-• a misunderstanding •-

Yuvraaj Singh Chauhan

"Because you, Mr. Chauhan, you are only capable of destroying, for it takes tremendous compassion and courage to create a life and give it a hope to live."

"People like you end up alone and that's no one's fault."

"He thinks he's such a big deal, that he knows everything about everyone's life! When in reality, no one loves him, no one cares for him and no one would bat a fucking eye if he disappeared tomorrow."

I close my eyes with a wince.

The words slaughtering my hopes to ever find my brother. I did it again. I ruined everything again. I drove my brother away and now I'm regretting it. I only wanted him to realise he's wasting his life. I wanted him to move on, not move out without a word with nothing to survive on his own. The world is not a safe place. It's not a bed of roses. I don't want him to witness the world's cruelty to become mature and responsible, it's scary. I've been through that. I know it either breaks you or makes you. And Agastya, he has been broken enough by life, the world will only ruin him. He's already in pieces, why would he trust the world with them when his family stands before him with their hands held out? Why do these kids think the world understands them better than their own family?

Granted I failed. I failed at both. I couldn't become a parent figure, nor a brother figure. But I tried. I'm still trying. I'd never, in my waking consciousness, would ever want to hurt my siblings. Sure I'm strict, I impose rules and I get mad when they're broken, but I realised very young discipline is important to lead a quality life. I only want them to stand on their own feet, be independent in all aspects of their lives, never need to seek an external support once I'm not alive.

I only want good for them.

I really, only want good for them.

There's no selfishness or malice in my thoughts when I speak of them, remember them, want to help them, make decisions for them. I'm a fucking monster for the world, yes I am. I wouldn't think twice to tear any God damn person in two if they defy me, yes I wouldn't. But that all changes when it comes to my siblings. That all fucking changes when it's my siblings I stand before. It's saddening that they aren't aware of how much power they wield over me. They can ask me to burn down the world, I would. And they can ask me to walk through that fire bare feet, I fucking would.

Without a shred of hesitancy. Without a question.

I've given up so much for them. My dreams, my childhood, hell, even my grief. You don't fall weak in front of the eyes that look up to you for strength. I can't count on my fingers the nights I've submerged myself in a bathtub to sob it all out so I can face them confidently the next morning. I was sixteen when I had to abandon the child in me and become the man they find shelter underneath. I had to seal the cracks in me with ice, mend them with fire, and I had done that without a flinch, all because I needed to be strong to protect them. I would never, not in my dreams, would hurt them willingly, wouldn't even live to see the next day if that ever happens.

I'm so much, a monster, a ruthless man, an incompetent husband, but I never stopped to introspect or regret those failed roles for they were never my priority. It pierces my heart to think the only role I dedicated myself to my entire life, the only responsibility I don't regret taking, the only lives I want to protect and care for, think I'm the reason they are unhappy and trapped.

I can't stop assuming the worst out of this situation.

The last time Agastya had disappeared like this, without a word, I had found him standing at the edge of a bridge, ready to dive towards his own death. It had taken every ounce of strength in me not to collapse on the ground when Taranya had safely got him down. Those six lives are a part of me, they make me whole, with one of them gone, I'll have a gaping hole that'll never close, harbouring regrets, pain, and grief so deep it would be a depthless gorge.

"Is his phone still not active?" Taranya asks, hovering around her husband who tries tracking down our brother's location on his laptop.

"No, he hasn't activated it since last night." Rudra answers.

I stop pacing back and forth and stand behind her, looking at the screen as he scours the local cctvs around public places to spot him by image scanning the strangers in real time. But so far, no luck.

"Did he not use his credit cards even once after leaving?" Yuvaan asks worriedly. "He splurges money like a rain shower. He has to have paid for something. Food, clothes, travel."

"He stole some cash from my room." Vivaan answers.

"I told you let me take him with me!" Arush states. I look at the young man. "If he was such a God damn burden on you, I was ready to fund his wasted lifestyle for the rest of my life. You fucked up. Again!" He sneers at me.

I lower my head guiltily.

"Arush!" Vivaan speaks up sternly.

"Don't shut me up!" Arush snaps. "Everyone knows what he has been through! The last time he disappeared like this, we all know where we found him! Do I need to remind you of that forsaken night!?"

"So what? Are we always going to walk on eggshells around him?" Taranya counters. "Never say a word to him? Watch from the sidelines as he ruins his life with alcohol and girls? Do you not want your brother to move on and do something in his life? Do you want him to remain stuck in his past!?"

"That's not what I'm saying, Tara, and you know that too. Agastya Bhai breaks under pressure. He hates being forced to do something. And sending him off to London was the last straw. We could have sat down, talked, try to make him-"

"I did!" She cuts him off. "When he came to me last night, I did all that. I tried to make him understand. I tried to show him the good side of it. But you know what his problem is? He's comfortable in his grief. He's comfortable in his pain. And that's not healthy!"

"Like you are!? Aren't you still surviving on soups!? Don't judge someone else when you're in no different position!"

My head snaps to the two in confusion. "What?"

"Arush!" Rudra calls out sternly. "What the fuck, dude? We both know she's seeking therapy for it."

Taranya shakes her head, looking at him in disappointment. "Still the same. You're still the same. To prove your point, you'll always fall low enough to hit people where it hurts!"

"What's going on? You're seeking therapy?" I turn Taranya around. She looks away to avoid my eyes. "Taranya," I demand.

"It's not important -"

"The fuck it is!"

She looks up at me firmly. "It's not. I'm getting help. It started after dad's death and I'm doing fine. Our main concern right now should be Agastya."

"Everyone knew about this?" Ignoring her, I look around my brothers.

"I just found out recently." Yuvaan clarifies. "I didn't make a big deal out of it because she and I were the last ones to be with Dad before he died, so I can understand. But they all knew before us."

My gaze flits to Vivaan.

"I didn't want to worry you-"

"Worry me!?" I repeat in disbelief. "I've spent my entire life looking after you six and you think I didn't deserve to know our youngest is seeking therapy for something traumatic she went through after our dad's death!?"

"Nobody asked you to." Arush snorts.

"You also kept dad's cancer hidden from us." Ayush adds.

"Because you were young. We didn't want you to worry over it." Yuvaan defends.

"We still deserved to know that our father was dying of cancer!" Arush growls.

"As if you guys ever loved him enough to care for him." Taranya rolls her eyes.

"Yeah, because only you loved him! We all had to put glycerin in our eyes to cry at his funeral!" He retorts.

"Are we going to keep fighting among ourselves?" Vivaan asks tiredly.

"You all are fucked up," Rudra picks up his laptop and makes his way to the door. "You deserve to have your own show. That shit will sell!" He slams the door close after him.

I sit down in my desk chair and drop my face in my hands.

"Can we all agree on one thing?" Vivaan speaks up, catching everyone's attention. "Let's focus on finding our brother first. Once he's home, safe and sound, you all can go back at it like cats and mice for all I care. But for now, please, let's put our differences aside and channel our entire focus on him. Sounds good?"

Everyone nods reluctantly.

"Thank you." He sighs.

"I found his location from an hour ago!" Rudra barges inside the room. We all look at him hopefully. "It was an internet cafe."

He places his laptop on the desk and we gather around him. "Here,"

"If he went to the internet cafe, it must be to check his social media or book a ticket." Vivaan says.

"Should I seal all the entry and exit points of the city?" I ask him. I get collective nods from everyone. "Let's dispatch a team of cops at the airport and train station too." I fish out my phone to dial the DCP's number. Instead , I receive a call from Dheeraj. I reject it, typing the DCP's name in the phone book when I get another call from the private detective. Grunting in frustration, I answer the man's call to tell him to stop calling me for the next few days. I have more important things to focus on than take updates on the whereabouts of my ex-wife.

"Mr. Singh, I'm in a middle -"

"She's with your brother. It's strange so I called you."

I freeze. "She's with who?"

"Your brother. What was his name again...." He trails unsurely.

"Agastya?" I provide.

"Yes, with him! They're in a cafe. Should I go in or should I stay outside?"

Relief spreads through me. "What cafe? Give me the name. I'll be there. And yeah, go in and record everything they talk about in close proximity." I hang up, stashing the phone in my pocket before grabbing the car keys from the desk. "I found him. I'll get him back home." I announce to the confused faces looking at me for an answer and stride out of the room immediately.

In the living room, Zoya cuts the call with whoever she was speaking with and follows me. "Did you find him?"

I nod and get inside my car while she opens the door of the passenger side. Firing up the engine, I drive out of the gated property.

Doubts infilterate my head. Why is she with him? Did she help him flee? Is she retaliating to get back at me? I clench the steering wheel in my hands. My knuckles almost white. If she did, I'm going to fucking destroy her and it won't be a fair fight anymore. While Agastya had a reason to react aggressively, I was still surprised that he chose to run away instead. She had been close to Agastya during our six months of marriage. She had a bond with him. If she approached my brother with a vindictive goal of driving him away from me as a form of revenge, she made a huge mistake.

I hit the horn violently. The traffic police clears my way after seeing the royal seal on the car. I zoom down the road at a high speed.

It still takes me thirty minutes to reach that God damn cheap cafe. Throwing the door of my car open, I step out, unbothered that I parked it in no parking. I'm not worried of it being towed away. Having a royal background and strong political connections help you break rules without consequences. Funny, since I consider breaking rules as one of my biggest pet peeves.

I storm upstairs and force the door open. It almost rattles with impact. My eyes instantly fall on my brother. I disregard the woman sitting across from him or the people staring at us startled and take him in my arms, finally at peace knowing he's all fine. It's ridiculous how tumbled my entire world was without him and the moment I know he's okay, it all comes to stop, the chaos settle down, I'm calm again.

"Is this how you protest? By endangering your own life!?" I scold the young man.

"I'm sorry," he whispers, freezing me. Then he hugs me and repeats the apology. Hesitantly, my arms surround him and I embrace him again, tighter this time.

He pulls away and looks at Sara. She grabs her purse and gets up, ready to leave.

"Take care," she walks out of the cafe.

When I lead him to our car outside, he follows quietly. Closing the door of the passenger side, I turn around, meeting Dheeraj who hands me the recorder and the earphones. I should listen to this later but I need to know what she was talking to him about. I put the ear buds in and start the recording, skipping to the end since they were talking about a silly promise they made in the past. What I hear next boils my blood.

"-earned it. You can leave if you wish. I'm not going to stop you. I wouldn't even inform your brother. It's your life and you have every right to make your own decisions. And if anyone's trying to make you feel otherwise, you're not wrong wanting to challenge their decision -"

I rip off the ear buds, wrapping them tightly around the recorder before I put them inside my pocket. "Take him home. I'll be back." I command Zoya and head towards the cafe's parking lot. I spot her near her red Bentley and increase the gap between my strides. She gasps in alarm when I grip her arm and spin her around to face me.

Slamming her against the door of her car, I reduce the space between us, my eyes narrowed down in a heated glare at the woman. My hand seizes her jaw. "What the fuck do you think you're doing!? How dare you involve my family in this? How fucking dare you, Sara!?" I bellow, rage infused, I hold myself back from shredding this woman into pieces.

She flinches back, her eyes haphazardly running across the deserted parking lot.

"You- you are misunderstanding -"

"No, I'm not." I hiss. "I clearly heard what you said to my brother. You provoked him to go against me? You really think I'd let you live peacefully once you drag my family into this petty fight between us!?" I sneer, my eyes boring into her golden ones. She stares back confidently, firmly, like she's not at all in the wrong for using my brother against me.

"Stop creating a scene. People know you." She seethes.

I unlock the door of her backseat and thrust her inside, climbing it before slamming the door close. She scoots back alarmed, fear stricken eyes fluttering wildly. Cupping her nape, I drag her face closer, keeping her eyes on me. "You made a mistake. I was taking it so lightly until now. You shouldn't have done that. Now it's on you. It's all on you."

She frowns at me.

I take out my phone and dial a number. "Demolish it."

"Yuvraaj!" She gasps, reaching to hold my arm. I toss it off and hang up.

"You- you can't - we signed a contract!" Her eyes tear up, she clutches my collar in her hands, begging me softly, desperately. "Please don't. You're misunderstanding the entire thing. I did no such thing! Just ask Agastya. Please don't do this to me. You'll regret it." Tears roll down her eyes inhibited.

"We'll see who regrets it, little rebel. We'll see."

She shakes her head, aureate eyes glistening sharply. "That palace is precious to me. It's the last evidence of my sister's existence, the last witness to my childhood with her when I was happy, she was happy, we were happy. That palace holds our dreams, it's where I learned the meaning of love, the value of hope. Don't take that away from me. Don't take away the last memory of my sister from me, please." Her hands join together. She cries unrestrained like a sea.

"I don't care." I tell her bluntly.

"I can file a lawsuit against you." She tries feebly.

"Remember what I told you the last time you challenged me? I own the law."

Her hands loosen around my shirt. I brush them off my body and step out of her car, closing the door shut. I walk away, ignoring the sound of her sobs inside the car.

She made a mistake.

She turned this game nasty.

If you target my family, you better be ready to pay because I will target your entire God damn world. And that, will only be the beginning of your destruction.