Chapter 35: chapter 35

GOWRIThe rest of the day goes smoothly. Most of the time I stay away from Shiva not wanting to do something stupid and give away our relationship. He too seems to have the same idea because he never crossed my way again.By the end of my last session, I am feeling exhausted and want to go home as soon as possible. I take my phone to book a cab as the last student exit the room leaving me in solace. My ankle aches as I stand up and I try to ignore it. The sound of footsteps gets me looking up from my phone. I frown at the person. “What do you want Jay?” I ask in a wary voice moving to the door but he blocks me. “Your love,” he replies in a sugary tone closing the door. Why is he closing the door? I should not panic. I keep the calm in my voice as I reply.“I already-”“Yeah, I know what your answer is. You are married. I just don’t care.”“What does that mean?” I ask eyeing the closed door and praying to God that someone should come now.He comes toward me and I move back in fear. What do I fear? I don’t know. As I take one step back he comes two steps forward until I am very close to the wall. My heart picks its rate and I feel a sinking sensation in my heart.Jay takes another step and I move back but my back hits the wall. There are barely three steps between us.“Please move away,” I tell and notice my voice sounds pleading. Why am I pleading with him?“Does my closeness makes you uncomfortable?” he asks with a laugh.I nod.“But the trustee's closeness doesn't make you uncomfortable?” he asks again. I frown at him. “Do you think no witnessed the way he caught you when you tripped?” “Jay, please move. I need to go home.” I tell in a small tone. “No, I am not going to move until you give me a kiss,” he tells chuckling. I don't know what to do. I look at my phone and dial Shiva's number but before I could click on the call button, Jay snatches the phone from me and throws it on the other side of the room.  I open my mouth to shout for help but am cut off by his maniacal laughter.“No use shouting. No one will come to this side of the block at this time.”He is right. The counsellor room was among the extra rooms of the school and it is pretty isolated from the main building. No one would hear me if I shout. I am struck.Tears threaten to come. This is what my parents feared always. This is what I feared. “I am not going to do anything you want me to,” I tell in a defiant tone.“Come on, Gowri, I love you so much. This kiss will prove it to you.”“You don't love me. You lust after me,” I snap. He gives a humourless laugh.“Is there a difference nowadays? I thought  I would first make you my girlfriend and then sleep with you but now I know that is impossible. So, just one kiss and I will leave you alone. I am an amazing kisser and you will enjoy it.”“Please stop this. I am not that type,” I plead again.“Come on, no one is that type. Don’t worry your husband will not know this,” he tells coming one step towards me.No. No. No. I will not let this happen to me.I put my hands on his chest and push him away with all my force and yell, “Stay away from me.”My sudden force only pushes him a little away and I use that to try to escape but because of my injured ankle, I am not able to make it to the room door. He seizes my hand. As I feel the rush of adrenaline in my body, instincts kick over.It is either fight or flight. Definitely not going to be surrender.I bite his hand and his grip loosens. I try to yank my hand away but it is not possible with his huge strength.My body trembles in fear and I feel my hand burn at the place he is touching. Disgust creeps through my whole body and tears threaten to roll down my face. Maybe my parents are right. A woman couldn’t survive on her own. If she tries this is what happens. No, I can't let my emotions cloud my mind now. I have it in me to escape his grip. No, I will not let him do this to me. A budding strength comes into me and I rip my hand from his grip with a force. He is surprised at it.I am not going to give in.If he wants to touch me then he can do that only after I die. I quickly move to the table and grab the first thing my hand get and I throw it at him. It is my thermos bottle and it hits him square in the head injuring him at his right brow. The sharp bottom of the bottle had cut his right brow into halves and blood bleeds from it. But that is not enough to hold Jay back.“Gowri, we both very well know that you are a soft-natured woman. You are delicate, baby. Violence doesn't suit yo-”No one babies me and he is not the one to decide if violence suits me or not.I throw the next thing at him but he anticipates my move and ducks down and the pen stand hits the wall. He takes his handkerchief and wipes the blood from his brow and looks at me with lust-filled eyes.I feel like someone is pouring acid all down my body. I hate myself at this moment. My body. My gender and everything. He lunges for me again and this time I am not fast enough to move from him. He grips my hands in a steel grasp. I open my mouth to shout for help but he covers my mouth with his hand. “Don’t you dare call for help,” he tells in a menacing tone. “Ninety per cent of the school had already left and no one would come here for help even if you shout. It is a waste of your energy and I want you to have some energy in case the kiss leads to something bigger and better. We even have a huge table here.”My insides burn in anger and frustration. I want to shout, yell and cry. But I don't want to let Jay know that I am afraid of him. No. I am not going to give in to him.I want to try one last time. Gathering all the saliva in my mouth I spit at his hand that is still covering my mouth. He removes his hand in shock. It will be of no use but there is no harm in trying.“Hel-” I start to shout but Jay slaps me across my face. A tear escapes my eye and I blink away the rest.No. I can't cry now. Not before him. “Gowri,” he tells in a sickly tone making my insides crawl in revulsion. “You are a sweet woman. Don't make me hurt you. It is just a kiss. We can take things further only if you like the kiss. I promise I will be gentle with you.”You are fragile. You are weak. You are delicate. You are soft. You can't survive in this world. The world is evil. There are men out there who will assault you. You are a weakling because you are a woman.He leans forward. His eyes shine with lust and desire. No, No, No, No, Nope. I am strong. I am bold. I am unbreakable. I am courageous. I can take care of myself. I can survive. So what if the world is evil? So what if there are men who lust after women? I am no weakling because damn you, I am a woman. He will not get away with what he wants.Rage spreads through me. I raise my knee and kick his groin. He lets go of me and groans in pain.This is my chance. I run to the door. As my hand catches the door handle to open it, I feel him pull me by my hair. “You are not going to get away bitch. Now, I am going to hurt you,” he says through gritted teeth to keep the pain in check. He slams me against the wall with a force but he is still suffering from my kick. My head hurts as it hits the wall and I see black spots. I try wiggling out of his grasp but my head throbs and I am no match for his strength. Still wincing in pain, he comes near me.Nay. One last try. I must do something. I will not surrender. Not yet. He is already hurt and I have my chances of escape.The door suddenly opens with a bang.🍀🍀🍀🍀