The Vile.

Chapter 15: Hate Me Forever.

Like everytime he doesn't plan his destination, he just allows his instincts to take him wherever his heart wants. And this time his car stops at the beginning of an alleyway. A friendly locality, where different families stay and talk to each other like they are one huge, inseparable family.

At the very end of the narrow alley a mediocre looking but well maintained house looks back at him. A tiny yellow lamp is hanging at the entrance. He slightly tilts his head upwards biting on his lower lip, as if to ask himself,
"What am I doing here?"

At that very moment the door to the entrance of the house is opened by a guy with curly hairs. Following him comes out another guy and two women. By now he got to know all of their faces.

But the door is still open and that's what keeps him hopeful. Someone is bound to come at the door to close it at least. As he thinks about that the same tall guy with black hair comes out. He knows his name. Yes, it's Derek. And finally right behind him he finds her.

There she is, he can see glimpse of her white t-shirt. Her hair is pulled into a messy bun and something sort of a pen is neatly plunged into that tiny bun. She is talking to that Derek guy while itching her upper arm reluctantly. They seem close.

She lowers her head. She is upset about something. Derek slowly takes a few steps closer to her, which causes Danuj to sit straight. Derek then slowly places his right palm on her left cheek leading someone else to tighten his grip on the steering wheel. And then the impossible happens.

Derek slowly brings his face way too close to her and pecks on her forehead. She immediately pulls away probably due to his unexpected gestures but not before an impossibly long honking of horn coming from the beginning of the alleyway. This surprises everyone including the man who did this.

That's his cue. Feeling breathless, he immediately shifts to the reverse gear. For the coming few minutes he keeps on driving without even realizing where he is going. He doesn't want to realize anything anymore. His brain is occupied with the image of that guy rubbing his thumb on her cheek, his lips touching her forehead. He is furious and he doesn't know why.

It takes him another two hours to calm down when finally he manages to remember how awfully he honked the horn. With that surges in other very dangerous realizations.

"You can't play with my brain Vasudha. I am too controlled for that." He says to himself.

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"Boss, her father is admitted. He is going through some serious cardiac problems. He has his surgery tomorrow." Ojas informs.

Danuj furrows his eyebrows then releasing a deep breath he asks,
"Is she there now?"

"Yes, boss. She seems to be spending the night here with her father." Ojas answers.

The crease on his forehead deepens.

"Who else is there with her?" He asks tapping on the steering wheel impatiently.

"Umm.. She seems to be alone boss. Do you want me to do anything?" He asks genuinely.

"Yes. Let me know if you see any guy around her tonight." He adds.

"Okay boss, and also she was talking to someone about selling the house again. They might come to a solution soon." Ojas answers.

Disconnecting the call he looks outside the window and starts driving. For the first time in eternity someone is actually giving him a hard time. He shakes his head thinking about this adamant girl. She just doesn't know when to stop. She just goes with the flow. She is strong, intelligent and too brave for his liking but that's what intrigues him about her. He finds her interesting, which is absurd.

But then it hits him, if she really goes to that extent what happens afterwards? She'll loose everything and that will announce his win over everyone like her.

Somehow the answer doesn't sit well with him. That same bug that forced him to drive to her house starts bugging him again with something else now. And he doesn't like it a bit.

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"What's this?" Danuj asks standing infront of the dining table. He came back an hour ago and decided to cook something simple for dinner. He is just not in the mood of eating at all.

But here he is, standing infront of a table filled with a bunch of unhealthy food like Pizzas, French fries, fried chicken wings and so on. He immediately gives Nihal a deathly stare.

"What the fuck is this Nihal?" He asks folding his arms over his chest.

"These are.. FOOOOOD! Food, that people like us eat and survive. Trust me we are still alive and you'll be too. So stop messing around and eat." Nihal says shoving a handful of french fries into his mouth.

"I don't eat things like these. But I have no problem if you carry on eating and die eventually." He says and moves towards the kitchen.

"Rascal." Nihal adds.

"Stop flattering me. How many days do I have to tolerate you?" He asks while washing the onions.

"Another week or so. But that doesn't change the fact that I'll make that week a memorable one." Nihal answers placing the piece of pizza on the plate.

"Don't even dare to. And also clean the table yourself, I can't clean your shit." He says adding the vegetables into the pan.

"This ungrateful asshole!" Nihal utters and at that very moment Danuj's phone starts vibrating inside his pocket.

"Tell me Ojas." He says holding the phone to his ears.

"Boss, there is a guy who arrived a few minutes ago. One of her friends." Ojas informs.

His grip on the phone tightens. He slowly places the spoon back on the marble slab.

"Which one?" He asks very cautiously.

"The tall guy, with dark hair, his name is Derek, I guess." Ojas confirms.

"Can you see them?" He asks. His nose starts flaring without his realization.

"Yes boss. I can.." Ojas tries to complete his sentence but as usual gets interrupted.

"Video call me right now." He says, feeling restless.

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Sleep left him hours back. He is trying his level best to ignore the fact that this girl has taken away the little peace he was left with.

He forcefully closes his eyes but to no avail. The video keeps surfacing every time he does so. He couldn't control himself from devouring every minute detail. How she was sitting on the visitors' seat looking totally devastated; how the almost empty corridor had no one but that guy sitting right next to her; how he kept on rubbing her back, consoling her; how she denied having any food or how she finally fell asleep on his shoulder.

Feeling breathless, he sits up. Why is this happening to him? What is happening to him? It needs to stop. He needs to stop. He can't afford to involve someone else in his life. The life, that has no security, no safety. He can't drag her into this. She is better off with them. He releases a deep breath, stands up and moves towards the window.

His grey eyes stay fixed at the night sky. He likes it, it resembles him. They both are left with impenetrable darkness, awaiting the light that can bring them out of this eternal doom.

"No, you can never be better off with them. You can't stay with them. I won't let you. Whatever my life is, however my life is, you have to be a part of it, you have to be mine Vasudha and no one can change that. This is how you pay for your audacity. I'll make sure about that, even if you hate me forever. You disliking me sounds far better than seeing you with someone else."

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Love, Puja.🍁