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“Didn’t he or that Shamsher guy ask what happened to the two men who went with you?” Sanjana asked.
“Dad wasn’t concerned. His plan was successful. The Rajpoots were out of his way, and he had everything he’d ever wanted. Shamsher, of course, questioned about the men who’d come with me, and I told him that maybe they didn’t run out of the house as planned before I set it on fire. I pretended to not be concerned about their deaths. And my indifference was enough to satisfy our father that I had become like him—cold and heartless. He stopped Shamsher from questioning me further. And the investigation later showed that the fire had been too deadly for any remains to be left behind of anyone.”
“What happened next?” Avantika asked.
“After you all ran away, I wanted to look for you immediately. Unfortunately, Sanjana was having severe panic attacks with her fear over water in those days. I had to rush to Switzerland, and by the time I returned, you all had disappeared.”
“We hitch-hiked our way to Mumbai—far away from Shimla and your father’s influence,” Aaryan said. “We remained in hiding for months, taking up menial jobs. I took up a job with a construction site, Vihaan worked at a nightclub while Avantika waited tables at a café. We were barely surviving until we came home one day and learned Avantika was pregnant, and our world crashed all over again. Then, to our luck, we came across Rajiv one day. We went to him, and he helped us despite the fact that we’d chosen you over him during that stupid high school fight you’d had with him. He helped us get new passports and sent us to Dubai via one of his ships. We reached there, and he put us in a home, got clothes for us, and got Avi the best medical aid she could get.”
Avantika continued, “Rajiv supported our education and wanted to do so much more, but Aaryan insisted that we learn to live by ourselves. So, Aaryan started working at a construction site again, learning the ropes of the business from the ground up while studying it. Vihaan started bartending atClub Poseidonand studied business. And I learned Arabic, finished my arts degree while looking after Neil, became a translator and learned photography.”
“That’s so amazing,” Dev beamed. “You all withstood so much and still succeeded. I was so proud when I finally figured that it was you all behindKeyStonewith Shaurya. I was so delighted that you’d made it in life despite everything.”
Avantika glanced at her brothers. “I’ve never told you this before, but I’m so grateful to both of you. You supported my decision to keep my baby. Not once did either of you even suggest I abort, and for that, I will forever be in your debt. Neil is my life.”
“And mine, too,” Dev added softly. “Thank you.”
“He means the world to us, too,” Aaryan said.
“He brought light into our lives when we had none,” Vihaan said. “He is a treasure.”
Avantika swallowed. She faced Dev again.
“How did you survive with him, with your father, knowing he was so evil?” she asked.
“He wanted a son he could be proud of, and I became that. I ensured I did what he said and became what he wanted me to be. You all were safe as long as his focus was on me. So, I kept it on me. I didn’t give him a chance to complain. I worked hard and grew the businesses. I brought him more wealth than he’d ever dreamed of. And he, in turn, kept his promise to never look again in Sanjana’s direction. He never thought of you three again. Over time, even the people he had following Sanjana were stopped. She was safe, and I prayed each day that you all were safe too.”
He remembered those long, lonely nights that had turned into months and then years. He’d lost everything in one shot. He’d lost the girl he loved, he’d lost his friends, and he’d been forced to send his sister miles away to another country to keep her safe.
“I had dinners with him, and spoke to him like he was the center of my world, while inside, I wanted to kill him every single day for what he’d forced me to do.” Dev swallowed thickly. “I tried, you know. So many times, when he was asleep, I went into his room with the intention of ending his life. But I couldn’t do it…I just couldn’t. Killing him would mean Sanjana would have no one left to protect her, and I couldn’t leave her unprotected while my father’s men were alive. So, I decided to go after them first.”
He looked at all their faces. “It took me eight years to end them all. I couldn’t rush it. I couldn’t have anyone suspecting me. But one by one, I ensured that all the men who were there that night were killed. And Shamsher; he suffered the most. I watched him as the men I’d hired shredded every inch of the skin on his body. I ensured he knew I was the one behind his suffering. In the end, the only man standing from that night was my father. Unfortunately, he died without giving me a chance to seek retribution.”
“Oh God!” Avantika said. “You were stuck as well, and we didn’t even know it.”
“I was helpless for so long, but once you all disappeared, I became cold, ruthless, heartless. I became the monster my father wanted me to be.”
“I began to train,” Dev continued. “I learned to fight. I learned every form of self-defence, so I’d never be weak again.”
“We did the same,” Aaryan recalled. “Vihaan is an expert marksman, and I can fight too.”
“I even ensured Sanjana learned basic self-defence techniques. I made it mandatory for all the women in my offices to learn them too.”
“God! Dev,” Sanjana said, her voice cracking. “Y…You went through so much all a…alone. You never let me know even once that you had all this pain bottled inside you.”
He gave her a warm smile. “I never wanted you to bear the burden I did.”
He alternated his gaze between Aaryan and Vihaan. “Initially, I couldn’t mount an all-out search for you all. I was being watched by dad’s men all the time, especially Shamsher. I couldn’t do anything in those days without dad learning about it. So, I waited until my dad trusted me the most. I didn’t have power then, and it took me a few years to gain any sort of authority with my father. But by then, you all had vanished in thin air. Everywhere I searched, turned out to be a blank. It was only after my dad died that I could mount a full-on search for you. And I finally found you because of Shaurya’s rising fame in Dubai.”
“Why didn’t you tell us everything right when you met us?” Vihaan asked. “Why pretend to be our enemy?”
Dev laughed. “Areyoureally asking me that? I was well aware that twelve years had passed since we’d last met. You believed I was the enemy. It was written all over your faces that dark night. Would you have welcomed me with open arms? Would you have given me a chance to talk?”
“No,” Vihaan accepted.
“And that’s why I made a big announcement of my arrival to the media outside ofLa Soireemore than six months ago. I wanted you all to know I was there, and I’d found you in Dubai and was searching for you. I expected Aaryan or you to come to face me. But you didn’t. You only sent Shaurya to me each time until, one by one, you all had to come and face me. I wondered why you wouldn’t try and seek revenge on me, but now I believe it was all because you were protecting Avantika and Neil. You didn’t want me learning about Neil, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” Aaryan said. “We didn’t want you learning about Neil. We were scared for him and Avi since you made it known that you were searching for her. We didn’t understand your reasons then.”
