Chapter 48
The haveli was quieter than usual that afternoon, but it was not peaceful silence anymore. Ever since the strange incidents had started, even normal moments carried tension inside them, as if everyone was waiting for something bad to happen again.
The family was gathered in the main hall.
Rajnath and Harinarayan were discussing something in low voices while Shanti sat nearby with visible worry on her face.
Rudra stood near the staircase railing, scrolling through his phone absentmindedly, though his attention kept drifting toward Yug every few seconds without reason.
Yug sat silently on the sofa. His elbow rested on his knee while his gaze remained fixed somewhere ahead. He looked normal, calm even, but something about his stillness felt strange.
Meanwhile, Aariv had finally relaxed a little after spending time with Veeransh upstairs. He walked into the hall slowly while Veeransh followed close behind him, his eyes instinctively staying on Aariv the entire time like he no longer trusted the haveli enough to let him out of sight.
"Aap mujhe itna guard mat kariye,"
Aariv said softly, slightly embarrassed.
Veeransh only looked at him calmly. "Aur agar main karun to?"
A faint blush appeared on Aariv's face while Rudra smirked from the side.
"helplessly in love," he muttered.
Aariv immediately looked away shyly while Veeransh looked completely unbothered. But before anyone could continue, a faint creaking sound echoed from above. No one noticed except Yug. His expression changed slightly.
His eyes slowly lifted upward toward the massive chandelier hanging in the
center of the hall. The old chains holding it trembled almost invisibly.
Yug froze and his breathing slowed.
The sound came again.
Rudra frowned and looked toward him. "Yug?"
But Yug didn't answer. His eyes remained fixed upward. Then quietly almost under his breath he whispered,
"Hato..."
Rudra narrowed his eyes. "Kya?"
At the exact same moment one of the chandelier chains snapped..The loud metallic sound echoed through the hall.
Everyone looked up instantly.
"AARIV!" Veeransh shouted the moment he saw the chandelier crashing directly above him.
Everything happened too fast after that. Aariv froze completely and his body refused to move. The massive chandelier came crashing down and suddenly Something yanked Aariv backward violently.
Aariv gasped loudly as his body was pulled away with force, crashing hard against the wall several feet away.
The chandelier shattered onto the floor exactly where he had been standing seconds ago. The entire hall shook with the impact. Glass exploded everywhere.
Shanti screamed. Rajnath immediately stood up while Rudra instinctively pulled Yug back from the scattered glass pieces, Ridha stood just froze at the door....
For a second everything went silent....
Then Veeransh ran toward Aariv.
"Aariv!" his voice broke with panic as he reached him and immediately pulled him into his arms, checking his face, his hands, his shoulders frantically.
"Kahin lagi to nahi? Baby look at me!"
Aariv's breathing was uneven. His eyes were wide with shock.
"I..." he whispered weakly, "m....main..."
Veeransh cupped his face
immediately. "Tum theek ho? Bolo mujhe!"
Aariv nodded shakily, still unable to process what had happened.
Then slowly his expression changed.
Confusion replaced shock.
"Veer..." he whispered.
Veeransh's grip tightened instantly. "Kya hua?"
Aariv looked down at his wrist.
"...kisi ne mujhe kheencha..."
The entire hall went silent. A cold chill passed through the room. Veeransh's expression hardened immediately.
"Kya?" Rudra asked slowly.
Aariv looked genuinely terrified now.
"Main jhooth nahi bol raha..." he said quickly, "kisi ne mera haath pakda... aur peeche kheench liya..."
Without thinking, Veeransh immediately grabbed Aariv's wrist to check it and froze. Everyone's eyes followed and faint bluish finger marks had appeared around Aariv's wrist.
Like someone had held him tightly.
Shanti covered her mouth in horror.
Rajnath's face lost color. Veeransh's jaw clenched dangerously as he stared at the marks.
Meanwhile across the hall Yug stood completely still. His eyes remained fixed on the broken chandelier.
On the shattered glass and for a brief moment his lips moved slightly.
Almost soundlessly. As if whispering to someone no one else could hear.
Then suddenly every mirror in the hall cracked at once. The deafening sound echoed through the haveli.
Aariv flinched violently against Veeransh.
And somewhere far inside the haveli very faintly the sound of chains dragging echoed through the silence.
Veeransh immediately lifted Aariv into his arms without caring about anyone around them and carried him toward the sofa carefully, as if even letting his feet touch the floor felt unsafe now.
Aariv still looked shaken. His fingers clutched Veeransh's shirt tightly while his breathing remained uneven from the shock. Veeransh sat down with him protectively in his lap, one arm firmly wrapped around his waist while his sharp gaze lifted toward the terrified staff standing nearby.
"REMOVE ALL THE CHANDELIERS FROM THE WHOLE HAVELI TODAY ITSELF!" he shouted angrily.
His voice echoed through the hall so loudly that everyone flinched.
The butlers immediately nodded nervously and rushed to work without wasting another second.
The tension inside the hall had become suffocating now.
Broken glass still covered the floor while the cracked mirrors reflected distorted pieces of everyone standing there, making the atmosphere feel even more unsettling.
Meanwhile, Pandit Harinarayan slowly stepped closer toward Aariv.
"Aariv beta... apna haath dikhaiye," he said quietly.
Aariv hesitated slightly before extending his wrist. The bluish finger marks had darkened now. They looked disturbingly real. As if someone had actually grabbed him.
Harinarayan's expression changed the moment he saw them closely.
His brows furrowed deeply.
"Ye kaise ho sakta hai..." he murmured under his breath.
Veeransh immediately looked at him sharply.
"Kya hua?" he asked.
Harinarayan kept staring at the marks for a few more seconds before finally speaking slowly.
"Aariv ko yun peeche kheenchne ka matlab..." he paused slightly, clearly disturbed by his own conclusion, "...sirf ek hi ho sakta hai."
Everyone looked at him silently.
"...vo aatma Aariv ko bachana chahti hai."
The words dropped heavily into the room. Veeransh's expression hardened instantly.
"Kya bakwaas hai ye?" he snapped immediately, disbelief and anger mixing in his voice, "aapne hi to kaha tha ki vo hum dono ko maarna chahti hai... phir ab ye sab kya hai?"
Harinarayan looked genuinely confused for the first time since all this started.
"Wahi to mujhe bhi samajh nahi aa raha..." he admitted slowly.
A silence fell over the hall again.
Uncomfortable. Because nothing made sense anymore. If the spirit truly wanted them dead.....
Then why has Aariv been saved?
Aariv unconsciously moved closer to Veeransh at the thought, still frightened, while Veeransh tightened his hold around him protectively.
Across the room, Rudra's gaze slowly shifted toward Yug. Because unlike everyone else Yug did not look shocked anymore. He was staring quietly at Aariv's wrist marks.
Rudra kept looking at Yug silently while the rest of the hall remained busy around them, because something about him was not sitting right in his mind no matter how much he tried to ignore it.
It was strange. Normally, if something like this had happened to Aariv, Yug would have been the first person to panic. He would have rushed toward him, asked a hundred questions, argued with everyone, and probably turned the entire haveli upside down in anger and fear.
Yug was fiercely protective of Aariv.
Always. But this time he was just standing there and that calmness felt wrong. Rudra's brows furrowed slightly as he kept observing him from a distance.
Yug's face looked normal on the surface, but his eyes.
.. They felt distant and detached. As if his mind was somewhere else entirely.
Then slowly Yug smiled just a little.
A very faint smile while looking at Aariv's wrist marks.
Rudra's chest tightened instantly. That smile disappeared within seconds, but he had seen it.
And it disturbed him more than the broken chandelier.
"Yug," Rudra called suddenly.
Yug blinked and looked at him immediately.
"Hm?"
Rudra stared at him for a second before walking closer.
"Tum theek ho?" he asked carefully.
Yug frowned slightly in confusion. "Haan... kyun?"
Rudra didn't answer immediately.
Because he himself did not know how to explain what exactly felt wrong.
He just knew this was not the same Yug.
Rudra forced himself to stay calm.
"Nahi... bas..." he muttered quietly.
But inside, uneasiness had already started growing rapidly. Because now he was sure of one thing. Something was wrong with Yug and whatever it was It was getting worse.
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