"Behind every beautiful thing, there's some kind of pain." The previous night was purgatory. So many events came out in front of Dhiraj that he had to take sleeping pills to rest as all the events had left him insomniac. He got to know that there were so many financial losses as well as potholes inside their overall working system that their company was in mess in their Bangalore branch. Someone was playing with their company, and for that thing, only Dhruv had decided to go there and check it himself that what is the problem over there & he had to live there for at least two-three months, as he wanted to make the situation stable with his style. Dhiraj was with Dhruv as it was the matter of their million-dollar business. They had decided that Dhruv will look after the matter of Bangalore and till then Dhiraj will handle all other important things which also included searching about Payal's kidnapping and about all the clues that she had discussed with him. Both son and father had a very serious discussion yesterday night, which they never had in their entire lifetime. After Dhruv returned to his room, he saw that Ayushi was still lying on the floor unconscious. He cared less and went away towards the washroom ignoring all the brutal marks that he with his belt had left on her because he knew that if he'd go near her, he'd hurt her more, as Payal's words were still ringing in his head that Ayushi's father was also involved in her kidnapping. He'd have not left Bhopal but now it was his business that was at stake. His staff and management needed some strict actions against them, he knew for sure. He would fly to Bangalore the next day in the early morning along with his beloved wife in his private jet. He had planned. The next morning, the sun again rose in the sky and removed the darkness, but the darkness which surrounded Ayushi was yet to subside. She woke up when she felt someone pouring a glass of water on her face. "Will you open up your eyes or not?" Dhruv asked her harshly while pouring a glass of water on her face and she just jolted up from the hard floor. Her face showed pure terror like she was not facing her husband but some demon, some monster. Her gash was stinging so much like someone was burning her alive, blood was dripping out from it and she was looking no less than a completely bruised and slashed damsel in distress whose knight in shining Armour was no one. "I can't live with you, you're no less than a beast, a monster. I want the divorce, I can't live with you," although she was very weak physically her voice had its strength. "Hahaha. You think that it's so easy to get away from me? No, my darling wife, no. You've entered this hell with your consent, but you'll only leave this hell when I'll allow you to," Dhruv's sinister laugh was like someone had poured extremely hot oil in her ears, his laugh was making her more vulnerable. "I'll tell Ma and Papa that how brutally you beat me up, how brutally you've injured me, I'll tell all," Ayushi warned him, pointing her forefinger at him. "My dear wifey, you think that I'll allow you to do all that? Seriously? Get it in your small brain, that if you'll tell me about me to anyone, I'll snatch away all your pride and prestige from you, starting from the news of you being a bar dancer. How good would it be? Right? My family will adore you more after knowing that their oh-so-sweet daughter-in-law was a bar dancer although for one day, how much big of a disgrace you will be in their eyes, just think about," Dhruv warned her in a menacing tone and Ayushi just looked at him horrified. How could he! Tears were flowing out from her eyes freely, making her look more vulnerable in front of him. "I was not a bar dancer, you know that then..." Dhruv shushed her abruptly. "But you were there in the bar? Weren't you? How good it will look that the daughter-in-law of the most prestigious family was a bar dancer but for a day only?" Dhruv just made her feel more and more disgraceful of herself, he left no chance to demoralize her, crush her with his haughty behaviour. "Why are you doing this?" Ayushi just fell near his feet and cried out in pain, he was crushing her, breaking her and now he was demoralizing her character as well. "Pack your bags, we are leaving for Bangalore in an hour, and cover up your bruises, I don't want anyone to see this," Dhruv ordered her in a rough tone and called up his assistant to ask him about the preparations. Ayushi was crying inconsolably, "Why are you doing this to me? Why is this blackmailing Dhruv? Did you want to leave me, right? Then why aren't you leaving me Dhruv, why?". Many different negative thoughts were clouding her mind. What will happen if her in-laws would come to know about her? How bad and betrayed they will feel. Ayushi for the first time had got this much love and affection from someone, she didn't want to stoop low in their eyes, she was being selfish of their love and care. She would not let Dhruv tell about this thing to anyone. Her in-laws were the world to her, they were like her real loving family which she never had. "No, I'll not let that happen. No," she had decided in her inner mind. Even after all these thoughts, she just sat there, mourning over her lost chance to freedom, mourning over the worst hell that was awaiting her, mourning over the cuts that Dhruv had inflicted on her. Her story was no different than the story of her cousin who was the daughter of her maternal uncle. She was also a victim of domestic violence, her husband was a drunkard and a greedy person who had always asked for more and more dowry and in return, her cousin had always declined and for that, she had to pay her price every day, she was beaten until she turned to black and blue every single day and when she asked for the divorce, her husband had thrown her out of his house, snatching away her only source of life, her daughter. The day when she returned to her parents' house, she had cried a lot, Ayushi had seen all that but she didn't understand anything as she was just in standard sixth at that time, but she knew something bad had happened to her Damini Didi (elder sister). She used to watch her cry every time from afar. But she never understood the reason behind her such mournful cry. After one month, the society in which they had lived started taunting Damini, naming her with many bad words and what not just because she was living far away from her husband, and at last Damini took that one step that devastated her parents completely. She committed suicide. Ayushi had understood one thing that day, that this society in which she lives, it's a patriarchal society, where man dominates over everything. She shuddered involuntarily remembering all those past events. How badly she had cried when her most favourite sister was lying there in front of her with closed eyes and her halted heartbeat. She had asked her maternal uncle what had happened to her Didi but she had only got silence in return. "Living with you Dhruv, I'll get only bruises and cuts but when I'll go far away from you, I know this society won't let me live, their words will make me die every day. I want to leave you and go far far away from you but I don't know where. My job, my qualifications will bring me money and independence but the bond which I share with you will at least provide me security against this cruel world who is always ready to pounce on a single woman living independently. I now know what happened with my Damini Di," Ayushi was talking with herself whatever was coming inside her mind. She was feared by Dhruv but the more she was feared of was this society, its people. The live example was her Damaini Didi. She was weak, she was innocent and she was uneducated when it came to standing against something wrong because nobody was there to teach her all this, her stepmother never got time to teach her other than beating and hitting her, her father was not even interested to look at her face. Who would have taught her about all these? Who? What her eyes saw, ears heard were the only learning tools for her, and from there only she had to frame her mindset and the pains that she endured only taught her that it's better to submit than to retort, that's why she was still very much weak and afraid of this society. She got up from her place and winced in pain. Her hands were badly cut with the leather belt's sharp hit. She somehow applied ointment on it and went towards the closet to pack her bags as per the order of her husband. The bruises had slowed her down but she somehow completed her packing and took out some full-sleeved Salwar suit, as she didn't want anyone to see her bruises. Dhruv's warning was still in her head. **** Finally, Dhruv and Ayushi landed on the land of beautiful Bangalore in their private jet. Thankfully his coming to Bangalore was a secret so no media person could be seen near. Dhruv was in another world. He was thinking about the losses that his company had to go through, that he didn't realize that he had left Ayushi behind who was trying to match his pace. When he didn't find her beside him, he panicked and looked backwards where he saw that his wife was running to reach him. He got an evil idea and walked much faster towards his car which was waiting for him for so long. "Take me to my bungalow," he ordered his driver and like an obedient fellow, his driver raced his car towards his master's bungalow, leaving behind the innocent Ayushi who was breathing so heavily because of running. She just gaped at the car in which Dhruv left. How could he leave her all alone in this new city which she had never visited! How could he! Tears started forming in her eyes, she was always afraid of new places, and now saw her unfaithful fate. She was left alone by her husband in this new city. Before she could pour more of her precious tears, a taxi driver approached her seeing her miserable condition and asked her where she wanted to go but she just stood there silently, knowing nothing about the place where she was supposed to stay with her husband. Meanwhile, some bodyguards came near her, carrying the luggage which they had carried from Bhopal. "Mam, your luggage. Sir had told us to give this to you and asked us to come back as soon as possible," the bodyguard spoke in a serious tone, leaving Ayushi shocked. "But where will I go?" she asked him almost on the verge of crying. "We don't know," the most faithful bodyguard replied in his thick voice and moved towards the black SUV as his master had asked them to come as soon as possible. "At least tell me the address," she begged to another bodyguard whom she found a bit humane. "Mam, sir has given us strict orders to not to tell you the address," he replied with his head put down in shame as he couldn't help her. He was feeling worse while saying all this to a lady. He was compelled to follow his master, otherwise, he'd have helped his Ma'am. Ayushi just looked at him with tears pouring down her eyes. "What am I supposed to do then?" She had asked him in a painful tone and he just looked at her sorrowfully. Eventually, he too had left her there. The taxi driver was observing all these and he just took pity on her. He had seen many women being left like this. But this woman was somehow very different from many other women. He was feeling a brotherly feeling towards her. "Come sister. Let me drive you to some hotel, where you can at least stay for a night," the taxi driver gave her an idea. Ayushi nodded because she knew that she had no other ways. Calling and asking her in-laws was out of the question, as they'd ask so many questions from her and eventually she had to tell them the whole reason which she couldn't as she was feared about Dhruv's warning. She sat inside the taxi and asked the driver to take her to a modest and decent hotel where she could spend her night peacefully. But in the midway only, they were stopped by a big black SUV standing in their way. And the person who stepped out of it was none other than Dhruv. "Come here and sit down in the car," Dhruv ordered her in a hard tone. Ayushi just glared at him for what he did with her. Every time he just wanted to see her in tears. Not to create a scene, she paid the driver his full fare but in return, he gave her a paper on which his number was written along with the money she gave him and signalled her to be safe. Ayushi was thankful to him. He was seriously like a brother to her. The driver took out her luggage and was going to carry it to their car when Dhruv stopped him, using his hard tone. "Stop right there. My wife will carry her luggage and will keep it there in the boot, won't you, Wifey?" Dhruv smirked devilishly. **~•~** Please don't forget to leave your comment and voting is your birthright!