Chapter 7: Why?
Ranvir looked up at the ceiling carved in various designs. The room was painted in soft pink and lilac, with blue streaks here and there, while the furniture was all white. Priyanka was now sleeping soundly, her head on his chest, while her fingers were gripping tightly onto his shirt. It has been a month since the incident when the killer finally shot himself, an entire month of chaos. The incident had taken a toll on Ranvir, for not only that he had to break down the news to Mr. Singh, but he had to be there for Priyanka who was shell shocked due to her abduction. Mr. Singh had broken down in tears, he had lived under the impression that his best friend came to him, where in reality he had passed on 20 years ago. On the bright side, the truth was out: Shashant Khurana had killed Samrat Khurana, then himself too. Ranvir was right, when he mentioned that the answer lied within "Samrat" Khurana's room. There was not a single book by Samrat Khurana's name, and only one that Ranvir had found was a Psychology book. How come a famous Biology professor had written no book on biology? His doubts were further confirmed when he heard that Samrat Khurana has passed away. One thing Ranvir was sure of the killer was not a fool, or else how did he successfully make fake documents? In fact, he was a genius. He too had graduated from Harvard at age 18, but alas he fell behind his more brilliant brother - Samrat. Case of sibling rivalry at its worst form.
The day is crystal clear in his head, the killer's dead eyes, Priyanka whimpering while gripping tightly on Ranvir - he remembers everything. Shinde had shot the killer from the back before the latter decided to kill himself. Ranvir's team rushed in and an ambulance had taken the dead body out, while Ranvir had helped Priyanka to leave the dark hall of the abandoned factory. For the entire duration of the ride, she was quiet, staring outside, her hand squeezing Ranvir's tightly. He knew that she needed him at that time, so he put his arms around her and pulled her into his chest.
He remembers what the doctor had said; "it's a minor cut, it will be fine," said the doctor after examining Priyanka's neck. He had suggested Ranvir that she was exhausted and a bit shaken from the incident. He had insisted counseling and suggested that Ranvir gave her unconditional love and support, for she would need it. Ranvir knew it the second he looked at her while they were heading to the doctors from the factory.
Ranvir sighed. The killer had done too much damage to way too many lives - Mr. and Mrs. Khurana, Mr. Singh and finally Priyanka. The little woman was now snuggling into Ranvir, softly breathing. She has been doing much better than before. Ranvir remembers how shaken she was after the incident. He knew that it was better to be safe than sorry. So, Ranvir decided to see a psychologist, just because often time incidents take a toll on humans way more than they would like to admitPriyanka was scared to step into their old home and the horrid look on her face when they came in front of the door broke Ranvir's heart. So, he decided to take her out of the city for a while. He asked Rudra to take care of Ayaan while he took Priyanka for a mini vacation insisting that she wanted to get out of the city.
Now, there were at a hotel in Pushkar, far from the hustle bustle of their city.
He pulled her closer and sighed. He was glad that she was safe and was now in his arms. It was more than he could ever ask for. However, he still could not push off the nagging feeling. Would've this happened hadn't he met her? Would the killer find a way to hurt her? He gulped down the lump in his throat. Who was he kidding? The ACP knew that he couldn't live without her.
He looked at her sleeping form, she seemed relaxed and at ease, unlike the first few nights when she would wake up, sweating profusely, while Ranvir would pull her into his chest, wiping off her sweat and rocking her in his arms, until she relaxed and dosed off.
Why did this happen? Why did karma decide to attack what was most precious to him? Why did fate always attempted to snatch away what meant the most to him?
He still remembers how they met and what they had to go through. Amongst all the chaos in his mind, she managed to slide in, and open her heart. He stormed into her life, vowing to destroy her, only to have her calm his storm and chase his demons away. Back then, in his mind, Priyanka was the culprit behind his sister's accident who he needed to manipulate and destroy for the law wouldn't give her the punishment she deserves. She had told him one day that he should never sacrifice his integrity, even if the whole world is being unfair to him and he had mentally scoffed; she was then a hypocrite in his eyes. Alas, he couldn't ignore her words, for they had encrypted themselves in his heart. His heart had a constant battle - he wanted Priyanka to receive the punishment she deserves but manipulation? Was manipulation the right thing to do? He had slowly started to discover the many layers of Priyanka Singh Oberoi, and before he knows it he started to doubt whether she was really capable of killing someone or not. One day, his sister woke up and opened his eyes. The lost little boy found his sister's hand that pulled him ashore from the sea. She told him, taking his hands in hers, that revenge is never an answer, for revenge does nothing but scaring more lives, often times the innocent ones. If one were to be punished, then they should be punished the right way, not through manipulation. His heart now clenched, for his sister didn't approve of what he was doing. Much to his shock, albeit not so much it turned out that the Oberoi princess wasn't the culprit.
All of a sudden, he wasn't getting to know her because he wanted to forcefully marry her or manipulate her. He wanted to make it up to her, by not pursuing her, but being her friend, but when it seemed like he was truly falling for her, he pushed her away, for he didn't think he deserved her. Priyanka had broke his resolve and pulled him out, saying that she had forgiven him, and what mattered the most that he was repenting and that he didn't get lost into the darkness completely.
So yes, if he was here today happily married to his queen, it was because she wasn't scared to pull him out of his shell, when he was hiding. In a way, they both broke the walls the other had built around them. They were like thieves, sneakily slipping into each other's hearts before they stole them. Ranvir leaned back, for he was exhausted. He would stay here for a while until she was just a little bit better, then they would move to a different home. He closed his eyes, drifting off to dreamless sleep, while listening to the sound her soft breathing.
*Guys, this is NOT the end of my story, just letting you know
