CHAPTER 48 #2
The branches scrape against my arms as Samarjeet drags me through the woods, his grip painful against my wrist. My feet keep slipping over loose stones and roots hidden beneath the darkness, but he never slows down.
Every time I try to pull my hand free or force him to stop and listen to me, he turns and points the gun at me.
“Keep walking.”
“Samarjeet...” I plead, struggling to keep up with his relentless pace. “You cannot keep running forever. Stop this. Please. Surrender yourself before you destroy whatever little is left of your life.”
He doesn’t answer. He just keeps walking.
“You have already committed enough sins. Enough blood has been spilled. Stop before it gets worse. Maybe Raghav will show you mercy if you surrender.”
That finally makes him stop.
“Raghav?” he repeats with a bitter laugh. “Who is Raghav to show me mercy?”
I stare at him as he turns towards me and takes a step closer.
“Who is he to decide whether I deserve punishment or forgiveness?”
The hatred in his voice makes me truly understand how deeply broken he has become.
For all these years, I kept telling myself that Samarjeet was merely difficult.
That he was harsh, controlling, and arrogant.
I convinced myself that his ruthlessness was simply the burden of carrying a mafia empire.
I convinced myself that beneath all of that, he was still my son, still the little boy I had once held in my arms.
But standing here tonight, staring at the rage burning inside him, I finally realise how wrong I was.
This bitterness did not appear overnight.
It has lived inside him for years… growing, rotting, poisoning everything around him, destroying not only his relationship with his father and Siya, but even me.
Somewhere along the way, he stopped seeing us as people he loved and started viewing us as obstacles standing in his way.
My heart breaks at the realisation.
“Samarjeet...” I whisper.
But he grabs my arm again, hard. “Move.”
I stumble after him as he pulls me with him. Ahead of us, the trees gradually begin to thin, and finally, a small clearing appears. My heart beats louder on seeing a parked jeep there. This is his escape route. He’s planning to disappear before Raghav can find him.
Suddenly, my foot catches on a root hidden beneath the leaves, and I fall hard.
Pain shoots through my knees as they slam against the rocky ground.
For one foolish second, I genuinely expect him to stop.
To help me. To remember that I’m his mother.
But he doesn’t. His grip only tightens around my arm, and he starts dragging me again.
Tears sting my eyes. “Samarjeet...” I gasp. “You’re hurting me.”
He doesn’t even look back. He drags me harder, despite knowing my knees are bruised.
“Stop,” I plead again.
The next instant, someone kicks Samarjeet hard from behind, sending his body flying forward. He crashes against the rocky ground several feet away, and his gun slips from his hand.
Everything happens too quickly that I can barely understand. It’s too dark, and all I can is the silhouette of a man standing behind me. Then he takes a step forward, and the moonlight falls across his face.
It’s Raghav. He’s here, right beside me.
I knew he would come for me. The sight nearly brings me to tears as I breathe a sigh of relief.
But then I look at his face. I’ve never seen him like this before.
His face is carved with pure fury, his eyes murderous as his gaze travels over the bruises around my wrists and the dirt covering my clothes.
With every mark he notices, the rage inside him seems to grow even darker.
His grip tightens around his gun as he carefully helps me back to my feet and steadies me to regain my balance. But his gaze never leaves Samarjeet.
Very gently, Raghav moves me behind him, shielding me with his body as he stands between me and my son.
I’m still trying to steady my breathing when Samarjeet groans and slowly pushes himself up from the rocky ground.
He wipes the blood gathering at the corner of his mouth and lets out a humourless laugh.
Samarjeet’s eyes lock on Raghav. “There you are… again.” His voice drips with mockery. “Every time I try to get away from you, every time I try to move forward, somehow you still end up standing in my path. And every time our paths cross, somebody ends up dying.”
Raghav doesn’t even blink. “And this time, it will be you,” he replies, taking one slow step forward.
“Will it?” Samarjeet laughs as his gaze drops to the gun in Raghav’s hand. “Only because you’re holding a weapon.” Then he points towards his own chest. “Go ahead. Shoot me. Give me an easy death. That’s exactly what a coward would do. You are only brave when you’re standing behind a weapon?”
Before I can even process what is happening, Raghav throws the gun aside. It lands several feet away in the dirt.
“Raghav!” The warning escapes me before I can stop it.