Shadows of Kasauli Ch 9

The glass walls of the villa rattled under the fury of the mountain storm. Inside, Vanya had stopped pacing.

 She had changed out of the heavy saree, tearing the expensive fabric as she stripped it off in a fit of quiet rage. Now, she wore a simple cotton kurta and the sturdy trekking boots she hadn't touched since she was a girl.

Sameer had locked the bedroom door, but he had forgotten one thing: he had built this house to be a display case. Glass all around.

Vanya moved to the balcony. She looked at the heavy glass outlining the balcony.

Using a heavy metal paperweight—a "gift" from one of Sameer’s business associates—Vanya began to strike the corner of the frame. On the fourth hit, the tension gave way. The glass didn't shatter; it spider-webbed, then sagged.

She pushed through, the jagged edges catching her sleeve, and stepped out into the howling wind.

She didn't use the stairs. She knew the servants would be huddled in the kitchen. Instead, she climbed over the stone railing of the first-floor terrace, dropping onto the soft, muddy flowerbeds below. The impact jarred her ankles, but the pain felt like life returning to her body.

She began to run.

She didn't head for the main gate where the guards sat in their cabins. She headed for the back perimeter—the "servant’s trail" that cut through the pine forest and connected directly to the lower ridge of Aashraya.

The forest was a nightmare of mud and shadows. Every crack of a branch sounded like someone following her. Her lungs burned as the thin mountain air fought against her, but she could see it—the single, flickering light in the bungalow window.

She burst through the treeline, drenched and shivering, just as Sameer was stepping out onto the porch of the bungalow, his face contorted in a sneer.

"Vanya?" Sameer’s voice was barely audible over the thunder, but the shock in it was unmistakable.

She didn't look at him. She didn't look at his guards. She looked at Arjun, who was standing in the doorway.

Vanya didn't hesitate. She ran past her husband, and threw herself into Arjun’s arms.

Arjun caught her, his grip tightening around her waist as if he would never let her go. He tucked her head under his chin, shielding her from the rain and from the man who claimed to own her.

"You're bleeding," Arjun whispered, seeing a small cut on her arm from the glass.

"I'm free," she gasped, her voice raw.

Sameer watched them, his hands balled into fists. The power was shifting. He had the money, the men, and the status, but standing there in the rain, he realized he was the only one truly alone.

"You think you can just walk away?" Sameer shouted, stepping toward the porch. "In this town? You’ll be nothing, Vanya! You’ll be a scandal! Your father will never be able to show his face again!"

Vanya turned in Arjun's arms, her eyes flashing with a fire Sameer had never seen. "Let them talk, Sameer. For the first time in seven years, I can't hear them over the sound of the rain."