"Love you too. Now go."

I smile and head toward the bathroom, my steps quick.

In the Restaurant 🍽

The moment I walk into the restaurant, Uncle's eyes immediately land on me.

The second he sees me, he glances at the wall clock and then back at me. A teasing smile instantly appears on his face.

Oh God.

I already know what's coming.

"Arey waah... yeh main kya dekh raha hoon? Ms. Gauri aaj time par aa gayi?"

I roll my eyes.

"Uncle..." I warn him.

But he completely ignores me.

Pretending to be shocked, he checks the time again.

"Nahi, nahi... sirf time par nahi. Tum toh aaj poore tees minute pehle aa gayi ho! Kya baat hai? Sab theek toh hai na?"

I place my hands on my hips and stare at him.

"Kya Uncle! Aap bhi na. Mera mazaak kyun uda rahe ho? Main bas punctual ho gayi hoon. Ab main late nahi aaya karungi."

A laugh immediately leaves his lips.

"Accha? Dekhte hain yeh sudhaar kitne din tikta hai."

I dramatically place a hand over my heart.

"Aapko mujh par zara bhi bharosa nahi hai."

"Bilkul nahi hai." He replies without even a second of hesitation.

My jaw drops.

"Wow. Thank you for the support."

He only laughs harder.

"Theek hai. Ab dekhna, main roz sabse pehle aaya karungi."

"Haan haan, pehle ek hafta toh nikaal lo."

I narrow my eyes at him while he grins like he's already won this argument.

"Aap dekh lena."

"Main dekh raha hoon."

I let out an annoyed huff.

"Ab jao aur apna kaam karo," he says, waving me away.

"Ji, sir," I reply sarcastically.

Still muttering under my breath, I turn and walk toward the dining area.

In the Hotel 🏢

Monday | 8:00 A.M.

I have been sitting in my hotel room for almost ten minutes, lost in my thoughts.

Something about everything feels off. Finally, I pick up my phone and call Arjun.

He answers on the second ring.

"Hello, sir."

"Arjun, jitne bhi guards tum apne saath laaye ho, un sabko lekar mujhe parking lot mein milo. I want all of you in the hotel parking lot in five minutes."

There's a brief pause.

"Okay, sir. I'll be there."

I end the call without another word.

Five minutes later, I step into the parking lot. Everyone is already there, Arjun and the entire group of guards standing in formation, waiting for me.

I slowly walk toward them. No one speaks.

They know better than to make me repeat myself.

I stop in front of them, my eyes moving over every single face. Some of them flinch under my gaze. Good. That's exactly how it should be.

"Last night," I say, my voice low, "a shipment worth 100 crore was taken from us."

Silence.

"Fifty men. Maybe sixty. That's how many Junaid Khan sent after me." I let that sink in.

Arjun steps forward slightly. "Sir, if you had let me.."

I raise a hand, and he stops immediately.

"I'm not interested in that Arjun." My eyes sweep across the guards again. "I'm interested in WHAT will we do now?."

One of the senior guards, Vikram, clears his throat. "Sir, tell us what you need. We'll handle it."

"I need eyes on every warehouse Khan owns in Gujarat . Every property, every shell company" I pause. "I want to know where he sleeps before he even wakes up tomorrow."

"Yes, sir."

"And Arjun."

"Sir?"

"I want to have a little chat with my dear cousin"

I turn back to the rest of the men. "This ends with him losing everything he thinks he owns. Not just the shipment. Everything." My voice drops even lower.

"Nobody touches what's mine and walks away like nothing happened."

A murmur of agreement moves through the group.

"Get to work," I say. "All of you."

They scatter immediately, falling into motion like a machine that's been given its orders. Arjun lingers behind for a moment.

"Sir... are you sure you're alright? You should be resting, I handle it all."

"I've had worse."

"Sir.."

"Arjun." I look at him, and that's enough to make him stop pushing.

He sighs. "Sir." he walks off toward the others.

I stand alone in the parking lot for a moment longer, the morning sun doing nothing to warm the cold settling into my chest.

Gauri.

That's the name arjun told me, Who helped me last night

I can't stop thinking about her, Ans i know this not right

She is gone. She has been gone for years, and I buried whatever hope I had of finding her a long time ago, along with everything else I allowed myself to feel back then.

But that fragrance... of that girl

I need to see her face. Just once. Just long enough to look at her properly and know, with my own eyes, that I'm wrong. That my mind is playing tricks on me because I was half dead and bleeding out on some empty road, grasping at whatever comfort my brain could invent in that moment.

That's all this is.

One look. Enough to put this foolishness to rest and go back to who I am.

Nothing more.

I tell myself, then walk towards my car, slide into it. The seat cool against my back, my eyes fixed straight ahead.

Just wait and watch, junaid.

A slow smile spreads across my lips, quiet and merciless.

I'm going to destroy the one thing you love most.

The engine roars to life, and the convoy pulls out of the lot, one car after another, moving together like they're one single unit.

Just wait, I'm coming.

In The Warehouse | Junaid’s Cabin 🏛️

Imran, Mr. Junaid Khan’s assistant, rushes into his cabin, panic evident in his voice.

“Sir… Shivaay’s cars are heading towards us.”

Junaid’s face immediately hardens.

“What? That bloody bastard!” he snaps, getting up from his chair.

“Get our boys ready.”

“Yes, sir.”

Imran hesitates for a moment before asking, “Should I inform the Big Master?”

Junaid looks at him as if he has lost his mind.

“Are you out of your mind?”

“Sir, but..”

“What?” Junaid cuts him off. “Don’t you know what will happen if the your Big Master finds out what we’ve done? He’ll kill me himself.” He grabs his gun from the table and checks it.

“He’s coming tomorrow. If anything goes wrong before that, none of us will be spared. Let me handle Shivaay.”

He walks toward the door.

“Do as I say. Get all the mens ready.”

“Yes, sir.”

Junaid gives him one last look before stepping out.

“Let’s go.”