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Hello Pretty People~

I am back with a new chapter that I hope you will enjoy.

Here we go....

Vikram took a deep breath, still leaning against Tara. The weight of his memories felt too heavy to keep inside any longer. The silence between them was filled with an unspoken trust, and that gave him the strength to begin.

"I was five," he started, his voice low and strained. "That's when she changed. My chacha's wife... she wasn't always like that. At first, she was nice. She would bring me gifts, treat me like her own son." He paused, his hands trembling slightly. Tara squeezed his hand, silently encouraging him to continue.

"But then something shifted. She... she started getting angry over little things. It wasn't obvious at first, but then it turned into something more. Something darker."

His voice cracked as he spoke, the words laced with pain he had buried for so long. "She would find reasons to punish me when no one else was around. At first, it was just yelling, then slapping. I didn't understand what I was doing wrong. I was just a kid, and I thought it was my fault. But that wasn't even the worst part..."

He paused, feeling his chest tighten. "When I was seven, she... she started doing things. Things I didn't understand, things that made me feel so confused, dirty, like I didn't matter. I was too scared to tell anyone. I didn't know how to explain what was happening. She told me no one would believe me. And I was too young... too scared to even try."

Tears welled in his eyes, and his grip on Tara's hand tightened as he continued. "For years, I lived with it. I would dread going to chacha's house. I couldn't sleep at night, terrified of what she'd do next. I would lie awake, wishing someone, anyone, would notice. But no one did. I was just a quiet kid, and I learned how to hide it. I was ashamed."

He wiped at his eyes roughly, his voice thick with emotion. "I couldn't take it anymore when I turned fourteen. I told my parents and chacha that she was physically abusing me. That's all I could say—I couldn't bring myself to tell them the whole truth. I thought that if I told them about the other things, they'd look at me differently. They'd hate me, or worse, they'd think I was lying."

His breath hitched, and the tears finally broke free, spilling down his cheeks. "She left after that. They divorced her, and everyone thought it was over. But for me, it never ended. I couldn't get her out of my head. Every time I close my eyes, she's still there. I can still feel her hands on me, still hear her voice in my ear, telling me that I was worthless, that no one would ever believe me. I never told anyone what she really did... until now."

Vikram's voice broke completely, and the tears came harder. He cried, his whole body shaking with the release of years of suppressed pain. Tara pulled him closer, wrapping her arms around him as he sobbed into her shoulder.

"I hate her," he choked out between gasps. "I hate her for what she did. And I hate myself for letting it happen."

Tara stroked his hair gently, her own heart aching for him. "It wasn't your fault, Vikram," she whispered softly. "None of it was your fault. You were just a child."

They stayed like that for what felt like hours, Vikram crying in her arms, finally allowing himself to feel all the emotions he had buried for so long. Tara held him through it all, her presence a steady source of comfort.

When his sobs finally subsided, Vikram pulled away slightly, his eyes red and swollen. "I've never told anyone this before," he whispered. "I thought I'd take it to my grave."

Tara looked at him, her gaze unwavering. "I'm glad you told me," she said softly. "You shouldn't have had to carry that burden alone for so long. I'm here for you, Vikram. Always."