Saanvi POV:
I was in a cafe, drinking my coffee when some guys came in. They looked around the cafe, and when they found me, they smirked and started coming towards me. I took my bag and started going in the opposite direction, leading them to an alley.
As I hit the wall, they all laughed, and one guy said, "Sorry, doll, you're caught. Now surrender." I nodded lightly, moving towards them. When he tried to touch my hand, that's when I smirked, pulling him and punching him in the gut.
He screamed in pain, and I took down everyone else. I smirked, saying, "I am Saanvi Malhotra. You bastards remember that." I dusted off my hands, took my bag, and went to the company as I got a call from Aan.
I immediately picked up, and by his voice, I could tell he was super panicked. He asked me, "Vie, are you fine?" I replied, "Yes, Aan, I am very good. What's wrong?" He asked, "What are you doing?" I said the truth, "I was dealing with some assholes, Aan."
The next statement shook me. "Well, the asshole who sent those assholes is here. Will you talk to him?" I said, "Oh, of course." That asshole had some serious guts to do this. I have to teach him a lesson, idiot.
"Look, Mr. Asshole, if you have any problem with him, deal with him directly. If you don't have the guts in your balls, then take a chill pill and relax. Don't you dare mess with me again, because I'm not as good as him, Understood?"
I still wanted to shout more, but I controlled myself as Aan was there. He said, "Vie, I will call you back." Now his voice was back to normal, so I guess he was worried about me, in the first place, I thought.
After some time, Vihaan's mother called me, saying, "Saanvi, how about you come to dinner tonight?" I said, "It's fine, aunty. I am tired today."
She said, "Aunty? Didn't I say for you to call me Maa? And you're coming to dinner today. That's it." I sighed, saying, "Okay, Maa. I am on my way." She said, "Better come soon."
I hung up the call and started driving to his home. Well, these days, his family became super close to me. It feels like they have known me for so long. I felt the warmth of the family after so long. Even Rishi was feeling the same.
I am more than happy that they are treating Rishi also as their own son, I thought as I reached home. Shri came running outside, and I asked, "What's wrong, Shri?" She said, "Bhabi, Anandh is not feeling well. He is asking for you." I nodded, going inside.
As soon as I went inside, everyone was in the living room, and everyone seemed tense and some scared. Rishi was also here. I didn't see Vihaan and Rahul, so I thought they might still be working. Anandh was sitting on the couch, not talking to anyone. His mom was trying to comfort him, but it seemed of no use.
I went and sat beside him, and he immediately hugged me, saying, "Di, he's back."
Di? Why is he calling me di? And who is back? I had lots of thoughts, but first, his comfort was important, so I hugged him back, saying, "Hush, kiddo, it's fine."
After some time, he calmed down, though he was still scared. He lied on my lap as I asked, "Maa, what happened?" She looked nervous, so I looked at Dhada. He said, "Well, Anvi, it's better if Vihaan tells you. Hold on, he's on the way."
I nodded and said, "I also have to tell you something. Some people tried to kidnap me today." Everyone in the family gasped in shock, so I said, "It's fine, everyone. I am very trained fighter, I can defend myself. So, I am very much okay."
Mom came and sat beside me, rubbing my hair. Dad came and patted my head as Shri asked, "Bhabi, are you really fine?" I nodded. Very soon, the front door opened with force, and I saw Aan looking worried. What is wrong with everyone today, I thought.
Dad asked him, "When did he come back?" Aan said, clearly avoiding my eyes, "The day I met Saanvi." Wait, what?
Dhada said, "He said he will not mess with my family again. What does he want, Vihaan?" I could clearly see anger in his tone. He said, "He wants my position, Dhada." Position? What is really happening? I am clearly blank here.
As I was about to ask, Rahul came in very calmly. I guess he doesn't know anything. He saw us and asked, "What happened, everyone?" Mom said, "Anvi got kidnapped, and Vishnu Vardhan is back."
At least finally, I know the person's name now. Rahul clearly looked angry, saying he will kill him, but Vihaan stopped him. I could clearly see the tense air between them.
I sighed; my patience level reached its peak. So, I slowly lifted Anandh, smiled at him, and whispered, "Kiddo, go back to your room." I signaled Rishi to go with him; he nodded.
After he left, I slammed the table, getting up. I asked, "What the hell is happening here? Does anyone care to explain?" Vihaan said, "Follow me, Vie." I followed him to his room, and he straight went to the balcony; I followed him.
I asked Aan, "What is going on?" He sighed and stretched his arms, signaling me to sit on his lap, which I gladly did because, amid all this chaos, he is my comfort. He inhaled my scent—I don't know why he does that every time when he is tense. I guess it calms him, I thought.
As he took a deep breath, he said, "Vie, we were five siblings"—"wait, what, five?" He kept his finger on my lips and said, "Let me complete, and then you can ask your questions, okay?" I nodded as he continued.
"Mihir Chachu had an elder daughter first, and then these twins were born. Her name was Preksha; she was one year older than me. She was the sunshine of our family, like the first son of the family as well. To be honest, she was the mother for all four of us because our parents always used to work hard. We were never this rich back then, so my dad and Chachu worked hard building a small company to provide food and education for us. Though now the company was no more, I don't know for what reasons, and After the twins were born, Anandh was so attached to Di; he was her first baby. She always used to call him Kiddo, like how Rishi is to you."
A small tear escaped his eye; my heart broke at his pain. I wiped his tears and rubbed my arm on his back. That's why Anandh asked me to call him Kiddo—maybe he wanted to see his sister in me, I thought.
He continued, "We were all so happy. We were not so rich, yet not so poor; we were happy in what we had. I have always had this mad interest in computers, coding, and all these, so I got a scholarship in the college your brother is studying. There, I met this guy Vishnu. From childhood, Rahul was my best friend, but in the hostel, I felt all lonely. This guy was there with me all the time, so I trusted him and thought of him as my best friend. In holidays, he used to come with me to home, and everyone here also became fond of him."
"When I was in my 3rd year, Di called me, saying she was pregnant. I didn't know what had happened, so I ran back home. There, she told me that she and Vishnu had been in love for two years, and now, after hearing about the pregnancy, he ran away, breaking up with her. I was furious at him. Rahul and I searched for him everywhere. Meanwhile, my professor called me back, saying there was an emergency. I returned only to hear that my game project was nowhere to be seen. I had worked tirelessly on developing that project, trusting him more than anything, but he betrayed me and disappeared."
I hugged Aan tight, and he hugged me back. He continued, "We searched for him for days, but we didn't find him anywhere. Dad and Chachu were so angry with my sister, but Choti Maa and Maa stopped their husbands from shouting at her because she was carrying a baby. After a month, again, I got a call from home saying Di was missing. So, I tracked down her phone signals, and somehow we found out where she was."
"When we reached the place, I saw that bastard there, with a smirk on his face. I begged him to leave my sister, but he said I had everything in my life, whereas he had nothing. So, he felt jealous of me and wanted to take everything away from me."
"My sister took a promise from me and Rahul that if we found him one day, we should not kill him, no matter what, because she loved him and wanted a father for her baby."
"That is why that day, we couldn't do anything. That bastard shot her in front of us. Anandh was too shocked to see that, and Vishnu ran away after that. Everyone in the family took months and years to recover from that, but Anandh is still in that."
He cried in my arms, saying "He killed her in front of me, Vie, but I couldn't do anything. I always looked up to her. But she is gone!"
I felt so heartbroken seeing him like this. He didn't deserve any of this, and this family has been nothing but sweet to me. How could that bastard do this to them? A storm raged in my eyes.
Every time a man will protect his girl, and I know that Aan will protect me from anything in this world, so I must do the same, right? That Asshole, be ready, because you have seen Aan in lion mode, but you have never seen me in lioness mode. Trust me, I will show the hell, I smirked.
I took him into my arms, hugging him tightly, comforting him. I said, "Aan, it was not your fault. I am sure wherever your sister is, she will be super proud of you for becoming what you are today."
He asked in a whisper, "Really?" I hugged him tight, saying, "Aan, really. I am very much proud of you, so is your sister." I cupped his cheek and said, "Aan, I am in this with you. Okay? I love you, Aan."
He smiled weakly, saying, "I too love you, Vie." We stayed like that for some time. I said, "Don't worry about Anandh. Leave him to me. I will make sure that he will be back to his old self." He smiled, nodding.
He kissed my forehead and said, "I am glad to have you, Vie." I said, placing my forehead against his, "I am always by your side, Aan. Not only now, maybe in past life's, and also in future lifetimes as well." He slightly chuckled, saying, "I wouldn't mind that."
He said, "You know, you were so hot when you warned him today, Vie." I nudged him, saying "I wasn't even there, Aan." He said, "I can say it by your voice, Vie." I made a vomiting gesture and got up from his lap, saying, "Come on, let's go."
He nodded, getting up. I stopped, thinking, and he asked, "What's wrong, Vie?" I asked, "Then how did you end up in the underworld, Aan?"
He smiled, saying, "When I released my first game, and it became a huge hit. That's when I started this Singhania Empire. Maybe that bastard didn't like this, so he killed the ex-mafia king's son and threw the crime on me."
"After proving everything, that I was not the killer, still, the king was angry, so he tried to kill me. In the process of defending, I shot him. I didn't mean to kill him, Vie, but, you know, it just happened."
"Later, he came back fighting with me for that position, but there are too many leaders in front of me to guard, so he stopped at one point. For everyone's safety, I am still ruling the underworld, but trust me, there is no risk, Vie. And also, I promise there are no illegal activities going on. Well, there are 2 or 3 here and there, but nothing serious."
I nodded, understanding. I didn't ask anything further as I clung onto his arm and said, "Let's eat." He nodded, and we went down.
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