Previous cut:-No one had ever hurt her like this before. She could feel her lips burning—they were cut. A deep ache had spread across her chest as well. Even though she tried, she couldn't stop the tears.
Sarmistha couldn't sleep the entire night. All she could think was that she had misunderstood Rupam—he was actually a drunkard, a man of debauched character.
She kept touching her lips repeatedly, one side of which was cut and swollen. Every time her hand brushed them, tears welled up in her eyes.
The thought of marrying such a man—who had already caused this chaos before the wedding—made her skin crawl.
She somehow managed to get through the night. In the morning, she woke up, went to the bathroom, and was startled by her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were puffy from crying, her lips still swollen though the bleeding had stopped. Yet her chest still throbbed; Rupam had gripped her so tightly.
As soon as she entered college, everyone stared at her, for no one had seen her in such a state before.
After classes ended, she stepped out and saw Rupam waiting on his bike, beaming with a wide smile. Pretending not to notice, she headed toward the auto-rickshaw stand.
Rupam ran up and grabbed her hand. Sarmistha snapped rudely, "Let go of my hand! This isn't a restaurant."
"Fine, I won't hold it again. But please, just hear me out," Rupam pleaded, almost like he was folding his hands in supplication.
"I don't want to hear anything. I need to go home," Sarmistha replied.
"Please, Sarmistha, just once!" Rupam kept insisting.
Without another word, she boarded the auto.
Rupam called to the driver, "Wait, brother, one minute! Sarmistha, come down—give me a chance!"
But Sarmistha ordered the driver to start moving. The auto rolled away. Glancing back, she saw Rupam hadn't followed—only other vehicles trailed behind. She had half-expected him to.
Recalling yesterday's incident made her eyes sting again. Still, she composed herself and sat quietly. Reaching home, she finished dinner and retreated to her room. To pass the time, she sat down to draw. After a while, her phone rang. Seeing Rupam's name on the screen, she cut the call and returned to her work.
The next day was Sunday. She woke up late, washed her face, and went downstairs for breakfast.
There, she learned from her father that Rupam had come at 8 a.m., asking, "Where's Sarmistha?" When invited inside, he had said, "I'll come later," and left.
Sarmistha showed no reaction, just saying, "Okay."
Her father asked in surprise, "Has something happened between you two?"
"No, nothing," Sarmistha replied. With a dejected face, she finished breakfast and went back to her room.
That day, Rupam kept coming to the house repeatedly, but Sarmistha refused to meet him. She didn't even pick up his calls.
But the next day, Monday—what happened then...
To be continued....