Chapter Two Hundred and Seventy Two.

Chapter Two Hundred and Seventy Two.
“Fuck! Fuck!!” Shaurya roared, stumbling as he stepped out of his bedroom, only to freeze when a bullet whizzed past him.

He snapped his head to the side, grimacing as he saw Arjun at the far end of the hallway, gun leveled and eyes burning with fury.

“Where the fuck is Meera!” Arjun yelled, every muscle in his body coiled with rage.

His hands shook, but not from fear, from the blinding fire of anger that consumed him.

“I warned you, Shaurya! Stay the fuck away from her!” Arjun barked, taking deliberate, fast steps down the hallway, each one a threat.

Another shot rang out, Shaurya barely dodged in time.

“She doesn’t belong to—” Shaurya began, but a sharp pain seared through his arm as another bullet grazed him.

He hissed, clutching the spot, his grin faltering for just a second.

“You have ten seconds to tell me where she is.” Arjun said, advancing, voice low but lethal, eyes locked on Shaurya’s.

“Ten…” Arjun spat, teeth clenched.

“I don’t know.”

“Nine.”

“I don’t fucking know!” Shaurya yelled, veins standing out on his forehead, anger and fear warring in his expression.

Before the next countdown could start, a loud crash echoed from the other side of the corridor, followed by a piercing gunshot and a terrified scream.

“Meera!” Both Arjun and Shaurya yelled simultaneously.

Shaurya tore down the hallway, Arjun right behind him.

Their footsteps pounded, echoing off the walls as they rounded the corner, each turn ratcheting up the tension.

The sounds of struggle grew louder, desperate, chaotic.

Finally, Shaurya reached his study door and swung it open..and froze.

Inside, Meera was bound, a gag over her mouth, tears streaming down her face. Suhana held her in a vice-like grip, a gun pressed to her temple. Her eyes glittered with cruel delight.

Suhana’s gaze swept over Shaurya and she smirked. Then she turned to Arjun, and the smirk widened into a sharp, dangerous grin.

“Oh wow… isn’t this amazing.” she said, her voice dripping with mockery.

“Suhana? You?” Arjun’s voice was trembling with a fury that clawed at him from the inside.

“Well, hello to you too… ex-fiancé..” she purred, her gun never wavering.

Arjun’s eyes flicked to Meera, her small frame trembling, tears wetting her cheeks, her hands tied behind her.

He wanted to rush forward, to pull her from Suhana’s grip.

“Another step and I will pull the trigger. And she dies..” Suhana warned, her smirk unwavering.

Arjun’s jaw clenched so hard it hurt, and he froze mid-step.

“Aw… would you look at that. Arjun really listened to me..” she mocked, laughter curling through the room like a blade. She tapped the gun against Meera’s head lightly, Meera groaned, muffled by the gag.

“Let her go!” Shaurya shouted, anger flaring as he saw Meera’s suffering.

“Aww, don’t worry. I won’t kill her… just yet..” Suhana purred, tilting her head. “I just want to see how she’s able to wrap two dangerous men around her little fingers.” She laughed again, a sound that sent chills down the spine.

"And I must say, she is really strong, brave and confident. You are so lucky Arjun." Suhana said and anyone could tell the mockery in her tone.

“What do you want, Suhana?” Arjun’s asked. Every muscle in him coiled like a spring, eyes never leaving Meera’s trembling form.

Suhana’s gaze lingered on him for a moment, cold, calculating. Then a wicked smile curved her lips.

“Revenge..” she said simply, shrugging as if it were nothing.

Arjun’s body stiffened.

“I want to kill her… and watch you crumble in misery.” she added, voice silky but venomous. Each word was designed to strike, to wound him.

Arjun’s eyes flicked to Meera. His chest tightened. Every nerve in his body screamed, but he held himself still.

Meanwhile, Meera’s eyes darted around the room. Every shadow, every piece of furniture, anything that could give her a chance to distract Suhana, to create even a split-second opportunity for Arjun to strike.

Her mind raced, heart hammering.

Her earlier miscalculation was clear: she hadn’t realized Suhana was already here when she tried to escape.

●●●

Moments ago…

Meera had bolted back into Shaurya’s room, her panic giving way to desperation. She paced, trying to think, searching for a way out.

Her eyes landed on the window. Gulping, she assessed the height.

"I'm going to die, jumping from here." She mumbled.

Jumping was suicide..she’d shatter bones, tear her body, and her heavy wedding lehenga would only make it worse.

She pressed her back to the wall, breathing hard, mind racing for a solution. Every option seemed dead-end.

"Think think think Meera.." she was pacing breathing hard.

Then the sharp crack of a gunshot echoed through the hallway.

Her blood ran cold, color draining from her face.

"Gun shot?" She gulped..

She bolted to the door, her hands trembling as she flung it open and ran, turning corner after corner, completely disoriented.

Finally, she stumbled into a room, slamming the door shut behind her, pressing her hands against it, chest heaving.

The distant gunshots gave her a flicker of hope, but her heart refused to calm.

She dared not move, too afraid of being caught.

Then, a sudden, heavy impact crashed against the back of her head.

Meera gasped, vision blurring, knees threatening to give way.

Slowly, she turned, and her wide, terrified eyes locked on Suhana, standing there, cold and stiff.

“S… Suhana?” Meera’s voice was barely audible..

She tried to shake off the dizziness, tried to steady herself, but the blow had taken its toll.

She slumped, almost collapsing, every movement an effort.

Suhana’s smirk widened as she stepped closer, calmly.

“I always heard brides run from their weddings.” she said softly, almost conversational, but the underlying menace made Meera’s blood run cold. “I just… never thought I’d witness one.”

With a fluid motion, Suhana dropped the vase she had used to strike Meera.

Meera’s voice trembled. “W… what?”

Suhana squatted down, moving deliberately, her grip firm and hard.

She seized Meera by the hair, pulling the delicate jasmine flowers embedded in her braid free as if they were meaningless.

Meera hissed sharply.

“How does it feel..” Suhana hissed, her words laced with venom, “having someone else’s fiancée in your hands? Huh? Arjun… powerful, respected, desired, all yours to enjoy?” She leaned closer, eyes narrowing, voice dripping with hatred.

Meera, summoning the last of her strength, shoved Suhana back with a force that made her stumble.

She forced herself upright, heart pounding, glare fixed.

“W-what is wrong with you?” Meera said, her voice shaky but defiant. “I didn’t steal Arjun, Suhana.” She knew exactly what Suhana meant, every cruel insinuation twisting in her stomach.

A wicked, cold smile curved Suhana’s lips. “Aww, look at you. So brave, so defiant. Must be nice to see two men all over you… or wait, maybe it’s more than that? Watching them fight over you. Huh? Isn’t it… exciting? Or maybe...” She paused, voice dropping low, dangerous, “is it because you let them hit you? For a low-class girl like you, you sure know how to trap a man… by sleeping with—”