Meant to be yours

The fight

The room felt like it had shrunk.
Every breath sounded too loud.
Every movement felt dangerous.
“Ishu,” Rishi said softly, almost tenderly, as he stepped closer, “if you agree to come with me, I will spare this lunatic woman’s life—for Payal’s sake.”
Ishika’s back hit the edge of the table. Her heart slammed against her ribs.
“No,” she said, voice trembling but firm. “Don’t you come near me.”
Rishi smiled sadly, as if she’d hurt him. “Do you know how long I waited for you? I loved you the moment I saw you. If that Payal hadn’t come that night, you would’ve been mine by now.”
Ishika froze.
“W–what?” she stammered. “What are you saying?”
“Oh,” Rishi chuckled. “You don’t know?”
Riya’s face hardened.
“I gave you juice that night,” Rishi continued casually, as if recounting a fond memory. “I meant to drug you. Missed the dose. You passed out anyway. But Payal came.”
Ishika felt sick.
“She saved you,” he went on. “Not once—twice. The first time was an accident. She hit me. Hard. Thought she killed me.”
Riya sucked in a sharp breath.
“She lived with that guilt for years,” Rishi said, eyes gleaming. “But sadly, I survived. I waited. I built power. Money. Influence. Became someone worthy of you.”
He pulled out the gun.
“For you.”
“Ishu,” Riya whispered urgently, leaning close despite the ropes biting into her wrists. “He’s obsessed. Don’t provoke him.”
Rishi sat back on the couch, crossing his legs. “So,” he asked calmly, “what do you decide?”
Ishika swallowed, forcing herself to breathe. “I—I need time to think.”
Rishi nodded. “Fair.”
He turned to the men. “Take them both to—”
“Rishu.”
A woman’s voice cut through the room.
Everyone turned.
A pregnant woman stood on the staircase, one hand gripping the railing, the other resting protectively over her belly.
Riya blinked. Then blurted, “You didn’t get this woman pregnant, did you?”
Ishika shot her a glare.
“What?” Riya shrugged. “Not my fault we’re in a kidnapping drama.”
“Di…” Ishika breathed, recognition flooding her face.
Rishi’s sister.
“Oh great,” Riya muttered. “Now you have a sister too.”
“Rishu,” his sister said firmly, stepping down. “Ishu is married. She doesn’t love you. She doesn’t even know you. Let her go.”
Rishi stared at her like he’d been slapped. “Di—”
“I know everything,” she said, voice shaking but resolute. “Your illegal businesses. The blackmail. What you did to Payal. Stop now. For me. For your unborn nephew or niece.”
Silence fell heavy.
Then Rishi’s face hardened.
“No,” he said flatly. “Ishu is my life. Either she comes willingly… or I take her by force.”
“You can take her anywhere in the world,” his sister shot back. “But you cannot force love.”
The siblings argued, voices rising.
Ishika and Riya exchanged a glance.
And then—
The front door exploded inward.
Two figures stormed in like a controlled hurricane.
Anamika.
Payal.

The front door didn’t creak.
It exploded inward.
Wood splintered, the lock gave up its will to live, and before anyone inside could process the sound—
Anamika Modi walked in.
Payal followed half a step behind her.
The first goon barely had time to lift his gun before Anamika twisted his wrist, kicked his knee sideways, and used his own momentum to slam him into the wall. The second tried to rush Payal—big mistake.
Payal ducked, pivoted, and swept his legs clean out from under him with alarming grace.
Ishika’s jaw dropped.
Her wife had just disarmed two armed men like she was correcting bad posture.
Riya, still tied to the chair, chuckled proudly.
“Don’t look so shocked.”
Ishika blinked. “WHAT is happening?”
Riya nodded toward the chaos like she was watching a rerun.
“They’re trained in martial arts. Your wife can take down professional fighters. She and Payal learned it during college.”
Another goon charged.
Anamika didn’t even look at him—just stepped aside and elbowed him square in the ribs.
Ishika stared. “Why—why didn’t you fight then?”
Riya sighed. “I can’t.”
Ishika frowned harder. “Why not? You were so… confident. I thought you were cool. Badass. You has that whole mysterious aura around you. You're a rockstar.”
At that exact moment—
Anamika flipped a man over her shoulder and laughed.
Payal punched another goon, dodged, and laughed too.
“Oh, this is going to be fun,” Anamika said mid-fight, eyes flicking toward Riya.
Payal grinned wickedly. “Yes, Riya. Why don’t you tell her what you were doing back in college?”
Ishika turned slowly to Riya, confusion deepening.
“…Riya?”
Riya groaned.
“Okay, fine,” she muttered, hiding her face behind her bound hands. “I was a nerd.”
Ishika blinked. “A… what?”
“I wore spectacles,” Riya continued miserably. “Sat in the front row. Took notes. Minded my own business. Had color-coded folders.”
Another body hit the floor.
Anamika laughed outright. “She fainted during her first self-defense class.”
“I DID NOT FAINT,” Riya protested. “I strategically sat down.”
Payal snorted. “She cried when the instructor yelled.”
“I WAS SENSITIVE.”
Ishika stared at Riya, then burst out laughing. “You? A nerd?”
Riya peeked through her fingers. “I had braces.”
Anamika finished off the last standing goon and dusted her hands.
Ishika blinked.
“…You lied to me.”
Before Riya could respond—
Cold metal pressed against Ishika’s forehead.
Everything stopped.
Rishi had grabbed her, arm locked tight around her shoulders, gun trembling inches from her skin.
“Stop,” he said coldly. “Or I shoot her.”
Ishika swallowed hard, fear flooding her veins.
Anamika froze.
Payal froze.
The room held its breath.
Anamika’s eyes lifted slowly to Rishi—dark, lethal, and utterly focused.
“Touch her,” Anamika said quietly, every word edged with steel,
“and you won’t live long enough to regret it.”
Rishi laughed.
Not a nervous laugh.
Not a desperate one.
It echoed through the hall—loud, unhinged, almost joyous.
“So,” he said, wiping at his eyes, “all of you women united against me. Even you, Di.” His gaze flicked to his sister, wounded pride twisting his face. “After everything I did for you.”
No one answered him.
Anamika took a slow step forward, hands open, voice steady.
“Let Ishika go,” she said. “I’ll let you leave unharmed. Money. Power. Anything you want.”
As she spoke, her fingers moved just enough to signal Payal.
Behind her back.
Gun.
Now.
Payal understood instantly.
“Take me,” Payal said suddenly, stepping up beside Anamika. “Leave Ishu.”
Ishika’s breath hitched. “Payu—no—”
Riya cried out, “Are you both insane?!”
Everything happened in a fraction of a second.
Anamika twisted sharply, yanking Ishika out of Rishi’s grip with brutal precision.
At the same moment, Payal’s hand came up.
Gun raised.
Rishi reacted just as fast—his own weapon snapping up.
Two guns.
Pointed at each other.
Silence screaming between them.
“Payu!” Ishika gasped.
“Payal!” Riya shouted.
“Rishu, please,” his sister begged, tears spilling freely now. “Stop this.”
Rishi exhaled slowly.
Then smiled.
“Alright,” he said. “Let’s settle this properly.”
He lowered his gun.
“One on one,” he continued, eyes locking onto Anamika. “You. Fight me. Winner gets Ishika.”
“No guns,” Payal snapped immediately.
She dropped hers to the floor.
After a beat, Rishi did the same.
Anamika didn’t hesitate.
She stepped forward, rolling her shoulders once, calm as a storm that had already decided where it would strike.
“Anu,” Payal said quietly, stepping back. “He’s all yours.”
Payal pulled Ishika away, Riya close behind, Rishi’s sister joining them near the staircase.
The circle cleared.
The air tightened.
Rishi removed his jacket, cracking his neck. “You’re good,” he said mockingly. “I’ve heard.”
Anamika said nothing.
Her eyes never left him.
He lunged first.
Fast. Aggressive. Overconfident.
Anamika sidestepped effortlessly, letting his punch slice through empty air. She countered with a sharp elbow to his ribs—hard enough to knock the breath out of him.
Rishi stumbled back, surprised—but grinning.
“Oh, I like this.”
He charged again, fists flying, trained movements mixed with raw rage. Anamika blocked, deflected, redirected—every motion economical, controlled. She let him exhaust himself, absorbing just enough to measure his rhythm.
He landed a hit—her shoulder.
She barely flinched.
Then she struck.
A brutal knee to his abdomen. A twist of his arm. A calculated sweep that sent him crashing to the floor.
He rolled, sprang back up, blood at the corner of his mouth.
“You think you’re better than me?” he snarled.
“I know I am,” Anamika replied coldly.
He rushed her again—sloppier now, anger overtaking skill.
Anamika caught his wrist mid-swing, twisted, and drove him into the wall. The impact rattled the room.
Ishika gasped.
Riya clenched her fists. “End him,” she muttered.
Rishi shoved her back with surprising strength, landing a punch that snapped Anamika’s head to the side.
Payal tensed. “Anu—”
Anamika straightened slowly.
She wiped blood from her lip with her thumb.
And smiled.
That same terrifying smile.
“You should’ve stayed down,” she said.
What followed was swift and merciless.
A flurry of precise blows. A takedown executed with flawless technique. Rishi hit the floor hard, gasping, ribs screaming, unable to rise.
Anamika stood over him, breathing steady.
She didn’t kick him again.
Didn’t need to.
“You don’t get to decide Ishika’s life,” she said quietly. “You don’t get to touch her. Ever.”
She stepped back.
Rishi lay there, defeated—not just physically, but utterly.
From across the room, Ishika felt her knees weaken—not from fear this time, but from awe.
Riya exhaled shakily. “Remind me never to argue with her.”
Payal smiled grimly. “Told you.”
Outside, sirens began to wail in the distance.
The night was finally catching up to them.
And Anamika Modi had finished what she came to do.
Rishi groaned as he pushed himself up on one elbow, body screaming in protest.
Blood smeared his lip. His pride lay even more broken on the marble floor.
Then—he smiled.
A crooked, desperate smile.
“If you don’t want the pictures of Payal and Ishika to go viral,” he said hoarsely, “let me walk out of here.”
The room stilled.
For exactly one second.
Then—
Anamika laughed.
Not loud. Not mocking.
It was soft. Controlled. Dangerous.
Payal blinked, then burst out laughing too, one hand on her stomach as if the idea physically hurt her.
Riya stared at them. “Why are you both laughing? That’s… that’s blackmail.”
Rishi frowned. “What are you doing? Have you both gone mad?”
His eyes darted between them, panic creeping in. “I will send it to the media. Right now. I’ll post it everywhere.”
He shoved his hand into his pant pocket and yanked out his phone.
Only—
He froze.
The phone in his hand looked identical.
Same model. Same case.
But the lock screen—
Wasn’t his.
“What…?” His breath hitched. He tapped it furiously. “What is this?”
He shook it, stared again.
“No. No—this is not—”
He let out a frustrated yell and kicked the couch nearby, pain shooting up his leg. “How is this possible?!”
A calm voice cut through his spiraling panic.
“I changed it.”
Everyone turned.
Rishi’s sister stood near the staircase, one hand resting protectively over her pregnant belly. Her eyes were red, but her voice was steady.
“I changed your phone,” she said again. “And I gave the real one to her.”
She nodded toward Anamika.
Rishi stared at her like he was seeing a stranger. “Di…?”
Anamika slipped a phone out of her jacket pocket.
Rishi’s phone.
She weighed it casually in her palm. “You really should stop underestimating women.”
Riya let out a low whistle. “Wow. Family betrayal arc unlocked.”
Ishika exhaled shakily, her hand still clenched in Payal’s shirt. “When—when did this happen?”
Rishi’s sister closed her eyes.
And the memory unfolded.
Flashback
She had arrived at the bungalow earlier than the others, her heart heavy with dread.
Just as she reached the entrance, she saw Anamika standing outside—alone.
Not pacing.
Not anxious.
Waiting.
Their eyes met.
Anamika didn’t speak first.
She didn’t need to.
“You love your brother,” Anamika said quietly. “But you love your child more.”
The words hit home.
Her hand had instinctively gone to her stomach.
“I don’t want blood on his hands,” she whispered. “I don’t want my child to grow up knowing their father’s family destroyed someone else’s life.”
Anamika nodded. “Then help me stop him.”
There had been no bargaining.
No threats.
Only understanding.
Inside the house later, when Rishi had been distracted—ranting, pacing, obsessing—she had brushed against him casually.
Sisterly. Familiar.
Her fingers had slipped the phone from his pocket and replaced it with the spare she had prepared.
He never noticed.
He never looked at her closely enough to see what she had decided.
Back in the present, Rishi staggered back, disbelief etched across his face.
“You… you betrayed me.”
She met his gaze, tears finally spilling. “I saved you.”
Anamika stepped forward, her voice ice-cold now.
“You have nothing,” she said. “No leverage. No escape. No story the world will believe over mine.”
Payal added sweetly, “And even if you did leak something, we’d survive. You wouldn’t.”
Riya smirked. “You picked the wrong women, buddy.”
Rishi sank onto the couch, utterly defeated.
Sirens grew louder outside.
Ishika tightened her grip on Payal’s hand, finally allowing herself to breathe.
Anamika turned to Rishi’s sister. “You did the right thing.”
She nodded, exhausted but relieved.
For the first time that night, the danger was truly over.
And Rishi knew it.
Because the one thing he thought would save him—
Had already been taken away.
Anamika folded her arms slowly, eyes narrowing as she turned toward Riya.
The police lights faded into the distance, taking Rishi—and the last remnants of tension—with them.
Silence settled over the bungalow.
For exactly three seconds.
Then Anamika slowly turned toward Riya.
Her expression was calm. Too calm.
“So,” Anamika said evenly, folding her arms.
“Payal… what do you think about my earlier words regarding Riya?”
Riya stiffened.
“Now, Payal,” she said sweetly, without looking away from Riya for even a second,
“what do you think about my earlier words regarding Riya?”
She emphasized one word, letting it hang in the air like a guillotine.
“Widow.”
Riya’s soul briefly left her body.
“NO—NO—WAIT—PLEASE—” Riya burst out, hands flying up. “I DO NOT WANT TO DIE.”
Payal blinked. Ishika gasped. Anamika raised a brow.
“I didn’t even get to consummate my marriage with Payal!” Riya wailed dramatically. “She confessed her love, went all emotional, and then—AND THEN—she slept like a ROCK.”
Payal choked. “RIYA!”
“It’s TRUE!” Riya pointed accusingly. “She knocked out on my shoulder! I was awake all night staring at the ceiling like a rejected Bollywood heroine!”
Ishika clamped a hand over her mouth, shoulders shaking.
Payal turned red. “I was emotionally exhausted!”
“And whose fault is that?” Riya shot back. “Mine?! I waited. I hoped. I dreamed. I suffered.”
Anamika’s lips twitched.
Riya wasn’t done.
“It’s HER fault that I was awake early,” she continued, gesturing wildly, “and then I had to kidnap-ish morning trauma with Ishika BEFORE even getting ONE proper—”
“RIYA,” Payal warned.
“—ROMANTIC NIGHT,” Riya finished anyway.
Ishika finally lost it and laughed out loud.
Ishika wheezed. “Oh my god.”
“And then,” Riya added dramatically, “I woke up early because SOMEONE stole all the blanket. So if anyone deserves punishment here, it’s HER.”
Payal’s mouth opened. “You’re blaming me?!”
“Yes!” Riya pointed..
Payal covered her face in sheer embarrassment.
Anamika sighed, rubbing her temple. “I risked my life for this?”
Ishika let out a snort.
Payal tried—and failed—not to laugh.
Riya whipped around. “DON’T YOU DARE LAUGH AT ME.”
She pointed at Ishika next. “You. You are younger than me. Yet you’re glowing like a skincare advertisement because of this—” she jabbed a finger at Anamika, “—INSATIABLE WOMAN.”
Ishika’s ears turned red instantly. “Riya!”
Anamika lifted a brow, deeply amused. “Insatiable?”
Anamika smirked proudly. “I feel appreciated.”
Payal wheezed. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
Riya turned to Payal now, her eyes blazing with mock accusation.
“And YOU,” she said firmly, “learn a thing or two from your best friend.”
Ishika blinked. “About…?”
“About NOT SLEEPING after confessing love,” Riya snapped. “Some of us have schedules.”
Payal groaned.
Anamika finally broke into laughter, shaking her head.
Payal raised both hands defensively. “Hey! I confessed my love!”
“And then hibernated,” Riya muttered.
Anamika finally broke, laughing openly now.
Anamika stared at Riya for a long moment.
Then—unexpectedly—she laughed.
A short, sharp laugh.
Payal relaxed instantly. Ishika sagged in relief.
Anamika shook her head. “You are unbelievable.”
Riya clasped her hands together. “So… I live?”
“For now,” Anamika said coolly.
Riya exhaled dramatically and leaned into Payal. “Hear that? You still have a wife.”
Payal rolled her eyes but wrapped an arm around her. “You talk too much.”
“You married me knowing this,” Riya replied smugly.
Ishika grinned. “Honestly, mika, if you did hurt her, you’d never hear the end of it in the afterlife.”
Anamika smirked. “That’s exactly why she’s safe.”
Riya beamed. “See? Survival through annoyance.”
Payal shook her head, smiling despite herself. “I love you.”
Riya exhaled dramatically, clutching her chest. “Thank god. I’ve already survived kidnapping. I don’t need domestic murder added to my résumé.”
Ishika leaned toward Payal and whispered, “She’s never going to let this go.”
Payal smiled softly. “I hope she doesn’t.”
Anamika shook her head, still smiling, and thought—
Chaos really does run in this family.
The room erupted in laughter—relief, warmth, and the kind of chaos that only meant one thing:
They were all safe.
And very much alive.