Two hours, thirteen minutes and twenty seconds later, Chahana's anger finally took reign over her mind.

And...

She threw a pillow at him. Then a cushion. Followed by vase, flowers, portrait, hairbrush and even her heels.

"Cool down, Channa." Jashn knew he had no right to be angry at her as he is the one solely responsible for this situation. The pillow or the vase or her heels didn't bother him at all. He very well knew Chahana's anger took best of her. She behaves like a five-year-old when she is angry.

"Your foolish attempts are going to be fruitless, Jashn. You can't change anything." And the mischief was gone. "We are beyond repair. You can do nothing about it. The more you'll try to fix it, the more I'll hate you." A tear slipped her eye.

Jashn didn't look into her eyes. His eyes kept wandering to avoid meeting hers.

"You are doing it again, Jashn. Avoiding the situation."

He looked at her for one last time before walking to the door, pulling out the key from his pocket and unlocking the door. He marched out of the suite as if it was suffocating him. Only if he knew that it was his guilt that suffocated him.

Chahana broke down into tears as he left her alone in the suite. She fell on the floor, leaning against the bed. And cried her heart out.

It hurt so much to be in love with him. Yet she couldn't help it.

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• t h e n e x t m o r n i n g •

"Di! Chahana Di!" Angad shook her out of sleep.

"Let me sleep, Angad!" Chahana yelled while pulling the duvet upto her face.

"Di, wake up! There's an emergency. Di..." He sighed, "Meira Agnihotri was attacked."

When her mind registered his last sentence, sleep vanished from her eyes immediately.

She quickly pushed away the duvet and got up from the bed.

"What do you mean she was attacked?" She asked while entering her closet and picked a random outfit.

"Half an hour ago, she was shot in front of her party office."

"How's she?" She asked while entering the ensuite.

"She's in critical condition."

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The entryway of hospital was buzzing with cameras and reporters. Meira's bodyguards were trying to keep them from entering inside.

When Chahana reached there with Angad by her side, the bodyguards led them inside as they knew Chahana as the new party member.

As she walked through the corridor, she saw him sitting outside the operation theatre in a devastated state.

She took small steps towards him. Without uttering any word she sat beside him. While Angad decided to wait somewhere else, giving them some privacy.

Jashn was quiet all the time. He didn't look at her. He didn't utter a word, not even a sigh. He was just silent, almost resembling a statue.

Chahana kept looking at him for moments. And then, after mustering up some courage, she took his palm in her hand. She was caressing his palm as if trying to reassure him that everything will be alright. That she is there for him. And finally he looked at her. His eyes were red with tears. She had never seen him so vulnerable. He was an emotional guy, but at that moment he seemed almost broken. Broken like a child who is afraid to lose his only parent.

"I... I can't lose her. She is all I have now. I've lost Baba, I don't want to lose Maa too." That would be the first time she had seen him crying. And it hurt like hell. She hated the sight of men crying. She hated it when her father cried at his mother's funeral. And she hated it now when Jashn was crying for his mother. Aren't men supposed to be strong and composed all the time? Or was it wrong of her to think that? Maybe she forgot that men are also human, they are allowed to show their weaknesses. Jashn wasn't someone to show his vulnerability to others. His ego and distrust never let him do that. But at that moment, he didn't had energy to put on the mask of strength. He just wanted to hug her and cry. She wrapped his arms around his neck and hugged him. Because that's what her mother did when her father was crying.

"She will be alright, Jashn." She caressed the back of his head.

Jashn hid his face in the crook of her neck. His tears began flowing down her skin, but she could care less.

"I am here for you, hmm. You are not alone."

She kept mumbling sweet and caring things to him. To keep his mind occupied with her words. Her whispers lulled him to sleep, yet he kept them open. He couldn't sleep, his mother was fighting for her life. He couldn't sleep. But her caresses made him feel light-headed. His bones slightly ached with tiredness. His eyes began closing on their own. He tried to keep them open. But her forehead kiss resolved his protest. It made him feel relaxed and calm. And he fell into the oblivion of sleep.

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It was around two in the afternoon when Jashn woke up in his bedroom. But he didn't remember coming back home. He was crying, Chahana hugged him and he passed out in her arms. That's all he remembered.

He yawned tiredly. His eyes felt sensitive and swollen from crying. He was about to get up when the door opened and Chahana entered with a tray of food in her hand.

"Good afternoon." She greeted him while putting the tray on his lap.

"How did I end up in my bedroom?" He asked in a sleepy tone.

"Well, it took two bulky bodyguards to take you home." She answered while spreading some melted chocolate on bread.

"But I need to be in the hospital." He protested.

"Jodhbir is there for now, Jashn. Just eat, get fresh and you are all good to go back to your mother. Now eat this." She handed him his favourite breakfast. Bread with melted chocolate.

"You don't need to do this, Channa."He said before tasting the chocolate laden bread.

"I am not doing this because I need to do this. I am doing this because..." A tear slipped her eye unwillingly, "...I want to do this. When Baba lost Dadi, that was the first and only time I saw him crying. And I hated it. Today when I saw you crying, I hated that as well. I don't know... I don't want to see you crying." She didn't know how to explain what she felt. There was this urge inside her. The urge to protect him.

"Then you could just walk away from me." He spoke.

"Walking away isn't easy, Jashn. You are a jerk. You push my buttons. But you are the only man I have ever loved. Walking away from you isn't easy."She didn't look into his eyes.

"Then you could just embrace me."He cupped her cheek and made her look at him.

"Embracing you isn't easy either. Again, because you are a jerk. You have a whale-size ego. You always ruin what's good." She pulled away from his touch.

"Then what do you want to do, Channa?" He retreated his hand back.

"I don't know. Maybe, remaining single and pursuing politics. While watching you getting married and having kids with someone else." She smiled with teary eyes.

He chuckled. Her imagination of there futures just amused him.

"You know, there was a woman I dated after you. That two-month relationship made me understand how progressive we were together. We loved to challenge each other. We would never let each other win easily. That was the charm of our bond. And I want to earn it back."

"You can't earn it with the stupidities you did all this time." She shrugged.

"I know, I was messing with you." He admitted his mistakes.

"You love messing with me, right?" She arched her eyebrows.

"I do." He smiled.

"Eat and get fresh afterwards. I'll be waiting downstairs." She got up and left from his bedroom.

Jashn just smiled sadly and continued eating.

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Half an hour later, Jashn and Chahana were back in the hospital.

Jodhbir as well as Angad were present outside the operation theatre.

"Jodh, how is Maa's condition now?"Jashn quickly asked as he reached the guys.

"They have removed the bullet. She is out of danger, but still unconscious." Jodhbir replied.

Jodhbir was updating him on the reports while Angad moved closer to his sister and told her in a hushed tone, "Di, according to Dad's sources, the attack was executed by Meira aunty's party members. There are a few people who are against your arrival in the party and want to take control."

Chahana was well-aware that a few party members were upset when she joined the party. However, she didn't know they'll go such extremes.

She moved to a secluded corner and called her father.

"Hello, Baba, Angad told me about what you found out."

"And?" He asked about her reason to call him.

"What should I do?"

"Kill the fishes before the whole pond get dirty."

"What do you mean by 'kill'?"

"Exactly what it means in the dictionary." And he ended the call.

Chahana was astounded to hear what her father said. But she knew, that's the right thing to do. Those men, who can't tolerate a woman leading them, will do no good to the society.

She went back to the guys, "Umm, I'll have to leave. There's some party work I need to take care of."

Jashn and Jodhbir nodded understandingly. However, Angad was a bit afraid. Because she had the same expression on her face that she had when she killed the stray dog who had attacked him once in the childhood. His sister could be dangerous when needed.

She was about to leave when he called her, "Di... take care of yourself."

He just wanted to say that, "Please, don't get killed."

Chahana understood his concern and nodded back.

"Go home, Angad." And she left.

Though, this little exchange of mysterious expressions made Jashn suspicious.

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In the next five hours, the news of five politicians dying in a car accident spread like wild fire. Some people thought of it as a mere tragedy. Some linked it to the attack on Meira Agnihotri. Everyone had their own conspiracy theories.

Meira had opened her eyes by then. She was a strong woman. A mere bullet could do nothing to weaken her. She had lived a proud life as a widow and a single mother and led an Indian state better than any man when everyone was trying to pull her down.

Jashn was sitting by her side all the time. He didn't leave her hand even for a second and his eyes remained light shade of red from all the crying. Meira smiled at his love for her. She really wanted to give him a motherly hug and kiss his forehead but her condition restricted her movements.

"Jashn..." She uttered his name.

"Yes, Maa. Do you want something? Should I pour you some water?" He went on alert mode making his mother chuckle in response.

"Bring your face closer to me."

With a very perplexed expression on his tired face he bend down. Meira gently caressed his cheek with her palm and kissed his forehead. Jashn smiled and kissed her palm as his response to her love.

"I love you, Maa."

"I love you too, Beta."

"Oh, did I interrupt a mother-son moment?" They heard Chahana who was standing by the door and looking at the scene with a smile on her face and a bouquet of pink lilies in her hand.

"Oh, no. Please come in, Chahana." Meira invited her in.

Chahana put the flowers she brought in an empty vase and then sat down on the chair placed beside Meira's bed.

"So how are you feeling now, Aunty?"

"I am feeling fine. I just hope I get discharged soon. It's so grim atmosphere here. I mean, look at these white walls. They are so depressing. They could at least paint it blue. Blue is the colour of creativity." Meira kept on complaining but Jashn interrupted her.

"Maa, get well soon and then pass a law that all the hospitals in Awadh should have their walls painted blue."

"Are you poking fun of me, Jashn?" She glared at her son who was grinning at her.

"No, I'm just giving you a piece of advice." He shrugged, still smiling.

"Very well, son. Now get out of here. I need to talk to Chahana in private." And she turned to look at Chahana.

Jashn nodded and left the room. However, there was a doubt bubbling in his mind and he really needed to clear it. So he chose to eavesdrop on them.

"Chahana, how did those five party members died all of a sudden?" Meira asked her, the exact question that was bothering him since he heard the news.

"They were involved in the assassination attempt on you." His eyes widened at the revelation. But the way Chahana said it so calmly was enough indication that there's more to the plotting.

"And how exactly they ended up being dead?" Now Jashn was afraid to know the reason of their deaths. He knew the answer even before Chahana could tell that.

"I did it. Paid someone to make it look like a deadly accident." That was the first time he experienced what others call a heartbreak. It did broke his heart to realise that patching up with Chahana was a wrong idea. She had really become a politician. Cruel and corrupt.

"Good job. It's time to turn the tables into our favour. I hope you know how to do that." And it hurt him even more to see his mother playing a part in this game of power.

"I do, Aunty. There is a press conference arranged for tomorrow. I'll handle the matter."

"Great. Don't let Jashn know about it. He must be suspicious. Divert his attention."

"I will, Aunty. Don't worry about him."

He smiled sadly, the most important women in his life are keeping secrets from him. And he couldn't stop the tears falling down from his eyes. He lost in his sorrow and didn't realise that Chahana was leaving the room.

She saw him. Standing by the door and listening to their conversation. The glistening diamonds in his eyes were enough proof how much it hurt him.

Jashn quickly wiped away his tears when he saw her.

"Jashn-" But he cut her off by raising his palm to stop her.

"Enough is enough, Chahana. You know what, I was better off without you." His brutal words felt like a slap on her cheek. It pricked her skin like needles.

With one last cold glare, he left. She was left in tears and a fresh heartbreak. He rejected her for the third time. And this time it hurt more than ever.

"But I am not going to let you, Jashn. Never again." She promised to herself and wiped her tears.