Chapter 5 : Lurking Danger

Suddenly, everything made sense.

And somehow, nothing did.

Khushi felt like she was going crazy. She couldn't decipher whether the boy she loved was still somewhere inside him or already gone.

Arnav’s chest rose unevenly as he looked away for the first time since he had started speaking.

Like finally saying it aloud had exhausted him.

Khushi’s fingers trembled at her sides.

"All this time…" her voice cracked softly.

"…I thought you stopped loving me."

Something painful flickered across his face instantly.

"No."

The answer escaped from him too fast.

There was exhaustion beneath his eyes, tension in his shoulders and the way he kept clenching and unclenching his fists unconsciously like he was constantly holding himself back from something.

And for the first time she realized that he wasn’t trying to protect himself from them, but rather he was trying to protect her from himself.

"Arnav…" she trailed.

But he took a step back instinctively and that hurt more than she expected.

"You still think you’re dangerous," she said quietly as his silence answered for him.

Khushi felt tears sting her eyes again, but this time they came from somewhere deeper than heartbreak. It was fear, a deep growing one. Not of him but for him.

Before she could respond, a loud horn echoed somewhere in the distance as a train rushed past the outer tracks without stopping.

The wind hit them harshly, carrying rainwater and dust through the abandoned platform.

Khushi closed her eyes briefly, flinching at the loud noise like a thunder at the ruin as her wet hair whipped across her face.

"How long have you been dealing with this alone?" That question caught him off guard. Because he had expected anger, hatred or worse disgust but not this. Not concern.

A humorless bitter smile touched his lips briefly. "Long enough."

Khushi became angry at his words. "Stop acting like destroying yourself was the only option you had." A hiss in annoyance left her mouth.

Something in his expression cracked slightly.

"You don’t understand what they are capable of."

"Then make me understand." she shot back immediately, challengingly.

Arnav closed his eyes for a second and then opened it again. But this time, his eyes were bloodshot and mad.

He approached her like a whirlwind and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her slightly to make her understand the gravity of the situation. "If they find out I came back to you…" his breath became uneven. "They won’t use me next time...but will come for you instead."

Khushi stiffened at his words.

They had been standing there for too long, exposed and emotionally exhausted.

Arnav seemed to realize the same thing because his gaze briefly scanned the empty station before returning to her.

"We shouldn’t stay here."

Khushi frowned slightly.

"Why?"

His jaw clenched slightly. "I don't like staying at one place."

"Are you expecting someone?" she asked bluntly.

A pause which was too brief to miss.

"I don’t know," he admitted. "And that’s the huge problem."

There were still hundreds of questions burning inside her. Questions she wasn’t even sure she wanted answers to anymore. But this...this wasn’t the place.

"There’s a café outside the station," he said after a moment. "It stays open late."

Khushi blinked slightly. The suggestion felt strangely normal amidst everything else.

"You want to sit in a cafe?" she said quietly, almost in disbelief.

~

They walked through the nearly empty station in silence.

Their footsteps echoed softly against the wet floor as dim lights flickered overhead.

Khushi could feel him beside her quiet, watchful and alert but somehow that silence said more than words could.

As they descended the broken staircase near the exit, Khushi finally spoke without looking at him.

"You know what the worst part is?"

Arnav’s gaze shifted toward her immediately.

"I spent five years trying to hate you." she said softly as a humorless smile touched her lips. "Because I thought it was better than to miss you." She avoided looking at him. "But I couldn't." she admitted quietly.

Hearing this, something in Arnav’s expression faltered, only for a second but enough.

Khushi stopped beneath the shade near the station gate and finally turned toward him again.

"Tell me honestly," she asked softly.

"For these five years…" Her throat tightened slightly. "…did you ever think about coming back?"

Arnav looked at her for a long moment, long enough that she thought he might avoid the question again.

But then he said quietly, without hesitation. "Every day."

The words stayed with Khushi long after he said them but she simply nodded unable to say anything for a moment.

Everything felt strangely still.

Arnav’s gaze shifted briefly across the street, then behind them, then towards the station entrance again.

Khushi's brows furrowed. "You are doing it again."

Arnav turned to her. "Doing what?"

"Looking around like someone’s following us."

"I don’t know if they are" he admitted honestly. "But I’ve learned not to assume otherwise."

Khushi’s chest tightened at how naturally he said it. Like paranoia had become his only survival after all these years.

The cafe across the road suddenly didn’t feel like enough, it was too open and too easy for someone to spy or overhear them.

She looked at him carefully for a moment before speaking. "My house is closer."

"No." The answer came sharp enough to make her blink.

"Why not?"

"Because if someone tracks me-"

"They already know that you came back" she cut him off softly. "You said it yourself."

His jaw tightened.

"And I’m not sitting in some crowded cafe pretending this conversation is normal."

"Khushi…" he looked at her pleadingly.

"You can keep trying to push me away," she whispered tiredly. "But I’m already involved now."

A long pause followed.

Then finally, Arnav exhaled quietly.

"Fine."

~

Relief flickered through her chest briefly. But it didn’t last long because Arnav still looked uneasy, still alert and that feeling spread to her too. She started to become wary of her surroundings.

His eyes constantly moved, inspecting corners, passing vehicles, windows and all.

At first Khushi thought she was imagining it.

Then he suddenly stopped walking.

Her brows furrowed. "What happened?"

His gaze stayed fixed across the road. When Khushi followed his line of sight she saw a black SUV stood parked near the corner ahead. The engine was still running but the lights were off.

Her stomach tightened instantly. "It’s probably nothing," she whispered nervously.

But Arnav’s expression had become cold and dangerously still.

"No," he said quietly. "It’s not."

"What do we do?" she asked softly.

"Keep walking."

"What?" Her head whipped at him.

"Don’t look at them again," he said calmly. "Don’t stop, Don’t panic."

Her heartbeat started rising. "Arnav-"

"Listen to me carefully." Something about his tone silenced her instantly.

"If I tell you to run," he continued, "you run. Don’t look back and don’t wait for me." Fear curled sharply in her chest.

As they resumed walking, Khushi could feel her pulse hammering violently now.

Every passing second stretched painfully thin.

Then one of the car doors suddenly opened and a tall man in dark clothes stepped out. His face partially hidden beneath the hood of his jacket.

And for one horrifying second, his eyes locked directly onto Arnav in slight recognition.

The man started moving, not running, but walking toward them steadily.

Arnav’s hand grabbed Khushi’s wrist suddenly. "Walk faster."

His calmness terrified her more than panic would have.

"Arnav-"

"Don’t look scared," he muttered quietly.

"How am I supposed to-"

"Khushi." His grip tightened slightly. "Trust me."

Another car turned into the road ahead, headlights flooding briefly across the street.

In that split second, Arnav pulled her sharply into a narrow alley between two closed shops.

Khushi gasped as her back hit the wall.

"What are you-"

His hand covered her mouth instantly. "Quiet."

Slow and measured footsteps echoed nearby.

She could hear it in her ears and felt her heart in her throat.

Arnav stood directly in front of her now, shielding her completely from the alley entrance. One hand braced against the wall beside her and the other still over her mouth. His breathing remained controlled but his eyes were terrifyingly focused.

The footsteps drew closer..

Closer...

Closer....

Then stopped, right outside the alley.

Khushi stopped breathing entirely.

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