Chapter 7

Mahira felt her head pounding as if somebody was banging her head again and again. She almost felt she couldn't breathe as if somebody was straggling her. Her heavy eyes finally opened with some effort and her breathe that started to become normal was strangled right in her throat as she saw the man that frightened her right before her in an unfamiliar room.

She was lying on bed and saw him sitting right beside her.

Before she could even think, she pushed him away, her instincts were going haywire with her heart beating out of her chest. The whole room seemed to roam, and she didn't even know when her hand touched his face and his face turned the other side. Her scream seemed to hurt her more than anything else. Her throat felt hurts, her head hurts, her whole-body hurts.

"Aap, aap, yaha?! Abhaya!!!" Mahira struggled to speak, and tears kept rolling down her eyes as the scene of two people lying outside the hall flashed in her mind while the man who showed her such a thing was standing in front of her, alone with her. Before Advit even spoke, his door was knocked, and Abhaya's voice came in.

"Bhai, Mahi, everything's okay? I am coming, Mahi, just wait, I am coming. Bhai, open the door please! Mahi is scared!" Advit tired of all this shouting opened the door and Abhaya without even looking at her bhai who had a nice handprint over the right side of his face looked at her running to Mahira who hugged her and buried her head in her neck.

"Mahi, don't be scared, you are fine. Calm down. Don't hurt your throat." Abhaya said but as soon as she spoke the last bit, Mahira whose cries were getting louder calmed and just kept her face hidden in her neck.

"What's up with her throat?" Advit asked as he stood right beside his sister.

Mahira who heard him buried herself even deeply in Abhaya's neck while Advit's hand clenched into a fist. He wanted to throw his sister out and hug her, tell her she was his, so why was she acting like this?

"Bhai, Mahira hurt her throat a long ago due to some accident before even meeting us." Abhaya who could feel her brother's anger didn't dare to take too much time to answer his question. Right now, she just wanted to take her friend away from here, but she just had no choice because of how he was standing right over them, and she knew he wouldn't allow them to go away, specifically take Mahira away.

"Bhai, I think I should take Mahi to my room, her medicines are–"

"No need," Advit cut off Abhaya in the middle of her sentence and said, "Nishant, go with Abhaya and bring whatever medicines that Mahira takes." Nishant came in and stood beside Advit looking at Abhaya who wanted to struggle to bring Mahira back, but Advit didn't give her a chance.

He simply sighed before his cold eyes glanced at Abhaya and he held her by her elbow and pulled her apart from Mahira and pulled her out of his room before he said, "I will see to her need, Abhaya, I know her more than you ever will." He turned to close the door before he stopped and turned his head towards Abhaya, "Abhaya, I love her, and she has to love me. Help me to make sure of that or else."

Abhaya looked at her bhai who closed the door while Nishant stood right next to her waiting for her to move. She trembled and shivered as she thought back her to brother's last look. Those eyes looked insane to her, but she has seen them before on him. He had that same look in his eyes when he came back at the age of 15 when he asked her young self for a promise. Promise that she gave him to help him with his love, to let him have his Mahi...

What has she done...?

Abhaya stared at the door and turned around before she wiped her tears. Nishant followed her and took medicines from her to get back to Advit when Abhaya stopped him.

"Tell bhai, dad will be coming back in a day. Before that, let Mahi come back to my room or at leats let her go back to her own, otherwise, dad will make sure he never sees her again." Nishant heard this and wondered why this little girl thinks that Rajeev Goenka can stop his boss.

He has long been out of the control range of Mr. Goenka.

"..." without a word, Nishant closed the door behind him, and Abhaya collapsed on the floor. She thought of her bhai when he came back from Delhi and was just fifteen years old.

-

"Abhaya, do you know who is coming back today? Your Advit Bhai, are you happy?" Milani asked little Abhaya who was just twelve years old, and Abhaya smiled nodding her head. She has spoken to her Bhai a few times.

Even though she has memories of the time her bhai was here, she was too young when he left.

"Abhaya, will you play with your bhai?" Abhaya nodded at Milani again before getting back to her drawing.

Soon, with a horn sound, Milani got up excited and ran to the door to open it herself for her son and husband and there they were.

Her son, cold and beautiful, hugged her calmly and looked at his sister before touching her head and nodding at the servants who were there. Rajeev who saw this heaved a sigh and thought of how much his son has changed. He looked at his wife who seemed lost in her son and talking to him about everything as if she hasn't talked to him in these years when she would call him every week just to ensure herself that her son is fine. He is eating, drinking, and living well.

"Bhai," Abhaya stood next to her bhai in the garden as he brought her out to play on her insistence. "Why are you sad?"

Advit looked at Abhaya who was looking at him with a confused look and smiled while his eyes became even more sad as his Mahi's face flashed in front of his eyes. "I am not."

"But you are." Abhaya said adamant at her conclusion.

"Okay, I am." Advit said as he touched her cheek kneeling in front of her.

"Why are you sad but. Do you want something? I can tell Papa to give it to you! Vo meri har baat maantey hain!" Little Abhaya claimed as her lips rose in a smile with one of her teeth broken.

Advit glanced at her and smiling pulled her cheek as his smile turned cold and he said "Okay, then will Abhaya give me a promise?"

"Will that make you happy?" Abhaya asked and Advit nodded.

"Yes it will. I want you to promise me that once I find the one I need, Abhaya will do everything in order to help me. Everything." Advit said as his cold smile and chilling eyes scared Abhaya and Abhaya nodded. In agreement or under fear, only little Abhaya knows.

Advit patted Abhaya's head and ruffled her hairs before turning back to the nicest brother and they played till it was late in the evening and their mother came to call them back.

-

Abhaya wondered just how she would help her bhai when she herself was feeling extremely helpless. What will she tell Mahi? How will she protect Mahi from all the fears and darkness that comes with her Bhai?