70.
Aarav's gaze shifted from Ravi to Shaurya. Ravi wouldn't meet Shaurya's eyes, and Shaurya hadn't said a single word yet. The silence itself felt heavy.
Aarav cleared his throat and gently held Shaurya's arm, grounding himself.
"Well, Ravi... tell me something." Aarav's voice was steady, but the tension beneath it was obvious.
"How is Ozge's son making any money at all?
As far as I know, all of his businesses are shut down, and Vedansh Shekhawat owns most of them now.
Then why the hell would Veer even consider signing a contract with him? "
Ravi exhaled slowly. "He doesn't have any involvement in the human trafficking ring Ozge used to run. And Shaurya—"
He stopped abruptly, eyes flicking to Shaurya, who shot him a cold look that made his words die in his throat.
Aarav frowned.
"Shaurya what?" he demanded, turning fully toward Ravi.
Ravi hesitated before speaking, voice low but clear.
"I heard Ozge's son still runs the organ trafficking side—the one Ozge never shut down.
And... last month he made trillions. Which is insane, because nobody knows where the sudden influx of bodies came from.
But all of them had one thing in common—their faces were burned beyond recognition.
So the buyers didn't question anything and just harvested the organs. "
Aarav's stomach twisted.
Ravi continued, "But Ozge's son didn't know that one of those bodies was his own father. When he found out, he lost it. That's why he tried approaching Veer—to drag the Shekhawats into the mess".
Aarav blinked, shock settling in his bones.
"And Shaurya was behind all of this?" he asked quietly.
Ravi only nodded.
Aarav's breath stuttered. He looked at Shaurya, searching his face for anything—guilt, anger, remorse... something. But Shaurya's expression was carved from stone.
"Shaurya..." Aarav whispered.
Shaurya finally spoke, his voice low and merciless.
"I didn't even spare Abhi. He was Ozge, Aarav."
"I never forgive" Shaurya continued, his gaze turning sharp, deadly calm. "And he met the fate he deserved. Everything he did to others came back to him. That's justice. For Ravi, for his family, and for every single person who died because of them. Ozge got the taste of his own medicine."
Well it's nothing surprising Aarav was hearing. And whatever Shaurya did was somehow right.
Shaurya's eyes flicked to Ravi for a moment—cold, unwavering.
"And Veer got so greedy that he didn't even stop to check what he was walking into," Shaurya said, his voice calm but cutting. "And you, Ravi—" he turned his eyes toward him, cold and unblinking, "even if people tell you not to involve me, it is your job to inform me. Every damn thing."
Ravi swallowed.
"I don't want to hear again that you hired someone new in the Unit without telling me," Shaurya continued. "From now on, I want the full details of every new staff member in the mansion and every single person who's joined the Unit in the last few years."
His jaw flexed.
"If even one of them turns out to be a traitor," he said, low and firm, "you're never stepping foot in the Shekhawat Unit again."
No one spoke anything. Shaurya looked at Aarav, who looked quite stressed about the whole situation. Shaurya held his hands and entangled his fingers.
"Anyway, let's not put our mind into these stuff. You too, Ravi—just don't repeat this again. I really don't want any more trouble, honestly. And about Ozge's son, I'll think about what to do. Also don't worry about Roy. He'll be fine. Raghu just scared you a bit," Shaurya said.
Ravi stared at him in disbelief.
"You people are so evil," Aarav muttered, shaking his head. "Ravi, as Shaurya said—don't stress about it, okay? And also, stay with us. It's actually nice when you're around. Plus... a friend of mine definitely has her eyes on you."
Shaurya gave Aarav a look.
Aarav ignored him and moved to sit right next to Ravi.
"So? Do you like her?" Aarav asked with a teasing smile. "I know it was you who dropped her home last night."
Ravi didn't respond. Shaurya leaned forward slightly, sipping the coffee placed on the table.
"Why should I tell you that?" Ravi said finally.
"I don't know? Maybe I can set you both up?" Aarav offered innocently.
"You'd be the last person I'd go to for things like this," Ravi said without hesitation.
"Wait—why?" Aarav frowned.
Ravi glanced at Aarav, then at Shaurya.
"Well..." he said.
"You're so mean, god," Aarav huffed, raising his eyebrows.
Ravi only shrugged and took another sip of his coffee.
Aarav made a mocking face at him. When Ravi turned his head, Aarav stopped and rolled his eyes instead.
"Anyway, I have to go to work today. Shaurya, you're staying home?" Aarav asked while fixing his watch.
Shaurya nodded.
"Okay then. Eve will be here too. And Ravi—well, you stay here as well. And please don't wake up Aarya and Vayu just because you're bored. Find something else to do."
Ravi frowned. "Why would we do that?"
"I don't know about you, but Shaurya did that once." Aarav shot Shaurya a sharp look. "He woke up Aarya because I was at work and he was bored out of his mind."
Shaurya didn't even look guilty. "Then why have kids if they don't play with you?"
"They're not PlayStations, Shaurya. Shut up or I'll hit your head," Aarav snapped, picking up his bag. He leaned down and pressed a quick goodbye kiss to Shaurya's head. "Bye."
Ravi had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing as Aarav left the apartment. The door clicked shut, and the silence that followed was thick enough for Ravi to choke on.
He glanced at Shaurya.
This... was absolutely not the moment to laugh.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Aarav went inside his cabin and placed his things on the wooden table. He'd brought something new today—a small photograph of Shaurya and Aarya sleeping together, Aarya's tiny hand resting on Shaurya's chest. Aarav looked at it, smiled softly, and slipped it inside the drawer.
He finally had some solid ideas for the unfinished project, and he couldn't wait to share them with Yug. But will Yug even listen? Aarav wasn't sure, but he still left for the cafeteria.
He picked up a glass of blackberry lemonade smoothie—Yug's favorite, even though to Aarav it tasted like feet. He also grabbed a bowl of chips and made his way to Yug's office. He pushed the door open with his knee, balancing everything in his hands.
Yug was resting his head on the table, eyes closed.
Aarav sighed and began backing out quietly.
"Wait—I'm not sleeping," Yug called out, his voice muffled but awake.
Aarav turned. Yug lifted his head, stretching back in his chair with a groan. Aarav couldn't help but smile a little as he walked in and placed the food on the table.
Yug glanced at the smoothie... then back at Aarav.
"What brings you here?" he asked.
"Well," Aarav said, taking a seat, "I just wanted to tell you I finally figured out what to do with the other part of our resort. I have some ideas for the design."
"That's good. Mr. Shah is coming today anyway—we should discuss everything with him. I just hope he doesn't delay things again," Yug replied, rubbing his forehead.
Aarav nodded thoughtfully.
"Um... have the smoothie," Aarav said, pushing it toward him. "You look sleepy."
"Aarav," Yug said.
"Yeah?"
"I don't like... not talking to you." He sighed, looking genuinely uncomfortable. "It's suffocating, honestly. I don't care if we fight or argue—I still want to talk to you. And you look like you've got something on your mind."
Aarav looked at him for a moment, then smiled and shook his head. "I really don't have anything on my mind. But what about you? You look exhausted."
"It just got late when I came home yesterday. I went to the bar," Yug said, yawning mid-sentence.
"Why do you drink so much, Yug?" Aarav said, leaning forward. "Please stop. And wait—you drove home drunk? Are you insane? I swear to God, how can you be thi—"
"Ravi drove me home," Yug cut in.
Aarav blinked at him, confused, tilting his head.
"Oh... so you were with Ravi and Eve last night?" Aarav asked.
Yug nodded.
"Well uhmmm... do you know what they were talking about?" Aarav asked, leaning forward with his elbows on the table, palms pressed against his cheeks. Aarav and Yug had always been each other's tea partners—if there was gossip brewing, Yug was the first person Aarav would run to.
"No. I was with my friends," Yug said, taking a sip of the smoothie. "But they did look like they were having a pretty good time together."
Aarav nodded slowly.
"What the hell am I even talking about?" he muttered under his breath.
"Hmm?" Yug glanced up. "Did you say something?"
Aarav shook his head quickly. "No."
Yug sighed. "You're going to be quite busy again for a year now."
Aarav knew that very well. And on top of it, he still hadn't processed the fact that Shaurya asked him to come back home with him yesterday. The thought had been sitting in his chest like a tight knot since morning.
"Yeah... but I hope it'll be worth the wait. We've worked really hard on this," Aarav said.
"Right. Then you can finally go back to where you belong," Yug said.
Aarav froze for a second and looked at him.
"Yug—"
"Mr. Chauhan and Mr. Khurana! Mr. Shah has arrived," their secretary announced from the doorway.
Yug straightened immediately. "Yeah. Don't keep him waiting. We'll join him now."
He stood up, fixing his shirt sleeves.
"Aarav, let's go."
Aarav stayed quiet, swallowed whatever he had wanted to say earlier, and followed him out of the office.