Page 80 of Reckless Dare

“It’s not your fault, Ava. Simha is possessive about you and he doesn’t want any guy talking to you, especially me.”

Her tormentor had no right to be possessive about her. She had told him that clearly when he broke into her bedroom.

“I will talk to him later about Neeraj. Come inside. I’ll attend to you first.”

Neeraj nodded and followed her. She applied the cream that would reduce the swelling and gave him an ice pack.

“Don’t speak to him alone, Ava. He might be dangerous. Even if he misbehaves, no one would take action against him.”

Ava didn’t care. Enough was enough. Abhiram Simha crossed the boundary of decency by attacking her friend because she went on a date with him.

“I promise, I’ll take care,” she said with a smile.

Neeraj left and Ava stayed at the hospital until her shift was done. She didn’t bother going to her room to change from her hospital scrubs. She simply stormed towards the central gym building.

She knew her tormentor and the rest of the Vipers sports teams spent time exercising in the mornings. She was right. She saw him at the weights area.

With anger bubbling over like hot lava, she strode towards him.

As though sensing her, he paused during lifting weights and looked in her direction. There was an unreadable expression while he watched her approaching him.

She stopped right in front of him. And then with barely a moment’s pause, she slapped him hard.

His face remained still but his eyes flashed dangerously. She was too angry to care.

“How dare you!” she shouted. “I’m not your property. If you ever hurt my friends or come close to me again, I will not tolerate it. I don’t care that your family is powerful or owns this university. I will ensure everyone knows what a sick-minded person you are.”

Her tormentor remained still and didn’t say anything.

Glaring at him, she turned and walked away.

She was done remaining silent. She was going to tell everyone about him. She was even going to speak to Neelima Raj to inform that Abhiram Simha was a monster.

*****

For the rest of the weekend, Ava seethed with anger.

The only distraction she had was a phone call from her family. She put on a neutral expression on her face, but it was hard to pretend for long. She cut short the call claiming she had to finish up some pending assignments.

She remained in her room thinking of all the things she would say to the dean of the university on Monday. She had high respect towards Neelima Raj and believed the older woman to take an appropriate action on Abhiram Simha despite his family’s influential status.

I will not let him get away.

She glared towards her balcony. She kept the doors unlocked, expecting him to break into her room to confront her.

Let him dare!

She was pacing in her room angrily when she heard a knock on her bedroom door.

“Yes?”

The door opened and it was Nitya.

“Hey,” Nitya greeted. “Are you busy?”

Ava shook her head. “No, I’m free. Come inside.”

Nitya stepped in and stared at her for a moment.

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