Pratigya was stunned at the intensity of Krishna's words. Although it was apparent that he was angry, however it seemed like he used his anger as a mask to conceal his true feelings.
Krishna leaned dangerously closer, his forehead touching hers as he sighed in impatience. Pratigya saw that he had his eyes closed as if willing himself to calm down. At this moment, the dangerous and ruthless Krishna had disappeared instead replaced by a vulnerable man in need of love and gentleness. Pratigya didn't know why she found herself staring at him, her heart missing a few beats upon looking at his beautifully sculptured face. She didn't know why she had the sudden impulsive urge to cup his face and soothe away his anger.
Arushi's words were constantly ringing in her head. What if this man was her prince charming? She thought to herself, maybe?.
Krishna no longer seemed angry; instead he was staring right into her eyes which made Pratigya uncomfortable and a bit self conscious. Pratigya lowered her eyes and continued to stare at the ground, purposely avoiding his gaze. She felt Krishna's fingers slightly touching her face which caused her to turn her face away from his touch.
None of this made sense to Krishna! He had constantly watched his mother and his sister in law cry from being beaten by their husbands. It never had any affect on him. Then why was it that when he saw his Pratigya cry did it felt like his heart was slowly breaking. Why did he have the absolute need to destroy anyone and everyone who dared to cause a single tear to well upon her beautiful eyes?
Pratigya felt her heart warming up as she felt him brushing away her tears. He will kiss away your tears. Hope soared within her heart; hope that someone will love her despite her flaws. Suddenly she felt her dreams crashing down as she saw Krishna staring at her tear drop which he had on his finger. With a cruel smile he flicked away her tear as if it meant nothing to him. He further twisted her heart by wiping his hands on his clothes as if her tears were something dirty to be cleaned off with.
To her embarrassment she could feel tears slowly starting to well up again. Suddenly desperate to not let Krishna see her crying, she pushed against his chest. It was if she was trying to push against a brick wall! Her pushing didn't even cause him to breathe let alone move him away from her. In frustration Pratigya pushed away her accursed hair from her face and concentrated in finding a way out of the carriage.
He grasped her hair painfully and roughly pushed her hair away from her face. With his fingers, he tilted her face onto her side.
The blow never came; instead she felt his fingers slowly tracing her cheek. Confused, Pratigya hesitantly opened her eyes and saw that his whole senses were focused on her cheek.
He couldn't stand a single flaw being marked on her face. She was perfect and flawless; scars shouldn't exist where she was concerned. He would and could not tolerate any disfigurements on her. Yes he thought to himself, whoever put that scar on her will pay. He promised himself that he will scar anyone who did that to her, even if it was in the expense of her family.