The Devil's Advocate - AR
Part A
"Do you or do you not agree, that it was dark, you may have been partially drunk, and hence not recognised the oppressor's face?" Was the demanding question from the defendant's side that hit her, while rough images brutally tore into her memory once again.
Shutting her eyes, she pictured that fateful night, and yes, the face was clear in her eyes, her head, as she had tried to resist with all her might, of course she remembered his face. Who wouldn't? Who the hell wouldn't remember? And she wanted to scream out, shout out in front of everybody, curse them for not believing her, for questioning the truth! She wanted to strangle the lawyer in front of her with her bare hands, but even worse, she wanted to commit murder. And the victim would be the guy who sat with so much ease at the table, glancing at her with victorious eyes, a smirk playing about on his face.
She glanced back at the questioner, who was still waiting for her answer, and couldn't help but let a few tears run down her cheeks, when her throat couldn't manage to form the words.
"Miss Gupta. Tears are a sign of weakness." The man's voice had toned down, but ever so slightly. She could still feel his words lashing in front of her face teasingly, injuring her more deeply. May I suggest that it's because you've finally realized that this was a huge mistake? That either, you've accused the wrong person, or, brought to court something that never happened?" He chose his words well, she noticed.
"It happened!" She found herself croaking out half in fury, half in utter disbelief that this person in front of her, who didn't even know her, was paid to insult her over and over again, and effing did a pretty darn good job of it!
"Are you a hundred per cent sure?" The lawyer's smooth voice sifted through the air, leaving her speechless, while those horrifying images in her mind became more frequent, forcing her to break down into more tears. She wanted to tear her heart out, tear her skin off herself, because it had his imprints on it. His dirty, filthy and disgusting touches all around her body , while in vain she had tried to free herself.
"Your honour, the opposition is just terrorizing the victim." Her lawyer spoke up. And she glanced gratefully at him, for stepping in.
"Am I really? I merely asked a few questions to be clear. I'm sorry if that upset the court, or.." his eyes flickered tauntingly at the woman in the witness box, who couldn't, wouldn't make another effort to answer any of his questions. "Miss Riddhima Gupta." His face straightened out again. "The mere fact that she is unable to answer any of my questions, your honour, proves that she may have been unsure of what really happened. Her hesitancy also suggests that she might have made a misguided accusation to my client, Mr Sahil Verma, because, your Honour, Mr Verma is a rich guy and it's in most women's minds to trap these sort of fellows. Therefore, I Stand by my client's claim that he is not guilty of raping Miss Riddhima Gupta. I rest my case."
"Thank you Mr Mallik. Mr Grewal, would you like to cross examine the witness?"
"Not this time, your honour." Was the curt reply from Riddhima's attorney, Rahul Grewal.
The judge and the jury abandoned the court room and one after another went into an adjoining room. They returned in half an hour and after a good five minutes, while they all settled down, the judge spoke.
"Defensive evidence has been heard and taken into consideration. The case will be resumed on this day, in five weeks' time. The court may disperse."
Riddhima shut her eyes in fury, as she clenched the rails of the witness box tight, so tight that her knuckles slowly lost all their colour. She had waited, waited a good six months for the trial to begin, and now the days just kept extending. Tears of frustration, of injustice and plain hurt were streaming down her cheeks, while she did all she could to not sob out loud.
"Riddhima!" She heard her best friend's voice float to her ears and pretty soon, warm arms engulfed her into themselves. Turning her head inside Muskaan's shoulder, she let out all her sobs, while Muskaan's eyes tightened and her own tears streamed down her face after being witness to everything.
"Riddhima, please keep yourself under control." Rahul said, caringly, not paying any heed to the opposition, who looked like he was about to make his way forward.
"I know I've got to, I know.." she whispered, and squeezed her eyes shut. Slowly, but steadily, she regained hold of herself and every bit of it took the last minute strength and courage that remained inside her. Just as she was about to exit the room, with her two best friends, one being a lawyer, beside her, the silk voice that had berated her for the past hour, interrupted their thoughts causing them to stop in their tracks.
"Miss Gupta," Mr Mallik said, and Riddhima was forced to turn around and look at his handsome profile right in front of her. His eyes had a calm sea of nothingnesss inside them, but she took her time in trying to study those blues, to read what was behind that mask she was so sure he had put on.
"Sorry to come down on you harshly. I'm just doing my job. Nothing personal." He stated, smiling genuinely at her. She looked around to see the court empty, concluding that Sahil had already left the room.
Rahul and Muskaan were spitting fire at the nerve and words of the guy who had a cool attitude about him, but just as they were about to come and help Riddhima, she put a hand up to stop them. Being a woman, she had a lot of internal strength, a hell lot. But right now, she was at one of her weakest moments. She had given her everything for this moment, everything! All for what? To see it all fall apart? To see that bas***d in the hospital, roaming around as though nothing had happened? To see him scott free, after giving her a lifetime of memories that will always scald and burn her future? Her eyes teared up again at those thoughts, but she still looked back at the lawyer with unwavering gaze and could tell, he was impressed by her courage.
"Mr.." she hesitated, but he filled it in for her quickly.
"Mallik, but you can call me Armaan." She swallowed. There was so much she wanted to say! So much she wanted to do. Like kill him on the spot! Slap him and force him to understand the meaning or rape. It wasn't just the possession of someone's body. It was a disgusting act against the nature of humanity! It was something that ripped a person's soul apart! It snatched away every reason for them to be happy! That was what Riddhima felt like. That was what she wanted to explain to this guy, Armaan. Sahil had snatched her life away from her! And the one chance she was getting at justice, Armaan was trampling it down with his own feet? The one chance she had waited for, was all coming to nothing? Armaan Mallik could be one of the best lawyers in the country! Obviously, Sahil Verma with his money would take nothing but the best. But how, how could even the best lawyer defy the truth? How could he stand there and defend a guy who was guilty of ruining her life, then say it was nothing personal? Her mouth opened to give him all that, but instead, the words that came out were,
"Mr Mallik, I have nothing to say to you."
She took one last look in his astonished eyes and it satisfied her to know she had surprised him, caught him unaware. He was probably expecting a huge outburst, probably her trying to slam her fists against his chest, threaten to kill him too, but calmly, all she did was turn and walk away, leading her friends out of this God forsaken place, where things were rarely, if ever, set right. She hadn't even bothered calling him by his first name as he suggested. And being a lawyer, he always analysed these littlest things in people. The use of his second name, and the respecting 'Mr' in front of it, showed she wanted to keep her distance from him. As though he was the reason she had gone through such an ordeal. But in some way, by supporting Sahil, wasn't he?
Armaan sighed as these thoughts clouded up his mind and ran a hand through his hair. He actually meant it when he said 'nothing personal'. He wanted to get rid of all the guilt! But her eyes, everything about them screamed constantly that he was a heartless, awful person. And this constant blow to his self-esteem did not strengthen his resolve to win the case at all. In fact, it made him bitter and ashamed of himself. Shaking every little feeling out, he proceeded to walk into the sunshine. They had five weeks before the next hearing, which gave him enough time to rest and party for a week, maybe two, before getting down to more work, look for more evidences. Not that there were many evidences, it was basically a woman's word against a man's. However, the court nearly always favoured the women.
* * * * * * *
"No! Please..!" She screamed and wailed, in the shadowy room, fighting with all her might, but the figure wouldn't stop. "Sahil leave me!!" her tears were useless, and so was all her resistance, everything she tried to do failed! The door was locked, the room was dark, and she kept bumping and crashing into every single thing. His hands were now gripping her tight, while every single inch of her body was screaming loud to get out of that hold. Nothing helped.
SMACK! One hard slap across her face threw her down, onto the ground with such force, that she heard the slam of her back against the wall, even before the pain started shooting through her body, even before she finally gave up.
Riddhima's eyes flew open on the pillow. Images of her dream and reality kept flashing in her mind, while she shut her eyes tight to try and bury everything behind her. Why had she given up? Didn't she have that last ounce of strength in her, to fight back? It had been over six months since that incident, and not one night had Riddhima managed to put herself in deep, calm sleep, unless she took those pills. Swallowing thickly, she sat up and reached out for the jug of water on her bedside table, her mind constantly haunting her about that one night. Her trembling fingers let the jug slipped from her hand and crash onto the floor, making an ear splitting sound in what seemed like the dead of the night.
Predictably, she heard footsteps rush into her room soon enough, and the bright light that switched on almost blinded her for a moment!
"Thank God you're alright, Ridz." Muskaan's shaky voice came through the doorway. "Don't worry about that, I'll do something about it in the morning." She motioned to the broken glass as she made her way across the room.
"I'm sorry, Muski.." She managed to whisper.
"Pagal ho gayyi hai kya?" Muskaan replied. "What are you saying sorry for? And look at you. You're sweating so much. Was it the same dream?" She asked in a quiet voice. All Riddhima could do was nod once.
Muskaan shut her eyes tight to prevent herself from tearing up. No matter how much she had cried for her best friend, no matter how much she had insulted, cursed, almost beaten up Sahil, nothing took back what he had done. And nothing would. She held Riddhima's hand, and warmed it up, noticing how it had almost frozen. Was it really because of the weather, or because there had been lack of blood supply to it?
"Why don't you try and seep again?" She whispered. "I'm just next door with Rahul. Please don't worry about anything."
It took everything for Muskaan to not burst into tears every time this happened. She got up, fetched Riddhima a glass of water, and handed her a bottle of pills.
"Here. I think it's best if you have them tonight." Muskaan muttered, knowing that was a sign of weakness. She had sworn to stop Riddhima from having sleeping pills every night, but how could she help it when she saw her in this condition? How could she stop herself from trying to give her best friend some sleep, which she desperately needed? Heck how could she doze off peacefully when Riddhima couldn't even close her eyes? "We're always there for you alright? Both, Rahul and I. You know that."
Riddhima smiled. Of course she knew that. Rahul, Muskaan and Riddhima had been together ever since she could remember! Ever since primary school, back in India. Engaged at the age of twenty one, Rahul and Muskaan had decided to shift to Leicester, UK, but they couldn't leave without Riddhima. So she tagged along, and then followed the five most amazing years of her life. Until that fateful day. And from the day she turned up at their house, in such a filthy condition, they vowed to always stick together, and never break up. Recently, the couple had just celebrated their third wedding anniversary.
"I'll be fine Muski. Thank you." Riddhima whispered, as she slid into her bed and pulled the covers over herself after swallowing one pill. She closed her eyes, but Muskaan did not budge; instead sat on the bed and caressed Riddhima's hair, until she was sure her friend had slipped into a deep slumber. Finally, after tucking her in, and before leaving the room, she contemplated whether she should switch off the lights and shut the door. Doing neither, she walked back to her room and saw Rahul sitting up in his bed, trying to squeeze out every single detail from the 'Laws of Criminology' book.
"Is she alright?" he asked when he saw Muskaan.
"Yeah, she's fine." Muskaan replied, slipping into bed. "Same dream. Rahul," she looked up earnestly at him. "We have to win this no matter what. I can't see her stuck like this for the rest of her life. If we win, at least she'll be able to move on."
"I know Muski. Neither can I." He put aside the book, turned off the bedside lamp. "It's past two am. Let's get some sleep." He whispered, pushing himself under the covers and hugging in his wife.
"Rahul, do we have a chance?" she asked him in the dark.
"We should. But that lawyer is too bloody darn good." Rahul furiously muttered, clenching his jaw. "And to match his steps, we need to advance ours. But he's managed to block so many paths, that it's almost become impossible."
"So now?"
"Now we just keep going and not give up. As long as Ridz doesn't give up, I won't give up. I'll do everything I can to make sure that bas***d is put behind bars."
"And I'll pray for that." She turned around and held Rahul close to herself, waiting for sleep to engulf her.
* * * * * * *
"That will be five pounds fifteen, Steve. Do you want me to help you with that?" Armaan looked up from his magazine at that familiar voice, as he stood by the cashier, behind his trolley, waiting for his turn. Well, if he had only known he would bump into her like this!
"No thanks Darling, I need to work my muscles up a bit." The old man smile at her as he proceeded to pack his things. "You must have been here since morning. Aren't you tired?"
"Exhausted, actually. But my shift will be over in five minutes." Riddhima replied, smiling at him. "Alright then, have a good weekend and see you next week."
"It's a date." Steve winked at her. "You too." He turned and hobbled out of the supermarket on his stick.
Riddhima turned to see a huge trolley with things piled up to the top. Groaning inwardly, she looked at this person who gave her the impression that he was out to buy the whole supermarket, but momentarily stopped breathing when she saw his face. Armaan Mallik, the lawyer.
"Well, well, well, fancy seeing you here, Miss Gupta." His velvety voice floated over the counter and she felt her heart beat pick up pace, as though he was going to attack her in front of all the customers. His last tirade at the court a couple of days ago was still etched clearly into her mind, as she tried not to look at him. Without replying, she looked back at the trolley and forced her muscles to start on her work.
Few groceries, wine bottles, beer bottles, plastics cups, plates etc. Someone was gearing up for a party. And she had a horrible feeling that a certain Sahil Verma would be on this guest list. Silently, however, she continued passing each object under the scanner while he looked at her closely.
"May I know how much it is?" he asked her, forcing her to look up and give him one of her dirtiest glare. As though he couldn't see the numbers on display! After a while, she answered in a steady voice.
"Forty twenty nine."
"Will cash be fine?" he asked, and she nodded curtly. The moment the money hit her palm, she snatched her hand away and handed him the change, careful not to touch him as though she'll burn or catch a disease. That made Armaan frown slightly, but nevertheless, he packed the things in his bags and headed off.
Riddhima sighed in relief when his back turned and he walked out of the store. When she looked down at her hands, she saw them shaking, with fear, was it? It was weak of her, and she knew it. But she couldn't help it! The moment she had seen him, heard his mocking tone, everything came rushing back, and she hated how she couldn't control her thoughts. But then again, had she been able to do that, she wouldn't have had those God forsaken dreams over and over again would she?
"Ridz?" A hand on her shoulder shocked her back to the present surroundings.
"Whoops, sorry to startle you." Robin's smiling blue eyes caught her attention, while her long nose twinkled in the light and her short hair bobbed above her shoulders.
"No it's cool. Ready?" Riddhima asked cheerfully.
"As ever. Bring it on." Robin replied, and took over.
Armaan saw Riddhima step out of the supermarket, put on her gloves and head off to the nearest caf while he put his shopping bags in his car. Determined not to lose her, he followed her through the crowd in the city centre, keeping sight of the maroonish coat which hugged her figure. Why he did that, he had no idea. But something was nagging him to ever since he set his eyes on her in the supermarket.
"May I have a seat?"
Riddhima didn't need to look up to recognize the owner of that voice. What was he here to do? Why was he following her like that? But it sounded as though he would not stop trying to talk to her until she gave in. This thought made her want to lash out at him, but she kept her cool, and nodded once.
"So, how are you?" he asked softly, trying to make eye contact with her. She however, thanked the waiter who brought her coffee for her at that point, and took a sip before answering back.
"Weird seeing you care." Was her short, cold reply.
"You'd be surprised. I'm just curious to see you work at the supermarket." He pursued, hoping this would get him somewhere. He had no idea why he was trying so hard, when clearly.. she didn't even want to see his face.
"Why?" she asked back curtly. "It's a great base for you to make fun of me in the court room again? Wouldn't it make the best introductory statement that I work at a supermarket store, for your 'Let's Humiliate Riddhima' speech which you manage to form and express so well in front of everybody."
Ouch, he thought, as her bitter words stung somewhere. He wasn't as heartless a person as she made him out to be. He really wasn't, but this was his job! He was trained to do that. However, she did have a point. He had gone down so harshly on her a few days back. And he did admit it to himself when he thought back to that day. But a lawyer should never lose his cool. He should never think or get emotional. It just wasn't in one's nature. So, despite the prickling feeling her words had on him, he curtained it all.
"Firstly, thank you for saying I do my job well. Secondly, good God no. I wouldn't want to mention our meeting in the court. It might make things uglier."
"Then why are you so hell bent on talking to me?" she asked sharply, resuming the connection between their eyes. "Isn't it best to leave everything pretty and beautiful for everyone to see?" The double meaning behind her words once again caught him off guard. There was something inside this woman, something that longed to be released, something that demanded fairness. And he hated to admit what he knew.
"Because let's see. I get very bored by myself and I need someone to talk to. Plus, since I'm not too familiar with this area, coz I am from the capital, maybe you could help me."
She sipped her coffee and chose to ignore that answer, breaking the bond between them. Armaan frowned, wondering why this was going so wrong. He wanted to apologize, he wanted answers. Especially from her side, ever since he saw her working at the counter. But she was making this so much more harder for him than necessary!
"Why do you care?" she asked directly. "So you can falsely prove it to everyone during the second hearing that I sold myself? That I need more money so I trapped Sahil in my so called charms?" Her sarcastic tone burned. But once again, he did not show it.
"Just genuine curiosity."
"I don't believe it."
"I wouldn't lie to you."
"I don't believe that either."
"And I will get what exactly by lying?" His quick answer came back and she pursed her lips, as though thinking of an answer. When she finally couldn't anymore, she looked back at him, while he refused to let his gaze wander away, changed her sight and cleared her throat.
"Fine then. If you really want to poke your nose. I can't work under the same roof as the man who.." she faltered in her sentence, and glanced up at him, but his eyes did not suggest anything as he kept looking steadily at her. "Who.. who raped me."
Coming to terms with it was difficult. Being able to say it out loud was even more difficult. And she had finally managed it! How? When it had taken her the last five months to admit it to herself. How had she just suddenly gathered so much strength, so much will power to be able to say it out loud? But as people say that voicing it makes it lighter, she wasn't too sure at the moment. Especially not when she could feel his disgusting touch crawl over her body like unwanted snakes, which made her clench her jaw in sheer effort to stop try and peel her skin off herself. When Armaan kept staring intently at her, however, she chose to continue, regardless of the torment every word was putting her through.
"But you obviously think otherwise." Armaan's hands twitched slightly uncomfortably, however Riddhima did not notice. "Can't live off your friends for the rest of your life can you? So I needed a job to contribute to some of the expenses at least." Afraid that she might open up in front of him, she stole her eyes and looked away, making her coffee mug the most interesting thing in her life at that particular moment.
He leaned back in his chair slowly. She could mask feelings almost as well as he could! No wonder she had chosen a doctor's degree. Though she probably would have made a fine lawyer. Here, all her straight answers had a hint of pride hidden in them, making him, Armaan Mallik, the best lawyer in the country, in total awe of his opposition.
"But why not work in another hospital? Why have you stopped practising?"
She shrugged, wondering whether or not she should answer him. The simple answer was that she was desperate for a small, busy, time consuming job and they were desperate for any sort of employee. So it was an advantage on both sides. Opening her purse, she took out two pounds and left them on the centre plate. The waiter came and took the coins, before she chose to answer his question.
"This is just temporary; I will never stop my practise. There is no way I will stop trying to save people's lives, even when the likes of you try to destroy mine."
With that, she got up and made her way out of the cafeteria, taking care not to look back at his stunned expression. She could feel her insides her trembling. And instead of feeling scared, or nervous, she felt overwhelmed. Overwhelmed that she could answer him back, so directly when he was not in a suit. She managed a small smile for herself while continuing to take each step away from him in what she hoped was a poised, dignified manner.
Armaan kept watching her figure grow smaller, before he decided to change position in his seat. She really was one heck of a woman, he thought to himself. She was strong. She had courage, and he admired that in her. In fact, he admired that in every woman. But the key thing to it all was her determination which kept building every second.
Despite giving her a taste of hell in the courtroom, humiliating her, she had still managed to look him in the eye and not give up. That fearless attitude in her made him want to salute her. And he had a feeling, that even if he dragged her through mud during the second hearing, she would still stand up and challenge him once again, till he was the one who gave up. But somehow, the thought of doing that did not appeal to him at all.
* * * * * * *
Twisting his blackberry in his hand, Armaan smiled in amusement at the view in front of him. Honestly, if he knew he was going to bump into her everywhere, he might not have taken this case at all! Ever since he'd seen her working at the supermarket, he couldn't help but walk past whenever he could just so he could get a glimpse of her. But seeing her like this was, well, just pure coincidence. He hadn't been able to believe his eyes when he saw the three of them walk into this very restaurant, Riddhima in between Muskaan and Rahul, smiling occasionally at the jokes that the other two were cracking. She smiled genuinely, even when she had all the right reasons to cry her soul out. Even though this smile of hers, when she was with her friends, came from the bottom of her heart, Armaan could clearly tell, it wasn't whole. Something was missing inside her that made it empty. Something that Armaan hated to admit but had to. Something that his client, who was now strolling in with his hands in his pocket, forty five minutes late, had snatched from her.
Sahil grinned wolfishly as he took a seat opposite Armaan, who sized him up. No wonder he had been rejected by Riddhima a countless times. He just wasn't up to her standards. Yes he had money and he had okayish looks. But he also had a sense of scruffiness and (was it possible to call a guy that?) cheapness which he proudly seemed to display as a badge on himself. Riddhima, on the other hand, was class. Period. She may not be the best dressed, or the best looking, but she knew how to hold herself, present herself, and charm anybody who thought otherwise. No wonder, he found himself thinking.
"You're late." Armaan wasn't smiling as he made eye contact with his client.
"Sorry Mr lawyer. But you know, got caught up at the hospital." Sahil's grin became wider while all Armaan wanted to dearly do at that moment was wipe it straight off, and render his face expressionless.
"I've told you once, Mr Verma and I'll tell you this for the final time. I'm a lawyer, and I can see through lies as clearly as water, so don't," he paused for a moment for emphasis. "Even try." It didn't take particular law skills to conclude what had been happening after noticing the checked shirt, half tucked in, the messed up hair, and hands constantly itching to get back to his i-phone 4S.
But mission accomplished. That smirk disappeared from his face in an instant and Armaan turned his attention back to the file that was waiting for him at the edge of the table. They had work to get through, and Sahil became serious as he listened to Armaan intently and answered all of his questions.
Once though, Sahil's gaze flitted across the room, to the trio sitting, having dinner and cracking jokes at the expense of each other. Armaan saw Sahil's eyes blaze with fire, and that scene did not sit down too perfectly within him. Forcing Sahil's attention back to himself, he said a quick,
"Ignore them," and continued.
While Armaan was busy writing down a few notes, Sahil excused himself for a bathroom break. Well, he could spare that much time at the moment, though if that took forty five minutes, Armaan wasn't sure his patience could hold for that long. After a full couple of minutes, when he'd finished taking notes, he looked up to resume to his favourite hobby, Riddhima analysing, when he saw Rahul and Muskaan's seats empty and a huge figure blocking his view of Riddhima.
"Sahil." Armaan grit his teeth, and made his way over to the other table, hoping for the best but expecting the worst.
"What do you want, Riddhima?" Sahil whispered furiously, while she stood up, refusing to cower against his rage, her own building up. He was the same guy who had torn her apart. The same guy because of whom she hadn't been able to sleep well for what seemed like a century. She wanted to hurt him! She wanted to punish him! She wanted to see him behind bars, and hope that would do her good. Her jaws clenched as she refused to answer back to him. There was no way he was getting the satisfaction of what he had managed to do.
"Will you bloody damn answer me you bitch?!" he seethed back, fire spitting out of his mouth.
"And if I don't, what will you do?" her quick answer came out, challenging him, rousing him all the more.
"Listen Miss Riddhima Gupta. It was just one f**king night. I wasn't fully aware of everything. For f**k's sake, stop screwing around with my life, and yours for that matter, and bloody get lost!" he seethed.
"You complete bas***d!" She whispered back furiously, unable to hide her disgust. "To you it was one night. To me, it was my LIFE! And I won't rest till I see you behind the bars, suffering, like I have been. And you can take my word on that." Riddhima felt tears prick her eyes, but there was no way she was going to let him see that. It would just give him more satisfaction of seeing her break, and she would never do that. Not in a million years! She had so much to express, but words failed her. Everything failed her at the moment! Flashes of that night kept portraying into her minds eyes, and she was sick of them! Sick to the core, and yet she knew that she'd have to live with them forever.
"Look you wh**e. What do you want now? Just tell me the amount and I'll give it to you right away. Withdraw the case!" he ordered her and she looked up at him aghast, feeling the colour drain from her face, lost for words. Honestly, how low he could stoop, she had already seen, witnessed and experienced. But how low his thoughts could stoop about someone else, it was a first. Pressure building within her, she tried to look for distractions. Nothing came in her view, except probably his lawyer making his way towards them. She could feel her veins pumping with the unforgivable words Sahil had just uttered. Before she knew it, she looked at him squarely in the eye, rage inflamed in them, clenched her teeth, tensed her muscles, and swung her straight, hardened palm across his cheeks with all the physical strength and force she could muster.
The movement was so quick, yet so slow that the impact left was massive on both, Sahil and Riddhima. The energy from her was such, that her whole body turned to the right except her feet, which stood rooted to the spot. She had felt his slight stubble graze across her skin and even though her skin was burning right now, this was probably the best she had felt in quite a while. No, not probably, it was. Like a small bit of a load had been lifted from her heart, almost making her smile. Realization, however, struck all too soon. |This didn't change anything. And it wouldn't. Ever.
Sahil's face flew to one side and his body swayed slightly as his mouth dropped open in utmost horror. His cheeks immediately started prickling, then stinging as though someone had wrenched his skin out mercilessly. Feeling blood rush to that side of his face, he looked back up and saw the tiniest glint of satisfaction cross his opponents face for a mere micro second, before the original raging storm replaced it.
"You f**king.."
"Mr Sahil Verma!" Armaan was there, and he could see Sahil ready to raise his hand on her to counter her attack. That was not going to happen. Especially not in his presence. Armaan had witnessed Riddhima slap him, her hand coming in direct contact with his face, and from what he could see, he was sure Sahil's cheeks would throb for quite a while now. Despite himself, he couldn't resist that urge to smile even though he poured water on to the fire that pushed him to almost clap for her! And quickly, he curtained it all once again.
"Miss Gupta," Armaan nodded, as Riddhima's eyes directed towards him. For a fleeting moment, he saw the vulnerable, pleading look directed straight at him and felt his heart go out to her. Strong as she was, there was something inside her which was hating every single moment of this, right from when it started. "I'm sorry." He whispered to her then turned to Sahil.
"What the f**k do you think you were doing?" his voice was low, so that they didn't attract further attention from the customers who were already staring and pointing after that slight display of violence which had grabbed their interest.
"She f**king.."
"Didn't I tell you to ignore them?" Armaan's muscles were clenched together, in an effort to stop himself from repeating what Riddhima had just done.
"yeah but.."
"Walk out of here, and meet me at my car." The short curt words did not seem to go through Sahil's head.
"Bitch, I will make sure you are destroyed."
"Sahil!" But this time two voices spoke up. Both outraged. One from Armaan and the other came from Muskaan.
Muskaan had just entered the scene, shocked to the core to see Armaan furious at Sahil, and Riddhima standing up against both of them.
"Don't forget we are here for her. She might be an orphan, but she's got a family. WE are her family. So before you even think of trying to destroy her, you'll have to get through us first." She continued, going to stand in front of her best friend, shielding her from Sahil's dirty glare.
"And you say a word to her, or lay a hand on her ever again, we won't spare you. Remember that Mr Verma." Came Rahul's quiet voice behind Sahil. "I suggest that you leave from here."
Sahil looked at Armaan, who merely raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders, all while giving him a cold glare. Turning on his heel, he stormed out of the restaurant, ignoring everyone's glances and sniggering at his now reddened cheek.
"I'm really sorry." Armaan apologised quietly, and looked at Riddhima, who was now just staring at the table to her side. Muskaan ignored him, and turned to see if she was okay.
"Mr Mallik, it would be best for you to leave too." Rahul's formal voice cut through the thick atmosphere.
"Listen, I didn't think this would happen. I had told Sahil to ignore you guys."
"Yeah, but it did." Muskaan snapped back. "I don't care if you're only his lawyer, just get out of our sight at the moment. Anything to do with him, we don't want it!"
Armaan sighed, it was obviously pointless trying to apologise to them. The one whose forgiveness for his carelessness he really needed was a silent spectator at the moment.
"Riddhima, please, I'm sorry."
"It's Dr Gupta." She spoke in an almost silent voice. "And I think it's best if you leave too."
That cutting, cold, emotionless sound which rang through his ears took some time to be processed by his brain. He hated it. Especially when it was directed at him. Finally, when those words registered themselves, he composed himself and nodded once to Rahul before making his way out of the restaurant to Sahil. Just before he left, however, he looked back to see Muskaan hug Riddhima once more, who reciprocated with a slight smile. Her eyes searched his, and in that small moment between them, he knew that she didn't blame him for what had just happened. His lips curved as he turned and walked through the door, feeling a million times better than he had in the past five minutes.
"What the f**k was that?" Armaan asked, once he and Sahil were seated in his car still situated outside the restaurant.
"Awwh..shucks. that woman just makes me so mad!" Sahil muttered angrily. But that was not the answer to Armaan's question. Feeling a bolt of fury speed through him, he banged his hand on the steering wheel, startling Sahil, making him almost jump out of his skin.
"Damn it, Mr Verma, I thought I told you to ignore them. You went and picked a fight with her instead?!"
"I was just trying to get her to withdraw the case, Armaan."
"It's Mr Mallik!" Armaan corrected him. Somehow, his name from a mouth that foul did not suit his ears at all. "Firstly, a rape case can not be withdrawn, and secondly, I don't know Miss Gupta well, but I know she will never even think of it. So what made you?"
"Well, I thought maybe.."
"Do you realize what trouble you could put yourself into because of this small idiocy of yours?" Armaan spat out, unable to control the anger that was pumping right to the tips of his fingers. "Do you have any idea that I could walk out on you right now and you will have no one to save your sorry ass on this case?"
"Hey Mr Lawyer," the stupid grin was etched back onto Sahil's face, which did nothing to improve Armaan's darkening mood. "I'm paying you for this aren't I? And it's good money. And if we win this case, there'll be more won't there?"
Armaan breathed, and waited for a moment before making direct eye contact with his spoilt brat of a client, whom he despised ten times more than he did the first day he met him.
"Mr Verma, let's get one thing clear." His voice was deadly quiet, and Sahil seemed to be on alert mode at once. "I am not your servant, I'm your lawyer. There is nothing in this world that can stop me from leaving you in the middle of this case, not even your father's God damned money. So let's make life easier for both of us. If I tell you to do something, you do it, when and wherever I say. If I effing tell you to be somewhere at a certain time, make sure you are there at that specific time. If I tell you to call me, then call me. If I tell you to say something, you say it. In short, you go on my orders." Armaan's voice turned more dangerous and deadly than he had ever thought it could. "If I tell you to sit, you sit. If I tell you to run, you run. Walk, you walk. Shut up, you shut up! Don't even breathe.." he paused, letting it sink in as Sahil's eyes widened in terror. "Unless I order you to, otherwise the moment I pack my stuff and resign from this case, there will be nothing, not even your bloody reputation that will stop you from spending a minimum of ten years behind bars. Got that, Mr Verma? Don't f**king think of treating me as your servant boy, or going against me ever again. You need me, not the other way round, do we understand?"
Sahil gulped once, not being able to remove his eyes from Armaan's no matter how much he willed himself to.
"Do we understand, Mr Verma?" Armaan repeated slowly, putting unknown force into each word, until Sahil, positively frightened of the towering monster of words and illusions that had been created in his head, nodded once. "Good. Get out."
And he did not need to say it again, while his client frantically searched for the lock, opened the door, and scrambled out of the car in haste, making sure to bang the door shut, then flinching at Armaan's gaze through the window.
"bas***d," Armaan found himself muttering as he forced himself to calm down and put his head back on the leather coated head rest. Sighing inwardly to himself he looked back inside the restaurant, and saw his three oppositions resume to their jolly selves once again. But the one that needed all that happiness was the one least involved in it. "This was for you Riddhima." He whispered, before bringing alive the engine in his car, and driving off.
***************************************************
That's it for part a. Part b is still under maintenence..!! 🤣 But please do leave your thoughts about it..
On a serious note though..I know it's a completely different story I've taken up.. and it's really tested my writing skills because I tried to put myself in Riddhima's shoes and realized probably no one will ever be able to do that unless they actually go through it..and I pray whoever does has the strength to stand up for herself and fight. It's something I feel really strongly about including stuff like Human Trafficking.
Anyways..that was me getting emotional. Please don't forget to pen down your opinions. I tried. and I would appreciate honest answers loadz more than one worded comments which basically don't really tell me much. 😊
Thanks!
Sanaa
PS - the more comments I get..the quicker I give the next part.😆
PPS - if you want pms please add Sanaa-pm to your account. I post things after such a long break that I forget I've got a pm account. But I'll remember one day..!!😆
Edited by Sanaa629 - 13 years ago
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