Mésalliance (Completed)

Chapter 20

Madhu stirred on the bed with a little consciousness, recalling the previous evening faintly.
The fury behind the whole fight churned her gut even though the anger wasn't meant for her. She was wrong that Vikram would be harmless. She thought his flings were of no significance to her life. He astonished her by bringing a married woman to their house.
"The cops are on the way, surrender!" yelled Krish and he jumped on one of the assailants. Vikram managed to hit another one with the pole and he didn't notice the trigger being pulled by the main rogue.
But she noticed it.
She couldn't think of another way to save him rather than to push him away. Though they heard the gunshot, it was after a good thirty seconds she saw herself being pierced. Too stunned to touch the oozing blood from her shoulder, she thought for a million times why to save him. She didn't have the motive to save him but still, sacrificed her life.
She felt the tremors on her knees and she sat on the dirt, not minding her soiled dress. She blinked with tears and Vikram cupped her chin with a shocked face.
"Are you okay?" he asked her with a muffled voice. She gave him a puzzled stare and slowly bent her head to her shoulder. He lifted her head and said, "You are going to be alright."
He pressed a napkin on her wound and yelled for Krish. She heard sirens and footsteps before closing her eyes.
Madhu opened her eyes to an unknown room. She couldn't move her upper body due to a sharp pain in her shoulder. She heard the monitors beside her and an IV line was connected to her left wrist. Her shoulder was heavily bandaged and tied.
She reached for water on her right side but pushed the jug to the floor. Her mother stormed inside the ward and broke into tears at her daughter. "We are sorry to make you go through this," she said.
Madhu gulped her dry throat and acted for water. Her mother immediately made her sip water and patted her head. Her father also got inside the ward and was left in splits at her wounded state.
She tried to smile and hide her pain but couldn't. She was sure that he wouldn't remember her sacrifices and efforts in his life. Vikram was an emotionally blind person. He might have been glad if she had died.
Her parents already lost their trust in her in-laws. They shouldn't have met the family to save their money. They would have lost a bigger thing in their lives: Madhu.
"Is it aching?" Praneet asked her, frowning at the left shoulder. She gave a lukewarm smile, "Slightly."
Vikram caused her more pain than that bullet.
"We are returning to Bangalore," her father broke the silence in the room. His voice sounded defeated. Madhu took a deep breath, feeling done with the place. Thankfully, her father coincided with her feelings.
Sooraj walked inside with a doctor. Madhu thought that Vikram would join him and she felt furious. Her mother looked at the fluctuating vitals and consoled Madhu.
"Why are you here?" Praneet stopped Sooraj. "Aren't you satisfied enough with her pain? You are threatening her."
The doctor shushed everyone, "I don't want traffic beside my patient. Please, all of you go out. She mustn't get an infection from you."
Madhu felt unsafe without her parents. She couldn't let go of her mother's hand.
"Ankitha too came," her mother informed to lighten up her mood and Madhu felt alive.

*********

Vikram looked at her ward from outside, praying for someone to permit him inside the room. A one-second glance at her condition was enough to erase his guilt. He realised late that she didn't marry him to be his punching bag. He lost all of his egos the moment he dodged the bullet.
Krish got the video evidence of the attack and was on his way to witness it to the court. His men were swift enough to catch those bastards right after the attack. Vikram didn't care if that guy shared about his one-night stand. It was consensus sex.
He fisted his hand whenever he recalled the previous evening. He counted her visitors as his new hobby. It had been more than twelve hours that he was present in the waiting area like others but nobody paid attention to that full-grown human being.
They might be considering him a pest.
Only Ankitha met his face for a brief second but she too shook her head in dismay and went inside the room.

An awkward silence prevailed when Ankitha met Madhu. The once sassy Madhu, whom Ankitha had known for ages minimised to a depressed wife. 

All thanks to that bastard husband.

"Why did you save him? If he was fated to die for whoring around, he should have died..." Ankitha stated. She didn't care even if Vikram died, her friend would have been free.
Madhu questioned herself a lot. She couldn't figure out why she took a bullet for him.
"Did he tell you something that you started to love him?" Ankitha had a doubt. Madhu replied to her with a glare. Ankitha leaned behind the chair and scratched her head, "Then why? Do you pity him?"
"No," Madhu said irritatedly. Ankitha was perplexed again.
"I don't know anything about him to pity," Madhu stated slowly. "I think his girlfriend was a fraud and his mom committed suicide. I don't know how those events are related to each other."
Ankitha sighed.
"I cannot manage here. I am ready to come to Bangalore," Madhu added. She couldn't feel more blankness than at that point. Ankitha saw the frustration of Vikram when she came to the ward. He paced from corner to corner.
"Do you know? He regrets," Ankitha said. Madhu gave her a side-eye to show that she didn't mind him. Ankitha shrugged, "Maybe he would be satisfied if he visits you once."
Madhu sighed, "You can go out if you go on talking about him."
Ankitha snorted and leaned behind.
"Krish is a good one," Madhu shared her thoughts. "He had helped me with blood."
"Your husband would have helped you if he had the same blood group," Ankitha conflicted with words.
"Stop it," Madhav yelled from the door. "Don't change her mind, Ankitha. I warn you."
She didn't utter a word and stormed near the window. Madhu was surprised by his anger at Ankitha, that guy wasn't as romantic as she feared. Madhav repeated to her, "Vikram is the reason behind your pain, Madhu. You need not live with him. You are coming with us."
Madhu never thought of walking out of her married life. Marriage shouldn't change or restrict a person. Couples shouldn't take their significant half for granted.
But for her immature age, she was overwhelmed with marriage. She stopped respecting him as a human being since the previous morning, "This marriage doesn't mean anything to me. Don't worry, I will return to our family."
Destiny gifted her to Vikram but he booted her like a football. Whatever efforts he might want to take in the future, Madhu decided not to budge.

"Your parents debated with his grandmom, she won't permit that," Ankitha informed her. Madhav spitted fire with his words, "Her dimwit grandson might've killed my sister. Could she be more sadistic than this?"
"She is controlling the whole inheritance," Ankitha stated to them. Madhav cursed, "Fuck that!"
Even Madhu couldn't wait to escape Mumbai. Living with her family was her golden age even though they were strict at times.
"Fuck who?" Rati entered the ward, adjusting her glasses. 

Madhav snorted, "You can't simply walk in like a buffalo when the door is ajar."
Rati frowned at him, "This hospital is mine."
He placed on his hips and stood against her, "So, what? We pay for her treatment. You can shut up."
Rati couldn't oppose a lot. The problem was from their side, "I can't cancel the wedding."
"She can't live with that asshole," Madhav shouted equally. "A gentleman won't let any harm touch his woman but yesterday's events showed a lot about your grandson's upbringing. Is he a man?"
Madhu knew that her brother crossed his limits. She needed some altercation to break it off with Vikram.
Rati sighed. She had hoped that Madhu would heal Vikram. She knew that her plan faltered as Vikram didn't show any changes. But it was just a week of married life and she thought it was early to see a change. The sudden attack collapsed everything.
"It's with the law to cancel this wedding. I am not responsible," she said nonchalantly. Madhav pointed at Madhu, "The law will look at her state and hold that useless guy accountable. Let him face trials. Now you can get lost."
Rati walked out without any protests. Madhu hissed at her brother, "You never talk like this to elders. Why are you behaving harshly?"
Madhav frowned at her, "Even though she wasn't directly involved in this issue, she is the main pillar of all this problem. I see her like that. I couldn't contain my anger."