Chapter - 20
The guards stopped me and pushed me further in front of Aarushi. Nobody was here to protect me or bring an end to this hell. As her hand with whip extended back and came towards me I closed my eyes as tears flowed accepting the pain which I have to bear. Surprisingly there was no pain even though I clearly heard the whip hitting sound.
I opened my eyes to check what's happening around me. My mouth opened wide and my eyes went round when I saw Kartik standing in front of me shielding from me from the pain while he caught the whip in his hands. His fist turned white with the grip on the whip as he pulled it out from Aarushi's hold.
I could clearly see Aarushi's legs shivering standing in front of Kartik - The Boss. She immediately lowered her eyes to the ground so as the guards around us. It was as if someone turned them into a statue to look at the ground.
He turned towards me dressed in his black suit and held my chin gently and lifted it up. He looked at my teary eyes and the blood from the corner of my lips and back to my eyes. Kartik's eyes had a mixture of emotion from pain and rage. He did not even react like this when I stabbed him and this is the first time I am seeing Kartik in this emotion.
"Nobody touches what belongs to me, let alone hurt it." He said dangerously while circling the whip around his fist.
He stepped so close to Aarushi that she fell on the ground with fear shivering and crying all the while looking at Kartik's shoes.
"Gautam!" Kartik screamed and Gautam ran towards him. "Burn her alive."
I widened my eyes with shock. Kartik just ordered his men to kill Aarushi.
"Please spare me Boss." Aarushi pleaded falling on the ground where Kartik stood.
Gautam paid no attention to her cries and immediately began collecting the logs along with the other guards. Soon the logs piled up and they lit the fire. It was giant form of flames reminding me of how my mansion was burnt to ashes.
Soon my mind filled with the images of Kartik's men slashing my family's throat, Kartik shooting Aarushi's mother and kidnapping me. Now for a tiny mistake he is ready to burn Aarushi alive. And tried to say he was innocent and had nothing to do with my parent’s death.
Aarushi screamed on top of her lungs and nobody even dared to stop this scene, even her would be husband, Darsh. She had dreamt so much and nobody is with her at the most needed time. I could not bear the sight of a person pleading for their life. Though Aarushi tried to trouble me but still she was the person I had grown with. I want to punish her for her misdeeds but not this brutal.
"Kartik, please forgive her. Burning someone alive is the worst punishment." I pleaded him.
His concentration was only on my bleeding lips. He touched it with his fingers and my blood stained on his index finger. His eyes got darker and he shook his head. "She deserves it." He said clenching his jaw.
I tried to speak again but he glared at me and that made me stop speaking. I rushed towards Darsh who was watching the scene as if it was normal chore. "Mr. Menon, please speak with your brother. She is your would be wife and you have the power to stop this punishment." It surprised me since he was not from mafia and still stood there encouraging this punishment. My pleads fell to his deaf ears as he was waiting for the next move of the scenario. How can a person raised in the America stay unaffected to a violence like this? Is he so bound for respect towards his family that he is not daring to raise voice?
The guards were dragging Aarushi towards the fire they created and the time started getting shorter and shorter. I had limited time to save her before she is engulfed by the fire. Though Kartik is not scared of his mother I still tried to speak with her. There may be a chance for Kartik to listen if someone from his family speaks to him.
"My Queen, please --" Before I could complete the sentence Amolika looked at me in disgust and started walking towards Kartik and tried to stop him.
"Kartik, stop it. It's not her fault. This servant stole our family pendant and she was trying to punish this servant. Why must you punish her for this? Listen to me and stop all this non sense." Her voice started getting low as she neared Kartik.
Kartik was still red in rage and his fists still closed around the whip tightly. He gritted his teeth and pulled me by my arm towards his right arm. I crashed into his strong torso by his side and bounced an inch back. "She is MINE."
I gasped.