Shadowed Desires

Chapter 26

Here is the proofread and edited version of your chapter with embedded English translations for Hindi dialogues, improved sentence structure, and better flow. All essential Hindi lines are followed immediately with English translations inline:

---

Next day...

Kritika reached the address given to her by Abhinav’s P.A. Though she knew the chances of the information being accurate were slim, she had no choice but to try.

She rang the bell. A woman in her late 40s opened the door. Kritika stepped inside the living room and asked, "Mujhe Akshat Verma se milna tha yaha."
("I wanted to meet Akshat Verma here.")

The lady replied, "Unki to pichle week hi ek accident mein death ho gayi."
("He died just last week in an accident.")

Kritika replied, "I am so sorry to hear it." She noticed a garlanded photo of Akshat in the living room. After offering her condolences, she quietly left.

---

Kritika's POV

This mystery is getting more complicated the deeper I dig. The elections are already exhausting my mind, and now this man has added more chaos. It's strange—he was alive just a few days ago, and now suddenly he's dead? Was it really an accident, or a cover-up to keep me from reaching someone?

---

Meanwhile, somewhere in the outskirts of Mumbai...

An employee asked, "Sir, aapko kaise pata chala ki wo Akshat ke ghar jaegi uska pata puchte?"
("Sir, how did you know she would go to Akshat’s house asking for his address?")

The man let out a chuckle.
"Jab mujhe Akshat ne bataya ki Abhinav Shekhawat ka P.A. kidnap ho gaya hai, mujhe laga hi tha ye kaam Atharv ya Kritika ka hi hoga."
("When Akshat told me that Abhinav Shekhawat’s P.A. was kidnapped, I figured it must have been Kritika or Atharv's doing.")

"Aur mujhe ye bhi pata tha ki wo dara dhamka kar hum tak pahuchne ka koi tarika jarur dhundenge."
("And I knew they'd find some way to intimidate their way to us.")

The employee asked, "Isliye aapne Akshat ko maara tha? Wo road accident mein?"
("So you killed Akshat? In that road accident?")

He smirked.
"When game plans are dark, consequences are painted red with the blood of people—it doesn’t matter if they’re guilty or not. Once they enter this world, their loyalty belongs to me."

"Par aapne aisa kyu kiya, sir?"
("But why did you do this, sir?")

"I don't want her to reach me... not until I allow it. I want her to reach them—on my terms. That time will come soon. But until then, no matter how hard she tries, we will not meet."

---

Time skip: 9:00 PM

Kritika was sitting in the living room when Atharv returned home. Both were exhausted from the overwhelming pressure at work and politics. By day's end, all they wanted was the comfort of each other's arms.

After dinner, Atharv was about to head to the bedroom when Kritika said,
"Thodi der garden side chale ek short walk ke liye?"
("Shall we go for a short walk in the garden?")

Atharv nodded in agreement.

Hand-in-hand, they walked under the soft glow of moonlight. Kritika felt the warmth of his hand and thought—With him, I can conquer the world.

They soon settled on a bench. Kritika looked up at the sky.
"You also fascinate about the moon as the definition of being pretty?"

Atharv stared into her eyes and replied,
"People whose own moon is so beautiful don’t need to look at the sky to find beauty."