Soulfully Fated

22. TORTURE

AUTHOR's POV:

Dev has still not woken up and Mithra decided to pay Prerna a visit. Mithra's blood boiled at the sight of the woman, tied up on the chair. Prerna had voluntarily signed off her life in the hands of Mithra. Mithra was very possessive of Dev, something only a few people knew. She was like a lioness who would pounce on anything that comes near her lion.

DJ poured water over her face, waking her up. Prerna's face quickly changed from confusion to fear. A sinister smile grew on Mithra's face. She walked up to her and gave her a tight slap. Her face whipped to her right and blood oozed from her lip.

"No. No" Prerna chanted.

"Didn't Dev say the same thing?" Mithra asked, her smile unwavering. She extended her hand and DJ handed her a plier. Perena's eyes widened at this. She moved back in fear but she had nowhere to escape.

"Please. Leave me. I am sorry." She pleaded, her eyes watering and her heartbeat rising rapidly.

"I feel disgusted by the sight of you. A no is a no. But of course, a spoiled brat like you is never used to hearing one. Right? He had clearly refused your advances and clearly denied your invitation. Did he lead you on? Did he give you any signal or hint about any interest in you?" Prerna wildly shook her head in a no. Her eyes moving from Mithra''s face to the pliers in her hand.

"Then? Why did you resort to something like that? Our marriage was a public one. The world knows that he is married. What led you to take a horrendous step? Did you think I would leave him seeing you guys together or I would trust your video over him? Put this in our mind, I stand between him and the world. Nothing can harm him in my existence." Mithra finished as she gripped Prerna's ring finger on her left hand. Prerna's face registered a shock and before she could comprehend, Mithra had snapped her finger with the plier. Next was the other ring finger.

"DJ, take her to the hospital." She commanded. DJ nodded and called in two other lady officers to help her up.

"I should not see you anywhere in the city. My men will keep an eye on you. If you try to get revenge or something like that, I shall wipe your daddy dearest's image from society and then from this earth. Get lost." She muttered, dangerously close to her ear.

Mithra wiped her hands off the blood and headed home. QUickly stripping down, she stood under the shower trying to cool herself off. After what seemed like a hr, she walked out dressed in a simple green saree. Walking towards the dressing table, she pinched a tiny amount of vermillion to sear on her forehead, when she heard Dev groaning. Quickly dropping it, she rushed to him. He was withering in his sleep, turning his head here and there. He was having a nightmare.

Mithra patted his cheeks, trying to wake him up. Dev jerked up in response, sitting up from his previous position. Sweat covered his face and neck as he helplessly looked around to adjust to his surroundings. Mithra patted his face and neck with pallu, while her other hand ran soothingly on his back calming him. His eyes landed on her and he quickly pulled her to himself, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

He calmed down, inhaling her musky scent and the warmth of her body. He detached himself from her leaning himself on the headboard. Slowly he opened his eyes, finding them lost in Mithra's worried ones. He leant forward and pressed his lips to hers. The kiss caught Mithra off guard. The kiss was slow, like a timeless promise. They broke apart breathing heavily. Mithra held his neck from behind and placed a lingering kiss on his forehead.

"What happened?" He asked, seeing worry swirling in her eyes.

"I am going to tell you something. I just want you to listen. No overthinking or reacting to it." She told sternly. Dev was confused but he nodded. Mithra explained to him the proceedings of the night that had just passed by. Dev's expression changed from shock to worry and then to guilt.

"This changes nothing between us. And nothing happened Dev that you are worrying so much about. We are fine. You are fine." Mithra cupped is face in her palms, talking softly. DEv pushed the covers off the bed and got down. He silently walked to the bathroom and locked it.

"Dev. Dev." Mithra tried following him but was too late to stop him. She sighed. She expected this, but when it was really transpiring she felt hurt. She didn't know if she did the right thing or not. She walked downstairs to the kitchen to fix a brunch for them. Quickly making dal and rice, with sauteed veggies, she platted them and headed upstairs. Dev was sitting on the bed, his hair damp from the shower.

"Dev, let's have some food." She took a spoon of the dal rice with vegetables near his mouth. He shook his head and turned away.

"Dev, please. Lets have some-"

"I am not hungry." She was cut off by him. He stood up and walked away.

"Dev, where are you going? Talk to me. Don't hurt yourself and hurt me." She pleaded as she held his wrist. When he didn't reply, she wrapped her arms around his torso snuggling into his neck. Dev's wrists balled into fists. He unwrapped her arms from his torso and walked away and this time Mithra didn't stop him.

He had walked away.

Mithra knew how to cope up with such situations, but not Dev. He was helpless. Like she said, he was hurting and in turn hurting her. Mithra occupied herself in her work. She left before Dev woke up and returned quite late in the night. Dev was worried but could do nothing about it. He didn't know what to do. He was not used to this silent life. No matter how gloomy the day passed, Mithra's presence was like a ray of sunshine. The moments they had cherished were ingrained in every corner of the house. The way their bodies molded and souls connected when they made love was afresh in his mind.

He never wanted to disappoint her, lest hurting her. But she had done it all. She was always constantly worried for him, helping him, loving him unconditionally. He couldn't even return an 'I love you' for her everlasting claim.

The door barged open as he heard Arjun furiously walking in. Before he could open his mouth to ask what happened, a fist connected his face and pain seared through his jaw. Arjun quickly grabbed his t-shirt and brought his face close to his. Dev's fury seeped in as he pushed Arjun away trying to soothe his jaw, rubbing it.

"What the fuck man?" Dev asked, glaring at Arjun.

"What the fuck, huh? Shouldn't I be asking you that? What the fuck are you even doing? Why are you behaving like this? What is wrong with you?" Arjun roared.

"What are you even talking about?" Dev retorted with an equal anger.

"What am I talking about? Huh? Why are you torturing Mithra? Why are you ignoring her? What mistake did she do, that she has to suffer?" Arjun was furious by now.

Dev sighed. This was long.

"You were not in my place. I am hurting, so is she. And I can do nothing about it. I don't know how to set things right anymore. I have always been on the losing end of life. And now, I have let her down. How do you think I can face her? How can I even talk to her as if nothing happened?" Dev spoke, running his hands on his face.

"Even you weren't in my place. You didn't see Mithra working herself up to find you. You weren't there when she was relieved to find you. You weren't there when she spent a sleepless night waiting for you to wake up. You weren't there when she tortured Prerna for harming you. What do you even know? And why is this a disappointment? If you were in her place and she was in yours, it would have been a heroic deed? What is so disappointing? You have never seen the life she lives because of you. She has got a reason to live, something she didn't have for a long time. Everytime she talks about you, her happiness and satisfaction are not measurable at all. She wanted to be with you, in spite of how broken you claim yourself to be. She has never looked at your flaws. Not even once. She has always been grateful to have you in your life. Then why do you see things like this? You know what, she was exactly fearing this. This, that you shall close yourself off. That you shall no more open up to her and fuck yeah, it is just happening like that." Arjun broke into fits at the end. Dev's eyes teared. Why them? And especially, why her? 

Phew. Here goes an update guys. Go ahead read it and give me a teeny star. Thanks to @_ru_pal_ for helping me with the twists and plots of the story. Gear yourself for more rollercoaster. 

Luv you guys.