Chapter 44
"Dhruv..."
My voice broke as I held his face.
His eyes were barely open.
His breathing uneven.
Yet somehow his hand was still trying to reach me.
Still trying to comfort me.
As if he was the one worried about me.
The idiot.
The absolute idiot.
Tears blurred my vision.
"Stay with me."
His lips twitched.
A weak smile.
Then suddenly,
The penthouse doors burst open.
Heavy footsteps echoed through the room.
Dozens of armed guards entered.
For one second,
Hope exploded inside me.
And then I saw him.
"Bhaiya."
The word escaped my lips before I could stop it.
Veer Rajput.
My brother.
My protector.
My family.
Relief hit me so hard my knees almost gave out.
"VEER BHAIYA!"
I ran toward him.
Actually ran.
Throwing my arms around him.
For a second he didn't move.
Then his hand landed on my head.
Patting it softly.
The way he always did.
The way he had done ever since I was little.
And suddenly I felt safe.
Safe.
Finally.
"It's okay."
My voice trembled.
"It's okay now."
I turned toward Advik.
A laugh escaped me through my tears.
"You lost."
Advik didn't look worried.
Not even slightly.
That should have been my first clue.
I pointed toward him.
"You're dead."
My voice shook with relief.
"My brother won't leave you alive."
Nothing.
No reaction.
Advik just smiled.
Then,
Click.
Something cold touched the back of my head.
A gun.
My entire body froze.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
I turned around.
And my world ended.
Veer was holding the gun.
Pointed directly at me.
For a second,
I couldn't understand what I was seeing.
My brain refused.
Completely refused.
"No."
The word came out as a whisper.
Then Advik laughed.
Veer laughed too.
And suddenly the room felt like it was collapsing around me.
"No."
I stared at him.
Waiting.
Waiting for him to smile.
Waiting for him to tell me it was a joke.
Waiting for literally anything.
"Stop."
My voice cracked.
"Bhaiya."
Nothing.
"Stop joking."
More laughter.
"Please."
Then Veer smiled.
Not the smile I knew.
Not my brother's smile.
Something colder.
Something cruel.
Something I had never seen before.
"It's not a joke."
The floor disappeared beneath me.
I felt sick.
Actually sick.
"What?"
"It's not a joke, Riya."
His voice was calm.
Terrifyingly calm.
"I've waited years for this."
I shook my head.
"No."
Years?
What years?
What was he talking about?
"This isn't funny."
Veer sighed.
Almost bored.
"You still don't understand."
I stared at him.
And then,
He shoved me.
Hard.
I hit the floor.
The impact barely registered.
Because my heart was hurting far more.
Guards immediately grabbed my arms.
Holding me in place.
"Let me go!"
My eyes never left Veer.
Never.
Because I was waiting for him to deny it.
To tell me there was some explanation.
Any explanation.
Instead,
He crouched in front of me.
Smiling.
"You know what the funny part is?"
My throat burned.
"You're my sister."
The words felt wrong coming from him.
"So?"
His smile widened.
"I hated you."
Silence.
Complete silence.
"I hated you when we were children."
My heart stopped.
"I hated you when our parents were alive."
Each word felt like a knife.
"I hated you after they died."
"No."
"I hated every birthday."
"No."
"Every family dinner."
"Stop."
"Every achievement."
"STOP."
His voice rose.
"They loved you."
The room went silent.
"They chose you."
My breathing became uneven.
"What are you saying?"
Veer laughed.
"What am I saying?"
He stood.
Furious now.
"Everything belonged to you."
The guards exchanged looks.
Even Advik watched silently.
"You were five."
His voice dripped with bitterness.
"FIVE."
He pointed at me.
"And yet every company document."
"Every trust."
"Every share."
"Every asset."
"Everything."
His voice cracked with rage.
"Was left to you."
I couldn't breathe.
"Because they trusted me."
The sentence came out before I could stop it.
Wrong answer.
Veer's eyes darkened.
"No."
He stepped closer.
"They worshipped you."
The room felt colder.
"I was eleven."
His jaw tightened.
"I was their son."
Another step.
"And yet I was temporary."
His laugh sounded broken.
"Temporary."
The word echoed.
"Everyone looked at me like I was borrowing a throne."
My stomach twisted.
"Veer-"
"Don't."
His voice exploded.
"Don't defend them."
I stared.
Unable to recognize him.
Unable to recognize any of this.
He looked like a stranger.
A stranger wearing my brother's face.
Then he smiled.
And somehow that was worse.
"You know what I wanted?"
Silence.
"I wanted freedom."
His eyes met mine.
"So I waited."
My pulse quickened.
Waited?
"What do you mean?"
Then he pointed toward Advik.
And suddenly everything clicked.
Everything.
Every piece.
Every missing puzzle.
Advik smiled lazily.
Veer laughed.
"Meet my greatest investment."
The room spun.
No.
No.
No.
Advik.
My boyfriend.
My fiancé.
The man I'd trusted.
The man I'd loved.
"You hired him."
The words barely came out.
Veer nodded.
"At eighteen."
I felt physically ill.
"He was supposed to make you fall in love."
Advik smirked.
"And then?"
Veer's smile widened.
"Get the signatures."
My breathing stopped.
"And then kill me."
"Exactly."
The casual way he said it shattered something inside me.
Then suddenly,
A voice spoke.
Weak.
Dangerous.
Terrifying.
Dhruv.
Everyone turned.
He was standing again.
Barely.
His shoulder bleeding.
Face bruised.
Body exhausted.
But standing.
Because apparently death itself couldn't make this man stay down.
My eyes immediately filled with tears.
"Dhruv."
Veer looked amused.
"You still have strength?"
Dhruv laughed.
A rough sound.
"I don't need strength for you."
The room went silent.
Veer's smile faded.
Dhruv slowly looked toward me.
Checking if I was okay.
Even now.
Even after everything.
Me first.
Always me first.
Then his gaze shifted to Veer.
And suddenly,
The temperature in the room dropped.
"You spent your whole life wanting what belonged to her."
His voice was quiet.
Dangerously quiet.
Veer smirked.
"And?"
Dhruv tilted his head.
"You think owning her company makes you powerful?"
Silence.
Dhruv laughed.
One short laugh.
"You don't understand a thing."
Veer's jaw tightened.
"And what exactly don't I understand?"
Dhruv's eyes moved toward me.
The softness there nearly broke me.
Then he looked back at Veer.
And smiled.
The kind of smile that made enemies nervous.
"The moment you decided to hurt her..."
A pause.
"You stopped being a businessman."
Another pause.
"You became a target. MY TARGET."
The room froze.
Dhruv took one step forward.
"I don't care about your shares."
Another.
"I don't care about your empire."
Another.
"I don't care about your money."
His gaze hardened.
"But you made one mistake."
Silence.
Dead silence.
Dhruv pointed toward me.
"You made her cry."
My breath caught.
And for the first time,
For the first time all night,
Veer looked uneasy.
Because the way Dhruv said it...
Didn't sound like a threat.
It sounded like a verdict.
"And trust me."
Dhruv's voice dropped lower.
"Men recover from losing companies."
Another step.
"They recover from losing power."
Another.
"They even recover from losing kingdoms."
His eyes darkened.
"But after what happens next..."
A terrifying smile appeared.
"They won't remember your name."
And suddenly,
For the first time all night,
Even Advik stopped smiling.