Chapter 83: chapter 83

SRUTHI“How do you feel about me now?”Madhav’s question catches me off guard. I wasn’t prepared for this kind of question from him. How do I feel about him? That is a simple yet complicated question. My feelings are still in a jumble of mess. I like Madhav. I am sure of it. Hundred per cent sure but I am not sure if this is love. I don’t want to make the same mistake twice. The mistake of labelling feelings and jumping head-on into a relationship in a short time as I did with Praveen.Being honest and straightforward has always worked out for me and I should give him a real answer. I should say that I like him but I am afraid of his reaction. There are only two possible outcomes, the first one being him telling me that he likes me back. Of course, I won't believe his words because I know he still loves another woman. There is no way he would have gotten over that woman in the past three months. It takes months to forget the kind of one-sided love he had. I am willing to give the time and wait patiently. Besides, we agreed to wait for a couple of years to see if this would work out between us. The second possible outcome would be his rejection. I don't want to be rejected. I know it will hurt like hell if he rejects me. So nope, I am not going to tell him the full truth.“I feel comfortable and safe with you,” I answer. “Surprisingly, spending time with you is more fun than I originally thought. I think—”Madhav suddenly pulls me away from the waters and takes me behind a fisher's boat. His eyes are alert and cautious as he scans the perimeter. Instinctively, I keep my mouth shut and listen. Then I hear the sound of a motor running. A dot appears on the ocean and as the motor sound increases, the dot becomes larger. I realize it is a ferry boat. Filled with people. I look at Madhav in confusion. What the hell is happening? Why is a ferry boat giving rides to people at this time? When the beach is off limits?“I will tell you all the details once we get to our room, but for now, trust me. Will you?” Madhav asks in an urgent whisper. Something tells me that this is bigger than I can comprehend and I nod my head in consent. “Thank you,” he whispers in my ear before putting his hand into his hoodie pocket.Madhav takes his phone out. Nope, it is not his phone but a phone. One I haven't seen him use in our house. He clicks photos of the ferry boat as it reaches the shore. Out of nowhere, a container appears. A big one that can be used to ship goods. It is brown in colour and has a blue fox face painted in the middle. A couple of men who look like ruffians get out of the container's front. They wait for the boat to anchor itself on the shore. Madhav takes the picture of the container. Then zooms in on the number plate in the photo. He crops the number plate alone and sends it to someone named ‘Techie’ in his contacts. I watch as people get out of the ferry boat. I suck in a sharp breath as I realise that all the people exiting the ferry boats are handcuffed irrespective of their age or gender. I can't comprehend what is happening but I know that something illegal is happening here.The doors of the container open and the people enter it. Their faces look hopeless and tired. It is like they have resigned to this fate. No one makes much of a protest as they get into the container. “Aren't we going to stop this?” I ask in a whisper. Madhavs looks at me with amusement in his eyes. “What do you suggest we do?”“Call the cops on them.”Madhav's palm caresses my cheek gently, “Sadly, the local police are in cahoots with these guys.”“Then—”“Shh. Don't stress yourself out much. I will handle this. Don't worry those people wouldn't be sold as slaves. Not on my watch.”Slaves? Oh My God!Then those men from the container  are human traffickers. How dare they try to do this when slavery is abolished in our country?“What do we do now then?” I ask feeling restless. I don't want to stay out when something this big is happening right in front of my eyes.“For now, we stay silent and observe. Sometimes, we have to observe things and gather as much as information as possible, so that, things may come handy in the future.”“But, aren't you an assassin? You can just kill off those men and release those people?”Madhav smiles, “Sruthi, I am an assassin. Not a hero. Besides, from when did you start approving killing people?”“I still don't like the idea of killing people but I think taking a couple of lives to save a hundred is okay.”Madhav shakes his head amused, “I see, you have a some sense of justice.”“It is complicated the more I think about it. Killing people is against my morale but sometimes I think the world would be a better place without some.”“I agree,” Madhav says. “We all have our own notions of justice and punishment. The more we dwell on the black and white of life, the more we realize how grey life really is.”“Have you ever regretted killing someone?” the question slips me before I can think.Madhav takes a moment to answer, “Only once because someone made a huge fuss about how important human life is.”He don't need to elaborate when it happened. I am sure that he is talking about the kidnapper he killed in the parking lot. “I am not sorry about what happened that day,” I say thinking back to how we both argued.“Neither I am,” Madhav answers. “We both have different notions and see the world in different glasses.”“I agree on that,” I answer watching the container leaving the beach. The ferry boat driver goes off in the container with the two ruffians. A couple of minutes pass in which the silence is the only thing heard on the whole of the beach.“Can we go? I think this was an adventure enough to last for the night.”“It was an adventure enough to last for my lifetime,” I reply getting up from the sand. “We can go.”We walk back to the wall while holding hands. I keep looking back apprehensive that there is someone else on the beach. Madhav too keeps scanning the area watching out for someone to appear. I remember seeing this look on his face not a long time ago.“Did my brother ask you to guard me from the threats I was facing, a week prior to the wedding?”“Yes, he did. I thought you already figured it out after the sniper attack.”No, I didn't. I was too busy with my wedding preparations to add two and two. I still can't believe how fearlessly this man threw himself into danger to save me that day. “How much did my brother pay you for being my bodyguard?” Madhav'sv face darkens and he looks hurt. I realise how offensive that question sounded. I open my mouth to apologize but he doesn't give me the chance.“What makes you think that I did for money?”I brood on his question and settle for an honest answer, “Because, I don't see any other objective you would have to guard me.”Madhav gives me another of his amused smiles, “You are wrong. My objective was not money.”“Then what was it?”“It was to keep you safe and sound.”“At the cost of your own life?”“Yes, at the cost of my own life.”Madhav wraps his hand around my knees and lifts mp. We get to the other side of the wall. Once we are on the ground and start walking towards the hotel, I ask the question pestering me, “But why? Why would you risk your life to save mine?”I remember asking this same kind of question to him once. He refused to answer then. How could he throw away his life easily for me? What do I mean to him? “Because you are an important person to me and Vikram. He would have lost his mind if something happened to you. Now, we can't have our defence minister losing his mind, can we?”“No, we can't,” I answer hiding the disappointment I feel at his answer.❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥