Arjun and Chandni were standing in front of Arjun’s car. Chandni was not looking at Arjun, all those things were still running in her mind that had happened a little while ago. She did not want to see Arjun at all. She was standing with her gaze lowered.

Arjun was just standing there, or maybe he was waiting for someone to speak. Again and again Arjun’s eyes were going towards the road, as if anyone could come from there at any moment. In between, he was also looking at Chandni. Just then, another car came and stopped in front of them. When Chandni lifted her eyes and looked towards that car, she saw that the car was also Arjun’s, but inside it a driver was sitting.

A driver got out of that car and came forward and directly sat in the car that Arjun had brought with him. Chandni was not able to understand anything, what exactly was happening with her. What Arjun wanted to do after doing all this. Suddenly Chandni felt Arjun’s hand again on her hand. Chandni looked towards Arjun with shocked eyes, with one question about what he wanted now.

“Sit in the car.” Just some words. Chandni did not say anything, she just lightly pulled her hand back. She did not do it suddenly, but slowly she pulled her hand back. Arjun did not say anything to her at that time because he knew that now there was no use arguing with her.

After freeing her hand, Chandni directly held her pallu and started walking towards the car. Arjun was just standing behind her and watching her go from there. In a few moments, Chandni opened the back door and sat inside. She did not turn back even once to look towards Arjun.

As soon as Chandni sat inside, the driver started the car and in just a few moments the car disappeared from in front of Arjun’s eyes. As soon as Chandni’s car left, Arjun started moving towards the second car. The driver knew very well where they had to go now and what all had to be done after reaching there.

❥❥

Chandni didn’t even realize how the entire day passed. After coming back from the hospital, Chandni had dinner and came straight to her room. The whole day, there was not a single call from Arjun, nor even one message. Chandni opened the balcony door and sat down, resting her back against the gate. She started looking at the shining moon in the sky.

Her breathing was completely normal. Her eyes were getting heavy with the tiredness of the whole day. Chandni couldn’t understand where her life was heading. Ever since her marriage to Arjun, everything in her life had started going against her. Chandni slowly began to remember how today at the hospital, her patient Govind had become violent during therapy. In the last six months, this was the first time Govind had turned violent in front of Chandni. But why?

She had no answer to that “why.” As long as this case was under Roshni, everything was going fine, but now… now slowly everything was slipping out of Chandni’s hands. She wanted to find out who this Govind really was. What was his real name, for whom he used to work. And most importantly, when he was brought to the hospital, how did his accident happen? What was it that affected his mental health so badly?

Thousands of questions were revolving in Chandni’s mind, but she didn’t have the answer to even a single one. The room was so silent that even the sound of Chandni’s breathing was reaching her ears. At this moment, what was going on in her life and how she could explain it to anyone, this was something she couldn’t understand at all.

❥⁠❥

The road was completely empty. It felt as if no bird had even passed through that place for years, where three cars were running together. On the road, only one single car was visible at a time, yet even then all three cars were moving at their full speed. The entire area around was nothing but forest. Forget humans, there was not even a sign of a single animal there.

It was difficult to even see the road between the trees. From above, the huge trees had formed such a thick crown that they had hidden the road within themselves. The whole night was pitch dark, and the car was moving only on the basis of its front headlights. In the entire forest, no sound could be heard except the engine of the car.

In the first car, Arjun was sitting along with his secretary, and in the two cars behind them, the entire security team was seated. Arjun knew very well where he was going and what could happen to him after reaching there. But it was also true that till date, hardly anyone had been able to fail Arjun’s planning. Whatever he had planned so far had always gone according to him.

Inside the car, Arjun’s eyes were not only on the road, but they were also scanning each and every tree passing by on the side. Even though it was dark there and it was difficult to see with human eyes, for someone who had come there risking his life, this darkness could not do much. Inside the entire car there was pin-drop silence; if there was any sound, it was only because of his secretary’s fast, heavy breathing due to fear.

Arjun was fully aware of the danger, yet even then he had complete control over his breaths. His eyes were counting every single moment, watching the direction of each tree, as if somewhere, sometime, something would appear that would either make his journey ahead easy or make it hard enough to take his life.

Arjun turned his face from outside to inside. His eyes fell on Manoj, whose normal body temperature had already soaked him in sweat, and the reason, everyone knew it very well, where he was at this time and what he was going to do. Arjun raised his eyebrows slightly because he was a little shocked seeing Manoj in such a condition. He knew very well why Manoj was in this state.

“What happened, Dar lag raha?” Arjun asked in a very low voice. But for someone whose ears had not heard any sound for so long except his own heavy breathing, reacting to such a deep voice was bound to happen. Manoj flinched. Then slowly, Manoj took his attention off the driving and looked at Arjun for a moment.

“Sir… Don't you think this place is too dangerous? Our enemies can attack us at any moment here, sir,” Manoj said in a trembling and frightened voice. Manoj’s chest was moving up and down rapidly due to fear. But there was not even a trace of fear on Arjun’s face. His facial expressions were still completely dominating, as if he was not afraid of death at all. With the same expressions, he looked like a lion roaming freely in his own forest without fear, without thinking about when and how some hunter from the circus might come to hunt him.

“Don’t take tension, your wife will not become a widow today.”Arjun said this to Manoj with the same dominant expression and after saying it he turned his face toward the window side. Manoj gulped his saliva. He was not able to understand what kind of way this was to give courage to someone that everything will be fine. Even without speaking much, Arjun’s few words had already said a lot.

Arjun’s eyes were continuously watching the trees going backward. He was calculating each and every tree. The position of every tree. The position of the ground, he was calculating everything. His eyelids were blinking with great difficulty, only once or twice in several minutes.

And then suddenly something unusual appeared to his eyes, moving from behind the trees. Something like that which he had not seen in the entire forest till now, and maybe till now none of the humans sitting there had noticed it, but escaping from Arjun Rathore’s eyes was beyond difficult, and the same happened. That unwanted movement could not escape Arjun’s eyes even in that black night.

In the forest where for the last half an hour not even a single bird was seen, where not even a leaf of a tree had moved, in that same forest suddenly a big stone moved, without any animal, how? How could such a big stone move behind a tree without any sound, and most importantly which animal could move that stone so silently.

Arjun’s eyes got stuck on that stone and stayed there when Arjun gestured his hand toward Manoj to slow down the car and as soon as Arjun’s car slowed down the cars running behind also reduced their speed. Arjun’s eyes were not moving away from that stone and very soon that moment also arrived when the car stopped at one place.

Before Arjun could say anything, Arjun’s team came out with their big heavy weapons, such weapons which could hunt even from many meters away.

Arjun’s breathing suddenly became slow because he understood that the thing for which he was waiting had finally come to him. Before opening the car door his lips turned into a smirk. Because of one mistake of the enemy the whole game had got ruined. Even a moment of inattention from Arjun Rathore’s eyes could fail the entire plan, how could his enemy forget this.

Opening his car door he placed one of his feet down on the road. A strange kind of silence spread throughout the entire area. Maybe at that moment the fear of death was far from everyone’s heart except one person, except Manoj. His heart was still running faster than the speed of the car. His hands were trembling while he was locking the car door.

Arjun came out of the car. His coat was hanging on his body, totally fitting over his muscles. The effect of Arjun’s body was such that it could create that coldness in the heart of a frightened man that for a few moments he could forget his own death. All the security slowly started coming toward Arjun’s car. They did not need to ask any questions, especially not from their master. Working with Arjun for so many years, they had understood well what they had to do in which situation and what their role was.

On the other side Manoj came and stood between two bodyguards. He knew very well that if something happened to him, nothing would happen to his boss, instead he would keep another secondary like Manoj, that too within minutes after his death.

Arjun’s eyes had still not moved from that stone but now the stone had started shaking badly. How could a stone tremble like this? How could a stone tremble just because a human kept his foot on the ground. At least the enemy should have done a little more practice for his preparation, this was the only thing running in Arjun’s mind. As Arjun and his bodyguards were reaching closer to the stone, the shaking of the stone was becoming more intense.

And in the end the same thing happened which was always meant to happen. As Arjun’s steps moved closer to that stone or to say to the human who was sitting there in the form of that stone, to keep his eyes on him, that person tried to stand up from there. But maybe now there was not enough strength left in his body to run away from Arjun’s trained security. He must have hardly moved a few steps forward when two bodyguards lifted him straight from the ground.

Arjun, who was now standing away from his car, had his eyes fixed on that face which was trembling with fear. From whose eyes tears were not stopping. His body was ready to give up at any moment. The bodyguards brought that man and made him stand in front of Arjun. Standing in front of Arjun Rathore meant watching your own death with your own eyes without being dead.

“Now words.”

Just two words and it felt as if the soul came out of that man’s body. He had no option by which he could escape from Arjun and at that moment even death was not kind enough to take him away before Arjun could say anything more.

In that black night when soft moonlight was falling on Arjun’s face through the leaves of the trees, it was making him even more dangerous. The man standing in front gulped his saliva before speaking.

“Y-you… I was sitting here… to give the upd…ate of your arr…ival… I… I don’t kno…anything…anything more than this… truly.”

That man was begging Arjun in his trembling voice. Arjun… Arjun was just listening to his words but Arjun already knew why that man was sitting there. Arjun’s ears wanted to hear the name of the person who was behind him.

“Who”

That man’s body trembled inside like his soul was shaking because there was a mic attached to his body which was directly transferring his spoken words to the mastermind. When that man knew all this then how could he tell Arjun the truth. Tears were not stopping from that man’s eyes. He was not able to understand whose death he was choosing now, his own or the one who was standing behind him.

“I… I can’t… tell you… ple…ase… please… leave me… I have not do…ne any…thing wrong.”

His breathing was not in his control. He was not able to speak his sentences, such fear had entered his body at that time.

But Arjun.

Arjun only wanted to hear the name of that man who was playing with him from the shadows. His eyes suddenly started turning red. Arjun’s anger had started rising. He had already wasted his time since morning and after hearing such talks from this man Arjun’s anger was now going completely out of his control.

Arjun turned his fingers into a fist. His breaths were now getting slightly faster with anger. The only thought coming into his mind was when he would shove the person standing in front of him into the ground. His eyes were slowly piercing the soul of that person. As if silently giving a very dirty death threat without saying a word.

After this, Arjun thought of nothing. He directly took the gun attached to his belt support and without thinking, put it inside that person’s mouth. Without thinking that the person could also get shot. Arjun’s anger had now broken all the limits of his patience. Manoj’s eyes had grown bigger with fear.

The person standing in front had stopped breathing; for a few moments he didn’t even understand whether he was still alive. His eyes were ready to come out from fear. His chest started moving up and down with every breath as soon as he felt the gun inside his mouth. His hands tightly held his pants. He didn’t have the courage in his body to struggle in front of Arjun, and even if he tried, the bodyguards standing there would not let him move from his place.

“For. Last. Who”

Arjun’s words were like a knife piercing the soul of that person. He didn’t know what to do, but it was clear that if he didn’t say the name of the person who had done all this, Arjun would not let even his finger reach that person.

The person slowly stopped making sounds from fear and began moving his lips slowly. Even though the gun was still in his mouth, his lips were getting ready to speak.

“K…ka….kab…. Kabir…kabir”

A gunshot, and the man who had just been begging to stay alive now had his jaw separated from his body, falling somewhere in the forest. His body was still lying in front of Arjun, and Arjun’s hands were getting covered in his blood as if it were some filthy worm in a drain.

Arjun’s hand was still in the air, even though a moment ago the gun had been inside someone’s mouth; now the gun was open in the air, but someone’s life had already been marked by the blood.

“Call them and tell them to get the shipping done.”

As soon as the words came out of Arjun’s mouth, Manoj took out his phone and, following the plan, Arjun got all the illegal things shipped via trucks from there.

❥❥

At 2 a.m., the room door suddenly opened and Arjun entered the room wearing only his shirt and trousers. He had spent half the night executing his plan, and finally at 2 a.m. he returned to his home. His work was still not completely finished, because he had found out something that maybe he should not have known yet. Arjun’s body still had the same amount of energy that it had in the morning. The fire burning in his eyes had still not reduced, and maybe it was not going to reduce anytime soon.

Arjun’s gaze fell straight on Chandni. The entire room light was on, and Chandni. Chandni was sleeping on one side of the bed, covering half of her body. Standing at the door itself, Arjun looked at his wife sleeping peacefully on the bed in front of his eyes. Although he also knew that however calm Chandni looked from the outside, she was not that calm from the inside. He knew very well that for sure Chandni must have slept only after crying again.

Arjun locked the door and went straight into the washroom. There was still blood on his body. He did not feel the need to clean that blood because he knew that at this time no one in the house would be awake who could see him in this condition. More than a hundred questions were running through Arjun’s mind, but he also knew from whom and when he would get the answers to his questions. Arjun knew very well what he had done today and against whom he had gone, but for Arjun, neither any person nor that person’s name was bigger than his work.

After taking a cold shower at 2 a.m., wearing a T-shirt and lower, Arjun came back into the room again. And as soon as he entered the room again, Chandni’s smell reached him. Her perfume kept attracting Arjun towards her again and again. It had all happened today itself, he remembered it very well, and he also knew what effect all of this was having on Chandni’s mind, but Arjun had no option because it was his own choice.

Arjun removed his gaze from Chandni and lowered it to the floor, and removed all those thoughts from his mind because of which Chandni had cried the entire day today. Arjun took a long breath and with his breaths released all of today’s tiredness from both his body and his mind. With his long steps, Arjun reached near the bed in just a moment. Between him and Chandni there was a quite long distance on the bed, but Chandni’s face was completely towards Arjun.

Because the balcony gate was open directly, moonlight was falling on Chandni’s face. Her eyes were still tired and swollen from the entire day. There was a completely calm expression on her face, but Chandni’s breaths were going out of normal again and again, as if even now the same things were running in her mind.

“kash tum din me bhi itni hi shant rethi,” Arjun says while looking at Chandni’s face, “but it’s okay. Very soon you will get relief from all this,” Arjun says to himself. His voice was hardly reaching Chandni’s ears. Saying all this felt a little strange to Arjun. He had always known that this day would come, and he never had any problem with it, but now… now it felt strange. It felt so strange that even talking to himself felt bad, because one day Chandni had to go away from him.

Arjun doesn’t think about this too much anymore. He sits on the bed and once again looks at Chandni’s face, and then lies down. His face was quite far from Chandni’s face. Chandni’s face looked very calm while she was sleeping. There was a slight distance between her lips, and one of her hands was under her head to support it. Chandni was sleeping completely at one corner of the bed.

Arjun doesn’t think anything; instead, he directly places his hand on Chandni’s waist and pulls her from the corner of the bed towards himself. Chandni’s face comes close to Arjun’s face. Arjun’s breaths were slowly falling on Chandni’s face. Her hair was coming onto her face, but Chandni didn’t realize anything in her sleep. Arjun removes his hand from Chandni’s waist and gently moves her hair away from her face, because somewhere he felt that the hair might be bothering Chandni.

Arjun keeps looking at Chandni’s calm face. Arjun knew very well how beautiful Chandni was. Her facial features were such that Arjun had never seen any girl this beautiful before, not even while sleeping. Slowly, the distance between Chandni’s lips kept increasing. Arjun’s eyes were carefully observing Chandni’s face from her forehead to her chin.

“Tum kitni sunder ho,” These were the only words coming out of Arjun’s lips while looking at Chandni. Nothing else was coming to his mind. Arjun places his hand on Chandni’s cheek. Because of Arjun’s hand, Chandni’s small face was hardly visible. Arjun’s fingers were touching Chandni’s ear, the same ear that Arjun had touched with his lips that morning.

Slowly, Arjun closes his eyes. Now his body also needed rest, and he did not want Chandni’s sleep to be disturbed because of him, so he quietly tried to fall asleep by closing his eyes.

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