Chapter 34 #3
The ground seemed to tilt beneath her as her gaze locked onto the glowing screen in his hand. Every instinct screamed at her to stop him, but Swayam held her firmly against him.
Swayam’s amused laugh echoed through the room as he mused, ‘Maasi fed you almonds all these years and none of them worked, huh? What a waste.’
Viraj blinked, visibly thrown off. ‘What?’
Swayam let out a disappointed sigh. ‘You still don’t understand, do you? You’ve already lost, Viraj. And now your mother will finally see you for what you really are. A loser.’
Viraj’s grip tightened around the phone hard enough until his hand trembled.
Kashvi’s heart lurched into her throat at the sight. The same alarm flashed across Siya’s face, while Dhruv looked seconds away from launching himself across the room to snatch the phone away.
But Swayam remained completely calm, and terrifyingly controlled while Viraj spiralled into madness right in front of him.
‘I understand your anger. You think Maasi loves me more than you, but you’re wrong. She loves you the most. You’re her only son,’ Swayam said, his smile slowly turning furious. ‘You should’ve been worried about your father. He’s the one who loved me so much that he nearly adopted me.’
‘Shut the fuck up!’ Viraj shouted.
Instead, Swayam took a step closer. ‘And you hated that, didn’t you?’
‘I do! I’ve always hated you!’ Viraj roared, the words exploding out of him. ‘Mom and Dad wanted me to think of you as family, but I never wanted a brother! You barged in and stole everything that was supposed to be only mine!’
Swayam chuckled. ‘I feel sorry for you, Viraj. It must be difficult to constantly live under my shadow.’
Viraj’s expression turned bitter. ‘They like you because they pity you. You always sat at our dinner table with that mopey, pathetic face, making everyone feel sorry for you.’
Swayam let out a hollow laugh. ‘Do you think it was easy for me to be in your home? Do you know what it does to a kid waiting for his parents to come back home? Your parents chose you, every single day, while mine abandoned me without a second thought. Honestly, I was jealous of you. How could I not be?’
Kashvi’s heart clenched as pain flashed in his eyes.
Swayam glanced at her once before pointing towards their group. ‘I mean, I didn’t even know what it felt like to be part of a family until I met all of them. But I didn’t trick them, and neither did I trick Mausa. He loves me because he knows I’m better than you.’
Viraj’s breathing turned ragged as he yelled, ‘If you don’t stop talking about my father, I will break your jaw.’
Swayam snorted and rolled his shoulders. ‘You can try, but you won’t get close. I’ve been kickboxing with him for years while you were whimpering every time someone pinched your cheeks.’
Humiliation fuelled his outrage. ‘You went with him because you’re an attention whore!’
Kashvi stepped in before Swayam could answer.
‘You have such a limited vocabulary, Viraj. Everyone is a whore to you. Did you skip your English tuitions too?’ Kashvi asked, unable to stand the insult he threw at her man.
‘I went with him because Mausa is fun to be around. Did you even know we meet for drinks and catch up every other weekend?’ Swayam added, fuelling Viraj’s rage further.
Viraj’s sneer turned ugly and defensive. ‘Shut it before I smash your face in,’ he snarled, practically shaking with fury.
In contrast, Swayam stood relaxed, legs slightly apart and posture loose.
‘Did I hit a nerve? Do you do Karthik’s dirty work because you’re desperate to prove you’re a man, or because you are the attention whore who’ll do anything for a scrap of daddy’s approval?’
Swayam stepped into his space, his eyes blazing with fury so potent it seemed to burn through the room. His mouth curved into a smirk. ‘Either way, you failed.’
‘You bastard!’ Viraj shouted, driving his fist straight into Swayam’s chest.
A scream tore out of Kashvi as her heart slammed violently against her ribs.
Before she could even process what was happening, Swayam slammed his foot into Viraj’s stomach with a brutal kick. The impact hurled Viraj backwards, and he stumbled into the wall with a sickening thud.
Swayam ripped the phone from his fist and threw it over his shoulder towards Dhruv, who caught it instantly.
Part of Kashvi wanted to sag with relief, but his anger seemed to thrum through her blood too. She could not look away from her husband.
When Viraj tried to swing at him again, Swayam grabbed him by the throat and pinned him hard against the wall, making the windows rattle. Viraj thrashed frantically, cursing, trying to push him off, but Swayam held him there.
His forearm flexed with strain while Viraj clawed at his wrist, trying to breathe.
Swayam’s gaze turned savage, making him look almost unrecognisable.
Kashvi had never seen him like this before.
Viraj shoved at him, growling. ‘Get the hell off me.’
Swayam tightened his grip on his neck. ‘Just because I didn’t run in here screaming with a knife, you thought I wasn’t furious?’
Viraj gagged, trying to push him off, but Swayam didn’t budge an inch. Instead, his gaze darkened as he finally let loose. ‘You’re wrong, because I’m feeling fucking murderous. I haven’t forgotten that you stalked, blackmailed, harassed, and assaulted my wife. Not even for one fucking second.’
Viraj’s face began to redden, the veins hammering in his temple. He swung his fist again, but Swayam swatted it away easily.
‘You don’t know how to fight, so stop trying. You’re embarrassing yourself.’
‘You played dirty, or I would’ve crushed you,’ Viraj wheezed in a raspy voice.
Swayam gave an amused snort. ‘No, you couldn’t handle me even on my worst day. But today? Not a chance. I’ve been furious for hours. Ever since I heard you scream at Kashvi on that call. But unlike you, I know how to use my anger like a weapon instead of letting it use me. And now… here you are.’
Viraj sucked in a rough breath, coughing once. ‘You’re the stray no one ever wanted. That’s why your parents abandoned your sorry ass. And one day, just like them, Kashvi will leave you too.’
Kashvi’s heart cracked open because she knew Viraj had struck a nerve.
But Swayam looked completely at ease. ‘You forced her to leave me, but did it work? My girl loves me, you fool. She’ll never walk away from me. But keep telling yourself that if it helps you sleep. I’ve heard it gets lonely in prison.’
Viraj grinned despite the blood trickling from his nose. He half-choked as he said, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll just think about your wife. I’ve seen her pictures, remember?’
Kashvi recoiled at the vulgar image that flashed through her mind.
Swayam cut off what little air he could pull in with a crushing grip. Viraj’s shoes scraped uselessly against the floor as he struggled to pry him off.
With lethal calm, Swayam asked, ‘Do you think I’m leaving you alive because you’re related to me? The cousin I grew up with died the moment you put your hands on my Kash. But you’re not even worth killing, because a life away from her would be worse than prison.’
Swayam released his throat abruptly, and Viraj swung his fist blindly. Swayam caught it mid-motion and twisted it behind his back in one smooth move. ‘You don’t learn. That’s your problem,’ he murmured dangerously as he quickly seized his other arm too.
‘When I get out on bail, I’ll kill your wife. I swear!’ Viraj screamed.
Swayam held him by the wrists with unyielding control. ‘The woman you’re threatening is the queen of my heart. You should be thanking her. Because if it were up to me, I would rip you apart, bone by bone, for hurting my girl.’
Then, with a sickening crunch, he snapped both of Viraj’s wrists, making Kashvi gasp.
Viraj’s agonising scream tore through the room as he convulsed in Swayam’s hold. When Swayam finally let go, Viraj collapsed to the floor, clutching his broken wrists to his chest in horror. ‘What the fuck have you done?!’
Swayam stood over him and silently wiped his bloodied knuckles. ‘You said too many words to my wife. I got bored of counting, so I’d say we’re even.’
Then he turned towards Karthik, who sat frozen in his chair, his eyes fixed on Viraj sprawled on the floor and Swayam standing over him. He looked ashen, his confidence stripped away as Swayam leaned against the desk and pinned him with a vicious smile. ‘Now, what do we do with you?’
A knock sounded at the door before it swung open.
A handful of uniformed officers walked in, instantly assessing the room. A man in plain clothes entered last, his sunglasses perched on the bridge of his nose.
Just then, Viraj screamed, glaring at Swayam. ‘Officer, arrest him! He assaulted me! He broke my hands!’
The man in plain clothes swept his gaze around the room before fixing it on Swayam.
‘It looks like I’ve come at the right time,’ Commissioner Balram Singh said.