Begusarai - The saga continue

056

Well, I won’t blame Niyati if she decides to stay away from us," Nupur murmured, her gaze lost in the pale glow of the moon hanging like a watchful eye in the night sky. Her fingers were wound tightly around her shawl, a gesture that betrayed more unease than her words did. "With Vijay Babu and kaki... anyone would think twice."

Mithilesh’s brow furrowed, his focus drifting from the shipment invoice in his hands. For a moment, he pressed his thumb and forefinger against the bridge of his nose, as if trying to stave off an unseen weight. "I’ve kept this mess buried for too long, Nupur. If badi Amma were to find out, if kaki did… then there’s a bigger storm looming than either of us could contain."

His voice had an edge, a frustration that came from years of trying to control the tempest of secrets that brewed within the family. His father, the chief minister, had woven their family’s name into the very fabric of the state’s power structure, a name that had to remain spotless. Any blemish—a mere whisper of scandal—would be a fatal chink in their armor, something they couldn’t afford. Not now, with elections looming and their enemies circling like vultures.

They had to tame the gunda raj, at least for a few months. Yet Mithilesh knew, deep down, it was like trying to hold back the tides with his bare hands. Tensions were brewing beneath the surface, as constant and inevitable as the currents of the Ganges.

"But what if they don’t return?" Nupur’s voice was barely a whisper now, her vulnerability slipping through the cracks of her usually firm demeanor. She had always been strong, a silent pillar beside him, but even she had limits. "Badi Amma’s already issued the order—she wants Niyati back here for Shivratri. She won’t rest until the girl’s back under this roof, safe."

Mithilesh closed his eyes briefly, the weight of the words settling on his shoulders like a lead cloak. "Achintya is handling it. If he can’t manage, then his wife will step in. Niyati is sensible enough—she’ll know how to calm her husband’s tantrums."

Despite the assurance in his tone, unease prickled at him, growing with each passing day. Traditionally, managing the shipment was kaka's duty, but now it's Achintya's. After taking the role.

In fact, Mithilesh sensed a troubling ambition in his cousin, an impulsiveness that reminded him too much of Vijay. A clash between the two felt as inevitable as the monsoon rains, and equally as dangerous.

Mithilesh’s gaze drifted to the window, to the shadows cast by the moonlight outside—a stark contrast to the shadowy alliances and power struggles within their own home.

Nupur let out a long, slow breath, almost as if surrendering to the tide they both knew was coming. "Then let’s put our faith in her, even if that faith feels as fragile as this moonlight."

Silence stretched between them, thick and charged, filled with the unsaid truths and painful secrets they’d both been carrying. The Mishra family had built an empire on reputation, but the price of keeping it was beginning to show in small cracks. Loyalty and ambition clashed like rival kings within their own walls, and Mithilesh feared that before long, those tiny fractures would deepen and splinter, bringing everything they’d worked for to its knees.

____

In the early morning light, Niyati was the first to stir. The air held a biting chill, the kind that clung to the bones, and her single blanket offered little protection against it. She shivered, yet felt warmth radiating from the solid chest at her back, Achintya’s steady breath against her neck. Without his arms wrapped tightly around her, she might’ve frozen in her sleep. She gave a small, tentative shift, hoping to slip from his embrace, but his arm only tightened at her waist, pulling her back with a low groan as if to keep her from leaving.