Second Chance: A Dark Tale of Urban India

Chapter 191: The Store

Rohit returned to the hall with the photo album in hand.

By then, Karishma was already preparing to leave. She stood near the entrance, giving Akhil a brief hug in front of his mother.

"Hope you get well soon, my favorite student," she said warmly. "And if you need any help, I’ll be there."

Akhil’s face immediately stiffened when he noticed Rohit watching with an amused smile.

"Thank you, ma’am," he replied awkwardly. "I will."

Karishma followed his gaze and noticed Rohit as well.

"There you are." She stepped forward and offered her hand. "I heard a lot about you. You did a great job saving your friend."

Rohit simply folded his hands together.

"Namaste. I’m comfortable here."

For a second, Karishma looked surprised before smiling politely and retuning the gesture.

"As you like."

Artwork.

From the corner of the room, Deepti let out a quiet snicker. Jignesh immediately leaned toward her and whispered something that only made her laugh harder.

Rohit’s eyes briefly swept across the room.

Every one of his friends was watching the exchange with varying degrees of amusement.

Before Karishma could leave, Rohit spoke again.

"Ma’am, can I ask for a favor?"

She paused.

"Sure. What is it?"

"I missed quite a few classes recently. I have some doubts in the subject. If possible, could you spare some time tomorrow?"

Karishma took out her phone and checked her schedule.

"I have my last period free."

She looked up.

"If your teacher agrees to excuse you, I don’t mind."

"Thank you, ma’am."

With that settled, Karishma exchanged a few final words with Kavita and headed toward the door.

The moment she was gone, Akhil grabbed Rohit’s arm.

"Bro, you’re going too far."

Rohit lowered his voice.

"Relax. You’ll be coming with me."

Akhil blinked.

"What?"

"Just make sure you come to school tomorrow."

The casual response left him even more confused.

If he was supposed to be there, then why ask for a special session in the first place?

Still, the reassurance eased his worries somewhat.

At least he wouldn’t be left alone with her.

The group gradually drifted back toward Akhil’s room.

Jignesh immediately threw an arm around Rohit’s shoulder.

"The luckiest bastard in our group."

Rohit raised an eyebrow.

"Now what?"

"Women keep trying to flock around him, and this dude keep acting like they don’t even exist. Cmon buddy, give us some chill"

The room burst into laughter.

Rohit simply shook his head.

Arvind voiced out, fixing his glasses.

"Enough drama to digest. Let’s play Call of Duty. We finally have a full squad."

Subhojeet frowned.

"There are six of us. Only four can play."

Akhil stretched lazily.

"I’m out. Got something else to do."

Almost on cue, Kavita appeared at the doorway.

"Son, help me get the groceries. There’s quite a lot to carry."

Artwork.

Before Akhil could respond, Rohit spoke up.

"Auntie, let him rest. I’ll come instead."

Kavita smiled immediately and brushed his cheek affectionately.

"That’s my second son. Thank you, Rohit."

Jignesh suddenly looked as though a burden had been lifted from his shoulders.

"Yes!"

Everyone turned toward him.

He pointed dramatically at Deepti.

"I mean with her we are four."

Deepti blew a bubble with her gum before it popped.

"Who said I’m joining? Stop deciding things for me."

The remaining three boys stared at her in disbelief.

"What?"

Akhil watched the entire exchange unfold before shaking his head and laughing to himself.

"Simps."

***

Rohit personally drove Kavita to the mall.

Normally she preferred buying groceries from the local market, but this time she had received a discount coupon from a supermarket located on the third floor. The savings were enough to convince her to make the trip.

An hour later, their cart was nearly full.

Rohit pushed it toward the billing counter while Kavita wandered off to pick up some weekly stationery items she had forgotten earlier.

As he waited in line, his phone vibrated.

Aisha.

The moment he answered, a panicked voice greeted him.

"Rohit, it’s a mess. Sheela came with Tanuj’s friends and now they’re planning a week-long trip to Jaipur. They’re using Vijay’s injury as an excuse."

Rohit’s expression hardened as he made the random guess.

"And Tanya’s going?"

"That’s the problem!" Aisha’s voice cracked. "Mom agreed immediately because my brother is going too. Tanya’s excited, not thinking straight. I don’t like the way they’re looking at her, Rohit. Please stop this. Nobody believes me. My brother is completely under that bitch’s influence."

Rohit listened, his mind racing.

It was Sheela’s play, a direct retaliation for his rejection and the block he’d placed on her.

She knew what he’d done at the bar, and now she was targeting his weak point: Tanya.

"Don’t worry," he comforted, his voice a low rumble. "We still have time."

His promise was cut short by a commotion behind him.

"I’ll speak to you later, got something urgent." He snapped the phone shut.

"I am your mother’s age! How dare you do this to me?" Kavita was standing over a younger guy in the next line, her face a mask of indignation, her hand gripping his wrist." Do you also touch your family like this?"

"Aunty, it was a mistake!" The boy, a familiar teenager no older than Rohit himself, was stammering denials. "The line shifted backward! I thought you were my friend ahead of me until I actually touched you!"

His friends were already creating distance, while a few onlookers shamelessly raised their phones to record.

Recognition hit Rohit like a punch to the gut.

Sahil.

The same little shit who had messed with Seo-yeon.

The bastard behind his mother Ragini’s kidnapping who had managed to slip through his fingers.

"You..." Rohit’s voice cut through the commotion like a physical blade.

He stepped out of the billing lane, his stride accelerating with terrifying intent. "Aren’t you the bastard who managed to run last time? You fucking dare show your face here?"

All color drained from Sahil’s face as he recognized Rohit.

Survival instinct took over.

"Run!"

With that single shout, he shoved Kavita aside and turned to flee.

Rohit’s pursuit died the instant he saw her falling. He lunged forward and caught Kavita just before she hit the ground.

The shove had already done its damage. Her heel caught the edge of a display pallet, and her ankle twisted violently beneath her. Kavita cried out in pain.

By the time Rohit looked up, Sahil and his friends were already sprinting toward the exit, melting into the crowd.

"Damn it."

The opportunity was gone.

"Auntie, don’t move."

His voice came out harsher than intended.

Kavita tried to stand anyway.

The moment her injured foot touched the ground, pain shot through her leg and nearly sent her collapsing again.

Instinctively, her hands grabbed Rohit’s shirt.

He caught her around the waist before she could fall a second time.

Kavita froze.

His arm was solid around her, their bodies pressed close enough that she could feel the rapid rise and fall of his chest.

For a breathless second, neither of them moved.

Then another pulse of pain ran through her ankle and reality returned.

She looked away first.

"I think... I twisted it."

"You think?"

Rohit crouched slightly to inspect it.

The swelling was already visible.

"You’re not walking on that."

Before she could protest, Rohit gathered the heavy grocery bags in his left hand and pulled her entire body against his right side.

His arm locked around her waist, anchoring her hips firmly against his thigh.

Kavita’s face flushed.

Despite the turmoil in her heart and the conservative boundaries she had spent years building, she had no choice but to lean her full weight against his chest, her hand tightly gripping his shoulder for support.

"Sorry," she muttered.

Rohit frowned.

"For what?"

"For causing trouble."

"You’re not."

The answer came so naturally that it only made her feel more self-conscious.

"Thanks," she whispered, her voice trembling so softly it was almost swallowed by the ambient mall noise.

As they moved toward the elevators, Kavita found herself relying on him more with every step. Each attempt to stand on her own ended in pain, forcing her to lean back against his support.

Rohit noticed.

The dependency.

The trust.

The way her resistance weakened each time she was forced to accept help.

’Interesting.’

By the time they reached the parking lot, Kavita was no longer arguing. She simply allowed him to guide her forward.

Rohit could feel the soft, heavy pressure of her breast pressing flush against his ribs. By now she was completely in his control.

He didn’t loosen his grip and remained calm.

Inside, however, another calculation had already begun.

***

The drive back to the judge’s living quarters was conducted in a heavy, suffocating silence.

The cool air from the car’s vents did little to ease the tension lingering between the front seats.

Kavita kept her gaze fixed outside the passenger window, her fingers tightly interlaced in her lap.

Neither of them spoke.

Rohit was content to let the silence do its work.

When the car finally pulled into the garage, he stepped out, retrieved the groceries, and opened the passenger door.

Kavita attempted to get down on her own.

The moment she shifted her weight, a sharp groan escaped her lips.

Her ankle was nearly twice its original size now, red and swollen.

Rohit set the bags down on the gravel.

A faint smile touched his lips.

"Auntie, if you don’t mind..."

He leaned against the car door and met her eyes.

"Let me help you inside. And once we’re in, you should let me look at that ankle. A deep tissue massage will improve circulation and help reduce the swelling before it gets worse."

Normally, the very suggestion would have met a hard, unyielding wall of maternal rejection.

Kavita was a respectable woman, a judge’s wife, and a mother.

But as she looked at the heavy groceries he had managed alone, and remembered how effortlessly he had carried her body through the crowded mall despite her weight, her resolve began to fracture under the sheer weight of her physical dependency.

The memories of her own diary entries—the secret, buried desires she had tried so hard to lock behind strict boundaries—flashed through her mind.

She swallowed the lump of hesitation in her throat, her cheeks flushing a delicate pink.

"Okay..." she murmured softly, her eyes dropping to his chest.

"If it’ll help."

Rohit held her gaze for a second longer than necessary.

Then he nodded.

"It will."

Kavita exhaled slowly, unaware that her agreement had already told Rohit far more than her words ever could.

He picked up the groceries again and offered his hand.

This time, she accepted it without hesitation.