Chapter 10: chapter 10

MADHAV“What is the meaning of this?” I ask the man before me.  He is a few years younger than me and looks terrified.“Sorry, sir, but this is the only thing we found here,” answers Vishnu pointing to the Sniper rifle. I put on a glove and take it in my hand. I check for the barrel and find three bullets missing. My guess was correct. The shots were fired from the lighthouse.“So, you are telling me that the perpetrator escaped before you came here?” Vishnu hangs his head low and nods,"Yes sir. No one was here when we arrived. We also searched the surrounding areas."“Did you find anything else?” I ask clenching my hand in frustration.“No, sir.”“Okay, then, you can go back to the mansion. Tell Vikram, I am near the lighthouse.”Vishnu gives me a nod hurriedly gathers his men and walks away to the mansion. There goes nothing. Another dead end. I have a idea that we are dealing with professional criminals here. The had come here with a great plan to  escape without leaving any traces. But, I have the talent of finding them. They can't escape me forever. I will find them soon.❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥I am still at the beach, searching for clues. But, I can't find a single clue. There is no CCTVs here. So, that is another dead end. I have enquired a handful of people and no one seems to have seen anything suspicious.I rake a hand through my hair and look out at the ocean. My heart feels heavy and my mind is in chaos. Sruthi is getting married to someone else tomorrow and I haven’t still found the person trying to kill her.I have feelings for her and I can't move on from her. I  still want her. Every time, I see her with Praveen, my heart aches. The jealousy monster in me rears its head and I have an irrational urge to beat up Praveen. Every time she looks at Praveen with an affectionate and soft look, I hate that man with every fiber of my being because he is everything Sruthi wants and I am not. “I am sorry,” the sound of Vikram’s voice pulls me out of my mind. I glance at him in confusion.  He looks tired. His perfectly styled hair is ruffled and his tux is crooked. He looks tired but all the same alert and sharp.“What are you sorry for?” I ask sitting down on the sand. He sits down next to me. “For putting you through this trouble of seeing the woman you love get married,” he says looking at the faraway ocean.“It is okay—” I say nodding my head before his words finally sink in. “Wait! What?”Vikram gives me a knowing look, “I have eyes, Madhav. I have seen the way you look at my sister.”“How do I look at her?” I ask glaring at him.“Like you want to devour her whole. I know you are in love with her,” he says.I shake my head, “You are delusional.”“I am not. We both know you are lying. I am not going to kick you or beat you up for loving my sister.”I frown at  him, “So, you are okay with the fact that I am in love with your sister?”“I am,” he answers with sincerity.“Aren’t you afraid that I would do something to her?” I ask not understanding why he is okay with me being in love with his sister. He knows all about my shitty childhood and about my abusive father. He should be terrified. Because I am a monster and he should beat me up for even thinking about his angelic sister. “I know you are not your father. I wanted Sruthi to fall in love with you too,” he confesses with a wistful smile.I blink at him in shock. I pinch myself to check if I am dreaming. It stings. So, nope. I am not dreaming. I grab the ends of my friend’s hair and pull. “Oww! What are you doing?” he winces in pain.“Checking if you are a doppelganger of my friend Vikram. Tell me who are you  and who sent you?” I ask in a fierce tone.He laughs and lies down on the sand, “Calm down. I am not a doppelganger. I am the real deal. Let me tell you the secret that only we both know. Remember the time we set free mice in the wardrobe of our jail warden.”He meets my eye and we both burst out laughing. The warden was a big man who mistreated the boys in the juvenile. He would beat us up for no reason and starve us. The trouble of catching all the mice was worth the jail warden’s reaction. The mice bit away all his expensive clothes to pieces.“When did you know?” I ask lying next to him. The sky is filled with a lot of stars. We rarely ever get to behave like two normal friends. So, I cherish this moment with him. “Three years ago, when your whole concertation was on her at the annual festival. You spilled your food all over you because you were busy staring at my sister.”“Weren’t you angry?”“I wasn’t. I was happy.”I snort, “Why would you be happy when a monster is in love with your sister? Shouldn’t you be scared?”“If you’re a monster, then what I am?” he asks in a serious tone.  “You only carry out the task I assign you. You are my tool and I am the one who wields you. Then that makes me the master of monsters and that is even terrible.”I laugh at his description of himself, “So, you wanted your sister to fall in love with me?”“Yes. I am indebted to you. I would be the happiest man in this whole world if she had fallen in love with you. I know you would love and cherish her.  I am sorry that she loathes you. If it hadn’t for me, you wouldn’t have turned into an assassin.”“Aww! How very sweet of you,” I tease him. “Stop with the sentiment. You know I don’t do them very well and for your kind information, I am thankful that you made me into an assassin. I never resent you for it. Remember, you didn’t force me to become an assassin. You gave me a choice and I choose to become your tool. Don’t think the whole world revolves around you,” I say hitting him on the shoulder.“Well, the media makes me think that the world does revolve around me. Kindly remind me of that fact frequently,” he says.We are silent for a few seconds. It is a comfortable one. I always envisioned that it would be a bloody day when Vikram learned about my love for his sister. I was expecting a couple of punches from him but not this quiet silent acceptance and definitely not his cheery support. I sigh heavily. Nothing matters now. Because Sruthi is getting married to someone else tomorrow. “Are you ready to be apart from Sruthi?” I ask in the silence.“I am not. I never will be. But, she has her own life to live and I know she is fed up with staying in my shadows. I talked with her fiancée. He seems like a decent guy. He loves her. I agreed to this marriage only after I was sure that Praveen would make her happy.”“What happens now?” I ask. “I mean my assignment. Should I follow her to her husband’s city and keep a watch on her?” Vikram shakes his head vigorously, “I am a selfish fellow, Madhav. That is why I made you stay for Sruthi’s wedding though I know your feelings for her. But, I am not a sadist. She is my sister to protect. You have no obligations towards her. You already risked your life for her today. My heartfelt thanks for that. I have made other arrangements for her safety. You don’t have to keep an eye on her anymore.”“No, it is fine. I am fine,” I lie. “I will keep an eye on her.”“Can you stomach seeing her with another man?” he asks.I flinch but don’t answer his question. Because the answer is obvious.“But her safety—” I start.“I am not talking to you as her brother but as your best friend. You have already suffered enough. I don’t want you to suffer more. She is marrying someone else. Move on with your life Madhav. I am sure you will find another better woman in your life. You need to be away from her to forget her. It is her loss that she missed you. I hope one day, she realizes that.”I smile, “Isn’t she your sister?”He smiles back at me, “That doesn’t change the truth.”❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥