Chapter 27: chapter 27

MADHAVI am still pacing the living room of my house. It is four hours since Sruthi left the house. I am worried for her. My fingers itch to dial her number and give her a call but I don’t want to come off as a possessive man. I want her to have her personal space and time. She did text me half an hour ago that she would be back home in twenty minutes or so. I know the traffic is delaying her. It is the peak hours. The logical part of my brain says that she is safe but the irrational part is worried about her as the seconds tick by.The door opens finally putting an end to all my worries.  I hold my breath as Sruthi walks inside. She is in a blue top and black jeans. I was out on a business when she left the house to meet with her friend, so, I never got the opportunity to see her in the dress she was wearing. She looks perfectly put together and beautiful. Her hair is in a braid. Gorgeous. That is how she looks. I scan her from head to toe for any signs of injury or bruise but to my greatest relief, her body looks unharmed. But one glance at her face and I know something is wrong.I close the between us and stand right before her. I expect her to step back but she stands her ground with squared shoulders, “What is wrong Sruthi?”“How do you know something is wrong?” she asks tilting up her chin to meet my eyes. “Your face says it all,” I answer tucking a stray curl that falls in front of her eyes behind her ears. She draws in a sharp breath and holds my stare for a few seconds in what I would call the soul-searching gaze. I am not sure what is it but something about the way she looks at me today is different from the way she looked at me in the past. She used to blatantly ignore me and my gaze. She could never tolerate me in her personal space but now she is not stepping back from me in fear. Is that a good or bad sign? Is there a chance for me with her? “You haven’t answered my question yet,” I probe on. With a resigned sigh, she takes her phone out of the small bag she is carrying and swipes through it before showing me a photo of her friend with a funny expression. But my trained eyes scan the background and I see the person holding the yellow glitter paper-wrapped gift.“Sonofabitch,” a growl escapes me as I take the phone in my hand. Fury spreads through me and I wish I could snap the delicate neck of that bastard as soon as possible. How dare he try to pull this stunt with Sruthi? I thought he saw her as his sister. But maybe when it comes to politics nothing matters.“If you grip my phone any harder it will break into pieces,” Sruthi’s comment snaps me out of my anger.With a shake of my head, I give the phone back to her. “Things are getting complicated. If that bastard is the real prep then we cannot stand a chance against him.”“Real prep? You don’t think he is the one who committed this?” Sruthi asks with a frown.“We can’t make blind assumptions with a few photos. We need solid proof if we have to put him behind bars. We need thorough and very concrete evidence to get him arrested. You know the laws of our country. Any false allegation against a ruling minister is not tolerated,” I answer pinching the bridge of my nose. “This is all terrible,” Sruthi’s voice betrays her emotions. Her shoulders are droop and she looks so tired and defeated as she sits down on the couch with a hurt expression. Her head is bent low and her eyes stare at her clenched hands in her lap. She looks so soft and delicate. Like a fragile glass that would break with a little pressure. But I know she is no fragile woman. She has gone through a lot and survived. She keeps hoping for good things in her life even when only misfortunes happen to her. She searches for a light in the darkness unlike me who accepted the darkness and let it engulf him. That is what drew me towards her first, her light. She is the ray of hope I needed in my dark life.I hate that she is in pain. I hate that bastard for putting her through this trouble. Before I realize what I am doing, I am walking towards the couch. She looks up from her lap when I stand right next to her. Holy Hell!Her eyes are blurry and she is on the verge of tears, “Why would Vinod want to kill me?”My heart wrenches in my chest. I don’t like the sight of tears on her face. I kneel in front of her and take her delicate hands in mine. I wait for her to flinch but to my surprise, she doesn’t. Neither does she pull her hands out of mine. She keeps staring at me but I can see where her thoughts are heading to. I squeeze her hands and a stray tear escapes her. I wipe it away with my thumb. “I don’t want to die,” she says in a helpless voice meeting my eyes again. God! She looks so vulnerable and weak now that all I want to do is take her somewhere far away to a safe place and keep her there with me until all this is over.“You are not going to,” I say. “I won’t let you die.”She shakes her head, “You don’t stand a chance before Vinod. I have known Vinod for years. He is a mastermind and genius. If he sets his heart on something then he wouldn’t stop at anything to finish it. He will kill me.”“I don’t give a fucking damn about what he is or not,” I growl in anger. Call it possessiveness but I don’t want Sruthi praising another man in front of me and not that bastard Vinod. I get up and put my hands on either side of her shoulders on the couch. She leans back on the couch and looks away. Her lavender smell clouds my rational mind. All I need to do is lean an inch forward and then I can know how she would taste. Dammit Idiot! This isn’t the right time. She is scared.I cup her jaw. She flinches when I tilt her chin up to look at me, “Sweetie, I don’t care who he is or what kind of power Vinod holds. Because, to a gun or knife every human skin is the same. He may be a mastermind but I am a monster and I would do anything in my power to take out the threats that pester me and my loved ones. You are safe. Nothing will happen to you.”“You don’t understand,” she sighs.“I do understand very well, Sruthi. I may not be a politician but I know how dirty politics is. Thanks to your brother. I knew exactly how many faces a politician can have. I promise you that I will keep you safe. I would risk my life in a heartbeat to keep you safe.”Her breath hitch and for a moment she looks utterly speechless. Oops! I didn’t mean for the last sentence to come out of my mouth but it did and there is no taking it back now. I meant what I said. I would gladly put myself between her and a gun at any time of the day. I would go to any extent to keep her safe.“Why?” her voice is a whisper. “Why are you doing this? Why do you want to keep me safe? Why would risk your life for me? What do I mean to you?”You mean everything to me.“I would answer that question easily but are you ready for the answer?” I ask her. I am not sure what she sees in my eyes but she looks away.“I need to see my brother,” she mumbles instead.“Get ready then, we will visit him,” I say stepping back from her.❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥