Her intellect was numb and lost, her emotions were mauled and ripped, and her body was a canvas of bruises and scratches.

Chanda, a young handmaiden in her 20s, wipes the blood and fluids oozing from Mandakini's body with a gentle touch. A little pressure disgorged lamentable whimpers that shattered the heart of a young maid again. Pouring warm water on the sun-kissed flesh, she dabbed the wetness with a thick towel and collected a first-aid kit from the cabinet of a grand bathroom.

A sharp hiss follows the stench of disinfectant, as it burned the brutal bitemarks littered on her shoulders and neck.

"He is an animal!" Chanda exclaimed with moist eyes and Mandakini gulps her tears, still, a rebellious one escaped from the corner of her right eye and fell on the white tile with a squelch. She didn't bother replying for her bleeding lips were too sore to move.

Surya Narayan forced himself on her again and this time, he was far from gentle. He was watching her and Raghuveer through the camera in her cabin all the time. Although there was no sound, he understood what the young duo was conversing about, and during interrogation, when he caught her lie, he lost his cool and attacked her. Her backside was littered with welts of a leather belt.

Chanda rubbed antiseptic cream on her flesh and covered her body with warm nightwear. Supporting her swaying frame to the bed, Chanda slowly laid the broken beauty and covered her with duet till her neck. Mandakini's eyes rolled, her lids exhausted from the struggle, but the mind refused to give in for she was lying in the very bed where he had exploited her body a hundred times before. Chanda sobbed quietly watching the poor girl's face scrunching in pain as she burned with fever. She has already taken two painkillers, and their effect will knock her out soon.

Hopefully, all her physical agony disappears when she woke up the next morning, but that was a fool's wish.

Chanda shared a strange relationship with Mandakini ever since she was brought into the residence of the Shivanad. The young maid was appointed as personal help to the new bride of the old man and soon the two became best friends. Where Mandakini saw Chanda as a companion, a friend, and a caretaker, Chanda felt deeper. She wanted to whisk her away and settle where these cruel monsters can't reach them.

Once Mandakini's eyes closed, Chanda kissed her forehead, her lips lingering longer than normal and then they lightly descended on her mouth, kissing those bruised lips before backing away. Light snores rang in the room and Chanda smiled sadly. Her heart aches to kiss all her wounds. She wanted to beat Surya green and blue for hurting her best friend like this all the time, but she couldn't for she was a paid slave who danced on their fingertips.

The young maid especially hated the man behind today's assault.

That Raghuveer, Mandakini's new partner.

Although Mandakini referred to him as a kind friend, Chanda knew differently. She hated men with passion and knew none came selfless. They always wanted something. Like her grandfather abusing her grandmother for a mistress, her alcoholic father beating his mother for money, and like her ignorant brother, who ran away without sparing them any pity. She didn't like this particular gender where kindness was a joke and power was everything, and they rarely leave any chance for showing it to a woman.

Surya Narayan was another foul creature of this breed. She was sure that the leery old man was going to die painfully with no one around to hear his wails. But she had no idea how to protect Mandakini from Raghuveer. How to explain to her that men only take advantage of women and they don't fall in love easily? They break you, ruin you and then dance at your broken pieces.

Caressing Mandakini's tangled hair, Chanda sighs softly before jumping on her feet when the door to the bedroom opens with a low creek. On the threshold hovered a handsome beast with a heaving chest. Tall and elegant, he smoothly sneaks inside and locked the door behind his back. His burning eyes focused on the woman in bed. His rough and calloused palm curled into a tight fist as he noted the damage.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" a startled Chanda inquired as she reached for the bedside phone to call security.

"Put the phone down and relax. I am not here to harm you. What the hell happened to her? She was supposed to join us at the dinner."

"Sir, I think you should leave. This is highly inappropriate." Chanda resists spilling the beans when she badly wanted to complain. Something about this man was so assuring. He seemed powerful enough to shield them from cruelty. A protective and dominating aura oozed from him in gallons.

"I'm Mandakini's friend. Who did this to her? Was it Shivanand?" He asked without beating around the bush. Flustered and in shock, she could only nod.

"When?"

"After they returned from the office."

"Does it happen often?"

"Only when he is pissed!"

"Bast**rd!"

He bellowed before storming out of the room. Chanda's heart leaped into her throat, and she quickly followed the stranger's trail. He was bunched like an arrow, ready to be released. She could sense steam coming out of his ears and his red face was contorted into a heinous expression. He looked ready to kill. Crossing the steps two at a time, he reached the ground floor and charged against a confused-looking Surya Narayan, who had slipped for five minutes to instruct his cook about tonight's special since his needy wife was too ill to do so.

The image of an enraged Raghuveer descending from the stairs did alert him of the upcoming fight but he wasn't prepared for the powerful blow that knocked the ground beneath his feet, followed by a golden tooth. His cry of pain got muffled beneath more punches and soon, a loud crunch resonated in the house. Chanda's shocked yelps summoned the security, who froze at the scene with their jaws slacked. A scary man was pounding his fist on their master's face repeatedly.

"Guards."

One of the maids bellowed and chaos broke in the mansion. Three bulky men tried their best to separate them but it felt as if the young man was possessed. He screamed and pushed them back before lunging back for his target, but they successfully restrained him this time.

Raghuveer was breathing heavily and Surya Narayan looked like he has already kissed heaven. Caretakers rushed to haul his unconscious body and geared up to reach the hospital. Before anyone could've deciphered the next move, Raghuveer wipe his bleeding knuckles on his pants and called the police. Settling on the grand sofa in the living room, he waited patiently as if he didn't just maul an elderly. The staff didn't bother kicking him out for he called the cops.

During this pandemonium, Mandakini also woke up and limped out of her room. And when she noticed the hurricane, it didn't take her long to understand.

Heaving a deep breath and fastening a long robe around her figure, she slowly descended the stairs and fell beside Raghuveer on the sofa. His head fell on her shoulder and he sighed heavily.

"What have you done?" she whispered, too numb to collect her bearings. He closed his eyes and held her trembling hands.

"Come with me."

Her breath got stuck in her throat and she eyed the line of guards blocking the entrance. A bitter chuckle vibrated in her chest and he frowned.

"The walls are too high to cross, my love. The way things have progressed, I don't see a happy ending in near future."

"If you've forgotten, let me refresh your memory, sweetheart. I am going to become a King."

And with that, he stands with his chin up and squared shoulders as the police siren fill the area.

"My friend here is a victim of domestic violence and rape. Her husband is a cruel man and has been harassing her for a long time now. It is high time she takes action because I don't think she would survive the next time."

The truth in those words punch her in the gut and when a senior officer turned to gain confirmation, she nodded. After that, everything was a blur. Raghuveer even bribed them and pointed out how it was a high-profile case and guaranteed limelight and like hungry dogs, they took the bait.

For Mandakini, it was both a bad and good night. She felt like she was underwater when questions were thrown at her one after another. They took the picture of her bruises and collected samples from her nails and privates to rush the investigation. It was final, that Surya Narayan will spend the rest of his life behind the bars.

Kissing her forehead and covering her body with a blanket, Raghuveer engulfed her in a side embrace and lead her toward the door. Her fists tightened around his shirt noting the unyielding line of guards and her body quacked nervously. But one hateful glance from the prince had them making a way and escorting them towards the waiting four-wheeler.

"What now?"

She asked once her throbbing ass rested on expensive leather and he immediately held her hand from the driver's seat.

"We go home, eat burgers and fries, and go to bed. Sounds good?"

A smile curled on her torn lips and she nodded.

"Perfect."

Raghuveer's vision blurred when the past evaded his memories and reminded him of the hot-blooded male he once used to be, so much like his son, but so different at the same time.

When Gauri noticed the wetness on his cheeks, she instantly shuts the journal and with the free end of her saree wipes his tears. Her lips trembled after learning about the injustice Mandakini went through. In her dreams, she was such a beautiful and innocent creature. How come any man had the heart to tarnish it?

"I am sorry, father that you'd to go through this again. Even after knowing this is going to hurt you, I heartlessly decided to continue it. Please forgive me. If your son came to know about this, he will surely kick me out of this fort. But this rattles me. The thought of Mandakini being a real woman troubles me. If whatever the late grandfather wrote is true, then something must have gone wrong along the way. Is she still alive?" She whispered and his heartbeat rose noticing the black mass of smoke combusting and swirling behind her. His lower lip trembled, and his body started shivering badly.

A clueless Gauri frowned and cupped his cheeks.

"Father, are you okay?" Her throat dried when the wheelchair started to shake along with his frame.

"Oh God!" she panicked and immediately used the phone to call for help.

The ghost of his nightmares, tilted her head at right angle as she watched him breaking into a cold sweat.

"Hello! Hello! Come here quickly, father is having an attack." As Gauri yelled into the phone, the ghost lowered her face to his level and for a second, he swore he saw the flash of his ethereal Mandakini. But no, the ghost smiled through crimson eyes and blood-coated lips.

"Ready to join meeee...." She croaked and he fell from the wheelchair earning a gut-wrenching wail from Gauri.

"Father..."

Her scream was the last thing he registered before losing consciousness.

Yagya broke inside the room and took in the view of his wailing wife over his father's motionless figure.

"What happened?" he roared as he bends to check his pulse. The old man's heartbeat was losing its speed.

"He collapsed."

"Don't worry."

He assured before lifting the man in his arms and zapping through the hallways at a lightning speed. Gauri barely registered his fading figure. She ran through the hallways, pushing the curious maids out of her way, and carefully descended the stairs.

She knew her husband must have taken him to the Fort's infirmary. When she reached the threshold of Chitrakoot Palace, a Rolls Royce stopped in front of the stairs and a smiling Vasundhara climbed out of it, but all the excitement of returning home drained when registered the grief on Gauri's face.