"Send it to me," Prithvi replied tersely, his eagerness making his words sharp and fast.

As the phone screen lit up with the message, he sat back, gripping the steering wheel tightly.

He was still quite far from his wife.

And to prithvi That distance between him and his wife felt unbearable.

His breath hitched as he whispered, as if pleading to the universe, “Please don’t die on me… please don’t get hurt.” His eyes flickered between the road ahead and the glowing screen.

"N..o..o! Pl..e..ease co..me," Niharika whispered to herself, hiding with pressing her back against the damp, grimy wall near a pile of waste. Her body trembled uncontrollably, her lips quivering, nostrils flaring as she sniffled.

A few loose strands of hair fell into her vision, blurring her already hazy sight. With the back of her hand, she brushed them away, then hugged her arms around herself, hands gripping her knees tightly. She tried to steady herself, forcing her body into a stable position, trying to calm her racing heart.

She didn’t want to feel this hopeless. She didn’t want to break again, not in this suffocating, unwelcome air. The cold wind lashed against her skin, making her shiver as if the very atmosphere was against her survival. She felt like she was choking—not just from fear but from the weight of ragged reality.

A reality that existed because of him.

She didn’t want to rely on Prithvi. She didn’t want to be rescued by him. But what choice did she have? He was the only one who knew where she was—where he had left her.

Yet, despite everything, somewhere deep inside, she felt something else. A pull. A desperate need. She was no longer just scared for her life—she was desperate to know the truth.

Her heart pounded, not from the fear of dying, but from the words that had shaken her entire existence.

"You are not his subject."

That single sentence had shifted everything inside her. What did her father mean? If Prithvi never truly owned her, if there was no business deal that bound her to him, then why was she here? Why had he done this to her?

She wanted answers.

What exactly was her father saying?

Her mind had once been occupied with thoughts of escape, even death. But now, a different thought consumed her—a hunger for answers. Not because she wanted to believe Prithvi was something she could love, but because she needed to know her own worth.

She couldn't stomach the thought of dying while feeling owned by someone else. She had always been proud of herself, independent.

Niharika refused to die as someone’s possession.

She refused to let this story end pathetically. Now, she saw the light of a new possibility.

'Now, finally, he has brought me to this climax,' she thought, her breath slow and controlled, making herself as silent as possible to avoid being detected.

But why?

Why had Prithvi done all this to her? If her father never made any deal with him, then for what?

Frustration churned inside her, hot and blinding. He had let her be objectified, let her suffer. For what?

Her father’s words were replayed in her mind, the ones she had barely been able to hear over the chaos. She clenched her dress tightly, forcing herself to focus.

"Niharika, he never made any deal… he didn’t ask me… listen carefully! Now—"

The memory cut off.

Her breathing grew heavier. What was her father trying to tell her?

Gritting her teeth, she tried to focus on her father's words.

She had to know. She had to survive long enough to find out.

"Tell me your location! He was never interested in my business. He never cared about acquiring any leading position in my company. He just did that—"

The words cut off.

She couldn't make out anything after that.

Why had he played hard with everyone? She tried to focus again, but her freezing body and dulled senses couldn't process any more information. For a moment, she felt utterly useless. Why had she dropped her phone? Why had she forced herself to hear half of the conversation when she couldn't hear all of it?

I need to hear it again. I need to know.

A feverish rush overtook her, her entire body buzzing with desperate energy. She didn’t want to die—not yet. Not when there was a chance, even the smallest one, that the truth was on her side. Even if she hadn’t fully heard the words, she wanted to believe they were real.

She had to know the whole truth herself. And for that, she had to face Prithvi.

She couldn’t just disappear into history without understanding why she was trapped in this cruel fate.

The urge to survive grew stronger. It wasn’t just a simple matter anymore—he had caged her soul. He had reduced her to something she didn’t even recognize. His slave.

'I feel like he denied everything... I want to hear it one last time,' she thought, feeling a rush of feverish intensity overwhelming her entire being.

'Why?

Why would anyone do that? It wasn’t just for fun. There had to be something more.

Had there been some twisted reason? Some cruel justification? Was there ever a moment he actually liked me?

Or had he only been playing with my fears and insecurities all along?'

She had to confront him. She needed to know what kind of person could be this monstrous.

Her clenched fists loosened, letting go fabric. She exhaled deeply, steadying herself, her wide eyes darting around in panic.

And then—she made a mistake.

Her hand accidentally hit the closed metal shutter of an abandoned shop she was leaning against for support near the sticky. damp. wall.

CLANG.

The loud, hollow sound echoed through the empty alley.

Her blood ran cold.

'No, Niharika! You're dead. Dead meat today,' she thought, panicking.

She hiccupped and quickly slapped her hands over her mouth to muffle herself, her heart thundering in her chest.

That's when she heard it-the sound of heavy soles splashing through muddy water.

Slow. Calculated. Closer.

Her eyes snapped, Through the nearby murky reflection of the puddle, she saw them approaching.

Her mind went completely blank. Her body froze, unresponsive, as one of the men came closer. He extended a hand toward her face, flashing a grotesque smile that revealed yellowish, decayed teeth.

She couldn't move. Not until she felt it. Pain.

A sharp, tearing pain shot through her scalp as his fist twisted into her hair, yanking her upward.

A scream built in her throat, but she clenched her jaw, refusing to give them the satisfaction.

Her nails dug into her palms as she struggled against his grip, but he only chuckled darkly.

“What’s a pretty thing like you doing all alone in the middle of the night?” his voice was sickeningly sweet, laced with mockery.

She glared at him, her chest heaving, but he only tightened his grip, forcing her to tilt her head painfully.

“We just asked a simple question, sweetheart. Why are you running?”

His breath was warm and rancid against her skin.

“You’re making us look bad. We aren’t bad people, you know.”

He smirked, leaning in closer.

“We’re just people of need.” His words dripped with disgust as he leaned closer, forcing eye contact.

Niharika turned her face away, breathing heavily through her nose, trying not to gag.

Her body trembled—not just from pain, but from rage.

She didn’t scream.

She just tried her best to get out of there, enduring the pain as her scalp burned from being yanked so harshly. It felt as if they might rip her hair out at any moment.

She brought both hands up, trying to block him, but the man only gripped her hair tighter and tilted her head back further, forcing her to stop kicking.

Another man grabbed her face, squeezing her cheeks hard. She choked on her breath, her hands flailing wildly.

A muffled "Mffpp!" escaped her lips as as her cheeks were firmly squished.

She felt weak and dropped with her frail body, breathing audibly.

“Are you mute?” he sneered. “Hey, girl, why don’t you speak?”

“Hey! Can’t you talk? Answer!” Another man crouched down to meet her eyes, pausing as he studied her face.

The first man let out a short laugh. “Whoa, are you trying to make us feel guilty? We all saw you talking on the phone just now.”

“By the way… are you rich? Sis” The second man, the one who had paused, now looked her up and down with gleaming, mischievous eyes.

She said nothing. She didn’t deny it, nor did she confirm it.

She had stopped struggling. Her eyes went wide at the wilderness of his question.

The man holding her cheeks squinted and turned to the others before looking back at her.

“Why are you wearing such expensive clothes? Hey, dude don’t they look high-end? Top quality, not a rip-offs.”

“Did you steal them? Are they knock-offs?” Another one reached for the fabric of her draped dupatta, rubbing it between his fingers, and looking more closely at her.

Niharika felt nauseous and moved backward,  pressing her back harder against the cold steel shutter behind her, trying to shrink away from their touches. If they didn’t stop soon, she felt like she’d become one with the shutter—disappear into it.

She felt violated by every touch, even though they didn't directly touch her body, but she could feel the disgusting hands of their from the fabric.

She gulped hard and nodded her head in "no."

What was she supposed to say? She wasn't the one who was rich or loaded with money. It was either her husband or her father. Could she even call herself rich when both had abandoned her?

Did she have the right to?

Before she could think further, one of them grabbed her hair again, yanking her head back.

“Then why are you wearing such simple clothes, but they still look so… different? Don’t try to fool us.” His tone darkened. “We’ve smuggled enough textile shipments to know high-end fabric when we see it.”

The man standing in front of her ran his fingers over the material of her outfit, eyes narrowing. “Dude, doesn’t this feel like real luxury?”

Another one stepped closer, his eyes narrowing as he took in her face.

“Not just her clothes—her skin. Look at her. She’s different.”

Before she could react, he leaned in, inhaling deeply near her neck.

“That expensive smell…” he murmured.

Niharika’s stomach churned in disgust. She pressed herself harder against the shutter, every muscle in her body screaming to get away.

"Are you really rich?" The first man, the one who had interrogated her earlier, yanked her hair again—harder this time.

Niharika's eyes darted between them nervously.

She clenched her jaw, then aggressively nodded "yes."

"Are you loaded in real life?"

She squeezed her eyes shut and nodded again, finally giving in to the pain.

The man let go of her hair.

She gasped for breath, her body sagging forward as she leaned down, eyes still closed.

"Is she joking?" One of them laughed.

Then, the others joined in, their laughter echoing through the empty street.

"Why would a rich girl be wandering around like a homeless person, huh?"

They burst into louder laughter.

Homeless?

Yes… indeed, she felt like one now.

A girl with no true place to belong, no one to claim her, no one to call her own. Abandoned.

She blinked herself back to reality when she realized they were still laughing. Confused, she glanced up at them. What was so funny?

"That means this jewelry is real, huh?" One of them pointed at the simple yet elegant diamond-embellished necklace resting on her collarbone—the one her mother had given her.

She swallowed and gave a small nod.

"How much is it worth? One crore?"

She shook her head.

"Less than that?"

She shook her head again.

"Then how much?"

Slowly, she lifted both hands and spread out her fingers, showing all ten.

"10 crores?!" The man gasped.

She shook her head again, then raised her hands once more, repeating the gesture.

"20 crores?!"

This time, she nodded. Her gaze dropped to the ground.

The men stood frozen for a moment before one of them let out a long whistle.

"Woah… you're wearing something this expensive, all alone on the road?"

A wicked grin spread across one of their faces. Before she could react, a rough hand grabbed the necklace and ripped it from her neck.

A sharp pain shot through her skin. Niharika squeezed her eyes shut, her fingers twitching but powerless to stop them.

One of the men, clutching the expensive piece of jewelry in his trembling hands, suddenly let out a half-hysterical laugh.

then one started crying, talking to himself. "What just happened?This… this is the first time I've ever held something this valuable in my life."