Pooja
I knew no one was going to love and care for me, but I never thought I would be ruined like this. I always wanted my father’s attention, love, and care. I was waiting for that day, but I never imagined I would face something like this. I wished it were a dream—a dream I never wanted to live again. I couldn't move my body, and my tears wouldn't stop.
I wanted to open my eyes, but my body wouldn't cooperate. However, I could feel someone lifting me up in a bridal style. I was in strong arms.
I wanted to see him, but I was dizzy. Then, it felt like I was in a car, held tightly in someone's possessive embrace.
In the evening:
I slowly opened my eyes, but everything was dim and unclear. I tried to rub my eyes and opened them again, only to find myself in a different place that was not a hotel room but someone’s home.
“What is this place? What am I doing here?” Fear gripped me. And as I tried to get up, a sharp pain between my legs brought tears in my eyes. The events of last night revolved in my mind. it was all real.
After sometime, I pushed myself to sit up on the bed. Everything around me was beautiful and expensive. The bed I sat on was cozy, and there was a big-screen TV. My eyes landed on my own body, noticing that I was dressed in a man's T-shirt and pants. He had torn all my clothes, so whose clothes were these? And how did I end up here? It seemed he had abandoned me. My heart started racing as I realized I could go home. I needed to run away before encountering any other problems. But first, I had to find a way out.
Hissing in discomfort, I started walking toward the door, using the beautiful wall for support, until a voice caught my attention. I got scared and turned to look around, but there was no one. The sound was coming from the TV, which was playing a video. It wasn’t a program but CCTV camera footage.
“How did this TV suddenly turn on by itself?” I asked myself in panic and took a closer look at the footage. What I saw blew all my fear from my heart. There was a man in the footage, and he was none other than my father!
“Dad!” I called out with tears in my eyes, momentarily forgetting all my pain. How could Dad be here? How did he know I was here? Looking carefully, it seemed like the living room footage. I immediately rushed out of the room, ignoring the pain. I couldn't contain my happiness at the thought of seeing Dad. Now I would be able to go back home. I would see my mom and my sister. Strangely, there was no one in the big house, and I felt like a lost lamb.
My heart sank. How could I find Dad? He was there for me, but what if he couldn’t find me? What would I do if he left, thinking I wasn’t there? That’s when I heard someone talking, and the voice was none other than my father’s. My eyes snapped in that direction, and I started following the voice.
Running towards the voice, I saw stairs leading to my father sitting on a sofa, talking to someone. Seeing him filled me with joy, and I ran to him. He stood up, seeing me from a distance, and I hugged him tightly, feeling secure. Overwhelmed with emotion, I cried like a lost child reunited with their parents.
"Dad, I want to go home, please take me home. I want to see mom," I said through my sobs, unable to control my emotions. It felt like I hadn't seen him in years. I just wanted to go home. I waited for him to ask what happened, but he said nothing. I looked up at his face. He stood like a statue, not moving, staring behind me. I wondered what he was looking at.
Then I turned my gaze to where my father was watching. Behind me was a sofa, and there sat the man who had ruined me, destroyed me last night. Seeing him made my whole body cold, and I trembled with fear. Why was he here? He sat on the sofa like a king, watching us with displeased eyes. Terror filled my heart as the memory of the previous night flooded back. I cried and hid my face in my father's chest, clutching his shirt tightly and shutting my eyes.
"Please, Dad, take me away. I want to leave this place. Please…" I sobbed, trembling.
But strangely, Dad remained mute as if oblivious to my pitiful condition. Why wasn't he asking why I was crying and why I was here? His ignorance made me nervous. “Dad…” I held his hands, hoping to get his attention, and looked into his eyes. When I held his hands, he looked at me, but his face remained expressionless.
"Dad, why are you not saying anything? What happened? Let’s go," I said, tears in my eyes. He continued to look at me with the same statue-like expression. Suddenly, I heard a voice that sent chills down my spine. I knew who was speaking. I looked towards him in fear.
"Not now, angel. Or should I say you can never go anywhere?" he smirked at me and then turned his gaze toward my dad. I was stunned by his audacity to say such a thing in front of my father, but Dad still did not speak. Why?
"I think you know me, and if you don't, I am Gabriel Dominic Valentine. I will not beat around the bush. I want your daughter," his voice was low yet sent chills down my spine. "And here I am not asking you, I am telling you that I am taking your daughter," he declared to my dad. My heart filled with anger.
"No, my Dad will never give me to you!" I screamed. I was not an object. I was a human being.
He chuckled and said to Dad, "You have only one choice: either you take your daughter or the money I'm offering you, because whether you give her to me or not, I will definitely take her. It’s your choice. Do you want my money or your daughter? Let me tell you one thing: if you choose your daughter, it’s impossible because she is mine, and you will be poor your whole life." Listening to him, my eyes widened. He openly threatened my father.
"When will I get the money?" Dad asked him.
I looked at Dad in disbelief. He was asking for something in return? It meant he was going to leave me with this beast. He was going to sell me for money. I must be dreaming, right? This could not be true.
Unknown to me, Gabriel loved seeing me stunned; he was getting what he wanted by breaking me. Suddenly, a man appeared from behind him carrying two large black bags. He placed the bags on the table and stood beside Gabriel. I recognized him as the man who had pushed me into the hotel room.
"This is 10 crore, and the rest of the money will be transferred to your account. I have already taken her virginity, and now she is mine. You have made the right decision; otherwise, you would have lost money and spent your whole life in poverty again," he said arrogantly, looking at me.
Did he just admitted to my father he had taken my virginity? When I was in a moment of shock, dad let go of my hand.
“Dad…” I watched in disbelief as he unzipped the bags, checked the money, and picked them up. And then without saying a word, he started to leave. For a moment, I couldn't understand what had just happened. Was he really taking the money and leaving me here? “DAD!” I grabbed his hand tightly, “Don’t leave me here. He is a beast. He ruined my honor. Please don’t leave me here. How can you leave me here? I am your daughter. I want to go home. I want to see Mom and Di.” I cried, desperatly and heartbroken.
I thought he was here to take me with him, but it wasn’t true. He was leaving me to him. He was selling me for money.
“What evidence do you have that he raped you?” Dad questioned.
“What?” my eyes winded in shock.
My own father asked me for the evidence of my rape? How could I prove my innocence? How can a father ask his daughter evidence of her rape?
“Why don’t you believe me?” my eyes stuck in my eyes, my mouth gaped wide.
“If I take you back, I will lose this money and you will be a shame to our family. How will I face this society? What will I tell them? How will you justify your shameless act? After this, no one will marry you. You will be a burden on me as always. How will I show my face to people?”
“What a shameless act? My whole life was destroyed, but Dad was blaming me? His questions made me feel dirty as if I was some kind of dirt. However, I still could not let go of his hand.
‘Zain, send Mr. Sinha back to his home safely,’ he ordered.
Zain gestured to my father, who shoved my hand away and turned to leave, leaving me stunned. My heart dropped into my stomach. It was not real. Dad could not do this to me. He could not abandon his daughter.
‘DAD!’ I called him, but he did not turn around, just like he always did. He never looked back at me, nor did he smile at me. I always hoped that in this lifetime he would do it once.
I begged him to turn and look at me once, but he just never did. Helplessly, I raised my legs, ready to run, when suddenly a pair of strong arms grabbed my waist from behind—it was him.
"Let me go… Please, let me go… He is going, please… let me go…" I struggled, but it was useless.
He didn't let me go. I shouted like a crazy person, but he held me tightly. I sobbed uncontrollably as Dad left me in an unknown place with strangers, disappearing from sight. I cried, realizing he had abandoned me to this beast. I stopped struggling and just cried, questioning if this was real. My family had abandoned me when I needed them most. Dad sold me to my rapist.
“Don’t cry, angel. I hate your tears. Only I can give you those tears. Your tears are mine. You can't cry for someone else; I won’t allow it,” he whispered in my ear. His words scared me more and more, and I started crying badly. “This is your reality, angel. You have no one. Nowhere to go. I am the only one for you. You are mine,” he said, rubbing his nose on my neck. His words made me angry.
“If this is reality, I don't like it. Even if I have no one and nowhere to go, I will never come to you. I would rather die than be yours,” I said, wiping my tears and pushing him. Somehow, I found the courage, but my statement made him angry. He walked toward me angrily as I backed away.
“Don’t you dare push me or talk to me like that. You are mine, and I can do anything I want to you. No one can stop me. When I say you are mine, you are mine. Got that?” he said, gripping my waist and hair tightly. It hurt, and he waited for my answer. I nodded yes, and he let go.
“Now sign these papers,” he ordered, handing them to me. I stared at him, refusing to take them. He moved closer, insisting I sign. As I read the papers, my eyes widened in shock. He watched me, seemingly reading my face.
“No, I won’t sign,” I cried, throwing the papers on the floor. He gritted his teeth, tightening his grip on my hair. I cried out in pain.
“Do you know what I hate the most? The word ‘NO’. It hurts my ego, and you’ve already hurt it before. If you do this again, the consequences will be worse.” The papers were marriage documents, a marriage I feared and loathed. He wanted me to sign, to lose myself to him completely. Marriage was a nightmare. How could I sign this? He asked again, but I refused. His eyes turned red with anger. I feared he would beat me, but instead, left me.
“Oh, so you’re challenging me? I hate challenges. Let’s see who wins.” He smirked and called his man. Fear gripped me. Had I really challenged him? What would he do? If he was going to kill me, I was ready. A man in a black coat approached, standing like a statue, eyes downcast. “Kill her whole family,” he ordered, emotionless, as if it were normal. My eyes widened. He had just ordered my family's death and then sat on the sofa. The man nodded and left. Terror struck me. I didn’t care if he killed me, but not my family. I ran toward him.
“NO… please don’t! Stop him, please!” I begged, but he ignored me. I dropped to my knees, pleading, but he didn’t relent. He wasn’t joking—he would really kill my family.
“I’ll do anything you say. I’ll sign the papers, but please stop him,” I begged again. This time, he listened.
"Stop," he ordered, and his man immediately stopped and left.
He watched me cry nonstop. I had done what I shouldn't have—I agreed with him. He won, and I lost myself. Sitting on the floor, crying hard, he lifted my chin with his index finger and handed me the paper and pen. I stared at the paper. Signing it would make him my husband, giving him complete control over me. I'd never be able to escape, but I had to sign for Mom and Di. They deserved a happy life. Suddenly, he came closer.
"Don't let your tears drop on the paper, angel. Otherwise, I'll need new papers, and I'm very impatient for my things," he whispered seductively in my ear. Understanding his message, I moved away and, crying, signed my death certificate in the form of a marriage certificate.
"Now you're legally my wife, and don't even think about trying to escape, or there will be consequences," he snarled, snatching the paper from my hand and threatening me. Placing the papers on the table, he began advancing toward me. I instinctively moved back, but he pulled me into his chest.
"You were incredible in bed last night. I want to taste you again. Come with me," he demanded, pulling me closer.
His words filled me with dread, and I closed my eyes, terrified of his proximity. My heart raced in fear as he gripped my wrist tightly and started dragging me upstairs. Panic set in. Where was he taking me? Was he going to do that to me again? I struggled to break free, but his grip was relentless. My whole body ached, and suddenly dizziness overwhelmed me. I was losing control of my body and mind.
Then, unexpectedly, he stopped and lifted me in his arms, carrying me back toward the room I had come from. It felt like I was being dragged back into hell.