chapter 67
Meanwhile, Rudra sat tied to a chair, his hands bound tightly behind him. His head was slightly lowered, strands of hair falling over his eyes but there was no fear on his face. Only patience.
Slowly, almost lazily, his fingers brushed against his watch.
A small click.
From within it, thin, sharp needles slid into his palm. He didn't rush. Didn't react.
Instead, he kept his hands still behind him, subtly working testing the knots, calculating every second.
He wasn't trying to escape yet.
He was waiting.
In front of him, Alexander and Abhishek sat comfortably, discussing deals as if this was just another business meeting.
"Move the shipment by tomorrow no delays this time," Abhishek muttered.
Alexander leaned back in his chair, a smirk playing on his lips. His eyes shifted toward Rudra, amusement flickering in them.
"Well, well..." he said, tilting his head slightly. "What happened, Rudra?"
He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, voice dripping with mockery.
"Where is your wife?" he added, a low chuckle escaping him. "I don't see her."
The room filled with his laughter.
Behind them, Rudra's lips curved just slightly.
Suddenly two men came flying and landed right in front of them with a loud thud, chairs screeching back as the room fell into shock.
The door slammed open.
From the entrance, Ishni walked in.
Fire burned in her eyes, her high ponytail swaying with each step. Black leggings, sports shoes, a black tank top she looked nothing less than a mafia queen... beautiful, but deadly. A gun rested firmly in her hand, her grip steady, her presence enough to suffocate the air in the room.
Alexander straightened in his chair, the smirk on his face slowly fading.
Abhishek looked at the men on the floor, then back at her completely caught off guard.
She walked forward, her steps slow, controlled every sound of her shoes echoing in the deadly silence.
She stopped right in front of Rudra.
For a moment... she just looked at him.
No words. No panic. Just a deep, unreadable gaze-as if checking him, measuring him, making sure he was still exactly where he needed to be.
Then, without a word, she turned.
Walking past him, she moved toward Alexander and Abhishek, her grip tightening slightly around the gun.
"Coming alone to save him?" Alexander smirked, leaning back in his chair, arrogance dripping from his voice. "Big mistake, lady."
Ishni stopped a few steps away.
Then-
She smiled.
"Save him?" she repeated, tilting her head slightly.
A soft chuckle escaped her lips.
"Who said I came here to save him?" she said, her eyes locking onto theirs calm, fearless... terrifying.
"Then why are you here?" he asked, his voice sharpening, suspicion creeping in.
"I'm here for a deal," she said, almost casually.
Her eyes slid to Abhishek slow, deliberate... like she already owned the outcome.
"Long time, huh?" she added, her lips curving just enough to make it unsettling.
Abhishek let out a dry chuckle, but there was no humor in it. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, eyes locked onto hers.
"I know you well, Ishni," he said, his tone dropping into something darker. "Stop playing tricks."
Ishni tilted her head slightly.
Then she laughed.
"Tricks?" she repeated, taking a step closer. The gun in her hand lowered-but somehow, that made it worse.
"You think this is a game?" her voice dropped, almost a whisper... but it echoed like a threat.
Her gaze flicked between him and Alexander, she sat near in the chair
"I don't play tricks," she said, her smile fading into something lethal.
"I end them."
"Let's get to business... you take Rudra, and I'll rule the underworld. I'll handle the shipments," she said, her voice smooth-too smooth.
For a second, silence stretched.
Then they burst out laughing.
"You must be kidding, aha?" Alexander of them scoffed, wiping the corner of his eye like she had just told the best joke of the night.
Rudra didn't laugh.
He was staring at her like the ground beneath him had just disappeared.
"Jaan...?" his voice dropped, confused, almost fragile. "What are you saying?"
She didn't look at him immediately.
Instead, she leaned back slightly, crossing her legs with effortless dominance, her fingers tapping against the armrest like she already owned the room.
"I'm saying," she finally turned her head, her eyes cold, unreadable, "that emotions are expensive in our world... and I'm done paying for them."
Rudra's jaw clenched. "This isn't you."
A faint smile curved her lips. Not soft. Not warm.
"Maybe you never knew me."
The men exchanged glances now the laughter slowly dying.
Because something about her tone... wasn't a joke anymore.
Abhishek of them leaned forward, narrowing his eyes. "And why would we trust you?"
She tilted her head, amused.
"Because," she said calmly, "I already know your routes, your weak points... and the names of the men who would betray you for half the price."
That did it.
The room shifted.
Rudra spoke his voice low, controlled but burning underneath. "Enough. Stop this."
She stood up slowly, closing the distance between them until they were inches apart.
For a moment... just a moment... something flickered in her eyes.
Then it vanished.
She leaned in, her lips almost brushing his ear.
"Trust me," she whispered, "this is the only way you stay alive."
And then she pulled away like he meant nothing, Leaving behind a silence that felt like the beginning of a war.
"Okay, okay, lady... but how do we believe you?" Alexander drawled, leaning back like he had all the time in the world.
"Up to you," she replied, calm, almost indifferent-but her eyes never left Rudra.
He sat tied to the chair, ropes cutting into his wrists, shoulders bruised, blood drying at the edge of his lip.
Yet there was something unsettling about him-something untouched. Like the ropes held his body, not his power.
Abhishek stepped forward slowly, a smirk playing on his lips. "Since you're so eager to join us," he said, circling her, "how about you prove it?" His gaze flicked toward Rudra, then back to her, darker now. "Finish him. With your own hands."
The words settled heavily in the room, sucking the air out of it.
"After all," he continued, almost amused, "everyone wants to destroy him... but if you do it?" He tilted his head, a cruel smile forming. "The woman he loves... now that would be unforgettable."
For a moment, no one spoke.
Then Rudra laughed.
Low. Rough. Broken in a way that didn't belong to him.
"Unforgettable?" he murmured, lifting his head slowly, his eyes finding hers. "Yeah... it will be."
Abhishek looked at her, watching closely. "Go on," he whispered.
The metal pressed cold against her palm.
Rudra didn't struggle. Didn't even try to move. He just watched her like nothing else in the world existed.
"Come here," he said quietly.
There was still command in his voice. Even now.
She stepped forward, each step heavier than the last, until she stood right in front of him. The gun lifted almost on its own, pointing straight at his chest.
Rudra looked up at her, his gaze softer now-but far more dangerous.
"You tied me up for them?" he asked, voice low. "Or for yourself?"
She didn't answer.
"I'm looking at you," she said coldly instead.
A faint, tired smile touched his lips. "No... you're not."
Silence stretched.
He leaned back slightly, as much as the ropes allowed, exhaling through his nose. "You know what's funny?" he continued.
"It's not the ropes. Not even the gun." His eyes locked into hers again, sharper this time. "It's that I would've never let this happen to you."
Abhishek's voice cut through the tension. "Touching. Truly. Now finish it."
Rudra didn't even glance at him.
"Do it," he said, his voice steady, almost calm. "If this is your deal, then don't hesitate."
He leaned forward slightly, bringing himself closer to the gun, closer to her, like he was the one in control.
"But don't expect me to beg," he added quietly.
A pause.
"And don't expect me to forgive."
The air turned sharp.
His voice dropped to a whisper, meant only for her. "You pull that trigger... and whatever we had?" His eyes darkened, something final settling in them. "It dies before I do."
And just like that, the room fell into silence-
because the man tied to the chair looked more dangerous than anyone standing free.
"Ishni..." Rudra's voice came out softer this time, stripped of the steel he carried for the world. "Don't think I'll hate you for this..."
A faint, broken smile touched his lips as he looked at her one last time. "Because my heart only knows how to love you... not hate."
he closed his eyes.
Like he had already accepted it.
Like dying by her hands was the only ending he wouldn't fight.
Her finger tightened on the trigger.
The room held its breath.
"STOP."
Alexander's voice cracked through the tension like a whip.
"Ah... this is getting boring," he said, standing up, irritation laced with amusement.
He walked forward, eyes flicking between them. "Didn't you both love each other?" he mocked lightly. "And now you're just going to end it like this? No fight? No chaos?"
He scoffed.
"Where's the fun in that?"
He gestured lazily.
One of the men rushed forward, cutting the ropes off Rudra's wrists. The fibers fell away, leaving angry red marks behind.
Rudra didn't move immediately.
Slowly... he flexed his fingers.
Like a predator stretching after being caged.
Abhishek stepped closer, picking up another gun and tossing it toward Rudra. "Let's make this interesting," he said with a grin. "Let's see who wins."
Rudra caught the gun effortlessly.
His eyes lifted.
Straight to her.
And everything changed.Just something dark... cold... and dangerously alive.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Two guns.
Two hearts.
Rudra rolled his shoulders slightly, the tension in his body settling into something lethal. "So this is what it comes down to?" he murmured, almost to himself, before looking back at her.
"You and me."
Ishni didn't lower her gun.
Didn't blink.
Didn't breathe.
"Seems fair," she said, her voice steady-but the grip on her weapon told another story.
A slow smirk tugged at Rudra's lips.
"Fair?" he repeated. "No, Ishni... nothing about us was ever fair."
He took a step closer.
Gun still in his hand, but not raised.
"Because I was always the one who loved more."
The room went silent again, but this time-it wasn't anticipation.
It was fear.
Because the air between them?It wasn't just tension anymore.It was violence waiting to happen.Rudra finally lifted his gun.
Pointed straight at her.
But his finger didn't move.
His eyes searched hers one last time, like he was looking for something... anything... that would stop him.
"Go on," he said quietly. "Finish what you started."
His voice dropped, darker now.
"Or should I?"
Everyone in the room slowly rose to their feet, as if drawn by an invisible force. No one dared to speak.
No one dared to move. All eyes were locked on them-the two people who once would have burned the world for each other... now standing with guns pointed straight at one another.
Lovers.
Enemies.
A tragedy waiting to happen.
Rudra stood tall now, free from the ropes, the faint marks on his wrists the only reminder that he had been caged moments ago.
But there was nothing restrained about him anymore. The air around him had shifted-cold, dangerous, lethal.
Across from him, Ishni held her ground, her hand steady, her expression unreadable. But the silence between them screamed louder than any words ever could.
Alexander and Abhishek stepped aside, positioning themselves slightly behind Ishni, like spectators to a war they had just ignited. Their faces held amusement-but their eyes? Careful. Watching. Because even they knew... this could turn any second.
"This..." Alexander murmured under his breath, a faint smirk playing on his lips, "this is what I call entertainment."
But neither Rudra nor Ishni heard him.
Or maybe-they just didn't care.
Rudra's gun remained trained on her, his finger resting lightly on the trigger, but not pulling it. His gaze didn't waver, didn't soften-yet somewhere deep inside, something was cracking.
"You think I won't pull the trigger?" Ishni's voice cut through the silence, sharp, steady-but her eyes burned with something far more complicated than anger.
Rudra let out a quiet breath, the corner of his lips lifting into a dangerous, almost mocking smile. "You think I'll go easy on you?" he shot back, his voice low, edged with something lethal.
They stood there-guns raised, fingers hovering, hearts colliding louder than bullets ever could.
A step.
Rudra moved closer.
"Do it," he said, tilting his head slightly, his gaze locked onto hers like he was daring her soul, not her aim. "Show me that everything we had meant nothing to you."
Ishni's grip tightened. "Don't test me."
"Oh, I'm not testing you," he replied, voice dropping to a whisper. "I'm reminding you."
Another step.
Closer now.Too close for enemies.Too dangerous for lovers.
"You were never meant for this world," Rudra continued, his tone quieter, but heavier. "And yet here you are... pointing a gun at the only person who ever stood between you and it."
Her breath hitched-just for a second.
Gone the next.
"And you," she fired back, her voice hardening, "were never meant to be my weakness."
That landed.
But Rudra didn't flinch.
Instead, he smiled.
"Then pull the trigger," he said, pressing the barrel of her gun further against his chest with his own hand, like he was helping her. "Prove it."
The room tightened.
His own gun remained aimed at her-but his finger?
Still.
Waiting.
"Because if you don't..." his voice dropped, darker now, more dangerous than before, "then I will."
A pause.
His eyes searched hers one last time.
"Not because I want to," he added quietly, almost painfully, "but because you left me no other choice."
Two triggers.
Two broken hearts.
One second away from deciding who survives...and who becomes the villain in their story.
The silence didn't just linger it pressed in, heavy and suffocating, like the world itself was holding its breath.
Rudra and Ishni stood frozen in place, guns aimed straight at each other, eyes locked-not on faces, but deeper... like they were reading every unspoken truth, every hidden intention.
Then a faint voice slipped into Ishni's ear through the hidden chip.
"Ma'am... the girls are safe."
Vipul.
The mission was complete.
For a split second, her expression softened.
And then she smiled.
Not for the enemies watching.
For Rudra.
And that was all it took, Rudra saw it.
Understood it.
Everything.
The tension in his shoulders didn't ease-it sharpened. His grip on the gun adjusted ever so slightly, his eyes darkening with something calculated, precise.
And then-
a gunshot cracked through the silence.