Chapter 1

Hredhaan Grover

"Where were you?" shouted my dear wife Ananya immediately after opening the door of our house with a stern look on her face by folding her arms.

I gulped looking at her glare because sometimes she can be pretty wild and outrageous but other times she is sweet and adorable. It's not always that she behaves this way and it's very rare to see this sight but if she does then i definitely fucked up. So I immediately racked my brain to search for some reason and escape her wrath.

"Sweetheart..." I chuckled nervously by taking a step and trying to take hold of her hand but she stepped back to keep the distance between us with the same look.

"I... Ok... I am sorry..." I apologized surrendering with an innocent look on my face and continued "I met with one of my friends on the way, so it became late. I am sorry for worrying you baby.." I said taking her in my arms and trying to hug her but she wiggled out of my arms and glared at me in return.

"Oh Well... Is he the same friend you are talking about?" she asked innocently by dragging me inside with her in the living room and indicated her other hand towards the television where the news is playing which made my eyes wide with shock.

It's not about the channel, but the news where a person was standing with his back to the screen and talking to the police seriously, All the police staff surrounded that man while they both were talking. And then after a few moments he leaves and gets inside the lift while the police walk to the injured person. There are headlines scrolling on the display that some mystery investigation officer helped catch the terrorist and handed him over to the police, but they are not ready to reveal the face or name of the person because of the security reasons. Rumors are that he became the hero overnight.

Oh my god... It was me on the television. Now I got to know the reason behind my wife's anger and no doubt that Ananya is mad at me.

I gulped knowing that I really messed this up because she always warns me to stay away from the trouble and work under cover itself. She fears that something might happen to me if I enter the field and fight them off. So I always try to keep it a secret from her about my chasings, fighting and every other thing that is related to violence. But damn Fuck... How news went viral within 15 minutes of time is out of my brain.

I thought I mentioned it clearly to the inspector about my personal issues and how I don't like to come under the spotlight. But looks like he was unable to do his work well to protect my identity from everyone.

What do you expect from the police who cannot do a single job correctly. It was my mistake to believe them in the first place and leave it. I should have asked Magnus to cover for me. But it is too late now and I need to come up with some cooked up story to make her cool.

Now I really need to play it safe if I don't want to face her anger.

I was thinking about something when I heard a chuckle on my back side, so I turned to see none other than my big brother who is trying to cover his laughs by placing his hands against his mouth but failing miserably.

Oh well... He is getting one hell of an entertainment now. He always says that it's hilarious to see the senior investigation officer behave like a puppy in front of his wife.

I turned while glaring at him with my eyes and asked for help with my eyes because I cannot cover up with myself in this situation. Also because I need his back up to save my ass today. This made him grin like an idiot and smirked knowing very well that without his help I cannot do it.

He slowly started making towards our side leisurely like he had all the time in the world. He is really trying to get under my skin and of course he is getting succeeded in it.

When he reached beside me, he bent towards my ear and whispered "You are in debt with me for this" with a smirk on his face.

God brother.... You are dead after this... I thought glaring at him but that made him even more smirk. When I heard the clearing of the throat from my side, I glanced from the corner of my eyes to see that Ananya was still looking at me sternly, waiting for my response.

"Hey who is that hero?" Brother said, looking at the television like he is watching it for the first time.... "Wow Ananya.. Doesn't his back look the same as our Hred" He asked with a fake shock in his eyes which made her glare even more in my direction that I silently started cursing in my head about my brother. He is doing it wantedly to take his sweet revenge for stealing his car the other day. He smirked in my direction and winked at me that I groaned somewhat to myself feeling miserable in this situation.

"Now we are even about stealing my car the other day my little brother." He grinned looking at me and whispered that only I can hear. "Now I will save you but don't forget that you owe me for this" He said, winking at me and reminding me about our deal. I nodded my head in agreement.

"He might be looking exactly as Hred but I don't think that he went to that side of the place just to catch him." He said looking at her with a cool expression on his face and continued "Also, he went to drop Idika. Then how come he could have gone that far from there?" He said looking at her questioningly as if she had gone insane to even think like that.

This made me smile internally that he got a point there. He too winked at me showing that he can handle it so well.

"You are unnecessarily thinking a lot Ananya." He said with a smile on his face that she gave a look that clearly says 'are you serious?'.

"Please stop covering him up brother. We both clearly know that he is the one who went there and all this is just because he cannot escape this time with his so-called excuse" She stated folding her arms again and giving me her signature stern look.

Looks like she is not going to back down this time and with the look on my brother's face it is clear that he too thinks the same.

I released a sigh knowing that I have to agree with her and ask for forgiveness.

"Baby... I am so sorry." I said stepping further and getting in front of her with a regretting look on my face. "I know that you told me to stay away from all this but I couldn't help it." I said pulling my hair with my right hand and averting my eyes from her to the ground.

"He was a terrorist who blasted the mall Ananya. Hundreds of life's were at stake and most of them were injured. I wasn't able to see them suffering like that on the floor helpless and struggling for life. It nearly broke my heart to watch them like that. So I did the only thing that seemed right at that time and what my heart suggested." I said glancing at her with hurt filled eyes by remembering all those lifeless bodies and people struggling for life.

"He was running away from the cops and they were unable to catch him on time. So I did the only thing that I thought was correct and followed him secretly until I caught him." I said with a somewhat proud smile of mine but it immediately vanished when I saw the look on her face. She is angry but at the same time sad for those people. I exactly know what she is thinking. She wants me to be safe for our child and for her but with me being in this field and taking these drastic steps are making it hard for her and even making her scared of my life.

I love her even more when she thinks like that and when she is torn in between being angry or to forgive.

"I am sorry Anu. I know that you are scared of this field, but I promise you that I will take care of myself and us. You need to believe me on this." I said, looking at her with an apologetic look and sincerity in my voice.

"I promised you many times and I will do it each and every time if it's needed for your assurance but you need to understand that this field is my passion and I cannot live without it. It makes me happy to serve the people by helping them and protecting them." I said with sorrowful voice of mine and glanced down with a defeated look.

"Ananya.... You know him well to know that he loves his job. He promised you right that he will take care of himself." He said coming towards us by placing a hand on her shoulder and looking at her with a small assured smile on his face. "Just believe him. He always keeps his promises at any cost" He completed with a proud smile on his face that I smiled back at him with a grateful look on my face.

We both looked at her to see that she was looking in between both of us with a raised eyebrow but I can see the smile which she is trying desperately to hide from us. This made me sigh in relief knowing that she forgave me.

"You both always cook something together to make me melt with your speeches and dialogues." She said, indicating the both of us with her hand by giving a stern expression for a second and then smiled in return.

"Fine. I forgive you. But please take care of yourself" she said with a worried expression that I immediately hugged her and kissed the top of her head with affection. She too hugged me back with equal affection.

Then I glanced down and captured her lips with mine in a promise kiss. It is short but with enough assurance that I will take care of both of them and mine.

"Urghh... Get a room guys. Until how many days should I need to see you like this?" Complained my brother Reyansh while taking a seat on the sofa and switching the channels. This made Anu chuckle and withdraw herself from my arms by going inside the kitchen to complete the cooking.

"Get habituated bro. You should know by now that we won't change. If you want to avoid this then you too need to get married" I said casually with a glint of teasing by taking a seat beside him.

My brother is three years older than me. He is the same height as me but somewhat lean as I am into this field. But that doesn't mean that he doesn't have an attractive body. He very well has all those things a girl wants in a man but he never once used to glance in the direction of a girl. He chose not to marry in his lifetime.

When he was in college he used to love some girl with all his heart. But I don't know what happened in between them to make him like this. I only know that she left him for marrying someone else which made him devastated and break down into pieces. From then on he completely concentrated on his business which he chose to make by himself. He is the actual heir to the father's company but he chose not to take it and instead started a startup company of his own which is a successful business now.

Father always used to support him even after he refused to take over the company so I too supported him in everything. After dad's death I took over the company and started improving the business even more. Now it's just me, my brother, my wife and my dearest little princess in this big house of ours.

I know that he doesn't like the thought of marriage but whenever I get the chance, I will throw a stone to see if he changed or not because I am worried about his loneliness at some times. Everyone needs a life partner to support them and take care of them. I tried very hard to explain or make him understand or even beg him but everything went in vain.

"Haha.. How funny. I already told you that I am not interested in marriage. So stop that bullshit now" He said glaring at me that I sobered up and surrendered my hands with a note that I lost this argument. Then he relaxed and sulked even more into the sofa with a sigh.

"So tell me what happened today. I know there is more to the story than you said earlier. But I didn't want to ask it in front of her and make you get caught again." He said looking at me with a raised eyebrow as if he is challenging me to deny the fact.

With a huff I adjusted myself even more comfortably on the sofa before explaining to him about everything.

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