Chapter 50

"Drop whatever you have in your hand and raise your hands up."

The thug’s voice was cold, steady, with the knife pressed threateningly against her neck. Asha stood frozen, her wide, tear-filled eyes fixated on Raghav. Fear shimmered in her gaze, the glistening tears catching the dim light, but the terror radiating from her was far more intense than the tears could convey.

Raghav stood just a few steps away, his body taut with tension. Inside, his blood boiled as his gaze locked onto the knife, anger burning through him like wildfire. His jaw clenched so tightly it ached, and his hands fisted at his sides, but he knew he had to stay calm. For her.

"Leave her," Raghav growled, his voice low but filled with barely contained rage.

The thug smirked, tightening his grip on Asha. His eyes glinted with malice as he twisted the knife ever so slightly, causing Asha to flinch.

"Give me the keys," the thug hissed, his tone mocking. "And you'll get your wife."

Wife?

The situation was perilous, and the tension suffocating, but that one word—wife—echoed in Raghav's mind. The term, casually thrown into the thug’s threat, momentarily distracted him. Wife. Even in this dangerous moment, it stirred something within him. The thought of Asha being his wife filled him with a kind of sense of rightness, though the reality of the situation quickly snapped him back to the present.

There was no time to linger on the word.

Raghav let out a slow breath, dropping the corncobs he had been holding. His hand reached into his pocket, fingers brushing against the car keys. But just as he was about to pull them out and toss them over, the thug’s voice cut through the silence again, this time laced with venom.

"Things aside, your wife is beautiful," the thug sneered, eyes raking over Asha in a way that made Raghav’s skin crawl. "I guess you brought her here for a little fun on the hillside, didn’t you?"

Raghav froze, the keys halfway out of his pocket. His heart, which had been pounding with fear moments earlier, now filled with rage. His insides burned like a furnace as the thug’s vile insinuation hung in the air. His jaw clenched again, even tighter this time, and his hands shook—not from fear, but from the raw fury that coursed through him.

His eyes snapped back to Asha, and the sight broke him. She had squeezed her eyes shut, her face turning away in silent shame, as though the thug’s cruel words had wounded her more than the knife ever could.

The dark aura around Raghav intensified. His vision tunneled, focusing solely on the thug and the knife pressed to Asha’s neck. The thug was still grinning, oblivious to the deadly storm raging within Raghav.

"What are you looking at?" the thug barked, irritation creeping into his voice. "Throw me the keys!"

The thug’s arrogance was his undoing.

Raghav moved quickly, with a speed that caught the thug off guard. In one smooth motion, his hand left his pocket and shot behind his back, pulling out the gun he had tucked away there. His movements were fluid, precise, and in a heartbeat, the gun was raised.

The thug’s eyes widened, realizing his mistake too late.

Bang!

A bullet ran over piercing the silence with a deafening crack. The thug's body jerked violently, his head snapping back as the bullet tore through his skull. For a split second, he stood frozen in place, a grotesque marionette on the edge of death. The knife slipped from his hand, falling silently to the ground. His body crumpled in on itself, collapsing into a lifeless heap as blood began to pool beneath him, soaking into the dirt.

Raghav didn't spare the thug another glance. The sight of the man's lifeless form meant nothing to him now. His focus was singular, desperate-Asha. His heart thundered in his chest as he rushed toward her, his hands trembling with fear and adrenaline. He carefully cupped her face in his hands, his thumbs gently brushing away the tears that had spilled down her cheeks.

"Are you okay?" he whispered, his voice hoarse, barely audible over the sound of his own ragged breathing.

Asha didn't respond. Tears streamed silently down her face, her eyes distant as she remained paralyzed by the shock of what had just happened. She seemed frozen, struggling to process the violence that had unfolded in front of her. Raghav's eyes scanned her face for any sign of injury, his heart still racing in fear. Then he noticed it-a thin streak of blood on her neck, barely visible against her skin. His fingers gently lifted her chin, and now he saw it clearly. A shallow cut where the thug's knife had grazed her, a thin line of blood slowly trickling down.

In that moment, everything inside him snapped. The concern, the fear-it was all washed away in an instant, replaced by a surge of blinding rage. His expression darkened, his eyes narrowing with murderous intent as he turned to look at the thug's body. He had dared to touch her, to harm her. The mere thought sent a wave of fury crashing through him.

Raghav's entire being seethed with anger. His mind fixated on one fact- Asha had been hurt, and the man responsible lay dead before him. But dead wasn't enough. No, the thug deserved more. He deserved to be punished for what he'd done, for the blood he'd drawn from her skin.

Without a word, Raghav strode over to the thug's body, his movements sharp and purposeful. He picked up the knife the man had droned, the blade still wet with blood beside the lifeles body, Raghav gripped the handle tightly and drove it into thug's chest. Then again and again. Each stab was more forceful than the last, the sound of the blade tearing through flesh growing louder with each thrust.

"Stop! Please, stop!" Asha's voice rang out in the air, filled with horror as she watched the scene unfold. She backed away, screaming at him, her voice trembling with fear. "Raghav, stop! Stop!"

But he didn't hear her. He was lost in the blinding red haze of his rage, his thoughts consumed by the need to destroy the man who had harmed her. His breathing was ragged, his face contorted with anger as he continued to plunge the knife into the thug's already lifeless body. Blood splattered everywhere, soaking the ground around them, as Asha stood frozen in terror.

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Asha turned and ran. She stumbled down the hill, her heart pounding in her chest as she fled. The sound of Raghav's footsteps behind her only fueled her panic. She ran faster, but it wasn't enough. Before she could get far, his arms wrapped around her, trapping her in his hold. She struggled, fighting against him, her body trembling in fear.

"Let me go!" she cried, her voice breaking as she pushed against his chest. "Stay away from me!"

Raghav held her tightly, refusing to let her go. He pulled her close, holding her trembling body against his own. His shirt, now drenched in the thug's blood, pressed against her skin, soaking her clothes and filling her with a sickening dread.

"We're going home" he muttered, his voice low devoid of the tenderness.

Asha shook her head, still sobbing. "Leave me. Leave"!!! She demanded still fearing him. "Atleast, clean off the blood first." She requested. Her voice was barely a whisper, but the sight of him covered in blood was too much for her to bear. The stench of death clung to him, and it was suffocating her.

Raghav looked down at himself, realizing for the first time just how much blood stained his clothes. Without a word, he stripped off his shirt and tossed it aside, though the damage was already done. The blood had stained more than just his clothes-it had stained the very air between them.

As they made their way back to the car, Asha's eyes caught something on the ground. A small round size resembled an eyeball. Her breath hitched, and a scream tore from her throat. She covered her eyes with her hands, shaking with fear as fresh sobs wracked her body.

Ignoring her cries, Raghav scooped her up and carried her to the car. The drive to the hospital was silent, filled only with the sound of her quiet sobs. Raghav's knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel, his jaw clenched so tight it ached. He was lost in his own thoughts, consumed by the storm of emotions raging inside him.

At the hospital, Raghav handed Asha over to the doctors, his presence only causing her more distress. The nurse insisted he leave, and reluctantly, he obeyed. He stepped out of the room, leaving her behind as the door shut firmly between them.

Standing in the hallway, Raghav stared down at his blooustained hands, lost in his thoughts.

It wasn't just lust anymore. It wasn't just desire. He realized, in the starkness of the hospital hallway, that he had feelings for her. Deep, unsettling feelings that had crept up on him without warning.

The moment he saw the look of shame on her face as the thug spoke to her—those vile, degrading words directed at her—something stirred deep inside him, something he couldn’t fully comprehend. Her instinct to shrink away in embarrassment cut him to the core. The pain etched on her face, the humiliation she carried, pierced him so deeply that it felt as though the shame was his own. He hated that she had been made to feel that way, especially because it was partly tied to him. A powerful urge welled up inside him—a need to shield her from that humiliation, to wipe away the shame she had endured, and to make sure she never had to feel that way again.

And now, that feeling had grown into something more. She didn't deserve to be ashamed. She didn't deserve any of this. Asha was the purest, most pious woman he had ever known, and in his own twisted, complicated way.