JEEVAN

21- Echoes of Misfortune

Arjun's footsteps echoed ominously as he crossed the threshold into the backyard, a heavy burden weighing on his heart. Dread filled his body as he beheld the scene before him.

Arnika lay prone on the ground, her face marred by the trails of tears. Sikandar held her by her hair, a vicious smile playing on his lips.

Sikandar- "Theek isi tarah Teri ma ko bhi uske baalo se pakad ke ghasita tha. Par tu uski tarah nahi hai re! Woh toh junglee billi thi. Teri tarah Darr se nahi chillayi balki gusse se gurra rahi thi.

Apne baap pe gayi hai tu! Kayar, darpok, apni aurat ko nahi bacha paya!"

Arnika's eyes blazed. With all the strength she could muster, she gave him a hard kick in the shin. Her already sprained ankle screamed in pain but she couldn't care less. It was her parents that the man was talking about!

Sikandar briefly stumbled before swiftly regaining his composure. In a regrettable moment of reaction, he delivered a forceful slap to Arnika, causing blood to trickle from her mouth as her teeth broke the skin.

"SIKANDAR!" Arjun shouted as the slap registered in his mind.

For a moment, he had just stood there dumbfounded as the past replayed in his mind on a loop. His Roshni's lifeless form had blinded him with regret and fear. 

His Arni's scream brought him out of the stance. The man had dared to TOUCH his daughter.

In a swift motion, he took out the gun from his back pocket and drew it against Sikandar, the man who dared to touch his daughter.

In that moment, his years' long desire for revenge was all forgotten. All he could process was that the despicable man tried to cause harm to his daughter.

 Anger took over his features as he loaded the gun. The loud click of the gun acted as a prelude to the impending sequence of action.

Sikandar, who was shocked by the sudden intrusion in his plan, roughly stood Arnika up and threateningly held the knife against her neck.

Arjun's face paled as he found his daughter's life at stake. His life at stake. The horrible scenario of Roshni's demise replayed in his mind, reminding him that this was his much wanted moment of romance.

His hands at the trigger and Sikandar at the gunpoint. A daughter whose existence did not matter to him for years at stake.

A few weeks of attachment over years of hatred. His new found life over his cherished lifeline.His daughter's life over his wife's revenge.

He put down the gun in an act of pure surrender. Yes, he had chosen his Arni over his desire. He had chosen his life over his past.

Sikandar let out an evil laugh. For a slight moment, he thought that his plan would befall. The man would choose the trigger over his despised daughter. 

He had learned that the girl held no importance in Arjun Rawte's life. She was asking good as an overlooked showpiece. That made him rethink his plan of murdering her but he was too proud to not stand by his words of snatching away everything from Arjun. At last he had decided that he'll kill the girl to shatter the man's pride if not heart.

Just the way he had shattered his pride years back.

Flashback

Man- "Bhai humare drug ke 8 addo pe police ne raid daal di."

Sikandar's eyes blazed with anger. He and commited delivery to the topmost drug lord. A consignment that would make him Asia's biggest drugseller. An opportunity that would take years to return toh him if not grabbed immediately.