32 ~ Ruthless Kartik #3
I couldn't speak.
I could only look at him, who had just brutalized someone for touching me.
He hugged me closer and then he turned to the crowd.
His voice was cold. Commanding. Unmistakably ruthless.
"She is my wife." He looked at every single person in the room. "Whoever dares to raise their hands on her or even look at her the wrong way...I will rip them apart." He paused. "I'll make sure their face disappears from the face of the Earth. And this is not an empty threat."
He looked around the room one last time. There was complete, absolute silence and then he began to leave.
He held my hand, guiding me out of the casino. I could feel the eyes of everyone on us.
I couldn't forget what I had just witnessed.
I couldn't forget the way he had looked at that man. The way he had spoken. The way he had defended me without hesitation.
He was ruthless, merciless and terrifying but he was mine.
The drive back to the Singhaniya mansion was silent.
I sat in the passenger seat, my hands clasped tightly in my lap. My mind was still replaying the scene at the casino; the knife, the blood, the scream. The way Kartik had looked at that man like he was nothing. Like he was less than nothing.
I couldn't process what I had just witnessed.
He glanced at me several times during the drive, his eyes searching my face. But he didn't say anything. He just drove.
When we finally reached the mansion, he guided me inside. His hand was warm on the small of my back, steady and grounding.
We reached our room.
And the moment the door closed behind us, I turned and threw my arms around him.
I hugged him tightly, my face buried in his chest. My body was trembling and eyes were burning.
I held him like he was the only thing keeping me from falling apart.
His arms came around me, pulling me closer.
"Chahat..."
I shook my head against his chest.
He chuckled softly, his hand coming up to stroke my hair.
"Kya hua?"
(What happened?)
I couldn't answer. I only tightened my arms around him and shut my eyes.
He seemed to understand that something was wrong.
His hand moved gently over my back.
"Mera baccha dar gaya?"
(My baby is scared?)
My throat tightened. I nodded faintly against his chest.
I didn't know what I was supposed to say. I had never seen that side of him so closely.
The man I had thought was merely arrogant, controlling and ruthless had suddenly become something far more intimidating.
And the strangest part was that all of it had happened because someone had touched me.
He eventually pulled me back slightly and looked at my face. His expression changed when he noticed the tears in my eyes.
He wiped them away with his thumb.
"Hey."
I looked at him silently.
"Nothing happened to you. That's what matters."
I just clenched my teeth, my eyes shut tight.
I had never thought he could be this brutal. This ruthless and merciless.
It was frightening and yet... I felt safe because he had done it for me.
I pulled back.
He cupped my face, wiping away the tears I hadn't realized were falling.
He pressed a kiss to my forehead.
"Calm down, Main office ja raha hoon," he said softly. "Tum yahan raho. Relax karo. Theek hai?"
(I'm going to the office. You stay here. Relax. Okay?)
I nodded.
I still couldn't speak.
He looked at me for a long moment, his eyes searching mine. Then he pressed another kiss to my forehead and he left.
After Kartik left for the office, I tried not to think about what had happened at the casino.
I knew he had only gone because he had work to handle, and yet some strange uneasiness remained inside me.
So I forced myself to concentrate on something else.
I went through the notes I had brought back from college, completed a few pending assignments and spent some time studying. For the first couple of hours, I was completely absorbed in my work.
But eventually, even concentration had its limits.
I leaned back and glanced toward the wall clock.
My eyebrows knitted together.
It was late. Much later than I had expected.
I closed my notebook and looked toward the door.
Kartik still hasn't returned. I checked my phone.
Nothing.
I left my room and found Krish downstairs.
"Krish, Kartik abhi tak nahi aaye?"
He shook his head. "No idea bhabhi."
I nodded, trying to hide my disappointment. "Okay."
I returned upstairs.
Dinner was probably going to be served soon, but my appetite had disappeared somewhere along the way.
I sat on the edge of the bed, staring absentmindedly at my phone.
Then it vibrated.
My eyes immediately dropped to the screen.
An unknown number but there was no message. Just a photograph.
For a moment, I didn't understand why someone would send me a picture without saying anything.
My fingers went cold the moment the photograph loaded.
For several seconds, I simply stared at the screen.
The picture was blurred, almost deliberately so, but there was no mistaking the two faces.
Kartik and Samaira.
They were standing far too close to each other.
My breath caught.