" I'm sor-"
"DON'T, JUST DON'T SAY IT. YOU DO NOT EVEN DESERVE TO SAY IT AFTER WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO ME! I BEGGED YOU, SCREAMED AND PLEAD, BUT YOU DIDN'T HEED MY WORDS. THEN WHY SHOULD I!"
I yelled with tears streaming down my face when witnessing m...
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The house was a secret, nestled in a forgotten place where shadows clung to the walls like old regrets. Suhail had brought Amaira here, far from the world's prying eyes, away from Austria's ghosts that still whispered his sins. He didn't care if they found him, her brothers, his uncle, or the entire underworld. He'd face them all, drop to his knees if needed, just to beg her forgiveness. Her pain was a burden he carried, heavier than the bullet scar on his shoulder, a mark she'd left when she fought back. Back then, he'd been a monster, a don lost in lies, tearing her apart when he should have been her shield. He let her go once, too broken to pursue her. Not this time. This time, he'd crawl to make it right.
In the dim bedroom, Amaira lay still on the bed, her face pale, bruised from Pooja's cruelty. Suhail's fists tightened at the memory of that woman's slap, her kidnapping, her blood pooling after she slit her own throat. Pooja's final words echoed in his mind: "Escape, he's coming for you. Save yourself and your family." Who was "he"? Some shadow from the past, hunting him? Amaira? All of them? The question gnawed at him, sharp and unyielding.
His phone buzzed, pulling him from the spiral. Rafeeq's name glowed on the screen. Suhail muttered a curse, answering with a scowl. Silence hit first, thick and heavy, then Rafeeq's voice sliced through, cold as steel. "I don't know why you pulled this stunt, but her brothers are coming for you." The line went dead. Her brothers, Adithya and the others. They'd burn the world for Amaira, and Suhail was their target. Fine. Let them come.
Minutes later, his phone rang again. His uncle. Suhail sighed, staring at the screen. Damn it, Rafeeq. Of course he'd run to the old man, spilling everything. "You've lost your mind!" his uncle roared, fury crackling through the line. "Dragging her back into your mess after what you did? You broke her, Suhail! She doesn't deserve this. Send her to Rafeeq or Adithya. They'll keep her safe. You've hurt her enough!"
Suhail gripped the phone, guilt cutting through him like a blade. "Safe? I saw how 'safe' Rafeeq kept her. She was attacked, uncle, again and again. If I hadn't stepped in..." His uncle cut him off, voice like thunder.
"Safe? You're a fool who can't let go! She's not yours, and she's better off far from you. Send her to Rafeeq, or I'll make sure she's gone for good!"
Rage surged in Suhail's chest, his jaw clenching. "Listen well, uncle. Push me, and I'm out. I'll take Sharmila, and we'll vanish. No trace, no word. You'll never see us again. Don't test me."
The line went quiet for a moment, then his uncle exploded. "You'd threaten me? Your own blood? I raised you, you ungrateful bastard! Everything you are is because of me, and you dare? Send her back, Suhail, or I'll remind you who's the real don here!" Anger shook his voice, but there was a hint of fear, a crack in his tone. Suhail didn't care.
"Never," he said, the word heavy, final. His uncle's breath caught, but Suhail pressed on, his voice raw, stripped bare. "I let her go once because I was wrong. Blind, weak, lost in lies. I didn't fight for her, didn't search when I should have. But now? She's here, and I swear, I won't lose her again." He paused, his throat tight. "I know I don't deserve her. I'm not that stupid. But I'll spend every day making this right. I'll beg her forgiveness, uncle. I'll kneel, choke on my words if I have to. I'll carry every hurt I gave her and fight for her to stay, not because she's mine, but because I owe her everything."
