ABHIR'S POV
(Surprise)

"Sir, Karan Sir had already called ten times." my assistant said, running behind me as soon as I walked out of the meeting room.

"Let him." I replied. My voice came out sharper than expected, but I couldn't care less. He is immune to it at this point. "What's the next schedule?"

"There are no other meetings on your calendar for today, sir." he replied, his eyes fixed on the iPad while opening the door to my office for me.

"Hm." I hummed once I sat in my chair. "Don't let anyone enter without my permission."

"Yes, sir. Anything else?" he asked, placing my phone on the desk along with the files from the recent meeting.

"Ask someone to bring me a glass of whiskey, no ice, no water, and a pack of my usual cigarettes, please." I said, leaning back in my chair and closing my eyes while my head throbbed with pain.

"Sure, sir, but are you..."

"I am okay, go." I cut him off, answering the unasked question.

This was the most anyone had cared for me, and I was grateful, but this boy was annoying when he yapped.

"What's the update?" I asked, calling my man who was keeping an eye on Karan Reddy.

"Karan sir is recovering well, sir," he replied. USELESS.

"Do you think I care about his recovery, Tripathi? He could die for all I care. Just give me updates about the shipment." Frustration was clear in my voice, but I couldn't care less.

"Right, sir. The shipment is arriving tomorrow." he replied.

I hummed before ending the call and then called Karan Reddy.

One last nail in the coffin, father.

"Can you not pick up my calls on time, Abhir?" he yelled from the other side. An irritating voice, if you ask me.

"No." I said blankly. "I really don't understand why you can't mind your own business and come straight to the point."

I could hear him sigh angrily, but did that scare me? In fact, it made me happy.

"The shipment is arriving tomorrow." he said, babbling about the shipment. A waste of time. I already knew about it.

"So can you make sure the shipment reaches safely?" Aha, now this is exactly what I was waiting to hear.

"Sure." I said, then disconnected the call without waiting for his response.

"Thank you," I said as the office helper placed a glass of whiskey along with some ice and my cigarettes on the table.

Lighting up a cigarette, I took a sip of the whiskey. Nodding to myself, I leaned back in my chair, taking another sip of my whiskey, raw and strong.

Just then, my phone rang with a number I had already been expecting, but did I pick it up? No.

My phone lit up again, this time with a message saying,

"We will be waiting for you tomorrow."

Zeeshan's POV

"Vidit, you fucking idiot, come out," I shouted, banging on the door for the fifth time.

"Abbe saale meko shanti se taiyar hone de. Dusre washroom mei jaa teko susu aai hai toh." Vidit replied, making my blood boil.
(Let me get ready, you go and pee in the other other washroom if it's that urgent.)

So I did the most mature thing I could have done and switched off the bathroom light. The switch was outside, so he obviously had to come out.

"ZEESHAN HARAMKHOR!" Vidit shouted, making me laugh.
(Mother fucker.)

"Shanti se taiyar hoja koi ni tu, mai baitha hu apni shaving kit lene k liye." I shouted sarcastically.
(Go and get ready, it's okay, I am sitting here waiting for you to come out, so that I can grab my shaving kit.)

"Jaa bhosdike." A freshly showered and very annoyed Vidit walked out wearing just a towel. I chuckled and grabbed my shaving kit along with the watch I had forgotten in the washroom.
(Go fucker.)

"15 minutes hai tere pass, uske baad hotel ka breakfast band ho jaega. Fir tu apna dekh lio." I said. Though my hands worked on my watch, I could feel him throwing daggers at my face.
(You have fifteen minutes, after that complimentary breakfast will be over. And you can look out for yourself after that.)

"Saas achi mil gyi toh tu unki kami mat puri hone dia kar chapad chapad karke." Vidit muttered while wearing his shoes. Finally.
(I got a sweet mother in law but your bak bak would never make me miss the vile indian tv serial type of mother in law.)

"Dulhan saj gyi?" I said, grabbing his shoulders as he stood up. "Aao tumhari shadi ki dawat lagi hui hai neeche, khane chalte hai."
(The bride's ready?) (Let's go and eat your wedding's feast.)

"Fuck off." he muttered, pushing me. I followed him laughing, making him shake his head but laugh nonetheless.

At the breakfast table, we quickly grabbed our food along with some chai and once I settled down, I called her.

"Hello," she said, picking up my call on the very first ring.

"Itna intezaar tha toh call hi kardete aap." I said softly. My heart instantly felt at peace. It had been nine days in Sri Lanka with this idiot, and now I just wanted to run back home, back to her.
(If you missed me that much, you could've called me.)

"Aap... it's not like that. I was texting Ritika." she said, but her voice gave her away.
(You.. it's not like that.)

"Acha?" I asked, finally taking a bite of the bland poha served by the hotel.
(Oh?)

"What are you eating?" she asked, and just like that, I finished my breakfast while talking to her.

The only downside? She was not sitting in front of me. Instead, this idiot was purposely chewing loudly to irritate me with an annoying grin on his face.

"Shut the fuck u..."

He cut me off by saying, "Subah subah gaali nahi dete, vats."
(We don't curse early in the morning, child.)

"You know what? THOOS, mai chala." I said, walking away from that annoying idiot and heading back to my room.
(You know what? STUFF YOUR MOUTH, I'll go.)

"Arre meri jaan..." I could hear him laughing like a broken tape recorder, but I simply ignored him.
(Hey my love...)

"What's the status?" I asked as soon as Dev picked up my call.

"It's arriving in six hours. Look at the pictures I sent." he replied from the other side.

I quickly turned on my laptop. Opening his mail, my eyes scanned the pictures of the tankers and the drivers.

"Okay, gather everyone for a meeting in an hour. Vidit and I will join through a video call. I have something important to do, I'll call you back." I said, and after his affirmative response, I ended the call.

Then I called the only person who could get us access to the tankers.

"Hello, Mr Kapoor," said the other person, Abhir Ahmed.

"Hello, Mr Ahmed. I hope the work is done?" I asked, keeping my voice firm.

"From my side? Yes." he replied.

"Great. Like I promised, in return for your favour, I am ready to help you whenever needed." I said truthfully.

"Hm." he said and, like the annoying human he was, ended the call. I genuinely did not understand how someone could be this insufferable, but he crossed the limits of being unbearable every single time.

"What's happening?" Vidit asked, entering the room while simultaneously stuffing his mouth with a sandwich.

"Tu thoos le pehle." I said, sighing and calling her.
(You stuff your mouth with food first.)

"Yes, Zeeshan?" Ayesha's voice came as soon as she picked up my call.

"Hi jaan, what's the update on today's event?" I asked. My voice softened for obvious reasons, and it's not like I was complaining.

"Oh yes, we are on the way to the event. Isha, Ritika, Dev bhai, and I will be in the control room, keeping an eye on the CCTV to catch him." she explained.

"Alright, take care of yourself for me, will you?" I asked.

"I will." she replied softly before abruptly ending the call, maybe because Dev had called her.

"Hogyi aashiqui?" a very annoyed Vidit asked impatiently.
(Done?)

"Nahi." I replied with a sweet smile. "Go and call our men. A meeting is scheduled for the final planning."
(No.)

Nodding in annoyance, he called them and asked them to be here within an hour or so, so that we could coordinate and discuss all the possibilities and impossibilities.

And while they arrived, I finished the rest of my work.

Author's POV

It was around 5 PM when Zeeshan, Vidit, and their team waited for the tankers at the address Abhir had sent.

Just as they stepped out of their cars, they saw rows of tankers arriving.

"Ishan?" the bearded man asked as he stepped out of the driver's seat, his eyes scanning Zeeshan from head to toe, making him uncomfortable.

"Yes, Abhir sir must've told you about me. I am Ishan." Zeeshan said, shifting uncomfortably.

"Tu toh asli bhi tankers hijack karne ko bolta, ye tab bhi dedeta tujhe. Usko pasand aagya hai tu." Vidit whispered, loud enough for only Zeeshan to hear as he leaned towards him.
(He already likes you, you don't even have to take your identity. He'll let you hijack these tanks for free.)

"Shut up." Zeeshan muttered.

"Ten tankers. The boss wants them to arrive within an hour. Go fast." the man said gruffly.

Zeeshan nodded as he took the wheel, and the others followed behind, taking over the rest of the tankers.

Once they had driven far enough away from Karan Reddy's men, Zeeshan immediately called Ayesha, "Jaan."

"Zeeshan, what's the status?" Ayesha asked worriedly as she paced around the control room.

"I am driving the tanker, jaan." he replied casually.

Ayesha's eyes widened instantly. "Why the fuck are you using your phone, you idiot?"

"I was missing you, jaan." Zeeshan replied, swiftly taking a sharp turn that made the vehicle drift loudly.

"You fucking idiot. Shut the fuck up and focus!" Ayesha screamed in panic, making the others in the room stare at her in confusion.

"I am. Don't worry, jaan." Zeeshan said. He was thoroughly enjoying the feeling of calling her jaan while completely ignoring the fact that he was literally driving an oil tanker and one mistake could cost him his life.

"Jaan..." he continued, but this time Ayesha cut him off by shouting,

"ZEESHAN FUCKING KAPOOR, STOP TALKING AND FOCUS ON YOUR TASK!"

Then she ended the call without waiting for his response. Zeeshan was disappointed, but he knew better than to call her back again.

On the other hand, Ayesha, who was visibly panicking, rushed outside the control room to get some fresh air and calm herself down. Without paying attention, she collided with someone.

A man, to be precise, who looked... weird and scared.

As if he knew something she was completely unaware of. But this was the least of Ayesha's concerns right now, and the ringing of her phone distracted her from the man's fearful gaze.

"Where are you? I think we found him." Dev said from the other side.

"I'm coming." Ayesha replied before heading back inside.

On the other side, as per the plan, all the tankers were parked inside the warehouse next to each other.

The warehouse was located on barren land with no forests or signs of life in sight for hundreds of kilometres, a win for them if you ask me. And the fact that Karan could not even report the fire because of all the illegal dealings that had happened in the past made it even more satisfying for them.

"Now." Zeeshan said through the intercom, and all of them quickly got out of the vehicles after lighting lighters that they left inside, not before keeping a window slightly open to ensure there was enough oxygen for the tankers to burn into flames.

All ten of them did the same. Their lighters were positioned in a way that would easily buy them an hour to get away and, much to their luck, because of Karan Reddy's cheapness, he could not afford many guards. So they slipped out of the warehouse easily, only for it to burst into flames the moment they reached a safe distance away.

Then the blasts, one after another, soothed the hearts that lived for revenge.

"What a lovely bonfire." Vidit said, his eyes sparkling with happiness as he watched the warehouse burn down into ashes.

Zeeshan chuckled along with the other men, and once they were sure the warehouse was nothing more than a useless abandoned building, they decided to leave for their hotels.

"Now what?" Vidit asked as they walked towards their cars.

"Now we go back home." Zeeshan replied, swiftly taking the driver's seat.

"Ahh, finally. After ten days, I'll get to meet my Ritu." Vidit sighed happily, leaning back against his seat.

Ayesha's POV

"Where is he?" I quickly asked the moment I barged into the control room.

"Do you see that man?" Dev bhai pointed towards a waiter, probably in his forties, wearing a mask.

"How are you sure it's him?" I deadpanned.

"He's got the same mark on his right hand. Look at that brown patch peeking out from his sleeve." Dev reasoned.

I nodded in understanding, silently appreciating Dev bhai's sharp eyes.

"Catch him." Dev bhai said, calling his men, who immediately sprang into action.

I saw someone collide with him so hard that he fell to the ground. The next moment, both of them were surrounded by a group of people who disappeared just as suddenly, taking him along.

"He..."

"Is captured." Dev bhai replied with a shrug.
Ishita nodded along with him. Ritika looked at me in confusion, and I mirrored her expression.

"Let's go back home. Zeeshan and Vidit k aane k baad isse milte hai." Dev bhai said.
(Let's go back home. We'll meet him when Zeeshan and Vidit are back .)

We nodded, and together they left for home. Ritika and I, on the other hand, went to the CBI office.

I had been working overtime for ten days just to get leave on the day Zeeshan arrived.

Ritika accompanied me too because she also wanted to spend some time with Vidit bhai after being away from him for ten days. Both of us worked till 1 AM before finally deciding to call it a day and crash at my place.

It was around 7 AM when Dev bhai called me, informing me that Zeeshan and Vidit bhai would be arriving in two hours.

Quickly waking Ritika up, I freshened up and showered in the guest bathroom while Ritika used mine, and within an hour and a half, we were all set to leave for the airport.

"When is their flight landing?" Ritika asked as soon as Dev bhai picked up her call. Her excitement was so infectious that it made me smile.

"Their flight will probably land in 15 minutes." she said after ending the call.

"That's great, we'll reach in 15 minutes too." I said, swiftly taking a right turn.

"These 15 minutes are the hardest to get through." she sighed, looking out the window and honestly, she was right.

The way my heart was beating with a strange kind of anticipation, it felt... new. Weird, but in a good way.

"Let's go." I said after safely parking my car.

Zeeshan's POV

"Jaldi chal na!" Vidit shouted and, without waiting for my response, ran ahead.
(walk fast.)

We had just landed in India and after all the security checks, it was finally time to go back home to my family and my love.

"I can't wait to meet her." he said excitedly.

Me too, brother. Me too.

"You know..." he paused midway.

Confused, I looked at him. He stood there with his mouth wide open before suddenly running ahead while shouting, "RITU!"

My eyes followed him, but the next moment they got stuck on her. She was not looking at me, she was staring at the floor.

Chuckling softly, I walked towards her, stopping just two steps away. Leaning slightly, I whispered, "Hi Aayat."

Thankfully, she looked up slowly, as if testing my patience in the middle of the airport. But then our eyes met, her shy ones against my desperate ones, desperate to look at her, to admire her.

"Hi Zeeshan," she replied, loud enough for me to hear.

"I missed you." I said, a soft smile appearing on my face as I kept my hands in my pockets.

"I missed you too." she muttered. Her flushed cheeks became even more visible as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Chale?" I asked, forwarding my free hand while the other held my luggage.
(Shall we?)

"Chalo." she said softly, intertwining her fingers with mine.
(Yes.)

Both of us got into her car while Ritika and Vidit decided to travel in Vidit's car, which he had called because he wanted to spend some time with his girlfriend.

Good for me. I could have mine all to myself.

"We are going to aapke ghar pehle. Fir humein ek jagah jana hai after you freshen up and get some rest." she said while driving straight towards our home.
(We are going to your place first then we have somewhere to be after you freshen up and get some rest.)

"Aur?" I asked, and for the love of God, I could not stop smiling. I just hoped she did not think of me as some possessed creepy idiot who got possessed in a different country.
(And?)

"Bas itna hi." she replied, shaking her head softly.
(That's it.)

"Jaisa aap kaho." And like the obedient boyfriend I was, I sat there quietly while my girlfriend drove me home.
(Whatever you say.)

"Let's go, aunty's waiting." she said, unclasping her seatbelt.

As she turned to leave, I grabbed her wrist, making her look at me in confusion.

"Can you hold my phone and wallet for me, please?" I asked, handing them over to her.

"Sure." she said, swiftly keeping both inside her tote bag.

After that, we both went inside only to be bombarded with love and questions.

"Go freshen up." Mumma said after she was done questioning me.

I nodded and walked upstairs to my room, not before looking at her, who intentionally avoided my gaze.

After freshening up in barely five minutes, I sat on my bed waiting... for her.

Five minutes passed. She did not show up.

Ten minutes passed. Still no trace of her.

Fifteen minutes... and there it was, a knock on my door.

Quickly getting up, I cleared my throat before saying, "Come in."

And then she walked in with my wallet and phone in her hands, looking absolutely flustered.

"Took you fifteen minutes," I muttered, walking past her to lock the door.

"I'll go. You should rest, you must be tired." she muttered as she turned to leave.

Thankfully, I immediately grabbed her hand and pulled her closer to me.

"What...?"

"Ek baar gale se bhi nahi lagaoge aap?" I asked softly, tucking her hair behind her ear.
(You wouldn't even hug me?)

"It's... I... no..." she stuttered, her cheeks turning a visible shade of red.

"I felt like I couldn't breathe there without you," I admitted softly, resting my forehead against hers.

"Why?" she asked quietly.

"Mere saans lene ki wajah merse hazaaron kilometres dur thi," I replied, my hand gently caressing her cheek. "Aur ab mere saamne hai lekin fir bhi door hai."
(The reason behind my breaths was thousands of kilometres away from me.) ( And yet she's in front of me but not close enough.)

"You need rest," she muttered.

"I just need your embrace." I said, and much to my luck, she finally hugged me. Softly at first, but then she tightened her hold around me as I wrapped my arms around her waist.

Silly girl thought anything could beat the comfort I found in her embrace.

"Now I am home." I muttered, letting myself melt into her arms freely while she held me tightly.

Villian's going out of the story in the next chapter, (wohhooo!! Romance.😝)