We were all sitting in Monica's room, the guest room. Monica and Sunil on one side, both huddled together while we sat on the sofa.

"So, let's begin from the start so that Sanjana is not left out on any information yeah?"

Sunil and Rohan hummed in agreement.

"So, I went to St. Stephens college in this state for my law degree, it was my first year in 2012--"

"You were my senior, and you guys were too if you all studied from At. Stephens," I said as I looked at them.

"I know Sanjana," Monica said and she has that look, which said she must have known the other thing too. My hands instantly grew clammy as I stared at her.

"It was around my second year and Sunil and Rohan's first year when we met for the first time, I'd bumped shoulders with Sunil and the cliché meeting where my books had dropped down and he was kind enough to help me and not laugh at me. We had just briefly greeted that time. I was too focused on the conflicts in my house where my parents were fighting over whom they wanted me to marry, at 19... We really spoke when something happened," she said and she looked at me with a small smile.

"Yes remember, when we all agreed to get that senior expelled when he attempted assault on the first year student?" Sunil said and I immediately stiffened.

"Sanjana, come on di," Sonia had said frantically as she wrapped a cloth around my lifeless body.

"Sanju come on, papa is about to come, don't be like this," she'd begged, tears in her eyes.

Monica seemed to have noticed my stiffness.

"So we became a team during that time, the more we worked together, the more I fell in love, I've always been the hopeless romantic out of us both, and then before my third year could get over, I was married to some abusive asshole, I had no say and I couldn't say anything because apparently my dad had practically sold me off," she said with a tight smile.

"I was tortured for three years, he'd beat me so much that I would have no life left in me to even file a police complaint, I would pass out and when I woke up, I was beaten again,"

"I ran away when after three years, he went on a business trip for the first time, stupid man, fought and won the case against that asshole and found refuge in a women's hostel, oh but I think God had decided that the end of my relationship with that guy wasn't the end of my torture, one year into the hostel and I realised that it was secretly a brothel, rich men came and took home unwilling women and those who refused were beaten up. I managed to escape it nearly all the time, I was out all the time, something about the hostel really irked me. I couldn't leave because I didn't have enough money to pay the rentals, I was barely earning enough to feed my stomach,

"I may have even stayed behind to collect evidences against that hostel and to expose it, I was successful, one day I decided to leave but you know how it is with the devil's lair, you can enter on your own will but you can't escape on your own will, they didn't allow me to escape and because I was caught recording everything they were furious, but after some torture, sexual assaults and beatings, I escaped, I don't know for how long I ran until one of the stranger on road told me to come to your firm and that's how I landed up here," Monica said with a small smile as she wiped her tears.

Women always seem to suffer. Men sometimes do too. But it's always the women who suffer more. Or maybe it is the fact that we hear more stories of women than men that we feel like women suffer more. The men who think they own the women, who think they can control these women. And then if someone says "not all men" how are we women, who've always been subjected to such crimes, to believe that. I know Rohan isn't ever going to abuse me but because I've grown in such an environment that even now, when I've grown to trust Rohan, when he raises his voice on some employees, I'll flinch in fear. I can't help it and especially with all the things that happened with me, it's difficult not to flinch.

"You're so strong," I murmured.

"I know I am," she said with a laugh that got us all smiling.

"I have the evidences in my phone, I was working on it for a long time, long enough to gather all the information, I'll give you all the details," she said as she rested her head against Sunil's shoulder.

°

I was sitting on the bed waiting for Rohan to come out of the closet.

As soon as he came out, I helped him onto the bed as sat down next to him.

"You know Rohan,"

"Kya?" He said softly as he leaned his head against the headboard.

"That first year student who was assaulted,"

"Don't tell me," he said, his eyes wide as he looked at me.

"It was me," I said.

Rohan shifted a little before wrapping his arms around me.

"Should I say I'm sorry? I don't know Sanjana, I didn't know, I'm sorry Sanjana,"

"It wasn't the first time it had happened though," I whispered, tears welling it my eyes.

"Fuck," he cursed.

"I'm fine though," I said.

"You know you can cry right? You know I'll hold you until you cry, right?"

"I am not going to cry," I whispered, holding back my tears.

"Shh Sanjana, I've got you," he said and I think it was the way he'd said it, maybe that was why I broke down crying.

Rohan stroked my back and said nothing as I cried on his shoulder. When I stopped crying, Rohan took my face in his hands as he wiped the tears.

"You're so strong Sanjana," he whispered.

"Mhmm,"

"And thank you for trusting me, I know it took us some time to get here but I'm happy so thank you for trusting me," he said.

"You really are a gentleman now aren't you?" I mumbled.

"Well, I can't certainly deny that," he said with a cheeky smile.

"Chalo, now sleep," I said as I got up and walked to the other side of the bed.

As I laid down and switched off the lights, I continued to stay away.

"Sanjana?"

"Hmm?"

"I'll always be there for you, no matter what, okay?"

"Okay,"

"Good night Sanjana,"

"Good night Ro," I said and I heard him chuckle lightly.