HE IS IN LOVE with his ex

CHAPTER 14 - Standing up for her

When Karthik came back home, earlier than usual, he didn't expect to see his wife in a distraught condition. He was astonished to find her sobbing, sitting on the floor while Lakshmi was trying to console her.

"What the hell happened to you?" he yelled, looking at her in shock.

He saw pain in Sindhu's eyes that quickly turned to relief seeing him. He bent down to have a proper look at her and was beyond angry seeing her condition. Marks of finger prints were clearly visible on her face; so was the dried blood at the corner of her lips.

"Who did this to you?" he yelled, his eyes narrowed into slits.

Sindhu was surprised to see him very angry. Luckily, this time it was not directed towards her; he looked like he wanted to kill the person who did this.

She wanted to tell him everything that creep did. But, all she managed to utter was "K-Karthik"

He closed his eyes as if sensing her pain; when he opened them a while later, he had a tender look on his face.

As he inched towards her, she threw her arms around him, sobbing hysterically.

He stiffened when she hugged him and it took him a while to wrap his arms around her. When he did, he rubbed her shoulder gently and spoke in a soft voice "You are safe now. I am here"

He didn't know how long they stayed like that but he didn't mind; even if Lakshmi was watching them, a few feet away.

When Sindhu finally removed her hands off him and backed away to the wall, Karthik held her shoulders and spoke in the softest voice she ever heard "Get up. You need to relax for a while"

She nodded, feeling ashamed of sobbing like a little girl in front of him. To top it off, she hugged him too(though she had no idea why); she didn't want him to think of her as a desperate woman.

Karthik helped her getting up and wrapped his arms around her shoulder. He took her to his room and made her sit on his bed.

"Do you want water?" he asked slowly.

She sniffed and shook her head, looking distressed with her teary eyes and swollen face.

When Karthik was about to turn away from the bed, he heard her panicked voice "Please don't leave"

"I am going to bring cotton to clean up your wounds. I will be back in a minute"

When she nodded, he quietly locked the door behind him and found Lakshmi still standing in the living.

"Do you know what happened?" he asked firmly, feeling extremely angry.

She nodded "I have an idea sir"

As Lakshmi explained how she heard yells from the house and how she found the neighbor coming out, Karthik became more furious; if that's even possible.

"Can you stay here for a while?" he asked, trying to keep calm.

"Yes sir"

He picked up the first aid box under the TV cabinet and pulled out cotton. When he didn't find Dettol in it, he went to kitchen for water before going back to his room.

When he entered his room, he saw Sindhu wiping tears off her cheek in hurry, making him understand that she didn't want to cry before him.

He dipped cotton in the water and wiped the corner of her lips making her wince in pain. He then slowly wiped the slap marks off her face, observing her eyes that were looking down.

"Does it sting still?" he asked, making her look at him. When she looked clueless, he pointed towards her cheek and repeated his question.

"A bit" she said slowly.