Episode # 7:- (Who was he?)

He zipped the hoodie up to his chin and covered the upper half of his face with the hood. A large silver knife was in his hands. It was afternoon, but the sky was dark because of the black clouds and heavy downpour.

While hiding the knife in his jacket sleeve, he looked around. He started walking among the people holding umbrellas. However, he didn’t care about the rain soaking him — his focus was on a specific person coming from the opposite side while talking on the cellphone.

He quickened his steps, and the moment that man reached near him, in the blink of an eye, he was on the ground with blood pouring out of his throat.

People around stopped to see what had happened, but they were soon shocked to see the area around him turning red with each passing second. His mobile was still in his other hand. His body jerked a few times before going completely still.

A little farther from the crowd, the same hooded person stood with a sinister smile on his face. After a while, he left the place, wiping the blood-stained knife with his jacket sleeve.

Zehaan’s Room:

Saraya prepared the formula milk for Zehaan, who was lying on the bed and peacefully drinking his feeder. A chuckle escaped her lips upon seeing his lying position. One of his legs was raised, and the other foot rested on its knee. With one hand, he held the feeder, and the other rested on his forehead.

“Hey,” Saraya, who was gazing at him, heard VD’s voice. She turned around and found him entering the room.

“How peacefully this little bumblebee is drinking his milk,” VD murmured while watching Zehaan, who saw him but royally ignored him — he was too busy with the important task of drinking.

“He’s six months old, isn’t he?” Saraya asked VD, who was now sitting on the nearby couch.

“YUPPP,” Vidhant said, exaggerating the “P.”

“He looks around eight to nine months old,” Saraya said.

“Haven’t you seen his father? He’s twenty-five but looks around thirty because of his height and build,” Vidhant replied, and Saraya nodded in agreement.

“How old are you?” Saraya asked.

Vidhant, who was blowing a bubble with his chewing gum, stopped and grinned. “Twenty-one,” he replied.

“You also look old,” Saraya exclaimed, and Vidhant nodded.

“But you look younger than eighteen,” Vidhant teased, and Saraya huffed.

However, she suddenly realized something. “How do you know my age?” she asked.

Vidhant rolled his eyes. “Your brothers told me about your birthday,” he said, instantly regretting it when her face fell.

“Sorry for taking their names,” Vidhant added in an apologetic tone.

Saraya wiped her tears and shook her head. “You know, I was around three when my mother married their father. For thirteen years, I bore their hatred and torture. Austin and Justin used to stand in the corner whenever their father or my mother hit me. They irritated me many times but never raised a hand on me. The day we met in the jungle — that was the first time Austin hit me. I don’t know what happened after that, but they apologized,” Saraya continued.

“They asked for a chance, but I was reluctant because I didn’t want to take a risk. What if they realized again that they hated me? I had planned to leave after my eighteenth birthday, but after seeing their struggle to mend our relationship, I decided to stay. On my birthday night, they came and celebrated with me. But just a few hours later, everything changed,” Saraya paused, tears streaming down her face.

“They wanted me to forgive them — and look, they did something that erased the pain of thirteen years. I was finally getting a genuine bond in the form of my brothers. But now they’re both gone. They didn’t even let me remain angry with them, because they took all my anger away by sacrificing their lives for me and left me drowning in guilt,” she cried.

Vidhant immediately stood and hugged her. Saraya wept incoherently in his arms. Zehaan, seeing her cry, threw away his feeder and crawled toward her.

“Saraya, please stop crying. Look, this bumblebee is getting worried,” Vidhant said softly, trying to distract her.

Saraya looked back and saw Zee sitting there with tears in his eyes. She picked him up and cried harder. Zee also started crying, and Vidhant gathered both of them in his arms, trying to calm them.

“What’s happening?” a voice came, and Saraya saw Raf standing there. She quickly wiped her tears and looked at Zee, who was sniffling and hiding his face in her embrace.

“No…thi…ng,” Saraya stammered.

Raf stepped forward and took Zee from her arms. Zehaan snuggled against his neck.

“VD will take you to their graves,” Raf said and left with Zee in his arms.

“You will?” Saraya asked.

Vidhant smiled softly and nodded. “I’ll take you — wait a few days. And Saraya, if you’ve lost your brothers, you can consider me as your brother if you want,” he said gently.

A small smile touched her lips. “Thank you,” she said, hugging him tightly.

Vidhant patted her back and broke the hug. “Come on, it’s almost evening, and we haven’t eaten lunch,” he said, leading her out.

Saraya frowned. “How will I know the way? And where’s my room?”

“Don’t worry, you’ll learn the way soon. Your room is two doors away from Zee’s,” Vidhant replied. “And this one between yours and Zee’s — that’s RB’s room.”

Saraya’s mouth fell open. “I’m staying beside him?” she thought, quickly shaking off the thought.

“Vidhant, whose palace is this?” she asked.

“Rafael Blackthorn’s palace,” he replied.

“He lives here alone?”

“Nope. I live here with him. We have guards and servants too, but they stay on the other side of the palace,” he said.

“Why do you have a hospital inside the palace?” Saraya asked curiously.

“This palace is on the outskirts of the city, and hospitals are far away. That’s why,” he replied.

“Are you Mr. Blackthorn’s friend?”

“Nope, I’m the son of his mamu — I mean, his maternal uncle,” Vidhant replied.

Saraya’s mind caught on that word. “You know Urdu?” she asked excitedly.

Vidhant frowned. “Yeah, my father is Asian. Why?”

“I love speaking Urdu and Hindi, but…” she trailed off with a sad pout.

“As if I didn’t know your mother’s Asian,” Vidhant said. “I thought maybe you learned it from her.”

“She never behaved like an actual mother. How could she teach me Hindi? Austin and Justin were pure British, so I never got the chance to learn fluently,” Saraya said.

“Don’t worry, I’ll teach you,” Vidhant replied, patting her shoulder.

“Thank you!” Saraya grinned brightly.

They reached the dining room, where Raf was already sitting, eyes on his phone.

“Good evening,” Saraya murmured softly. Raf looked up and gave a slight nod.

“Why does he always have that blank look on his face?” she wondered.

As she glanced at the dishes, she saw one containing eggs. “I like danday (rods) a lot,” she said cheerfully.

Saraya loved speaking Hindi words but often mispronounced them.

Vidhant frowned mid-bite. “Danday? You mean rods?”

“No…” she began, but someone else interrupted.

“She meant anday (eggs), not danday (rods),” Raf said while taking a bite.

Saraya nodded, then froze when she realized who had corrected her.

“You know Hindi?” she asked, eyes wide.

Raf, now sipping water, set his glass down.

“Yeah, RB knows over twenty-five languages,” Vidhant said before Raf could speak. “He’s fluent in Hindi — more than me. He could teach you like a pro.”

Raf glared at him, but Vidhant only shrugged and continued eating.

“You’ll teach me?” Saraya asked eagerly. Raf wanted to deny it, but her bright, hopeful smile made him nod slightly.

“Ooo, thank you!” Saraya beamed and began eating happily.

“I pray this happiness never leaves your face… but for that, you have to go far away from me,” Raf thought while watching her.

After finishing their meal, Saraya looked around the room for the first time. It was another masterpiece. She walked toward the large window, and both Raf and VD watched her.

“She hasn’t gone to the doctor since waking up. Take her tomorrow,” Raf said. VD nodded.

Saraya stared out at the dark forest beyond. “This palace is in the same jungle near my house, isn’t it?” she asked.

Raf and VD turned to her. “Yeah, it’s on the opposite side,” Vidhant replied.

Saraya nodded but then asked again, “VD, were you the one near the jungle calling me the night I was kidnapped?”

Both men turned sharply toward her.

“Where?” Raf asked.

“I saw someone from my window that night. He was standing near the jungle in black clothes and trying to say something. I opened my window, and he started walking, but before that, Austin and Justin came into my room. When I looked again, he was gone,” Saraya said.

“We sent no one that day, nor did I go there. If I had been, I could have saved Austin and Justin,” Vidhant replied, glancing at Raf, who now had a thoughtful look.

“Who was he?” Raf thought.

To be continued…