Hansika • 13

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height

A rough pair of lips graze my forehead as the haziness in my mind clears. The first thing I see after I open my eyes, just that very action so tough to perform, I see Anirudh. Not that I didn't know it would be him. I know when a kiss feels good and when it feels like death.

"You're awake."

I feel him stretch out my fingers as take them in his. As I try to get up, a jolt of pain makes me plop back in bed. My stomach is cramping so hard it's like a warzone in there.

I close my eyes. Of course.

"So sorry, baby. But you brought it on yourself. I wish the process were easier." he runs his thumb on the back of my palm as if it would pacify the pain of death I'm feeling.

"H - how?" I ask him. I know he killed Pea. But I don't know how he did it. There's no way I won't remember a pill I've taken and I haven't had a single bit of food since I came here, so he couldn't have done anything that way as well.

"Suppositories. Vaginal insertion. You were out cold when the pills came and I quickly called a doctor to ask. She said that's also the best way to ensure the process actually happens."

He kisses my forehead again and if I weren't this tired, I'd have flinched.

"I made some toast for you. Have it and then take the next set of pills. It's better if you swallow them from now, since you're bleeding excessively down there. I changed three diaper pads for you so far and it hasn't even been 24 hours yet." He carresses my hair. "I'm sorry, darling."

I open my mouth to speak, but only a moan of pain comes out. Harsh and quick breaths help the recovery, but at their own pace. His touch is lingering on my skin, which only boils me further. But I'm beyond the point where it should matter.

There's only one more person left in life who matters.

"Where - " I bite my lip to suppress the quivering, "where's Ayansh?"

The soft hold he has on my fingers quickly turns to a harsh grip. I gasp, screwing my eyes shut. He immediately apologizes.

"Why do you want to see him, baby?"

I quickly shake my head, firmly denying. "That's the thing, Ani. I don't want to see him. I don't want him here anymore."

He raises his eyebrows. "Didn't seem like that when I found you resting next to him last night."

I bite my quivering lip to pacify it. And then I give an answer, praying it would satisfy him.

"I didn't go to his room, Ani. He came here. I don't know how he did. And you know I was unconscious. It could have been his doing. And frankly, it doesn't matter now. All that does is you and I. He shouldn't come inside our room again. For that, he needs to be out of here."

Anirudh scans every word that comes out of my mouth. And then, he looks away as he calculates the meaning. My heart's racing at the speed of light as I wait for a reply.

And it comes as a smile. "You're right, babe. Just you and I."

I beam and smile back (which is not necessarily for the same as his, but works for both of us).

"I'll ask Shankar to take him to further outskirts and finish the job. Discarding would be easier as well."

My breath gets caught in my throat. I almost shout out a no, and it takes everything in me to not do it. A blatant no would only cause more doubts and difficulties. And a no is never a no to Anirudh. It's the first thing I learned about him.

There's also this key factor I learned about him, and it's time I put it to use. Sweet manipulation.

I take my hand to his collar, softly toying with his button. He smiles, always loving the little things I do. Mood change, check.

"Baby," I say as I check the box to make him feel loved, "I don't want you to get in any trouble."

"Hani..." He drags, lovingly. "Don't you worry about that. Shankar's a specialist in this. He knows how to kill and dump without a trace back to us."

"Ani, like it or not, I lived with that guy for months." I scrunch my nose for effect. "And he's pretty rich. Also has lots of "friends" in the official government. If he's killed, it would create an unwanted scene."

Anirudh rolls his eyes. "Oh, come on. He fled his home and became a nomad for nearly a year. And what exactly were the efforts taken to find him? Nothing. Heck, he came back with a whole ass abduction under the name of marriage! And no one bothered to even do a background check."

This won't do. Some more manipulation needed. I use my arms to get up and I actually fail miserably. His hands immediately come to capture me.

"Help me up, please." He uses his force to help me up. I use this opportunity to rest on his shoulder. He gives me more of his shoulder space to rest on. Still on the right track.

I feel so cheap, doing all of this to make him believe that I love him and need him. When you look at it in a shallow manner, it's merely giving him a taste of his own medicine. Moreover, I have to come to grounds with the fact that it's going to be like this. The pretend, the intimacy, the lies. But this time, I won't get caught. Because that's what he wants. He wants the lies. And by lying about everything and playing along, I'm actually following the path he has paved for me.

"I can just hear the wheels in your mind turn and churn," he says, taking the plate from the bedside and cutting the sandwich to small pieces.

"There was this doctor. Dr. Anita," I say, opening my mouth and motioning him to feed me.

He smiles, feeding me with a fork. "I know her."

My heart nearly stills. I turn my head to meet his eyes.

"You should thank her. She's the reason I found you," he takes another piece to my mouth.

"Ani... What are you talking - How did you actually find Ayansh?"

He shakes his head. "I can't believe I didn't tell you. When you went missing, I set up a search party with Shankar. Searched all over Pune, Mumbai, Bangalore and whatnot. So many cities, but couldn't find you. When we were in Mumbai, we checked some hospitals just in case. One of them was the one where you got treated after the accident. I left my phone number everywhere, in case someone actually found you.

"Guess that came to use, after all. About three weeks ago, Dr. Anita called me. She asked me if I was searching for a Ms. Hansika. My heart stopped, I tell you." He places a quick kiss on my hair before continuing.

"She gave me your details and where you stayed now. She also mentioned you being with someone important and that you did not belong there. I told her off for that and cut the call."

My eyes screw shut as I piece all of it together. Of course, she did that. I should not have expected a stranger to be so kind. She also gave me a fair warning before. It's obvious.

Taking a deep breath, I compose myself. "She was also the one who saved me. Twice."

"Twice?"

"Yes, twice. The first time during the accident and the second time... to help me get back here."

He looks at me, an eyebrow up, amused.

"She was the one who told me to get back to you. To push me into getting back into my old life. Into you."

"She did that?" he asks.

"Yes. Had you not called me, I would have found my way to you myself. I'm sorry I took this long, Ani. But it took me this long to realize that you're my guy. You're my destiny."

"Sweet words, baby. Such sweet words," he kisses my hair. "I've been wanting to hear that all this while."

"I'm sorry I deprived you of it."

I sigh. This little conversation is stressing me out too much, I just need to hit the nail in the coffin. Now or never.

"Ani, I promised the doctor something." I look at him, my eyes shining the charisma. "I promised her I'd send Ayansh back to his life."

The look he throws is 50 percent skeptic and 50 percent suspicious. Quick recovery needed.

I sigh and rest back on his chest. "I know it's a stretch, but I gave her my promise. Not just that, though. I'm scared." A bulb goes off in my head. "You just told me you talked with her. So, she knows you. And your number. I don't want that to be a trace back to you. Back to us."

He curses under his breath. "I can have Shankar - "

"Can we stop talking Shankar, Shankar, Shankar?" I snap.

He flinches. "Baby, he's my best friend."

I shake my head. "I don't feel that. Plus, he's making you less... You. The Anirudh I know handles things himself and smartly at that. Brute force is unnecessary for him."

He hums, giving it a thought. "What do you want me to do? I gotta prove that I'm the same Anirudh."

I look him dead in the eyes. "You have to let Ayansh leave. Drop him off somewhere and just manipulate him into not telling on us. You can have a backup, like a guy clocking him just in case he does spill. But I want you to deal this the Anirudh way, not the Shankar way."

"Are you trying to manipulate me?"

My breath gets caught in my throat. The way he said it has brought chills down my bones. I can't even dare to look at him anymore.

"Because, good girl, learning from me. It's working." He chuckles.

"So, you'll let him out?"

"I'll let him out."

***

You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net