Armaan paled when he heard her and saw the girl who looked like she’d seen a ghost. He doubted if she realized what was coming out of her mouth. Feeling an overwhelming pity for her and even greater anger at whichever horrible lowlife had done this to her, he got up slowly, not wanting to startle her.
He put on his discarded t-shirt and looked at her lacy bra he’d torn. He righted her dress and made her get up to a sitting position. “Mia, look at me.” Tears were running down her face openly. She went into a foetal position, turning away from him. “Mia, please.” He pleaded. “I won’t...won’t touch you if you don’t want that. Please, can you just look at me.” After ten seconds, she slowly nodded.
Exhaling a relieved breath, he quickly got some water for her. He retrieved her cardigan from the foyer, switched on the lamp by the couch, and sat down next to her. “Have this water.” He waited anxiously until she unbent enough to look at his hands with the glass. After gulping the liquid, she returned it to him, still looking at the floor.
“I want to go home.” She continued to avoid his eyes.
“Okay. Let me get the keys.” He placed the glass in the kitchen and proceeded to get his car keys and wallet. When he came back towards the couch, he saw she’d managed to right her appearance. He looked at her eyes and silently cursed. They were blank, devoid of any emotion.
Chapter 8
Armaan got out of his car after parking near her cafe. When she protested, he simply shook his head. “I only want to ensure you get into your house safe. Don’t worry, I won’t touch you.” He cared to explain.
Mia paled at his words and went up the stairs. After she pulled the door open, she left it ajar. She didn’t know if he wanted to come in, but she understood she had to at least apologize if not explain. Before that, she quickly went to her room and discarded the dress and pulled a comfortable pair of PJs. Coming out of the room, she noticed he was standing at the same spot, by the entrance.
“I’m sorry. I think this won’t work between us. I won’t waste your time anymore. I...I thought I was ready for a relationship; clearly, we both now know I am not.” She looked down, unwilling to see the disgust on his face. She couldn’t go through that right now. Not when she knew she was damaged.
Armaan walked towards where she stood. At that moment, he didn’t see his friend. He only saw a frightened girl who had been hurt in the past. “Who did this to you, Mia? I want to know who did this to you. I will have the greatest pleasure in ensuring the fucking bastard goes through a slow, painful death.”
Mia looked up when she heard the suppressed rage in his voice. “I appreciate your concern, but I’m afraid it’s too late. I am damaged, and nothing is ever going to come out of this.” She gave him a sad smile, her face conveying the loss of hope.
“No! No, you aren’t damaged.” He looked into her eyes and spoke urgently. “I want this. I want you. I can wait for however long you want me to.”
“Why? Don’t you see I can’t give you what you want?” Her eyes filled with hopeless tears.
Armaan pulled her into his arms, taking care not to frighten her. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. Whoever did this to you will have to pay for it. I will personally see to that.”
Mia stiffened at the finality that she heard in his voice. With his wealth and resources, it won’t be long before he found out. She looked up at him. “He’s already dead.”
“What?” He looked shocked.
She moved away from his arms and sat on her couch. “It was Peter.”
Armaan cursed. He’d never liked Jacobs from the very first time he’d seen him, and her words confirmed his opinion. He gingerly sat next to her, wary of her reaction to his proximity and touch.
“I married him on the rebound. After realizing the twins were your lovers, I knew I wouldn’t ever be enough. You didn’t even notice the efforts I’d taken after you came in with them. I was...heartbroken. That was the reason I moved away.”
“I’m sorry! I never knew, Mia. I was drunk that day, and I don’t even remember how I ended up with two women, to be honest.” He placed a hand on his forehead.
She continued, ignoring his apology. “I met Peter two weeks after I left your place. He was charming, attentive, and a balm to my wound. In hindsight, I realize I was just on the rebound. Before I realized what happened, we were already married.”
“I remember.” His face displayed his displeasure. “In six weeks, you were no longer single.”
“If there’s one thing that I regret in my life, it is my marriage. He was wealthy, an only son, pampered and...and gay.” She finished in a whisper.
“What?”
“I was inexperienced and didn’t realize it wasn’t normal, the way he was. Initially, he wouldn’t really hmm, come near me. I was baffled. When I tried to speak to him, he’d get annoyed. He’d deliberately pick up fights. It started with small things, how I wasn’t perfect. Little by little, he tore me, my confidence. For two years, he systematically broke me, piece by piece.”
Armaan’s hands clenched on his knees. He was thankful in a way that the selfish bastard was dead. Else, he would have throttled him with his bare hands.
Mia looked at a spot on the wall. She was reliving the horror. “Eventually, when I confronted him about why we didn’t live like a man and wife, he...he got physical.” She swallowed. “His parents were conservative, and he didn’t want me to take this to them. That’s when the true horror began.”
“No, sweetheart. Stop! If this is going to hurt you, please stop.” He pleaded, already having heard enough.
“No, Armaan. You have to hear this. You still think there’s a chance for us. I want you to understand there isn’t.” She continued after a deep breath. “He started ridiculing me for my imperfect physique, often displaying his disgust at my body. When I think about it now, I feel he was trapped in this sham of a marriage. He couldn’t own his lover or live a life with him openly. I was the obstruction to the life he wanted, and he made sure I was punished for it. Repeatedly! There were days he was violent. He’d tear my clothes, point my imperfections, and hammer in repeatedly that he didn’t find me attractive...that he couldn’t...that I…wasn’t enough to...would never be able to please him. It wasn’t until a week before his death that I accidentally found out he was gay.”
Unable to bear her torment any longer, he took her in his arms, rocking her back and forth. To know that she’d lived through hell and come out of it strong, he was so damn proud of his Mia. Words couldn’t convey how sorry he was. Had he not got drunk and slept with those two girls, none of this would have happened. Guilt and anger at himself threatened to swallow him.
