Chapter 5: chapter 5

MADHAV“STOP IT,” Sruthi’s frantic voice snaps me out of the frenzy of rage. Shit! I lost my sanity the moment I saw the pervert advancing on Sruthi and she looked freaking scared. I force myself away from the man. My head clears and I look down at the man’s face clearly for the first time. He is bleeding and I curse myself for being this sloppy with him. I never meant to beat him up but the way he was looking at her and trying to get his hands on her pissed me off.I rake a hand through my hair and warn him, “Five seconds. Run in five seconds or you will regret it.”The man crawls away to an expensive car. He gets into it in record time and speeds away without a glance back. I shove my hands inside my pant pockets to stop myself from doing something crazy like pulling Sruthi into my arms and comforting her. But one look at her enraged face reveals that she needs no comfort. She is more pissed at me than on that man. I am sure if there had been another woman in her place, she would have gushed at me in gratitude but this is Sruthi I am dealing with. Gratitude is the last emotion she feels for me. She closes her eyes and takes deep breaths. I curse at myself internally for putting her in a tough spot. But I am not going to apologize for what I did. Because that bastard was asking for it when pretending to be nice to her. “You ready to go home?” I asked before she could say anything. That gets her to open her eyes. Confusion makes her frown and I resist myself from reaching out and touching the wrinkle that forms on her forehead when she thinks too hard.Her frown deepens and she asks in a loathing voice, “What makes you think that I am going to come with you?” I sigh and take my phone out of my pocket. I navigate to the chat with her brother and hand my phone to her. She takes it reluctantly. I watch her as she reads the text exchange between me and Vikram. I had come to this hotel regarding a business deal and I planned to stay the night here. I just wanted to have a peaceful night for myself because from tomorrow there is going to be a whole lot of work to be done for Sruthi’s marriage.  I wanted to make peace with the fact that I was never going to have the woman I love and that she had found her happiness in someone else. The media may call me a violent and obsessive man. They are correct. I am violent and obsessive but if there is one thing I learned from my shitty childhood then that is obsession is not love. I knew from first-hand experience that the biggest gift you can give someone you love is the freedom of choice. I want Sruthi in my life but I want her to be in it willingly. “Of all the people my brother would have sent, why should it be you?” she asks in an incredulous tone. That makes two of us. Vikram had no idea where I was when he  called me to pick up his sister. He was more than relived that I was in the same hotel as she was. No matter how worried Vikram was in the past, he never sent me to pick up Sruthi. He was well aware of his sister’s loathing for me.  He sent me that text to show it to Sruthi as a proof that it was her brother's idea to make me escort her. Something is fishy.“I was nearby,” I lie to her not wanting to worry her with my theories. Unlike her brother, Sruthi hates the idea of violence, conspiracies, politics, and blood. She was only twelve years old when her parents were brutally butchered before her.  It gave her the trauma of violence, blood, and injury. I don’t want her to worry about things when she is having her marriage in a week. Nope, her brother is the one who is in the politics. From the beginning, Sruthi made it clear that she doesn’t want to do anything with the position her brother holds. She gave up her right as the heir to challenge her brother to the minister’s position. All she wants is a happy family with sunshine and rainbows like something straight out of the clichéd movies. I can’t provide her with it but if the jerk she is marrying can then I am in no way going to stand in her way. Even if it hurts like hell to watch her with someone else.“So, where is your car?” she asks  in an annoyed tone. I smile to myself. Her annoyance is a shield to hide the fear she has for me. She has a very good reason to fear me. Because, after all, I am just like those bastards who killed her parents. I start walking to my old beat-up convertible car and she follows me without a word. I open the passenger door for her but she ignores me and gets into the backseat of the car. As she takes her seat, I notice her properly for the first time today. I was so blinded by my rage at the bastard who tried to put his hands on her that my eyes missed the fact about her clothing. She isn’t in her baggy clothes. She is wearing a white top and jeans that hug her body in a way that tortures me. The white top is—HOLY SHIT! Her dark blue bra that is visible through her wet white top leaves nothing to the imagination. I quickly look away. Goddammit! I want to be a gentleman but I don’t think I can stay like one if she looks like that. I remove my gaze from her chest and keep it on her face as she gets comfortable in my car. She shivers and I realize how she must feel with her wet clothes.“Why don’t you change your clothes before heading home?” I ask.She throws me a glare before answering, “What do you think? I carry a wardrobe wherever I go?”Despite myself, a laugh bubbles out of me, “I know you're not that type of woman. I meant that you can change into the spare clothes I have in the hotel room.”She raises her eyebrow in suspicion,  “Are you trying to get me naked in your hotel room to fulfill all your sick fantasies?”Another laugh bubbles out of me, “Why do you always assume the worst of me? I only suggested that because you are shivering,” she flinches and I can’t stop myself from adding, “Besides, the first time I get you naked, it will be with your consent.”She gives me a humorless laugh, “Dream on Madhav. That is never going to happen.  I am getting married in a week and the only man who can see me naked is my husband. So, you better stop entertaining any thoughts about me or my body. Because, I assure you if my brother ever gets wind of this, he wouldn’t spare you.”❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥