AUTHOR’S POV

They say you reap what you sow, but we have always witnessed the innocents crying out in helplessness, begging for mercy. And the wrongdoers? They flourished. They stood tall, crumbling everything beneath their shoes, silencing the innocents with power and money.

But what if those innocents stay silent, silent not because of helplessness, but because they are preparing for a bigger explosion? A fire that would burn him and his empire, the same walls that once witnessed their screams, now suppressed.

Not every victim finds courage immediately. They need support. They need strength. Just like—

“I can’t do this, I don’t have it in me to face their questions, I just can’t,” said Viraya Kapoor Malhotra, pacing around the room for the fifth time.

“Aap akele nahi ja rahe ho, Iraya. I will be with you, security will be with you, and your family is waiting for you,” her husband, Aadir Malhotra muttered softly, taking her hands gently in his. She nodded, taking a deep breath.
(You are not going by yourself Iraya. )

“But I want Ayesha to come with me. She can go back home later that night, I won’t stop her,” she replied.

“Okay, talk to her. If she agrees, then we will go with her,” he replied. She nodded, grabbing her phone from the nightstand.

“Hi dii, so what’s the plan?” Ayesha asked from the other side.

“Will you join me, Eshu? Just for the day. You can go back home at night. I can’t do this alone,” Viraya said, desperation lacing her voice.

“Yeah, it’s a Sunday tomorrow. We have a day off. I can join you,” came her voice from the other side.

Having a few small talks here and there she ended the call and informed her husband, who agreed, and together they decided to end the day and have a calm sleep with their baby girl.

While they slept peacefully, there was another man who was losing his mind and his empire, an empire he had built on suppressed screams and tears.

“ISS ZEESHAN KAPOOR KI HIMAAT KAISE HUI MERI DOOSRI SHIPMENT UDANE KI.” He shouted, losing his mind over the loss of hundreds of crores.
(I don't know how to translate this😭)

“Boss, I think we should just go back to INDIA,” replied Abhir, a young man in his twenties, probably the only man with a conscience in this estate and most definitely the only one who could make this psychotic man listen.

“Nahi Abhir, agar mai India gaya toh sab tabah ho jaega,” he replied, taking a whip from his hukka.
(No abhir, if I go back to India, everything is going to end.)

“Aap unke ye chote se attack se dar gaye?” Abhir said calmly, yet his voice echoed in the silent room.
( Are you scared of this small attack done by him?)

A gun was immediately pointed at his forehead, and if a glare could kill, he would have been dead. “KARAN REDDY KO USKE BAAP SE DAR NAHI LAGTA, WOH ZEESHAN KAPOOR KYA CHEEZ HAI.”
(Karan Reddy is not even scared of his father, who even Zeeshan Kapoor is.)

“Lekin abhi waqt nahi aaya hai. Tum niklo yaha se isse pehle mai ye 6 ki 6 goli maar du tere,” he added, pushing Abhir, who stood fearless and unwavering.
(But now is not the right time, you get out before I put all these 6 bullets down your body.)

“Sure sir, have a great day ahead,” Abhir replied and left, an almost unnoticeable smirk lingering on his face.

“Zeeshan Kapoor, tum mera kuch nahi bigaad sakte, lekin mai tujhe chhodunga nahi,” he muttered, throwing everything off his desk and calling his men. “Send those two girls NOW.”
(Zeeshan Kapoor, you can do anything to me but I definitely won't leave you.)

Zeeshan's POV

Peeking outside my room, I checked if my mother was still lingering around the living room.

Apparently, I’ve been grounded. A grown man grounded by his own mother.

Sighing quietly, I tiptoed to the kitchen. Grabbing an insulated mug, I walked out quietly, making sure my mother was not in sight, coz come on ek CBI officer mummy ki chappal se pitta hua acha nahi lagega.
(A CBI officer getting hit with his own mother's slipper wouldn't look good.)

“Zee bhai,” came Veer’s voice, just as I was about to step out.

Fuck.

“Hi Veer,” I said, shushing him up. He narrowed his eyes at me.

This chirkut.

“Kaha jaa rahe ho aap?” he said, glaring at me like a school principal.
(Where are you going?)

“Ek kaam se ja raha hu Vidit ke ghar,” I replied, sighing.
(Going to Vidit's home for  some important work.)

“Ek haath se kaam karoge aap?” his gaze went to the cast on my left shoulder.
(You will work with one hand?)

“Ha beta, teri bhabhi laani hai na,” I said, shrugging.
(Yes kid, need to bring your bhabhi.)

He glared at me before saying, “kal wali didi ke alawa koi bhi bhabhi accept nahi karunga mai.”
(I won't accept anyone as my bhabhi except the one who came home yesterday.)

“Mai bhi,” I replied. I could feel heat creeping up my neck and ears.
(Me too.)

“Fir aap ja sakte ho,” he said happily before walking away to his room, leaving me dumbfounded behind him.
(Then you can go.)

Before mumma could catch me, I quickly walked out of the house to Vidit’s place, which was opposite mine. I waited for him to open the door as I rang the doorbell.

“Aap kaun, bhaisahab?” Vidit said, opening the door with shaving foam still on his face.
(Who are you, brother?)

“Side hatt,” I replied, pushing him aside and walking straight to his kitchen, where Ritika sat drinking her coffee.
(Move away.)

“Morning bhai,” she muttered, munching on a cookie as I placed the things I had bought on the kitchen counter.

“Morning, little one,” I said, ruffling her hair.

“Help me find the ingredients for a coffee,” I added. She nodded and handed them to me.

“Thank you. Just help me cut this too, please,” I said, handing her the coffee packet. She nodded, cutting one side with a pair of scissors.

“This is Ayesha’s favourite coffee,” she said, placing it on the kitchen counter.

“Yeah, I’m making this for her.” Grabbing it with my left hand, I scooped out exactly two spoons and added a spoonful of sugar, a spoonful of water, and a pinch of cinnamon, beating it for exactly five minutes. I poured the concoction into the insulated mug I had brought.

Bringing half a cup of water and a splash of milk to a boil, I carefully poured it into the mug and cling wrapped it before closing the lid. By the time both of them finished their breakfast, my coffee was ready.

“Give this to Ayesha,” I said, carefully handing it to Ritika, making sure she held the handle and not the mug.

“Okay,” she replied, smiling.

“Hogayi teri aashiqui?” Vidit said from behind Ritika.
(Done with your aashiqui?)

“Haa, mai nikalta hu. Mumma ne dekh liya toh bura hoga,” I said and walked with them till they left for office, while I sneaked back into my room.
(Yeah, I should go. It would be a problem if mumma find out about my sneaking out.)

Later, after an hour, I received a text from her.

It was a picture of the mug, with a text.

“Thank you for the coffee, it is exactly the way I like it.♥️”
With a red heart.

A damn red heart, enough to make my neck burn with heat, and damn, I was blushing like a teenager over a red heart.

Dropping a reply back immediately with a red heart to her.

“I am glad. Text me when you reach home from work.♥️”

For the next few hours, I decided to do some work at home, constantly rechecking the text she had sent.

“Bahar aa,” Vidit said as soon as I picked up his call. My gaze went to the clock on the wall, which read 9:00 pm.
(Come out.)

“Kya ho gaya?” I asked, sighing.
(What happened?)

“Bahar aa, saale,” he said. I could hear Ritika laughing.
(Come out, fucker.)

“Aa raha hu,” I replied before ending the call and walked out to where he was waiting for me.
(Coming.)

“Ye le,” he said, handing me my insulated mug.
(Here.)

“Thanks, isme kuch hai kya?” I asked as the cup was not empty.
(Is something in here?)

“Aapke liye chai bheji hai kisi ne, bhaiya,” Ritika said from behind with a teasing smile.
( Someone sent a Cup of tea for you.)

“Oh. I-I um, thank you,” I stuttered, heat creeping up my neck. Vidit and Ritika laughed.

“So cute,” Vidit said, pulling my cheeks hard. Smacking his hand away, I focused on the warm mug of tea in my hands.

“Good night, guys,” I said and quickly walked back to my room after bidding them bye. I was eager to drink this.

Snapping a picture of the mug, I took a sip that instantly calmed me, acting as a cure for all the fatigue I had from the day.

Taking another sip, I sent her the picture with a text.

“Would’ve kissed the hands of the beautiful lady who made this, because this is exactly what I needed, just like the lady herself.”

Her reply came after twenty minutes, just as I walked into my room with my food.

“You won’t believe what happened today,” she texted as we were talking back and forth.

“Ya toh aap call par bata dijiye ya mai aapke ghar aa jata hu, aapko jo feasible lage,” I texted back, taking a bite from my plate.
(Either you tell me on call or I'm coming to your home, whatever seems feasible to you.)

“Call it is,” came her reply the next minute, and I immediately called her.

“Hi Zeeshan,” came her voice from the other side, and for the second time that day, I felt cured. My heart felt at peace, and it felt as if I could finally breathe after hearing her voice.

While talking to her, I finished my dinner as she ranted about her day, and I gave my inputs too.

Unbelievably, a man like me, who used to eat dinner alone for some peace of mind, now found peace in a voice I would die for, the kind of voice I would happily surrender to for the rest of my life.

Ayesha’s POV

“Let’s go,” I said, pulling my car in front of the main door, where Iru di and jiju waited with our little one.

“Hii Eshu,” both of them said. Jiju helped di settle with the baby and then sat himself.

“Chale?” I asked, turning slightly.
(Shall I drive?)

“Yes,” they replied, di’s face filled with nervousness while jiju sat neutral, a small smile on his lips. I nodded and drove to wherever di kept instructing me to go.

After a drive of sixty minutes, we parked in front of Zeeshan’s home.

Is it?

Naah, maybe it’s the next one to Zeeshan’s.

“Come on,” di said, walking slowly toward Zeeshan’s home.

Maybe she’s going there for spare keys.

Jiju rang the doorbell, and we waited for someone to open the door.

“Mai dekh raha—” Zeeshan appeared, opening the door, immediately falling silent at the sight of di, who stood stiff, tears streaming down her face. My eyes widened as I watched them, and it meant only one thing.
(I am checking -)

We are chasing the same man.

FUCK NOOO.

Honestly, I'm disappointed af with the chapter but I hate to make you guys wait for the chapter, so I somehow squeezed in some time for writing the chapter.
I am sorry for such a disappointingly short chapter, I'll do better the next time.

See you guys after my exams!🫶