CHAPTER 25 #3
Haider would stand against the entire world for Raghav, but not against his brother.
Because somewhere deep down, even he knows this isn’t just anger between two brothers.
It’s concern disguised as rage. Protection disguised as conflict.
They’re not fighting because they don’t care about each other.
They’re fighting because they care too much and don’t know any softer way to express it.
Meanwhile, Raghav and Ayaan are still trying to kill each other in the middle of the damn living room. Raghav shoves Ayaan hard against the ottoman. Ayaan quickly grabs him back, and both of them crash on the floor this time. The sound alone makes me flinch. Again.
As they struggle to gain the upper hand, Raghav jerks backwards after one of Ayaan’s blows, and the edge of the table scrapes against his forehead.
A thin cut appears instantly and blood begins to trickle down his skin slowly.
I don’t even realise I’ve taken half a step forward until Mom’s fingers brush against my arm.
Something inside me twists painfully at the sight. Not because I’ve forgotten what he did to me. But because seeing him hurt like this still feels… wrong. The crimson streak slides past the corner of his eye, and somehow it only makes him look more dangerous. More violent. More terrifying.
Ayaan wipes the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand and I notice blood there as well.
These two are totally insane. They charge at each other again like a pair of madmen. At last, Kailash Uncle steps in.
“Enough!” he roars, his voice loud enough to shake the entire villa.
For the first time since this madness started, both brothers actually pause. Kailash Uncle moves between them and forcefully shoves them apart with surprising strength despite his age.
“I said enough!”
Even then, both Raghav and Ayaan try to move towards each other again. And this time, Kailash Uncle finally loses it.
“Look at yourselves!” he shouts furiously. “You are behaving like sworn enemies, not brothers! Stop this right now before I completely lose my patience.”
Neither Raghav nor Ayaan listens right away. They are still glaring at each other murderously. Breathing hard. Looking ready to start all over again. And yet somehow, they stop.
“Get the first-aid kit,” Kailash Uncle orders Haider.
Ayaan lets out a humourless laugh and wipes the blood from the corner of his mouth.
“First-aid?” he says sarcastically. “For him?” He points angrily towards Raghav. “A small scratch on his forehead won’t do anything to this man.”
His jaw tightens visibly before he continues, his voice laced with bitterness. “Didn’t you see, Dad? This is the same man who walked into Vardhaan Mansion in Cape Town and slaughtered dozens of people.”
Mom stiffens beside me. We both saw it happen with our own eyes, but hearing it spoken aloud makes it sound even more horrifying.
“Ayaan—” Kailash Uncle warns.
“No!” Ayaan cuts him off. “Don’t stop me today, Dad! You saw it too. He picked up the gun again after promising he never would.”
His furious eyes lock onto Raghav once more.
“How could you do this, Raghav?” Ayaan demands, taking another step forward.
“Do you even understand what the hell you’ve done?
You exposed yourself to the entire underworld.
For years, I cleaned up all your past sh*t.
Every trail. Every old mafia record. Every loose end connected to the Dark Prince.
I went out of my way to ensure your past stayed buried so the life you built here would never be destroyed by it.
I made sure nobody could trace you back. But you failed me.”
Ayaan exhales sharply before continuing, “You promised us that you would never step back into that world again, that you would never pick up a gun again. And yet, you walked straight back into the mafia world as if you had never left it.”
Raghav strides forward again, straight into Ayaan’s space. The movement is so sudden and aggressive that even I instinctively stiffen.
“And I would do it again,” Raghav growls, his jaw clenching dangerously. “And what did you just say? That I failed you?”
Every single person in the room freezes as he jabs a finger hard against Ayaan’s chest.
“What about you?” he fires back. “You didn’t even have the guts to tell me you were changing Siya’s drop-off location. Because you knew I would never approve.”
“Yes, I knew,” Ayaan snaps. “And Siya herself had approved that place. Ask her,” he points towards me. “Ask her how badly she wanted it. Ask her how happy she was knowing she was finally going to start a new life in Queenstown, New Zealand.”
“That’s because her idea of freedom is a myth,” Raghav counters.
My anger spikes immediately on hearing that. But before I can say anything, he continues. “Siya is na?ve if she thinks they wouldn’t trace her just because GLEN changed her records. You really think the underworld simply forgets people like us, Ayaan?”