13. ALYA!

After making a decision not to report Nandini’s kidnap to the police, Palak reached Murthy’s house and was faced by her husband who was looking furious. Seeing his expression she shivered in fear knowing about the consequences and right now HER SAVOIR was also not here who will save her. “Where were you?” She hears her husband’s roar and she is on the verge of crying. 

“Ji… mai… woh…” She tries to say something but her words die seeing him furious. 

“How can you leave my premises without my permission?” Saniket asked, showing his dominance over his wife whereas his father is just watching the show. 

Palak is so scared that she doesn’t murmur a word other than, “Sorry…”.

“Sorry!… Wow, who taught you this?” Saniket chuckles and walks closer to his wife with his dominating aura, making her hell scared. He grabbed her both arms roughly and continued, “Does your lover teach you how to apologize to your husband when he gets to know about your affair?”

Palak instantly looks up hearing his allegation with wet eyes. She can bear anything from his beatings to his abusive words but she can’t handle these false allegations. She knows that she can’t make her husband happy by giving him a child but she won’t stoop so low as having an affair out of her wedlock. She gulps the lump that forms in her throat and says, “What are you saying, Saniket Ji?” 

“Am I wrong, bit*h?” Saniket asked with fake sarcasm and instantly changed his expression while looking at her with disgrace, “Were not you with Abhimanyu?”

Now, Palak understands that she is screwed by him. He won’t leave her alive. Suddenly she felt the blood stop in her arms because of his tight grip which made her scream in extreme pain. 

Hearing her shout, Vikram Murthy yells violently, making her scared even more, “Oh, God!… Saniket, please, keep her mouth shut. I already had a headache and I don’t want one more.” Saying this he went into his room not caring about the drama happening in front of him. 

Saniket doesn’t care about his father and her pain. He continues, “What were you doing with him in the hospital without my permission?” He is behaving like an obsessed husband who can’t do anything except showing their rights to their wives by torching them. “Is he your lover?” 

“Chii…. How can you think about me like this? I am your wife…” Palak tries to prove her loyalty but her husband is not ready to hear anything and her tears have no end whereas Saniket behaves like a jerk. 

“So, this is not true, right?” Saniket pushed his wife onto the floor in a rage and stood near her legs in a dominating aura. Although he knows that his wife spends an hour with that bodyguard Abhimanyu. 

Palak is tongue-tied and sweats in fear. She doesn’t know how to defend herself. She doesn’t know how he got to know about her whereabouts. But her questions were answered by her husband. 

“Rituraj saw you meeting with Abhimanyu in the hospital,” Saniket informed her furiously and pulled her hair, making her wince. 

Palak knows now there is no way to get out of this situation. He trusts his right hand, Rituraj, more than her, and proving him wrong in front of him is like digging her own grave. But the reason for her stress is different, her eyes widened when a thought crossed her mind “Does he get to know that she planned to kidnap Nandini and her plan failed?……… No!… if he gets to know then, she won’t be alive till now.” 

Saniket pulls her hair harshly, bringing her back from her thoughts and making her cry in agony. “Please,… leave me…” 

But her husband didn’t show any sign of sympathy and asked, “I am asking something. What were you doing with that bastard in that single room?” 

Palak knows that if she can’t defend herself then he won’t stop torturing her. She closes her eyes in pain and tries to pull herself back, “I… j… just went to know… about Nandini… I t… thought that he knew…. Where Nandini is.” 

Saniket fumes more and pushes her back not caring about the bruises he gave her with his ruthlessness. He bent down near her and squeezed her cheeks, making her scared, and threatened her, “I know you are lying but I will find out the truth soon.” He smirks devilishly, giving her a nasty look, “Till then you will be locked in the storeroom with no food and water.” 

Palak nods positively while crying silently about her faith but she is relieved that he didn’t abuse her more. Saniket ordered one of his guards to lock her in the storeroom without food and water until he asked for her. 

On the other hand, the Monster kidnapper is shooting daggers at the little girl who is showing her anger on food and refused to have it. Aditya is requesting her to have food as he is attracted to her in the first meeting itself and trying to be in her good books. Whereas Kaushal is just noticing Manik’s aggression and possessiveness. He knows Manik’s possessiveness is coming out in the form of his anger which he held for almost 18 years. How many times he says that he forgot about her and doesn’t have feelings for her but he knows how he cries every night just to be with her one last time. 

“Hey… beautiful baby… have it? You can’t sleep with an empty stomach.” Aditya persuades Nandini to have her food but she denies it because she is scared that he mixed something in her meal with bad intentions. Whereas Manik rolls his eyes with a huff hearing how Aditya called her “Baby”. 

“I don’t want to have anything. I am not hungry.” Nandini denied politely, looking at the plate which has her favorite vada-pav but she is adamant to have nothing.

Manik looks at her face with a keen expression and understands that she is lying. The way her forehead shows creases and her fidgeting fingers is enough to show him that she is lying about not being hungry. But before he could say anything to her, Aditya starts forcing her to have food while holding her hands in his, “Please, have food, baby doll.” 

Hearing a new cheesy nickname from him, Manik flared his nose and clenched his fist to stop himself from pounding on him. “When she said she is not hungry then, why are you forcing her? She is not a queen that you are showing keen interest to feed her.” He said showing his arrogance, and making her feel bad with his behavior. 

Kaushal stops Aditya from saying anything further by showing his eyes and glancing at the girl with a strange feeling. “What is your name?” He asked out of nowhere, gaining everyone’s attention. 

Nandini looks at him for the first time and looks down after glancing at him, nervously. “He asked something… answer it.” She heard another voice and knows who said this. She is well aware of his intimidating tone. After thinking a lot, she replied, “A… AL… ALYA.” She told them her false name to save her elder sister because of whom she is here right now. She feared if they get to know that she is not the girl whom they come there to kidnap then they would definitely go back to kidnap her sister which she never let happen. 

Manik saw her fear and the way she stammered while saying her name. He knows there is something she is hiding but he didn’t say anything. “Kaushal, you should go now and take Aditya with you back. I am staying here with her tonight.” 

Aditya looks at him with disappointment and tries to change his mind, “Bhai, you should go back home. I will stay here with her. You don’t have any experience of staying at such a place so…” 

“I said, just go!…” Manik commands in his authoritative tone shutting his mouth before he could even complete his sentence. 

Nandini looks at her Monster Kidnapper knowing that she is gonna stay alone with him in this single room. Her birthday can’t go better than this. The man who is behind her in this situation is gonna stay here with her. She looks at the ceiling with an angry pout and murmurs, “Thank you, Ayyappa… you are very generous. Now, there is nothing left for me to bear, right?” 

She comes out from her thoughts when Aditya holds her palm while saying, “I am leaving your food here, have it whenever you feel like, baby doll.” Saying this he kissed her palm, making her shocked as well as making Manik the MONSTER MANIK. But before Manik commits any more murder, Kaushal dragged Adi out giving a nod to Manik. 

As soon as they left, the atmosphere went cold between the two souls. Nandini is trying every possible effect to ignore his presence but she always feels his eyes on her body. Whereas Manik sat far away from her and took out his wallet. He opens it and looks at the picture of the ONLY GIRL HE EVER LOVED. He holds the wallet in front of his eyes and from his corner eyes he eyes the girl who is sitting in front. He is finding any clue that will prove that THE GIRL SITTING IN FRONT OF HIM IS NOT HIS NANDINI. 

To be continued…