Tanya ambled lazily through the interior of the cafe, reserved for delegates of the nation, the ash coloured walls sealing her from the rest of the world. She eyed the familiar surroundings, a nostalgic sensation clouding her senses as she drifted further to the counter; craving caffeine in her body. The hour of the salient announcement was scheduled in the afternoon, leaving her just about an hour to conclude all the necessities. Her mouth moved on its own accord, mumbling a perfunctory order and within minutes, her hand was occupied with a brewing cup of Caramel Macchiato. Briefly taking a sip, she turned around for a vacant spot before her eyes locked into a pair of chocolate ones, her body instantly freezing as a gasp forced itself out of her mouth.

It was him. A man she couldn't bring herself to forget, a man who carried her heart in his very hand, a man who was never destined for her.

His shaggy bronze locks danced on his forehead as he waddled through the cafe, halting a foot away from her, a delicate smile twitching his lips upward bringing back air into Tanya's lungs. Her body cautiously relaxed, glancing into his eyes which held such hidden pain and desire that it was impossible to not follow along as he led her to the far corner of the cafe; their personalized spot. This edge of the cafe shadowed them both, the ash colored walls were now black at this particular area.

"Congrats on your engagement. I'm sorry, I wanted to wish you when you got engaged but I-" he started huskily, a forced apology coming along her way.

"I never expected you to," Tanya politely mumbled, smiling at his ever so gentlemen ways.

"How are you?" he brisked to his next question, concern dawning over his face as he leant against his chair.

She took a minute to wander her eyes through his features, the spark was missing from his eyes, his face was more defined and matured but the boyish charm couldn't be found. A scar carved itself on his left eyebrow while his eyes opened automatically opened themselves to her; the one who held the key to his heart. She could see right through him like he was made of some transparent glass drenched with his emotions.

"Wouldn't you want to know?" she snickered, lightening the atmosphere.

"I always did," he shrugged nonchalantly, a deeper promise held in the words.

"How are you?" she gathered up the courage, a dejection lacing her voice.

"Alive."

She knew that was the most she could get out of him. Seven years of the relationship was enough to determine his thinking process. She knew him the most, better than his family and siblings. In fact, better than himself. It was probably because she was the only person he opened to. They were each other's living oxygen for the past seven years. There wasn't a day where they didn't spend with each other and now, they hadn't had a single proper conversation in three months. Encounters were quite often for both of them, at a social gathering, busy streets but never had they sat down for a proper talk.

"When are you going to move on?" she whispered, almost afraid to let him go.

"I already did," he muttered back, his eyes twinkling with a new beam of sunshine.

"Moving to a new position isn't considered moving on," she flatly replied, rolling her eyes as she heard him chuckle.

"Not that, I actually moved on."

"Moved on where? Out of the city?" she snapped back hotly, the hurt surfacing and her eyes clogged with thronging pain while she calmed herself down, "I am sure when I can move on, so can you."

"That's the thing when you will move on, so will I," he blurted out, the truth she was desperately defying from the past year.

Her breath hitched in her throat as she let the words sink in. She was engaged to Sam but not a day passes when she doesn't think about the man before her. She might be able to move on in future but she wouldn't ever be able to truly fall in love with Sam. A piece of her heart would always remain hollow, never will it ever be full again.

"I-I-" she commenced, not sure how to explain what she was trying to do. Only if Ash would co-operate with her, she wouldn't have to face all this heartbreak.

"I know," he said two words. Just two words that were enough to shatter her heart all over again.

This was the beauty of their relationship. They didn't need words to express themselves, they both just understood. This was the bond people craved for, yearning their entire lives for their true love, their one person. How stupid was fate that when she had her ideal partner, she couldn't spend her entire life with him.

He sighed before intertwining their fingers. The familiar warmth settled in the pit of her stomach, her body instantly calming at the tingles and sparks that arose with his touch. This was the feeling no one could ever bring up on her other than him. Her heart only craved his touch, one small touch was enough to set her body on fire. She let out a small sigh as she saw him playing with the ring on her index finger. More precisely, his ring on her finger. This was a token, a pure symbol of their love, it was a promise ring. A ring that intertwined their heart together in an everlasting bond.

"It's funny how when you were ready to run away, I couldn't and now when I am ready, you can't," he mocked bitterly.

"Running away was never an option and it will never be."

They didn't know the essence of love till they met each other. Love was never pleasant in their lives until they found each other. They were two broken souls who found fulfilment with each other, if not the complications, they would have been happily married by now.

"When is the wedding?"

"You are going to come?" she asked incredulously, staring at him in disbelief. Leave it up to him to break a comforting silence.

"Might as well."

"After a decade," she said vexed, not understanding how he could pretend to be so calm. She knew very well that he was trying rapidly to prevent himself from dragging her to another nation.

"You want to marry when you become a senior citizen?"

Tanya gave him her best death glare to which he responded with a genuine laugh and as she answered the remark, her phone rang alerting her that she needed to finish the final set up.

"I got to go."

He stared at her intently, a small smile finally featuring on his lips as he nodded. Tanya stood up, raising their fingers, prying him off the chair. He glared at her for a quick minute before standing up himself. Her breath hitched when he leant in, as if sensing the message, he quickly changed his posture, letting his soft lips meet her forehead. She closed her eyes as she felt his lips linger, letting the comfort and security wash over her, recalling their journey as she cursed fate.

Tanya and Neil were just never meant to be.

⇜⚕⇝

"Now, sweetheart, this is not the exactly what I had in mind," Ash mumbled, his eyes gazing down at her. Her face etched with determination, her shorts enticing his desires while her shirt stuck to her chest, presenting that she was working out for awhile. Despite his hesitation, Rey got Naira to change his workout routine; Rey insisted that it was quite redundant and that he needed a change.

"That's exactly what I was aiming for," Naira shrugged with a victorious smirk as she led him to the dais.

"Would you like to warm up or start with the first routine?" she reluctantly questioned as she bit her lower lip. It was clear she was not used to taking opinions but rather ordering them.

"What have you got in mind?" Ash attempted to hide his curiosity but emotions were like water, flowing away when given the chance.

Naira raised an eyebrow, staring for a long minute into his eyes before nodding her head in approval.

Medieval war claim fascinated her, it was almost like reliving history with this modern craft she re-created. This was primarily to boost her strength while she was training for the High Patrol Guard. A woman was never allowed to touch a gun, not only for safety reasons but also for superiority. Before she could get her hand on a gun, she practised with swords; the perfect replacement.

"This is an advanced version of dait," she started explaining him the basics of the footwork while leaving some space for the handcraft.

Ash gazed amused at the ounce of passion that lay beneath her words, the same pride he had when he explained his plans to the Generals. He watched her calculate her steps from either side of the dais, her hand working magic with the sword. Guns were the weapons in the nation, how she managed to prepare an entire routine with swords was beyond his knowledge. Although he was first hesitant in doing something so aged himself, his perception was clearly challenged by the way she intrigued him into her web of words.

"Ready?" she asked, steadying her sword in her hand, carefully rubbing the edges against the satin material.

"You owe me a favour if I win this round," Ash challenged gravelly.

"If you give me some answers," she retorted smugly.

He nodded his head in approval, raising his sword up in the air and within the next few seconds, the clashing of swords, sick smell of sweat and harsh breathing burst through the room. The two warriors, diligently pouring all their efforts into the battle. The crisp edges of the swords dodging the resonating attacks while the hazel eyes bore into the grey ones. The bell chimed indicating that fight had to be halted as the announcement would begin in the next few hours. Both of them resented the bell, continued to battle before Ash caught Naira's waist, pushing her against his chest.

"You owe me a favour and I owe you any answers you want," he called for a truce, brushing his lips on her ear before walking away from the room.

⇜⚕⇝

The air had a sprite of darkness lingering, the cold breeze dancing around, admiring the crowd around the Nirag's glass palace. The place where civilised disciplined ruled for years was now scattered with the dubious chatter of clueless people. The speculation lasted for a while before the crowd began to stoutly disperse into the respective locations.

Naira scowled standing between a crowd of people yelling orders to the others, for instance, Ash was sternly demanding, "Two hundred are good but make sure to block the public entry when we come in."

"There should be ten cars, why are there only eight?" Rey, on the other hand, was busy arguing with a guard.

"We were informed to not allow any guards to follow you," the guard reasoned, trying to blend into the crowd.

"We don't need guards with us, all of us are capable of protecting ourselves," Ash cut him off with a solid snap.

Naira glared at him for a moment before opening her mouth to revert when Rey whispered, "Play along, this is not the time for both of you to launch into another banter."

She passed a death glare to Ash before seating in Ash's black sports car. With a mutual agreement, it was decided that Naira and Ash were going to lead the route to the others. It was expected that the leaders enter the area and immediately burst into action. The leather stuck to her thighs as she squirmed in the seat, adjusting her Bluetooth while Ash mumbled a few words to some guards before seating himself. The other car held Rey, Tanya, Ajax and Divit while Tara and Naira were happy watching the showcase on their phones.

Ash nodded at Rey through the rearview mirror before kick starting the accelerator, rushing into the empty streets of the capital. A week ago, Naira would have probably punched the person who would have told her she would be the wife to a man she loathed her entire life, the leader: a position she wanted to completely dwindle and live in a place she wanted to burn with her very hands. Yet, the minute she took up this position, she had a plan. A motive. A reason to live. But now, with one revelation after the other, she hadn't gotten the time to come up with another plan to escape.

In fact, the idea didn't even cross her mind until she felt the familiar streets pass, memories of the past tug her out of the complications she was living under. The flashbacks clouded her brain as the car halted abruptly, jerking her forward. Brushing her hair, she whipped her head to Ash when she heard him curse loudly, looking at the construction site before them.

The road was dug open, the water tanks were being checked and most of the workers were baffled at their sudden appearance. Naira frowned as she scanned the place; the nearby mall was closed while a few cars were still parked on the streets but why was there a check up happening at this time of the year?

"Ask Rey to find out whether there was supposed to be a construction here," Ash jarringly said, his grey eyes on fire as he clutched the steering wheel to control his ticking patience.

"With the whole Tara's fashionably late idea, we are already late. We don't have time; change the route," Naira shot back with the equal amount of firmness before asking Rey the updates.

Ash grudgingly took the first left, increasing the speed by a few notches while Naira kept an eye out for the time. If they continued at this rate, they should be in the area in around fifteen minutes but fate had other plans because a sea of children packed the roads, all heading towards the site of the announcement.

"What on Nirag is going on?"Ash lashed out, hitting the steering wheel while Naira ran through her hair in displeasure. The irritation was evident in their faces as she stared at the teachers attempting to gather all the children but by the looks of it, it was going to take time.

"Keep the crowd entertained and dare you to let any suspicious fly," Naira ordered Ian, who was already present at the site.

Before he could further inquire about her whereabouts, she disconnected the call, reaching for Rey once again.

"Rey, the updates?"

"I'm trying to clear the children, give me a minute," she heard him say before all Rey, Ajax and Divit ran up to the kids and guided them through the other path.

Naira's hand itched to pull her gun out and shoot it in the air which would cause the children to assemble themselves with fright but she knew it was quite improper to do so. She tapped her foot impatiently, matching the beats of Ash's absentminded fingerwork on the steering wheel. A few seconds passed with both of them doing so before Ash having enough of it, opened the door and slammed it shut causing everyone to snap their attention towards him.

"Leave," he barked, the power and anger radiated off him like some sort of charisma, resulting in the children automatically dispersing themselves in a well-formed line towards the designated route.

Ash sped the car into the street, the vexation spewing off him like an erupting volcano while Naira chided Rey for the updates.

"There was no construction work scheduled at that place," Rey said with horror causing Naira to drench with frustration.

"We fell right into the trap," she mumbled as she slammed the window of the car as Ash cursed out profusely, both unknown as to what lay at the site of the announcement.

⇜⚕⇝

Grey Storm camouflaged himself in the sea of thousands of people, the clamour of celebration roared through the air as everyone awaited the arrival of the leader. He smirked as he tugged on his hoodie, secured over his head, shielding his face. He could have easily appointed someone else to do this task rather than risking being caught yet he didn't. One careless mistake and the entire plan could lead to more than a few hundred people being caught at the same time.

"The cars are out of the palace," a messenger informed him.

"Is the construction site ready?" Grey Storm asked through his intercom to the fake workers aligned near the site of the announcement.

"As ready as it can be."

Within the next five minutes, he heard the veritable noises of the cars screeching to a halt, a brief exchange of words happening before his men reported, "They are heading left from the site, exactly as planned."

"While they have the control over the steering wheel, I have control over their route," he mumbled to his most trusted man, his partner in crime with a resonating smirk on his face.

He ambled through the crowd, the security slyly letting him in at the sight of his hoodie, surpassing most of the generals unnoticed. The excitement of the crowd added fuel to his fire, burning it more brightly than expected. He cautiously pulled out the microphone cord and in turn plugged a chip into the system before nodding to the AV crew before waddling backwards into the crowd. He smirked as a robot voice boomed through the air while he submerged into the crowd, waiting for the aftermath.

"People of Nirag! I am here to present my thoughts to entertain you before the arrival of the leader. You may call me Grey Storm. It is good that the gem is not lost, what would happen to the nation if so? It is good that the gem is not in the hands of another, what would Nirag do if a war would take place? It is good that the gem is not hidden in a place where the leader can't find it if so thousands of people all over the world would be in the hands of death. The entire world would be submerged into destruction because the gem meant that much to the leader that an announcement has been arranged for it. It is good that the leader will not come and say that the gem is not lost but yet they are trying to change the training, defences and various other elements of the security system in the nation. I wonder why. I trust the leader but do you?"

And with that, the chaos broke free.

⇜⚕⇝

"You mean to say that the recording kept going by itself?" Ash raucously demanded, the indignation drilling into his cells at the AV crew.

"Y-yes sir," they mumbled with trepidation, gazing at their shoes which suddenly caught their attention.

Ash's nostril flared with seething rage as he pulled out his gun and let the bullets do their work. Both the bodies fell like potato sacks on the ground, motionless and submerged in blood. The madness for power fogged his brain as he screamed into the cord for the rest of the crew. He was going to have their head.

"Bloody calm down!" Rey burst into his office, yelling stolidly, yanking off the phone in Ash's hands.

"I will the minute I kill every single one responsible for this," he murderously declared, almost like a pledge that he was going to fulfil at any cost.

"There shouldn't be a problem-" Rey reasoned, shaking his shoulders in an attempt to knock some sense into his brain.

"The problem is that they are all injected with the E&M serum,"Ash burst out invasively, his eyes holding a battle that he didn't know the outcome of.

Ash didn't know what bothered him more; the vast number of traitors in his army or that the side effects of E&M serum have begun.

⇜⚕⇝

Hey guys!

I have some amazing news, In Control Lies Freedom WON 3 AWARDS in the Crystal Awards 2017! I am so freaking happy! Naira won THE BEST BAD GIRL and Ash won THE BEST BAD BOY AND THE DAREDEVIL! Also with that, the entire book won the Silver in Best Mystery/Thriller in the Gold Ivory Awards! 

I want to thank ash_books491 stilife Popcorn_0110 loveforrain dancingqueen_5 gmitz099 lovely_yara swasanraglak @kojagorimalik Shreemayi Ruby_The_Tomboy annie-fudge HerSpectre @aminasalman  Aadhya5 romaanjum @geethu_sweetie28 @annie-spsr @Rukhi1999 @VisarliniVelusamy

AND everyone else who voted for this book! It means a lot to me!

Anyways, how was the update? I was not able to update on wattpad for the past week for some reason but I am thankful it is finally letting me update! 

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