Chapter 32: 32:Domestic Abuse

Evan hesitated a bit before hiring a private detective as this was an invasion and breach of privacy but he felt that he couldn't stay passive for long.

He had always tried to pry Aunt Celina as his senses always warned him of something bad.

Maybe being someone who was used to getting abused, he could sense others from his experiences or whatever.

He had also followed her home but he didn't find anything unusual as he had never met her husband. Also, he had seen Aunt Celina being evasive to people visiting her.

But the primary reason he hired a detective was because he wondered if his parents were somehow linked to Aunt Celina's bad circumstances; however the results horrified him.

Though he didn't get the desired results, he got to know about her past.

Aunt Celina used to be a General Manager of a reputed Fashion Company. Her husband opened a Textile Industry.

They didn't have many details but in the report, it suggested that both of them were acquaintances before their jobs.

Later, her husband's business fell apart because of his use of substandard material. This also impacted Aunt Celina as her company signed a contract with him and the textiles failed up to the mark.

Her husband's company went bankrupt, and Aunt Celina lost her high-salary job. The two sold their house and Aunt Celina used all her savings to pay off the loan.

Despite his husband's low time Aunt Celina not only stuck with him but sacrificed all her hard work yet what she got was worse than betrayal.

Unable to bear the loss, James started drinking to the point he became addicted, then he started gambling. In the beginning, he earned quite a sum but later he started losing.

Things escalated to the point of domestic abuse and after Aunt Celina's reputation was pummeled none of the companies hired her and this led to her setting a stall near his campus.

The moment he came to know all this, his heart burnt in fury. He felt so angry that he wanted to butcher this guy.

Fucking asshole.

In the modern day, it's difficult to get a girl who isn't a bitch and wholly devoted to you yet you are kicking such a good woman.

He couldn't help but compare his mo...he meant that bitch Henna.

Such a bastard deserved to be paired with her.

Evan already had some evidence of James' ill works of domestic abuse, so without wasting a single moment, Evan rushed to Aunt Celina.

He wasn't alone as the private detective also lent a hand as he too couldn't bear it

And the first thing he saw after going inside was bruises and scratches on Aunt Celina's body and a slap mark on her face that made his mind go blank.

Elina at first resisted but after repeated persistence, she agreed before going, she walked towards Evan and held his sleeves.

Raising her damp glistening eyes, she spoke in a soft voice, "Brother please take care of my mother."

Evan's heart welled up and she patted her to assure her.

"I will."

Seeing Ryan and Elina's figures disappearing, Evan's gaze became colder,"Aunt Celin, what's going on?"

Celina raised her head to meet Evan's firm gaze. Her heart quivered in agony. Despite her efforts to appear strong, she was just a woman struggling every day to survive.

"Evan, somehow your parents know James. They have reached out to him to keep tabs on you. A few days ago, James barged in and beat me, demanding to know where I was working. I gave him minimal information, but somehow he connected me to you."

Her voice trembled as tears welled up in her eyes.

"He might have followed me, spotted us together during work, or knew when we spoke over the phone. Just revealing your identity wasn't enough so he wanted me to do shady things."

Evan sucked in cold air.

Celina's face contorted with pain, her hands shaking involuntarily.

"He asked me to manipulate financial accounts and withdraw money. He demanded I report your every movement to him. Your parents must have offered him a deal. And when I refused, this war started, and he threatened me to stay out of it."

"Damn it!" Evan cursed aloud, shocked by Celina's revelations and the intensity of her distress.

"If it's such a nightmare, why the heck are you still with that monster?" Evan asked aloud.

"Because it's not easy to leave him. Do you think I want to stay with a bastard?"

Celina screamed, her voice echoing through the hospital corridor.

"Please, keep your voices down. We're in a hospital," a passerby nurse interjected, eyeing them with concern.

Evan stood there, stunned and dazed by Celina's outburst. He struggled to process the magnitude of her suffering and the danger she was in.

"I'm sorry to shout at you," Celina muttered, her anger turning to despair as she turned to Evan. "But leaving him isn't easy."

"He threatened me," she continued with her trembling.

"If I leave, he'll hunt us down and kill us. He said if I go to the police and complain, he might end up in prison, but when he gets out, he'll find us and destroy us..."

"What am I supposed to do?" Celina cried out, desperation and fear lingered in her voice. "I loved him, sacrificed everything to be with him, and this is what I get? Do I have to kill him with my own hands to survive? And even if I did, could I escape the consequences?"