Chapter 51 Village's Revolt
But instead of crashing to the ground, she feels herself suspended in the air, held firmly and safely. Slowly, she opens her eyes, and the first thing she sees is Vihan’s face handsome, just inches from her own. Time freezes. She is in his arms.
For a few seconds, both stare into each other’s eyes, caught in a moment neither anticipates. Vihan’s strong arms hold her securely, his face unreadable yet strangely soft. Rimjhim cannot look away. Her breath catches in her throat, not just from the fall but from the sudden closeness that sends her heart racing.
The bodyguards stand a little away, their eyes lowered respectfully, not daring to interrupt the fragile stillness between their boss and the village girl.
But that peace shatters suddenly. A group of villagers happen to walk by. As soon as they spot Rimjhim in Vihan’s arms beneath the mango tree, their eyes widen in shock, quickly twisting into outrage.
One elderly man raises his voice furiously, “Oh God! What kind of world is this now? People have no shame left!”
His loud voice rings through the orchard like a siren. Both Rimjhim and Vihan turn sharply toward him, jolted out of their moment.
More villagers gather quickly, drawn by the noise. Their eyes, filled with judgment and suspicion, fall upon the pair. Whispers turn into accusations, and stares turn into glares.
Rimjhim, now mortified, tries to pull away from Vihan’s arms. Her face burns with shame, and her eyes fill with unshed tears. Vihan looks at the villagers, his expression darkening, jaw clenched tightly not just with anger, but with worry. Worry for Rimjhim’s dignity, worry for how one innocent moment can be so cruelly misjudged and change everything.
Vihan gently sets Rimjhim down on the ground but stays close beside her. His face is red with anger while Rimjhim is completely broken, crying uncontrollably. Her breath comes in shallow gasps, eyes filled with tears, face flushed with shame as if someone is stripping away her very existence.
One by one, the villagers men, women, elders begin to surround Rimjhim. Their faces twist with disgust, eyes full of accusations, tongues sharp with cruel words.
One woman shouts in rage, “Shameless girl! Daughters like her destroy their families’ honor!”
Another man adds with venom, “A woman with no shame! Flirting with a strange man in the orchard? What kind of upbringing is this?”
Rimjhim covers her face with both hands. Her heart screams, but her lips remain sealed, unable to utter a single word.
Vihan, who has been standing silently so far, feels his anger boil over. He steps forward, sharp eyes sweeping over the crowd, and thunders, “What are you saying? When you know nothing, how dare you speak such words?”
Some of the villagers pause, but one hot-tempered man steps forward. In a fit of rage, he shoves Vihan and snaps, “Stay quiet! You’re not some city prince that you can come here and ruin our daughters’ honor!”
That shove is all it takes. In an instant, Vihan’s bodyguards spring into action. They draw their weapons, pointing them at the villagers.
A wave of fear sweeps through the air. People step back in panic, eyes wide, voices silenced. Meanwhile, Rimjhim sits on the ground, crying helplessly, as if her strength has deserted her entirely.
Just then, Chaudhary Sahab comes running from a distance. His face is pale with anxiety. He sees Rimjhim sobbing on the ground, Vihan burning with fury, and the villagers facing weapons. His heart sinks.
“What’s happening here?” he shouts, trying to take control of the chaos.
The same man who shoved Vihan now turns to Chaudhary Sahab and yells, “Chaudhary Sahab! You claim to be an honorable man, yet your daughter was in the arms of a stranger under the mango tree! What do you have to say now?”
Chaudhary Sahab freezes in shock. His face turns ashen. His eyes reflect pain, disbelief, and shame all at once. He looks at Rimjhim still crying on the ground and then at Vihan, who now looks like a volcano ready to erupt.
Vihan cannot hold back anymore. He shouts, “Shut up! Enough! All you people have are accusations, not a single fact!”
He turns to Chaudhary Sahab, voice steady but fierce, “Rimjhim was plucking mangoes. She climbed the tree. Her foot slipped, and I only saved her from falling. That’s all! Everything else is your poisonous, rotten thinking!”
But the villagers are not done. Another woman, one who has always envied Rimjhim, steps forward and screeches, “Who will marry a disgraced girl like her? We don’t even want to see her face, shameless wretch!”
Chaudhary Sahab stands there, shattered. His eyes well up with tears. Watching his daughter humiliated like this is nothing short of a punishment.
Vihan’s gaze turns icy as he looks at that woman, rage burning in his eyes. He holds himself back barely, fists clenched, jaw tightened. He knows lashing out now would only worsen things.
He stands like a wall beside Rimjhim, unshaken, while the entire village hurls stones of insult and judgment. The village square is tense, air thick with anger, judgment, and whispered insults. Rimjhim, still shaken, sits on the ground sobbing uncontrollably, her face buried in her hands, while Vihan stands beside her like a shield, jaw clenched, eyes burning with fury.
Suddenly, a man from the crowd steps forward, rage twisting his features. He grabs Rimjhim’s arm roughly and shouts, “This girl can no longer live here! She’s disgraced this village!” He yanks at her arm, trying to drag her up, but before he can move her an inch, a heavy punch lands squarely on his face.
Vihan has hit him. Hard. The man stumbles backward, holding his jaw in shock. Vihan’s face is red with anger, voice thundering, “Don’t you understand?! I already told you nothing happened like you all are assuming! Keep your filthy thoughts to yourselves!”
But the villagers are relentless. Another man, shouting in fury, declares, “If this girl doesn’t leave the village, we’ll kill her! We don’t want her filth here anymore!”
Chaudhary Sahab rushes forward, anxiety written all over his face. He moves closer to Vihan and speaks softly, “Vihan Babu, please, go back to the Haveli. Let me handle this."
But Vihan doesn’t budge. His voice rises again, filled with both pain and fury, “No! These people are insulting your daughter because of me. I’ve stood by you for years, lived among you. Don’t you know me? And yet, you’re letting them speak such things?”
Just then, the same man Vihan punched earlier returns, shouting with venom, “Keep your mouth shut! First you defile our daughters with your dirty affairs, and now you want to lecture us?”