📖 Chapter 13: The Prank That Broke Him
The Raichand mansion had seen many storms.
Gunfights. Betrayals. Enemies kneeling in fear.
But today, it witnessed something different—something colder than bullets and sharper than knives.
The silence of a man who had just lost his world.
---
Dev Raichand's phone rang in the middle of a high-stakes meeting.
Normally, he never picked up during these.
But this call… it was from his sister.
He answered. Calmly. Coldly.
"What is it?"
But her voice was shaking.
"Bhai… Aanya…"
His fingers tightened around the phone.
"What about her?" he asked, voice razor-sharp.
A pause. Then a whisper.
"She's gone… the car exploded… I-I'm sorry bhai…"
---
The world tilted.
Dev didn't breathe.
Didn't blink.
Didn't speak.
He just stood.
Then walked out of the room in utter silence — the kind that terrified everyone.
The kind that came before a massacre.
---
His guards followed him.
His enemies forgot how to breathe.
Even his most trusted man asked, "Boss… should we confirm—"
"No," he said. "Take me to her. Now."
His voice was so broken, it didn't sound like Dev Raichand anymore.
---
When the car screeched to a halt outside the house, he stormed inside like a man possessed.
And there she was.
Alive. Smiling. Sitting on the couch. Watching Doraemon.
"Aanya?" he whispered.
She turned. Lit up.
"Dev! You're home early—"
She didn't finish.
He crossed the room in three steps, grabbed her tightly, and buried his face into her neck like a child clinging to safety.
"You're okay… You're okay…"
His voice broke. His breath shivered.
---
She was stunned.
"I—I'm fine… What happened?"
He pulled back. His eyes were bloodshot, filled with unshed tears and the fury of a thousand wars.
"Who told me you were gone?" he asked darkly.
She blinked. "Di… it was just a prank—she didn't mean—"
His jaw clenched.
He turned.
Walked straight to his sister, who had peeked in with a sheepish smile.
"Bhai, sorry! It was just a—"
SLAM.
His fist hit the table beside her.
"You call that a prank?"
---
His voice echoed through the mansion.
Everyone froze.
He wasn't Dev Raichand, the Mafia King, right now.
He was just… a husband.
A man.
A man who had imagined a life without her for two terrifying minutes.
And that was enough to break him.
---
Later that night, Aanya crept into their room.
He was sitting on the floor, shirt off, head resting on his arms.
She knelt in front of him. Touched his cheek.
"I'm here," she whispered. "I'm not going anywhere."
He didn't say anything.
Just pulled her into his lap and held her like he never wanted to let go again.
---
And in that silence, she heard it.
His heartbeat.
Faster than usual.
Like even now, he couldn't believe she was real.