chapter (5)

Suddenly Snigdha realized Ruhi was not beside her. Miss Jennifer called out, "Snigdha Ma'am, what's wrong?" Snigdha replied, "Ruhi is missing." Jennifer asked in a panic, "Missing? What do you mean? Where did she go?" Everyone began searching for Ruhi. Snigdha was angry with herself for not being more attentive.

Ruhi opened her eyes and saw men dressed in black standing before her. She swallowed nervously. "I swear, I haven't done anything," she stammered. The tall man sat down beside Ruhi. He was quite handsome with a face full of dark stubble, and his eyes clearly showed he was very angry. "Why are you here?" he suddenly asked. "I... I got lost," Ruhi stuttered. The man ordered his men to pick her up. "I didn't do anything," Ruhi said, almost in tears.

Rowen extended a hand towards Ruhi. She looked at Rowen and then at his hand, too scared to take it. "What is it? Are you going to lie here all day?" Rowen scolded. Before Ruhi could reach for his hand, he picked her up. Ruhi kept her head down, her heart pounding with fear. What if this man took her away and killed her?

Rowen glanced at the girl in his arms. He felt a strange attraction towards her. Dressed in white, with white bangles, she looked enchanting. He wanted to keep her. At any cost, he wanted her, even if it was just for one night. But he knew he could spend countless nights with this enchanting girl.

Seeing some girls her age and a woman ahead, Rowen realized she was with them. He set her down and grabbed her arm tightly. "Keep what you've seen to yourself, or else..." he said, showing his gun. "I won't tell anyone," Ruhi replied, trembling. "Hmph," Rowen let go of her hand and walked away. He ordered his men, "I want all the information about this girl as soon as possible."

"Ruhi!" Everyone ran over. "Where did you go? And who were those men?" Jennifer asked. Ruhi tried to speak but couldn't. "They showed me the way," she finally managed. "Hmm, where did you go?" "Sorry, Ma'am, it won't happen again," Ruhi said. "Alright, let's go, girls," Snigdha started questioning Ruhi about what happened, but poor Ruhi couldn't say anything. The image of those men killing people was etched in her mind. She couldn't shake it off.

Afzal asked, "What has Ryan done that your sister's daughter can't marry him?" "It's not what he's done; it's his eyes. Your nephew has a bad gaze. I saw how he was looking at Ruhi," Anila Begum said. "Oh, so your sister's daughter is a saint," Afzal retorted. Ruhi didn't look at Nuhash, didn't laugh with him," Anila Begum shouted. "Watch your mouth, Anila. She considers Nuhash like a brother." "Brother? Ha!" Anila Begum mocked.

Ruhi returned to the orphanage. She freshened up and lay down. As soon as she closed her eyes, the gruesome scene replayed in her mind. She spent the night tossing and turning.

Sonia sat in front of Rowen, wearing a very short dress to attract him. "What's the matter, sir? What are you thinking about?" she asked, starting to remove her clothes. Rowen grabbed her dress and said, "Don't do this." Sonia's smiling face darkened instantly. "What did I do to deserve this? Have you been making fun of me all this time?" Rowen stood up and said, "How dare you speak to Rowen Ahmed like that?" He pointed his gun at her. "Get out now, or I won't miss with a bullet." Furious, Sonia stormed out.

Snigdha was lying beside Ruhi. Suddenly, she noticed Ruhi's ear. "Ruhi, where's your earring?" "What do you mean? It's right..." Ruhi touched her ear and realized one earring was missing. "Where's my earring?" She started searching the bed, ran her hands through her hair, but it was nowhere to be found. It was the only memento her mother had left her before she died. Kneeling, she began to cry, unable to keep the last memory of her mother.

As Rowen was taking off his coat, something fell out. In the dark, it glinted. He picked it up; it was a gold earring, quite old. It must be the enchanting girl's earring.

To be continued...