Mention of sexual assault.

Sanjana's P.O.V.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

My throat tightening as I stared at him. His daughter was smiling innocently in my direction and that was enough to get my stomach churning.

"Sanjana,"

"You need to leave Sumit, please just go,"

"Aunty,"

"Get this kid out of my sight, it's making me nauseous," I murmured as I turned around and faced the wall.

"Chotu--"

"Don't! Don't call me that and for once just stop being selfish and get out Sumit, it's a good day for my family and I don't want you to ruin it for me,"

"I didn't come here for a fight Sanjana, I overheard something, I just want you to be careful okay? And please stay by your family or atleast with someone close to you, just do that much," he said.

"You don't need to pretend to worry about me,"

"I'm leaving now, come on Nidhi," he said.

"Bye aunty," the small girl called out and my head spins for a split second.

"Fuck," I murmured as I slid down on the floor.

So much for a party.

I calm my breathing and massage my forehead to ease the pounding in my head.

"That's it, you can do it Sanju," I murmured to myself before getting up on my feet.

I slap my cheeks a little to bring back the color and wipe the sweat from my forehead. I move towards the door but just as I'm about to twist the doorknob, a hand clasps around mine.

"Not so fast darling," a familiar voice said.

I gasped loudly as I turned around. No way. They shouldn't be here. My whole body freezes as I look at their faces.

"You still remember us Chotu?"

"Wh-what are you all doing here?"

"I missed you and your body Chotu," the man in front of me grinned.

"Rohan!" I screamed.

"Oh sweet girl, you didn't know, there's a party going on, they're probably dancing to the loud music, I'm sure no one will be able to hear you now, scream as much as you want," he said as he advanced towards me.

"Don't come near me," I threatened.

"Or what darling?"

I raised my hand to slap him but he's faster as he clutched my hand in his and holds it in a death grip. He must be fast but I was smart, I immediately bring my knee up and hit his jewels. He groaned as he crumpled on the floor.

"What the fuck are you guys waiting for? Hold her!" He ordered.

I do manage to land a few punches on these guys but am stunned when one of the man slaps me. My whole left side starts ringing and tears well in my eyes as I stumbled into the wall. I taste blood in my mouth and almost black out at the impact of the slap. The man doesn't even give me a chance to recover as he pulls me towards him by my hair and tightens his grip around my hair as he forces me to look at him.

My focus is still hazy from the slap and my head is pounding as I look at the man in front of me.

"Sanjana," I heard Sumit as he rushed towards me but can't warn him as a man slams an iron rod against his head.

"No," I screamed as I watch Sumit fall on the floor.

"Now, where were we before you got smart? Oh right," the man said before pulling the strap of my gown down.

I immediately freeze. My mind freezes and I scream but no voice comes out of my throat. It's almost like I'm dead. It takes me back to when I was 17. It takes me back to that day in college. And even when I want to fight, even when I want to scream I can't. My whole body is paralyzed.

I hear them laughing. I hear them tearing my gown. I hear their belts. I feel their breath on my skin. Feel their fingers on my skin. I want to cry. I want to push them away. But I can't find it in me to do so. Instead my mind fills up with all those painful memories.

"She's the one who started all this,"

"You wanted a tour of the college baby? Come I'll give you a nice tour,"

"She's not innocent,"

"Oh baby, don't be shy, you asked for a tour, you asked for it,"

"Sanjana spread her legs for these guys,"

"She had been begging Harsh to have sex with her,"

"She didn't even push him away,"

Rohan's P.O.V.

"Where is she? Where the fuck is she?" I asked my parents as we started looking for her.

"We thought she's with you Rohan, calm down we'll find her," mom said as she placed her trembling hands on my shoulder.

"I can't, what if something happens to her, I'll never forgive myself, mom I don't want anything to happen to her," I pleaded as tears welled in my eyes.

"Where is my daughter?" Her father demanded.

"Dad, we're still looking for her,"

"If anything happens to my baby na, I'll murder you," he threatened me.

"Papa, calm down," Sonia says as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Rohan!" I heard Sunil's voice from the other side of the hall and immediately run to him.

"Help me break this door, she's here for sure,"

"Call the police, just call them immediately," mom said.

"On 3 okay, 1,2,3,"

We both hold each other and push onto the door and stumble when the door breaks. And there she is. Lifeless on the floor. Three naked men toward over her. Another familiar man, the one from the hospital on the floor with blood around him.

"Sanju," Sonia chokes as she rushed toward her sister.

"Sumit, someone call the ambulance please," his wife screams as she cradles Sumit in her arms.

"Sanju, mera baccha," dad says as he holds Sanjana's limp body to his body.

I hear fighting around me and realize that Sunil and Dad are beating those three goons. As fast as I can, I have my hand around one of the goon and squeeze.

"What did she do to you? What did she do to deserve this?"

I'm screaming, my heart is aching as I choke him.

"Rohan! You'll kill him,"

"I don't care, I don't care, how dare he? What did Sanjana do to deserve this?!"

I let go of the man and slide down on the floor as I start crying. I feel mom's arms around me as she holds me.

"Calm down Rohan, you need to be strong for her," mom whispers in my ears as she rubs my back.

That snaps something within me and I immediately straightened as I looked at Sanjana who was in her father's arms.

"Sanjana, sanju," I called out to her as I walked towards her.

"Don't touch her," her father said loudly.

"B-but--"

"You failed her, I'm disappointed, don't show me your face again," he said as he stood up and carried Sanjana out of the room.

"Sonia--"

"Calm down bhai," Sonia said as she wrapped her arms around me.

"I'm sorry I failed her, I'm so sorry,"

I don't even feel an ounce of shame as I cry on my sister-in-law's shoulder.

"Calm down Rohan, you didn't fail her, you didn't fail anyone okay? Papa is not disappointed in you, he's just hurt that this has happened again, he's disappointed in himself okay? Stop crying bhai, come home okay? She'll need you so just don't take dad's words to you heart and come to her okay? Handle the whole situation and come to her as much as we'll be there for her, I know she'll need you today,"

"I--"

"I need to go now, just listen to me this once okay?"

I nodded my head and she hugged me once more before running out of the room.

"Sunil,"

"We've handled it don't worry,"

"Take care of that Sumit guy as well please,"I said.

"Monica's gone with them, don't worry," he said.

°

"What are you doing here? After--"

"Dad, go easy on him please," Sonia said.

"He--"

"Papa,"

"Fine, just go then," dad said as he moved aside.

"G-go where?"

"Up, you can go and meet her you know," Sonia said.

"Will that be okay? I mean it's fine if I don't get to see her but like I just wanted to make sure she's okay,"

"Go Rohan, don't hesitate she's not going to break apart, she's stronger than that Rohan," Sonia said.

I turn around to face dad and he's already motioning for me to go.

I hesitantly walk towards her room and knock once before opening the door. She turns her head to look at me and offers me a small smile. Tears once again well in my eyes as I walk closer to her and stand by the foot of the bed. She pats the space next to her and when I don't move, she sighs.

"Rohan, come closer please," she says softly.

"I--"

"I want you closer to me,"

I sit down on the bed and she immediately wraps are arms around me and settles down between my legs.

"I must have scared you," she whispers as she nuzzles her face in my chest.

"Hmmm?"

"I'm so sorry for scaring you like that Rohan,"

"You don't need to be sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry for failing you," I mumbled as I tighten my hold around her.

"Why are you crying?" She asks as she cradles my cheeks and wipes my tears.

"My heart is aching, I just... seeing you like that broke me. You were lifeless. For a second I thought I'd lost you and I'm so sorry for what they did Sanjana--"

"You don't need to be sorry, you didn't do anything," she whispered as she caressed my cheeks.

"I'm still sorry, sorry for all the things you've gone through, you didn't deserve it," I murmured as I tightened my hold around her.

"I'm not going anywhere you know,"

"I know I just..."

"Rohan,"

"Hmmm?"

"Why aren't you asking me?"

"Asking you what?"

"Why I didn't fight back? Why I was so lifeless?" She asked as she stared at me with furrowed eyebrows.

"Because I don't want to, I know you would have had a reason--"

"I... I get paralyzed you know.... my mind just freezes, one moment I was beating them up and that guy slapped me and I lost focus because it was so hard and the next he was pulling down my dress, that did it for me, I froze that time,"

"Sweetheart,"

"And this is what happened back I college as well you know, my mind froze that time. I remember Sonia screaming when she found me lifeless, she thought I was dead,"

She buried her face in my chest as she clutched my shirt and started crying.

"I--"

"You thought I was dead too right? I may not have been moving but I saw the look on your face, I saw the look of horror in your eyes,"

I don't tell her anything as I let her cry.

"I'm sorry Sanjana, we shouldn't have hosted a party only,"

"Shut up," she said as she looked at me.

"I--"

"I trust you, you know and I cannot be more thankful to God that you're here, thank you for making me feel safe Rohan, thank you for being here," she whispered as she leaned her forehead against mine.

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I hope you guys liked this update.

To anyone who's been sexually assaulted, I love you and thank you for being so strong. It's a sad world that we live in where atleast 5 in 10 women have gone through some sort of a sexual assault and some of them don't even know if they have or they haven't. So to those strong women, I love you and you're strong and you're worth everything ❤