CHAPTER FOUR
1027 Words
Night settled heavy and suffocating over the brothel.
Diya lay on the thin mattress, eyes wide open, her body too tense to rest.
Next to her, Roshni was already asleep, breathing in shallow little gasps. Diya turned to look at her friend’s tear-streaked face and felt an ache in her heart. Roshni was violated that terrible yesterday.
I can’t let her die here, she told herself.
The courtyard was silent, the guards drinking and gambling by the gate. For a moment, Diya thought of slipping away right then. But Roshni’s voice from earlier echoed in her mind:
“They’ll kill us if they catch us.”
Diya drew a shaky breath. Maybe Roshni was right. Maybe she needed to wait.
But waiting was its own kind of torture.
A soft rustle came from the doorway, making her jump. She sat up, heart hammering, expecting another guard — or worse, Jared.
But it was Srijana, gliding in like a haughty cat, her anklets whispering around her ankles.
“You’re awake,” Srijana said lightly, as if she were speaking to a friend.
Diya forced her chin up. “What do you want?”
Srijana tilted her head, studying her like a curious animal. “I came to see how you were settling in.”
Diya gave a bitter laugh. “Settling in? You mean how I’m surviving after you sold me?”
Srijana’s smile was as cunning as a fox. “Sold you? Oh, darling, you still misunderstand. You are safe here. Do you know what would have happened to you on the streets?”
Diya clenched her fists. “Safe? You call this safe?”
Srijana sighed theatrically. “In this world, a pretty girl has few options. Here, you have a roof, food… and powerful men who might care for you.”
“Powerful men who will destroy us,” Diya argued, fighting back tears.
Srijana’s expression hardened. “If you refuse to cooperate, you’ll only make it harder for yourself. I am trying to help you.”
“Help?” Diya snapped. “You are worse than any monster.”
Srijana’s eyes went cold. “I was once like you, you know. Angry. Rebellious. Until I learned that pain breaks even the strongest. You will learn too.”
Diya refused to look away. “I’ll never become like you.”
Srijana’s lips curled into a cruel smile. “We shall see.” Then she turned and drifted back into the darkness.
Diya collapsed onto her mat, shaking.
I will never be like her, she vowed.
---
Nightfall came far too soon. The harsh clang of a bell woke the girls, and the guards began herding them out to wash and dress for another round of buyers.
Diya tried to ignore the rough hands that forced her into a shout blue dress, tried to block out the mocking comments about her figure, her face, her “virgin” look.
As she stepped into the courtyard, she found Jared waiting. He stood apart from the others, arms folded, face pale and drawn.
The moment their eyes met, something twisted inside her — a strange confusion, half fear and half…pity.
Jared stepped closer. “You.”
Diya’s mouth went dry.
He seemed calmer than before, his gaze clearer, but there was still something broken in it.
“I…uhm…what's your name?” he said awkwardly.
She swallowed. “Diya.”
“Diya,” he repeated, testing it like an unfamiliar language. “Listen…” He paused, running a hand through his hair. “About last night…I”
Diya flinched, remembering the desperate grip of his hands.
Jared’s voice faltered. “I was… I wasn’t myself. I’m sorry.”
Diya hugged her arms around herself. “Why are you talking to me?”
He looked at her with raw pain in his eyes. “Because you look at me like…like you see me. No one’s done that in a long time.”
She didn’t answer. What could she possibly say?
Jared rubbed his temples. “They… they told me you were new. I don’t want them to break you.”
Diya blinked in shock. “What?”
Jared’s jaw clenched. “I don’t want them to hurt you like they hurt the others. Stay away from the them, do you understand?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Why do you care?”
His shoulders slumped. “Maybe I don’t. Maybe I’m just a drunk fool who sees ghosts.”
Diya swallowed the strange lump in her throat. “Then leave me alone,” she whispered.
Before he could answer, Srijana’s voice cut through the air.
“Jared!”
He turned toward her, straightening a bit like a scolded child.
Srijana gestured sharply. “Come, there are new clients to meet.”
Jared gave Diya one last look, full of confusion, then walked away.
---
As the day wore on, Diya was forced to stand in line again while men sized them up like cattle. She gritted her teeth, ignoring their greedy hands and dirty comments.
Beside her, Roshni kept her head bowed, trying not to cry.
“Don’t break,” Diya whispered. “Please, don’t break.”
Roshni nodded, though her shoulders were shaking.
By nightfall, only a few girls had been picked. Diya and Roshni were sent back to the small sleeping room, where they huddled together on the mats.
“Did you see him?” Roshni whispered. “That man who kept looking at you?”
Diya swallowed. “Jared.”
“He’s scary,” Roshni said.
“I know.”
“Do you think he’ll…try again?”
Diya stared at the dark ceiling. “I don’t know. But I think he’s broken, somehow. Maybe he won’t hurt me again.”
Roshni bit her lip. “Diya, please… don’t fight him too hard. I don’t want to lose you.”
Diya shook her head. “No. We have to stay strong. That’s the only way we’ll survive.”
The night felt endless, but Diya held tightly to her friend’s hand, breathing through the fear.
She would not break.
And one day, she would find a way to escape.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD