Page 41 of Mrs. Pandey
There were muffled voices coming from a room just a few steps away.
"Please... please don't kill me..." A woman's voice.
My breath caught as I froze a moment, processing what I just heard. A woman crying, begging for help. What was happening here?
Before I could stop myself, I was already making my way towards the door, peeking through the small crack.
What I saw shook me to the core.
Kabir was kneeling beside a woman, a knife in his hand. Mr. Patel and Kabir's brother, Karthik, stood nearby, watching everything with pleasure.
"I told you not to file a complaint against me, but you...you're just too stubborn, aren't you, dear wifey?" Kabir sneered, gripping that woman's hair cruelly.
My heart stopped. Wife? She was his wife? Why was he pressing a knife to her throat? What was happening? Why would Kabir want to kill that woman?
My hands trembled, my heart pounded like a drum in my ears. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Kabir, the gentle doctor with kind eyes, the man I was going to marry in three days, was kneeling before a woman, maybe his wife, threatening her with a knife. She was crying as blood oozed from a wound on her arm.
"Please..." she sobbed harder and begged for her life. "I'll take back the complaint, I swear. I'll let you marry that girl. Just please...leave me..."
"It's too late, dear wifey," he said coldly, tightening his grip on the knife and lifting it toward her.
My mind screamed, Do something. Before I could stop myself, I slammed the door open.
"KABIR!" I shouted.
All three of them turned in unison.
Kabir's eyes widened as his face paled. The knife froze in his hand. Mr. Patel stepped forward, his lips curling into a sinister smile like my presence entertained him even more. Karthik just looked as cruel as his brother.
"Ira," Kabir said flatly, rising to his feet, knife still in his hand. "You shouldn't be here. What are you doing here?"
I stared at him, horrified. "She's your wife. What the hell is going on? Why do you have a knife?"
"She's a liar," Karthik snapped, pointing his finger at that woman. "She wants to destroy our family. She tried to ruin everything by filing that cheap complaint..."
"She filed it because your brother harassed her!" I spat, rushing toward the woman, who was now curled in the corner, shaking like a leaf. I stood protectively in front of her, glaring at Kabir who slowly changed his color. "And you were all involved in this?"
"Ira, move," Kabir said, his voice low, almost dangerous. "She's dangerous." His eyes narrowed as he gripped the knife even tighter.
"No. You're dangerous," I growled, pointing at him. "I trusted you. My family trusted you. How long were you going to keep this a secret? What were you planning to do with her?"
He stepped closer as the knife gleamed under the ceiling light. Suddenly his look changed into that of a beast.
"I didn't want you to find out like this," he said softly, sneering. "I never wanted you to find out about my wife. I want you inmy life, Ira. I swear I'll try to become a good husband to you. I promise I'll never hurt you." He moved to catch me, but I stepped away from him.
"Stay the fuck away from me!" I hissed without breaking eye contact with him.
Mr. Patel laughed darkly. "What a pity. So beautiful. So brave. But now you've seen too much." They slowly moved towards me.
As they advanced, something in me snapped. Instinct kicked in. I reached behind me, grabbed a decorative brass vase from the table, and hurled it at Karthik. It hit him square on the shoulder. He stumbled, cursing.
I didn't wait as I lunged forward, spun around, and kicked Kabir in the ribs. He gasped, dropping the knife. I shoved him aside and turned to the woman.
"Run! GO!" I yelled at her.
She hesitated just a moment and then bolted through the door.
Now it was just me.
