Chapter 55 - The Closure !!!
Akira got inside the car and sat there silently for sometime. Then she looked at Mike and asked,
"Am I doing the right thing Mike? If Anthony is sent behind the bars, then his career, his life will be over", Akira asked with concern filled in her voice
"Jeez Akira. I can't believe that even after all this you are still re-thinking? I mean how much lower should he stoop for you so that you can hate him", Mike said with anger and resentment.
"I am not concerned for him. Nor do I have any feelings for him. Let me make this very clear Mike, I was just worried because I want to know that whatever he did yesterday was under the influence of alcohol or he is actually as bad as I imagine. I just want to be sure before taking any action", Akira said, trying to explain herself.
"Can you please just drive to the police station. Your noble thoughts have started to annoy me. Get a hold of your life Akira. There are bad people everywhere around you. So stop being nice and start thinking about yourself for once", Mike said and Akira could clearly sense that he was really mad at her right now.
So without saying anything else she started the car and drove to the police station.
When they reached there, they saw that Vikram was already outside the police station waiting for them.
The moment Vikram saw Akira, he sighed out of relief to see her all intact. Even though yesterday Akira had assured him that everything was ok with her, his mind was not at rest. So when he saw her, his heart arrived at peace. He came forward and embraced her with a light hug as he was scared that she might have light injuries here and there.
Vikram's lawyer was already inside the police station and had taken care of all the written work, so all that Akira had to do was to give her statement.
After they were done with the formalities Vikram could see that Akira was still very unsettled. So he asked,
"Is there anything that's bothering you?"
Akira shook her head and said, "No".
Mike, who was witnessing the whole thing finally decided to speak up.
"She needs closure. Probably all the breach of trust and murder attempt is not enough for my sister".
Mike was really angry with Akira because of the second thoughts that she was having. The version of Akira that he had grown up with was something very different from the version which he was currently looking at. He had never seen Akira this vulnerable and weak with her decisions.
Akira couldn't bear the stream of accusations thrown at her by her brother. Even Vikram was looking at her with a question mark on his face after hearing what Mike had to say. So she decided to speak up what was there inside her heart.
"Yes, you are right Mike. I did not have closure with him. Yesterday he gave me a reason why he had to go for somebody else other than me. But I am not satisfied enough. I really want to know if our relationship was so shallow in his eyes. I want to hear it again from him so that I can write it permanently inside my head", Akira said and then started looking outside.
Both Vikram and Mike stood all silent. They didn't have any answer to what Akira just said.
Finally, Vikram got up from his seat and spoke to his lawyer.
"We need some 5 to 10-minute private time with Anthony, so please help to arrange it".
His lawyer gave him a nod and went inside to check with the police.
Akira was still looking outside because she was angry with both Mike and Vikram for not understanding her situation. She was not weak, she just wanted Anthony to tell the truth again so that she could know that by punishing him she was doing the right thing. She wanted to make her resolve even stronger. She wanted to do all this because she didn't want to have even a mustard grain size regret in her heart.
A couple of minutes later Vikram's lawyer came back and said,
"We can meet Anthony now. Please follow me."
Both Akira and Vikram followed him and Mike stayed behind.
The moment Anthony saw Akira he went hysterical and started saying,
"Babe, what are you doing to me? You know that what happened yesterday, that was not me. Please just take back your statement. Let's have a fresh start. I will come back here permanently and we can have a new beginning."
Anthony was literally pleading for his life.
"I also went to Singapore to have a new beginning with you Anthony. But you were interested to have a new life with somebody else and not me. You didn't want me in your life at that time and just because you are behind bars now, you want to have a new life with me? How do I believe you?", Akira replied with resolve.
"Come on Akira!! Look into my eyes. Don't you see our future together? You left me and because of that, I turned into this monster. It was all your love which I was missing in my life", Anthony said and moved his hand forward to hold Akira's hand.
Vikram's ears were about to burst out of anger and rage. He couldn't believe how diplomatic that guy was. He was controlling his expressions and behavior just for the sake of Akira.
"But yesterday I didn't feel like love Anthony. It felt like death", Akira said and took her hand back.
When Vikram heard Akira speak like that, he could actually feel the pain in her voice. So he wrapped his arms around her and gently caressed her.
Till now Anthony was acting nicely in front of Akira even though in his insides just wanted to kill her at that instant. So when he saw Vikram acting all cozy with her, his rage was unraveled.
"Wow, girl you are something. You are teaching me about how to behave and look at how you are behaving yourself. Shall I ask the police to arrange a private room for you guys with a king size bed and all that?" Anthony said with a voice which was filled with sarcasm.
Akira couldn't believe what Anthony just said. A moment ago he was apologizing and now he was trying to assassinate her character.
"Listen to me, Anthony!!! What I do with my life right now is none of your business. With whom I stay or with whom I don't, again it's none of your business", Akira said and curled up her fists.
"Oh yeah, I can see that. Just because he is a rich family friend it's ok if he puts his junk in your trunk. Isn't it?", Anthony said with a rage of fire burning inside him.
Akira couldn't believe what Anthony just said. She couldn't believe that he could stoop so low. She got up from the seat and told Vikram,
"Let's go. Guys like him don't deserve a second chance and it was really stupid of me that I even considered giving him a second chance".
Till now Vikram was sitting there silently like a mock spectator because he wanted Akira to decide everything for herself. He didn't want to influence her decision. He got up and took Akira's hand in his own and started to walk away.
But a few seconds later he turned back and said,
"She is not the sort of girl who lets anybody put their junk inside her trunk. She lets you love her and you should have treasured that".