Chapter 8

As Violet pondered over the bloodstains on Adil's shirt and the lingering doubts in her mind, a sense of unease settled over her thoughts. The handprint, unmistakably resembling blood, raised questions she couldn't ignore.

"Why does it look like blood? Where did it come from?" she wondered, her mind racing with possibilities. Adil's explanation about being hit by a vehicle felt plausible, yet her memory remained clouded, adding to her confusion.

"Am I overthinking this? Maybe it's just a misunderstanding," she mused, trying to rationalize the situation. However, her mind couldn't shake off the unsettling feeling, fueled by the narratives from the books she had read over the years.

In those stories, handsome men often concealed dark secrets, leading her to question Adil's intentions. Despite his charming demeanor, doubts lingered, echoing the cautionary tales she had immersed herself in.

As she mulled over these thoughts, Violet couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to the situation than met the eye, leaving her wary of the enigmatic figure of Adil and the mysteries that surrounded him.

Violet tossed and turned on her bed, the persistent ache in her neck preventing her from finding any semblance of sleep.

"Ahhhhhhh!" she exclaimed as her alarm blared, signaling the start of a new day. With a sigh, she reluctantly rose from her bed, her mind still foggy from the sleepless night.

"It's already morning and I didn't sleep a wink... Thank God," she muttered to herself as she made her way to the bathroom. The hot water from the shower provided some relief to her sore muscles as she carefully removed the patch from her neck.

Staring at her reflection in the mirror, Violet's eyes widened in surprise as she noticed a bruise on her neck. "Huh?" she murmured, gingerly touching the tender spot. The pain that shot through her confirmed her suspicion - it was more than just a minor injury from a vehicle accident.

"It's more like a person hit me than a vehicle," she mused aloud, a sudden flash of memory causing her heart to race. The image of Adil struggling for breath flashed before her eyes, his veins bulging and his face contorted in pain.

"Right... he was struggling to breathe .. his veins got visible... he became hot ... I was asking him what happened... Then ---" she trailed off, frustration mounting as she struggled to recall the events of the previous night.

"Why can't I remember?" she wondered aloud, her thoughts interrupted by the shrill ringing of her phone alarm. Hastily applying another patch to her neck, she hurriedly dressed and made her way out of her apartment.

"Ahhh ... it hurts," she muttered under her breath as she navigated the streets, the throbbing pain a constant reminder of the mysterious incident.

Arriving at the flower shop where she worked, Violet was greeted by the concerned expression of her manager.

"Violet... what happened? .. your neck," the manager inquired, her worry palpable.

"A small accident," Violet replied, her breaths coming in short gasps as she tried to push through the pain. The manager's scolding only served to exacerbate her discomfort, but Violet brushed it off with a chuckle.

The manager, a single widow woman in her late 30s, her husband died in an accident when she was 27

Many told her to remarry cause she was so young but she was pregnant and at that time...

And she couldn't bring a stepdad for her unborn child who may or may not treat her as his own child

Then with her small knowledge of flowers, she opened a flower shop.

Although the area is quiet and silent

There are a few regular customers and online deliveries, and the shop is working smoothly.

had taken Violet under her wing after hearing her harrowing story. Violet's past was marked by trauma and abuse, but the manager saw strength and resilience in her young employee.

"dead" Violet heard the word from the television playing ...

She turned around and saw the Television

"30 years old Ms.Radhika is found dead

The fisherman found her body in the ocean while they went fishing

Her body has no wounds except two small holes in her neck ..

Suspecting the reason for the death is murder ..

Her body was sent to the forensic

She----"

The manager of the television

"Why do you look at such horrible news"

She said placing the remote down on the table...

"I want to," Violet said on the television again

"Ms.Radhika who is working as a software engineer in the software solutions company left the office after her night shift yesterday night at 10:30...

The family informed me that she never came back

She is a resident of xxx area"

"Sis ..isn't that our area?"Violet asked panicking ..

The manager came in front and saw it

"Right ..Radhika... I know that girl...

She resides near to here...

She sometimes comes to our shop to buy dandelion flowers...

Oh my god...

How cruel is that she died ..." the manager said sadly...

"No ...look at that ..it's a murder," Violet replied

"This area is so peaceful though ... never once there is a murder case related to here," the manager remarked, her voice tinged with disbelief.

"Doesn't mean it always stays the same," Violet countered, her mind racing with worry for her own safety.

"Then you should be careful on your way back," the manager cautioned, her words a sobering reminder of the dangers that lurked in the shadows.

"Except my father... I can't expect any other person to find and kill me ..so it's not a problem," she said placing the flower in a water pot

"Your father ....how do you think he is right now," the manager asked slowly

"Who knows ..maybe alive ..maybe dead.

Maybe drunk ..maybe sober .."

"When you first said your story to me...

I saw that you love your father very much ...now don't you wonder how he is doing?" The manager asked which made Violet stop her work for a second.

"I died for his attention all these years.

Whenever I stepped out of that house with blood dripping down my head and wounds all over my body...

I always expect my father to be the one who is in front of me when I wake up.

He must be the one who takes me to the hospital even though he is the one who hurt me.

I always thought that.

But never once did he care.

Violet's thoughts drifted to her estranged father, a figure from her past that she had long since tried to forget. The wounds he had inflicted on her, both physical and emotional, still haunted her to this day.

"For one last time, I stepped out of that house once and for all and decided never to look back... So I don't wanna know about him... It will be great if he is alive. If he is dead I don't even want to hear that news... I will have the memories of him being alive forever," she declared, her voice tinged with a mix of sorrow and resignation.