Page 140 of Entangled Vows
Mahika’s voice crackled through the car speakers. God, her voice sounded so small and he could tell she was fucking terrified. And just like that, the world around him blurred. Every sound, every thought, vanished, leaving only her words and the bastard’s who’d dared to hurt her. Rage coiled in his chest like a venomous snake, ready to bite.
“Who’s with her? Who the fuck is Karan?” Mohit barked as he listened to the audio, his voice sharp with panic.
“Fuck,” Suraj spat, disbelief etched across his face. “He was with her in college… How the hell is he with her now? I don’t even think she’s heard from him, let alone met him.”
“That son of a bitch was at the wedding reception,” Vikram hissed, his teeth clenched in fury. “I talked to him. He was with his girlfriend, and I swear, he didn’t seem even a tiny bit unhinged. If I’d known he’d lay a finger on my wife, I would’ve fucking torn him apart right there.”
“How the hell did he meet her today?” Mohit snapped.
“No idea,” Suraj admitted, listening some more. “Looks like he’s gone completely berserk… and he’s got Mahi. That’s what scares me.”
Vikram didn’t answer; he didn’t need to. Rage was all that fuelled him now. “I’ll kill him. And I’ll enjoy every second of it.”
Vikram inhaled sharply as he heard the small crack in her voice, the tremor hidden beneath her attempt to stay calm. He could feel the icy grip of her fear, a visceral sensation that shot straight into his veins. He stared, unblinking, his eyes fixed on the road, his ears glued to the audio. No words escaped him. Not even a breath.
Then came the unmistakable sound of a slap. Loud, vicious, unmistakable. A surge of red-hot rage washed over Vikram as he lost it. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the wheel tighter. A deafening roar filled his ears, and every nerve in his body screamed for blood.
“Drive faster, Vicky,” Suraj urged, his voice tight with panic.
Mohit growled, “I’m going to rip that bastard into pieces,” his fury burning through him as he covered his face and struggled to breathe.
Mohit muttered a frustrated curse under his breath. Suraj, too, muttered something, his voice shaking with a nervous tremor. “I just hope Mahi is fine.”
Vikram barely registered any of it. His mind was elsewhere. He was locked in, every other sound fading as he focused on that audio. Her helpless, trembling voice. That bastard’s grating tone.
“I’ll end the fucker’s life,” Vikram barked, his voice low and deadly.
More words came through the speaker, and then came the confessions, followed by the stalking, the threats, and the disturbing fantasies. The night with the bikers hadn’t been a coincidence. Vikram’s rage intensified with every word, each one cutting into him deeper. That scoundrel had been following her. Fury boiled through him when he learned that Karan had orchestrated that attack. His hands shook on the wheel.
It made everything worse. And then that sick motherfucker confessed that he’d destroyed Mahika and Mohit’s father by manipulating everything.
“Fuck. FUCK!” Vikram slammed both hands on the steering wheel as if it were Karan’s goddamn neck.
“Vicky… you need to get it together,” Suraj said, his voice tight.
“I can’t… not when all this shit went down because of me.”
“Bullshit—” Mohit started, but Vikram didn’t even look at him.
“No. It’s my fault!” Vikram’s voice cracked with guilt. “After that damn board meeting with Uday Jehangir, I called Adil, and we dug up every bit of dirt on the Thakkars.”
“You didn’t,” Suraj said in disbelief. “Do you even realise these people don’t tolerate anyone sniffing around their businesses?”
“I know. That’s why I had to do it,” Vikram almost yelled, “to make sure Mahika was safe. Everything seemed fine. Thenephew already had a girlfriend and was in Russia. I thought it didn’t matter now. I didn’t think...”
“It’s not just you,” Mohit’s voice broke, heavy with his own guilt. “I’m her big brother. I should have known something was wrong. I should have… fuck. That’s exactly why our fathers put the marriage clause in the will. They deliberately set it this way. They knew the storm would hit. And me? I couldn’t protect her…”
Vikram growled, rage and guilt twisting inside him like a tangible thing. The same thought had gone through his mind, but he hadn’t voiced it aloud. Yes, he’d failed his wife.
And worse… that gut-wrenching, hollow pit in his chest whispered a cruel truth that further tore at him. “I haven’t just failed Mahika… I’ve failed both our fathers too. They trusted me with her life, believed she was safe with me. And now… everything had gone to shit because I wasn’t careful enough,” Vikram snapped, guilt and anger dripping from his tone.
“Enough!” Suraj barked, cutting through both the men’s guilt trip. “Stop it, both of you. This isn’t about who should’ve done what or who missed what. Right now, guilt won’t save her, your actions will. So shut off the self-blame for five minutes and focus. We need to get to her, get her out, and keep her safe. Then we need to make the Thakkars wish they’d never been born. Vicky, you’ve got the proof on tape. We’ll destroy them. We’ll fix this together.”
The car was dead silent, and Vikram’s heart raced like it might burst. His wife was so fucking brave. Despite her obvious fear, Mahika was trying to talk to that bastard to buy time.
And then suddenly, everything went silent. The audio crackled once, then died out completely.
He tried to reconnect, but it wouldn’t go through.Fuck, he cursed. Vikram couldn’t breathe. He pushed the accelerator, and the engine screamed as the SUV surged forward.
