Page 57 of One Hellish Love

“She didn’t do anything!” he shouted, tossing the duvet aside and struggling to get up. Daadi tried to stop him, but Rudra pushed past her.

“Rudra, please, you’re still injured!” Daadi pleaded, but he ignored her, his focus solely on Kashish.

“Why did you let them take her, Daadi? She’s innocent!” he cried, his voice breaking. His own actions had put Kashish in this mess, and now he had to fix it. Weak and unsteady, he stumbled toward the door, grabbing his phone from the bedside. The doctors tried to restrain him, but Rudra was beyond reasoning. Nothing could stop him.

“Mohan, get the car!” he barked, and his loyal driver raced to obey.

Anjali quickly dialed Shekhar, who had already left the police station but was shocked to hear that Rudra, despite his condition, was heading there himself to save Kashish.

Despite Daadi’s desperate pleas, Rudra refused to listen. He slipped into the car, with the need to get Kashish out of the hellhole he had caused.

In 15 minutes, they reached the police station. Rudra staggered out of the car, supported by sheer determination, and his lawyer, Roy, joined him at the entrance. Without wasting time, Roy headed straight to the senior officials while Rudra scanned the station. His heart clenched painfully when he saw Kashish through a glass window, sitting alone in a room, surrounded by officers who relentlessly questioned her. She looked distant, drained—an image that tore him apart.

“Kashish,” he called out. For the first time in hours, her eyes met his and she was relieved to see him fine.

Her gaze locked onto his, disbelief etched on her face that despite his condition he came all the way here.For her.Rudra’sheart pounded, his guilt suffocating him. He had dragged her into this, into a situation she never deserved. But now, he was here to pull her out of it. Without saying a word, he reached her, grabbed her arm, and began walking her out of the room. She didn’t resist, didn’t protest. She followed him silently.

The senior officer blocked their path.

“Mr. Raheja, you can’t just take her. She’s being charged with attempted murder.”

“She didn’t do anything!” Rudra growled, his voice cutting through the officer’s words like steel.

“But the forensic report shows her fingerprints on the knife,” the officer countered.

“And you’ll find my fingerprints on it too! I’m telling you, she didn’t harm me,” he replied with unshakeable conviction.

“But... Savitri Raheja filed the complaint herself.”

“Drop it. My lawyer will handle the formalities. I’m taking her with me,” Rudra stated with finality.

Without waiting for another word, Rudra dragged Kashish out of the station and towards the car. When he opened the door for her, she stood still, staring at him as if trying to decipher his every move, his every intention. His patience was thin.

“Get in!” he barked, his tone sharp, desperate.

Her expression remained unreadable, but he didn’t have time for hesitation. He grabbed her arm, guiding her into the car with gentle force, then slid in beside her. As Mohan drove them back towards the Raheja Mansion, Rudra’s mind whirled with the weight of everything that had just happened, and the haunting realization that Kashish had endured this all because of him.

CHAPTER 21

Kashish shivered in the car, her entire body trembling from the shock of everything that had happened. Rudra sat beside her, guilt gnawing at him as he watched her in silence. This was all because of him—again.

“Mohan, turn on the heater,” Rudra ordered.

Mohan nodded, turning off the air conditioning and switching on the heater. But the warmth in the car did little to melt the icy silence between them. Kashish remained distant, her gaze fixed on the window, her mind swirling with a thousand thoughts. It was the quiet before the storm, and Rudra knew it well. He clenched his fists, staring at the road ahead. Why hadn’t Daadi waited? Why had she rushed to blame Kashish and hand her over to the police? If only she had waited until he regained consciousness and explained the truth, none of this would’ve happened.

The thought of Kashish spending the last few hours in police station, suffering because of his actions, twisted something deep inside him. He had tried to lift the darkness from her heart, to end the suffocating hatred between them, but instead, he had made things worse.

At least Kashish hadn’t ended up spending the night there- he would never have forgiven himself for that. He had been trying so hard to make things better between them, to create some small spark of warmth in her heart. And now this had happened.

He blamed himself completely. Why had he picked up that knife? It wasn’t meant to scare her - none of it had been an act. He had just been so tired, so deeply exhausted by the wall of hatred she kept building between them. In that moment, he’d wanted to end it all - to end his own life. But he had never meant for Kashish to be blamed for it. Running his fingers through his hair in frustration, Rudra realized he had only made everything worse.

The car pulled into Raheja Mansion. Mohan stepped out and opened Kashish’s door. Rudra followed; his own pain forgotten as his concern for Kashish overshadowed the bleeding wound in his chest. The stitches had torn open, his shirt soaked with fresh blood, but he didn’t care.

As they entered the house, Daadi was waiting. She stormed toward him, her voice sharp with anger.

“You brought her back? Rudra, why can’t you understand?” Daadi shouted, her eyes filled with frustration.

Rudra raised his hand, silencing her. “Not now, Daadi,” he said.

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