chapter 52
Vipul was sitting in his cabin, surrounded by piles of files and reports, his eyes scanning every page with forced concentration. The office was quiet except for the soft ticking of the clock and the faint sound of keyboards outside, yet his mind refused to settle.
No matter how much he tried to focus, Tara’s face kept flashing in his head—her silence in the car, her cold replies, the way she walked away without even looking back. “Why do I even care…” he muttered to himself, annoyed at his own thoughts, convincing his heart that she was nothing but trouble.
Just then his phone vibrated on the table.
He glanced at the screen and frowned. Tara calling.
“Ab kya drama hai…” he sighed, but still answered.
“Hello—” Before he could finish, her trembling voice broke through the line.
“Vipul… please… save me… main kya karu…” She was crying—badly, uncontrollably.
His body stiffened instantly, the chair scraping loudly as he stood up.
“Tara?! What happened? Where are you?” he demanded, panic seeping into his voice. “Please… aajo mere paas… mujhe darr lag raha hai…” she sobbed. Something inside him snapped. All the irritation, all the fake indifference vanished in a second.
He grabbed his car keys without another thought.
“Where are you?”.
“College… back side… parking ke paas…” she whispered.
“Stay there. Don’t move. I’m coming,” he said firmly and cut the call.
He didn’t inform anyone, Within seconds he was out of the building, heart racing wildly, hands trembling as he started the car.
His mind was filled with terrifying possibilities—what if she’s hurt, what if someone touched her, what if she’s alone—and he pressed the accelerator harder than ever. The calm and cold Vipul everyone knew had disappeared; right now, he was just a man scared out of his mind… for Tara.
In no time, Vipul’s car screeched to a halt outside the college gate.
He didn’t even park properly, just left it carelessly and rushed inside, his heartbeat thundering in his ears.
His eyes scanned the campus frantically—students laughing, groups chatting, music still playing somewhere—but there was no sign of Tara.
His chest tightened. Where is she…? Then suddenly he remembered her broken voice on the call. Back side… parking area.
Without wasting a second, he ran toward the deserted parking lot behind the building.
The place was dim and unusually quiet compared to the lively front side.
“Tara!” he called out loudly, his voice echoing between the parked cars.
No response. His panic grew worse. “Tara!” he shouted again, walking faster, almost running between the rows.
And then he saw her.
Behind one of the cars, crouched down on the ground, hugging her knees to herself like a scared child, Tara was crying uncontrollably.
Her shoulders were shaking, hair messy, makeup slightly smudged.
She looked so small… so vulnerable… nothing like the stubborn, attitude-filled girl who always argued with him.
His breath hitched.
He rushed to her side. “Tara…” he called softly this time, kneeling in front of her. The moment she looked up and saw him, her teary eyes widened with relief, as if he was the only safe place left in the world.
He didn’t think twice. The moment he saw her trembling like that, something inside him broke. He rushed forward and pulled her straight into his arms, hugging her tightly as if letting go would make her disappear.
“Tara… I’m here,” he whispered urgently, one hand cradling the back of her head while the other wrapped protectively around her waist. “Look at me… stop crying now… I’m here, okay?”
She clutched his shirt with shaking fingers, burying her face into his chest. Her sobs came out heavier, louder, like she had been holding them in for too long. Vipul felt his heart twist painfully. He had never seen her like this—so fragile, so scared.
Gently, he smoothed her hair, his palm moving up and down her back in slow, comforting strokes. “Shhh… bas… it’s okay… no one’s going to hurt you,” he murmured, his voice softer than it had ever been with her. “I won’t let anything happen to you… samjhi?”
For the first time, there was no teasing, no irritation, no coldness in his tone—only pure concern.
And Tara realized… he had come without a second thought. No questions. No complaints.
Just for her.
He slowly pulled back just enough to look at her face, his hands still firmly holding her shoulders as if he was scared she might break again. His brows were tightly furrowed, worry clearly written all over his face.
“Now tell me… kya hua?” he asked softly.
Tara avoided his eyes. Her lips trembled. “Mai… vo…” her voice cracked mid-sentence.
“Haan bolo, Tara,” he said, this time more gently, almost pleading. “Don’t be scared. I’m here.”
With shaky hands, she unlocked her phone and silently pushed it toward him.
Vipul frowned and took it.
The moment his eyes scanned the screen, his expression changed.
College confession pages… WhatsApp groups… Instagram stories…
Her photo with Raj. The one from last night.
But the captions—
“New couple exposed.”
“Backside parking romance.”
“Characterless girl.”
“Gold digger vibes.”
Dirty rumours. Edited pictures. Cheap comments.
His jaw tightened.
His fingers clenched around the phone so hard his knuckles turned white. The calm Vipul disappeared in seconds. His eyes darkened with pure rage.
“Tara…” he said quietly. Too quietly.
She looked down, tears rolling again. “Maine kuch bhi galat nahi kiya… bas ek photo li thi… sab log aise baat kar rahe hain… everyone is staring at me… I feel so disgusting…”
Her voice broke.
“I hate this… mujhe ghar jaana hai…”
Before she could cry again, Vipul pulled her back into his chest, this time even tighter.
“Bas,” he muttered, anger laced in his tone. “kuch aur mat bolna.”
She froze.
“Tumhari koi galti nahi hai. Samjhi?” he said firmly. “Logon ki soch gandi hai… tum nahi.”
He lifted her chin gently, forcing her to look at him. His eyes were blazing.
“Jo bhi ye sab faila raha hai na… I swear Tara… I won’t spare them.”
There was something dangerous in his voice. Protective. Possessive.
“Tum ro kyun rahi ho? Jab tak Vipul zinda hai, kisi ki himmat nahi hai tumpe ungli uthane ki.”
For the first time… he wasn’t cold.
He wasn’t distant.
He looked like a man ready to burn the whole world for her.
Without saying another word, Vipul suddenly bent down and slid one arm under her knees and the other around her back, scooping her up effortlessly. Tara gasped softly, clutching his shirt out of instinct as her tears stained the fabric.
“V-Vipul… what are you doing…?” she whispered.
“Bas. Aur ek step bhi tum nahi chalogi,” he said coldly, but the way he held her was unbelievably gentle.
As if she was something fragile. Something precious.
He carried her straight to the car, kicked the door shut with his foot, and carefully made her sit inside the passenger seat.
He even adjusted the seatbelt himself, his fingers brushing her shoulder for a second longer than necessary.
“Lock the door. Don’t come out. Samjhi? ”
She nodded silently.
Vipul walked around to the driver’s side, opened the backseat, and pulled out his laptop. His face had completely changed now.
He sat in the driver’s seat, opened the laptop, and his fingers started flying across the keyboard at insane speed. Lines of code, tabs, campus portals, admin panels — one after another.
Tara watched him through blurry eyes.
“Vipul… kya kar rahe ho…?”
He didn’t look at her. “Cleaning garbage.”
His jaw was tight.
Within minutes he accessed the college’s internal server, then the confession pages, then student media accounts. Passwords bypassed. Firewalls broken. Admin access granted.
Click. Delete. Remove. Block.
Every single photo.
Every edited post.
Every rumour thread.
Gone.
“Tumne… sab delete kar diya?” Tara asked softly, still holding her phone like it might explode again. Her eyes were red, lashes wet, voice trembling between relief and disbelief.
“Haan,” Vipul replied shortly, shutting his laptop with a sharp click.
His tone was calm… too calm. The dangerous kind of calm.
“Everything’s gone. Photos, posts, rumours…
sab.”
Tara’s shoulders finally relaxed a little.
She let out a shaky breath she didn’t even realize she had been holding.
But before she could thank him, Vipul’s expression hardened.
His jaw clenched, eyes fixed on the dark laptop screen like he could still see the culprits through it.
“Ab bas ek kaam baaki hai,” he said coldly.
She blinked. “K-kya?”
“Right now… I want to catch the person who did this.”
The way he said it sent chills down her spine.
His fingers were already moving back toward the keyboard. “IPs trace ho gaye hain. Sirf naam nikalna baaki hai. Ek baar mil gaye na… I swear unki life hell bana dunga.”
Tara gulped.
Hey bhagwan… agar Raj ka naam aa gaya toh…? Her heart started racing again. She immediately held his wrist. “Vipul… it’s okay… leave it.”
He stopped and looked at her. “Leave it?”
“Haan… please. Ho gaya na sab delete… that’s enough.”
“Enough?” he repeated, eyes narrowing. “Tara, they made you cry. Tum darr ke peeche car ke peeche chhupi hui thi. That’s not ‘enough’.”
His voice rose for the first time. “Main unhe aise nahi chhodunga.”
“Nhii… I won’t let them go this easily.”
There was fire in his eyes. Pure, protective rage.
Tara’s heart started hammering against her chest as panic slowly crawled up her spine. Oh god… what have I done… If Vipul found out that all of this — the crying call, the rumours, the drama — was just her stupid plan to check whether he cared or not… fhir toh Tara, tu gayi kaam se.
She nervously bit her nails, her mind running in circles. Should I tell him? No… he’ll kill me. But if he finds out himself? Even worse…
Just then Vipul’s fingers froze over the keyboard. His eyes sharpened at the screen. “Mile gaya,” he muttered.
Tara stiffened. “K-kya?”
He turned the laptop toward her, jaw tight. “Haan… isse ka naam… Raj hai. Raj.”
Her blood drained from her face.
Raj?! Oh no…
“Vipul… don’t—” she quickly grabbed his arm, fear evident in her voice
But before she could finish, he had already pushed the car door open.
“Tara, stay here.”
“Vipul, listen to me first—!” The door slammed shut.
He was already striding across the parking lot, anger radiating off him, his steps fast and dangerous. His sleeves were rolled up, fists clenched, eyes dark like a storm about to break.
Tara watched him go, her heart nearly stopping.
He’s really going to kill Raj…
She hurried out of the car, almost tripping.
“Pagal ho gaya hai kya! Ye sab maine hi bola tha usse!” she whispered to herself, panic rising.
“Agar Raj ne sab sach bol diya toh… bas. Khatam. Vipul mujhe zinda nahi chhodega…”
Vipul stormed across the campus corridor, his footsteps heavy and furious, ignoring the curious stares of students around him. His jaw was clenched so tight that the veins on his neck were visible.
Right now, he was thinking like someone who had just seen the girl he cared about cry.
Then his eyes locked onto him.
Raj.
Standing casually with his friends, laughing like nothing had happened.
Something inside Vipul snapped.
“Raj!!” his voice thundered through the corridor.
Before Raj could even react, Vipul grabbed his collar harshly and slammed him against the wall. The sound echoed, making everyone around them gasp and step back.
“V-Vipul—!” Tara rushed forward, her eyes wide with fear.
Raj stared at her in shock, then back at Vipul. “Bhai what the hell—?!”
“What did you post about Tara?” Vipul growled, tightening his grip. “How dare you spread those cheap rumours about her, huh?”
“I didn’t— I swear I didn’t—!”
“Don’t lie!” Vipul snapped, his voice cold and dangerous. “Pictures, posts, dirty comments… sab tumhare naam se trace hua hai.”
Tara’s heart started racing.
Bas… ab gaya kaam se…
Raj looked confused, then glanced at Tara for help. But Tara avoided his eyes completely, staring at the floor, guilt written all over her face.
“Bro, I didn’t post anything!” Raj struggled. “Tara, tell him! You know na—”
“Raj!” she interrupted quickly, her voice shaky.
He looked back at Raj, tightening his hold again. “Last time pooch raha hoon… why did you do this to her?”
Raj’s voice cracked, “Because SHE told me to—”
Tara’s breath stopped.
“RAJ, shut up!!”
The entire corridor went silent. Vipul slowly turned his head toward Tara. His grip on Raj loosened. “…What?” he asked quietly.
And somehow that calm voice scared Tara more than his anger.
“Yeah, she told me to do all this!!”
Raj’s voice rang loudly through the corridor.
Time froze.
Tara’s heart dropped straight to her stomach. Her fingers curled into her palms as fear crawled up her spine.
“Maine toh mana kiya tha,” Raj continued quickly, trying to free himself, “but she didn’t listen! She said it was just a prank… bas thoda sa drama create karna hai—”
“Raj, stop—!” Tara snapped, her voice trembling. But it was too late.
Vipul’s hand slowly loosened from Raj’s collar. He didn’t shout.
Which scared Tara even more, He turned toward her his eyes weren’t angry. They were… hurt and Disappointed.
Like something inside him had quietly broken.
“Vipul… I—I can explain,” Tara stuttered, stepping closer. “It’s not like that, I just—”
“So all that crying…” he said softly.
His voice was low. Calm. Dead calm.
“Woh sab… fake tha?”
She opened her mouth but no words came out. He gave a small, humorless laugh, shaking his head.
“I left my work… hacked the entire campus server… almost broke this guy’s face…” he muttered, more to himself than to her. “And you were acting.”
“Vipul please, I just wanted to know if you—”
“If I what?” he cut her off, finally looking at her. His eyes were red.
“Test kar rahi thi mujhe?”
That one sentence hit harder than a slap.
“I just wanted to know if you care about me…” she whispered.
“I showed up, didn’t I?” he said.
Then a Painful silence.
“But you didn’t trust me enough to ask,” he continued. “You chose to lie.”
Tears filled Tara’s eyes. “I was scared…”
He stepped back.
“Don’t,” he said quietly. “Bas… don’t.”
Then he turned and started walking away.
“Vipul!!” Tara ran after him, panic flooding her chest. “Please listen to me! Vipul rukko!”
But he didn’t stop he didn’t look back at her.
Tara stood there in the middle of the corridor, watching his figure disappear, her own stupid plan crashing down on her.
What have I done…
Vipul stormed back to the parking area, his jaw clenched so tightly that the veins in his neck were visible. His steps were fast, heavy, furious. Tara hurried behind him, almost running to keep up.
“Vipul… please listen to me,” she pleaded, her voice shaking.
He stopped abruptly and turned.
“What should I listen, huh?” he snapped. “You were acting all this time? Do you even realise what you did today?”
Before she could answer, he grabbed her arms and pushed her lightly against the car, not to hurt her—but out of frustration.
“Do you even know how dangerous this was?” he said, breathing hard. “If something actually happened to you? If I was late? If someone else—”
“Haan pata hai mujhe!” she cut him off, tears spilling. “But mujhe jaana tha… if you care about me or not!!”
His grip loosened,He stared at her like she had just said the most ridiculous thing in the world.
“Bas yeh jaana tha?” he said in disbelief. “Toh pooch leti!”
“Kaise poochti?” she cried. “Kaise, Vipul?”
He frowned.
“Kuch dino se dekh rahi hu…” her voice broke, “tum kisi aur aurat ke saath milte ho… baat karte ho… haste bhi ho…”
Her chest tightened.
But mere saath?” she whispered. “Always cold… irritated… like I’m a burden.”
Vipul blinked.
“And that night… outside the college… you were laughing with her… she was touching you… mujhe laga…” She swallowed hard. “Maybe you like her. Maybe you don’t even care if I’m there or not.”
For the first time, Vipul’s anger faded.
Replaced by shock.
“Are you serious right now?” he asked softly.
She looked away, embarrassed. “I thought… if you panic for me… if you come running… then maybe… maybe I matter.”
Silence filled the space between them.
Vipul ran a hand through his hair, frustrated.
“Pagal ho tum,” he muttered.
She looked at him, hurt.
He stepped closer before she could say anything else. Her eyes were still glossy, lashes wet with tears, lips trembling like she might break again any second. Vipul exhaled sharply, annoyed… but not at her at the situation.
Slowly, he lifted both his hands and cupped her cheeks, forcing her to look at him.
“Pagal ladki…” he muttered softly.
His thumbs brushed away the tears under her eyes.
“Vo employee hai,” he said, his voice calmer now. “Since I’ve been picking and dropping you every day, I wasn’t able to handle some paperwork. So she was doing it for me… updating files, meetings, reports. Bas kaam tha. Nothing else.”
Tara blinked.
“That’s it?” she asked faintly.
“Haan, that’s it,” he replied, almost offended.
“Tum kya soch rahi thi? Main office ko dating place bana diya ?”
She looked down, embarrassed.
“I saw you laughing…” she whispered.
“Toh?” he said. “Hasna bhi mana hai?
Employee ko daant ke bhaga doon?
Despite everything, a tiny laugh escaped her.
He sighed and rested his forehead lightly against hers.
“You really think I’d waste my time on someone else when my whole day already revolves around you?” he murmured.
Her heart skipped.
“I drive you… I wait outside your college like some driver… aur tumhe lagta hai I don’t care?” His voippce wasn’t angry anymore.
It was hurt.
And that hurt hit her harder than anything.
“I’m sorry…” she whispered.
“Sorry se zyada dimag use karo next time,” he said, flicking her forehead lightly. “Drama queen.” She pouted.
But before she could move away, his grip on her waist tightened just a little protective, instinctive.
“And don’t ever scare me like that again,” he added quietly.
“When you called crying… I swear my heart stopped.”
This time she didn’t hide.
She stepped forward and held his shirt tightly.
“…Thank you for coming,” she murmured.
He rolled his eyes but didn’t let go.
“As if I wouldn’t.”
Her fingers were still clutching his shirt, knuckles pale, heart pounding so loudly she was sure he could hear it too. She looked up at him, confusion, fear, and something softer flickering in her eyes. “Then tell me… what am I to you?” she asked quietly.
Vipul stared at her for a long moment, jaw tight like he was fighting a battle inside himself. Then he scoffed lightly, trying to mask what he felt. “You’re a headache,” he said.
Her face fell.
But before she could step back, he added in a low voice, “A headache I never wanna lose.”
Time seemed to stop.
They just stood there, inches apart, breathing the same air, eyes locked like neither of them knew how to look away. His gaze dropped to her lips and then back to her eyes.
“And now,” he murmured, stepping closer until her back lightly hit the car door, “since you got yourself into trouble… scared me half to death…”
He leaned near her ear, his breath warm against her skin, sending shivers down her spine.
“I might have to punish you,” he whispered.
“Huh—?” she barely managed to say.
Before she could finish, His lips pressed softly against hers, silencing her words. It wasn’t rough or angry like she expected it was hesitant at first, almost like he was asking permission without words.
“Shh…” he breathed against her lips.
Her mind went blank.
All the jealousy, the anger, the overthinking gone. All she could feel was him.
His hand tightening protectively around her waist. Her fingers slowly curling into his shirt. The world outside fading into nothing.