In a posh area, inside a dimly lit room of a flat, the TV placed in front was playing the news.

"Aaj ki sabse badi khabar aapke saamne hai... aaye din badhte hue laashon ke hospital se khone ka number badhta jaa raha hai. Dawa kiya jaa raha hai ki isme kaafi bade hospitals aur influential log shaamil hain... logon ko ye bhi shaq hai ki hospital staff aur doctors bhi isme shaamil ho sakte hain. Khoyi hui laashon ke parivaar wale authorities se guhaar laga rahe hain ki unhe apne loved ones ka cremation tak karne ka mauka nahi mil raha... Dekhte hain police iss maamle mein kya karti hai..."

(Today's biggest news is in front of you... the number of bodies going missing from hospitals is increasing day by day. It is being claimed that big hospitals and influential people are involved... people even suspect that hospital staff and doctors might be part of this. Families of the missing bodies are pleading with authorities as they are not even getting the chance to cremate their loved ones... let's see what the police does in this matter...)

A man, around 28 years old, sat on the sofa, his back resting against it, eyes fixed on the screen.

One of his arms was stretched over the back of the sofa, while with the other, he held a glass, taking slow sips of his drink.

As the visuals of crying families flashed on the screen, his grip on the glass tightened… his jaw clenched.

His eyes didn’t move away from the headlines.

Just then, his phone rang.

Without taking his eyes off the TV, he picked up the call.

"Yess..."

(Yes...)

"Sir News dekhi aapne?"

(Did you see the news Sir?)

"Wahi dekh raha hoon."

(I'm watching it right now.)

"Toh aap itna toh samajh chuke honge  ki hum par kitna pressure hai? Yeh bahut badi problem banti jaa rahi hai... agar humne jaldi kuch nahi kiya toh logon ka bharosa hum par se uth jayega."

(Then you must understand the pressure we are under? This is becoming a huge problem... if we don’t act soon, people will lose trust in us.)

The man finally spoke, his voice deep and heavy.

"Inspector Shubhansh, aap chinta mat kijiye... aapko jaldi hi iss galat kaam ke peeche jinke haath hain, unke naam milenge."

(Inspector Shubhansh, don’t worry... you will soon have the names of those behind this crime.)

There was silence on the other end for a moment. A deep breath followed.

"Mujhe bharosa hai aap par... aapne pehle bhi humare saath milkar kaafi cases solve kiye hain. Iss baar bhi hum aap par bharosa kar rahe hain... bas aap khayal rakhiye ga, kyunki yeh log kaafi khatarnak hain..."

("I trust you... you’ve solved many cases with us before. We are trusting you this time as well... just take care, because these people are very dangerous...")

A low chuckle escaped his lips, a devilish smile forming on his face.

"Samarth Shankar Rathore naam hai mera,... Mahadev ka bhakt hoon main. Logon se darna nahi, logon ko darana seekha hai maine. Aur woh log jo bhi hain... unhe main aur meri team jald hi ghutno pe laayenge."

("My name is Samarth Shankar Rathore,... I am a devotee of Mahadev. I haven't learned to fear people, I’ve learned to make them fear me. And whoever they are... my team and I will soon bring them to their knees.")

Anger burned in his eyes now.

"Detective Samarth, humein bharosa hai aap par."

(Detective Samarth, we trust you.)

And then The call ended.

Samarth placed his phone aside and stood up, walking toward the glass wall of his flat, overlooking the entire city.

For a moment, he stood there, one hand slipping into the pocket of his formal pants, lost in thought.

Then he picked up his phone again and dialed another number.

"Kahan tak pahuncha kaam?"

(How far has the work progressed?)

"Sir, next step liya jaane wala hai."

(Sir, the next step is about to be taken.)

"Theek hai... mujhe umeed hai hum milkar jald hi in logon ke baare mein pata laga paayenge."

(Alright... I hope together we’ll soon find out about these people.)

"Yes sir."

("Yes sir.")

The call disconnected.

Samarth stood there again, staring out at the city lights.

Then, under his breath, he muttered—

"I promise... tum jo bhi ho... jis tarah in parivaron ko rulaya hai... usi tarah mein tumhe bhi Rulaunga."

(I promise... whoever you are... the way you’ve made these families cry... I will make you cry the same way.)

His tone was deadly.

I entered my house at 4 p.m.

My body felt heavy, exhaustion clinging to every step after hours at the hospital.

I had been there since last night for an important surgery that finally ended this afternoon.

That was the only reason I was able to return home now.

As I stepped into the sitting room, my eyes immediately fell on Maa.

But she didn’t speak to me.

Not because she was angry about what happened that day…

But because her husband was sitting right beside her.

And he had clearly forbidden her from keeping any connection with me.

And like always… she was doing what she had always done—

playing the role of a perfect wife.

To be honest, I never hated the love and respect she gave to her husband…

if only he gave her the same in return.

But he didn’t.

And that was why…

her one-sided efforts never sat right with me.

For a few moments, I just stood there, silently watching her.

She looked at me too…

but neither of us said anything.

Then I quietly walked towards my room.

When he isn’t home, Maa talks to me…

but never in front of him.

Because of fear.

And respect.

Or maybe… just fear.

As I got closer to my room…

Closer to my wife…

A faint smile appeared on my face without me even realizing it.

It had been more than a month since our marriage…

and things were only getting better.

This one month… felt like too many happinesses packed into a single moment.

To the world, we might be husband and wife…

But for us… we were still friends.

Just… a friendship that had begun to grow into something more.

At least for me… it had.

Because now, if I didn’t see her, it didn’t feel right.

Before going in front of her, I always took a deep breath—

as if preparing myself.

When she smiled…

all I wanted was to make her smile even more.

I slowly opened the door, careful not to make a sound, thinking she might be asleep.

But to my surprise… she wasn’t.

She was reading a novel. Her Novel.

Completely immersed in it.

So deeply focused that she didn’t even realize when I entered the room.

Her expressions were entirely lost in the book.

Intense. Focused. Slightly tense.

Her eyes were fixed on the words as if they held something real.

What was it about these novels… especially love stories? , I never truly understood.

But it Doesn't even matter ,

What matters the most is that she likes to read them . It makes her Happy .

When Myra had told me that her books were left behind at her parents’ house…

I went the very next day to bring them back for her.

Flashback

I rang the bell, and Myra’s mother—my mother-in-law—opened the door.

" Arey damad jii —"

(Oh, son-in-law—)

" Please"

(Please.)

I raised my hand slightly to stop her.

" Mein bss yaha Myra ke kisi saman k liye aaya hu de dijiye, m chala jaunga"

(I’m just here to take something that belongs to Myra. Please give it to me, I’ll leave.)

She looked shocked.

"Kon hai Suman "

(Who is it, Suman?)

Myra’s father’s voice came from inside.

She stepped aside and replied,

" jii wo Damad jii hain "

(Yes… it’s son-in-law.)

He immediately walked toward the door.

I was still standing outside.

"Areyyy damad jiii !!! Aaiye na aap bahar kyu khade hain"

(Oh son-in-law! Please come in, why are you standing outside?)

He said happily, stepping forward to hug me.

But I stepped back.

His expression fell instantly.

I looked straight at him.

" Mr. Srivastava mein aapke ghar m nahi aa skta "

(Mr. Srivastava, I cannot enter your house.)

A flicker of fear appeared on his face.

" Kyu Damad ji....myra...myra ne kuch kiya hai kya ? "

(Why, son-in-law? Did Myra do something?)

And slowly… that fear turned into anger.

" Ye ladki kbhi nahi sudhregi , maine kaha tha na suman tumse uspe lagam rkho , use sudhar k rkho , wrna sasural walo se shikayat aayegi "

(This girl will never change! I told you, Suman, keep her under control, discipline her, otherwise complaints will come from her in-laws.)

But Myra’s mother immediately shook her head.

" Myra ne kuch nahi kiya hai "

(Myra hasn’t done anything.)

I closed my eyes for a moment, frustration building inside me.

Then I opened them.

" Aapne ,aapke parivaar ne aur mere Parivaar ne kiya hai jo kiya hai "

(You, your family and my family have done what has been done.)

There was anger in my eyes now.

" Ye — ye aap kya keh rahe hain Damad ji.. kya Myra ne ...myra ne aapse kuch kaha hai ? "

(Wh—what are you saying, son-in-law? Did Myra… did Myra say something to you?)

He stammered, fear clearly visible in his eyes.

Maybe he already understood why I was behaving this way.

I didn’t say anything.

I just stared at him.

That was enough.

"Ohh !! To uss ladki ne aapke saamne bhi rona shuru kr diya"

(Ohh!! So that girl started crying in front of you as well?)

Her brother’s voice came from behind.

He was smirking.

He stepped forward to hug me too, but I stopped him midway.

" Kya Jeeja jii ab aap aisa krenge humare saath . Gale bhi nahi milenge , ghar ke ander bhi nahi aayenge. Itna praya krenge aap hume ."

(What is this, brother-in-law? Will you behave like this with us now? Won’t you even hug me? Won’t you come inside? Have you made us strangers?)

He said casually.

I looked at him silently.

" Jis ghar mein meri biwi ki izzat nahi , uss ghar mein, mein paani bhi nahi peena chahaunga , aur jin logo mann m meri biwi ki izzat nahi— "

(In a house where my wife is not respected, I wouldn’t even want to drink water there, and the people who don’t respect my wife—)

I took a step toward him.

" Unn logo ka mein muh tk nahi dekhna chahunga"

(I don’t even want to see their faces.)

His expression changed.

Then he chuckled sarcastically.

"Aap jaise logo ki problem pta hai kya hai ? Aap aurton ko bohot serious lete hain , areyy wo ladki aawara hai bewakuf hai, kisi kaam ki nahi hai wo ... isiliye to use bechne ki naubat aayi. Waise ek baat sahi hai logo ke ghar ki betiyaan paise udwa oe jaati hain shaadi k time pe , humari wali ne to ulta paison ka intezaam kiya hai "

(Do you know what your problem is? You take women too seriously. That girl is characterless, foolish, useless… that’s why it came to the point of selling her. And one thing is true—while daughters usually take money during marriage, ours arranged money instead.)

And then he laughed even more.

My fists clenched tightly.

I looked at his father.

His face was silent… but not with regret.

His mother stood there quietly too, as if she accepted everything that was being said.

No denial.

No guilt.

Nothing.

Did they ever… even consider her their daughter?

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

What do you think will happen next ?

How will Viraat react to this?

What's Myra reading?

You'll get to know in next chapter.

Also there  would be a very cute moment of them in next chapter.

Stay tuned .

Do vote if you like my story.

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