Sabina POV
"What do you mean that Ambar knows? Is that why he called me this morning?" I ask stressed out, wearing my t-shirt as he fusses around trying to select a shirt.
"Samayra knew, I don't know how... and they asked me why I played you? So, I thought you might have confessed, but I said that you are an adult who chose to be with me and..."
"And you put a stamp on what might have been just their suspicion." I argue, involuntarily raising my voice.
"That's not the point... But, now what?" he asks as I feel my anger boiling over.
"Choose a goddamn outfit." I shout.
"This outfit may decide my future." He says as I smack my own forehead.
"He said ten minutes and it's been 5 minutes already, do you wanna be late?"
"Fuck it." He says picking up a plain grey shirt, blue denims. I dress up, turning to look at the mirror feeling a bruise form at the site where he sucked my neck as he stood in the opposite corner buttoning his shirt.
"What do you think he'll say?" I ask as he shrugs.
"He might kill me?" He says as I squint my eyes.
"Is that why you're dressing up?"
"No, I mean... he can also ask me to marry you..." he says sounding unsure.
"I don't wanna get married." I answer back.
"I don't either, but... I'm not letting you out of my life..." he says wearing his shoes and then turns to look at me and adds, "If you wanna stay... I mean I'm not forcing you to..."
"I get it, just let's go." I say picking up my car keys.
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I parked the car in the parking of my house, as Avinash got down and we walked towards the gazebo where my adoptive parents sat talking something.
"Is that a revolver on the table?" I whisper as Avinash's footsteps halt and he looks scared.
"I... That's... murder is a crime." He utters and I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"How long has this been going on?" My mother says out loud turning to look at us as we walk towards them.
"Good morning Aunty, Good morning Uncle." Avinash says touching both their feet as they both don't respond and he walks back to stand next to me.
"It's been... a... week." I say.
"Month." Avinash blurters at the exact same time and I turn to look at him with a stare.
"So, when you went for that road trip for the site of the house." Jeet says as I nod, knowing he had caught us.
"Sabina, if you have to stand here and lie, you can go inside. We'll talk to him." My mother says as I shake my head.
"Sabina?" My father says shocked, since it was the first time that I had ever been revolting. It was Samayra's forte. I was the one that always nodded my head to whatever they asked me to do.
"I need to be here, if you're taking a decision regarding my life." I say looking at Avinash and he nods.
"It's been an year since your divorce, you should get married." My mother figure speaks.
"We don't want to get married." I interrupt her again as their eyes raise.
"So? You just want to sleep at his house?" my mom asks shocked.
"Yes, I'm thinking of moving in with him, with Danish." I say as their eyes were ready to pop out.
"How dare..." My father goes to say as Avinash stands infront of me.
"Uncle please. She's an adult. She's a mother and a financially independent adult, who can make her own decisions. Please, trust me... Trust us... We would never..."
"Never what? Play with my integrity? My respect? Because I can see the scarf around her neck." Jeet says disgusted at me and looks away trying to blink away his tears.
"You can pack your stuff and leave in an hour." He says walking away as my mouth falls up.
"But mom... and Danish? He's..." I was about to say.
"Pick him up from Tarun's house on your way back." My mother says as I feel anger build up in me.
"I... What if we don't see each other again?" I say as Avinash turns to look at me shocked.
"Avi, that's... That's my parents and... they're all I have. I'm all they have. Samayra is away now and they are old and sick. They brought me up, I can't..." I say as he nods.
"Okay..." he says and bends to kiss my forehead.
"I'm sure you'll convince them, if I'm not in the picture." He adds, as I see a tear slide down his cheek before he turns and walks towards the gate and out of it.
I follow Jeet inside, begging and apologizing as he looks the other way.
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It took me 9 days, to get Jeet to talk to me and another 4 for my mom to talk to me directly.
They would behave cordially around Danish, but would pull away as soon as he left. I have made absolutely no contact with Avinash and neither has he. Turns out that dad had suspected something and tracked my phone to Avinash's apartment that morning.
I go to work and come back to help in the kitchen. I am back to living my old life and yet there's an emptiness that looms inside me. My smile feels fake and forced and my laughter shallow. I'm letting the days pass, without actually feeling like I'm living.
I was in my office, working at a new project of this office space for a start-up that my thoughts started drifting.
I hear a knock on the door as I answer.
"Coming..." I say and get up to answer as my phone rings.
It was Avinash.
I pick it up, wondering to pick it up or not as the knock on the door sounds again.
I look at a voice text on my phone as I ignore it, to walk towards the door as my sixth sense feels a weird tingling. I open the voice message.
"Don't... ahh... open that door... The police is...Uff... one floor down..." his pained voice says as I hear a gunshot from outside and scream.
It was followed by another gunshot and then another. I called Jeet as he picked on the third ring.
"Daddy, there's somebody outside and... and gunshots..." I say scared as his voice sounds panicked.
"I'll be there, take cover right now." He says as I run to hide behind the bench.
YOU ARE READING
Her Sanctuary
General FictionSabina was disliked by her own parents, when they got a girl on the second attempt as if getting a boy was cracking UPSC, but she was loved. Just not by her biological parents and that hurt. Her sheep of a husband betrayed her and their son for mon...
