Ojasvi
The wedding had ended in a flurry of joyful emotions, laughter, and the satisfied exhaustion that comes after a long day of festivities.
However, there wasn’t much time to rest. Vedant and Arhaan Bhai had urgent business at the company the next morning, and Eesha had her college classes.
As for me, I had to return to school to teach my students. So, it was decided that the four of us would drive back tonight, leaving the rest of the family to follow the next day.
We packed up quickly and set off around 11:50 PM. The roads were dark and quiet, and the night air was crisp.
I sat beside Eesha in the back, enjoying our conversation, while Arhaan Bhai sat next to Vedant, who was driving.
The men were engaged in their own discussions, and slowly, the rhythmic hum of the car lulled me into an unintentional sleep.
Suddenly, a gun shot echoed through the stillness of the night, pulling me violently out of my slumber.
My heart raced as I looked around, trying to make sense of the chaos. Eesha was tense beside me, her eyes wide with fear.
Both Vedant and Arhaan Bhai had the same focused, grim expressions as they scanned the road ahead.
"What’s happening?" I asked, my voice trembling with worry.
My mind flashed back to the night I first met Vedant—dark, empty roads lined with nothing but trees. That eerie, unsettling feeling crept back into my chest.
"Ojasvi, stay calm. Everything is fine," Vedant’s deep voice tried to soothe me, but I could hear the urgency behind his words.
He pressed his foot harder on the accelerator, the car speeding up as my heartbeat matched its pace.
Another sound—this time a deafening blast—shattered the night air.
I whipped my head around to see the car behind us engulfed in flames.
It was the vehicle carrying our guards, the ones assigned to protect us.
"Vedant, increase the speed! Ojasvi, Eesha, get down!" Arhaan Bhai’s voice boomed from the front.
I ducked immediately, pulling Eesha down with me, my heart pounding in my ears.
From my position, I saw Arhaan Bhai roll down his window and pull out a gun.
In a swift, practiced movement, he began shooting at the car that was now tailing us. My body trembled as I clutched Eesha tightly.
She tried to calm me, her own voice shaky, telling me everything would be alright. But the cold fear gnawing at my stomach told me otherwise.
I closed my eyes, praying desperately for our safety. The Singhania family had many enemies, but I never imagined they would strike in such a violent and terrifying way.
Suddenly, the car jerked violently, and Vedant cursed under his breath. "Someone shot the tire!" he yelled, struggling to keep the vehicle steady.
The car began to swerve uncontrollably, and I could hear the screeching of the rubber as it skidded across the road.
Arhaan Bhai’s voice cut through the panic. "Everyone, open your airbags now!"
My hands shook as I fumbled with the button. The car spun out of control, and I braced myself, clutching the seat tightly.
The next thing I knew, there was a loud crash, and our car slammed into a tree with a sickening thud.
The airbags deployed just in time, cushioning the impact. The world around me spun as my head throbbed from the collision.
Everything was a blur after that. Vedant, Arhaan Bhai, and Eesha were all out of the car, fighting off the attackers who had swarmed us.
I was still trying to regain my balance, my vision swimming, but I knew I had to help. I spotted a large stick nearby and grabbed it with all the strength I could muster.
I stumbled out of the car, swinging the stick wildly at anyone who got too close.
My body was heavy, my movements sluggish, and that’s when I realized something was terribly wrong.
The dizziness became overwhelming, and I struggled to stay upright. It hit me then—the water we drank earlier—it had been tampered with.
I watched helplessly as Vedant and Arhaan Bhai fought off the attackers, but they too were faltering.
The dizziness had taken hold of them as well, making them slow and weak.
Vedant was trying to hold his ground, but the men were overpowering him, beating him mercilessly.
Arhaan Bhai, though still fighting, was stumbling, and the men pounced on him like vultures, knocking him to the ground.
Eesha lay unconscious nearby, and I tried to crawl towards her, desperate to protect her from the horror unfolding around us.
But before I could reach her, a hand yanked me back by my hair, sending waves of pain shooting through my scalp.
"What will happen when we take the dignities of these two women, huh?" The man gripping my hair sneered, his voice filled with cruelty. "Kya hua, Arhaan and Vedant Singhania? Kuch nahi karoge inhe bachane ke liye?" His mocking laugh echoed in the night, as if taunting their helplessness.
I felt bile rise in my throat as another man approached Eesha, pulling at her dupatta.
He laughed as he leered over her unconscious form. "See how I’ll take her in front of your eyes," he sneered, his hands reaching for her clothes.
"Don’t… don’t touch her," I tried to scream, but my voice was weak, barely audible over the pounding rain that had started to fall.
Tears streamed down my face, mingling with the raindrops. My heart broke as I realized the nightmare we were in.
Why was this happening? Why couldn’t I protect the people I loved? Why couldn’t God just let us be happy?
Just as the man reached for Eesha’s clothes, a sudden thud echoed through the chaos, and he fell to the ground.
My blurry vision caught sight of a figure—dressed all in black, from head to toe, with a mask concealing their face.
The only thing visible were piercing green eyes, shining like beacons in the rain-soaked darkness.
I didn’t know who this person was, but in that moment, I didn’t care.
Hope surged through my heart as I uttered a weak, desperate plea for help before everything went black.
I fainted, praying that the mysterious figure would save us.
