Chapter - 30
The message stayed on Nani's screen.
Come home, Nani.
He stared at it for several seconds.
Then locked his phone.
Sky watched him.
"What?"
Nani looked up.
"I'm done running."
Alisha's expression tightened.
"Nani-"
"No."
His voice shook, but he didn't back down.
"Five years of missing memories. A fake story. A marriage I never wanted. Niran deciding my entire life like I was some damn piece of property."
He looked at Sky.
"I'm ending this."
Sky studied his face.
Then nodded.
"Then we're going together."
Tee grabbed his jacket.
"Finally."
Nani looked at him.
"Finally what?"
Tee sighed.
"Finally we're going to confront the man who has been ruining everyone's lives for years."
He paused.
"Honestly, I'm exhausted."
Nani almost laughed.
"Same."
---
Niran's Estate
The gates opened before they even reached them.
Sky's convoy rolled inside.
Black cars.
Security surrounding the property.
Nani sat beside Sky in the front car.
He stared at the mansion ahead.
"This is where he lives?"
Sky nodded.
Nani swallowed.
"Looks like a villain's tax-funded castle."
Tee's voice came through the radio.
"Accurate."
Sky glanced at Nani.
"Still joking?"
"If I stop joking, I'll panic."
Sky reached over and squeezed his hand.
"Then keep joking."
Nani looked at him.
"You're learning."
"I'm trying."
---
The front doors opened.
Niran stood waiting.
Perfect suit.
Perfect hair.
Perfect smile.
As if he hadn't spent years destroying people's lives.
He looked directly at Nani.
"There you are."
Nani stepped out of the car.
Sky immediately moved beside him.
Niran's smile disappeared.
"Still hiding behind Sky?"
Nani scoffed.
"Please. I'm standing beside him because I like him."
Sky looked at Nani.
Nani's cheeks reddened.
"Don't look at me like that."
Niran's jaw tightened.
"You think this is funny?"
"No."
Nani looked him straight in the eyes.
"I think you're pathetic."
Silence.
Tee whispered from behind,
"Well."
Alisha sighed.
"Here we go."
---
Niran slowly walked down the steps.
"You don't understand what I've done for you."
Nani laughed.
"Done for me?"
"You had nothing."
"You destroyed my family."
"I gave your family stability."
"You manipulated my father."
"I gave him a solution."
"You planned my marriage."
"I protected your future."
Nani's eyes burned.
"You don't get to call possession protection."
Niran's expression hardened.
"You belong with me."
Sky stepped forward.
"Choose your next words carefully."
Niran looked at him.
"Still playing hero?"
Sky's eyes were cold.
"No."
He moved closer.
"I'm here because I finally know what you did."
Niran laughed.
"You know nothing."
Sky held up the document.
"We know enough."
Niran's smile faded.
Alisha stepped forward.
"And we have the recording."
Niran stared at her.
For the first time-
his composure cracked.
"Alisha."
She smiled.
"Miss me?"
"You were dead."
"Apparently not."
Niran's face twisted.
"You should have stayed dead."
Alisha's voice became ice.
"And you should've become a better man."
---
Niran suddenly looked at Nani.
"You believe them?"
Nani nodded.
"I believe the recording."
"You don't know what your father did."
Nani's expression changed.
"What?"
Niran smiled.
"There are things he never told you."
Sky stepped closer.
"Don't manipulate him."
Niran laughed.
"You think you're different?"
Sky's face hardened.
"You used my name."
"Your reputation was useful."
"You made Nani believe I was responsible."
"I gave him someone to fear."
Nani's eyes filled with anger.
"And you enjoyed it."
Niran looked at him.
"I enjoyed watching you become afraid of everyone."
Alisha whispered,
"Monster."
Niran ignored her.
"I waited years."
Nani's stomach twisted.
"Why?"
Niran stepped closer.
"Because your father made a promise."
"He promised to keep me away from you."
Niran's smile turned ugly.
"And he failed."
Sky moved between them.
"That's enough."
Niran laughed.
"Look at you."
He looked Sky up and down.
"The great Sky, finally reduced to protecting one person."
Sky's voice dropped.
"That's exactly where you made your mistake."
Niran's smile disappeared.
"You thought caring made me weak."
Sky stepped closer.
"It didn't."
His eyes hardened.
"It gave me something worth destroying you for."
---
Suddenly-
Niran's guards emerged from the hallways.
Weapons raised.
Tee immediately moved forward.
"Boss."
Sky didn't look away from Niran.
"Nobody fires unless I say."
Nani whispered,
"Sky..."
"I've got you."
Niran smiled.
"You brought an army."
Sky shook his head.
"No."
He glanced behind him.
"I brought witnesses."
The mansion doors opened.
Police officers entered.
Niran's face changed.
Tee grinned.
"Surprise."
Niran stared at Sky.
"You called them?"
Sky nodded.
"The recordings, contracts, financial documents, surveillance footage..."
He paused.
"...everything was sent to them before we came."
Niran's expression finally cracked.
"You bastard."
Sky smiled without warmth.
"That's rich coming from you."
Niran suddenly lunged toward Nani.
Sky intercepted him.
The two collided.
Nani stumbled backward.
"Sky!"
Sky shoved Niran away.
Niran swung.
Sky blocked.
A brutal struggle erupted.
Nani screamed,
"Stop!"
Alisha grabbed Nani's arm.
"Stay back!"
Niran managed to grab Sky's collar.
"You think you won?"
Sky shoved him against the wall.
"No."
He leaned closer.
"You lost the moment Nani stopped being afraid of you."
Niran stared at him.
Then looked toward Nani.
Nani stood beside Alisha.
Shaking.
But he didn't hide.
Niran's expression changed.
Because for the first time-
Nani wasn't looking at him like a frightened child.
He was looking at him like a stranger.
And somehow...
that hurt Niran more than anything.
Nani stepped forward.
"You don't own me."
Niran stared.
"You never did."
He took Sky's hand.
"And you never will."
Police officers moved in.
Niran was finally restrained.
As they dragged him away, he shouted,
"NANI!"
Nani didn't turn.
Niran screamed again.
"NANI!"
Still nothing.
The doors closed behind him.
Silence.
Nani finally exhaled.
Sky looked at him.
"It's over."
Nani shook his head.
"No."
He looked at the mansion.
Then at the documents.
Then at Alisha.
"It isn't over."
A pause.
"But..."
He squeezed Sky's hand.
"...it's finally over for him."
Sky's fingers tightened around his.
And for the first time in years-
Nani walked away from Niran's mansion without looking back.
------
The prison visitation room was colder than Nani expected.
A thick glass panel separated the visitors from the prisoners.
Nani sat alone for a moment.
Then the door opened.
Niran walked in.
Prison clothes.
Messy hair.
No expensive watch.
No polished shoes.
No mansion.
For the first time, he looked ordinary.
But his eyes were exactly the same.
Nani hated that.
Niran sat down.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Niran smiled.
"Look at you."
Nani's expression didn't change.
"What?"
"You finally came to see me."
"I came to end something."
Niran chuckled.
"You still have that attitude."
"I learned it from surviving you."
The smile disappeared.
Niran leaned closer to the glass.
"You think you've won?"
Nani stared at him.
"You're sitting in prison."
"So?"
"So I'd say the scoreboard isn't looking great for you."
Niran laughed under his breath.
Even now.
Still arrogant.
Still convinced the world owed him something.
Then his expression shifted.
"You don't understand."
"I understand perfectly."
Nani's voice hardened.
"You're such a fucking creep."
Niran's eyes narrowed.
"You shouldn't speak to me like that."
"Oh, I'll speak however I want."
Nani leaned forward.
"You destroyed people's lives because you couldn't accept that you weren't entitled to someone else's."
Niran said nothing.
"You were married."
His jaw tightened.
"You had children."
Nani's disgust was obvious.
"And you still spent years obsessing over me and trying to control my future."
Niran's fingers curled.
"You don't know what I felt."
"I don't care."
Nani stood.
"You were an adult who knew exactly what you were doing."
Niran's expression twisted.
"You were supposed to understand me."
"No."
Nani shook his head.
"I was supposed to be protected from people like you."
That landed.
Niran went silent.
Nani continued.
"You manipulated my father. You used Sky's name. You turned my childhood memories into nightmares. You waited until I was old enough to force your stupid agreement into my life."
His voice cracked with anger.
"Shame on you."
Niran stared at him.
For a moment, something almost human crossed his face.
Then it vanished.
"You still don't understand."
Nani turned toward the door.
"I understand enough."
He walked away.
Niran suddenly stood.
"Nani."
Nani didn't stop.
"Nani!"
The guard moved toward him.
Niran shoved past the table and grabbed Nani's arm.
Nani spun around.
"Let go!"
Niran's grip tightened.
"You don't get to walk away from me."
Nani shoved him.
"Get your hands off me!"
Niran pulled him back.
Nani's shoulder struck the wall.
Before Niran could do anything else-
THUD.
Sky slammed him away from Nani.
Niran stumbled backward.
Sky stood between them.
His expression was terrifyingly calm.
"Touch him again."
Sky's voice dropped.
"Just once."
The guards rushed in.
"Sir!"
Sky didn't move.
Niran stared at him.
"You..."
Sky stepped closer.
"You lost the right to say his name."
Niran laughed bitterly.
"You think you can keep him forever?"
Sky's eyes hardened.
"I don't need to keep him."
He glanced back at Nani.
"He stays because he chooses to."
Nani's eyes softened.
Niran's face twisted.
That sentence seemed to hurt him more than the prison walls ever could.
Because there was nothing he could do about choice.
No contract could control it.
No threat could manufacture it.
No manipulation could force it.
Nani walked beside Sky.
Then stopped at the doorway.
He looked back once.
"Niran."
Niran raised his eyes.
Nani's voice was quiet.
"You spent years trying to make me afraid of you."
A pause.
"But now?"
He shook his head.
"You're just someone I survived."
The door closed.
Niran remained standing in the visitation room.
For the first time, there was nobody left to control.
No family waiting.
No mansion.
No influence.
No Nani.
Only four prison walls-
and the consequences of every choice he'd made.
Outside, Nani walked beside Sky in silence.
After a moment, he muttered,
"That was exhausting."
Sky glanced at him.
"You okay?"
Nani nodded.
"Yeah."
Then he sighed.
"Can we get food?"
Sky blinked.
"Food?"
"Emotional trauma burns calories."
Sky stared at him.
Nani shrugged.
"What? I'm serious."
For the first time that day, Sky laughed.
"Fine."
Nani smiled.
"And dessert."
"Obviously."
They walked away together.
This time-
Nani didn't look back.