Chapter 4 - The Endangering Step

• Looking at the bright screen, Tanvi frowned, “An unknown number?” She conflicted for a while and answered the call.
• “Hello.”
• “Hi, is this Ms.Tanvi Siara Agarwal??” The unknown speaker asked.
• “Yes, may I know who you are?”
• “Yes, sure! I’m Riaan Varma. You can call me Riaan.”
• “Excuse me! Do I know you??” Tanvi asked with a scowl.
• “Nope!!”
• “Huh!!! Then how do you know me? How did you get my number??” She couldn’t help but let the question slip out of her mouth in annoyance.
• “I saw you on a Matrimony site. I liked what I saw, so I contacted you.”
• “Oh! That’s cool. So you saw my biodata?” She asked with a little nervousness.
• “Yes, Tanvi!! Oh, by the way, can I call you Tanvi?”
• Her breath picked up with the way he spoke. “Yes, sure, Riaan.” She replied in a shaky voice.
• “Okay, Thanks Tanvi!!”
• Tanvi held her phone and dropped onto the swinging chair. She pressed the pillow to her stomach, “He liked me? The next step might be Marriage…? This word seems strange to me.” She pondered.
• Tanvi opened her WhatsApp and remembered the text from an unknown number yesterday.
• “I was hoping to find out who the hell he was, but it must have been Riaan Varma.” Tanvi glanced at his profile picture. A tall man with a gym body hugged his muscles with a sexy smile.
• “His sharp facial features are quite attractive.” She brushed her fingers on the screen. “What if we…paired up…?” Her lips pressed up with shyness.
• “I need to know him better before I can decide to accept him or not.”
• …
• Riaan stood in front of the window when his mother approached him. “How did the call go?” His mother turned him around and waited to hear the response.
• “Good. Tanvi had a sweet voice.” He spoke with a sense of relief.
• “That’s good to hear. What are you planning to do then?”
• “I liked her. She has a charm that often bounds people. Also, she seems polite.”
• “Your decision is mine.” His mother nodded and left.
• Riaan is staring at her picture when a message popped up. He checked the time, “It’s been an hour!!!” He exclaimed. “I lost track of time looking at her?” His lips parted at his stupidity.
• “I must admit, It’s time to believe love at first sight.” Excitement shot through his nerves, “Love…That word makes my heart skip a beat.”
• “I cannot lose her. I need to make sure she fell for me. To achieve that, I’ve decided to do anything within my limits to get her.” Riaan set his mind.
• “She must realize I want her. I need to ask for a date.” An idea crossed his mind.
• “Oh, shit!” He sat up straighter in his chair as he scrolled through her bio-data for the fifth time. “She’s in India! How am I supposed to take her on a date from London?”
• Riaan strode towards the hanging calendar, “Damn it!!! I must at least need another three months to complete my project.” He sighed, “Is it not possible to leave in the middle?” His mind answered, “No!! You can’t afford to take a vacation at this crucial stage of the project.”
• “Fine!! If I can’t get away for another three months, then at least I can still pursue her from here. I just need to figure out how best to do that. No matter what, by the time I touch down in India, she’ll have fallen for me.”
• …
• Rudra woke around 05:00 PM. His expression looked sour and his mood dampened since tomorrow is her mother’s birthday. He sat idly on the bed and lost in the blankness. After a while, he walked to the second floor with unsteady steps.
• He stood in front of the closed door with shaky hands and opened the door. The picture of his mother with a warm smile greeted him. He clenched his fists to control the inner turmoil and barged out.
• With heavy steps, he reached the pool area and gasped for fresh air while jumping in. He is a pretty good swimmer and loves to swim. It soothes his nerves and provides relaxation to him.
• After spending much time swimming, he stood at a corner in the pool with his body soaked in turquoise blue water while his back leaned to the pool surface and his hands rested on the marble floor. He stared at the night sky shining with stars. The cool breeze hitting his drenched body made him feel alive.
• The natural fragrance from the flowers in his garden wafted over him. The vibration of water droplets, heavy air, the bright moon made his place livelier.
• “Ugh!!! Livelier!!” With this thought, her image occupied his mind.
• “I need to ask Maahir after I’m done with swimming.” He again dived into the water.
• Rudra spent around three hours near the pool swimming and sitting there just relaxing with his reflections. He went inside holding a towel while wiping off the draining water droplets from his body, and his phone buzzed. His father.
• He wasn’t in the mood. Talking to his father would only make that worse. After toweling off, he walked on, ignoring the call, and went into his study room where he went over a series of plans he’d be taking overcoming Monday. It was midnight before he finished.
• He decided to have a siesta. But, as usual, sleep wasn’t his friend. He rarely rested comfortably like as he did yesterday. He spent a few hours trying to relax, but it wasn’t happening. Driven back into introspection, he found himself ruminating over his mother. He felt disturbed.
• Glancing at the time, “03:00 AM”, he huffed and gave up and decided to went for a drive.
• Rudra strode towards the garage with a sullen look when the sky is pitch black. He opened the gateway and stood at the center, surrounded by all the fancy cars. He was gazing at them when his eyes drew to the shining black BMW Z4, which was his favorite.
• Rudra hopped into it but hadn’t decided the destination. After five hours, he stopped near one of his houses, which is a big three stories duplex with a garden. By this time, the sun rose with its full brightness.
• His eyes were becoming heavy due to sleeplessness, his appearance doesn’t resemble the noble billionaire whom every person envied. His eyes showed the irreparable void in his soul.
• The security guards opened the broad striped gate, and he parked the car inside with a screech.
• Rudra stepped out and stood in front of the house with a sloppy look. His silky black hair was messy, his facial features were pale, yet there was an unyielding command in his posture. The house was in a beige brown combination, which was his mother’s choice.
• With the blooming flowers, and chirping sounds of birds, the air enclosing this place gave him endless warmth. It was filled with beautiful childhood memories of his mother. His foot drove him to the garden, he looked at the clear sky and stood rooted at the mango tree.
• The laughter of a seven-year-old kid, while his mother was running to catch him encircling the mango tree, came in front of his eyes. He remained frozen until a fifty-year-old man called him with a thin, shaky voice. “I’m searching for you inside while you are here?” The old man said with love.
• By looking at him, Rudra’s eyes brightened a little, “You looked the same as fifteen years ago, but with little wrinkles and a fringe of greyish-white hair.” The old man, Karan chuckled and patted Rudra on his shoulder.
• “Let’s go inside?” Karan asked while trying to read his unreadable eyes. Rudra nodded and took a deep breath. Karan welcomed him, and he went directly to his mother’s room. It’s his favorite room in the house. Every corner of this room provided him with never-ending warmth.
• He stroked the hanging wall paintings painted by her mother and brushed on the crafts made by her. His gaze focused on the closet, slid it open, held her saree with affection, and inhaled the fragrance of her, which rushed a surge of emotions in him.
• It gives him a sense of calm, while his tumultuous soul and restless body found inner peace. The calamity inside him softened. He slowly slipped into a nap.
• His father called him over with the seabirds crying overhead. Rudra along with his parents went to Manori Beach in Northern Mumbai. The views were incredible, and it was hemmed in on all sides by the raw, natural landscape. They played in the water, ran around the beach, and spent an entire day after so long in the city. It was an unforgettable day.
• While returning, his dad got a call, and his expression became murky. Dad abruptly pulled off the road and stopped the car. Mama gave a questioning look, “What happened, Abhay?”
• He faced them with a reassuring smile, “Nothing, Just need to take care of a few things. Stay here, I will be back shortly.” Rudra was about to hold his hand, but he left in a hurry without turning back.
• Right now, it’s hard to read dad or the situation on an emotional level. Rudra and his mama stayed in the car talking cheerfully. But after only a few minutes, five white Tata Safari cars abruptly surrounded. They screeched with a halt making the hairs on Rudra, and his mother’s body stood up.
• They both were shocked but didn’t understand how to react? When they are staring at each other with sheer terror, around twenty people with guns approached and took them away. Realization stuck them, “We were attacked.” Their eyes popped out with fear. In no time, The deafening gunshot startled Rudra. The next second, it hit his mother, “they shot mama.”
• Rudra was shaken. His entire body trembled with horror. He had no courage to go against those 20 people who were fully loaded with weapons. His mother fell to the ground.
• He ran towards his mother. “Mamma, no please wake up! Don’t go!!” Rudra cried, tears streaking down his face, but his mother didn’t wake.
• He saw her, blood dripping from her body in gushes right in front of his eyes, yet he was unable to save her. She remained still. He wanted to save her badly, but the bullet passed directly into her head leaving him with no chance. Dead on the spot. She lay on the floor beyond his reach.
• The image of Lucas Greer with a gun in his hand was imprinted in his mind. The way he shot, how he pointed it on to him, the scary night and the darkness succumbed to him.
• Sweat dripped from his forehead and he woke up from the nightmare, that was only partially true. He breathed heavily, hoping to expel the horror of that place, along with an overwhelming sense of helplessness.
• On the day his mother left this world, Rudra decided. He should never in his life be that helpless again. The hunger for power began at that moment. He knew to save those he loved, he must have power, and he must be strong enough to beat any enemy, no matter who.
• From that day, Rudra allowed the beast inside him to run ahead until he became the person he is now. Never again did he make an emotional attachment to another person. People were terrified in his presence, but that was just fine, it made him happy.
• He had to be that way. With his many enemies, if he ever let his guard down, who knew what could happen to him and his family?
• …