A marriage for revenge

Chapter 9

Anu's head throbbed as she forced her eyes open. For a few seconds, her brain seemed so dysfunctional. She couldn't remember a thing as her eyes roamed the room to figure out where she was. The darkness in the room was adding to her distress.

Where was she?

What time of the day was it?

Her brain deceived her into thinking she was in her room in the orphanage, but the heaviness in her chest kept telling her that something was not right.

Suddenly her eyes widened, remembering the day's event.

The kidnap

Coming to Chennai

Metting Him

She recalled his gruesome words.

Yes, I don't like her, but no, she will not be going anywhere. I have other plans for her, now that she is here..

Did she faint after that?

Oh my God!!

No No. This should be a dream.

A very bad one that she hoped would never happen, but the softness of the bed under her was enough to tell her it wasn't the bed she slept in daily. Her bed was hard as a rock but she was used to it and thanked God for giving her a roof to live on after all the mistakes she'd committed. She never complained about it and, in fact, that was all she needed now. To be back in her room, on that hard lumped mattress.

She looked around for the switch in the room but halted her movements when she found herself chained to the bed. She frantically worked her hands to get herself free from the shackles but a silhouette that was rocking to and fro on a rocking chair stopped her.

She didn't dare to move or, in that case, to even take the next breath.

It was him.

Vinoth

She watched him get up and walk to the nearby wall and winced when the ceiling lights blinded her eyes brutally.

A shiver crawled under her skin when she finally plucked the courage to look up at him. The hateful glare he was giving her made her heart squeeze terribly and her eyes watered on her own.

She could feel her end coming.

He wouldn't kill her though. She was sure of it but he would without a doubt make her life terrible in ways she didn't want to think of.

"Vinoth, I'm sorry.." She whimpered, burying her back into the headboard when she saw him approaching her. He took his time to read her lips.

All she got in reply was a hair-raising chuckle. "Sorry? You don't get to apologize for the crimes you committed."

She tried to gulp down the fear that was clogging her throat. "Please, l-let me g-go.."

"That's not happening. You don't know the damages you have done to people.." He gritted out. "I have been waiting for this day for the past five years so that I could punish you in all the twisted ways possible and now that you are here in front of me, you want me to let you go?" He clicked his tongue, "Not happening, darling.."

Damages

She rememberedVinoth's hearing disability and now she didn't miss the way he had slightly limped toward her.

For so long, Anu had convinced herself that Vinoth would be back to being happy by marrying the love of his life after her confession, but the blazing anger in his eyes told her something completely different.

Looked like she had ruined him in ways she didn't know and now he wanted to punish her for that. She wouldn't blame him if he wanted to because she deserved it all.

"..the damages you have done to people.."

Yes, she had destroyed Vinoth, but she wondered what other damage to people Vinoth was talking about. Anxiety rose in her thinking about whom he was talking about. What else did she not know?

She gasped when she felt Vinoth's hand suddenly coiling around her throat with so much force that the back of her head slammed against the headrest. "You think running away would undo everything you have done. Huh?"

His free hand tugged at her braided hair, making her cry out painfully. "I-It hurts, Vinoth. Please let go.."

"It hurts? Huh? Huh.." He let out a humorless chuckle. "Trust me, this is nothing in front of the kind of pain I'm going to inflict on you.."

As he spoke, he exerted force around Anu's neck, causing her eyes to bulge out of their sockets. Tears began to stream down her eyes when his hand cut all the availability of air into her lungs.

"P-Please.." All she could do was whimper at his hold. She wanted to scream and get away from him, but all her muscles, including her respiratory muscles, felt numb.

"I hate you. I hate you so much.." He hissed.

He looked so satisfied to witness her life slowly draining out of her eyes. Oh how much he wanted to kill her right that moment and dump her body in a lake. But against all his will, he loosened his hold on her.

Killing would be too little of a punishment for her. She deserves more. More than this. More than death.

She gasped loudly, trying to suck up as much air as possible. Her limp body slowly slid and she fell unconscious on the bed.

****

Anu woke up screaming. She panted and tried to catch her breath.

She couldn't recall how long it had been since she had been unconscious, but from her sore back she could tell it was too long.

She hadn't eaten anything since the time she was kidnapped and to say she felt weak would be an understatement.

She wanted to urgently use the washroom but the shackles around her wrist and ankles need to be removed first. Her body trembled thinking about calling Vinoth. She had no idea what he would do to her this time. Breathing in slowly, she tried to calm herself.

She tried to think of something else so that she could prolong the need to attend to nature's call, but it was proving impossible.

She gave up on her fear of facing Vinoth and sat up.

"V-Vinoth.." Her throat felt chapped as she tried to call him.

"Is there anybody?"

"Helloo.."

Just then, a man entered her room and she was quick enough to recognize him as one of the men who was involved in her kidnapping.

He didn't say anything but only c****d his eyebrows questioningly.

"I need to.. use the washroom.." she mumbled self-consciously.

Taking out the keys from his back pocket, he unlocked the shackle from her hands and legs. She immediately walked into the bathroom and locked herself inside.

Once inside, she noticed her skin felt clammy. How long had it been since she was here, she had no idea though. She looked around for an unused toothbrush but when she found none, she used the toothpaste and squeezed some onto her fingers to clean her teeth.

After that, she took a quick shower and got into the same clothes as before. This felt much better.

By the time she came out, she was thankful to the guy for not being around. And to her surprise, there was a plate of food kept on a nearby table. It wasn't anything fancy, just some curd rice with no side dish to go with it, but the food still made her stomach grumble loudly. She didn't waste another minute as she hurriedly picked up the plate and started eating the food with her bare hands.

Finishing the plate, she took time to look outside the window and she learned that she was in an apartment, or maybe a penthouse and it was too high from the road, possibly twentieth or even higher floors.

The room was well-lit by the afternoon sunlight and she noticed that it was plain with beige color on the walls. It looked like nobody lived here at all.

What was this place?

Was it Vinoth's apartment? She didn't remember Vinoth owning an apartment before.

Did he not live in the family mansion anymore?

Was it because of what she did to him? And what about Kaveri? Where was she?

She wanted to talk to Vinoth about so many things. She desperately wanted to know what happened after she left but she was aware she wasn't in a position to ask him anything.

He was so outraged by her presence and why wouldn't he?

Her sins against him were so deep and unfair.

By evening, the man returned to chain her back to the bed and she didn't protest. Probably this was the way Vinoth wanted to punish her and she absolutely wouldn't stop him even if he wanted to punish her for the rest of her life. He had all the right to do so.

The whole day she ideally sat on the bed and walked down her horrible past. Anu was very ashamed of herself. She loathed herself. She should have died that night. Now she regretted more than ever being saved by the sister.

She cried for Vinoth's disability. He was a good athlete during his school and college days in addition to being an amazing football player, and now he is disabled. It was all because of her.

He didn't deserve it. Fresh tears leaked out of her eyes. Crying for a whole day gave her a bad headache at night. She didn't know when she fell asleep on the bed but was startled awake by the loud sound of the door. The room was once again immersed in darkness but Vinoth turned on the lights the next moment he entered the room.

"Look at her!! She's sleeping peacefully after all the trouble she's brought into everyone's life.." He strode forward with his menacing glare on her.

Many people have said looks could kill, and Anu understood what they meant now.

"I-I didn't mean to sleep.." Her voice came out as a sob as she curled herself up into a sitting position.

"Of course.." He growled and pointed at the men behind him who handed him something before walking out and closing the door behind them. Vinoth was quick enough to hide it behind in his pant pockets before Anu could even get a glance at it.

Anu's breath was caught in her throat when he walked closer to her and kneeled a leg on the bed. His eyes went to Anu's long thick hair, which was open and still damp from the shower she had taken.

He stroked it with his hand, played, slid, and twisted it around his finger. Anu blinked her eyes and tried to decode his unintelligible expression. The fear in her eyes was slowly being replaced by mesmerization. For a brief moment, she saw something akin to kindness and warmth in his eyes.

What wouldn't she give up in her life to feel Vinoth's touch on her like this?

Does this mean he has forgiven her? But is she worthy of his forgiveness? And that too so soon?

She herself couldn't forgive her yet, then how could he?

Her sane mind wanted to warn her, but her despairing heart wanted her to live in this moment and think about nothing. She leaned into his touch. Involuntarily, her eyes closed and her breathing turned calm.

"You have beautiful hair."

Yes, that she did. Even as a little girl, she had very long hair, almost brushing her butt and she loved it the most about her. Girls of her age were jealous of it and men were fascinated by it.

"You love your hair, don't you..?" She heard him say but she was so lost to respond.

She was relishing his warm caress, forgetting the sins she had committed when she felt a tug on her hair and then a soft, swooshing sound that made her snap open her eyes.

"Well, I love them too.." Vinoth uttered with a vicious smirk which gave her reasons to think that he had done something equally vicious. She didn't realize what it was until her eyes slowly moved to his hand which was bunching the whole length of her thick black locks.

"No..." She whispered in agony. Tears immediately clouded her vision. What has he done?

He was still holding them in front of her with a devilish smirk.

"Are you crying? Come on, I only ruined your hair.." He gritted the words in Tamil just making them sound even harsher. "This is nothing compared to what you did. You ruined my entire life."

Anu couldn't hold it anymore. She buried her face in her palms and broke into a fit of crying.

"You don't know how much pleasure it gives me to watch you cry like that. It makes me want to hurt you more.." He whispered near her ear.

She cried louder, this time thinking about what she had done to this man. He had become the incarnation of evil.

"Yes, just like that. Cry harder, but remember, this is just the beginning. There is more to come.."

When she heard the retreating footsteps and the slamming of the door, only then did she look up from her palms. Her hands went to her hair and she sobbed when she found them chopped, unevenly dangling till the nape of her neck.

She slumped on her bed, knowing well that her life was going to take a miserable turn but she also knew she deserved it.

For the rest of the night, she kept telling herself that she deserved it until she gave up in exhaustion.