A choked sob escaped past Khusi's throat as her eyes raked over her messed house. Furniture broken down to splinters, curtains slashed, pieces of glass lying all around the floor, it was a huge mess.

"Yes, send back up and an ambulance. Man down."

After a thorough check up by Abhay, he allowed Khusi to enter inside the house, which was utterly destroyed. No sane human could dare to live there.

Khusi's throat tightened as she tried to swallow down a painful lump, but it was too hard for her. Blow after blow had weakened her resolve. She finally succumbed to the forces and sank down on the ground, breathing heavily.

Abhay, who was standing outside, keeping an eye around the house, ran inside as soon as he saw Khusi sitting on the ground and taking heavy breaths.

"Madam ji, madam ji!" Abhay sat on his haunches and grabbed Khusi's shoulder, shaking her slightly to break her daze, but it was futile. She was gone too far.

Khusi's stomach churned and her chest constricted. The flow of air in her lungs was cut off as she cried, looking around the house. Her sanctuary was down, and she couldn't come to terms with that.

"I ... my ... " Khusi tried to rub her chest. It was turning painful with every passing second. Her line of vision turned blurry. She couldn't breath, couldn't see properly.

Abhay's eyes widened as he realized that Khusi was having a panic attack. He swiftly cupped Khusi's face softly and whispered, "Khusi, look into my eyes. Everything is okay. Relax."

Khusi, whose eyes were wildly roaming around the foyer till now, stilled at Abhay's. His lips were moving but Khusi couldn't figure out his words for a few seconds.

"Yes, breathe. Slowly." After a few seconds she could finally hear what he was saying, as warmth seeped into her through his calloused palms resting on her face.

"Just like that. In and out." .

Abhay's words pulled Khusi out of the dark abyss she was about to fall in, her vision clearing and the pain in chest diminished. Oxygen supply in her lungs returned to normal, Khusi's breaths turning slow but steady.

"The ... the house ... my ...," A sob left Khusi's mouth and her face scrunched up in grief, her shoulders shagged. She wailed her heart out, spittle running down her nose.

Abhay softly rubbed her back, and grabbed a bottle of water which was lying on the floor, passing it to Khusi.

"Shh, calm down. You are safe. I won't let any harm come to you, okay? Here, have some water." Abhay pulled Khusi up, and wrapped his arms around her shoulder as Khusi's knees trembled.

She couldn't believe Nitin Joshi would stoop so low. Or was it even him?

Her gaze turned to Abhay but couldn't ask him the question. Her throat felt heavy. Turning the bottle cap open, she chucked it down, sip by sip. Cold sweat dripped down her forehead even when it was less than 20°C outside.

Sirens rang outside and Abhay tried to stand up, but Khusi's tight grip on her collar made him immobile.

She was gazing at a certain place, where a phone was lying, beeping continuously. Abhay picked it up swiftly as it belonged to one of the thugs, who was now getting carried away by paramedics.

A name flashed on the mobile screen and Khusi's eyes widened as soon as he saw the name.

Nitin Sir : Is the work done? You have Khusi Mukherjee, right?

Khusi shivered as realisation set in. Nitin Joshi, the most powerful and dangerous man of the town was after her. She was starting to hypervilate again, when Abhay grasped her shoulders and stated, "Stop! You are stronger than this. Two thugs trashing your house on the order of a certified asshole shouldn't scare you. The woman I saw a few days ago at the police station, who wasn't hesitating to speak back to the cops, wouldn't behave like this."

Khusi dragged eyes up and gazed at Abhay. His soothing chocolate brown orbs were somewhat magical.

"You're right. I had faced and seen worse. I wouldn't back down by just a man, trying to scare or kidnap me." Khusi breathed out heavily and rubbed a hand over her face.

"That's like the tigress I know. C'mon now, we're leaving. The investigators are already here."

"Wait, what? Leaving ? Where will I go? I need to fix my place." Khusi stood her ground immobile.

"No, you're not staying here anymore. Don't you see what they have done to your place? God forbid, what if you were at home when those two men had broken in? You really think I am going to let you stay here anymore?" Anger rose in Khusi's head at Abhay's words. She wasn't ready to let another man control her.

"Why do you think I will listen to you, huh? Just because you helped me once, doesn't mean you can dictate my life!" Khusi shoved Abhay away, roughly wiping away her tears.

Abhay was flabbergasted for a second at Khusi's words, but it vanished as fast as it came.

"I am just doing my duty. You don't owe me anything madam ji, but it's my work to protect you and look out for you. As the OC of the town, I am suggesting you not to stay here, for a few days at least. Stay with someone, or somewhere else, until we finish our investigation, okay?" Abhay's professional tone set in the moment he felt he was crossing the line. Not every word was true, but Abhay couldn't say that he was feeling protective of Khusi.

"But, the house. I don't have another place to stay at," Khusi murmured beneath her breath, which didn't go unnoticed by Abhay.

"If you don't mind, you can stay with Yuti, until you figure out something else." Abhay didn't want to miss the chance of having Khusi near him. Though he was taking advantage of the situation, his intentions weren't bad. Abhay just wanted her around him.

"What!? No! I can't stay at your house. Are you being serious!? What will people say if they come to know I am staying with a married man? Nope! Not happening."

Abhay sighed heavily at the term married man. Only if Khusi knew.

"I don't care what anyone says! It's a matter of your safety and I am not compromising on that!" Abhay lost his temper. He was trying to look out for her but she wasn't ready to listen.

"Do not yell at me." Khusi pressed, narrowing her eyes at him making him clench his jaw.

He turned away and took a few deep breaths, massaging his forehead. When he felt his rage diminishing, he continued, "Okay Madam ji. I am sorry for yelling at you, but please, come with me. Just for tonight? We can look for something else tomorrow, but for now, please?" The way Abhay pleaded, it melted Khusi's resolve.

She did feel like she overreacted too, but she wasn't apologizing. To be honest, she was petrified of staying there too, but didn't want to appear weak.

But at the back of her head she was now aware of how dangerous Nitin Joshi was and how long his hands were. She wouldn't survive if she stayed alone, for the time being.

"Okay, let's go. But just for tonight."

• • •

"Khusi, ready to head back home?" Minakshi yelped, hopping beside her in the staff room. Khusi smiled back softly at her and nodded.

After spending one night at Yuti's house a week ago, she had instantly decided to look for a new place the very next day, which hadn't been difficult for her.

Zeeniya stayed with her parents so staying with her was out of the question. It was Minakshi who had come to her rescue. She stayed in a rented apartment which already had a spare room, and even the fare was low. Mina was happy to share it with her.

As they walked out of the campus, Minakshi babbling beside her about what they were gonna make for dinner, Khusi couldn't help but smile at her innocence and kind nature. Khusi hadn't been the friendliest person in the beginning, but she was glad that Mina didn't give up on her soon.

"So I was thinking, maybe we should make your famous fish curry and fried potato," Mina suggested, wiggling her eyebrows.

"That's macher jhol and alu vaja Mina." Khusi chuckled softly as Mina made a face, unable to pronounce the name of the bengali delicacies.

They were strolling down a road when Khusi felt weird, as if she was being watched. She turned back to check but there was no one, except a few locals.

Shaking off her paranoia, she ran slightly to catch upto Mina, who was so busy chattering, throwing her hands in all directions, that she didn't notice Khusi's slow pace.

"I would slice the potatoes and you could ... " Minaskshi's words didn't fall to Khusi ears as her senses were on high alert. There was something utterly wrong.

As she ambled with Mina towards their apartment, several times, she noticed different men looking at her for a second and then turning away, as if keeping watch on her.

She turned her face slightly backwards and noticed two men walking at a distance from them, casually chatting. She hadn't paid them any attention at first, but they were behind Khusi and Mina for more than a few minutes, following their every turn.

You know, that gut feeling in your stomach when you feel like something is about to happen.

Khusi swallowed thickly and grasped Mina's hand who instantly halted.

"Keep walking and don't look back. Listen, we are being followed. And there are more than a few men who are keeping tabs on us." Minaskshi's eyes widened but she quickly composed herself, scared of exposing the newly gained information.

"What do we do?"

"We will take separate routes, okay? If you don't find anyone following you after we walk away separately, call the cops and inform them about me."

Minakshi shook her head, her eyes wild. "No Khusi. I am not leaving you alone. We face whatever is coming, together."

Khusi hissed no frustration. "No Mina. I don't want to drag you into my mess. Please listen to me, and do ... "

"No! End of discussion. We are in this together."

Khusi sighed, clicking her tongue. She didn't want any harm to come to Mina because of her.

"Then we hide and don't head back home right now, okay?" Mina agreed this time to Khusi and decided to take a shortcut.

They kept on walking for a few minutes, trying to appear nonchalant but were highly vigilant.

As soon as they took a sharp turn, they entered another lane before the men following behind them could catch up and hid behind a fence.

Within a few seconds voices rang from the other side of the fence, making Khusi break into cold sweat.

"Shit! Where the hell did she go!? We had orders to take her to Nitin sir's base. C'mon! Find her! We can't return empty handed."

Khusi covered her mouth and so did Minaskshi as the goons thoroughly searched the area, to conceal their hideouts.

After a few minutes, the goons were tired and sat down on the other side of the fence.

"Shit yaar! Kaha mar gaye yeh larki!?"

(Shit dude! Where the hell is this girl?)

"Yeha nehi hai to dusre larki ka ghar chale"

(If she isn't here, why don't we visit the other girl's house?)

Khusi's heart beated furiously against her chest as they took Minaskshi's name, who was sweating profusely. Guilt slipped into her stomach as she realised that she was dragging Mina into a mess which might end up in her death.

The goons left but Khusi couldn't push herself to her feet. It was Minakshi, whose whisper broke her daze.

"Khusi, I think they have left. Should we go home now?"

Khusi shook her head, her eyes in a trance as she took out her phone from her purse and searched for the familiar name in her contacts.

The line got connected and the call was received within the first two rings.

"Madam ji?"

~ • • • • • ~

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