Silent Love

| 14 |

Shehnaaz

“Good to go?” He asked once he noticed me approach him.

Gulping down a lump in my throat, I nodded.

“Have you had dinner?” He asked as we walked our way to his car.

I frowned, “No.”

“Me neither. I wad wondering if we could catch a bite outside, or order some take out.”

Where was he heading with this? Did
he have something to share with me? Grossly intrigued by what he had in mind, I saw no harm in a dinner,

“Sure. But I’d prefer dining out. I could use the change of environment.”

“Perfect.” He nodded.

After around ninety, Sidharth and I rejoiced our idea of going to a bar following our dinner. That wasn't initially the plan, but since I was much to tempted by it, I had grabbed the opportunity when he proposed it.

We decided to go to a bar which was just two minutes away from our house if we walked. Predicting my state by the end of the night, I thought it was for us to walk back home.

“How was the rest of your day at work?” Sidharth asked after calling for the last round.

Why was he so concerned about my day? It was the second time he was asking about my day. Could he notice any signs of my foul mood from the morning?

He couldn't have.

Noticing that he was still waiting for
my answer, I casually shrugged, "It was alright. A bit hectic, but nothing out of the ordinary." I said, "What about you? Any noticeable progress?”

“Well,” His eyes had briefly shined and it was only then that I realised why he was so adamant about the prior topic. “I think Akshay shared a significant piece of information with me today. Something we've been after for quite some time.”

‘I’m listening,” I nodded.

“Well, Akshay primarily focuses on
his empire in America, but our concern started when he started looking towards the India. He moved here two years ago and he’s just beginning to make his first move now. We were puzzled as to why he took so long but it only makes sense now he was setting a firm ground to establish his business.”

“Business?”

He looked hesitant for a second, which was when it dawned on me that it was confidential information, preferably off limits to her, “Actually, never mind. It’s none of my business.”

Quickly gauzing his expression, he shook his head, “No. You’re way too involved in this so it’s only fair that you know.”

I rose my eyebrows in surprise. I was not expecting this. After taking a large sip from his drink, he exhaled in exasperation, “Drugs.”

At first, I didn't understand what he was on about, but soon enough, I realised that he was answering my prior question. Understanding, I nodded, urging him to continue.

“Men in his circle aim just for two
things money and power. Most of them originally come from a poor lifestyle and traumatized past, which, in my opinion, drives them to things that acquire them control of their life. In the process, they stop caring about what is just or not, and what is right or wrong.”

“How do they get to roam around in public when you know they’re criminals?”

“It’s not that simple sure, we can
arrest them or kill them, but that’s just a temporary fix. In my opinion, it’s not even a fix. If anything it'll eventually create more pressing issues. You see, it’s not just one person it’s his entire empire that we need to kill.”