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.
Sikandar- "Kaun hai in sab ke peeche. Woh police Wale kutte hai! Kis kutte ki majal ki woh Sher ke saamne khada ho?"
"ACP Arjun Suryakant Rawte."
Suddenly gunshots rung in the air as men dressed in uniform filled the dark basement.
Hundreds of men covered Sikandar in a bid to save him from the police and in return put their own lives on stake. Just like they had been trained to do.
And then Sikandar spotted him. Clad in a khaki wardi,adorning the stars of bravery on his shoulder and the logo of Indian government on his head. He resembled similar to others yet his eyes burning with righteousness and justice marked a stark contrast from others. He held up his left hand and the gunshots ceased.
Arjun- "Apne aap ko kanoon ke hawale kar do,Sikandar. Ab bhagne ka koi fayda nahi hai."
He spoke with utmost confidence, his gun permanently drawn out. His observant eyes searched for Sikandar. Without missing his target, they landed straight on him. He looked at him in the eye.
Arjun- "Mai yaha tumse baat kar raha hu aur sheher me tumhare sabhi adde jal ke raakh ho rahe hai. Surrender or die."
Sikandar- "Tujhse Teri zindagi ki saari khushiyan cheen lunga Arjun Suryakant Rawte. Tere hasne ki har ek wajah, tujhse pyaar karne wala har ek insaan, tera jeevan puri tarah se khokla karke rakh dunga."
Arjun pushed the trigger and the man shifted in an attempt to dodge it. The loud boom of the gunshot filled the entire room as the bullet pierced it's target's arm.
The men turned shield lead him out of the basement safely as the police dealer with the firing that followed.
Arjun- "Usse ek kharoch aur nahi aani chahiye,Sikandar warna jaan le lunga mai Teri."
Sikandar smirked- "Ha? Mai toh Darr Gaya!"
Arjun- "Kya chahta hai tu? Kyun aaya hai waapis?"
Sikandar's expressions darkened- "Badla! Saalon pehle teri wajah se Puri duniya ke saamne meri takat,meri izzat, sab kuch tut gaya. Aaj jab main phir se kamyabi ki uchaiya chune wala hu toh socha tujhe Teri aukat yaad dila du. Phir se."
Arjun completely ignored his rant and looked at Arni.A thin stream of blood was running out of her mouth and her eyes were drowsy. Yet the pain and fear in them was not lost to him.
Sikandar- "Aulad baap ka guroor hoti hai na? Main tera guroor todunga Aaj. Jo log Teri bahaduri ke kisse sunate hai woh Teri barbadi ke kisse sunayenge. Woh dekho ACP Arjun Suryakant Rawte jiski patni aur baccho ko Sikandar ne maar diya."
Arjun and Arni's eyes had already met by that time. Arjun signalled her to use her elbow to hit him on the torso. Just like he had taught her during those morning jogs turned defense sessions.
Arjun distracted him- "Lagta hai dimaag kharab ho gaya hai tumhara. Yaha tum meri ek bacchi ko bhi kuch nahi kar paoge aur baccho ki baat kar rahe ho?"
Arni mustered all her courage and strength and hit him with her elbow. That was a risky move but apparently the only way out. The differences in their heights made Sikandar lose his grip at the sudden assault and Arni ran towards Arjun.
Arjun himself took several steps forward and and caught Arni in his arms. He immediately hid her behind him.
Sikandar who was on the ground laughed madly.
Sikandar- "Taras aata hai mujhe tumpe, ACP. Yaad Karo tumhari beewi ne uss din kyun tumhe Ghar bulaya tha. Koi surprise Dene wali thi tumhe. Pura Ghar saja ke rakha tha."
Arjun- "Bakwaas band karo."
He picked up his revolver lying on the floor. However he couldn't help but think of the cake that he had seen on the table years back. It had been mercilessly stabbed. He shook his head and aimed straight for Sikandar's head.
Sikandar- "Bakwaas nahi sacch. Maa banane wali thi woh. Dubara. Uss cake ki tarah tere dusre bacche ko bhi kat ke rakh Diya Maine!"
Arjun felt like his entire world came crashing down. Roshni had been... expecting? His hands involuntarily put down the gun. The reality was too hard to swallow. They had been planning a second child. If only she was alive today...life would have been so different.
Suddenly, someone hit his head from the back. He winced and looked back to find Neelu standing there with a steel rod in her hand. He fell on his knees as blood streamed out of his head.
Arni- "Papa!" She got down on her knees and kept his head on her lap.
Arni- "Papa! Utho na. Please!"
The sudden surge of courage and energy in her was immediately gone. He father's presence had empowered her but now she felt like a lost and scared girl all over again.
Sikandar- "Shabash Shikha. Tum nikli mere hukum ka ikka. Issi aadmi ki banduk se chali goli ne tumhare pati ki jaan Li thi. Aur Aaj tum usse uski Jaan,uska jeevan cheen logi."
Shikha/Neelu- "6 saal. 6 saal intezaar Kiya hai, sarkar. Uski naukrani banke Rahi hu. Bas isiliye mouke ke liye ki iski iss beti ko apni aankhon ke saamne Marta hua dekh saku."
Arjun had lost his consciousness by now. Arni's heart piercing cries made the duo let out an evil laugh. Their monstrous laughs and the immense pain in her body, made Arni's head spin. Her gaze fell over the revolver lying next to her father.
She touched it. It had her father's feel. It urged her to be strong just like her father. Confidence surged through her veins as she picked it up and aimed it at the duo.
Their eyes widened. Shikha had a scared look on her face while Sikandar looked momentarily shocked. He composed himself.
Sikandar- "Khilona nahi hai woh ladki. Neeche rakh usse."
Arni- "Khilona nahi hai pata hai. Isiliye toh tum itna Darr rahe ho!"
She tried her best to be strong but her hands shook. The prospect of shooting it made her body wall weak. Much to her dismay, Sikandar noticed it.
Sikandar- "Daro mat. Kuch nahi kar payegi yeh. Un dono ki tarah ye bhi maregi." He picked up the knife while Shikha took several steps back. A revolver whether in the hands of a trained officer or an inexperienced little girl meant the same thing for her.
Arni's world blurred into a haze of red at the mere mention of her mother and unborn sibling. With a clenched jaw and eyes squeezed shut, she felt the weight of her emotions pressing down on her chest like a suffocating force. In that moment, time seemed to stand still as she gripped the trigger with a fierce determination, the echoes of her heartbeat drowning out any lingering doubts. Without a second thought, she unleashed the pent-up fury and frustation, against the backdrop of fear and uncertainty.
The sound of gunshot cut short his monstrous laugh only to replaced by an angry growl. He screamed in pain as the bullet pierced his leg.
Arni opened her eyes and flinched at the echo of the gunshot. She looked at the man with fear-filles eyes. Arjun's eyes opened slightly by the torturous sound. The world seemed blurry to him.
He tried to get up but his body felt weak. Sikandar glared at the girl and tightly gripped the knife determined to teach her a lesson. He took Swift steps towards her while limping with his bloodshot leg.
Arni's eyes widened in fear and the gun fell from her hands. In one swift motion, Sikandar mercilessly stabbed her stomach with the knife. The drops of her blood fell on Arjun's face, leaving him wide awake.
Sikandar was about to further twist the knife in her guts when Arjun got hold of his revolver and shot the man as many times as the gun permits him to.
Sikandar lied down lifelessly on the same ground of the backyard where he had once killed Roshni.
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A/N
Needed one more chapter to do justice with this story. I'll update by tomorrow if I get a good response on this. I'll try to add a bit of ETF in the next chap as well.
Sorry for not being able to respond to your lovely comments. Time constraints! But thank you so much for your investment in the story.
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Regards.