Second Chance: A Dark Tale of Urban India

Rohit frowned as his phone rang again. Karishma.

’Now what does she want?’

He answered the call anyways.

A trembling voice greeted him. "Rohit... it’s me, Karishma. I only want—"

"I’m busy," he cut her off coldly.

He was about to disconnect when her voice suddenly turned desperate. "Wait... please don’t hang up. At least hear me out. I only need two minutes of your time. Meet me once, then you can decide whatever you want."

Rohit rubbed his temples, clearly irritated. Meeting her again was a hassle. "Fine. Where are you?"

"I’m outside your house," she replied immediately. "In my car."

After a brief pause, she asked cautiously, "Should I come inside?"

"No." His answer came without hesitation. "Stay where you are. And make sure no one notices you."

"Alright," she replied quietly. "I’m parked on the right side."

The call ended.

Rohit sat silently for a few moments. He already had a rough idea why she wanted to meet. The last time, he had never clearly told her whether he intended to forgive her or destroy her. She was probably here seeking that answer.

He could simply ignore her.

But after everything that had happened, hearing her out once wasn’t unreasonable.

He glanced at himself in the mirror. Still wearing pajamas. Good enough for a short conversation.

As he walked through the courtyard, the security guard gave him a crisp nod and opened the main gate. Outside, an old Hyundai sat beneath the shadows of a roadside tree. The street was unusually quiet, with barely anyone passing by.

As Rohit approached, the passenger door opened from inside.

He froze for a brief second. Karishma wasn’t dressed in her usual modern attire. Instead, she wore a simple salwar kameez. That alone surprised him. He stepped inside and closed the door.

The moment he sat down, Karishma clasped her hands together.

"Rohit..."

Her voice cracked.

"I did everything you asked. But... you never told me whether you would forgive me."

Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Please... don’t report me. If I lose my job... I lose the only way I have to support my daughter."

Rohit looked at her without expression.

Now he understood the change of clothes.

She wasn’t trying to seduce him.

She was trying to appear harmless. Trying to earn sympathy.

"You should’ve thought about that," he replied coldly, "before making my life a living hell."

His gaze remained indifferent.

"I won’t just report you. I’ll make sure you lose every bit of credibility in your divorce case. You’ll lose your job. And once that happens... you’ll probably lose custody of your daughter as well."

His eyes met hers.

"A woman willing to manipulate students for her own benefit isn’t exactly an ideal mother."

Karishma shook her head violently. "No..."

With trembling fingers, she hurriedly pulled out a photograph and handed it to him.

"My daughter wasn’t safe."

Rohit looked down.

A terrified little girl — barely six years old — stood crying while two masked men held a knife against her neck.

His expression stiffened.

"They kidnapped her," Karishma whispered between sobs. "They threatened me."

"My husband..." she continued bitterly, "...is no better than I am. For years he lied to me, saying he was a manager in MNC. But after checking his calls... I found out he was working as a pimp. He sold girls to earn his keep."

Her voice completely broke.

"How could I ever trust a man like that with my daughter?"

She slowly removed the scarf around her neck.

Not seductively.

Almost mechanically.

Like someone offering the only thing she believed still held any value.

"Please..."

"Use me however you want..."

"...but don’t ruin my career. It’s the only thing keeping my daughter alive."

Rohit frowned as he processed the new intel. These details hadn’t appeared in any of the phone records, so he had missed them entirely.

That certainly explained most of her behavior and reasoning. But what about plotting against him with Akhil after he left? And the money she had taken was still hard to digest.

However, he had never truly intended to report her. Breaking her psychologically had always been his goal. He wanted to know who she really was and if any one was behind her.

He scoffed. "Hah. You think I’m naïve? If you’re really that truthful, then why did you try to entice my friend after I left? You may have been bound by circumstances, but you still chose your actions with full consciousness. And now that it’s time to pay, you’re playing the damsel in distress. Pathetic."

Karishma’s eyes widened in panic. She tried to explain, but no words came out. "I... I..."

Rohit mused, "That’s it. That’s the reaction I was looking for. Yes, he did talk to me after blocking you. And Ma’am, sorry to say, but after knowing the truth this time, your student will be the one teaching you a lesson."

He was about to step out when he mocked, "Just wait and watch."

Karishma stood frozen. But as she saw Rohit heading for the door, she hurriedly pulled out a kitchen knife and pointed it at him with both trembling hands.

"Wait... you don’t—"

Rohit looked surprised. He laughed dryly. "You think this little toy can actually hurt me? Have you actually lost your mind?"

Karishma finally snapped. "What option do I have? You... that boy... the judge.. the principal... you’re all the same! You only wanted my body. And after using me... you threw me away like trash."

She pushed the trembling blade closer to his neck. "Why... what wrong did I do? Yes, I used your friend a bit for my loneliness. But was that really a big crime? It was mutual and i never intend him any harm. The only reason I approached him was to get the justice. The justice I deserved. I needed money to raise my daughter and that bastard refused to pay a single penny."

She looked pitiful. Her voice trembled as she cried while pointing the dagger. "Do I look really that bad? Didn’t you enjoy yourself? When I’m offering myself, then why are you rejecting me?"

Rohit smirked, clearly feeling no sense of danger. His nonchalant attitude only irritated her more, as if daring her to actually do it.

Her voice became hoarse as a fresh wave of determination glinted in her eyes. "Since you are determined to do this, you leave me no choice, Rohit Singhania. Even though I am too weak to hurt a spoiled brat like you... I can still end my own life."

Rohit’s expression changed instantly.

Before he could react, Karishma turned the knife toward herself and thrust it toward her neck.

"Dammit!"

He slapped her wrist sideways.

The blade buried itself into the seat instead leaving only a faint scratch in neck.

In one swift motion, he twisted the knife from her hand and threw it onto the backseat.

"You have really lost your mind!!"

Karishma collapsed against the steering wheel.

"What else do you want from me?"

She broke down.

"Why won’t any of you let this end?"

"I’m tired..."

"So tired..."

"You all want something."

"And when I’m no longer useful..."

"...you all leave."

Rohit let out a long sigh.

For the first time since entering the car, his expression softened.

Without another word, he reached forward and gently pulled her into a hug.

The moment she felt another human touch...

She completely broke.

Violent sobs shook her entire body.

She cried into his shoulder like someone who had been holding everything in for years.

Rohit quietly patted her back.

"Alright."

His voice was calm.

"I won’t pursue this matter."

She froze.

"But..."

His tone became serious again.

"In return..."

"I want the whole truth."

"Everything about your husband."

"And everyone who forced you into this."

"Leave nothing out."

***

After ten minutes,

Rohit listened in silence as Karishma poured out her story, her voice trembling with exhaustion and shame. Her hands twisted nervously in her lap, and every few sentences she had to pause to wipe away fresh tears.

It had all started ten years ago.

She was at the peak of her career, having cleared IIT with flying colors and receiving excellent offers abroad. Life had been full of promise.

But she gave it all up for Shekhar — the man she had fallen madly in love with during placements.

Her father was strongly against the marriage.

Shekhar came from a lower caste with no notable family background, which made him seem shady in their eyes. But Karishma believed in him with all her heart.

She eloped with him, cutting ties with her family for the man she thought was her future.

They had a daughter soon after. For a while, life was genuinely happy. Thanks to a recommendation from an IIT professor, she secured an intern teaching position at Genesis Public School.

It was stable and respectable. The income was much lower than others since she lacked expereince but still it was respectable.

She thought they had built something real — a loving home, a stable future.

But eight years later, everything shattered.

One night, while feeding her daughter, she overheard Shekhar on the phone with a woman. The conversation was explicit, vulgar.

Shocked, she checked his phone later when he was asleep. The last notification was from a girl complaining about a customer her husband had refused to answer. She opened the thread and was horrified.

The truth came crashing down — her husband wasn’t a BPO team lead. He was a pimp, selling girls for money.

She noted the number and went to the rooftop, dialing it again in a desperate demand for answers. But the girl immediately cut the call the moment she heard Karishma’s voice.

Karishma cried silently for hours that night, curled up on the floor, unable to believe the man she had sacrificed everything for could be so monstrous.

Early the next morning, she received a call back from that girl. Her name was Maryam, a Bangladeshi immigrant who had once worked for him.

She told her everything about her husband’s schemes and how she had been trapped by him under the disguise of a work opportunity.

She warned Karishma to divorce him quietly if she wanted to protect her daughter.

Karishma approached a lawyer, who advised filing a fake domestic violence case instead of exposing the illegal activities — it would be more believable in India and less likely to backfire due to powerful backers.

She did everything the lawyer suggested and eventually won maintenance. But it was never enough.

Then Maryam called again. She had met a powerful client — a district judge. The same one who compromised the case and awarded him lower money. She took photoes as evidence.

She offered to use that evidence to pressure Shekhar for better maintenance and may be free her from escape.

Karishma agreed, desperate to secure her daughter’s future.

But days later, Shekhar answered Maryam’s call instead. He demanded to know why his wife had that number. Terrified, Karishma blocked it.

In her desperation, she approached the high court judge , Akhil’s father, hoping to bypass the lower court’s decision. She never intended to use Akhil. A part of her was simply lonely, and she felt guilty for that. She never meant to harm him.

But the principal also learned the truth and began molesting her. She tried to tolerate it while seeking legal support through Akhil. Later, the kidnappers threatened her daughter, forcing her hand completely.

Even Akhil’s father, the judge, was no innocent. He turned dangerous the moment he learnt her situation and demanded she meet him privately at his apartment to please his guests on Sundays in exchange for "favor."

Last Sunday, however, for some reason the plan got delayed, and she is scheduled to meet them again this Sunday instead.

And right in the middle of this absolute nightmare, Rohit Singhania had appeared—brutally destroying whatever fragile image she had left in front of her innocent student — the only one who had truly respected her despite her past sins.

Rohit listened to it all in silence. The pieces finally fit. Especially the detail about the judge’s private apartment. His own interests coincidentally aligned with hers.

"Well," he said finally, his voice measured, "I have a way out. But you have to listen to me carefully."

Karishma nodded desperately, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks. "Anything... as long as you don’t escalate this. I can’t lose my daughter. She’s all I have left."

Rohit smiled. But for some reason this time, it didn’t feel predatory.