Before all of this happened, Bhavya had assumed a lot of things.
First, she had thought that only Shivaay and Omkara were true to their names. She thought that only they had the volatile anger of Lord Shiva after whom they were named. Rudra was different. He was happy-go-lucky and charming, the sweet one. He could never really get as angry as them. But she couldn't be more wrong. True to his namesake, Rudra had the worst anger she had ever seen. Rudra's wrath had destroyed anything and anyone that was remotely connected with the murder attempt on Shivaay. He had tirelessly worked with her, traced out links, chased the accomplices. And once he found out the responsible people, Rudra was not taking any prisoners of war.
Bhavya squirmed in her seat as she remembered the two murders she had last seen. The first one was a chemist from the underbelly of the city. He was the one who had supplied the vial of poison to Veer. Rudra had chased him all over Mapusa market, leaving a trail of destruction behind him. Rudra had run into cars, people and stalls alike. The chase had ended on the terrace of a shady looking building. Rudra had cornered the man along with his two other friends. And then, with the ease of a seasoned Police Officer, Rudra had shot them dead, point-blank and right between their eyes. There were no questions exchanged, no demands, no explanations. It was just a desperate need to clean the dirt from the society as it was to do it for his brother.
The second time they chased someone was the woman who had previously harassed Annika and was Veer's close aide.
Rudra initially appeared a little lenient in front of her. He listened to her side of the story very calmly. A little too calmly according to Bhavya. And then, without a word, she met the same fate as the previous man. Rudra shot her right between her eyes without a blink of the eye.
Both of them had clearly told them that it was Veer who wanted to destroy Shivaay. They didn't know anything more.
Bhavya took a deep breath and prepared the report papers of their death. She had cited the same reason in all two deaths; they tried to escape and had to be shot dead. It was a police encounter.
Second thing, this staunch love that Rudra harboured for his brother, for his sister-in-law; it was very amusing. She had assumed that such love was not possible, that it existed only in movies and books.
Looking at Rudra, Bhavya was mistaken. How could one have so much loyalty, so much devotion for their family? So much that he had killed two people for it. Bhavya didn't know what to think of it.
But then again, whatever little she had seen of Shivaay and Annika, whatever little time she had spent with them; it had been a complete delight. She had grown to love both of them deeply. They were her family. And now, when she was on the verge of losing Shivaay, it all felt like cruelty. She couldn't wipe the images of Shivaay in that hospital bed or Annika's crying face no matter how hard she tried. Everyone who did this to them, to her family, had to die. She was not going to stop Rudra. The rules, the morals, the law; everything had faded away for her.
Chugging his fifth cup of coffee, Rudra frowned. "I have a strong feeling that Veer has some connection with Kalyani Mills. There is a link that is missing though. We have to find that out."
Looking at the old documents and newspapers and files in front of them, Bhavya sighed. "Yes. Not just Kalyani Mills but I think Veer has some connection to your Roop Bua. Did she ever get married?"
Rudra shook his head. "No. She didn't."
"Well, then Veer can't be her son..." mused Bhavya.
"Wow you are really stupid!" sneered Rudra. "You don't need to get married to have a baby."
As soon as he uttered that, Rudra went still. As did Bhavya. They both stared at each other as the possibility of Veer being Roop's son emerged.
"Could Veer be..." Bhavya left her words hanging in the air. "But then, what connection do these two have with Kalyani Mills? And how is Swetlana and her family involved in this?"
The CCTV footage from Veer's house showed that Swetlana had visited him frequently. How were all these links connected was the question for both of them?
Rudra rubbed his forehead. "I have no clue. I really don't..."
His phone rang and interrupted him. Rudra picked up the call. "Yes, Mom."
Bhavya watched all the colour drain from Rudra's face as he heard whatever Jhanvi was telling. Fear gripped her heart. Involuntarily, she moved close to him and stared at his white face. As she waited for him to end the call, she prayed hard for the first time in her life, prayed with everything she knew. Shivaay had to be alright.
"I am coming..." Rudra spoke into the phone and cut the call.
"What happened?" asked Bhavya, her voice trembling with fright.
Rudra couldn't look at her. When he spoke, his voice was a hoarse whisper. "Bhaiya had gone into a cardiac arrest."
"What?" gasped Bhavya. "Again? This is the second time."
"I know..." nodded Rudra. Tears sprang into his eyes as he let the phone fall on the table. "I know..."
Bhavya pulled him into a hug. Holding him, she rubbed his back. "Please tell me that he is okay now."
Rudra just nodded. He couldn't speak. He buried his head in the crook of Bhavya's neck and sobbed. Bhavya spoke for him, "Oh thank God."
Rudra only cried harder. He could be angry, he could be on a destroying spree but this he couldn't handle. If instead of getting better, Shivaay would continue to go on a downward spiral; what was the use of doing all this? What the meaning of all this if his brother didn't survive? He might as well take the gun and shoot himself in the head.
"Rudra!" Bhavya's soothing voice brought him back from his dark thoughts. She wiped his tears and forced him to look at her. "You need to be with Annika Bhabhi right now. And Om bhaiya. They both need you. I will handle all this. Stay the night at the hospital. Come back tomorrow. Alright?"
Rudra just nodded. "Yes."
Bhavya was right. That was the right thing to do. But Rudra didn't tell Bhavya that his mother also wanted to meet him outside the Hospital. Rudra was sure that she was going to tell him something important. He just hoped that he had the stomach to digest the truth. If not for anyone then for Shivaay and Annika's sake.
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Hope you guys like this one. :D
