Author's POV

Yaksha moved into her room back and forth, She brought Ayaan into her room after talking with her daughter and made him sleep beside his Nana ji.

She too was going to sleep when Kaustubh came into her room and informed her that he was going to Solapur.

But she doesn't know why she wasn't feeling good after Kaustubh left for Solapur.

He told her that there was nothing to worry about and that he would be back in the morning.

But her heart was not ready to accept it,

She knew there was something serious and her heart was beating wildly with the horrible thoughts.

She closed her eyes and prayed for her daughter to be safe.

She glanced at the clock and saw it was 5: 30 PM in the morning.

She sighed and walked out of her room not before checking her grandson and pulling the duvet properly on his body.

She came downstairs and lightened the lamp, her eyes wandered the whole hall and stopped on Revti who was sleeping in the corner.

She thousands of times told her to sleep in her room but this woman never listened to her.

She walked towards the kitchen and poured a glass of water for her, before chugging it down her throat, but that water choked in her throat hearing a doorbell.

Her heart thumped loudly at her running wild thoughts, but she handled herself she kept the glass on the kitchen counter and walked out with her trembling legs.

Only to witness Revti opening the door from inside, she kept holding her breath hoping for good.

But She knew God was never at her side and today was no different.

The crying voice of a baby reached her ear making her eyes go wide in horror, of course, she recognized it.

She ran towards the door and saw her younger grandson wailing loudly, while a man of the same age as her daughter was holding him in his arms.

She knew that man, he was her daughter's best friend Rakshit.

"Aeh!!" She called out and took him in her arms while staring at Rakshit with questioning gazes.

Rakshit opened his mouth to speak but she again signed him to keep quiet and whispered to her grandson.

"Why are you crying bachha, look You are at Nani's Home,"

"Mu..Mumma," he muttered and hugged her tightly.

Her heart thumped loudly but she tried to control her feelings, still, tears betrayed her and flowed out of her eyes.

"Stop crying baby we will find Mumma," She consoled him and started to pat his back and to her surprise, he slept in a few minutes.

She signed Revti to close the door and signed Rakshit to take a seat on the sofa.

"He was crying from last night," Rakshit said seeing him sleeping peacefully.

"Where is my daughter?" Yaksha managed to let out those words, her heart was hurting brutally at the mere thought of her daughter's horrible past invading her future.

"I don't know, she was scared when she called me and told me to pick him up from our fellow teacher's house," Rakshit answered in a worried voice.

When Yana called him, he immediately went to Rahul's house and picked up her crying son from there, Rahul told him about those cars and he knew going to her house wasn't safe with her son, so he was going to take him to his home but seeing his crying condition he came here.

"She didn't tell you anything," Yaksha asked now understanding why Kaustubh went to Solapur.

"No, I think it's Aeh's father," He told her and her eyes teared up.

That man can never let her daughter breathe in peace, What if he caught her? Or worst what if he already caught her?

She can't even think of the pain her daughter would be suffering through.

"How she would manage it?" Her heart breaks at the thought.

"Did she tell you the name?"

"No, I assume–

"Nani Maa!!!"  She heard her elder grandson's voice and turned her eyes to look at him who was standing on the stairs while staring curiously at her with his button-size eyes.

Her throat dried and she glanced at the baby sleeping in her arms.

Ayaan cascaded down the stairs and slowly walked near her taking tiny steps and making her heart thump in anxiety.

He came near her and without any words climbed on the sofa with lots of struggle before sitting beside her.

He glanced at the little chubby boy whose cheeks were swollen like his plushies and pocked it with his pinky finger making that baby stir in his sleep.

"Who is he, Nani Maa?"

He asked making Yaksha gulp hard, she managed her overflowing emotion and answered gathering so much courage.

"Your brother Baccha."

***********

In the early morning haze, a sea of devotees dressed in traditional attire fills the streets leading to the Vitthala Temple.

The air resonates with the soulful melodies of bhajans and chants, a colourful procession moving like a river towards the sacred shrine.

She walked with the thousands of people surrounding her, hiding her face behind a veil of her saree.

She was able to see saffron flags waving against the rainy sky through her drenched veil, while the scent of incense and flowers swirls around her, carried by the fervent devotion of the worshippers including the smell of soil.

The rhythmic drumbeats and the melodious singing create an enchanting atmosphere, drawing her into the spiritual fervour surrounding the divine celebration.

The atmosphere was filled with peace but there was no peace in her heart, she just prayed he didn't catch her.

Her legs trembled as the tears cascaded down her eyes, she lifted her veil and moved her eyes all around to see the unknown people surrounding her, she felt lost but that's what she wanted.

A small smile played on her lips as she remembered the faces of her sons, there was no way she gonna get weak this time.

She will make sure he will get on his knees for the sins he committed, no matter what it would cost her.

Still, it hurts her somewhere, whenever she looks into his eyes, they are good at manipulating her thoughts.

She remembered their last meeting from five years ago, She was convinced that He would not have done those hideous things with his will.

But she was proved wrong as always.

Her every decision was wrong, which led her to the path of her distress not to the fairy tale she wanted.

The more tears slid down her cheek, making her feel miserable about her condition.

She joined her hands and closed her eyes not caring about the crowd anymore.

Her heart beating wildly in her ribcage with the fear of getting caught by him.

Almost 300 feet away from her A man was standing in the rain, looking at the temple with his deep dark brown eyes.

His drenched white shirt clung to his muscular body showing his rigid muscles, and his pink lips were thinned in a straight line.

His eyes were blank but his mind was fighting, he didn't know how he would find her but he needed to.

He just can't wait anymore, a lone tear dripped down his eye getting mixed with water as a scene from years ago played in his mind when he used to hold her in his arms.

He shouldn't have let her go.

He regrets it.

He hates himself for letting her go.

"Sir....

That man abruptly stopped suddenly getting scared of him after seeing his composed posture.

He signed that man to speak further without averting his eyes from the temple.

"Sir Her house is empty we didn't find anything, and when we went to her school where she was working, we got to know that last night an accident occurred there."

His eyes snapped towards that man and he quickly took his step back before bowing his head and apologizing, "Sorry, Sir we didn't find any pics of her."

He fisted his palm and controlled his rage, "ALL OF YOU ARE JUST USELESS, NO NEED TO FOLLOW ME."

He said and walked from there vanishing in the crowd of thousands of people still his height and well-built body didn't let him mix in with those people.

His assistant stared at him and immediately called their madam.

"Hello!!"

"Mam, Sir...

"Speak clearly," She ordered getting scared with her mind's assumptions.

His assistant gulped down and answered, "Mam Sir alone walked in the thousands of people, we didn't know where he went."

"What!!!! What the hell were you doing?" She shouted almost on the verge of crying.

"I Am Warning you if anything happens to Him, He will burn you alive find him," She shouted and at the mention of that particular person sweet beads formed on his forehead.

"We Will Mam," He replied and disconnected the call, He knew if they didn't find their Sir what would happen to them?

"Search For Sir!!" He ordered the bodyguards and all of them vanished in the crowd scattering in various directions.

He walked aimlessly, he didn't know where she would be. How does she look? How he would recognize her? But he wanted to find her. He needed her at any cost.

He loves her so much to let her go this time without making any effort.

He walked, his eyes looking innocent as a little child searching for his lost mother.

He wasn't looking like a person whose hands were painted with the blood of thousands of people, his eyes weren't showing that insatiable inhumanity.

He wasn't looking like a stain on humanity, a terrorist, who started killing people at the tender age of fourteen including his father.

His eyes were filled with innocence, a strong longing for his love, his eyes were desperate to see the person whom he loved without any condition.

His fingers started to shiver with the anxiety of his heart but he didn't let his brain lose control.

The noises of those drums, buzzed in his ear, irritating him, those singing of devotees sounded so harsh to his ear like they were trying to make him mad by those sounds.

His feet started to stumble back and forth and he kept his hand on his ears trying to stop those noises, but nothing worked.

His heart was on fire trying to seek comfort and he knew she was the one who could calm him now.

He knew she was there, his love was there, so why he should let her go, he couldn't lose her this time.

"I waited so much my love, I don't want to die without seeing you, so please don't make me suffer more, it's been years now, why don't you come to me, I will cherish you, keep you safe in my arms, just come to me, love."

His leg tripped and he lost his balance, and to handle himself he grabbed something soft but his blurry eyes didn't let him see what it was.

It took a long one minute for him to know that it was a girl, whose back was pressed against his front and his arm was encircled around her soft waist.

He tried to detach himself from her but the smell of lavender went straight through his nostrils, making his hold tighten around her waist.

His heart thumped loudly indicating to him, He did, HE DID.

HE FOUND HER.

The smell was just the same as his baby, he could never be misunderstood in her case, he met thousands of girls with this smell but not ever a single girl pulled him the way this particular girl did.

He knew Everyone would betray him but his heart could never, because it beats only for her, it only speaks for her, he is only alive for her, and he would only live for her.

He wiped his blurry eyes with his other hand and lowered his eyes to see an extremely fragile girl in his arms, who didn't even reach his chest at the matter of height.

But why she wasn't struggling?

He lifted her a little and slid her curly hair aside moving his arm sensually on her naked waist and breathing heavily near her ear.

An unexplainable bliss surged through his heart paralyzing his thought process and he engulfed her in his huge body.

"CAUGHT YOU BABY."

He announced snapping her out of her frozen state.