!!Story Time!!
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Radhika's POV
The hospital walls smelled of antiseptic and sterile hope. Everything was too white, too clean—as if grief could be scrubbed away.
I stood at the edge of Justin's bed, gripping the steel rail like it could anchor me. He looked fragile, paler than I'd ever seen him, his shoulder bandaged, lips dry, but his eyes… they were still him. Still *Justin.*
"You should've told me," I said. My voice cracked, but I tried to sound calm. Strong.
He gave me a tired smile. "About what? The knife wound or the fact that I've been coughing blood?"
"This isn't funny, Justin."
"I know," he murmured. "But I didn't want you to worry. You've had enough."
I stepped closer, unable to hold back anymore. "You are part of this. You *are* my enough. And the thought of losing you…" I swallowed the lump in my throat. "It breaks me, Justin."
He opened his mouth—maybe to argue, maybe to confess something more—but the door creaked open.
I turned, breath catching in my throat.
**Kush.**
My cousin brother. My protector. My past.
He looked older—haunted—but his eyes still held that unshakable resolve. I hadn't seen him in years. Not since… everything.
"Kush?" I whispered.
He nodded, stepping in. "I found something," he said, voice rough. "In the basement of the old Haveli by the cliff."
I felt my heart begin to race.
"You weren't the only one taken that day."
I stared at him, confused. "What do you mean?"
"You were unconscious when I got there," he said, his voice heavy. "I found you, Radhika. You were bleeding, barely breathing. I carried you out."
My knees felt weak.
"I thought Aarya was behind me," he continued, eyes shimmering. "But when I turned back… she was gone. I went in again. I *swear* I did. But they were already around her. I couldn't reach her."
My breath hitched.
"I took you to the hospital," he said. "They saved you. But Aarya… she didn't make it. Her body was found by the river this morning."
"No," I whispered.
Not like this. Not her.
She hated me. She blamed me. But even in her rage, she had still been my sister. Somewhere in her broken heart, she had once loved me.
"She's gone?" I barely managed the words.
Kush nodded, jaw tight. "She bled out trying to fight. She didn't surrender."
Tears blurred my vision.
Justin squeezed my hand, his touch grounding me as my world collapsed all over again.
Then Kush's phone vibrated. He picked it up, glanced at the screen—and swore.
"What is it?" I asked.
He handed it to me.
**"Tell your sister to stop digging. Or we'll bury her properly this time."**
My blood turned cold.
"They're still watching you," Kush said. "Still want you gone. That's why our family stayed silent all these years. You were threatened. We all were. And our parents… they chose fear over you."
I looked at him, stunned.
"You haven't spoken to them since—?"
"No," he said firmly. "Not once. Not after what they allowed to happen to you. To Aarya. I stood with you then. I'll stand with you now."
I blinked through tears I hadn't noticed falling.
Justin pulled himself up slightly. "So what do we do now?"
Kush met both our eyes. The fire in his gaze was back.
"Now we burn the shadows they left behind."
And in that moment—I wasn't just Radhika, the girl caught in the middle of a revenge story. I was a survivor. A sister. And I would be the ending they never expected.
---
*Radhika's POV*
The hospital felt colder after Kush's words. Aarya... gone?
I stood near the doorway, looking out into the corridor, half-expecting her shadow to reappear. For years, the idea of her being dead haunted me. Then, knowing she was alive had terrified me more. But this… this silence… it was different.
Justin's doctor had just finished checking on him and left the room, murmuring that he needed rest. But I could feel Justin watching me from the bed. Kush stood by the wall now, arms crossed, his expression unreadable.
"What happened exactly?" I asked, voice barely above a whisper.
Kush sighed deeply. "Two nights ago, I tracked one of Aarya's old contacts—someone from the same group who manipulated Dev's father. They had a place outside the city. I broke in, thinking I'd find more files… but I found something else."
I turned slowly to face him.
"A warehouse, burning. Half-collapsed. And a body inside. Female. Burned beyond recognition but wearing the same ring Aarya always wore. The police said the fire started due to an explosion from inside. Maybe… maybe someone turned on her."
My breath caught. It sounded like the end. But it didn't *feel* like one.
Justin finally spoke. "And you're sure it was her?"
Kush hesitated. "No DNA yet. But… the threats stopped."
For now.
The door creaked open again—and Akanksha rushed in, her face pale. Behind her, Ishika and Gulafsha followed quickly.
Akanksha held her phone in the air, screen lit with a message. "We just got this."
I snatched the phone and read aloud.
> "She may be gone, but her enemies are not. The blood she spilled won't go unanswered. And Radhika... your time is coming. One by one, they'll all fall."
I felt the air shift in the room. My blood ran cold.
Justin sat upright despite the pain, his eyes locking with mine. "This isn't over."
"No," I agreed. "Aarya may be gone. But someone else has picked up where she left off."
Gulafsha's voice was low. "Could it be the same people who threatened your family years ago?"
"Or someone new," Ishika added. "Someone even more dangerous."
Kush exhaled sharply. "I'll protect you again, Radhika. Even if I have to burn their whole world down."
I shook my head. "Not just you, bhaiya. All of us."
Justin reached for my hand. "Then we fight. Together."
---
Writer P.O.V
The night was ink-dark, Venice a quiet silhouette under the silver shimmer of a moon that had watched over far too many secrets.
In an abandoned villa by the edge of the forgotten coast—far from the city lights—six men stood like shadows: **Justin**, **Dev**, **Sahil**, **Kartik**, **Kush**, and the trembling man chained to the chair in the center.
Blood dripped down the man's lip. He had once worn expensive suits and smiled in boardrooms, orchestrating every move from the shadows. But now, in this dimly lit basement, he was stripped of everything—his name, his power, his arrogance.
Justin paced slowly in front of him, rage simmering in his eyes. "So it was you. All along. Behind Aarya. Behind Dev's father's manipulation. Behind Radhika's nightmares."
The man spat blood. "I only lit the fire. Your loved ones carried the matches."
Kush stepped forward and landed a brutal punch to his ribs.
Sahil's voice was cold. "He played everyone. Not just Aarya. He manipulated her trauma, gave her names, resources... and when she was no longer useful, he let her burn."
"Radhika almost died because of you," Dev said, fists clenched. "And you dared to twist my father's mind… You ruined lives for your game."
The man wheezed. "You think justice exists in your world? You're all just children. I created chaos and called it order. You think she was the only pawn? You don't know half of what lies beneath."
Kartik stepped forward now, speaking like the cop he was—but not with law in his voice, only fire. "We don't need your half. We've got enough."
Then Justin leaned close, eyes deadly calm.
"You will rot," he whispered. "But before that, you will *beg.* For every scream Radhika silenced. For every tear she never let fall. For every person you used and discarded like ash."
And then the room echoed with silence—thick, heavy, dark.
They didn't kill him. But they made sure **he would never walk out of that basement the same again.**
---
**Later that night, back at the hotel…**
The girls sat together on the balcony—**Radhika**, **Gulafsha**, **Ishika**, and **Akanksha**—laughing softly, the tension of past days slightly lifting. They knew something had happened. That the storm had passed.
But they didn't ask.
Because when the boys returned—battered, bruised, and silent—they didn't speak of the man or the screams that echoed through the villa walls.
Radhika looked at Justin, her eyes searching. "Everything okay?"
Justin gave a small smile and kissed her forehead gently. "It's over."
Radhika hugged him tight, believing him. Wanting to believe.
And far away, chained in the dark, the mastermind wept—not for his pain, but because the light was gone. Because the players he once ruled had risen… and the game was no longer his.
---
After one Year
Sahil-Ishika wedding
Writer P.O.V
---
The night was ink-dark, Venice a quiet silhouette under the silver shimmer of a moon that had watched over far too many secrets.
In an abandoned villa by the edge of the forgotten coast—far from the city lights—six men stood like shadows: **Justin**, **Dev**, **Sahil**, **Kartik**, **Kush**, and the trembling man chained to the chair in the center.
Blood dripped down the man's lip. He had once worn expensive suits and smiled in boardrooms, orchestrating every move from the shadows. But now, in this dimly lit basement, he was stripped of everything—his name, his power, his arrogance.
Justin paced slowly in front of him, rage simmering in his eyes. "So it was you. All along. Behind Aarya. Behind Dev's father's manipulation. Behind Radhika's nightmares."
The man spat blood. "I only lit the fire. Your loved ones carried the matches."
Kush stepped forward and landed a brutal punch to his ribs.
Sahil's voice was cold. "He played everyone. Not just Aarya. He manipulated her trauma, gave her names, resources... and when she was no longer useful, he let her burn."
"Radhika almost died because of you," Dev said, fists clenched. "And you dared to twist my father's mind… You ruined lives for your game."
The man wheezed. "You think justice exists in your world? You're all just children. I created chaos and called it order. You think she was the only pawn? You don't know half of what lies beneath."
Kartik stepped forward now, speaking like the cop he was—but not with law in his voice, only fire. "We don't need your half. We've got enough."
Then Justin leaned close, eyes deadly calm.
"You will rot," he whispered. "But before that, you will *beg.* For every scream Radhika silenced. For every tear she never let fall. For every person you used and discarded like ash."
And then the room echoed with silence—thick, heavy, dark.
They didn't kill him. But they made sure **he would never walk out of that basement the same again.**
---
**Later that night, back at the hotel…**
The girls sat together on the balcony—**Radhika**, **Gulafsha**, **Ishika**, and **Akanksha**—laughing softly, the tension of past days slightly lifting. They knew something had happened. That the storm had passed.
But they didn't ask.
Because when the boys returned—battered, bruised, and silent—they didn't speak of the man or the screams that echoed through the villa walls.
Radhika looked at Justin, her eyes searching. "Everything okay?"
Justin gave a small smile and kissed her forehead gently. "It's over."
Radhika hugged him tight, believing him. Wanting to believe.
And far away, chained in the dark, the mastermind wept—not for his pain, but because the light was gone. Because the players he once ruled had risen… and the game was no longer his.
---
Thank you....