Although it is an absurd theory but is so damn relevant. You don't get angry at someone with whom you have no connection. In fact, you don't care about any of their acts let alone getting enraged. Because strangers don't value that much in your life.

It is the other kind of people. People, whom you know, whom you care for and whom you trust - it is them who hold the power to infuriate you with their reckless acts. Because, whatever they do, you care about them and where caring comes, emotions follow. And, anger is nothing but a negative emotion.

12th August

Next morning when Vijay arrived around 11 am, Priyasha wanted to join their secret business discussion, which Abhiraj immediately denied. She was furious at first. Watching her enraged self, Vijay charmingly smiled at her and explained nicely how this meeting was equally important and disturbing. It'd be convenient for both... them and her, if she stayed out of it.

Although, she didn't want to but gave in when Jai made her calm down by bringing hot jalebis. Her focus deflected and settled on the jalebis more than the secretive guys.

"Mmm... Jai, these are really good."

"Told you," Jai cheerily exclaimed while biting on a new piece of jalebi.

Priyasha ate the last piece on her plate before asking, "So, you don't know what's this all about?" and pointed toward Abhiraj's room with the corner of her eyes.

Jai shook his head sending the last piece on his plate into his mouth.

"Liar."

Jai waved dismissively, chewing on the sweet pleasure. "It doesn't matter."

"Okay. You do know then." She leaned back on the couch and drank some water, then sternly asked him putting the bottle down on the table, "Tell me about it."

Jai shook his head. "I know nothing Di."

"Oh, believe me Jai, you definitely do." Priyasha raised one of her eyebrows at him questioningly, while folding her hands against her chest.

Jai frowned and kept quiet for a few seconds. Probably pondering on the thought of spilling out, then after a minute or so, he gave in and murmured, "They'll kill me if I tell you something more than necessary."

Priyasha sighed, rolling her eyes. "Trust me, they'll do nothing like that. They won't have to know anything about our talk. I won't tell them, now it is up to you."

Jai frowned, then quietly said, "While Roy Sir was still in the hospital, Vijay Sir contacted Aslam and found something very important regarding Permabell."

Priyasha curiously listened to him. Her mind already started working on the probable conclusions.

Jai continued, still tensed up, "Aslam brought some documents which was very much unanticipated and surprisingly it was approved by Debdutta Roy himself. But, more absurdly, last week, he changed a particular clause in it, obviously he did that in a haste and handed over the shares to Kabir Nanda and Vishwa Senapati."

Priyasha narrowed her eyes in surprise. "What's it about?"

"Not sure," Jai shrugged, reaching over to grab the bottle of water, then uncapped it and chugged down some water before continuing, "However, from what I assumed from Vijay Sir's discussion with Sachin Da, either of Vishwa Senapati or Kabir Nanda will definitely not think twice to kill Roy Sir, if a specific clause from that particular document set to work before the new one. Because the new one hasn't completed its legal binding. But, if Roy Sir die before that, the issue of legal binding would not be a problem to both of them."

"What?" Priyasha squealed flabbergasted, unable to grasp what the hell Jai was saying, "I don't understand. What does Abhiraj has to do with Debdutta Roy and Permabell?"

Then she halted with a jerk. Debdutta Roy. Abhiraj Roy. Her eyes went wide with contemplation. How come it never occurred to her? Her hands trembled as she lifted it to tuck the loose strand behind her ears.

Jai flinched. "I have said too much."

"Jai," Priyasha stared at him, demanding the truth.

Jai glanced at her then immediately broke his eye contact and looked down on his hands. But before she could further interrogate him, she was interrupted by Vijay's furious shouting. Both her and Jai's eyes flew to the door of Abhiraj's room. She noticed Vijay standing at the door holding the doorknob, his eyes fixed on Abhiraj who was still inside his room.

Vijay said angrily, "I still can't believe this Roy, you're still acting like an arrogant foolish. It's a no-brainer that he's going to prison, but why are you losing the opportunity when you can clearly have a legal claim on it?" He shook his head infuriated. "I seriously don't understand you sometimes." Then he furiously walked out of the room and plopped down beside Jai on the couch, avoiding eye contact with Priyasha.

She stared at him with concern, furrowing her eyebrows. An uncomfortable silence settled in making her heartbeat rise. She exchanged a worried look with Jai, then gazed at Vijay. He was still sulking and avoiding eye contact with her.

When the silence stretched to an extent that it almost scared her, she broke it finally. "What happened?"

Vijay avoided the eye contact, but hissed through frustration. "I can't believe Roy could be this foolish!"

"But what happened?" She asked again, now really scared.

Finally, he looked up and stared dead into her eyes and shouted, "You should ask him that question!"

Her eyes widened as her mouth gaped at his sudden outburst. But before she could throw her next question at him, he resumed on his own, "As far as I've seen you, you're clever enough to understand that he's been keeping thousands of secrets from you since the beginning and I don't really understand, how can you still give him your affectionate attention undividedly?"

Priyasha flinched at his words as her mouth fell open. "Vijay..."

He cursed taking his eyes off her and arose hastily. "Jai, come with me." He commanded Jai, then stomped off to the exit. Jai exchanged a quick apologetic and worried look with her before following Vijay out of the apartment.

What the hell just happened? Priyasha sat there dumbfounded for a little while, running thoughts around her head. Her chest wavered with a known fear as she rose on her feet instinctively. A great deal of apprehension lurking in near future overwhelmed her as she walked toward Abhiraj's room.

Abhiraj was sitting on his bed, looking intently on his laptop screen, reading something. She didn't know how to ask him about this yet another secret. The very base of them coming across each other was this huge space loaded with secrecy and conspiracy. Standing at the point she was now, it was difficult for her to bear the burden anymore.

She quietly stepped forward and stood at the foot of the bed so that whenever he'd look up, his eyes would fall on her. After a while when he still didn't acknowledge her presence or didn't want to, she sighed and called him, "Abhiraj..."

"Leave me alone," he responded immediately without looking up.

She was right. He had been aware of her presence, but didn't want to talk to her. Now, her patience reached its limit. She could no longer keep quiet and tolerate everything. She couldn't just let him keep secrets from her.

She tried again. "But..."

"I said, leave me alone!" He yelled out suddenly, leveling a glowering look on her.

"No, I won't!" She matched his tone now. She had had enough of this ever-heartbreaking game of blind man's buff. This was not tolerable anymore. Now that she knew, both of them shared a similar feeling toward each other, she could no longer allow any secrets to invade and mess with their relation. She added with equal intensity, "I have questions, and you are going to answer me. Now." She emphasized on the last word.

His grim demeanor turned furious instantly at her demand. He scowled. "I am not bound to keep your every request."

"Yes, you are! And this isn't a request. It's the last opportunity of saving whatever the hell that is between us."

Abhiraj stared dead in her eyes which of course she returned with a probing thoroughness. The temperature of the room suddenly dropped a degree, as for a few seconds no one talked. The silence became unnerving with each passing by moments. Finally, when she broke the silence with a question, "Who is Debdutta Roy?" Abhiraj's eyes wavered and he averted his gaze and muttered coldly, "Permabell's second partner."

"You absolutely know that's not what I meant."

He scowled and stared back on the laptop screen with knitted brows.

"Abhiraj!"

"I've already answered your question."

Priyasha bit on her lower lip speculating on her assumption, then blurted out, "He's your father?"

Abhiraj stiffened immediately after she said that, then shot his raging eyes on her and gritted his teeth. "My father. Is. Dead. He died when I was nine. You hear? He's dead."

Priyasha stood motionless for a second before her hand flew to her mouth covering it. Her eyes wavered as the burden of the truth settled in her head. Now that the veil got uplifted, things fell into the right places. From his engagement with Permabell to his hatred toward Debdutta Roy. Everything made sense.

Abhiraj turned his head away, slamming shut his eyes tightly as his right fist clenched into a rigid ball revealing the veins on them.

Priyasha eyed him painfully as her hand retreated from her mouth. Her breathing turned uneven progressively, which made it difficult for her to make out any comprehensible distinct words as she quietly murmured after a whole silenced minute, "How many more... how many more secrets... are you still... keeping away from me?"

When he didn't respond, she screamed aloud, "How many more secrets Abhiraj?"

His eyes shot open and shifted their unrelenting focus on her, but his lips stayed pursed together tightly.

She took a step back. Her limbs trembled from the shock of the sudden revelation. Her eyes burned from the humiliation of secrecy.

He was related to Debdutta Roy. He was his son. All this time, he successfully kept it away from her.

She felt frustrated, humiliated, and betrayed. Not only because of him, but because of her own foolishness. How come she never realized that? It was awful.

She slowly backed and ran away from his room.

She heard him yelling out a curse behind her before she opened her room's door, entered and closed it behind her with a loud thud. She sank to the ground, leaning against the closed door.

Will it ever end?

She felt absolutely hopeless to live in ignorance and dream for a decent future at the same time. She dragged her knees together and buried her face on them, feeling nothing but numb.

The most painful part of breaking trust is, the same person crushes your heart, who once promised to protect it. The reason behind it hurting more is... you never saw it coming and weren't prepared beforehand. But when it came, it broke you as a whole.

The whole afternoon rolled by in an uncomfortable silence. Neither of them came out of their respective rooms and ate. Although she was running thoughts inside her head beyond frustrated, her mind still raced toward him for not taking his food and medicines.

It could appear bizarre to others, but she could not just overlook the theory of selfishness and selflessness. Sometime in the past, she had read this theory somewhere that in order to survive, the circle needed to be completed.

The very notion of forgiving is selfish. When you forgive, it is just not out of altruism. You do it for this subtle selfish interest in the back of your mind. Most of the time, you do this for yourself. While you hold a grudge against others, you fan your anger, and it makes you stagnant. You cannot move forward with hatred or grudge in your heart. Half of the circle stands on selfishness, while the other half is selflessness. You cannot complete the circle by abandoning any of it.

She could not just shake it out of her mind.

The continuous buzzing got on her nerves at one point and she decided to call her parents to keep the thought away from her head. However, the problem was, both of her parents knew about Abhiraj's accident and the soon Maya picked up the call, she immediately inquired after his health. Priyasha somehow avoided the question with a few stern words and talked to both of them. Kaushik still was facing post operation issues and Maya was definitely worried for the same. Priyasha comforted and assured her mother saying she was okay when Maya asked how was she doing. Priyasha had no idea about how Maya already knew about Romeo's return. But she dared not ask Vikash whether he told her. After talking for half an hour straight, she hung up and glanced at the clock which was when her tummy grumbled.

It was almost six in the evening and she was famished. She knew the evil man next door was also starving and the thought alone turned her stomach.

For once in a while, she hated herself for not being twisted and equally a mean person like him. She grew immensely restless at one point and quickly called Jai over. She'd definitely need extra help for that. There was no way she was going to talk to him.

She was fuming inside out. How could he keep away this important piece of information about his parentage from her? After all this time they had spent together, she absolutely deserved to know about his identity. She was mad at him.

When Jai arrived, she opened the door and asked him to follow her in the kitchen. Then shoved a tray of food in his hand and huffed. "Give it to him and tell him to take his medicines after eating."

Jai stared at her face in bewilderment for some seconds then glanced down on the tray and stared back on her face. He sighed uncomfortably and nodded, then went to Abhiraj's room.

She fixed a plate for herself as well and sat down to savor it in no time. Just the moment she was about to help herself with the food, Jai returned with the same tray, untouched.

She threw a questioning gaze at him when he said, "He said, he's not hungry."

Her frown deepened. Alright, that's enough. His cocky attitude needed to go. It was now beyond exasperating her. She sprang on her feet and snatched the tray away from Jai's hand then marched toward Abhiraj's room. She had had enough cool with him so far. Now, it was time for him to learn some good lessons of etiquette.

When she entered his room without knocking, he was still working on his laptop, and didn't bother to look up. She also, didn't wait for him to acknowledge her presence this time. She strode right in front of him then closed the lid of his laptop, pulling it away from him in a quick motion.

Immediately after she did that, Abhiraj flipped out and rebuked, "Hey, what the ..." and gulped back the rest of it inside when she put down the food-tray in front of him. His eyes moved down with it then travelled back up at her face.

"Eat it up."

His eyes narrowed to slits as he glared at her for a few seconds. She threw him an exasperated look making him turn his head away. "I'm not hungry," he grumbled.

"You don't have to be. Just eat up and take the medicines," she reprimanded quickly.

"You don't need to care." His eyes again shifted their focus on her as he grunted.

"I'm not a heartless jerk like you, to not care about someone who's sick and under the same roof I live. I can't satiate my own hunger when a sick person remains empty stomach. I'm sane, unlike you," she snapped. Her voice was heated that it really shocked Abhiraj.

But he was able to overcome that shock soon and replied quietly, "I'm working now. I'll eat later."

Priyasha huffed, rolling her eyes. "You have been working since Vijay left." She pointed toward his plastered hand with her finger. "Too much work, I can see that."

He scowled. "Don't tell me what to do and what not to do. Give me back my laptop." He reached for his laptop which was again dragged away a little further from him.

"But I'll definitely tell you what to do. In fact, you really need to learn what is the right thing to do and how to do them properly."

Abhiraj eyed her in disbelief, which Priyasha definitely returned with equal disapproval.

"What I'm doing is important."

"Yes, definitely. Keeping secrets is very important, being heartless is very important, being emotionless and careless is equally very important." She threw up her hands in the air, beyond infuriated now.

Abhiraj's jaws clenched at her taunts. "You consider me heartless? Don't you?"

She looked away crossing her arms, scowling. It was evident he was heartless, there was no need to put them in words.

But this time, Abhiraj didn't wait for her response as he continued, "I am not as pathetic as everyone considers me, Priyasha. I am not a heartless person. This is important for me. Because of Sanjay. Because of his sacrifice. Because of Sachin, Ravi and all the rest of Permabell's employees."

Her eyes darted toward him as her arms uncrossed. She stared in his eyes, which were gleaming with such emotion, for once she thought they were showing off a portal from a different world. Their eyes stayed locked while he kept going. "Have you ever thought it from my place? How have I felt when I heard the news of his death? He was one of the few people I consider as my friend." His voice was flat, but she could easily point out each of the emotions in it. There was a hint of guilt, sorrow, fear of failure. Priyasha's hands fell limp at her sides, while he continued, "I couldn't even have one last glimpse of him, Priyasha. Have you ever considered, how have I felt after realizing the ambush was planted for me, but, instead of me, he was victimized? Do you realize how it feels to live with that huge burden of guilt?" His voice cracked at the end as his eyes flickered and he turned his head.

Priyasha opened her mouth to say something, but could not. She didn't know what to say against that. Words seemed to get lost somewhere inside her throat as it ached suddenly. Her chest tightened as the realization invaded her mind.

This man was so damn complicated. His feelings were equally complicated. She didn't anymore know what to expect from him. Everything related to him was unpredictable and confusing.

He quietly resumed, "I feel it all the time, I am responsible for his death. And, if I still couldn't do anything for him, what am I good for?"

She suddenly found her lost voice. "You're trying."

"Not enough, Priyasha." He sighed, defeated.

She sat down before him while he avoided eye contact with her. She asked quietly, "Care to explain me, why was Vijay so furious?"

He didn't make eye contact as he sighed again. "Debdutta Roy. That man. That man is so wicked. He has been wicked since Maa was diagnosed with leukemia. Soon after he found out about it, he wanted to take another woman and disown us. I came to know his intentions when I was only nine. Shortly after Maa got admitted to hospital, he sent me away. I wasn't even informed when she passed away. Couldn't even perform her last rites as a son." He paused and looked into her eyes. She saw tears glistening there, but he quickly blinked them away. "Can you imagine the pain I have lived through my whole life?" His voice was distant and remorseful.

Her heart twisted inside her chest. He was revealing the darkest chapters of his life without her even asking and she didn't know how to react now. She honestly sucked at this kind of situations. She inhaled a shaky breath and eyed him sadly.

"Now after all these years, I don't know what has gotten to that twisted corrupt man, he wants me to go back to him. So that he could give shape to his sick intentions through me."

Abhiraj sadly shifted his gaze at the open window, whose curtains were slightly fluttering now. She watched him sitting there crestfallen. Her inside broke seeing him like that and hearing the disturbing story of his childhood.

"You must have seen the torn letter from him inside the box."

She winced, reminding herself about the letter. It was from his father. It was from Debdutta Roy.

"He didn't send it because he loves me or anything. All he was concerned about his twisted desires. All he wanted was to fulfill his crooked business deal from the beginning. When I received the letter, I thought he has changed. I honestly forgave him believing all of it was because of some problems he may have had through those years. But I was wrong. Soon after he summoned me, Vijay's father was murdered. I was shocked at first. It was so sudden and appeared so vague to me. But when eventually I came to know about the reason, I was disgusted for being this vile man's son. He had lately made contact with Kabir Nanda, who was the head of the then-famous non-banking finance institute, HereMoney and both of them wanted to close the factory and build a modern age residential city there. When Vijay's father came to know about his plan, he opposed him straight away, and that dishonest felon planned Mr. Hazra's murder with this infamous Nanda and cut him out of their way."

Priyasha flinched at all those revelations.

Abhiraj continued, "In the beginning, I was unaware of these. I was just busy trying to get used to the circumstances, to make amends with him. You know, it wasn't easy after all those years." He shifted his eyes on her and blinked.

She stared into his eyes and realized it had always been hard on him. Life had also been unkind to him.

She waited for him to continue, which he did after a heavy silent moment. "It was Sachin, who came to me with his requests. He begged me to save his and others' lives. How could I not? After knowing the truth? After knowing what that evil had done with Vijay's father?" He paused momentarily before adding, "Even CBI has claimed, he has a major share in the money defrauding case relating Mr. SatyaMohan Das. The news was awful when I came to know, he successfully transferred Permabell's late partner, Satyaki Hazra's shares to his name. Company policy might have some clause for he now owned sixty percent of the shares."

Priyasha frowned learning all of that. How could someone be so crooked?

"I had known Vijay when we were kids, before I parted and sent to the orphanage. After years, I again met him, this time accidentally. But since we both knew, I have no contact with Debdutta Roy, he didn't stretch the matter. When his father was still alive, I met him a few times in family/friends' gatherings and such. Whenever the thought crosses my mind, it was my father who betrayed my friend's father, I feel devastated all over again. Sachin by then had already contacted me revealing all the mishaps going on inside Permabell. I made up my mind and told Vijay everything. Although he never said that, I know he sometimes hates me for being blood-related to his father's murderer." Abhiraj paused and looked into her eyes. His eyes were pained. It seemed absolutely impossible that anyone could endure such pain all on his own. But he did, and her heart ached for him because of that.

"And that murderer didn't stop at that. While we were still trying to cope with the sudden fall on our heads, this despicable man made a will. I have no idea why the fuck he made me his inheritor! When I came to know about all of these, my head overwhelmed with every bit of information. I felt sick and partly responsible for everything. I had already made up my mind to stand against him and help the workers. So, I didn't tell anyone about this new will, not even to Vijay. I kept working my way. However, my miserable unforeseen!" He paused for a few seconds, running a hand through his hair. His eyes were closed in frustration, when he opened them again, they glowed something fierce with anger. He gritted his teeth. "I was misfortunate enough to make a new and very grave mistake and fell in a trap. I made the tremendous mistake of seeking Senapati's help."

Priyasha flinched hearing the name of Vishwa. That was the reason he met Vishwa? That's terrible!

"I was naïve at the beginning. I didn't think through it. Hell, I never imagined my life to be this complex. When I was out of the orphanage at the age of eighteen, I seriously thought life would be easy on me. I tried to make peace with whatever I had. I never once expected, few years down the lane, my life would be at threat and a victim of cruelty everywhere."

He paused and pinched the bridge of his nose. "But it was not only about me. I couldn't shake off Sachin's pleading when he said everyone's life was at stake. They needed my help. I couldn't let down their request. They needed someone's help, and I had to right the wrong. But now, it's all messed up. It is because of my stupidity everything has gone wrong." His brows furrowed. "Vijay was mad, because he came to know about this will two days ago and also the new one where Senapati and Nanda have force-tricked Debdutta Roy to change his previous will and remove my name from it. When I was still in hospital, Vijay contacted Aslam. He let him know everything. Vijay was mad because, firstly, I didn't tell him that beforehand and secondly, I was naïve enough to believe I could do everything by myself. But now the mistake is done. I cannot express how much failure I think I have become at this point."

He anchored his attention on her and mumbled which made Priyasha forget everything her own life was going through and broke her heart into million pieces.

"It has all gone in vain, Priyasha." He broke eye contact with her and looked away. "I'm sorry if I behaved like a jerk throughout. I am very sorry."

She sat there like a statue, digesting all of it.

This was an entire wreck.

"I-" She opened her mouth to say something, but she didn't know what to say. Her head was spinning from all that overwhelming information. She closed her mouth then opened again and asked quietly, "And the plan, which included me?"

He looked at her in panic and replied to her hurriedly, "It was never my intention, believe me. I don't know what changed and when it changed everything." His eyes wavered, but he held her gaze. "I- I was fascinated by you since I first saw your photograph. It's true that in the beginning, I treated everything like a business. Trust me, I wanted to. I didn't know then, the reason of Senapati's desperate hunt for you. But, the more I spent time with you, the more I was drawn to you. I was intrigued. I sent Jai afterwards to know more about you, your past, your connection with Senapati."

Priyasha flinched and looked down. She still had her own problems. She couldn't pass them into oblivion, no matter how hard she tried.

"When I learned about your past, I swear, it made me fall for you more. You are so delicate, so fragile yet so strong. I couldn't help it. I didn't tell you anything and acted like a jerk, because my life still has no certainty, no security. I still don't know whether I will survive the fight I've taken on or not. I never wanted you to get hurt. Hurt more... because of me. I - I admit, I was afraid to confess, but Priyasha, every feeling I have toward you, is real. It always has been."

She glanced up at him and looked into his eyes. They were glistening, so were hers.

Would it ever be easy on her? Even the person she loved... was broken like her. She blinked as a tear rolled down her face. But she quickly wiped it off her face and whispered, "I don't know what to say."

He nodded looking sideways. "I totally understand your anger toward me. I have acted like a total ass to you throughout. I'm sorry. But, I can't... anymore. I don't have enough strength left for that."

Priyasha's face flushed, but she stood up quietly. "Finish the food. You have medicines to take."

He looked up at her, surprised and confused at the same time. She noticed that, then quietly said, "You have a fight to fight, Abhiraj. You don't give up a fight as long as you live. For that, you need to heal first."

He searched her face but kept quiet while she continued, "And as far the issues on hand, I know one person who can help you out."

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he blinked.

Priyasha's gaze dropped to the food tray. "I am talking about Jeet." She let the words settle in for a second then asked, "What did Jeet ask you in hospital?"

Abhiraj turned his head away and answered quietly, "He wanted me to give the evidences away."

"What did you reply?"

"I wanted to secure Permabell first of all. If I give him those evidences, it may or may not come in favor of us."

"Don't worry about that. Jeet can take care of that. You hand over the documents to Jeet. He can handle the situation professionally, more skillfully. Trust me, he can."

He shifted his gaze on her and raised one of his eyebrows. "You're doubting my abilities?"

"No. You're right now not in a healthy position for all of that violence. I know you can do it but, Jeet can do it better. Legally and systematically. You yourself know what a mess everyone's now stuck in."

His head ducked low at that. Then he sighed and nodded. "You're right though. I have messed up."

"You have not." Priyasha emphasized. "You were able to collect those evidences, which is the most important part." She paused momentarily then added, "Instead, you can discuss this transferring share thing to some lawyer. I heard from Jai the transfer wasn't done properly. You can sort out this legal binding issue and leave the HereMoney scam evidences or Vijay's father's death issue on Jeet's hand."

He stared at her for a few seconds, unable to utter anything, then frowned. "I should have related everything to you earlier. You're actually making sense."

She waved a dismissive hand at him and pointed at the food tray. "Finish that. I'll join Jai. He's still outside I think."

He frowned then nodded and pulled the tray toward him. She watched him take his first bite and nodded approvingly. Then she exited his room to join Jai, and sure, Jai was still sitting in the living room, playing games on his phone.

She approached him hurriedly. "Jai."

He looked up at her questioningly.

Priyasha went and sat beside him as his eyes moved with her. Once sitting on the couch, she sighed. "This is why secrecy doesn't work."

Jai frowned. "Roy sir... told you everything?"

Priyasha sighed again and nodded. Then she glanced at him and said, "Jai, I want you to bring Vijay here tomorrow. These guys need to make amends first of all."

The corners of Jai's mouth tilted upwards as he flashed her a knowing smile. "Anything you say, Di."

Priyasha smiled back. She needed to make things right between the two friends.

It was true she was fighting her own battle. But fighting her own battle didn't mean she should close her eyes and withdraw herself from the rest.

Life doesn't work like that. Cooperation is the very basis of life. It is very difficult to survive alone, and when you're a social creature like human beings, helping each other needs to be performed in order to survive.

After that Jai left happily. He was glad that Abhiraj finally told her everything. She was grateful and fortunate to meet Jai. He truly treated her like his own sister, and she loved him too.

Soon after Jai left, she went to finish her own meal. At that point, it felt like she was hungry like a shark. She jumped into the food and started gobbling down in no time.

Halfway through, her phone started vibrating inside her pajama pockets. So, she pulled it out while chewing a mouthful and noticed the number flashing on the screen. It was an unknown number. Her eyebrows scrunched together warily as she weighed whether to answer the call. Kaushik's old phone didn't have any phone number identification app, so she couldn't check the number beforehand. Her mind raced on the possibility but after the third ring she gave in and answered the call. Her heart nearly stopped beating once she heard the caller's voice. Blood ran cold in her veins as she sat there frozen, unable to move even an inch.

He let out a vicious chuckle at the very beginning before whispering, "Did you miss me?"

Her breathing caught in her throat closing it from voicing out any words. No words came out of her mouth. The spoon she was holding fell from her hand on the plate as both of her hands started shaking in fear.

"Come on, Bubbles. I've been waiting for you so long now. Talk to me." His blood curdling voice made her stomach churn as he let out a cruel laugh, making her shudder in the process.

She somehow gulped and stuttered, "How- how did you- get my- number?"

"Come on sweetheart. That's not what I want to hear right now. Call me by my name. Like those old days. I love it when my name rolls out of that pretty little mouth of yours." He sneered.

She didn't realize when tears had gathered in her eyes unknowingly as they streamed down her face in fright. She suddenly felt sick in her gut.

"Wait for a few more hours, sweetheart. I promise, we'll meet soon. I have planned something special for you." He stretched his last sentence sadistically, and she trembled within out, clutching the phone to her ears.

But he didn't stop at that. His bone chilling voice rolled out of his mouth mercilessly, "You know what, Abhiraj Roy is a lucky bastard for surviving the accident. I don't know how he did that. I was cent percent sure he'd die when I hit his car."

She stopped breathing. "It - it was you?"

He retorted, "Of course it was me. Despite it was Vishwa who planned out the accident."

Her whole world shook in fear. Both the brothers are after Abhiraj's life for different reasons. She croaked, "Why- why do you want to kill him?" She shuddered at the thought.

"Correction. I don't want to kill him. I was positive that I'd be successful in killing him. It was his immense fortune that he survived. How did you expect I'd forgive him for laying his hand on you?" He barked at the end.

She trembled inside out. "What - what do you want- Romeo?"

As a response, he let out his signature vicious laugh before saying, "I have always wanted one thing, Bubbles. You. Did you forget you're bearing my marks on your skin? You cannot really forget my marks imprinted on you. Can you?" He paused momentarily before adding more caustically, "And this time, I'll make sure you pay for whatever happened to me in all those past years while you were away from me. You'll be mine, Bubbles. You were always mine. And, I will keep you with me as long as I live."

"No..." She whimpered.

"A little more waiting, dear. A few more hours. I'm coming to get you tomorrow." Then he ended the call with his same vicious laugh.

Numbness veiled over her entire body as the phone slid down from her grasp on the floor with a crack. But she didn't care to see if it broke or not. Her entire world shook and came crashing down, slapping her hard, and reminding her again that she belonged to that monster! She had his marks imprinted on her skin. The left side of her left bosom suddenly burned with such intensity that she felt like reliving her nightmare once again.

Memories of that night crashed down on her reminding her the part she wanted to forget the most. The hot knife and her burning skin... both were excruciating to the point that she had passed out soon after. She didn't know how Vikash found her inside the club afterwards. In fact, she didn't want to know the details. So, she never asked. She wanted to forget it. But the truth was... she would never.

Right then, Abhiraj came through the kitchen door to set the food tray in the sink. But when his eyes fell on her, he stiffened instantly. He hastily threw the tray in the sink and dashed to her side.

"What happened?" He warily asked, crouching down beside her.

Her teary eyes travelled up to his face as she shuddered while whimpering, "It was him... who hit your car."

"Who?"

"Romeo," she whispered hatefully and broke down covering her face.