BATTLE OF LOVE (completed)

CHAPTER 41

Dharani's POV:

"Father surrendered them to you?" I asked surprised. I wasn't expecting father to do that since he knew how ruthless Arjun could get.

"That's right dear," I heard father say from behind. Since when had he been here? How come we always have someone listening to our arguments. Maybe because we always end up shouting and grabbing attention. Anyway, I didn't have time for all that.

"Why? I mean Rahul is guilty. I agree, and yes we should definitely find Arjun's brother but..there is a probability that his family is unaware of his bad side and Arjun might even kill them in attempts to find the truth they had no access to. "

"They are aware of his bad side, Dharani," father said, "They first migrated to Mitra in the same year Arjun's brother was kidnapped. They claimed to have come from afar away kingdom that was destroyed due to floods while the fact is that Rahul's family was last seen in Lana, the city just a few miles away from Mitra. They concealed their identity. Deepak's mother claimed her husband Sunil died in an accident days after her second son was born. Arjun drew Rahul's painting two years after she claimed her husband to be dead and they have the painting sticking to their wall. They wouldn't do all this had they not known about Rahul being a spy."

"Right," I said as I took my time to process the information. Arjun never told me all this or to put in a better way I never gave him an opportunity to tell me all this but now that I know part of me already started admitting that they might be helping Rahul hide.

"And don't ignore the fact that Deepak had tried to attack Dev and me and later claimed it to be a prank," Arjun added.

I took a deep breath and mentally analyzed what I should do. Arjun is now like a volcano ready for eruption. The moment he gets hold of everyone in Deepak's family he is going to take things into an emotional level and would not leave any leaf unturned to torture them in his attempts of finding the truth. He might even go to the extent to disabling or worse killing them. I hardly doubt it would help find his brother. A calmer approach would help, but given his current situation, he is never going to listen to me. 

As of now I only have three goals:

1. Find Arjun's brother by doing a parallel investigation.

2. Prevent Arjun from doing permanent harm to anyone of Deepak's family and

3. Ensure the safety of Priya's yet to be born child.

"I wouldn't interfere in your decision Dharani," father interrupted my thoughts, "Priya and Deepak are citizens of Minjan. It's time you both make decisions on the matter." 

Saying this father left and Arjun began to talk.

"Now that you know everything let me take care of this," he said.

"Priya cannot be interrogated in the way you wanted to. She is pregnant and her child..."

"I don't care about her child," Arjun interrupted me, "I don't care if he lives or dies..."

"Arjun please," I said raising my voice to the loudest I've ever heard, "What's wrong with you?"

Arjun remained silent as if he realized he just said something he never meant.

"We will make a deal," I said as I moved closer. "Deepak's brother is a minor and Priya is pregnant. So you will stay away from them. Sure we would interrogate them as much as we want but in a decent way without the use of force."

"The same will never go for Deepak or his mother," Arjun said clenching his fists.

"His mother is old," I opposed. I am well aware of Arjun's anger and I swear she wouldn't even be able to live after the first level of interrogation. She is just too old and weak and yes she is protecting a criminal but that is not a crime big enough for a death penalty.

"I don't care," Arjun said.

"I do," I said sternly.

Arjun thought for a while. "Fine," he said, "Add her to your safe list but on one condition. You will not stop me no matter what I do to Deepak. No matter what I do," he emphasized.

"What will you do?" I asked as my heart skipped a beat at the deeper meaning his voice emphasized. I don't know why but I still had this feeling that Deepak might be an innocent young man with a failed attempt to start a new life concealing his father's identity. He shouldn't be punished for his father's crimes.

"I agreed for all your conditions. It's high time you agree on this," Arjun said in frustration.

What am I supposed to do? I know where this is going. Arjun is probably going to use Deepak and torture him in attempts to make Deepak's mother reveal the truth about her husband, but what if he overdoes that. What if his mother genuinely has no idea about her husband or Arjun's brother. Arjun usually turns into a ruthless beast during interrogation and now it's the worst. He is inquiring about his brother. He is going to go all wild. What should I do now? Should I trade Deepak's safety for the safety of his family? 

"Come on say yes," Arjun asked me again as he turned restless.

"As long as you don't kill him or do any permanent physical damage," I said with a heavy heart.

Arjun wasn't satisfied but he managed to utter an 'alright' and asked if we could leave for Minjan right away with Deepak's family so that he could begin his interrogation. 

I nodded still unsure if I am right in supporting him but I have to stay strong. I am currently too confused as to who is right but one thing is for sure. I am going to deal with this in a more peaceful way and I am going to find Arjun's brother. Arjun and his mother had suffered enough. Not anymore.

(Hey guys, thank you for making it till here. Please vote and comment. So the next chapter will be published on 11 January 2019. So stay tuned. Thank you. Love you all.)