Misc. Erotica "The Search for Amairah" By: Indian_Pronces. (Completed)

[Blue Bull]

Indian Princes is a well known Erotic Story Writer. She is also famous for her romantic poems and was quite popular in old Xossip Forum. She is still active in different forums after a long gap.......

Planning to re-post some of her stories here for your entertainment.....

"The Search for Amairah" is the end part of the sequel "The Story of Meera" and is a 5 part series only......

Hope u all will enjoy this.......

[Blue Bull]

'The Search for Amairah:'

(Revenge comes for a price......)

By: Indian_Princess

(Episodes Std. 03.07.2021 Ended. 08.10.2020)

== ==

[Blue Bull]

Index......

Ch.0

Prologue.

Ch.1
Revenge comes for a price.

Ch.2

Whose child is this, Meera?

Ch.3

I just want to know how it feels like to be touched lovingly.

Ch.4

Please…let there be something beautiful in this cruel world. 

[Blue Bull]

Sequel to "A Game of Chess"......

I have been getting requests from readers for the sequel to "A Game of Chess." So here it is!

For new readers, the correct chronological order of the events in the stories is such:

The Story of Meera > The Girl Next Door > A Game of Chess > The Search for Amairah

**************************************************

Meera tried to open her eyes. Her vision was hazy. She was naked, but she felt warm, like someone was holding her. She saw Kabir's face. His eyes were tearful. And the next moment, everything looked blurred. Meera was disoriented, but she could feel the warmth of Kabir's body, she could hear his heartbeat as he held her in his arms.

"You should be ashamed of yourself," a woman said.

"I am sorry Fatima," Kabir said, "I never wanted this to happen."

"I am not the one who needs your apology," the woman said, "Look what you did to her."

Meera felt his grip tighten and he held her closer. A tear fell from his eye onto her cheek. But Meera was still too drowsy to open her eyes or to speak.

"I'll...I'll do something...I'll fix everything...everything will be alright..." he said in a breaking voice.

"You have no idea about what they did to her," the woman said, "She is only alive because I've sedated her. Once she comes back to her senses, and learns the truth, I am afraid she will break to a point of no return."

"She is going to be okay," Kabir said desperately showering Meera with kisses, "I'm going to fix everything, I'm going to take her away...I'm going to take her home where she belongs, I will make sure, she is happy...I'll take care of her like a flower...I'll take her away from this hell..."

"Do you realize what that will cost you?" the woman said.

"I'll have to make sacrifices to atone for my sins," Kabir said tearfully.

"And what about her?" she asked.

"I'll make her forget," Kabir said, holding Meera close, "I'll make her forget all the bad things..."

Meera felt a needle prick her skin and a cold fluid rush into her veins, carrying her into a dark void.

***************************************

Meera suddenly woke up from her dream. She was sweating and her heart was beating fast. She took her prescription medications to calm her nerves.

She entered the bathroom and turned on a cold shower. She wept silently as the cold water ran over her skin. But the chill was nothing compared to what she was feeling after the dream. Was it a dream? Or another memory?

As she stepped out of her bathroom, she heard her phone ringing.

"It's over. He's found her. Alex is dead," Aryan said over the phone.

Meera hung up without saying a word. She knew this day would come. She knew Armaan is going to come to her house any moment now. She grabbed a pen and wrote him a note.

She opened her safe to the cash and valuables she owned, along with a hard disc and a pen drive. She packed all of these things into a bag and drove straight to Mithila's house.

She called up Mithila.

Mithila answered the phone. She didn't have Meera's new number and couldn't identify the caller. "Yes? Who is this?" she asked.

"Mithila it is me, Meera," she said, "I'm waiting outside your house. I need to see you urgently."

"What do you want?" Mithila said with a hint of anger in her voice.

"Meet me, and I'll tell you," Meera said.

"I want nothing to do with you," Mithila said in a cold stern voice.

"One last time," Meera implored, "Please..."

Mithila was really upset with Meera. But she considered her request and walked down the stairs.

Meera was standing in front of the door, but she didn't ring the bell as she didn't want to disturb Anshul.

Mithila opened the door but didn't invite Meera in.

"I won't be here long, Mithila," Meera said, "Just wanted to talk about something important."

"So, talk," Mithila said.

"I'm leaving," Meera said, "I just came to meet you one last time."

"Leaving?" Mithila said, "Good for you."

"Armaan's found Pankhudi," Meera said calmly, "Now he'll be coming after me."

Mithila's mind was now suddenly clouded with fear. Her anxiety was clearly showing on her face.

"He might come after you too...which is why I need you to meet Armaan and give him this," Meera said, handing over a pen drive to Mithila.

"What's this?" she asked.

"A video confession from Alisha. This evidence will help reduce Neil's sentence or perhaps set him free," Meera said, "Trade it with Armaan in exchange for a promise to never harm you or Anshul. You'll find him at the City Hospital where Pankhudi is currently admitted."

Mithila was terrified at the thought of meeting Armaan. She knew how furious he was about Pankhudi and now there was nothing to hold him back.

"What if he takes it and still hurts us?" Mithila asked.

"Armaan is a man of his word. If he makes a promise, he will stand by it. And Neil wants to be with his daughters more than anything now, he too wouldn't harm a person who is helping prove his innocence," Meera said.

"What about Reyansh?" Mithila asked, "He is the one who is after my blood."

"That one is a remorseless character. He won't listen. But he will be dealt with. You don't worry about him. You'll never hear from him again," Meera assured.

Mithila just looked into Meera's eyes with a blank expression.

"I really don't think it will come to this," Meera said, handing over the hard disc to Mithila, "But if the men try to trouble you in any way, use this as the last resort."

"What is this?" Mithila asked.

"A huge collection of Pankhudi's videos," Meera said, "This is the only remaining copy. No one else has it. The content is explicit. If these are released, Pankhudi will never be able to live a normal life."

"Meera, you are such a bitch!" Mithila screamed as she suddenly became very tearful, "Enough is enough!"

"You don't have to do anything, as long as Armaan keeps his word," Meera said, "Like I said, this would be your last resort. Look Mithila, I am only trying to protect you."

"Go to hell Meera!" Mithila screamed, "How do you even sleep at night after the monstrosity you did to that innocent girl? You know what, take that filth with you back to whatever hell you came from and don't ever show me your face again!"

Mithila slammed the door on Meera's face. Meera felt deeply hurt, but she had no one to blame but herself. She looked at the hard disc in her hand that had the power to ruin a life. A tear rolled down her cheek. She slowly walked back to her car with a heavy heart.

******************************

Meera got into her car and drove off. She dialed Suhail.

"I am sending you a photo and an address," she said, "The guy's name is Reyansh. Although he doesn't actually look like the older photo anymore, but you'll know him when you see him. He's got a skin condition."

"Alright," Suhail answered, "What do you want me to do with him?"

"Make him disappear," Meera said, "Along with his laptop, phone, hard discs or any other kind of tech that he may be having. Interrogate him regarding the videos of a woman named Mithila and make sure he hasn't got any backup anywhere. I just want all of that gone!"

"Consider it done," Suhail said.

*****************************************

Next Meera called up Aryan.

"Meet at the exit point," she said.

She kept driving for a while and reached the specified location. It was a secluded warehouse. He was carrying two large bags in his hands.

He put the bags in the car's boot and got into the passenger's seat as Meera waited in the driver's seat.

"Sure no one is following?" Aryan asked.

Meera shook her head. "No tails, no trackers, I checked," she said.

Aryan noticed that Meera was tearful.

"You OK, Meera?" he asked.

"Mithila is mad at me," Meera said wiping her tears, "she said, she doesn't want to see me ever again. She says I am a monster because I hurt Pankhudi."

"Hey Meera," Aryan said, hugging her, "It's alright now."

"Even you told me not to hurt her, but I did anyway," Meera said, "Mithila hates me...I feel like I'm such a horrible person. But there was no other way I could get to Armaan...do you hate me too, Aryan?"

"No Meera," he said tightly hugging the weeping woman, "Like I said earlier, this was your fight, and I have no right to judge you."

Meera wept for quite some time. Aryan comforted her.

"That's your money right there," Aryan said referring to the bags in the car's boot, "You got enough to last a lifetime. You can now start fresh Meera."

"That's all of it?" Meera asked.

"No there's more, a friend is holding it," Aryan said, "Let's go and pick up the rest of it."

"So where are we headed?" she asked.

"Keep driving straight for 30km and then take a left," Aryan said, "We pick up the rest of your money and then we drive to a dock where a boat is waiting for you. It will take you to a safehouse and you will stay there for a few days till I arrange for you to leave the country."

"Alright," Meera said as she started driving.

"Meera," he said trying to cheer her up, "I might have some good news for you. It's just a tip, I am yet to confirm it, so don't get your hopes too high...but we have a lead."

"What is it Aryan?" she asked.

"That place you told me, Lahbab," he said, "Around 50 miles from that place, there is an orphanage named "Blessed Angels". If I remember correctly, in the vision you had about the child, the old woman, she kept saying, 'your daughter is a blessed angel'. I've asked my contact to find out about any hazel eyed girl child who lives there."

"Find my baby, Aryan. Then I am gonna go get her," Meera said, "She won't have to live in an orphanage much longer, her mother is coming for her."

"And mommy is one badass wildcat," Aryan said, smiling fondly at Meera.

Meera smiled back. "I really don't know about her father though," she said, "Her eyes looked so much like Kabir's, but I really don't know why he never mentioned anything about the child."

"Well," Aryan said, "Once we find her, you can always confirm with a DNA match."

Meera's eyes were tearful. She whispered a little prayer to God. "I can't wait for the day I'm gonna hold my little girl, my sweet Amairah," she said.

Aryan lovingly ran a hand through her hair and said, "I'll do everything I can to find her Meera."

"I want to know about Kabir too," Meera said, her eyes getting tearful, "I had this dream about him just before your call. It was so disturbing...there are so many things I want to know Aryan...like what exactly happened when I was a slave, what's the story behind Amairah's birth, why did Kabir help me escape, why did he leave his homeland for me, and who was he really?"

Aryan didn't respond. He didn't have any answer to her questions either.

"I am going to find out Aryan," Meera said, "I need to know."

"Are you sure it is worth digging up the skeletons of Meera?" Aryan asked, "Kabir just wanted you to be happy."

"He sacrificed a lot to help me escape," Meera said, "And he died trying to save me. I need to know about him Aryan, I need to know who he really was."

Aryan was quiet for a moment. He was thinking something.

"Did Kabir ever strike you as a medical professional?" Aryan asked Meera.

"He...was intelligent," Meera said, "And he did know his first aid well. But...I don't know, are you saying he was a doctor?"

"I don't know Meera," Aryan said, "My interaction with him was brief, and he wasn't from around here so there was no way I could find out. But when I went looking for Saloni and met Kabir's contacts in Dubai, they referred to him very respectfully, like he was some kind of a doctor...I don't know."

"Then why was he working as a bar waiter with me?" Meera asked, her eyes wide open with surprise.

"I don't know Meera..." Aryan said, "Perhaps he was trying to keep a low profile to avoid attention."

Meera continued driving through the quiet night. It was dark, and they had a long way to go. But Meera was feeling safe to have Aryan by her side. She knew he had planned a safe exit for her. She quickly glanced at him and smiled. But she noticed something strange about his expression. It was as if there were a lot of thoughts in his head.

"You OK Aryan?" she asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine..." Aryan said, "I'm just thinking, how did Armaan find Pankhudi? Did you mention her location to anyone?"

"No, no, never," Meera said, "Only Alex knew, and the guys from our trusted circle."

"Did anyone enter your house? I mean did anyone put any bugs anywhere?" Aryan asked.

"No, I watched the cameras all the time," Meera said, "Even when Armaan himself was at my place, I had searched him thoroughly, no bugs."

"Why was Armaan at your place?" Aryan asked with a raised eyebrow, "And how did he get there?"

"I drove him to my place...I just wanted to...hurt him..." Meera said.

"You drove him to your house...you mean Armaan was in 'this' car?" Aryan asked.

"Yes..." Meera said, "Why? What happened Aryan?"

"When was this?" Aryan asked.

"Two nights ago," Meera said.

Aryan suddenly realized something and his eyes shot wide open.

"Meera," he said calmly, "Could you pull over for a moment?"

"Could you at least tell me..." she protested.

"Just stop the damn car!" Aryan ordered.

Meera pulled over the car and Aryan placed a finger over his lips signalling her to keep quiet. Aryan started searching the car.

"Aryan...what happened?" she asked.

"Shhhhhh!" Aryan said, placing a finger over his lips and shooting her a sharp look as he continued searching her car.

Finally, he found the audio bug under the passenger's seat. It was still active. Meera was horrified to see the bug. Aryan dropped the bug on the road and crushed it under his boot.

"Get in and drive," Aryan said with a sense of urgency, "Quick!"

"The bug was still active," Aryan said, "If someone was listening, they probably heard everything we've been talking till now."

"Fuck!" Meera said, realizing what her carelessness had cost her.

"Do you realize what this means, Meera?" Aryan said calculating the gravity of the situation, "You need to find Amairah before they do."

******************************

The prologue ends here.....

******************************

It could be quite some time before I return with the entire series. This series will go into the details of Meera's life when she was a slave. I hope to answer all questions regarding Kabir, Meera's child, and her escape.

Meanwhile, I'd like inputs from readers regarding any specific things that you'd want included in this story. If you have any particular fate for any particular character in your mind, do let me know.

The prequels have presented quite a moral dilemma, let me know your verdict......

[Blue Bull]

Revenge comes for a price.......

"So, tell me," Aryan said as Meera drove her car, "What exactly happened when Armaan was at your place?"

"I humiliated him," Meera said.

"What exactly happened, Meera?" Aryan said, sounding angry.

(Reference: A Game of Chess - Chapter 3)

"If you really want to know the details," Meera said, "I made him lick my asshole, I branded him with my initials, then I put a collar on him and made him crawl on all fours like a dog and then I fucked him."

"Wait, wait, what?" Aryan said, sounding clearly annoyed, "You had sex with him?"

"Yeah," she said, "What's the problem?"

"What's the problem? What the hell, Meera!" Aryan shouted. Then he composed himself and muttered, "What was I thinking! Once a whore always a whore."

"Excuse me?" Meera asked sharply, "What did you just say? Aryan, you have no right..."

"Did you sleep in the same bed?" he asked, cutting her off.

"Yes I did," Meera said bitterly, "What is your fucking problem?"

"My fucking problem is that I care way too much about you and I am always looking out for you and cleaning up your mess!" Aryan shouted.

"Look Aryan," Meera said sharply, "I never forced you to do anything for me. Whatever you did for me, you did out of your free will, and I very much appreciate it, I really do. And if you have a problem with me, you are free to walk away. But you have no right to insult me like that."

Aryan didn't respond. He was just upset with the fact that Meera had sex with another man.

When he glanced at Meera, he noticed that she was in tears. She quietly wiped her tears with the back off her wrists as the tears were making her vision hazy.

"Meera...I..." Aryan said, "I am sorry."

"I can't believe you among all people would say that," Meera said, weeping bitterly.

"Meera," he said, "Please stop the car...I am sorry...I can't let you drive like this Meera, please...we need to talk..."

Meera didn't listen to him. She kept driving as tears continuously flowed. "It's OK Aryan," she said trying to smile bravely, "Just tell me where you want me to drop you. I'll manage on my own henceforth."

"Meera, no," Aryan said, "Please pull over...I'm sorry...we really need to talk..."

"There is nothing to talk about," she said as she refused to stop the car.

"You want me to pull the park brake?" Aryan said in a threatening tone.

Meera reluctantly pulled over. Aryan quickly got out of the car and pulled Meera into his embrace into a tight hug. She wept bitterly in his arms.

"I am really sorry Meera," he said, "I should not have said what I said. It just came out the wrong way. I was just upset that another man touched you. You are mine Meera, no one else gets to touch you. I love you."

"You never said that before," Meera said tearfully.

"I am sorry I didn't," he said looking into her eyes, "But I am saying it now. I love you Meera. That's the only reason why I did what I did for you. You are so special to me."

"I have nothing to give you Aryan," Meera said.

"I don't want anything from you," Aryan said, hugging her tightly, "I just want you. Let me drive now."

Meera nodded and handed over the keys to Aryan. He picked up the rest of her money and drove her to the docks. A man was waiting there for them. Aryan helped Meera get onto the boat along with her money. Then he handed over the car keys to the man and joined Meera on the boat. The boat sailed off.

Once they reached the shore, Aryan led Meera to the house. It was a small and cozy little place. Meera smiled as she rested her back on the couch. But she didn't look at Aryan. She was still upset with him.

"Hey Meera," he said, kneeling in front of her, "I am really sorry, I really didn't mean to hurt you. If it is okay with you, will you let me stay for the night? I just want to hold you..."

"You are welcome to stay," Meera said with a weak smile, "I am sorry I guess I overreacted back then. It's not your fault. I am the dirty one. You are a nice guy Aryan and you deserve far better. You deserve a nice sweet girl who will love you with all her heart. I have nothing...just a broken heart and a used body, hell, my body is so worthless that I can't even bear a child anymore...I don't think I'll ever be anything better than a whore..."

Meera broke down into tears. Aryan hugged her tightly.

"Hey, no, please don't cry Meera," he said, "I am sorry, I know I've hurt you. You are the strongest woman I know Meera, and I'll never find anyone as amazing as you."

Aryan led Meera to the bedroom and held her in his arms. Meera knew she felt something for Aryan. Whether it was love, or her need for security, she couldn't tell. She just felt safe when he was around. She snuggled closer, close enough to feel his beating heart. Soon she fell asleep.

In the middle of the night, she was awakened by a noise. It sounded like glass shattering on the floor. She opened her eyes and found herself alone on the bed. Another disturbing noise got her extremely agitated.

"Aryan!" she gasped and tiptoed out of the room looking for him.

She realized she had stepped on something. It was a wet stain. Her eyes were still adapting to the dark, but from the feel of the warm fluid under her bare foot, she could tell it was fresh blood. There was a trail of blood leading to another room.

She followed the blood trail and screamed in horror to find Aryan badly wounded and forced on his knees with his hands cuffed behind his back. Armaan held a gun to his head and shot a sinister gaze at Meera, it almost made her shiver.

"I was wondering when you'd wake up," Armaan said as he cocked his gun and held an angry eye contact.

"No...please don't..." Meera begged.

"This is what happens when you hurt other people's families," Armaan said with a bitter emotion in his eyes.

"No! Please don't...he had nothing to do with..." Meera's sentence was interrupted by a loud gunshot.

Meera almost felt her heart stop as Aryan collapsed on the floor lifeless. Armaan had shot him in the head. His skull was torn with a nasty wound and his eyes were wide open. A steady stream of blood flowed from Aryan's wound as his lifeless eyes stared back at hers. The sound of the gunshot echoed in Meera's ears. The sound brought back painful memories of Kabir's death. And the sound played over and over in her head like a sinister hammer relentlessly hitting her skull. She couldn't take it anymore. She pressed her palms over her ears and screamed hysterically.

"Meera! Meera are you OK?" she heard Aryan calling out to her.

She opened her eyes and found herself in bed with Aryan inside the safehouse. She ran her trembling hands all over Aryan to feel him. She wanted to ensure that this is real, that he is safe and sound.

"Bad dream?" Aryan asked.

Meera nodded and broke down into tears.

"I am sorry I put your life in danger," Meera said, hugging him as she cried over his shoulder, "I can't lose you too."

"I'm fine Meera," Aryan assured her, "It was just a bad dream, it's alright."

"Armaan knows about you know...he will come after you too. I can't let this happen..." Meera said, drowning in panic, "You can't be punished for what I did! I'll do something...I'll...I'll go away from your life forever...and I'll have nothing to do with you...we'll never speak again...we'll be like you never knew me...like you were never involved..."

"I am involved, Meera," Aryan said, "I never intended to hurt Pankhudi, that never felt right to me. But I helped you anyway, so I am involved, and there's no denying that. Even if we no longer speak, Armaan will still hunt me. But he will never get anything out of me, I can assure you that."

"I just don't want you to get hurt..." Meera said.

"I made that choice long ago Meera," Aryan said with a deep emotion in his eyes, "When I decided to help you, I knew what that would mean for me, but I did it anyway...because...I love you."

"People who love me...just...die..." Meera said weeping bitterly, "Naina died, and then Kabir...and now I don't want you to die..."

"I won't," Aryan said, hugging her and gently rubbing her back, "I am a survivor, just like you. I'll spare you the details of what they did to me when I was in jail. No amount of torture can break me. I know pain, Meera, and I know how to handle it. I am going to be fine. I just...want to live for you, I want to protect you, I want to love you...you've brought meaning to my life..."

"Then take me Aryan," Meera said with an emotion of surrender in her eyes, "Punish me for being so horrible! Punish me for being so stupid! Punish me for putting your life in danger! I am all yours now, my body, my heart, my soul...I am giving myself to you completely...I'll do anything that you want me to do, I'll obey you...I'll...."

Aryan interrupted her with a passionate kiss. "You are mine," he said as he ran his fingers through her hair and looked into her eyes with a deep emotion. Then he pulled her into his arms and showered her with kisses.

"You've been a bad girl Meera," Aryan whispered in her ear, "You are not going to like your punishment."

Meera arched her neck as Aryan nibbled her ear. She ran her fingers through his hair as he nibbled her neck and ran his hand on her breasts. He sharply bit her neck leaving a mark.

"I'm going to mark you," Aryan said, leaving another bite on her left breast, "You are mine, only mine!"

Meera moaned in response. She closed her eyes and lay in complete surrender. She let him take off her clothes and felt him run his hand on her naked body. He licked and bit her nipples leaving visible marks. Meera felt a strange mix of pleasure and pain. She felt a familiar tingle between her legs. She reached for her pussy and began to stroke her clit.

Aryan grabbed her hand and looked into her eyes as said, "You don't get to cum. That is your punishment."

Meera moaned in disappointment. Aryan placed her face down on his lap and spanked her naked butt. He loved to watch her flesh vibrate with each stroke. Meera's growing sexual pleasure was driving her mad, her pussy juices were now glistening on her upper thigh. She squeezed her legs together trying to relieve that fire between her legs that was driving her crazy, as Aryan continued to rain blows on her ass.

Aryan watched her ass turn a shade of pink. When he saw how she was squeezing her pussy, he pinched her ass sharply.

"Bad girl," Aryan said, "No orgasm for you today. Stop squeezing your desperate pussy. Open your legs."

Meera reluctantly obeyed. Aryan ran his fingers through her wet slit making her shudder with each touch. She started humping his fingers, only to be punished by another set of spanks.

Aryan smiled at her desperation. He dipped his fingers in her pussy and transferred her juices to her asshole and dug a finger inside. Then he added one more finger and wiggled his fingers in her asshole. Aryan held on to her hair firmly as he invaded her intimate orifices with his fingers. Meera was melting in the pleasure of submission.

Meera so badly wanted him to do the same in her pussy so that she could cum. But she knew he was not going to let her. He kept lubricating and toying with her asshole mentally preparing her for the anal fuck that she was about to get. She could feel his erection poking against her belly.

"C'mon now, you know the drill," Aryan said.

Meera dutifully got off his lap, unzipped his pants and began to suck. The feel of his hard cock in her mouth was driving her crazy imagining this same hardness pounding her ass. She sucked so energetically; Aryan had to use all his will power to not cum in her mouth. She skillfully played with his balls, heightening his pleasure. The feel of her silken mouth squeezing his cock felt so good, he grabbed her hair and began to fuck her head. His breathing became heavy as he neared his orgasm.

He pulled her hair and ordered, "Get on all fours."

Meera quickly obeyed. Aryan was desperate by now. He pressed the tip of his cock against her asshole and rammed it all the way in. Meera moaned at the sudden invasion, but he grabbed her hair and began to fuck her ass hard. Her ass cheeks were already red and sore due to the spanking she had received. With every thrust of his hip, she felt a sharp pain and also the pleasure of penetration. But she craved for this same hardness in her pussy instead, that would be so much more pleasurable. But she knew Aryan was going to punish her, and he was not going to let her cum.

As his strokes intensified, her breasts jiggled obscenely as her asshole was thoroughly pounded. She felt him explode inside her ass. She deeply wished she could also cum like he just did. Her desperation made her look absolutely pitiful. Aryan looked at her and smiled as he pulled her into his embrace.

They kissed passionately.

"You want to cum?" he asked.

"If you want to let me," she said submissively.

"I won't let you," he said with a naughty twinkle in his eyes, "Not today."

Meera smiled and hugged him tightly. "As you wish," she said. Aryan was surprised to find her so docile and submissive.

Meera lovingly ran her hands over him. She looked at him lovingly.

"Are you really mine, Aryan?" she asked lovingly cupping his face, "Do you really love me?"

"You want me to prove it?" he asked, "I will, when the time comes."

"You don't have to prove anything," Meera said lovingly, "I believe you. I just don't believe in myself. It's hard to imagine that someone can actually love a girl like me."

"Hey Meera," he said, kissing her forehead, "You have no idea how amazing you are!"

The couple lay quietly in each other's embrace for some time. Meera got up and lit a cigarette. She took a puff and passed it to Aryan.

"Why can't we just kill Armaan?" Meera asked as Aryan quietly took a puff, "We'll hire a sniper and all it would take is one well-placed bullet."

"Too late for that now," Aryan said, "Armaan was off guard when you attacked Pankhudi, but now, he is extremely alert. His men are looking for us everywhere and any contact you make with anyone in the underworld, he will know. The chances of us getting shot by his men are higher. Besides, I really don't want to kill him and leave Pankhudi to raise his child all on her own."

"What?" Meera asked with a shocked expression, "That was Armaan's child?"

"That seems to be the only logical reason why they chose to keep it," Aryan said, "I had someone look at Pankhudi's medical records after she was rescued. She is continuing the pregnancy."

"Then let's kill them both," Meera said, "That would be mercy for her."

"Meera," Aryan said cupping her face, "That is not how I prefer to do things, neither should you. Why would you want to hurt Pankhudi? You never should have. I understand you have been wronged, but if you allow your hatred to turn you into just as horrible a person as the men who wronged you, what is the point?"

"Then so be it!" Meera said gritting her teeth, "They showed no mercy, they deserve no mercy! I'll shoot that bastard with my own fucking hands if I have to!"

"Revenge comes for a price, Meera. Do you realize who will pay the price for your recklessness? This madness has to stop," Aryan said, "You just had a bad dream, didn't you? And trust me when I say that I'll survive whatever comes my way, but what about Amairah?"

Meera suddenly became very quiet. The recollection of the bad dream she had made her shudder. She just hugged Aryan tightly and closed her eyes.

*********************************

Pankhudi woke up in the middle of the night. She was sweating and trembling in fear. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she struggled to shake off the nightmare she just had. Armaan was asleep next to her. He had been having trouble sleeping these days. Pankhudi had insisted on taking some medications to help him sleep. She smiled as she watched him sleep like a baby and lovingly ran a hand over him. But in her own heart was a storm that she struggled so hard to not let it show on her face. She knew the kind of effect it would have on Armaan and how agitated he would get.

Pankhudi tried to go back to sleep but she couldn't. Every time she closed her eyes, the horrors returned. With a trembling hand she wiped her tears and slowly walked towards the bathroom. She picked up a blade. She sat down by the edge of the bathtub and raised her nightgown. She ran the blade slowly across her inner thigh making a light cut. The pain caused a rush of adrenaline in her body that washed away the anguish the nightmares were causing her.

Armaan stirred in his sleep and realized Pankhudi wasn't in the bed. He woke up with a start and began to look for her. He noticed light coming from the bathroom and walked towards it. He could hear soft sobs.

"Pankh, you OK?" he called out with a faint knock on the door.

"I...I am fine," she replied hurriedly, trying to suppress her sobs.

Armaan sensed in her voice that she was hurting. He opened the door and entered inside and was horrified to watch her cut herself. Pankhudi suddenly felt very guilty and lowered her gaze.

"What are you doing, Pankh?" Armaan asked, in a worried tone.

"Nothing..." Pankhudi said, "I am fine..."

"No, Pankh, you don't look fine to me," he spoke sternly, making a firm eye contact.

Pankhudi just closed her eyes.

"Why are you doing this, Pankh?" Armaan asked with a softened expression, "You wanna hurt someone? Hurt me! Cut me...but please don't do this to yourself..."

Pankhudi noticed that Armaan's eyes were tearful. He grabbed her hand that held the blade and pressed it against his forearm. "Here..." he said, pressing the blade down on his skin, "Cut me all you want..."

"No...no...you don't understand..." Pankhudi said tearfully, dropping the blade, "I do it because...the pain...it makes the bad thoughts go away for a while..."

"Please don't," he said, hugging her, "Please don't...you have our baby...Pankh, I really can't imagine..."

"I am sorry," Pankhudi said wiping a tear from his cheek, "I love you, and I love our baby, I really didn't mean for you to see me like this...I'll try to be strong for you...I promise...I won't do it again..."

Armaan carried her back to the bed. He cleaned and bandaged the cut she had made. He hugged her and fondled her hair till she fell asleep in his arms. But he couldn't sleep. Pankhudi was drowning. It had been a week since he had rescued her, but she didn't seem to be getting any better. The nightmares of haunting memories kept coming back, over and over again, tormenting the woman he loved the most. The full extent of damage that Meera had done to Pankhudi was now unravelling before his eyes and he could do nothing but watch helplessly. His heart burned for revenge. He wanted to find each and every man who hurt her, and he wanted to find Meera, and crush her.

Next morning, he drove to Neil's house. He rang the bell for quite some time but Neil didn't open the door. He tried calling his phone but his phone was switched off. He continued banging the door and finally Neil opened the door.

Armaan's heart sank to see Neil's condition. He looked intoxicated, and his eyes were red and he looked like he hadn't slept for days.

"What happened here?" Armaan said as he followed Neil into his house, "You are drunk at 9 am!"

Contd....

[Blue Bull]

"What does it matter?" Neil said as he slumped down on the couch and took a sip from the bottle.

Armaan looked around and suddenly got worried. There were empty whiskey bottles and used syringes all over the place. The house was in a complete mess.

"Neil, you OK?" Armaan asked, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Why are you doing drugs, brother?"

"I can't sleep, Armaan" Neil said as a tear rolled down his cheek, "You got me out of jail but I've got nothing to live for. This house...I grew up here. And I lived here with Aditi and my children...the girls used to run around this house...we were so happy. And now Aditi is gone, and the girls hate me...and every time I close my eyes...I see blood everywhere..."

"Hey Neil," Armaan said, "I know life will never be the same again. But we will learn to live with this and we will do the best we can for each other and for the people we love."

Neil just closed his eyes as more tears rolled down his cheek. "I am sorry, Armaan," Neil said, "For everything."

"It's alright now, Neil," Armaan said, "Just get a hold of yourself, and sober up. I need a favor."

"Sure," Neil said composing himself, "What can I do for you?"

"I need those videos," Armaan said, "Pankh's videos that you recovered from Meera's laptop."

"I haven't really touched my laptop since we found Pankh," Neil said as he turned on his laptop, "But I do have all the videos stored securely."

As soon as Neil turned on his laptop, he got a notification that read "Upload complete."

Neil clicked on the file and an audio began to play. Armaan leaned in and listened intently.

"This must be the audio bug," Neil said, "It was still active."

"Shhhh...just listen," Armaan said, listening carefully to the audio recording.

(Reference: Please read The Search for Amairah -- Prologue)

Both men listened carefully to each and every detail of the conversation between Aryan and Meera. It revealed a lot of information they never knew about Meera. The recording ended abruptly as Aryan found the bug and crushed it.

"When was this?" Armaan asked.

"A week ago," Neil said, "The same night we found Pankh."

Armaan was registering the new information, but Neil interrupted his thoughts.

"Armaan..." Neil said, "Did you hear the part about Reyansh?"

"I did yeah..." Armaan said with a worried expression, "When was the last you spoke to him?"

"The evening the three of us met, that was the last..." Neil said hurriedly dialling Reyansh's number, "Shit! I can't reach him on the phone..."

"Let's go!" Armaan said, grabbing his car keys. Neil followed Armaan.

They rushed to Reyansh's house. The front gates were locked and his car was missing.

"Do you know his security codes?" Armaan asked Neil.

"No," Neil said as he furiously started working on the control panel, "But I know how to hack them."

Neil got the doors open in no time. Armaan and Neil rushed into the house and looked for Reyansh everywhere. But they couldn't find him.

Armaan looked around. The house was neat, just like Reyansh had left it. But everything was covered with a thin layer of dust.

"Looks like no one has lived here for a few days," Armaan said, feeling the dust on the surfaces.

Neil started working on Reyansh's laptop, trying to access the footage of the security cameras.

"Something happened to Rey," Neil said in a breaking voice, "Someone wiped the security footage clean."

"No! This can't be happening!" Armaan gasped, "Can you recover the deleted stuff?"

"I am trying..." Neil said as he worked with utmost concentration.

Armaan paced about as his mind was clouded with worry. Both of them were anxious about Reyansh.

Neil was losing composure and was almost tearful. "Why can't that bitch just put a gun to our heads and be done with it!" he screamed.

"Neil, please calm down!" Armaan said, grabbing his shoulders to comfort him, "Please...we need to find Rey."

Neil composed himself and started working again. It took him several hours, but he was able to recover the deleted footage.

They saw Reyansh leave the house in his car on the evening the three of them last met. But he never returned. That night a masked man returned and typed in Reyansh's security codes and entered the house without triggering any alarms. He walked straight to his room, turned on his laptop and started working on it. He seemed to know the passwords. Then he moved aside a particular painting to reveal a secret locker. Again, the man knew the codes of the locker and removed a hard drive from the locker. And then he erased the security camera footage and quietly left the house.

"This dude," Neil said, "He is not Reyansh! Still, he knew all the security codes and passwords, he knew everything about this house, he knew what was kept where!"

"They must have made Reyansh talk," Armaan said.

"They tortured him?" Neil spoke bitterly.

"I am worried about something else Neil," Armaan said, "If they got what they wanted and Reyansh still hasn't returned home..."

Neil and Armaan just stared at each other, not wanting to say it.

"Let's go," Armaan said with an angry expression. Neil didn't ask where. He just got into the car next to Armaan.

Armaan drove to Mithila's house. It was late evening and they could see her silhouette in the living room.

Armaan called up Mithila.

"I am waiting outside your house," he said, "Leave your phone inside and come out. I need to talk to you."

Mithila was frozen in fear on hearing Armaan's voice. "I thought we had a deal. I thought we had nothing to do with each other anymore," she spoke in a trembling voice.

"I need you here right now," Armaan said in a calm but threatening tone, "It is not a request."

Mithila knew better than to argue with him. She made an excuse to her husband and walked out of her house.

She spotted Armaan's car. The way Armaan and Neil glared at her, she knew something was very wrong.

"Get in," Armaan ordered.

Mithila opened the car's back door with a trembling hand and got inside.

"Where are you taking me?" Mithila asked, "What do you want?"

No one answered her. She kept crying and pleading, but the men just wouldn't speak to her.

"Do yourself a favor and shut the fuck up!" Armaan warned.

Neil passed her a blindfold but didn't speak a word to her. She knew what to do. She slipped the blindfold onto her eyes and sat as calmly as she could. It was dark and Armaan drove off the highway and turned the car onto a deserted street. Mithila's heart was pounding in her chest at the anticipation of what they were going to do to her.

Armaan stopped the car in a secluded spot. It was dark and cold and there was barren land all around. Mithila knew that if she screamed, no one would hear. Armaan and Neil got out of the car and dragged Mithila out. There was an abandoned house. Armaan dragged Mithila into the house. She struggled to keep her balance as she was still blindfolded.

He took her to a room and roughly pushed her onto a chair and pulled off her blindfold. Armaan and Neil across a table facing her. Mithila took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dimly lit room. The anger on Armaan's face made her shiver.

"Please don't hurt me," she begged.

"Reyansh is missing," Armaan said, gritting his teeth.

Mithila was shocked to hear that. "I didn't do anything...please believe me..." she said tearfully.

Armaan glared at her in anger. His gaze was so piercing it made her shudder.

"Reyansh went missing right after Meera ordered a hit on him," Armaan shouted glaring at Mithila, "And I don't think we are ever going to see him again!"

Mithila began to cry bitterly. "I really didn't do anything," she said tearfully, "Are you going to hurt me?"

"Right after I promise no more violence from my side," Armaan said gritting his teeth, "My friend gets tortured and murdered and thrown in a place no one will ever find him!"

"Reyansh was not willing to listen..." Mithila said tearfully, "So Meera said she would deal with him..."

"WHAT THE FUCK!" Armaan screamed at Mithila, "You knew about this?"

"You knew Meera was going to do this!" Neil said grabbing Mithila's hair, "You fucking knew she was going to murder our friend and you just let it happen!"

"I have no control over her..." Mithila wept struggling in Neil's strong grip.

"You know what Armaan," Neil said bitterly, "I am going to kill this worthless bitch and bury her somewhere here. I'm a fucking murderer already, one murder, two murders, doesn't make a fucking difference to me! Let's just make her disappear like Rey!"

Mithila screamed in horror as she saw the anger in Neil's eyes.

"Let go of her Neil," Armaan implored, placing a firm hand on his shoulder, "Please..."

Neil just closed his eyes and obeyed Armaan without question. He let go of Mithila. Mithila just stood there frozen in fear. "Please don't hurt me," she begged.

"Mithila all I ever wanted from you was the truth," Armaan said, "And you haven't told me everything you know. Who the fuck is Kabir? Who is Aryan? Meera has a child? Why the fuck didn't you talk about any of this before? I need to find Meera at any cost and you are not going anywhere till you tell me every little detail of what you know about her."

"Okay..." Mithila said, taking a deep breath, "I'll tell you all I know."

"Start from the beginning," Armaan said as he turned on voice recording on his phone.

"I first met Meera two years ago, while I was driving home after work. I found Meera lying on the road, badly wounded and barely conscious, her clothes were torn, and she looked like she had been bangd repeatedly. She had been injected with heroin and she was completely disoriented and she had no idea who she was. I took her to her hospital...and we found the tattoos..." Mithila couldn't hold back her tears as she spoke.

"What tattoos?" Armaan asked.

"Some very degrading words written on her body," Mithila said, "In permanent ink... and the gynecologist told me that her uterus has been damaged so she can never conceive again. My heart went out to her, she had been through something so awful. Eventually she recovered her memories and she remembered that she was a slave somewhere in the gulf, and a guy named Kabir helped her escape. She said Kabir loved her...but I've never met Kabir...Meera said he died trying to save her from the local opioid dealers who abducted her."

"How did Meera escape from the gulf?" Armaan asked.

"Kabir helped her," Mithila said, "Meera told me that she and Kabir were slaves in the gulf. Though most of her memories were erased, she could see some flashes of her life there. She said Kabir helped her escape in a garbage truck up to the harbour and from there through the sea route in a cargo ship."

"Does Meera have a child?" Armaan asked.

"No one knows for sure," Mithila said, "She had been having these visions about a hazel eyed girl child who she believes is her daughter she birthed when she was a slave. She believes Kabir was the father but she doesn't remember him ever mentioning a child. When I tried to recover her memories, they were so traumatic that her heart stopped, so I had to resuscitate her. She had visions about both of you too, multiple times...she had scattered memories about her childhood but she couldn't remember your names."

"How did she find us then?" Armaan asked.

"She saw Neil," Meera said, "At the Intercontinental, on 4th of November, last year. She got his name from the license plate of his car. And once she knew his name, all her memories came back..."

"Who is Aryan?" Armaan asked.

"I don't know..." Mithila said, "She never mentioned this name before."

"I don't want to hear 'I don't know' from you Mithila," Armaan growled, "You were her fucking therapist! She must have shared a great deal of information with you."

"I really don't.." Mithila stopped mid-sentence as she began pondering something, "The last time I heard this name Aryan was when a man came looking for Meera at the hospital claiming to be her brother."

"Great," Armaan said, rolling his eyes, "Now Meera has a brother?"

"No, Meera said she didn't know this man," Mithila said, "But he mentioned his name as Aryan Sinha at the reception."

"Did you see him?" Armaan asked.

"Only in the CCTV footage," she said.

"When was this?" Armaan asked.

"Almost 2 years ago," Mithila replied.

"Then I don't think we are going to get a chance to look at that footage," Armaan said, "What did he look like?"

"He was young, about 25-30 years of age, tall, fair...he was quite good looking actually, had dimples and all," Mithila said, "Meera suspected he was a member of the opioid dealer gang who abducted her."

"Anything else you know about this Aryan character?" Armaan asked.

"I am sorry I don't..." Mithila said.

Armaan banged his hand on the table and growled, "Think harder!"

Mithila panicked and whimpered. "I really never saw him again. Meera never mentioned him ever," she said.

Armaan was visibly disappointed. Aryan seemed to be one of Meera's key supporters and he really wanted to know about him. The fact that Meera never mentioned him even to Mithila made it even more certain that he was really important to her.

Armaan walked out of the room. Neil followed him, locking the door behind him. Both men sat on the front porch and lit their cigarettes.

"What now?" Neil asked.

"I'm thinking," Armaan said, taking a puff, "The way Aryan has been helping her, and Meera mentioning to Mithila that she suspects that he is a drug dealer...I'm guessing this guy's got to have a criminal record. Can you hack into the jail database, and look for anyone with this name? Although the chances that the name is real are slim, but, we could try."

"Sure," Neil said as he got his laptop from the car and started working on it.

Soon he found a few records of men with the name "Aryan Sinha". Armaan showed each of their pictures to Mithila. She nervously observed the pictures of different men and finally stopped scrolling on a familiar face.

"That's him," she said.

"Are you sure?" Armaan asked.

Mithila nodded nervously. Once Mithila identified Aryan, Armaan and Neil left the room to dig for more information about him.

"Hmmm...he was a murder suspect," Armaan said, "Of his girlfriend, but never convicted...hmmm...interesting...so not a drug dealer after all, huh?"

Armaan called up his trusted informer, Raghav.

Armaan: I'm sending a photo. His name is Aryan Sinha. I want to know everything about him.

Raghav: Aryan? Hold on, let me check...hey, I know him. He is an informer, just like me. A good friend actually, why are you after him?

Armaan: I just want to know him. His name has come up in connection with someone that I am interested in.

Raghav: Yeah...I could tell you things, but hey...you are not gonna hurt him, are you? He is a good guy.

Armaan: Can't promise that. Not until I know what I want to know. If you are not up to the job, I'll just get someone else to do it.

Raghav: That's not necessary. Me and my kind, we know to handle ourselves. I'll tell you what you want to know.

Raghav went on and told Armaan everything he knew about Aryan. Armaan was a bit sceptical to believe Raghav this time since he said Aryan was his friend. Armaan cross checked the information Raghav gave and found it to be every bit accurate.

"So he's gonna alert this Aryan character as we speak," Neil said.

"Aryan is already alert," Armaan said, "He was the one who found the bug. He knows that I am coming for him."

Armaan and Neil returned to the room where Mithila was locked.

"You said something about Meera seeing me on the 4th of November last year at The Intercontinental," Neil said, "How do you remember so precisely?"

"Because she came to me that night," Mithila said, "After she followed you to your house, she found her way to her childhood house. There she found out about someone named Naina..." Mithila couldn't hold eye contact with Neil as fear overwhelmed her as she mentioned Naina's name in front of them. She remembered what they did to Meera after she confronted them about Naina.

"What does Meera know about Naina?" Armaan asked sharply.

"Everything I guess," Mithila said, "She found Naina's diary in that house, Naina had fondly mentioned Neil several times. Meera found her own childhood photographs and her birth certificate and that's how she found out her real name. No one really lives in that house. People say it is haunted. Meera also claimed to have seen Naina's ghost there...which I believed to be a hallucination."

"Where is this house?" Armaan asked.

"I don't know..." Mithila said tearfully.

"I know," Neil spoke softly, "I know where this house is."

Armaan then looked at Mithila and said, "Get back in the car."

Armaan and Neil got into the car and drove off. Armaan ordered Mithila to put on the blindfold and she obeyed. Mithila quietly sobbed in the backseat. "I am sorry Armaan," Mithila said, "I loved Meera, I took care of her...she was so wounded and broken when I found her, I just wanted to heal her...but I couldn't save her. She was a good girl, but her wounds festered and corrupted her. I never realized when she became a monster..."

Armaan rolled his eyes as he looked at Mithila in the rear-view mirror. "I am not interested in your poetry, Mithila. I am holding up my end of the deal. I won't hurt you or your family. And I expect your cooperation. And if I find out that you are in touch with Meera and you are not telling me or you had anything to do with Reyansh's disappearance, the deal is off, get it?" he said.

Mithila just nodded as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Armaan dropped her back at her house. Mithila quietly got out of the car and walked towards her house.

"Tell me where Naina's house is," Armaan said to Neil.

"Why are we going there?" Neil asked.

"Understand this, Neil," Armaan said, "Meera could do what she did because she knew everything about us and we knew nothing. I think it is high time we know her whole story. And I need her childhood photographs. I am going to find out what exactly happened after she was sent away. If Meera really has a child, the people who kept her as a slave would know about it."

"Meera is already a week ahead of you," Neil said.

"Yeah but I'm gonna close this gap pretty quickly," Armaan said, "Did you hear the part in the tape about a lot of money in cash? If she is going to illegally enter a country with that much cash, she will most likely travel by sea, and I am going to book the next available flight."

Neil guided Armaan to Naina's house. Armaan parked his car in front of the deserted house. Neil felt a chill as he read the name "Patil Niwas"

Armaan broke open the padlock on the gate with a crowbar and pushed open the iron gate. Neil followed him with trembling steps. Armaan kicked open the door and entered the house. Neil felt a sudden chill as he stepped in the house, but Armaan proceeded with demonic speed.

They explored all the rooms of the abandoned house hoping to find anything useful. Finally, they reached Naina's room.

Armaan began to search the almirah and found Meera's childhood photos. His heart skipped a beat as he recognized Meera as a child. He collected all the photos.

(Reference: The Story of Meera -- Chapter 6)

Neil found Naina's diary on the table and began to read it. Tears continuously flowed from his eyes as he remembered how he cruelly manipulated and tortured a girl who loved him so much and was ready to take anything for his pleasure. When he looked up, his vision was blurry due to his tears. But he saw a figure. And as the figure moved closer Neil could see Naina. She was wearing the same red dress she wore that night he had last seen her. He stood frozen as Naina smiled sweetly at him. There was still so much love in her eyes, Neil could feel his guilt strangulating him. He was barely able to breathe.

Contd....

[Blue Bull]

"What does it matter?" Neil said as he slumped down on the couch and took a sip from the bottle.

Armaan looked around and suddenly got worried. There were empty whiskey bottles and used syringes all over the place. The house was in a complete mess.

"Neil, you OK?" Armaan asked, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Why are you doing drugs, brother?"

"I can't sleep, Armaan" Neil said as a tear rolled down his cheek, "You got me out of jail but I've got nothing to live for. This house...I grew up here. And I lived here with Aditi and my children...the girls used to run around this house...we were so happy. And now Aditi is gone, and the girls hate me...and every time I close my eyes...I see blood everywhere..."

"Hey Neil," Armaan said, "I know life will never be the same again. But we will learn to live with this and we will do the best we can for each other and for the people we love."

Neil just closed his eyes as more tears rolled down his cheek. "I am sorry, Armaan," Neil said, "For everything."

"It's alright now, Neil," Armaan said, "Just get a hold of yourself, and sober up. I need a favor."

"Sure," Neil said composing himself, "What can I do for you?"

"I need those videos," Armaan said, "Pankh's videos that you recovered from Meera's laptop."

"I haven't really touched my laptop since we found Pankh," Neil said as he turned on his laptop, "But I do have all the videos stored securely."

As soon as Neil turned on his laptop, he got a notification that read "Upload complete."

Neil clicked on the file and an audio began to play. Armaan leaned in and listened intently.

"This must be the audio bug," Neil said, "It was still active."

"Shhhh...just listen," Armaan said, listening carefully to the audio recording.

(Reference: Please read The Search for Amairah -- Prologue)

Both men listened carefully to each and every detail of the conversation between Aryan and Meera. It revealed a lot of information they never knew about Meera. The recording ended abruptly as Aryan found the bug and crushed it.

"When was this?" Armaan asked.

"A week ago," Neil said, "The same night we found Pankh."

Armaan was registering the new information, but Neil interrupted his thoughts.

"Armaan..." Neil said, "Did you hear the part about Reyansh?"

"I did yeah..." Armaan said with a worried expression, "When was the last you spoke to him?"

"The evening the three of us met, that was the last..." Neil said hurriedly dialling Reyansh's number, "Shit! I can't reach him on the phone..."

"Let's go!" Armaan said, grabbing his car keys. Neil followed Armaan.

They rushed to Reyansh's house. The front gates were locked and his car was missing.

"Do you know his security codes?" Armaan asked Neil.

"No," Neil said as he furiously started working on the control panel, "But I know how to hack them."

Neil got the doors open in no time. Armaan and Neil rushed into the house and looked for Reyansh everywhere. But they couldn't find him.

Armaan looked around. The house was neat, just like Reyansh had left it. But everything was covered with a thin layer of dust.

"Looks like no one has lived here for a few days," Armaan said, feeling the dust on the surfaces.

Neil started working on Reyansh's laptop, trying to access the footage of the security cameras.

"Something happened to Rey," Neil said in a breaking voice, "Someone wiped the security footage clean."

"No! This can't be happening!" Armaan gasped, "Can you recover the deleted stuff?"

"I am trying..." Neil said as he worked with utmost concentration.

Armaan paced about as his mind was clouded with worry. Both of them were anxious about Reyansh.

Neil was losing composure and was almost tearful. "Why can't that bitch just put a gun to our heads and be done with it!" he screamed.

"Neil, please calm down!" Armaan said, grabbing his shoulders to comfort him, "Please...we need to find Rey."

Neil composed himself and started working again. It took him several hours, but he was able to recover the deleted footage.

They saw Reyansh leave the house in his car on the evening the three of them last met. But he never returned. That night a masked man returned and typed in Reyansh's security codes and entered the house without triggering any alarms. He walked straight to his room, turned on his laptop and started working on it. He seemed to know the passwords. Then he moved aside a particular painting to reveal a secret locker. Again, the man knew the codes of the locker and removed a hard drive from the locker. And then he erased the security camera footage and quietly left the house.

"This dude," Neil said, "He is not Reyansh! Still, he knew all the security codes and passwords, he knew everything about this house, he knew what was kept where!"

"They must have made Reyansh talk," Armaan said.

"They tortured him?" Neil spoke bitterly.

"I am worried about something else Neil," Armaan said, "If they got what they wanted and Reyansh still hasn't returned home..."

Neil and Armaan just stared at each other, not wanting to say it.

"Let's go," Armaan said with an angry expression. Neil didn't ask where. He just got into the car next to Armaan.

Armaan drove to Mithila's house. It was late evening and they could see her silhouette in the living room.

Armaan called up Mithila.

"I am waiting outside your house," he said, "Leave your phone inside and come out. I need to talk to you."

Mithila was frozen in fear on hearing Armaan's voice. "I thought we had a deal. I thought we had nothing to do with each other anymore," she spoke in a trembling voice.

"I need you here right now," Armaan said in a calm but threatening tone, "It is not a request."

Mithila knew better than to argue with him. She made an excuse to her husband and walked out of her house.

She spotted Armaan's car. The way Armaan and Neil glared at her, she knew something was very wrong.

"Get in," Armaan ordered.

Mithila opened the car's back door with a trembling hand and got inside.

"Where are you taking me?" Mithila asked, "What do you want?"

No one answered her. She kept crying and pleading, but the men just wouldn't speak to her.

"Do yourself a favor and shut the fuck up!" Armaan warned.

Neil passed her a blindfold but didn't speak a word to her. She knew what to do. She slipped the blindfold onto her eyes and sat as calmly as she could. It was dark and Armaan drove off the highway and turned the car onto a deserted street. Mithila's heart was pounding in her chest at the anticipation of what they were going to do to her.

Armaan stopped the car in a secluded spot. It was dark and cold and there was barren land all around. Mithila knew that if she screamed, no one would hear. Armaan and Neil got out of the car and dragged Mithila out. There was an abandoned house. Armaan dragged Mithila into the house. She struggled to keep her balance as she was still blindfolded.

He took her to a room and roughly pushed her onto a chair and pulled off her blindfold. Armaan and Neil across a table facing her. Mithila took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dimly lit room. The anger on Armaan's face made her shiver.

"Please don't hurt me," she begged.

"Reyansh is missing," Armaan said, gritting his teeth.

Mithila was shocked to hear that. "I didn't do anything...please believe me..." she said tearfully.

Armaan glared at her in anger. His gaze was so piercing it made her shudder.

"Reyansh went missing right after Meera ordered a hit on him," Armaan shouted glaring at Mithila, "And I don't think we are ever going to see him again!"

Mithila began to cry bitterly. "I really didn't do anything," she said tearfully, "Are you going to hurt me?"

"Right after I promise no more violence from my side," Armaan said gritting his teeth, "My friend gets tortured and murdered and thrown in a place no one will ever find him!"

"Reyansh was not willing to listen..." Mithila said tearfully, "So Meera said she would deal with him..."

"WHAT THE FUCK!" Armaan screamed at Mithila, "You knew about this?"

"You knew Meera was going to do this!" Neil said grabbing Mithila's hair, "You fucking knew she was going to murder our friend and you just let it happen!"

"I have no control over her..." Mithila wept struggling in Neil's strong grip.

"You know what Armaan," Neil said bitterly, "I am going to kill this worthless bitch and bury her somewhere here. I'm a fucking murderer already, one murder, two murders, doesn't make a fucking difference to me! Let's just make her disappear like Rey!"

Mithila screamed in horror as she saw the anger in Neil's eyes.

"Let go of her Neil," Armaan implored, placing a firm hand on his shoulder, "Please..."

Neil just closed his eyes and obeyed Armaan without question. He let go of Mithila. Mithila just stood there frozen in fear. "Please don't hurt me," she begged.

"Mithila all I ever wanted from you was the truth," Armaan said, "And you haven't told me everything you know. Who the fuck is Kabir? Who is Aryan? Meera has a child? Why the fuck didn't you talk about any of this before? I need to find Meera at any cost and you are not going anywhere till you tell me every little detail of what you know about her."

"Okay..." Mithila said, taking a deep breath, "I'll tell you all I know."

"Start from the beginning," Armaan said as he turned on voice recording on his phone.

"I first met Meera two years ago, while I was driving home after work. I found Meera lying on the road, badly wounded and barely conscious, her clothes were torn, and she looked like she had been bangd repeatedly. She had been injected with heroin and she was completely disoriented and she had no idea who she was. I took her to her hospital...and we found the tattoos..." Mithila couldn't hold back her tears as she spoke.

"What tattoos?" Armaan asked.

"Some very degrading words written on her body," Mithila said, "In permanent ink... and the gynecologist told me that her uterus has been damaged so she can never conceive again. My heart went out to her, she had been through something so awful. Eventually she recovered her memories and she remembered that she was a slave somewhere in the gulf, and a guy named Kabir helped her escape. She said Kabir loved her...but I've never met Kabir...Meera said he died trying to save her from the local opioid dealers who abducted her."

"How did Meera escape from the gulf?" Armaan asked.

"Kabir helped her," Mithila said, "Meera told me that she and Kabir were slaves in the gulf. Though most of her memories were erased, she could see some flashes of her life there. She said Kabir helped her escape in a garbage truck up to the harbour and from there through the sea route in a cargo ship."

"Does Meera have a child?" Armaan asked.

"No one knows for sure," Mithila said, "She had been having these visions about a hazel eyed girl child who she believes is her daughter she birthed when she was a slave. She believes Kabir was the father but she doesn't remember him ever mentioning a child. When I tried to recover her memories, they were so traumatic that her heart stopped, so I had to resuscitate her. She had visions about both of you too, multiple times...she had scattered memories about her childhood but she couldn't remember your names."

"How did she find us then?" Armaan asked.

"She saw Neil," Meera said, "At the Intercontinental, on 4th of November, last year. She got his name from the license plate of his car. And once she knew his name, all her memories came back..."

"Who is Aryan?" Armaan asked.

"I don't know..." Mithila said, "She never mentioned this name before."

"I don't want to hear 'I don't know' from you Mithila," Armaan growled, "You were her fucking therapist! She must have shared a great deal of information with you."

"I really don't.." Mithila stopped mid-sentence as she began pondering something, "The last time I heard this name Aryan was when a man came looking for Meera at the hospital claiming to be her brother."

"Great," Armaan said, rolling his eyes, "Now Meera has a brother?"

"No, Meera said she didn't know this man," Mithila said, "But he mentioned his name as Aryan Sinha at the reception."

"Did you see him?" Armaan asked.

"Only in the CCTV footage," she said.

"When was this?" Armaan asked.

"Almost 2 years ago," Mithila replied.

"Then I don't think we are going to get a chance to look at that footage," Armaan said, "What did he look like?"

"He was young, about 25-30 years of age, tall, fair...he was quite good looking actually, had dimples and all," Mithila said, "Meera suspected he was a member of the opioid dealer gang who abducted her."

"Anything else you know about this Aryan character?" Armaan asked.

"I am sorry I don't..." Mithila said.

Armaan banged his hand on the table and growled, "Think harder!"

Mithila panicked and whimpered. "I really never saw him again. Meera never mentioned him ever," she said.

Armaan was visibly disappointed. Aryan seemed to be one of Meera's key supporters and he really wanted to know about him. The fact that Meera never mentioned him even to Mithila made it even more certain that he was really important to her.

Armaan walked out of the room. Neil followed him, locking the door behind him. Both men sat on the front porch and lit their cigarettes.

"What now?" Neil asked.

"I'm thinking," Armaan said, taking a puff, "The way Aryan has been helping her, and Meera mentioning to Mithila that she suspects that he is a drug dealer...I'm guessing this guy's got to have a criminal record. Can you hack into the jail database, and look for anyone with this name? Although the chances that the name is real are slim, but, we could try."

"Sure," Neil said as he got his laptop from the car and started working on it.

Soon he found a few records of men with the name "Aryan Sinha". Armaan showed each of their pictures to Mithila. She nervously observed the pictures of different men and finally stopped scrolling on a familiar face.

"That's him," she said.

"Are you sure?" Armaan asked.

Mithila nodded nervously. Once Mithila identified Aryan, Armaan and Neil left the room to dig for more information about him.

"Hmmm...he was a murder suspect," Armaan said, "Of his girlfriend, but never convicted...hmmm...interesting...so not a drug dealer after all, huh?"

Armaan called up his trusted informer, Raghav.

Armaan: I'm sending a photo. His name is Aryan Sinha. I want to know everything about him.

Raghav: Aryan? Hold on, let me check...hey, I know him. He is an informer, just like me. A good friend actually, why are you after him?

Armaan: I just want to know him. His name has come up in connection with someone that I am interested in.

Raghav: Yeah...I could tell you things, but hey...you are not gonna hurt him, are you? He is a good guy.

Armaan: Can't promise that. Not until I know what I want to know. If you are not up to the job, I'll just get someone else to do it.

Raghav: That's not necessary. Me and my kind, we know to handle ourselves. I'll tell you what you want to know.

Raghav went on and told Armaan everything he knew about Aryan. Armaan was a bit sceptical to believe Raghav this time since he said Aryan was his friend. Armaan cross checked the information Raghav gave and found it to be every bit accurate.

"So he's gonna alert this Aryan character as we speak," Neil said.

"Aryan is already alert," Armaan said, "He was the one who found the bug. He knows that I am coming for him."

Armaan and Neil returned to the room where Mithila was locked.

"You said something about Meera seeing me on the 4th of November last year at The Intercontinental," Neil said, "How do you remember so precisely?"

"Because she came to me that night," Mithila said, "After she followed you to your house, she found her way to her childhood house. There she found out about someone named Naina..." Mithila couldn't hold eye contact with Neil as fear overwhelmed her as she mentioned Naina's name in front of them. She remembered what they did to Meera after she confronted them about Naina.

"What does Meera know about Naina?" Armaan asked sharply.

"Everything I guess," Mithila said, "She found Naina's diary in that house, Naina had fondly mentioned Neil several times. Meera found her own childhood photographs and her birth certificate and that's how she found out her real name. No one really lives in that house. People say it is haunted. Meera also claimed to have seen Naina's ghost there...which I believed to be a hallucination."

"Where is this house?" Armaan asked.

"I don't know..." Mithila said tearfully.

"I know," Neil spoke softly, "I know where this house is."

Armaan then looked at Mithila and said, "Get back in the car."

Armaan and Neil got into the car and drove off. Armaan ordered Mithila to put on the blindfold and she obeyed. Mithila quietly sobbed in the backseat. "I am sorry Armaan," Mithila said, "I loved Meera, I took care of her...she was so wounded and broken when I found her, I just wanted to heal her...but I couldn't save her. She was a good girl, but her wounds festered and corrupted her. I never realized when she became a monster..."

Armaan rolled his eyes as he looked at Mithila in the rear-view mirror. "I am not interested in your poetry, Mithila. I am holding up my end of the deal. I won't hurt you or your family. And I expect your cooperation. And if I find out that you are in touch with Meera and you are not telling me or you had anything to do with Reyansh's disappearance, the deal is off, get it?" he said.

Mithila just nodded as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Armaan dropped her back at her house. Mithila quietly got out of the car and walked towards her house.

"Tell me where Naina's house is," Armaan said to Neil.

"Why are we going there?" Neil asked.

"Understand this, Neil," Armaan said, "Meera could do what she did because she knew everything about us and we knew nothing. I think it is high time we know her whole story. And I need her childhood photographs. I am going to find out what exactly happened after she was sent away. If Meera really has a child, the people who kept her as a slave would know about it."

"Meera is already a week ahead of you," Neil said.

"Yeah but I'm gonna close this gap pretty quickly," Armaan said, "Did you hear the part in the tape about a lot of money in cash? If she is going to illegally enter a country with that much cash, she will most likely travel by sea, and I am going to book the next available flight."

Neil guided Armaan to Naina's house. Armaan parked his car in front of the deserted house. Neil felt a chill as he read the name "Patil Niwas"

Armaan broke open the padlock on the gate with a crowbar and pushed open the iron gate. Neil followed him with trembling steps. Armaan kicked open the door and entered the house. Neil felt a sudden chill as he stepped in the house, but Armaan proceeded with demonic speed.

They explored all the rooms of the abandoned house hoping to find anything useful. Finally, they reached Naina's room.

Armaan began to search the almirah and found Meera's childhood photos. His heart skipped a beat as he recognized Meera as a child. He collected all the photos.

(Reference: The Story of Meera -- Chapter 6)

Neil found Naina's diary on the table and began to read it. Tears continuously flowed from his eyes as he remembered how he cruelly manipulated and tortured a girl who loved him so much and was ready to take anything for his pleasure. When he looked up, his vision was blurry due to his tears. But he saw a figure. And as the figure moved closer Neil could see Naina. She was wearing the same red dress she wore that night he had last seen her. He stood frozen as Naina smiled sweetly at him. There was still so much love in her eyes, Neil could feel his guilt strangulating him. He was barely able to breathe.

"It's alright Aryan," Meera said hugging him, "I need to face the truth, perhaps I need to cry sometimes, I need to scream...and then I'll be okay. This journey is painful, but I am doing this for Amairah. My daughter will not suffer the way I did and I am going to rescue her from that hell. I'll give her the good life that Naina wanted to give me."

"You are such a strong woman Meera," Aryan said showering her with kisses, "And so brave...I'm so proud of you."

"I couldn't have done this without you," Meera said, sinking deeper into his arms.

"Tomorrow we'll reach the harbor," Aryan said.

Meera smiled and closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep in Aryan's arms.

End of Ch.1....

[Blue Bull]

Whose child is this, Meera.......?

Next day, they landed onto the harbor and Aryan's contact had arranged transport for them. Aryan and Meera got into a car waiting for them.

The desert landscapes brought back a lot of disturbing memory flashes to Meera but she kept calm for the sake of her daughter. Finally, they reached their destination. It was a humble house.

Aryan rang the doorbell and a man answered. He greeted Aryan cheerfully but when the man saw Meera, his expression darkened.

"What the hell?" the man said sounding extremely annoyed, "What is she doing here?"

"Oh...I'm so sorry, allow me to introduce," Aryan said, "Meera, meet Rizwan, my friend. Riz, she is Meera...she is my..."

"I know exactly who she is!" Rizwan shouted, "The whole damn country knows! God dammit, get in quickly before someone sees her and bombs my house."

Aryan and Meera hurriedly stepped inside the house and Rizwan closed the door behind them.

"What..." Aryan said but Rizwan didn't allow him to finish.

"Aryan, we have been good friends in the past, but if I knew it involves her, I wouldn't have helped you!" Rizwan said.

"But what..." Meera started to speak but Rizwan rudely interrupted her.

"You think you are too clever, aren't you?" Rizwan said, "You escaped from Qais Al Khudair, and wow, you got some nerve coming back here woman! He's placed a prize on your head, he's willing to pay a huge amount of money to anyone who gives any information about you, or captures you alive."

"Riz, calm down, please..." Aryan tried to make him understand.

"Calm down?" Rizwan shouted, "You walk into my house with this woman, you understand what that means? I really don't care if you want to throw away your life Aryan, but my family lives here. Do you have any idea what they would do to us if they found out I've been helping her?"

"I am sorry..." Aryan said, "I really didn't mean to put your and your family in danger...I really didn't know about the bounty on her head or I would have never...we'll leave right now...really sorry..."

"I've come for my child," Meera said tearfully, "I know exactly what you mean...and I know what exactly you fear...but my little baby is out there and I just want to find her..."

Aryan hugged Meera and rubbed her back. "It's alright my love," he said, "Let's get out of here first, we'll find her I promise."

Then he turned to Rizwan and said, "Thanks for your help bro, and sorry again..."

Aryan put his arm around Meera and turned to leave.

Rizwan had calmed down by now. He took a deep breath and called out to Aryan, "Wait! You'll get yourselves killed in a matter of hours if you go out like this."

Rizwan called out to his wife Noor. "Dress her up in a burqa," he told his wife.

Aryan nodded and Meera and she followed Noor upstairs.

"You too change into a local attire," Rizwan said, "I'll arrange for fake IDs for both of you with local names. Try and blend with the crowd. If you both go about the city looking like foreigners, Qais's men will hunt you down in no time."

"Thank you so much Riz," Aryan said, "We'll need a place to stay and a car."

Rizwan took a deep breath. "I've found a house where you could live. And the car...I'll arrange that by evening. Till then you can use mine."

"And there's money too," Aryan said, "We need some of it converted to local currency."

"Hmm alright, I'll give you some cash for now, the conversion might take a few days," Rizwan said, "But I must warn you, that's some serious risk you are taking, Aryan."

Aryan noticed Meera walk down the stairs clad in a burqa covering her from head to toe. He smiled. "This woman," he said to Rizwan, "She is worth dying for."

*****

Aryan and Meera got into the Rizwan's car and began to move towards the house. It was a small cozy house away from the city. The window had a beautiful view of desert landscapes.

Meera just gazed out of the window smiling to herself as the sunset painted the sand dunes golden.

"My sunshine is smiling," Aryan whispered in her ear as he hugged her from behind, "The dream I had about Kabir last night...was just thinking about that one brief moment...it was such a beautiful time, I was pure and I was fertile..."

And then she suddenly became tearful and said, "My life could have been so different...it could have been so beautiful..."

"Hey sweetheart," Aryan said hugging her, "Life is still beautiful Meera, you have a beautiful daughter. Tomorrow we will be going to the orphanage and find Amairah. And then, we are going to live happily ever after."

Meera smiled and hugged him back.

Rizwan visited their house at night and handed them the key of a car.

"From now on, you are Farhan Ahmed and she is your wife Shabreen," Rizwan said handing over two fake IDs to Aryan, "Show this if you are asked at any local checkpoint. Take care of her, she is in great danger. Make sure she doesn't go out without a burqa. Keep a low profile and stay out of trouble, yeah?"

Aryan and Meera nodded.

"Thanks, Riz," Aryan said, "This really means a lot."

Rizwan nodded and left.

Meera could barely sleep that night. The anticipation of seeing Amairah, kept her awake.

Next morning, Aryan drove her to Blessed Angels orphanage.

"Kabir told me we reached Mumbai on 4th of November, 2019," Meera said as they walked towards the reception, "We must have left here in the last week of October."

"Hello," Meera greeted the lady at the reception, "We wish to adopt a child."

"Sure," the lady said, "Here's a list of papers you need to submit. We will start the adoption process once your credentials are verified."

"Of course," Meera said, "But, can play with the children for a while? I love children, I lost my daughter 2 years ago. I just wanna..."

The receptionist smiled and allowed Meera into the children's play area. She quickly scanned all children but none of them had eyes like Amairah.

"How many children get adopted from here on an average?" Aryan asked the receptionist.

"Not many, unfortunately," she said, "In the whole of last year only two children were adopted, both boys."

"Do you have any children with hazel eyes?" Aryan said, "My wife, her mother had hazel eyes, so she is looking to adopt a girl with hazel eyes."

"We don't allow such discrimination between our children," the receptionist said.

"Please...it is a request," Aryan implored.

"Alright, let me check," the receptionist said going over their records, "Umm...no we don't have hazel eyed girls, never had actually, there was just a boy, but he too was adopted last year."

Aryan tried to move closer to her and deliberately spilled coffee over her dress.

"I'm so sorry," he apologized.

"It's alright, I'm lucky the coffee wasn't too hot" the receptionist said with a smile as she left her desk and rushed towards the bathroom to clean herself.

Aryan quickly scanned her computer for any child who looked like Amairah, who may have been brought here in the month of October. He finally found one incomplete entry. It was like someone tried to delete this profile but failed to do so completely. It just had the picture of an infant, but there was no name or any other detail. Aryan quickly called Meera to have a look at the picture before the receptionist returned.

Meera saw the picture and her eyes were suddenly tearful. "It is her!" she said.

The receptionist returned and was alarmed to find the couple snooping around her computer.

"Excuse me Sir!" she said sternly, "You are not supposed to..."

"Where is she?" Meera asked gritting her teeth, "Where is this child?"

"Listen, we cannot disclose any information about the children here," the receptionist said sternly, "I need you both to leave."

"I want to speak to your manager," Aryan said firmly.

"No, I'm afraid you can't" the receptionist said defensively.

"Fine, I guess I'll have to be back with some cops then, to find out how children on your records just disappear," Aryan growled, "And don't you dare try to delete that incomplete entry, I'm going to sue your institution for illegal trafficking of children. And I'll make sure every news channel covers it. Answer that to your manager when you'll have you reputation blown to smithereens."

The receptionist reluctantly picked up the phone and explained the whole thing to the manager. The manager called them in.

"We lost our child 2 years ago," Aryan said, "We filed a report and looked everywhere but we couldn't find her. And your systems have an incomplete entry, that is our girl. Someone brought our girl here and then something happened. She is not here. Where is she?"

The manager checked out the incomplete entry Aryan was referring to. It was dated 26th October 2019, 10pm. "Call the staff who was on night duty on this date," she ordered her assistant.

A woman named Zarina walked in. "I want to know about this child Zarina," the manager asked firmly, "What exactly happened two years ago? And why was this never brought to my notice?"

Zarina looked at the picture and her face lit up.

"I remember this child," Zarina said, "A man left her on our doorstep and Yasmin found her."

"Who is Yasmin?" Meera asked.

"She was a child caretaker like me," Zarina said, "We both were on duty that night. She took the child in. We usually make an entry after a few days because we wait for someone to come looking for the child. If no one does we then start the paperwork. No one came for this girl for almost a week and then I took a picture of her, and initiated the legal paperwork. But one night the child just disappeared, and Yasmin told me to abort the registration process."

"What?" Aryan asked, "Why? A child goes missing and instead of reporting it, you try to erase the records?"

"Yasmin told me we would lose our jobs if the management found out that a child disappeared on our watch," Zarina said, "She said they could put us in jail."

"Are you out of your mind Zarina?" the manager yelled.

"I...I was afraid...I..." Zarina said almost tearfully, "I didn't want to lose my job or go to jail."

"You are fired, effective immediately!" the manager shouted, "And yes you a certainly going to jail."

"We think that may not be necessary," Aryan said calmly, "We just want our child, we won't press any charges. Why don't you just call Yasmin and we'll ask here where our daughter is?"

"I am afraid we can't," Zarina said, "She left the job 2 years ago, almost a week after the girl disappeared."

"We need Yasmin's photo and address," Aryan said, "We'll find our daughter."

The manager reluctantly handed over Yasmin's details.

"I want my baby's picture," Meera demanded.

The manager gave her a print of Amairah's picture. Meera held the picture to her heart and cried uncontrollably. Aryan comforted her and drove her to the address they got from the orphanage.

*****

When they reached Yasmin's house, Meera desperately rang the doorbell hoping to see Amairah. But an old lady answered the door instead.

"Yes?" the lady asked.

"I'm here to meet Yasmin," Meera said.

"Yasmin who?" the lady asked.

"She lived here before, didn't she?" Meera asked showing a picture of Yasmin, "This is her."

"No, we have been living here for the last 10 years. I don't know if any Yasmin lived here before that, nor have I ever seen the woman in that picture before." the old lady replied.

"Sorry for your trouble," Meera said as she walked back to Aryan who was waiting in the car.

"The address was fake," Meera said.

"Thought so," Aryan said.

A tear escaped Meera's eyes as she realized they were at a dead end with no further clue about Amairah. Aryan hugged her firmly.

"I'll ask Riz to find out about Yasmin," Aryan assured.

Aryan started driving back towards their house. In the rear-view mirror, he noticed a car following them. He increased the speed and started making sharp turns.

"What happened Aryan?" Meera asked as his sudden increase in speed was alarming.

"We are being followed," Aryan said pressing down on the accelerator, "Hold on tight."

Aryan drove for quite some distance and pulled over once he was sure no other vehicle was in the vicinity. He swiftly got off the car and began to search for GPS trackers. He found one as he had expected. He tossed it off on the road and drove off quickly.

Once he was sure they are no longer being followed, he slowed down.

"Are the gone?" Meera asked.

"Yes, for now," Aryan said, "But we need to be alert."

On the way, he stopped and bought a trunk and a shovel.

It was night by the time they reached the house, Aryan placed all the cash they had in Indian currency into the trunk and he asked Meera to help him load it into a car.

"Where are we going Aryan?" Meera asked.

"We need to safeguard our money. It is our only source of power. If we lose it, we'll be in serious trouble," he said.

"Aren't we getting it converted to local currency?" Meera asked.

"Not all of it," Aryan said, "I've just given a small portion to Rizwan. Rest we will keep as it is. We are here only to find Amairah. Once we find her, we won't be staying one moment longer. It is not safe."

Aryan started the car and drove to a secluded spot amidst the barren landscapes. They parked the car alongside the road and carried the trunk to some distance. Meera began to help Aryan to bury their money. Once it was done, Aryan recorded the co-ordinates of the spot.

"Memorize this," he said showing the co-ordinates to Meera.

"Can we just write them down somewhere?" she asked.

"No, they'll be in our memory and nowhere else," Aryan said.

Meera and Aryan Memorized the co-ordinates and drove back to the house. Meera was unable to sleep. She kept thinking about how she could find Amairah. She closed her eyes and tried to recall her vision when an elderly woman kept telling her, "Your daughter is alive, she is a blessed angel."

She closed her eyes and a memory came to life.

*****

Meera was still in the dog cage. A kind old woman opened the cage and let her out. Meera was still trembling in fear.

"Easy, easy girl," the woman spoke in a kind voice and placed a pill upon her palm, "Take this, it will help you relax."

Meera took the pill without question.

"Tonight, your Master is going to take you," Fatima said, "I need you to understand a few rules. Never speak until spoken to and never resist. Never look into his eyes, keep your gaze lowered always."

"I'm very afraid," Meera said hugging her.

"It's alright sweet girl," Fatima reassured, "The first few days will be difficult. But Master gets bored pretty soon, so hopefully he'll leave you alone after a few days. Just stay strong, OK? I will always be here to take care of you."

"Please I don't want to go," Meera pleaded as Fatima began to lead her to Qais's bedroom.

"The more you resist," Fatima said, "The more painful it will be...so just breathe and be calm."

Fatima instructed Meera to kneel on the floor and she left. Meera was completely naked. That is how her Master preferred his slaves to be. The room was exquisitely decorated reflecting his master's affluence. But she was just his plaything for the night. She had been forbidden to speak, to look him in the eye. She was forbidden to communicate at all, making her feel like an inanimate object. But she wasn't an object, she was a person, a living breathing human being, but her Master was going to break her such that she would never dare to think of herself as a human again. She felt extremely vulnerable and quivered that the thought of what was going to happen to her. She wept silently.

And then she heard footsteps. Her heartbeat quickened and she began to tremble. With her lowered gaze, she could see a man's feet. He walked around her in a circle. She felt his piercing gaze scan every inch of her exposed skin.

He smiled at her submission. He grabbed her arm and dragged her to the bed.

Meera suddenly became conscious and covered her breasts with her hands and curled into a ball. Qais smiled at her innocence.

"Look at you, so pure and clean," he said, "Let's fix that."

Meera shuddered at what he said and held her hands even tightly covering her body.

Qais leaned over her and forcible pulled her hands away exposing her ample breasts. He got on top of her and licked her jaw as she turned her head to one side.

"Keep your hands above your head," he ordered as he boldly started touching her breasts.

The first ever sexual sensations she was experiencing were overwhelming her mind. When he touched her sensitive nipples, her whole body jerked. She wanted his hands off her but she was afraid. She didn't want to be punished for resisting. Qais then began to suck on her nipples.

He relished touching and using her clean untouched body. Meera wanted to struggle with all her strength, she wanted to scream, she wanted to run away...but she knew she had no where to go. Qais touched and grabbed her body like a piece of flesh meant for his pleasure. She felt a tingle between her legs as he continued sucking her breasts.

He ordered her to open her legs. Meera reluctantly spread her legs and Qais took a moment to admire her untouched virgin pussy.

"How do you feel about being a virgin?" he asked her.

Meera didn't know what to answer. She didn't feel anything. Or she knew what she felt doesn't really matter. She just wept silently.

Qais began to play with her pussy. He pussy had already started responding to anticipation of sex.

"Do you want to get fucked?" he asked.

Meera shook her head and tearfully whispered, "No Master."

Qais smiled. "That's why this is going to be so much fun," he said with a smile.

Qais toyed with her clit, and sharp sentations began shooting up her body. Meera tired to close her legs but he slapped her sharply on her thighs making her squeal. She then obediently opened her legs again and allowed him to assault her exposed pussy.

With ever stroke of his finger on her clit, her wetness grew and so did her pleasure. She began to breathe heavily. Qais smiled to see that she was nearing her first orgasm. Her tender fingernails clasped the bedsheet as she arched her body.

"You like that?" he asked.

"Yes Master," Meera gasped.

But before she could cum, he stopped playing with her pussy. She was still breathing heavily when she felt a hard slap across her face.

Qais undressed completely and got on top of her. She felt his skin against her and the tip of his hard cock pressing against her wet pussy which was burning with desire now. She knew that penetration was inevitable. Her body wanted him, her mind did not, but she did not have a choice.

Qais grabbed her hair and began to push inside her slowly. Her hymen offered a resistance, but finally surrendered before the hard invading tool. She felt a sharp pain in her pussy and her eyes shot wide open as his cock slowly invaded her virgin pussy. Qais relished the delicious defloration expression on the helpless girl's face. Once he was inside her completely, he held position to make her feel his whole length inside her. He wanted her to feel that her body was his to use as he pleased whether she liked it or not. Meera broke into tears when she realized that something had changed forever. Qais watched her cry with a devilish gleam in his eyes.

He began to slowly move in and out of her. Soon, her pain was replaced with pleasure as her body began to enjoy her first sex. He loved how tight her pussy was, they grip of her tender warm sex on his shaft made her worth the money he spent buying her. He began to fuck her hard and fast. Taking her virginity was something he could do only once, after this night, her worth was going to rapidly depreciate.

Just has her body began to enjoy the sexual experience, Qais started attacking her mentally.

"I've thought of a name for you," he said with a chuckle, "I'll be calling you loose cunt. Because that is what you are soon going to become."

Meera shuddered at his words as he continued pounding her. It was a strange mixture of physical pleasure with emotional distress of her impending fate. It almost gave her the illusion that she was enjoying the idea of begin degraded like an object. Fresh tears of shame streamed down her eyes.

"Once I am bored with you," he said with an evil smile, "I'll let my friends fuck you. Some of them like to insert object that will stretch you up real good and will help you take one step towards your goal of becoming a loose cunt. And I can already feel how wet your cunt is, you are already horny, aren't you?"

Meera just squirmed helplessly under him. Perhaps it was the pill that Fatima gave her, but she was now beginning to drown in sexual pleasure. She could feel his hard cock going in an out of her. Her sexual sensations peaked and her body convulsed in orgasm, accepting his invasion, giving him a clear message that she really enjoyed her degradation.

Qais smiled at the defeated look on her face. He had taken her against her will and make her enjoy it. She felt like she had absolutely no control over herself.

"You got big breasts," he said grabbing her boobs, "Maybe I might breed you. Some of my friends love fucking pregnant sluts. I am sure you are going to love taking cocks up your loose pussy with a cute little baby bump. And then once the baby is out, we'll milk your big tits like a cow."

"Please don't Master," she begged as she felt his hot rod going in and out of her bringing to the edge of another orgasm. She hated herself for enjoying her humiliation.

"Pray that your holes keep me interested for some time," he said, "Because once I am done with you, your pathetic cunt is going to become a public property for anyone to insert anything in there."

She tear streaked face drowning in pain and humiliation, gave him a sadistic rush. The thought of completely destroying this innocent girl sent waves of pleasure making him shoot his cum inside her wet unprotected pussy. Meera felt completely broken from within.

He barely gave her time to recover, and grabbed her hair and dragged her to the bathroom and forced her to lie down on the bathroom floor. He made her lie on her back and tied her wrists to her knees obscenely exposing her freshly fucked pussy. A streak of blood mixed with cum was flowing out of her pussy. Qais smiled thinking of the evil ideas he had about degrading her eventually.

"Enjoy marinating in my cum, loose cunt," Qais said smiling at the helpless girl.

Meera was visibly trembling. Her dark hair had spread one the bathroom floor like a dark cloud and her breasts shook erratically as she sobbed. She screamed as he turned off the lights. She struggled with the ropes but she was helplessly bound. Qais laughed to see her hopeless struggle. He turned off the lights and closed the door behind him leaving Meera alone in the dark.

Something broke within her that moment. She felt like she wanted to die. She couldn't even move. She cried and screamed but no one listened. The darkness was making her lose sanity. She felt like she began to float in a void. And then she heard Kabir's voice.

(Reference: The Story of Meera -- Chapter 3)

"Hold on, my love," he said, "We'll be reaching the harbour soon."

The stench was so revolting it was making her sick. She needed fresh air. She struggled to move and then she saw a light. She followed the light and she saw a desert road. There was a road sign that read "Lahbab". Kabir held on to her, and when she hugged him, she calmed down. And then there was a bright light. She was standing on a barren land with Kabir and someone washed them with a hose. The cold water made her shiver but it washed off the torturous stink. She could now breathe.

"I've got a fresh pair of clothes for both of you change into," a man said, "Dress up, a car will arrive in 5 minutes and will take you to the harbour. I've spoken to my man there who'll help you get onto the ship."

"Thank you Shadab," Kabir said, "I'll be forever grateful."

"I'm only returning your kindness, Kabir," Shadab said, "And besides, it wouldn't have been possible without your money. Go now, be quick."

Meera heard a vehicle approaching and she ran and hid behind a nearby shelter. She heard footstep. She knew someone was coming for her. She saw a man's silhouette and screamed.

*****

Meera woke up screaming hysterically. Her breath was shallow and ragged, and the disturbing memory of her first ever bang had shaken her completely.

Aryan woke up and got suddenly worried looking at her condition.

"You OK?" he asked.

A fresh stream of tears escaped her eyes and she crawled into his arms and hugged him tight.

"I was only 18 when he..." Meera spoke in a trembling voice, "I was so afraid...and...I..."

Meera was trembling in his arms. She wanted to scream but she just held onto Aryan tightly and didn't speak a word. She just cried bitterly.

Aryan comforted the terrified girl. He showered her with kisses and fondled her gently to help her calm down.

"What would I do without you Aryan?" she said, "You are such a wonderful guy, I pray every day, for your health and long life. May God give you all the happiness there in is the world."

"Hey sweetheart," he said cupping her face, "That really sweet of you."

"If there's anything you want from me...just ask...I'll never say no to you for anything...anything..." Meera said weeping bitterly in his arms.

Aryan saw such innocence in her eyes that he had never seen before. He realized that the memories of the time when she was innocent were now reflecting on her face. He could see in her eyes how deeply she wished that what happened never happened and she could be as sweet and innocent as she once was.

"Meera," he said looking straight into her eyes, "You didn't deserve any of what happened to you, but look how strong you've been through it all. I've never seen a woman as brave and strong and loving as you. For the love of your child, you walked right into the jaws of death, and now you are battling horrible memories...I...I just want you to know how proud I am to call you mine."

Meera smiled at him amongst her tears and hugged him warmly.

"That woman who told me about Amairah," Meera said, "Her name is Fatima. She works for Qais."

"I'll speak to Riz and see if we can find out more about Fatima," Aryan said.

"And the driver who helped me escape, his name is Shadab," Meera said, "It seemed like he was Kabir's friend."

"Alright," Aryan said, "I'll ask Riz to look into it. II'll also him to arrange for some weapons, in case we need them."

Meera nodded and slipped into his arms. Aryan lovingly stroked her back till she fell asleep.

Contd....

[Blue Bull]

Armaan was smoking quietly in his room in a 5-star hotel in Dubai, looking at Meera's childhood pictures he had taken from her house. Several thoughts were racing in his mind. He then made a few phone calls and traced his old contact. It took him quite some time but after some digging around, he finally managed to connect with Ivan on phone.

"Ivan, this is about something very important," Armaan said, "I really hope you can help me out here."

"Sure, what it about?" Ivan said.

"I've sent you a picture," Armaan said, "I handed her over to one of your men 13 years ago. I want to know what exactly happened to her after that."

Ivan looked at the picture on his phone, and said, "Yeah I remember. You told me she knew something that was bad for you. So, I sent her to a place where that could be dealt with."

"Can you tell me the name of that place?" Armaan asked.

"That was really a long time ago..." Ivan said, "Why are you asking now?"

"Because I had instructed that I wanted her memories erased and then I wanted her given to a family for adoption," Armaan said.

"Yeah, and I passed on those instructions accurately," Ivan said.

"Well," Armaan said, "Whoever you hired did a real lousy job. Not only was she sold as a sex slave and her life utterly ruined, she managed to recover her memories almost completely and caused me some serious trouble. If I wanted to fucking hurt her, I would have just put a bullet in her head! It would have saved us all a lot of trouble. I want to know where she was sent, what exactly happened to her and who is fucking responsible for this!"

"I think it was a psychiatric facility," Ivan said, "Somewhere near Dubai."

"I really need the details Ivan," Armaan said, "And I want them as soon as possible."

"Alright, let me dig into it," Ivan said, "I'll get back to you."

Armaan waited patiently for Ivan's call. Finally, he called.

"It was a psychiatric facility named The Orion," Ivan said, "She was treated by Dr. Zakir Ali, and he did the job you wanted done, dealing with the memories."

"I'm gonna have to ask you for a favor," Armaan said, "I need your man to introduce me to Dr. Ali. I'm going to meet him personally and I want to have an honest conversation about her treatment."

"Not sure if I can make it work," Ivan said, "No one really likes to discuss such things."

"He'll talk alright," Armaan said, "Better for him if he co-operates or I have other ways to make him talk."

"I'll put a word across," Ivan said.

After quite some effort, Ivan managed to arrange Armaan's meeting with the psychiatrist.

Armaan reached the given address and a man greeted him. There was something abnormal about his appearance. The left half of his face, looked different, like it had been reconstructed with plastic surgery, and his left eye was artificial. Armaan stared at him for a moment, but quickly composed himself.

"So...what can I do for you?" Zakir said gesturing Armaan to sit down.

"I'll get straight to the point," Armaan said maintaining an eye contact, "I'm here to talk about her."

Armaan placed Meera's childhood picture on the table.

"I am sure our mutual contact has made it clear that we can trust each other," Armaan said, "I am here to have an honest conversation. This girl was handed over to you. You were asked to erase her memories. I want to know what happened after that."

"Well," Zakir said, "We've never met before but you did make contact through a very trusted source so I guess we can talk."

"So, you remember her?" Armaan said.

"Who can ever forget a girl like her," Zakir said showing the left side of his face, "She is the one who did this to me."

Armaan took a deep breath but wasn't exactly surprised. He knew what Meera was capable of.

"I was being gentle with her," Zakir said, "But this one, she is some sort of an animal. Once she attacked me unprovoked with a rusted nail and stabbed my face repeatedly. I lost one eye. And then I had to really teach her some manners."

Armaan could not digest the fact that Meera attacked so brutally unprovoked. There had to be a trigger. Meera was violent, but she wasn't crazy. She never did things without a reason. Then he looked carefully at Zakir's good eye. His eyes were blue, the same shade as Neil's. Armaan instantly understood the reason behind Meera's violent attack on the doctor.

"So how exactly did you 'teach her manners'?" Armaan asked sternly.

Zakir smiled viciously and said, "Would you like to have a look?"

Armaan nodded.

Zakir played a video he had preserved meticulously. Armaan watched how Meera was repeatedly subjected to electric shocks, and she begged and pleaded to stop.

"That was just the beginning of the fun part," Zakir said with a sadistic gleam in his eyes, "She was afraid of the dark, I used to lock her up in a dark room for hours. Her miserable screams were music to my ears. I tortured her till I was sure she was completely broken."

Armaan just listened to him with a blank expression.

"So what did you do when you were done with her?" Armaan asked.

"Well, I had to undergo 16 plastic surgeries to fix my face and I'll ever get my eye back," Zakir said, "Her punishment had to be fit for her crime. She was exotic and a virgin, such girls sell for a huge price. Not only did I recover my surgery bills, I ensured that she will suffer for the rest of her life by selling her as a sex slave when she turned 18."

"So, it was your bright idea to push her into sex trafficking," Armaan said maintaining a firm eye contact, "You had precise instructions, I believe. You were asked to erase her memories and give her to a family for adoption."

"Instructions my ass," Zakir said bitterly, "Look at my fucking face! She ruined my life and I was just supposed to let her live happily ever after?"

"Who did you sell her to?" Armaan asked.

"Qais Al-Khudair," Zakir said, "He is one of the most powerful men in the city."

"Thank you for your co-operation Dr. Ali," Armaan said extending his hand for handshake.

"Pleasure was all mine," Zakir said shaking hands with him. Armaan's knuckle breaker grip and a firm glare made Zakir nervous. He winced and tried to pull his hand away. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead as he forced a nervous smile.

*****

Armaan was driving back to his hotel. He got a call from his local informer, Zeeshan. He parked the car and answered the call.

"I have news from the orphanage. Your lovebirds reacted quite a ruckus there today," Zeeshan said, "Apparently the child was there for a week, but was taken by a woman named Yasmin who used to work there. Her address is fake, by the way, so no leads there. I've got a picture of the child from the records; I'll send it to you."

"Thanks," Armaan said, "I also need a picture of the lovebirds. Think you can manage a screenshot of the CCTV footage?"

"Sure," Zeeshan said, "Gimme a moment."

Armaan's phone chimed with incoming messages. He saw a CCTV screenshot of Meera with Aryan. Although she was clad in a burqa, Armaan could still recognize her.

"Why the hell is she wearing a burqa?" Armaan asked.

"To save her ass," Zeeshan replied, "The former owner, Qais did not take her escape kindly. It was a huge dig at his ego, and has inspired his other slaves to try and escape. He's put a price on her head. Anyone recognizes her and informs on her, he'll capture her and skin her alive, along with her lover boy."

"Hmm interesting," Armaan said with a smile.

"I tried following them," Zeeshan said, "But that guy Aryan was too alert. He evaded us and threw off the GPS tracker my man had placed on their car. I am afraid there is no way to trace them now."

"Never mind," Armaan said, "I've got another job for you. I want every detail about this Qais character."

"Sure," Zeeshan said.

Armaan started the car's engine and drove off, planning his next move.

*****

Next morning Aryan was reading the newspaper as Meera was making breakfast.

"Creepy things are happening in the city," Aryan said as he read the newspaper munching on an apple, "Poor dude was fried to crisp by a high voltage electric shock at his own house. The cops are suspecting homicide."

Meera glanced at the paper as she placed her cereal bowl on the table. There was a picture and the name of the victim. She instantly recognized Zakir and her face was cluded with anger. "Serves him right! That son of a bitch fucking deserved it!" she spoke bitterly.

*****

Armaan spent the next 2 days collecting information about Qais. Once he had everything he needed, he sent a word through a trusted source to Qais that he was interested in a meeting.

He got a call from Qais's right hand man Rashid, asking him to come at a specified location at the specific time, unarmed, if he wanted to meet Qais.

Armaan reached the location and waited patiently. It was a secluded place with no one around. A van arrived and a tall man got out of it. Armaan believed him to be Rashid.

"Are you carrying any weapons?" Rashid asked.

"No," Armaan said.

"Put your hands behind your back," Rashid said as he walked towards Armaan with a pair of handcuffs.

"I really don't think this is necessary," Armaan objected.

"If you want to meet the boss, you follow the rules," Rashid said.

Armaan unwillingly let Rashid handcuff him. Rashid made Armaan get into the van. Another man sitting inside the van put a hood over Armaan's head. The drive felt like an eternity. Finally, they reached their destination and Armaan was led out of the van. One man grabbed his arm and led him into a building.

After walking for about 10 minutes, the hood was taken off Armaan's head. He took a moment to adjust to the sudden bright light.

"Stand still," Rashid ordered as he began to frisk Armaan.

He took Armaan's phone, car keys, wallet, almost everything he found on his person. Armaan was visibly offended but chose to remain quiet. Finally, Rashid uncuffed Armaan and led him to another room where Qais was expecting him.

"You have a way of treating guests," Armaan said making a firm eye contact.

Qais chuckled. "You can't be too careful," he said, "Not all guests are friends, some are snakes."

"Well," Armaan said glaring into his eyes, "Then trust me, you don't want a taste of my fangs."

Qais raised an eyebrow at Armaan's remark.

"We need to speak," Armaan said to Qais, referring to Rashid, "In private."

"Oh! he is fine," Qais said, "He is my most faithful dog."

"Well," Armaan said maintaining a firm glare, "If you want to be insulted in front of your faithful dog, so be it."

"What do you mean?" Qais asked.

"You might want to check your phone," Armaan said.

Qais picked up his phone to look and it chimed with an incoming message. It was an email that consisted of details of all his illegal business, the location of his slave harems, the details of his illegal accounts and finances. His face instantly turned pale.

"You are just one of the many powerful men in this city," Armaan said, "I am sure, we both agree that there are many who would love to tear you apart once they get their hands on your dirty secrets. And I have this information right where it needs to be and it will be released if any harm comes to me."

"What do you want?" he asked, in a lowered voice.

"First, an apology for the way your men treated me," Armaan said in a calm but firm tone.

"What are you standing and staring at, you son of a bitch!" Qais shouted at Rashid, "Apologize to him this instant!"

Rashid was taken aback to be yelled at for simply following orders. But he obeyed Qais.

"I am sorry Sir," Rashid said.

"Now get the fuck out of here, you son of a whore," Qais shouted.

Rashid obediently walked out.

"What do you really want?" Qais asked.

"I'm here to talk business," Armaan said placing Meera's picture on the table, "We have a common interest, I believe."

"Yeah this bitch," Qais said, "I have delicious plans for her once I find her."

"She is in this city," Armaan said.

"Really?" Qais said, "She's really got some nerve coming back."

"She is here to find her daughter," Armaan said, "The one she gave birth when she was still your slave."

"What?" Qais said, "No, that child is dead, I had her buried in the desert the moment I found out she wasn't mine."

"That is what you were made to believe," Armaan said, "Someone dropped her off at an orphanage almost 30 miles from here, and the child was later moved from there too."

Armaan placed a picture of Amairah in front of Qais and he immediately recognized the child and his expression darkened.

"Meera was at the orphanage 2 days ago, with a man I believe is her love interest," Armaan said showing Qais the screenshot of the CCTV footage from the orphanage.

"That's her alright," Qais said, "I can recognize this slut even in a burqa."

Qais was now visibly angry. He picked up the phone.

"I want Fatima brought here right now!" he shouted.

There was absolute silence between the two men while they waited for Fatima to be brought to them.

"What do you want out of all this?" Qais asked, "You are certainly not doing this for money."

"Meera has hurt my family," Armaan said, "Once we find Meera, you can keep her and do whatever you want with her. But I want her daughter."

*****

Soon Fatima was brought in front of Qais and Armaan. She looked nervous, but remained calm.

"I told you to deal with this child," Qais said showing her a picture of Amairah, "What did you do?"

"I buried her in the desert as I was ordered," Fatima replied with her eyes downcast.

"You have the audacity to lie to my face?" Qais asked with anger burning in his eyes.

"I speak the truth, Master," Fatima said.

"I want her skinned alive," Qais said to Rashid, "Show no mercy till she talks about where the child is."

"I seriously doubt that would work in her case," Armaan said, "I may have an alternate solution."

Qais nodded at Armaan showing his willingness to listen to Armaan's point of view.

"This woman here, she is tough," Armaan said looking straight into Fatima's eyes, "These kinda people won't talk no matter how much you torture them. And if they die, they take valuable information with them."

"So what do you suggest?" Qais asked.

"We'll find someone she is interested it," Armaan said calmly, "Someone innocent."

Qais's eyes growled with devilish pleasure at the thought of torturing Fatima's loved one in front of her eyes.

"Take her to the dungeons," Qais ordered, "She's stay there till we find a way to make her talk."

Fatima was chained and dragged away. She was taken to the dungeons and pushed inside a dark cell and the door slammed behind her. The cell was damp and cold. Fatima curled up and closed her eyes. The memory of the day Amairah was born flashed before her eyes.

*****

It was past midnight and it was raining heavily. Meera was lying on her bed, exhausted from the effort of childbirth, but the smile on her face was the most beautiful as Amairah fed at her breast. Fatima looked at the newborn child and smiled.

"Isn't she beautiful, Fatima?" Meera said holding the baby to her bosom, "I've thought of a name for her, I am going to call her Amairah, my little princess."

Fatima gently held the newborn girl and smiled. But soon her smile faded away. "She is beautiful, Meera," Fatima said, "But I fear for what kind of future she is going to have here."

Meera closed her eyes tightly as she realized the truth in Fatima's words. Then she opened her eyes and spoke with determination, "I won't let anyone hurt my baby, I'll kill anyone who even tries."

Fatima smiled weakly. She appreciated Meera's courage, but she also knew that there wasn't much she could do on her own. And then Amairah laughed playfully and opened her eyes. Fatima noticed the colour of her eyes and she suddenly became very apprehensive.

"Whose child is this Meera?" she asked sternly, "Neither you, nor Qais has this kind of eye color."

"She is my child Fatima," Meera said looking into Fatima's eyes, "That is all I have to say."

"I feared this girl's future when she grows up, but now I fear...she'll never grow up..." Fatima said gasping in fear.

Meera just glared at Fatima in anger.

"I am not your enemy, Meera," Fatima said, "I genuinely care about you and this child. Pray that no one notices what I just did."

Fatima nervously walked out of the room.

********

A tear escaped Fatima's eyes. She just stared blankly at the walls of the cell she was locked in, awaiting her fate.


End of Ch.2.....

[Blue Bull]

I just want to know how it feels like to be touched lovingly......

Neil continued living at the psychiatric facility where Armaan had got him admitted. He remained calm on the outside, but within his heart was a raging storm. He took the medicines he was prescribed and tried to sleep. He was afraid to turn off the lights. He just closed his eyes and tried to sleep. And just as he drifted off to sleep, his was awakened by a strange noise. He listened carefully; it was a woman sobbing.

He followed the noises and realized they were coming from under his bed. He got up and looked under his bed, and her saw her again. Naina was curled up in a ball. Her eyes were red and tearful and she was bleeding from the several wounds on her body.

"I am afraid Neil," Naina said, "Please help me...I don't want to die..."

Neil was now trembling and sweating in fear. He wanted to scream, but his throat dried up and he couldn't make a sound. He wanted to run, but he was frozen in fear. He was so overwhelmed that he fainted.

In the morning, the nurse found him lying on the floor. She shook him and he woke up. He looked visibly agitated.

"What happened Sir?" the nurse asked, "Why where you sleeping on the floor?"

Neil recollected what he had seen last night and shuddered. "May I speak to the doctor?" he asked.

After some time, a doctor came to see him.

"Hello, I am Dr. Rhea. How are you feeling today?" she asked.

"Am I going crazy doctor?" Neil asked drowning in worry.

"It is PTSD," the doctor said, "You'll recover soon. Along with the prescribed medicines, I suggest you practice meditation to calm your mind."

"I want to go home," Neil said.

"The state of mind that you are in, we unfortunately cannot let you go unsupervised. We could let you go if you have someone to take care of you 24/7. Do you have any immediate family who could look after you?"

"Family?" Neil said feeling a sharp pain in his heart, "No, I have no one."

A tear rolled down his cheek.

"You'll be alright," the doctor said, "You need to stay strong."

"I'll try," Neil said smiling weakly.

Once the doctor left, Neil lay down on his bed and smiled remembering the beautiful moments he spent with his family. The loving touches of his wife, the laughter of his children. He missed his family every moment, he wanted to be with his children more than anything.

He called Aditi's parents's home, where his daughters currently lived. Every time an adult answered the phone, he hung up without speaking a word. After a few attempts, finally his younger daughter answered the phone.

"Hello?" Pihu said.

"Pihu, it's me...daddy," Neil spoke, his voice choking in emotion, "How have you been, girl, how is your sister? I miss you both so much..."

"Daddy..." Pihu said, "Did you really kill mom? Everyone says...that you are a bad guy, and that we shouldn't be talking to you...why did you do it daddy? You were my superhero...you've never hurt anyone..."

Neil broke into tears. He could not speak further.

"I am sorry..." he said.

"I am not happy here, daddy..." Pihu said, "Everyone hates me, even grandma doesn't love me, she says I am a bad girl like you. I miss you Daddy, please take me with you...I'm even ready to live in jail with you..."

Neil was absolutely devastated to realize what he had brought upon his daughters.

His elder daughter Avni took the phone from Pihu's hand and shouted angrily at her, "Why are you talking to him Pihu? He is a murderer! Grandma has told to not to talk to him, hasn't she? Do you want to be punished again?"

Avni then snatched the phone from her hand and spoke bitterly, "Why are you calling us now? You killed our mom, now you want to kill us too?"

"Avni...I.." Neil struggled to speak, "I'll never hurt you or your sister...I love you both very much..."

"You are a liar!" Avni shouted, "You told mom that you loved her and still you killed her!"

The girls' grandmother heard the girls shouting and walked into the room. She took the phone from Avni's hand and spoke sternly, "I think I made it very clear that you are not to make contact with the girls Neil. Stay away or I'll file a restraining order. You may get away with Aditi's murder with all the dirty money and contacts you may have all over the corrupt system, but I won't let you hurt the girls, get it?"

"They are my daughters!" Neil shouted, "I have every right to talk to them, so fuck you and your restraining order."

"You heard them just now, didn't you?" she said, "Did they seem very interested in talking to you? I hope you got you answer, and you'll stay out of our lives."

She hung up the phone.

Neil broke down into tears. He just wanted to die that moment.

His thoughts were interrupted by a call from his lawyer.

"Your hearing is next week," the lawyer said, "We need to meet and talk."

"Don't bother," Neil said, "I am going to plead guilty. I hope they hang me. There's nothing left for me anyway."

"I understand what you are going through," the lawyer said, "But let's be practical. Your friend, Mr. Mathur, has paid me to do whatever it takes to keep you out of jail, and I am good for my word."

Neil smiled weakly to realize how much Armaan cared about him.

"Sure, let's meet then Mr. Bose," Neil said, "Maybe there is something you can do for me after all."

******************************************

"Hey, I'm sorry," Qais said, "I really should have treated you better. Why don't you stay with me till we find that cunt and her kid? Be my guest! I assure you my best hospitality."

"Thanks for the kind offer, but..." Armaan said, "I have my own stay arrangements."

"No, I insist," Qais said, "Let me make it up to you for being rude earlier."

"Alright," Armaan said, "If you insist."

Qais led Armaan to the most magnificent guestroom in his mansion.

"Enjoy you stay," Qais said, "Let me know if you need anything."

"Thanks, I really appreciate this," Armaan said.

"You are welcome. You have brought me information no one else has till now. Soon we'll hunt her down." Qais said, "Would you like to take a look at my harem? You could pick anyone you want for the night."

Armaan smiled. "Sure," he said.

Qais led him to his slave harems where numerous male and female slaves were naked and chained helplessly. They were all locked up in small cells like animals in a pair of two, with only a dirty mattress. As they walked across various cells, they crossed a cell where there was only one slave. Armaan observed the walls surrounding the empty spot and observed a small scribbling on the wall that read "Amairah."

"Is this where Meera was kept?" Armaan asked.

"Yeah," Qais said, "I've kept this spot empty coz I am going to capture her alive and drag her back here to where she belongs."

There was another woman in the cell. She looked broken completely. Her body was weak and her gaze was empty.

"She was the one who created chaos the day Meera escaped," Qais said, "We questioned her in every possible way, but she just wouldn't talk. Honestly, she is of no use to me, and for once I thought I should kill her and be done with it. But then, I'm not a killer, you know. Life and death are divine, and who are we to interfere with God's wishes? So, I let these pathetic cunts live her miserable lives and I just love to watch them suffer till their last breath."

"I want this girl tonight," Armaan said.

The slave didn't even flinch. She was just lying in the corner of the cell staring blankly at a point in the air.

"This one?" Qais asked sounding surprised, "Seriously man, she is no better than a corpse. There are much newer prettier girls here, so full of life that you enjoy every moment of breaking them. Why don't you..."

"I want this girl," Armaan said firmly cutting him off.

"Alright," Qais said, "I'll have her prepared and sent to your room tonight."

Qais walked Armaan back to his room. Armaan quickly scanned the room for any surveillance cameras or audio bugs. Once he was sure he's not being watched or heard, he called Rashid and demanded details of the slave. Rashid obediently allowed him access to her file. Once Armaan had access to her details, he sent them to his local informer to dig out more information about this woman.

As the sun set over the sand dunes, a warm desert breeze swept over the arid land. Qais indeed showed Armaan his best hospitality. After the men enjoyed their dinner, the slave was brought to Armaan's room in chains. Armaan closed the door behind her.

He freed her of her heavy chains and led her to the couch and made her sit down. She moved like an inanimate object. Her gaze was downcast and she didn't seem to have any emotions at all. She was naked, and cold as she shivered from the cold shower she had been given. Armaan wrapped a warm blanket around her, to cover up her nakedness and to warm her up. She didn't expect such a caring gesture. Nevertheless, she felt better and held on to the blanket.

"I am not going to hurt you, Zubeida," Armaan said.

The woman was surprised to hear someone call her by the name she had before she became a slave.

"Listen," Armaan said gently cupping her face, "I need to talk to you. I need your help."

Zubeida looked at him, and quickly lowered her gaze as she remembered her place.

"Hey, it's alright," Armaan said, "You can look at me as we speak. Meera is in great danger. I really need to find her and her daughter before Qais does. You know what will happen if he finds her, don't you?"

Zubeida's eyes were now tearful. But she still didn't speak.

"I know I am a total stranger and I don't know how I can make you trust me," Armaan said, "But I'm offering you a chance of freedom."

Zubeida just wept silently. She obviously didn't believe him.

"Here, have a look," Armaan said, showing her a picture of a little boy.

Zubeida looked at the picture. It was a picture of her son, Ayaan. She wailed and broke into tears. The last time she had seen him was 5 years ago when she was taken forcefully by loan sharks as her husband couldn't repay the money he owed them. The family tried to flee, but they were caught before they could get away. It was only after Zubeida begged on her knees for hours and accepted her fate to be a sex slave for the rest of her life, did they show some mercy and let her husband and son go.

When Armaan showed her the picture of her son, she broke down instantly. He had grown up in 5 years. She instantly craved to hold him, to be with him.

"Your husband and son have relocated," Armaan said, "And are trying to live a normal life. They miss you. You miss them too, don't you? Would you like to go home to your family?"

Zubeida still didn't dare to speak. She just held Ayaan's picture to her heart and wept silently.

"I'm offering you a chance to reunite with your family," Armaan said, "Perhaps this is the only chance of freedom that you'll ever get."

"Is this another cruel game?" Zubeida asked.

"It's not a game," Armaan said, "It's a deal. Meera was a close friend of yours. Give me some useful information about her and I'll give you your freedom."

"I..." Zubeida hesitated, "Will you hurt my family if I have nothing useful to tell you?"

"No," Armaan said, "This is between you and me. I really don't want to hurt you or your family. Because...I know how that feels. You have until morning to decide if you want to trust me."

Armaan lay down on his bed and closed his eyes, trying to get some sleep. Zubeida watched him drift off to sleep as she battled the storm in her head. The thought of reuniting with her family brought back a ray of hope in her life. She had never even dared to dream about holding her son again. And now this stranger, out of nowhere, had come up with a generous offer. She didn't know if she could trust him, but then she had nothing to lose. She was only worried about Meera. She couldn't tell if Armaan really had kind intentions or he was a wolf in sheep's clothing. Or it could be both Armaan and Qais playing this game with her. What if any of the information she shared brought harm to Meera or her child? She would never be able to forgive herself.

But she looked at Ayaan's picture again. She knew what her heart wanted. She stayed up the whole night.

When the rays of the morning sun painted the room in a golden light, Armaan woke up and found Zubeida still sitting on the couch like he had left her.

"So, what did you decide?" Armaan asked.

"Are you going to hurt Meera?" she asked tearfully.

Armaan took a deep breath and said, "I need to find her."

"That wasn't my question," Zubeida said, "Are you going to hurt Meera?"

"Your questions aren't a part of the deal," Armaan said sternly, making an eye contact, "We either trade information for your freedom or you will be sent back to the dungeons to rot there forever and never see your family again. You've had all night to decide. I want your answer, now."

"Meera was an amazing woman," Zubeida said, "She had a fire in her. That's what got her in trouble most of the times though. She used to attack Qais quite frequently and get brutally beaten up for it. But that didn't break her."

"I want to know how she escaped," Armaan said, "Who are her friends here?"

"Fatima was always kind to her," Zubeida said, "The doctor Kabir, he was good to her as well. When Meera was pregnant, she was perhaps the happiest. She used to sing every night. And when her daughter was born, she was put in the same cell with Meera. Meera was like...a fierce mother, she could take any amount of pain and humiliation, as long as she got to be with the child. Then one night...they found out that Qais wasn't the child's father and they took her child away...she cried so much, but then they dragged her away too...and they punished her...such horrible punishment that terrorized all the slaves..."

Zubeida began to cry uncontrollably.

"Master he..." Zubeida choked, "He tortured her night and day, he starved her, she almost died but she still didn't name the child's father. Her condition was so bad, death would have been mercy. But Master...he didn't want to give her such an easy death. He wanted her to suffer. He had such degrading things written over her body in permanent ink, and he paraded her naked with her degrading tattoos so that everyone could see and then...did something to her that ensured that she would never be a mother again..."

(Reference: The Story of Meera - Chapter 1)

Zubeida could speak no further. Armaan felt a sting in his heart as he realized the extent of suffering his one act had brought upon Meera.

"But all she cared about was her daughter..." Zubeida said, "Even after everything, she had a burning desire to find her daughter. She told me she was going to escape. She told me that Fatima had safely handed over her daughter to a man named Shadab who used to drive a garbage truck. He had taken the child to an orphanage. But Meera knew that Qais would soon find out and her daughter wasn't safe there. On the day she had planned her escape, she pretended that she had a severe stomach ache and asked me to raise the alarm so that she would be taken to Kabir, who had made arrangements for their escape."

"Anything else you know?" Armaan asked.

Zubeida just shook her head. "That was the last I ever saw her," Zubeida said.

********************************

After some time, Armaan was at the breakfast table with Qais.

"So was that slave any useful?" Qais asked.

"Yeah," Armaan said with a devilish smile, "She was very sexy."

"I'm glad that you find her sexy," Qais said, "Personally I find her utterly useless."

"Well," Armaan said, "You know what, I really like her. I'm interested in buying her. State the price."

"What seriously?" Qais said with a raised eyebrow, "I mean I am trying not to judge, but a fine man like you having a taste like that...doesn't fit."

"The heart wants what it wants, brother," Armaan said with a smile.

Qais smiled back. "She is yours, consider it a gift. Although, I could really give you far better slaves if you wish."

"Naah," Armaan said casually, "She is just fine. We all have different tastes, don't we? And by the way, I might have another useful piece of information for you."

"Sure," Qais said, "Tell me."

"Do you know how exactly Meera escaped?" Armaan asked.

"We could never really figure out," Qais said, "After she was taken to the doctor, both of them just disappeared. They had carefully studied the blind spots of the surveillance cameras, and it was like Poof! They disappeared in thin air."

"Well," Armaan said, "Before I came here, I knew that she escaped in a garbage truck. And now I have the name of the driver. Shadab Ansari, he is your man."

"I'll have him brought here and have his balls ripped off this instant!" Qais shouted.

"I would reconsider that," Armaan said, "Instead, it would be wiser to not alert him and keep a watch. If anyone knows where Meera's daughter is, it is probably him. And I have a strong feeling, Meera is going to try and contact him."

Qais nodded as he agreed with Armaan's point. He ordered his men to keep a watch on Shadab.

*******************************************

Zubeida was handed over to Armaan and he dropped her home, where her husband and son welcomed her warmly. She cried her heart out as she hugged her son after so many years.

Armaan was seated on the backseat of his car. He felt a sense of calm watching the heart-warming reunion as he remembered the moment he found Pankhudi after having spent two excruciating months without her.

As Armaan was watching the family, he got a phone call from the psychiatric facility Neil was admitted in.

"This is Dr. Rhea from Blue Lotus Physhiatric facility," a woman spoke over the phone, "This is regarding Mr. Neil Pereira. Since you got him admitted with us, it is your duty to inform you regarding this recent...mishappening."

"Yes, doctor," Armaan replied, "Is he OK?"

"We regret to infrom you that...he's missing..." she said.

"What do you mean missing?" Armaan growled, "He was severely depressed and that is why he was admitted to your facility! It anything happens to him; I'll fucking sue your institution!"

"Honestly Mr. Mathur," the doctor said, "He was always very calm, and he was improving with treatment. We had kept him under observation but there was no reason for us to restrain him. Nevertheless, we have filed a missing person's report."

"I don't fucking care!" Armaan shouted, "Find him and he better be alright!"

"Yes, we will," the doctor said, "Thank you for your time."

Armaan hung up the phone looking visibly upset.

Zubeida walked towards Armaan and spoke with tearful eyes, "Thank you so much for your kindness. I never even dreamed that this day would ever come..."

"It was a deal," Armaan said, "I am a man of my word."

"I know I have no right but..." she said, "I implore you...please don't hurt Meera...she was a good friend...she used to care for me, she would hug me, sing for me to soothe my pain...I..."

Armaan didn't respond to her. He was extremely upset by the news of Neil's disappearance. He raised his window glass and signalled the driver and the car moved away.

*****************************************

Aryan got a call from Rizwan.

"I'm sending you Shadab's address," Rizwan said.

"Thank you," Aryan said and hung up the phone.

"Come on quick!" he said to Meera, "We need to leave."

Meera and Aryan hurriedly got into the car and reached Shadab's address. Qais's men were already stationed there, and reported to Qais that they had spotted the couple.

*****************

"I want them captured alive," Qais ordered over the phone.

*****************

Meera knocked on Shadab's door. When he opened the door, Meera quickly lifted off the face veil of her burqa.

When Shadab recognized her, he panicked. He quickly ushered them inside the house and locked the door behind him.

"You should have never come back, Meera," he said.

"Shadab, where is my daughter?" Meera asked, "You left her at the orphanage, what happened after that?"

"I don't know Meera," Shadab said, "Fatima handed over the child along with a note. And told me to drop the child at a particular orphanage. Earlier I used to take some letters from her and drop them in the mailbox. And there was a drop point near the mailbox where someone used to drop letters for Fatima. I never read those letters, I never asked who was writing them. So honestly, I don't know."

"You can't just not know!" Meera shouted, "Who the fuck is Yasmin? Where did she take my girl?"

"I did what I did for Kabir," Shadab said, "He had helped me, I needed money and...he was a good man, but you were always the trouble maker! So many people died because of you and your daughter! Qais is not a kind man Meera. He castrated all the male slaves with hazel eyes, when he couldn't catch Kabir...he burnt his house down...and..."

Suddenly there was a rude knock on the door.

"You brought them here?" Shadab asked in panic, "You brought them to my house? You have no idea what Qais will do to me now!"

"OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!" two men shouted from outside.

Aryan grabbed Meera's hand and ran to the kitchen to hide. Suddenly the door was kicked open. Two men armed with assault rifles entered the house.

One of them pointed the gun to Shadab. "Where is she?" the man asked.

Shadab stood frozen in fear. He knew Qais would want him captured alive and give him a horrible death. When Shadab didn't speak a word, the man holding the gun ordered the other man to look for Aryan and Meera upstairs.

Noticing that the armed man was distracted, Shadab pounced upon him and tried to grab the gun. In their struggle, the gun fired killing Shadab on the spot. Aryan was alert on hearing the gunshots, and readied his pistol. He knew he had only one chance. He had to shoot the man in the head before he even got a chance to use his more powerful weapon. Aryan tiptoed into the living room where Shadab lay dead and spotted the armed man. He swiftly aimed for his head and shot right between his eyes killing the man instantly.

The other man who had gone to look for Meera upstairs came running downstairs once he heard gunshots. Aryan had to take cover. The man slowly started walking towards the kitchen where Meera and Aryan were hiding. Aryan fired a few shots at him but missed. And soon he was out of ammunition.

"There are no more bullets," he whispered.

Meera closed her eyes tightly when she realized they had been cornered.

"Who are these men?" she asked.

"I don't know," Aryan said, "The guy I killed had some weird tattoo on his wrist. Some kind of weird triangles and circles."

"Qais," Meera said, "These guys are his men."

Meera began to think fast. They heard the man call for backup. They knew they had to act fast as Qais was going to send several more men there soon. She looked at the kitchen knife and smiled. She picked up the knife and tucked it in an ankle strap under her burqa.

"I have a plan," Meera said, "I'm going out there. All you need to do is stay hidden. Do not come out, no matter what happens."

"But Meera..." Aryan said.

"Trust me..." she said, "If Qais sent them, he most certainly wants me alive. So, his men are not going to shoot me, no matter what."

Aryan nodded and agreed to play along.

Then she shouted loudly enough for the man to hear. "Please don't shoot...I'll surrender...I am coming out..."

She walked slowly towards the man with her hands raised.

"Kneel bitch," he said, "And ask your lover boy to come out."

"Honey..." Meera said softly, "Come out please...there is no point in fighting..."

Aryan stayed hidden as Meera had instructed.

"Why isn't he coming out?" he asked Meera.

"I don't know..." she said, "I'm worried...could you please check if he is OK?"

As the man walked cautiously towards the kitchen, he turned his back towards Meera. She took advantage of the opportunity and swiftly stabbed him in the neck. Once he was down, she stabbed him repeatedly till she was sure he was dead.

She ran to the kitchen and signalled Aryan that the man was dead.

Aryan stepped into the living room and gasped seeing the deep stab wounds on the man's neck, "Wow! That's some beautiful mess!"

"I may not know how to use guns," she said with a smile, "But I am damn awesome with the good ol' knife."

Aryan picked up the man's gun before they left the house. "These will be useful," he said. Meera picked up the other man's gun and the couple got into the car and drove off. They knew their journey had become far more dangerous.

"Drive to Kabir's house," Meera said, "If they burned his house, that would have been some news back then, I am sure Rizwan would know it's location. That's the only lead we have left now."

Aryan nodded and obtained Kabir's address from Rizwan without much difficulty. As Aryan was driving, he was unusually quiet. Meera noticed and sensed something was wrong.

"What are you thinking, Aryan?" she asked.

"I'm thinking," he said, "If Qais burned Kabir's house 2 years ago, and he attacked Shadab just now...it doesn't fit. If he knew Shadab was involved, he would have killed him long ago."

"You mean..." Meera said.

Contd...

[Blue Bull]

"Someone supplied Qais with fresh information," Aryan said, "Who else knew that you escaped in a garbage truck Meera?"

"I don't know..." Meera said, "Apart from me, Kabir, and Shadab...I don't think...wait...I once did mention it to Mithila when she was trying to recover my memories..."

"Mithila," Aryan said, taking a deep breath and continued, "Armaan...he is the one who got this information out of her. I have a feeling Armaan is in the city, and he has been talking to Qais."

A wave of fear ran over Meera at the thought of her two most powerful enemies uniting against her.

"No...this can't be happening..." Meera said.

"I am afraid it is happening, but the two men seem to have different interests" Aryan said, "Qais obviously wants you captured alive, but Armaan...there is something bothering me. I have a feeling that the men who followed us at the orphanage were Armaan's men."

"I didn't get you..." Meera said.

"If Armaan wanted us captured," Aryan said, "His men would have attacked us at the orphanage itself. But instead, they chose to simply follow us."

"Can you just stop talking in riddles, Aryan?" Meera screamed in panic.

"You've hurt his family Meera," Aryan said, "I think Armaan wants your daughter."

"I'll slit his throat before he can even lay a finger on my girl!" Meera growled.

Meera was silent for a while. She was burning with rage.

"We need to find a way to contact Armaan," Meera said with determination.

"What for?" Aryan asked.

"To ask him to fucking back off!" Meera said.

"And why would he do that?" Aryan asked, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Because if he doesn't," Meera said bitterly, "I'll ruin Pankhudi's life! I have her videos, I'll put them up on the internet for the whole world to watch her getting bangd over and over again!"

Aryan suddenly got furious and pressed down on the brakes.

Meera glared at him as the car suddenly came to a halt.

"For the last time Meera," Aryan said, gritting his teeth, "You DO NOT hurt people's families! What you did to Pankhudi is the reason Amairah is in danger in the first place!"

"I DON'T FUCKING CARE!" Meera screamed in panic, "If he even thinks of hurting my child...I'll..I'll..."

"You'll do what?" Aryan asked angrily, "Do you even have a clue where your daughter is right now? What if Armaan finds her before we do? Do you really want to agitate that man further by bringing up this obscenity that you did to an innocent woman who had absolutely nothing to do with what happened to you?"

Meera broke down into tears.

"I am sorry Aryan," she said, "I just don't know what to do..."

Aryan was really angry at Meera's reckless attitude. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath trying to calm himself down.

"Let's just find Amairah and go somewhere no one will ever find us," Aryan said calmly and drove off.

**********************************************

Meera and Aryan reached Kabir's house. It was night, and the stars adorned the sky.

Meera was instantly tearful looking at the ruined structure left behind after the flames devoured the house. She walked in through the charred door frame. Everything inside was a shade of black with a thick layer of dust and cobwebs of the spiders that made a home out of the tragic remains of the consequences of her actions.

Aryan followed her closely behind. The roof of the house was eaten away by the fire and the pale moonlight flowed in. A shiny object gleaming in the moonlight caught Meera's attention. She picked it up. It was a photo frame. When she saw Kabir's half burnt picture, she broke into tears. She ran her fingers over the frame as she smiled remembering a beautiful memory.

**********************

Meera was semiconscious. She was lying on the examination table with Kabir and Fatima by her side.

"What the hell?" Kabir said, "He hurts her so badly for what, like for some kind of a sport?"

"I've told her several times to obey, but she seems to have a death wish," Fatima said, "So, this time, Master has ordered you to..."

Meera couldn't hear as Fatima spoke in a lowered voice.

Kabir sighed. "I'll go have a word with him," he said, "I'll see if I can make him change his mind."

Fatima injected something into Meera's veins and her consciousness faded as she fell into a deep sleep. When Meera woke up, Kabir was smiling at her.

"Are you OK?" he asked.

Meera was feeling numb. She sat up on the bed trying to orient herself.

"Yeah," she said, grabbing her head, "I think I am fine."

"Do you have a death wish, girl?" he asked.

"Do my wishes even matter?" Meera replied with a smile.

"Why don't you listen, Meera?" Kabir asked, "Me and Fatima have been repeatedly telling you to obey your Master...why don't you? Haven't you had enough punishments? He beats you like an animal each time and I end up sewing you up. And this time you did what, you bit him? You know he ordered me to pull out all your teeth and nails. I talked him out of it with great difficulty. I care about you Meera, if you keep going like this...he'll kill you."

"Then I'll be finally free," Meera said with a sweet smile, "I don't belong here Kabir, I am like a little bird, and I belong to the skies, to be free and happy, to fly away to wherever I want."

"It is amazing to know you have such beautiful dreams, Meera," Kabir said, "But, look around you, you are not a bird, you are a sex slave, and that is what you are destined to be. The sooner you accept it, the easier it will be for you."

"I'll write my own destiny Kabir," Meera said, "I'd rather die than live in chains for the rest of my life."

Kabir felt his fondness for Meera rising every time she smiled at him. He had every reason to admire her. She was beautiful, she was strong, she was brave, and she refused to surrender to her fate. He touched her face lovingly making eye contact.

"You know Kabir," Meera said, "You are a wonderful man. Could you fulfil a little wish of mine?"

"What do you want me to do Meera?" he asked.

"Will you make love to me?" she said, looking into his eyes with desire.

Kabir's smile faded. "No, Meera, I can't," he said, "It is forbidden for me to..."

"Please..." she said, "Just once...look at me Kabir, what do I have, huh? I have woven these beautiful dreams to shield myself from the harsh reality...but I am not blind. You talked about reality, didn't you? I know that all I am ever going to get as long as I am alive is pain and humiliation. And once Master is done with me, he will kill me for sport, or condemn me to an even worse fate. All I want is a little moment of love, with a wonderful, loving, kind man like you...I just want to know how it feels to be touched lovingly...just once...I just want to feel something beautiful that is real..."

"Meera," Kabir said, "I really understand how you feel. But this could mean death for both of us."

"I'll never tell anyone, I promise," Meera said, "I'll never speak your name."

"I am sorry," Kabir said, "I can't."

"It's alright," Meera said tearfully, "I understand...I just wanted a little love...but it's ok, I'll live without it..."

"Hey..." Kabir said, hugging the tearful woman.

Meera grabbed his hair and locked her lips with him. Her grip was so firm, Kabir could feel how deeply she craved for love.

When he broke the kiss, he saw that she was tearful. Her eyes begged him to make love to her. His heart melted, and he surrendered to her desire.

He wiped away her tears with his thumb and smiled at her.

"Shhh it's ok," he whispered in her ear as he showered her with kisses. Meera relaxed her body and felt him pamper her with loving touches and kisses. Kabir was careful not to touch her wounds. He brushed his hands lovingly, all over her naked body.

Meera felt her pain fade. She could feel a serene pleasure rising, a beautiful feeling she had never felt before. Kabir grabbed her boobs, gently licked her nipples and she arched her back to welcome the sensual waves of pleasure running through her body. She closed her eyes and let her mind float into space. She imagined herself to be in a place far away, perhaps a quiet place among the stars where only she and Kabir existed.

Kabir brushed his hand lightly on her pussy lips and a moan escaped her lips. Her whole body trembled as he sensually began to stroke her clit. With her eyes still closed, Meera wrapped her arms around Kabir's neck and gently pulled him closer. He lovingly rubbed his lips on her lips and his tongue playfully teased her lips. He watched her beautiful breasts rise and fall.

"I know you will never hurt me, Kabir," Meera whispered in his ear, "You are the only man who won't hurt me...you care about me, don't your Kabir...I..."

Kabir saw that Meera was tearful.

"You make me feel so good...you don't hurt me...you are so kind..." she whispered.

And then something took over her. She knelt in front of him, and looked straight into his eyes. She undid his belt and unzipped his pants. She rubbed the bulge of his cock from over his briefs and boldly reached inside and grabbed his cock and pulled it out. It sprang out like a monster in front of her face. Maintaining eye contact she licked the pre-cum dripping from his cock. She massaged the head of his cock with her lips, and she ran her tongue sensually along its length. She cupped his balls gently as she sucked on his hard shaft maintaining an eye contact that made his heart melt.

Kabir could not resist anymore when he realized how badly she wanted him. His primal instincts took over. The desire to pound her tight wet hole overwhelmed him. He wanted to fuck her, and cum inside her and lay his claim over her body. She was melting in desire right in front of his eyes, virtually begging him to enter her and shoot his seed deep inside her womb.

Kabir hugged her, and he realized that she had wrapped her legs around his hips, moving her hips sensually, telling him how much she wanted him. Kabir held his cock against her pussy and felt the warm, welcoming wetness.

"Please take me Kabir," she whispered in his ear.

Kabir entered her slowly, she felt the loving invasion she so badly craved for. He felt so different. Unlike Qais who only used her like a rag doll, Kabir was making love to her. Meera knew she was forbidden to let any man other than her Master to touch her, she knew it was forbidden to seek sexual pleasure. She knew she was supposed to believe that she was just an object for her Master's pleasure. But she refused to surrender to her fate. As she felt Kabir's cock moving in and out of her, she felt happy, she felt proud of her little rebellion.

Meera didn't care for the consequences. All she cared for was this one blissful moment where the man of her choice was fucking her hard and deep, filling her up, rubbing the insides of her pussy sending waves of pleasure in her body. As her body convulsed in orgasm, she was drowning in sheer pleasure of her little victory over her fate. She cherished the fact she got to live this one beautiful moment with a good man. Kabir too didn't care anymore. Her courage was contagious, it had infected him. He marvelled at how this 18-year-old girl with such a petite frame had such a bold heart and a fierce spirit. He felt honoured that she chose him. He felt his sexual pleasure reach its peak as he came deep inside her womb.

The couple locked lips passionately as they smiled, basking in their post orgasmic bliss.

"Thank you for giving me the most beautiful moment of my life," Meera said lovingly touching his cheek, "I don't care what happens to me now, I've lived my entire life in this one moment."

"You are amazing, you know that Meera," Kabir said lovingly running his fingers through her hair, "I truly admire you."

"I gotta go back I guess," Meera said with a smile, "Master might want to beat me up again."

Kabir's smile faded. "It really hurts me to see you like this," he said.

"Then let's run away," Meera said with a playful smile, "Take me home."

"You know I can't," Kabir said with a sad face.

"I know," Meera said with a smile, "We could fantasize right? You and I, running away from this place and living happily ever after...it's a beautiful thought, it makes me happy..."

Kabir hugged her. He felt a pinch in his heart to realize how helpless he was.

"Hey...uh," Kabir said, giving her a pill, "Take this. It's a contraceptive."

"Sure," Meera said, "Can I get a glass of water?"

As Kabir turned to get her some water, Meera tossed the pill out of the window. She grinned to herself, as she mounted another rebellion against her cruel Master.

*****************************

Meera felt a hand on her shoulder.

"You OK, baby?" Aryan asked.

Meera hugged him.

"Kabir was a good man," Meera said, "He was kind and loving, he sacrificed so much for me."

Aryan gently rubbed her back and held her in his arms till she calmed down.

Both of them began to search the house for any clues using flashlights. Most of the things in the house were destroyed by fire. But Meera found something. It was a "Thank you" card. When she opened the card, she saw a picture of two women -- one older woman and one younger. She instantly recognized both women -- Yasmin and Fatima.

"She is Fatima!" Meera said, pointing to the older woman in the picture.

Aryan leaned in to observe the picture. "Yeah, Rizwan told me that she worked for Qais as a nurse and caretaker of his slaves. But she is also more or less a slave herself," Aryan said, "She is not allowed to leave the harem or communicate with anyone outside. And this younger woman is Yasmin. What are these two doing together?"

Meera began to read the card.

Dear Dr. Kabir,

I thank you so much for saving the life of my aunt, Fatima. She is my only family, and she means the world to me. When we heard of the cancer, we were devastated. But thanks to you, she is alive and well. May God bless you with all the happiness in the word. We owe our smiles to you.

Love

Yasmin

"Fatima is Yasmin's aunt," Meera said, "That is why she sent Amairah to the orphanage where Yasmin worked. She was trying to keep her safe."

Aryan was still focussed on the card.

"This looks like a very old photo," he said and lifted off the photo of Fatima and Yasmin. Behind the photo was the address of the photo studio where it was clicked. "I think I know where we might find Yasmin," he said.

Without losing time, Aryan and Meera rushed to their car and drove off towards the village where the photo was taken. They drove through the night, through the lonely desert road. Meera's heart was pounding in her chest at the thought of finally seeing her daughter.
"Someone supplied Qais with fresh information," Aryan said, "Who else knew that you escaped in a garbage truck Meera?"

"I don't know..." Meera said, "Apart from me, Kabir, and Shadab...I don't think...wait...I once did mention it to Mithila when she was trying to recover my memories..."

"Mithila," Aryan said, taking a deep breath and continued, "Armaan...he is the one who got this information out of her. I have a feeling Armaan is in the city, and he has been talking to Qais."

A wave of fear ran over Meera at the thought of her two most powerful enemies uniting against her.

"No...this can't be happening..." Meera said.

"I am afraid it is happening, but the two men seem to have different interests" Aryan said, "Qais obviously wants you captured alive, but Armaan...there is something bothering me. I have a feeling that the men who followed us at the orphanage were Armaan's men."

"I didn't get you..." Meera said.

"If Armaan wanted us captured," Aryan said, "His men would have attacked us at the orphanage itself. But instead, they chose to simply follow us."

"Can you just stop talking in riddles, Aryan?" Meera screamed in panic.

"You've hurt his family Meera," Aryan said, "I think Armaan wants your daughter."

"I'll slit his throat before he can even lay a finger on my girl!" Meera growled.

Meera was silent for a while. She was burning with rage.

"We need to find a way to contact Armaan," Meera said with determination.

"What for?" Aryan asked.

"To ask him to fucking back off!" Meera said.

"And why would he do that?" Aryan asked, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Because if he doesn't," Meera said bitterly, "I'll ruin Pankhudi's life! I have her videos, I'll put them up on the internet for the whole world to watch her getting bangd over and over again!"

Aryan suddenly got furious and pressed down on the brakes.

Meera glared at him as the car suddenly came to a halt.

"For the last time Meera," Aryan said, gritting his teeth, "You DO NOT hurt people's families! What you did to Pankhudi is the reason Amairah is in danger in the first place!"

"I DON'T FUCKING CARE!" Meera screamed in panic, "If he even thinks of hurting my child...I'll..I'll..."

"You'll do what?" Aryan asked angrily, "Do you even have a clue where your daughter is right now? What if Armaan finds her before we do? Do you really want to agitate that man further by bringing up this obscenity that you did to an innocent woman who had absolutely nothing to do with what happened to you?"

Meera broke down into tears.

"I am sorry Aryan," she said, "I just don't know what to do..."

Aryan was really angry at Meera's reckless attitude. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath trying to calm himself down.

"Let's just find Amairah and go somewhere no one will ever find us," Aryan said calmly and drove off.

**********************************************

Meera and Aryan reached Kabir's house. It was night, and the stars adorned the sky.

Meera was instantly tearful looking at the ruined structure left behind after the flames devoured the house. She walked in through the charred door frame. Everything inside was a shade of black with a thick layer of dust and cobwebs of the spiders that made a home out of the tragic remains of the consequences of her actions.

Aryan followed her closely behind. The roof of the house was eaten away by the fire and the pale moonlight flowed in. A shiny object gleaming in the moonlight caught Meera's attention. She picked it up. It was a photo frame. When she saw Kabir's half burnt picture, she broke into tears. She ran her fingers over the frame as she smiled remembering a beautiful memory.

**********************

Meera was semiconscious. She was lying on the examination table with Kabir and Fatima by her side.

"What the hell?" Kabir said, "He hurts her so badly for what, like for some kind of a sport?"

"I've told her several times to obey, but she seems to have a death wish," Fatima said, "So, this time, Master has ordered you to..."

Meera couldn't hear as Fatima spoke in a lowered voice.

Kabir sighed. "I'll go have a word with him," he said, "I'll see if I can make him change his mind."

Fatima injected something into Meera's veins and her consciousness faded as she fell into a deep sleep. When Meera woke up, Kabir was smiling at her.

"Are you OK?" he asked.

Meera was feeling numb. She sat up on the bed trying to orient herself.

"Yeah," she said, grabbing her head, "I think I am fine."

"Do you have a death wish, girl?" he asked.

"Do my wishes even matter?" Meera replied with a smile.

"Why don't you listen, Meera?" Kabir asked, "Me and Fatima have been repeatedly telling you to obey your Master...why don't you? Haven't you had enough punishments? He beats you like an animal each time and I end up sewing you up. And this time you did what, you bit him? You know he ordered me to pull out all your teeth and nails. I talked him out of it with great difficulty. I care about you Meera, if you keep going like this...he'll kill you."

"Then I'll be finally free," Meera said with a sweet smile, "I don't belong here Kabir, I am like a little bird, and I belong to the skies, to be free and happy, to fly away to wherever I want."

"It is amazing to know you have such beautiful dreams, Meera," Kabir said, "But, look around you, you are not a bird, you are a sex slave, and that is what you are destined to be. The sooner you accept it, the easier it will be for you."

"I'll write my own destiny Kabir," Meera said, "I'd rather die than live in chains for the rest of my life."

Kabir felt his fondness for Meera rising every time she smiled at him. He had every reason to admire her. She was beautiful, she was strong, she was brave, and she refused to surrender to her fate. He touched her face lovingly making eye contact.

"You know Kabir," Meera said, "You are a wonderful man. Could you fulfil a little wish of mine?"

"What do you want me to do Meera?" he asked.

"Will you make love to me?" she said, looking into his eyes with desire.

Kabir's smile faded. "No, Meera, I can't," he said, "It is forbidden for me to..."

"Please..." she said, "Just once...look at me Kabir, what do I have, huh? I have woven these beautiful dreams to shield myself from the harsh reality...but I am not blind. You talked about reality, didn't you? I know that all I am ever going to get as long as I am alive is pain and humiliation. And once Master is done with me, he will kill me for sport, or condemn me to an even worse fate. All I want is a little moment of love, with a wonderful, loving, kind man like you...I just want to know how it feels to be touched lovingly...just once...I just want to feel something beautiful that is real..."

"Meera," Kabir said, "I really understand how you feel. But this could mean death for both of us."

"I'll never tell anyone, I promise," Meera said, "I'll never speak your name."

"I am sorry," Kabir said, "I can't."

"It's alright," Meera said tearfully, "I understand...I just wanted a little love...but it's ok, I'll live without it..."

"Hey..." Kabir said, hugging the tearful woman.

Meera grabbed his hair and locked her lips with him. Her grip was so firm, Kabir could feel how deeply she craved for love.

When he broke the kiss, he saw that she was tearful. Her eyes begged him to make love to her. His heart melted, and he surrendered to her desire.

He wiped away her tears with his thumb and smiled at her.

"Shhh it's ok," he whispered in her ear as he showered her with kisses. Meera relaxed her body and felt him pamper her with loving touches and kisses. Kabir was careful not to touch her wounds. He brushed his hands lovingly, all over her naked body.

Meera felt her pain fade. She could feel a serene pleasure rising, a beautiful feeling she had never felt before. Kabir grabbed her boobs, gently licked her nipples and she arched her back to welcome the sensual waves of pleasure running through her body. She closed her eyes and let her mind float into space. She imagined herself to be in a place far away, perhaps a quiet place among the stars where only she and Kabir existed.

Kabir brushed his hand lightly on her pussy lips and a moan escaped her lips. Her whole body trembled as he sensually began to stroke her clit. With her eyes still closed, Meera wrapped her arms around Kabir's neck and gently pulled him closer. He lovingly rubbed his lips on her lips and his tongue playfully teased her lips. He watched her beautiful breasts rise and fall.

"I know you will never hurt me, Kabir," Meera whispered in his ear, "You are the only man who won't hurt me...you care about me, don't your Kabir...I..."

Kabir saw that Meera was tearful.

"You make me feel so good...you don't hurt me...you are so kind..." she whispered.

And then something took over her. She knelt in front of him, and looked straight into his eyes. She undid his belt and unzipped his pants. She rubbed the bulge of his cock from over his briefs and boldly reached inside and grabbed his cock and pulled it out. It sprang out like a monster in front of her face. Maintaining eye contact she licked the pre-cum dripping from his cock. She massaged the head of his cock with her lips, and she ran her tongue sensually along its length. She cupped his balls gently as she sucked on his hard shaft maintaining an eye contact that made his heart melt.

Kabir could not resist anymore when he realized how badly she wanted him. His primal instincts took over. The desire to pound her tight wet hole overwhelmed him. He wanted to fuck her, and cum inside her and lay his claim over her body. She was melting in desire right in front of his eyes, virtually begging him to enter her and shoot his seed deep inside her womb.

Kabir hugged her, and he realized that she had wrapped her legs around his hips, moving her hips sensually, telling him how much she wanted him. Kabir held his cock against her pussy and felt the warm, welcoming wetness.

"Please take me Kabir," she whispered in his ear.

Kabir entered her slowly, she felt the loving invasion she so badly craved for. He felt so different. Unlike Qais who only used her like a rag doll, Kabir was making love to her. Meera knew she was forbidden to let any man other than her Master to touch her, she knew it was forbidden to seek sexual pleasure. She knew she was supposed to believe that she was just an object for her Master's pleasure. But she refused to surrender to her fate. As she felt Kabir's cock moving in and out of her, she felt happy, she felt proud of her little rebellion.

Meera didn't care for the consequences. All she cared for was this one blissful moment where the man of her choice was fucking her hard and deep, filling her up, rubbing the insides of her pussy sending waves of pleasure in her body. As her body convulsed in orgasm, she was drowning in sheer pleasure of her little victory over her fate. She cherished the fact she got to live this one beautiful moment with a good man. Kabir too didn't care anymore. Her courage was contagious, it had infected him. He marvelled at how this 18-year-old girl with such a petite frame had such a bold heart and a fierce spirit. He felt honoured that she chose him. He felt his sexual pleasure reach its peak as he came deep inside her womb.

The couple locked lips passionately as they smiled, basking in their post orgasmic bliss.

"Thank you for giving me the most beautiful moment of my life," Meera said lovingly touching his cheek, "I don't care what happens to me now, I've lived my entire life in this one moment."

"You are amazing, you know that Meera," Kabir said lovingly running his fingers through her hair, "I truly admire you."

"I gotta go back I guess," Meera said with a smile, "Master might want to beat me up again."

Kabir's smile faded. "It really hurts me to see you like this," he said.

"Then let's run away," Meera said with a playful smile, "Take me home."

"You know I can't," Kabir said with a sad face.

"I know," Meera said with a smile, "We could fantasize right? You and I, running away from this place and living happily ever after...it's a beautiful thought, it makes me happy..."

Kabir hugged her. He felt a pinch in his heart to realize how helpless he was.

"Hey...uh," Kabir said, giving her a pill, "Take this. It's a contraceptive."

"Sure," Meera said, "Can I get a glass of water?"

As Kabir turned to get her some water, Meera tossed the pill out of the window. She grinned to herself, as she mounted another rebellion against her cruel Master.

*****************************

Meera felt a hand on her shoulder.

"You OK, baby?" Aryan asked.

Meera hugged him.

"Kabir was a good man," Meera said, "He was kind and loving, he sacrificed so much for me."

Aryan gently rubbed her back and held her in his arms till she calmed down.

Both of them began to search the house for any clues using flashlights. Most of the things in the house were destroyed by fire. But Meera found something. It was a "Thank you" card. When she opened the card, she saw a picture of two women -- one older woman and one younger. She instantly recognized both women -- Yasmin and Fatima.

"She is Fatima!" Meera said, pointing to the older woman in the picture.

Aryan leaned in to observe the picture. "Yeah, Rizwan told me that she worked for Qais as a nurse and caretaker of his slaves. But she is also more or less a slave herself," Aryan said, "She is not allowed to leave the harem or communicate with anyone outside. And this younger woman is Yasmin. What are these two doing together?"

Meera began to read the card.

Dear Dr. Kabir,

I thank you so much for saving the life of my aunt, Fatima. She is my only family, and she means the world to me. When we heard of the cancer, we were devastated. But thanks to you, she is alive and well. May God bless you with all the happiness in the word. We owe our smiles to you.

Love

Yasmin

"Fatima is Yasmin's aunt," Meera said, "That is why she sent Amairah to the orphanage where Yasmin worked. She was trying to keep her safe."

Aryan was still focussed on the card.

"This looks like a very old photo," he said and lifted off the photo of Fatima and Yasmin. Behind the photo was the address of the photo studio where it was clicked. "I think I know where we might find Yasmin," he said.

Without losing time, Aryan and Meera rushed to their car and drove off towards the village where the photo was taken. They drove through the night, through the lonely desert road. Meera's heart was pounding in her chest at the thought of finally seeing her daughter.

****************************************

"Any news on Fatima's family?" Armaan asked Qais.

"Yeah," Qais said, "You are going to love to hear this. Few years ago, my previous nurse died, so I needed an elderly nurse to look after the cunts and Fatima came forth and offered her services. She was a qualified nurse, so I considered her for the job. She knew she wouldn't be ever allowed to communicate with the outside world and she was paid for her lifelong services with a one-time payment."

"I see," Armaan said.

"She got the money transferred to the account of a girl named Yasmin," Qais said, "I've got her address from the bank. My men are on the way to get her."

Armaan smiled.

End of Ch. 3.......

[Blue Bull]

Please…let there be something beautiful in this cruel world.......

By the time Meera and Aryan reached the village, it was morning and the market was buzzing with people. Aryan found the photo studio where the photo of Fatima with Yasmin was taken and started asking the people nearby if anyone knew where the woman lived.

"Oh yes, I know her," a shopkeeper said, "She is Yasmin. She is a sweet girl. She used to live here with her aunt. But Fatima was diagnosed with cancer, and they went to the city for her treatment. 2 years ago, Yasmin returned with a little girl. She said Fatima was no more and she had adopted this little girl because she didn't want to be lonely."

"Where does she live?" Aryan asked.

"Take the first left from the crossroad ahead, fourth house to the right," the man said.

Aryan drove to Yasmin's house, but chose to park the car a few yards away, to avoid raising alarms for someone who might be watching. He didn't want to risk Yasmin getting killed like Shadab.

He instructed Meera to tiptoe quietly through the house's backyard and enter the gates without being noticed. Meera peeked through the closed window and spotted Yasmin. She was a beautiful young girl. On her lap was a little girl child who laughed playfully as Yasmin sang to her. Meera recognized her daughter and tears of joy filled her eyes.

Meera couldn't hold herself back. She knocked on the door. When Yasmin opened the door, Meera dropped her veil to let Yasmin see her.

"My name is Meera. That's my child," Meera said tearfully.

Yasmin was suddenly alert. She quickly allowed Meera and Aryan to enter the house.

"I knew you would come," Yasmin said, "Although I did expect you earlier. Are you sure no one is following you?"

"Not that we know of," Aryan replied nodding at Meera, "But I'll keep watch. Be Quick."

Meera held Amairah in her arms for the first time and her heart was filled with joy like never before. She showered the little girl with kisses as tears continuously flowed from her eyes.

"Thank you for looking after my baby," Meera said.

"That was the least we could do for Kabir," Yasmin replied with a smile, "When my aunt was diagnosed with cancer, we were devastated. The financial burden drained us completely, so much that we had to mortgage this house to raise money for her treatment. And in spite of everything, her chances of survival were grim. I could have lost her; she was my only family. But when we consulted Kabir, he not only agreed to operate free of cost, he treated her condition so well that she became healthy once more. For a few years we were happy, but the cancer returned, and this time...Kabir wasn't around,"

"Where was he then? Kabir was an amazing man," Meera said, "But why did he work for the likes of Qais?"

Yasmin's eyes got tearful as he spoke, "He was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Kabir found out about something that was bad for Qais. Qais was going to have him killed, but Kabir negotiated and offered to work for him in return for sparing his life. Qais is involved in a lot of illegal things and he did need a doctor to clean up his mess, so he agreed to let Kabir live. But Kabir was constantly monitored and his life was severely restricted. He wasn't free anymore."

"We tried several places where we could get Fatima treated at lower costs," Yasmin continued, "We were already burdened with debts. And then finally Fatima made a decision. She decided to sell herself as a slave. She decided not to go for any treatments and live for as long as she was destined to. She negotiated a large sum of money in return for her lifelong services, so I could get our house back. Now I have money, I have this house, but I don't have her. I continued working at the orphanage because that is where Shadab used to drop small letters from Fatima for me and take my letters to her. I didn't have my aunt but at least we could communicate. Also, I loved the company of the children when I felt lonely. And one day, that driver Shadab brought your child to me with a note from Fatima."

Yasmin showed Meera the note.

Dear Yasmin,

Please take care of this little girl. Her mother Meera, has named her Amairah. She is Kabir's daughter. Kabir is planning an escape with Meera. Kabir or Meera, will come for the child when the dust settles. Till then, please take care of her. Consider it a repayment for the debt we owe him. Also, you are not safe in the orphanage anymore, I suggest you move back home. They will try to find our address through the orphanage's records. Deal with that before you leave. Take care and God bless you.

Love

Fatima

Meera had tears of gratitude in her eyes for all the people who had helped her.

"But where is Kabir?" Yasmin asked, "Why isn't he with you?"

"He's dead," Meera said tearfully, "He died trying to save me."

"Meera," Aryan said in an alarming tone, "We may have a problem!"

"What happened?" Meera asked.

"I need both of you to leave, along with Amairah," Aryan said, "I just spotted a van full of armed men. They seem to be headed this way. I'll hold them off as long as I can."

"No, Aryan, they'll kill you!" Meera said, grabbing his hand, "You are coming with us!"

"Meera you don't understand!" Aryan shouted, "If I don't stall them, all of us will be captured. I just can't let them get their hands on you and Amairah. And those men are heavily armed, I really don't want Amairah to get caught in the crossfire."

"No..I...can't..." Meera said tearfully.

"Just go Meera!" Aryan said.

Meera looked at Yasmin who was holding Amairah in her arms. Yasmin looked terrified. Meera unwillingly left Aryan and grabbed Yasmin's hand and led her safely to their car. Once Yasmin and Amairah were comfortably seated in the car, Meera got onto the driver's seat and started the engine.

And then suddenly she realized something. The rifles they had picked up after killing Qais's men were in the car. Aryan just had a pistol and he wouldn't be able to hold off several armed men for long.

"Yasmin, can you drive?" Meera spoke with determination.

"Yes," Yasmin said.

Meera quickly fed the coordinates of the house Rizwan had arranged for her and Aryan to stay into the car's GPS.

"Drive to this location," Meera said, handing over the keys to the house to Yasmin, "Stay in this house. Once we deal with the situation back there, I'll come get my baby."

"You mean...are you?" Yasmin asked.

"Yeah," Meera spoke with determination as she picked up two assault rifles from the car, "After all Aryan has done for me, I can't leave him alone to die."

"But Meera, they'll kill you," Yasmin spoke in a worried tone.

"I'll be fine," Meera said with a confident smile, "I've dealt with worse."

Yasmin nodded and drove off. Meera returned to Aryan with the guns. He was kneeling by the window eyeing the activities of the armed men. Aryan wasn't expecting her to return.

"What the hell Meera!" he shouted.

"I brought you guns," she said sweetly, "I couldn't leave you."

Aryan didn't respond. He was angry that Meera had risked her life. All he wanted was her to be safe. The armed men had now reached the door of Yasmin's house. Without losing a moment, Aryan shot down two of them while the rest took cover and began firing back.

Meera ducked next to Aryan trying to escape the raining bullets. Aryan stalled the men for quite some time and managed another kill. Rashid was extremely angry as he watched his men die. He picked up a sniper rifle and climbed up to the roof of a building opposite to Yasmin's house. He had a clear shot at both Aryan and Meera as they tried to stop his men from entering the house. He was tempted to shoot Aryan in the head but he remembered his orders that they were to be captured alive. He aimed for Aryan's right shoulder and fired a shot.

The bullet tore through Aryan's flesh and he fell on his knees in excruciating pain.

"Aryan, NO!" Meera screamed in utter panic as she struggled to bandage his wound to stop the blood flow, "Aryan, stay with me please!" Meera said, trying to shake him awake as Aryan was nearly fainting.

"They are behind the east window," Rashid instructed his men.

Before Meera could realize, a gas grenade was tossed in from the window a few inches away from her feet. The toxic fumes made both of them pass out in seconds.

*******************************

When Meera regained consciousness, she realized she was inside a moving vehicle. It was dark, but she could feel Aryan lying next to her.

"She cradled his head on her lap and hugged him and cried bitterly. "I am so sorry Aryan," she said.

"Meera," Aryan said, touching her face with his blood-stained hand, "You were very brave to return with the guns sweetheart."

Meera smiled at him.

"But I need you to promise me one thing," Aryan said, "You won't tell them where Amairah is, no matter how much they torture me, because that is what exactly they are going to do."

"I won't, I promise," Meera said tearfully as she realized how inevitable their torture was, "I'll be strong."

"That's my girl," Aryan said, smiling at her.

When they reached their destination, Meera and Aryan were dragged out of the truck and their hands cuffed behind their backs. They were roughly dragged to the room where Qais and Armaan were waiting for them.

Armaan smiled looking at the defeated couple. He casually picked up an apple from the fruit basket and rested his back against a wall and munched on the apple enjoying their plight.

Rashid forced Aryan to kneel and Qais walked towards Meera. On seeing Qais, a chill ran down through her mind. All the painful memories of how he had tortured and humiliated her spilt forth into her brain like a tide of nightmares.

"Strip her," Qais ordered, "I need to teach the cunt her place."

Meera felt like a deer in headlights and two men cut off her clothes with knives. She was stripped completely and made to stand stark naked in front of so many men. Her handcuffs were taken off. She wept silently and tried to cover herself with her hands. Aryan closed his eyes out of helplessness.

"So you got rid of the tattoos, eh?" Qais said boldly running his hands over her naked breasts, "This time I'll have you branded."

Meera tried to push his hands away. Qais grabbed her hair and slapped her hard across the face and forced her to bend over the table. He forced her to spread her legs so that everyone present in the room could see her pussy. Qais started running his hand over her exposed pussy. Meera struggled with all her strength but Qais held her firmly down.

"When I took your virginity, you were so nice and tight, now look at your cunt, so fucking loose," Qais teased her, "How do you feel? Aren't you proud?"

Meera's face burned in shame.

"How did you manage to get so loose?" Qais asked, "You became a whore or something?"

"Yeah," Armaan said, munching on the apple, "Spreading her legs is the only thing she is good at."

"Wow!" Qais said looking at Aryan, "And look at this man here, willing to die for this loose cunt. Seriously dude, from all the women in this world you choose to love this whore?"

"She is a far better person than you, coward!" Aryan growled like a wounded tiger, looking fearlessly into Qais's eyes.

"Yeah of course," Qais teased, "Far better at taking cocks up her holes. Tell us, loose cunt, does your lover boy know how many men have fucked you?"

Meera broke down completely to be humiliated this way in front of Aryan. She felt dirty and worthless. She just hugged Aryan and cried.

"I seriously doubt that she has a count," Armaan said with an evil smile as he casually rested his back against the wall and enjoyed the show.

"Alright," Qais chuckled, "At least tell us which is your most used hole?"

Meera felt devastated. She hugged Aryan tightly. "I am sorry Aryan," she said in a breaking voice, "I am not worthy of your love."

She wailed and began to cry loudly. Qais smiled to watch that his mere words shattered her completely.

"Meera, listen to me," Aryan said, "You are stronger than this. Don't let him get the better of you. I decide who is worthy of my love and not him. You are the strongest woman I know, Meera, and I need you to show that to him!"

Meera quickly wiped her tears and composed herself.

"Aren't these two adorable?" Armaan said with a smile, taking another bite of the apple.

"Indeed," Qais smiled, "I'm gonna have so much fun with the two of you. But first things first, my guest here is interested in your daughter and you are going to tell us where she is."

"Fuck you!" Meera growled.

"I did expect some resistance," Qais said as he walked towards Aryan and kicked him hard, making him fall to the ground. Qais then placed his foot over Aryan's wounded shoulder making him scream.

"Stop hurting him!" Meera screamed.

"Stop?" Qais laughed, "I haven't even started. Now you are going to tell us where your daughter is or I am going to castrate him and make you watch."

"You might want to use a heated knife," Armaan said with an wicked smile, "He's got a rare blood group."

Meera glared at Armaan.

"What?" Armaan said to Meera, casually shrugging his shoulders, "You didn't know? He is A negative."

"Of course," Qais said, "We don't want him bleeding out. I'm ecstatic thinking of all the fun we are going to have once we make him a eunuch, won't we, cunt?"

Meera's stance now suddenly changed. Her eyes were burning with anger as she glared at him. She boldly advanced towards him. Qais just smiled and ordered one of his men, "Heat the knife, I am sure this cunt will love watching her lover boy's balls getting cut off."

"Touch him and you fucking die today!" Meera growled.

She kept advancing boldly and relentlessly towards Qais and her piercing gaze now began to intimidate him. He took a few steps back but Meera held eye contact and kept walking towards him. Armaan was standing behind Qais. He was now alert by Meera's altered stance. She was miserable and helpless when Qais humiliated her but when he threatened Aryan, she suddenly became furious and aggressive.

Meera's burning eyes could see only Qais. The man she hated the most in her life, the man who had brought her excruciating suffering and now threatened to hurt the man she loved the most. She pounced on him with supernatural strength and dug her teeth into his neck and her fingernails dug into his back. Qais struggled with all his strength to push her off but she was incredibly strong. And then she saw something. Someone pricked something into Qais's back. It was a needle. With her teeth still dug into Qais's neck, Meera raised her gaze.

Armaan was looking into her eyes. He said something. No, he actually whispered something in her ear, like the hissing of a snake. He said, "You are mine..."

Qais collapsed on the floor as Meera repeatedly scratched his face with her fingernails till she was pulled away by his men. And within seconds, she passed out in sheer exhaustion.

*******************************************

When she opened her eyes, she found herself in Aryan's arms. He had wrapped his blood-soaked shirt around her body to cover her.

"My tigress is awake," Aryan said, smiling at her.

Meera was still very disoriented. They were locked in a dark room with just a dirty mattress on the floor. She realized there was a metal collar around her neck attached to a metal chain. There was a similar collar around Aryan's neck too. The heavy chains from their collars were locked into a hook attached to the wall.

"What happened?" Meera asked, grabbing her head.

"You killed Qais with your bare hands," Aryan said.

Meera looked at her bloodied fingernails that still had chunks of his flesh stuck underneath. Her mouth was smeared in blood and she could still taste it. She recalled the events just before she passed out.

"What?" Meera asked, "He's dead?"

"So it seemed," Aryan said, "There was sudden panic when he collapsed and they rushed him to a hospital, but I heard someone say that he wasn't breathing."

"I can't believe...he's...," Meera said trying to orient herself, "It wasn't me, it was Armaan. He killed Qais."

"Really?" Aryan asked.

"Yeah," Meera said, "I saw him stick a needle into his body. The pen Armaan had was some kind of a modified syringe. I did attack Qais but a few scratches and a bite were not enough to kill a man as strong as him. Armaan poisoned him. But why?"

Aryan took a deep breath calculating the events. "Perhaps, he intended it from the beginning," Aryan said, "Armaan was only manipulating Qais and using his resources to get to us. He won the battle without even fighting."

"He hasn't won," Meera said with determination, "And he never will. He wants Amairah and I'll never tell him where she is."

************************************

It was nightfall. Neil stood in front of Aditi's house, watching the window of his children's room from a distance. He could see their silhouettes in the room. And then he saw their grandmother enter the room. She put the girls to bed, turned off the light and left.

Neil sneaked into the house and entered his daughters' bedroom through a window. His heart melted as he watched them sleep. He was seeing them after many days. He just craved to hold them, to play with them. He knelt down next to his younger daughter and kissed her forehead. His elder daughter, Avni, stirred and opened her eyes. When she saw Neil, she screamed.

Her screams awakened her little sister and both the girls were terrified. They ran to one corner of the room and stood there trembling in fear. Soon their grandparents came rushing to their room.

On seeing Neil, they alerted the security guard. Soon two guards were in the room.

"I need you to leave Neil," Aditi's mother, Nandini said, "Right now!"

"I just want to spend some time with my girls," Neil pleaded, "Please...I am not here to hurt anyone..."

"You've hurt us enough already!" Nandini shouted, "Just leave now or I'll call the cops."

Neil just had one loving look at his daughters before he turned to leave. His heart broke into a million pieces when he realized how terrified they were of him.

"I am sorry," he said to his daughters, "I love you both so much."

"Please go away," his younger daughter said as she tightly hugged her elder sister, both of them visibly trembling.

Neil had nothing more to say. He walked out of the house quietly. He wandered alone on the streets all night, fighting the storm in his heart. He had absolutely nothing left to live for. He walked on the dark lonely streets, he realized his life had become just as dark and empty. And there was no hope.

Finally, he reached home. He could see the structure next to his house, the charred remains of the house where Meera once lived. The house, now ruined by fire, stood like a monster that devoured his beautiful home and family. All he was now left with were memories of the time he was happy with his family.

Neil entered his house and sat all alone in the dark, drowning in despairing thoughts. He felt a hand on his shoulder. He saw Naina again. He was so broken, he wasn't even afraid of her anymore.

"I love you Neil," she whispered in his ear, "I've always loved you. I never wanted this to happen. I just wanted you to always be happy."

"I am sorry Naina," Neil said tearfully, "I am sorry for all the pain and suffering I caused you."

"It really hurts me to see you like this," Naina said as a tear rolled down her eyes, "I wish I could do something to take away your pain."

"There is nothing you can do," Neil said smiling with tearful eyes, "But I can."

Neil opened a drawer and picked up his gun.

***********************************************

Meera didn't know how much time had passed since she was locked in the dark room with Aryan. She felt something trickle down her ear. She noticed that the piece of cloth Aryan had used to bandage his wound was completely soaked in blood. She quickly tore off the other sleeve of his shirt that she was wearing and tied a fresh bandage. But to her dismay, even that was completely soaked in blood in a few minutes.

Contd.....

[Blue Bull]

Aryan began to feel light headed and his breathing became shallow.

"You OK, Aryan?" she asked.

Aryan was sitting on the mattress with his back against the wall with his eyes closed as blood continued to trickle down his wound.

"Talk to me Aryan!" Meera screamed.

Aryan opened his eyes briefly and closed them again.

Meera panicked. She looked around the dimly lit room. There was no furniture in the room. It was dark and dirty. In one corner, she found a tap. She rushed towards it. The heavy collar and chains around her neck made it difficult for her to move but she reached the tap and turned it on. She was relieved to find cool water flowing through the tap. She tasted it to make sure it was edible. She cupped her hands to collect some water and brought it to Aryan and slowly poured it on his lips. Aryan opened his mouth and drank the water. Meera ran back to the tap to bring more water from him. She kept going back and forth, struggling with the heavy chains till Aryan had enough water to drink.

"You OK?" Meera asked tearfully.

"Thanks Meera," he said, smiling weakly at her.

"I am sorry I brought this upon you," Meera said, "I told you not to love me...people who love me always get hurt! I am not worth this!"

"I am sorry I couldn't do more for you Meera," Aryan spoke in a weak voice, "I had this little dream, of living a life with you and Amairah, take care of you both, and our little family would live happily every after...I really wish you had escaped with Amairah, I really wish...that at least the two of you were safe..."

"NO! Aryan, no, I can't lose you!" Meera wailed, "You mean the world to me!"

Aryan said lovingly touching her face, "You are such an amazing woman, you know. So strong and brave, you Meera, are a woman worth dying for..."

Aryan's hand dropped to his side as he lost consciousness. He was still breathing but his breath was shallow. Meera broke down and cried helplessly. She wanted to bang on the heavy metal door. She tried to run towards the door but the chain held her back. She struggled with all her strength but the metal chains were too strong.

"Open the fucking door!" she screamed, "Open the fucking door! He is dying! He needs help!"

She kept on screaming but no one responded to her calls for help. She sank down on her knees and cried her heart out. And then she noticed a camera just above the door. She knelt and looked into the camera and pleaded, "Please if someone is watching, please help!"

There was still no response.

"Please...I'll do anything you say..." she begged, "Please don't let him die."

It was only after she begged over and over again, the large metal door buzzed and Armaan entered the room.

"Please," Meera said, begging on her knees, "Please save him. He is a good guy. He doesn't deserve to die. Please I beg you..."

"I will save Aryan's life," Armaan said, "If you tell me where your daughter is."

Meera was taken aback. "No...not my daughter...she had nothing to do with any of this...please..."

"The choice is between him or her, Meera, and you better decide quickly" Armaan said, "He doesn't have much time."

Meera was utterly shattered when she was asked to choose between Aryan and Amairah. She loved them both deeply.

"Fine, if you can't make a decision, both of you can die in this very room," Armaan said as he turned to leave.

Meera looked at Aryan who was unconscious.

"NO...NO...wait," Meera begged tearfully, "Save his life, I'll tell you where Amairah is."

Armaan stood before her with folded hands. Meera told him the coordinates of the house where she had asked Yasmin to take Amairah.

"She is with a woman named Yasmin," Meera said, "Yasmin is a good girl. She looked after Amairah for all these years...please don't hurt her."

Armaan signalled his men and they unlocked Aryan's collar. A team of medical professionals rushed Aryan to a makeshift operation theatre.

"If I don't find your daughter at this address," Armaan warned, "You'll never see Aryan again."

************************************

Meera lay on the dirty mattress that was now soaked with Aryan's blood. She cried silently as she was drowning in guilt for Aryan's suffering.

Soon she fell asleep. She woke up with a toddler's delicate hand touching her face. When she opened her eyes, she saw Amairah. She instantly hugged her and showered her with kisses. Amairah was afraid of the dark, but Meera's comforting touch calmed her down. Meera held her child in her arms.

The door buzzed and Armaan walked in.

Meera was terrified seeing him.

"Please..." she begged, "Let Amairah go...I know I have wronged you...but please not my child..."

"I remember I begged exactly like this," Armaan said, grabbing a chunk of Meera's hair making her wince, "But you didn't listen! You sick sadistic bitch, you enjoyed hurting Pankh even when you knew she was innocent. What kind of a woman orchestrates the bang of an innocent woman? Is that your sick definition of revenge?"

"Please...I.." Meera knew she had nothing to say in her defence. She just had to accept her fate.

"Is Aryan OK?" she asked, "Can I see him once?"

Armaan just slapped her in response.

"Please...let me see him..." Meera begged.

"Look at you, miserable piece of shit!" Armaan said bitterly, grabbing Meera's face in one hand and pressing her cheeks roughly, "Now you know what it feels like? How about I torture him to death in front of your eyes? Give you a taste of your own sick ideas?"

"Please no..." she pleaded, "Please let him go...you have me and my baby now..."

Armaan got a hold of himself and let go of her. Meera struggled to compose herself.

"Please..." Meera begged on her knees, "Aryan's freedom is my last wish...I hope you will honour it...please just let me say goodbye...please..."

Armaan took a deep breath trying to calm down. He unlocked her collar.

"Follow me," Armaan said.

Meera followed him quietly.

"He is in that room," Armaan said, "You have five minutes, if you don't come out on your own, you'll be dragged out."

Meera nodded and entered the room.

Aryan was lying on the bed, breathing quietly. His left wrist was chained to the bed. The bullet had been removed from his right shoulder and the wound was neatly sutured and bandaged. Meera sat down on the bed next to him. She ran her hands over him.

Aryan opened his eyes. He was thrilled to see Meera. He instantly sat up on his bed and hugged her.

"You OK, baby?" he asked her.

"Yes, I am fine Aryan," Meera said, "How are you feeling?"

"I think I'll live," Aryan said with a smile.

Meera locked her lips with him in a passionate kiss that was perhaps going to be her last. She held onto him so passionately, like she'd never let him go. She kissed him like she wanted to live the whole of her life in this one moment. When they broke the kiss, they looked into each other's eyes and smiled.

"Who saved me, Meera?" he asked.

"Armaan," she said with a faint smile.

"Armaan saved me?" Aryan asked with a concerned expression, "Just like that?"

Meera didn't respond. She just lowered her gaze.

"Answer me Meera!" Aryan said, shaking her violently, "Armaan didn't travel all the way here to do charity. What did he take in return?"

Meera just wept silently.

"Did you tell him where Amairah is?" Aryan asked, glaring at Meera.

"I had to choose between you and her," Meera said smiling amongst her tears, "And I chose you."

"No!" Aryan said as a tear escaped his eyes, "Why Meera? You gave up everything we fought for!"

"Not everything Aryan," Meera said lovingly touching his face, "You are most precious to me and you deserve to live. I know that Armaan will keep his word and set you free. It is my last wish and he will honour it. Besides, if he wanted you dead, he wouldn't have bothered getting that bullet out of you. He killed Qais right before he could mutilate you. I really don't know what Armaan wants, but it seems that he doesn't want to hurt you. He wants me and Amairah, and now he has us both."

"What?" Aryan gasped.

"She is with me Aryan," Meera said tearfully, "She is so beautiful...it feels so beautiful to hold her. She's got those hazel eyes that remind me of her father, his love, his kindness...his sacrifice."

"She is only a child, and now she is at Armaan's mercy..." Aryan said tearfully, "Why don't you ever listen to me Meera! Why didn't you escape with her?"

"Hey, hey, it's alright," Meera said hugging Aryan, "Amairah is going to be OK. She is going to be with me. We are going to be together forever. You remember where our money is, don't you? Take the money and go home. I'll pray that someday, you'll find an amazing girl, and you'll fall in love once again, and you'll live happily forever. I love you Aryan, I just couldn't let you die."

"You just killed me Meera!" Aryan protested, "I...I won't go anywhere without you and Amairah..."

Suddenly the door buzzed. Two men began to walk towards Meera.

"Goodbye Aryan!" she said as the men grabbed her. Aryan struggled violently with his restraints but couldn't reach her. He could only helplessly watch her being dragged away. He screamed and struggled with all his strength but he couldn't break free. He broke down and cried.

Meera was dragged and pushed into the room where Amairah was sleeping. Meera forgot all her pain when she saw her child. She gently lifted the sleeping girl in her arms and showered her with kisses. Emotion of motherhood overwhelmed her and she felt a heaviness in her breasts. A drop of milk trickled down her nipples and Meera smiled at the sleeping child in her arms.

After some time, Amairah woke up. She started crying.

"Hey baby," Meera said, "Don't be afraid, you are my strong girl. And mama is here, mama won't let anyone hurt you."

The child still didn't stop crying. Meera realized she was perhaps hungry. She put her to her breast and she began to suckle. Meera rested her back against the wall as he held her daughter in her arms. She closed her eyes and felt the beautiful bond with her child. She had craved so much for this one beautiful moment, but she finally got to live this moment only in captivity. She shuddered at the thought of what was going to happen.

"My sweet child," she said as Amairah suckled, "I could never be a good person, but I'll try to be the best mother. You will have a good life, you will go to college, you will go to college, you will get the best education, you'll grow up to be a fine woman and you will get married to the man you love, you'll have beautiful children, a family who will always love you. You won't have a rotten life like your mother. I'm here for you...I'll protect you, I'll feed you, I'll...keep you alive for as long as I can..."

Meera could not speak any further. She had never felt so helpless before. She sang a soft Arabic song, the one that Kabir loved. Amairah calmed down by her singing and drifted off to sleep.

Armaan watched Meera feed her child and sing to her till she slept. He was still unable to decide her fate. There was a raging storm in his head. Now that he knew the full extent of suffering, he had caused her, he was drowning in guilt. The very next moment, Pankhudi's tearful face flashed before his eyes and he was overwhelmed with anger.

He made a video call to Pankhudi. When she answered the phone, her smiling face instantly soothed him.

"Hey my love, now have you been?" Pankhudi asked.

"I'm good Pankh," Armaan said, "How are you? You sleep well, sweetheart?"

"I'm feeling better," Pankhudi said smiling at him, "I just miss you."

"I'm coming home soon," Armaan said, "My work here is almost done. Here, have a look."

Armaan showed Pankhudi the video from the camera in Meera's room. Pankhudi could see Meera with a sleeping child in her arms. Meera's tear streaked face clearly showed the amount of agony her impending fate was causing her.

"Is that her child?" Pankhudi asked.

"Yeah," Armaan said, "The only one she'll ever have."

"I don't know what to say honey...I.." Pankhudi said feeling sorry for Meera's condition.

"Tell me Pankh," Armaan said, "What do you want me to do? If there is anyone entitled to decide Meera's fate, it is you."

Pankhudi became quiet and thoughtful. She knew she now had the power to decide the fate of Meera and her child. Meera had caused her extreme suffering, but a life and death decision felt like a crushing burden.

Armaan allowed Pankhudi to take as much time as she needed to take a decision of such gravity. As Pankhudi continued weighing her options, Armaan got a second call from Blue Lotus Psychiatric facility.

"Pankh, allow me to call you back in a moment yeah?" Armaan said.

Pankhudi nodded and Armaan answered the second call.

"Mr. Mathur, this is Dr. Rhea again," the woman said.

"Yes doctor," Armaan said, "Any news about Neil?"

"Yes, but unfortunately, it is bad news," the doctor said, "The security officer have found his body today. He shot himself in his own house."

Armaan could barely process the shock.

"Mr. Mathur, are you there?" she asked.

"There was one job I entrusted you with was to stop him from killing himself," Armaan spoke bitterly, "And you told me 2 days ago, that he was getting better, are you even for real?"

"We are deeply sorry," the doctor said, "We've been looking for him everywhere since he went missing. He was last seen at his wife's parents' house where he tried to break into, perhaps he wanted to meet his children. And a few hours after that, he killed himself."

"That explains everything perfectly, thank you," Armaan spoke sarcastically.

"There is another problem," the doctor said, "The family hasn't come forth to claim the body, if you could...the security officer will contact you soon after the autopsy..."

"Thank you for taking the trouble to inform me," Armaan said, "I'll deal with you once I get there."

Armaan hung up. A tear ran down his eyes. The screen in front of him displayed the image of the woman who was responsible for this. He looked at her bitterly. For a moment he wanted to go in there and strangle the life out of her.

His phone rang again. It was Neil's lawyer.

"I just heard of Mr. Pereira's unfortunate death," the lawyer said, "I met with him recently regarding his hearing. But he put forth a strange request that he wanted to change his will. I really had no clue then, that it would come to this. This is really sad...but I had to speak with you regarding this new will. There are several clauses that concern you. And he also left a letter for you in a sealed envelope. When can I meet you?"

"I'm not in the country at the moment," Armaan said, "I'll meet you in person as soon as I can. In the meanwhile, could you discuss the clauses with my wife and hand over the letter to her?"

"Sure," the lawyer said, "I'll be there shortly."

"Mr. Bose, I have a question," Armaan said, "How valid is this will, considering that Neil was undergoing psychiatric treatment?"

"I've taken care of that part," the lawyer said, "I had 2 psychiatrists certify that he was in a sound state of mind when he made the will, and they are willing to testify in court, should this will be challenged. The paperwork is solid. I don't think there would be a problem with the execution of Mr. Pereira's will."

"Sure, thanks," Armaan said and hung up.

Armaan made a video call to Pankhudi once again.

"Hey hubby," Pankhudi said with a smile. Her smile faded when she noticed that Armaan was tearful. "You OK?" she asked.

"Neil's lawyer is on his way home," he said, "He wants to discuss Neil's will. And there is a letter Neil left for me. Could you please receive it?"

"Will?" Pankhudi asked, "You mean? Neil..."

Armaan just nodded tearfully.

"I needed a moment to myself Pankh," Armaan said, "Call me after you meet with the lawyer, OK?"

Pankhudi nodded and hung up.

Armaan began to remember the bitter-sweet moments of life he shared with Neil. Neil was always like his little brother. Armaan would always watch over him. Neil always respected Armaan from the bottom of his heart.

He floated into a void as he battled his grief. He didn't know how much time had passed. So many memories were flashing in front of his eyes. Armaan's train of thoughts was interrupted by Pankhudi's call.

"Hey sweetheart," Armaan said.

"I just met the lawyer," Pankhudi said, "Neil has appointed you as a legal guardian for all his properties, till his daughters attain legal age, after which everything he owns will be given to both girls equally. And there is a clause for testamentary guardianship. He has appointed you as the testamentary guardian for his daughters, that gives you a legitimate claim over the children's custody."

Armaan calmly closed his eyes processing the information.

"And there is this letter. It is sealed," Pankhudi said.

"Read it for me, Pankh," Armaan said calmly.

Pankhudi opened the envelope and began to read.

Dear Armaan,

I thank you from the depth of my heart for everything you have done for me. You've cared for me like an elder brother, tried to stop me when I was wrong and yet you did everything in your power to protect me when I didn't listen to you and messed up real bad.

I think back about the horrible things I've done. I wish I had treated Naina better. She loved me with all her heart, and I devastated her. Maybe I need to be punished for what I did, but my family didn't deserve what came their way. Aditi was the sweetest person I knew, I remember how good and kind she has been to everyone, even to Meera. But Meera didn't have the slightest hesitation having Aditi murdered. I did what I did to protect my daughters, but they hate me so much. My younger one, she still loves me, but they are punishing her for that. My elder daughter Avni, well, she doesn't want to see me, she doesn't even want to talk to me, and I am afraid Pihu will soon hate me too. Nothing is more painful than being hated by your own children.

Armaan, you have always acted for my good. I trust you, big brother, and there is no better person to take care of my estate and my children. Aditi's parents are upset and in grief at the loss of their daughter, and I take complete responsibility for that, but that doesn't give them the right to poison my children's heart against me. I've appointed you as the legal guardian for my children, because I know that you and Pankhudi will be amazing parents. Take custody of my daughters, take them away from the toxic environment they are currently in where their minds are constantly being filled with hatred. They've been through so much already. My sweet girls deserve better, they deserve love...take my girls home and end this cycle of hate once and for all.

I know you are upset that I left even when you did all you could to save me. But honestly, there wasn't much left for me anyway. My life has been damaged irreparably and I am way too messed up, you couldn't save me anyway, big brother. I really can't live a life without dignity. I'm just trying to find some peace. Forgive me, if you can. May God bless you and Pankh, and your children.

Love

Neil

A tear rolled down Armaan's cheek as she finished reading the letter.

Armaan didn't speak for a while. Losing Neil was excruciatingly painful for him.

"I am sorry my love," Pankhudi said, "I wish I could be there to hold you."

Armaan smiled with tearful eyes at her sweet remark.

"You OK with Neil's decision Pankh?" Armaan asked, "Would you be OK taking care of his daughters?"

"It is an honor that he chose us," Pankhudi said, "I would love to look after his daughters...sweet girls, they've been through so much, if I could bring a little joy to their lives, nothing could make me happier."

Armaan smiled. Then he looked at the screen showing Meera with her child. His face was now clouded with anger.

Contd....

[Blue Bull]

"What about her Pankh?" he asked in a bitter tone, "As much as I want to rip her guts out, I leave the decision of her fate in your hands. Your word on this matter will be final."

Pankhudi looked at the video showing Meera curled up in the corner of a dark room, dressed only in a blood-soaked shirt and trembling in fear with her child in her arms. She took a deep breath and gathered all the strength she needed to take a decision of such gravity.

************************************

Meera had lost track of time. She didn't know for how long she had been locked in the dark room. Amairah's presence soothed her heart but the child was getting more irritable by the hour. Meera struggled to keep Amairah calm.

Meera was thirsty, she reached for the tap, but there was no more water. Hunger made her weak with every passing moment. She realized how truly helpless she was when she couldn't make Amairah stop crying.

"I am sorry baby," Meera said, "I should have never come for you. I brought this upon you. Forgive your horrible mother if you can..."

Meera sang a song even though her throat was drying without water. Amairah calmed down to her singing and slowly fell asleep. Meera held her sleeping child gently against her breasts, as she rested her back against the wall. She knew her last moment was near. Her mind drifted into a void.

And suddenly the door buzzed and Armaan entered the room. Meera looked at him with tearful eyes as he came closer.

"Please let my baby live," Meera begged, "She is only a child."

"The last time I let a child live," Armaan spoke in a low bitter voice, "The woman I love was bangd over and over again, and three of my close friends died!"

Meera looked at him in disbelief when he said "Three."

"Yeah," Armaan said glaring into her eyes, "Neil is dead too. He killed himself just like you wanted. They found his body today. Are you happy now, Meera? You got his innocent wife murdered and orphaned his children, how good does this make you feel? Come on now, smile! Let me see you smile, let me hear you laugh!"

Meera just wept silently.

"What was that thing you did with Pankhudi's fingernail?" Armaan said, grabbing Amairah's hand.

"NO! Please NO!" Meera begged helplessly, "I beg you please...do whatever you want with me, please don't hurt her...I am sorry...I was mad with pain and anger, I couldn't think straight...I...I've never felt love like I did when I found my baby...I.."

"So we are talking about motherhood now, are we?" Armaan said, "You knew Pankhudi was pregnant. And yet you showed no mercy! You enjoyed her screams! Now you'll know what it feels like!"

Meera curled up and sobbed.

Armaan said, grabbing Meera's hair, "You had a grudge against me, you should have taken it out on me. The pain of an innocent person suffering because of you, you are going to feel that to the core now. You know, I am not here to avenge Aarav, Reyansh or even Neil...hell I don't even know what your men did to Reyansh! But Pankhudi? You brutalized her for absolutely none of her fault! She wakes up screaming every night, does that make you feel proud huh? Tell me Meera!"

"I am sorry," Meera spoke softly.

"Meera, I agree that you've been through unspeakable horrors, and you didn't deserve any of that," Armaan continued, "And I am willing to accept that it was my fault. And I am sorry, I really am. I was trying to protect my brother. I really didn't mean to cause this much suffering to you. I even admire your strength, courage and survival instincts. You are an incredibly strong woman and a fierce fighter. But none of that gives you the right to do what you did! Two wrongs don't make a right. You are just as horrible a person as I am, perhaps worse!"

"I had nothing," Meera spoke in a calm tone, "When I made the plan for my revenge, I had absolutely nothing. I had lost Kabir, I had become a whore, I had no idea whether my baby is even alive, I knew I can never become a mother again, no one would love me, I had no hopes, no dreams...my life was empty...I had nothing...I had only pain...I was in so much pain that all I could think of was..."

Meera stopped mid sentence as she broke down crying bitterly. Then she gathered herself and continued. "All that I could think of was inflicting pain on others...I had no control over myself...I often think back about the horrible things I've done, I often do...but then I feel at that point of time, I really couldn't do any better...I was so broken, I was in so much pain...like a mad wounded animal...I had no limits to my brutality...because there was nothing to hold me back...no one to give me a little love to remind me that I am a human too...If I had maybe a little love in my life, just a little love, maybe I wouldn't have been so bad..."

Meera wiped her tears and continued, "...and then one day, Aryan told me that he loves me, he told me that he wants to spend the rest of his life with me, he killed for me, he was willing to die for me...and everything suddenly changed...I...I had never dreamed that anyone would ever love me so much...and now I've found my sweet baby, and now I am so happy...I have a man who loves me, I have my baby, I have a family, I have money, I have dreams of living my life with Aryan, dreams of raising Amairah with him, dreams of giving her a good life, I have everything I ever wanted...what I don't have...is a second chance..."

Meera choked in grief as she wept holding her child, "After what I did...I know that I don't deserve mercy...I'm willing to face whatever punishment you chose for me...but I beg you Armaan, please let Amairah live...my sweet baby...her father Kabir, he was a kind man, he helped me escape this hell and then he died trying to save me. Please let our child live, you could give her to Aryan, or to Yasmin, she is a nice girl...she'll take care of my baby...please let there be something beautiful in this cruel world..."

Armaan was listening to her side of the story, struggling to keep his calm. The news of Neil's death had got him really agitated so much that he just wanted to grab her throat.

"But if you still feel that my baby doesn't deserve to live," Meera said in a defeated tone, kissing her child, "A quick death is all I ask for..."

She felt her heart break into a million pieces as she spoke the words. Begging for her child's death, nothing could have been more painful.

"If I were to stoop to your level Meera," Armaan said with blazing anger in his eyes, "I would have killed her and left you locked in the room so that you could watch her rot."

Meera shuddered at his words. But she knew any appeal for mercy would be rejected.

"But...Pankhudi chose to forgive you," Armaan said, "I am going to let both of you live because that is what Pankh wants. In spite of all your brutality, she believes you deserve some sunshine."

Meera looked at Armaan, in disbelief. There was a hint of hope in her eyes, but her heart feared if this was just another cruel game.

"I am going to set you and your child free," Armaan said, "You are very fortunate to be given a second chance, but that is that last chance you'll get. If you ever cross me again, trust me, you really don't wanna find out what cruelty I am capable of."

Meera nodded tearfully as she held her baby close to her body.

"Free Aryan and leave this country," Armaan said, dropping a key next to her, "The poison I used to kill Qais won't be detected in autopsy. His associates believe that you killed him, they are hunting you relentlessly."

Armaan walked away. Meera slowly composed herself. She gently held the sleeping child in her arms and cried uncontrollably at the thought of how close they both were to getting killed.

Then she composed herself and picked up the key and walked to the next room. Aryan was sitting on the floor completely broken at the thought of having lost Meera and Amairah. When he saw them, he couldn't believe his eyes!

Meera rushed towards him and unlocked his handcuffs.

"Are you OK?" he asked Meera.

"I'm alright," she said wiping her tears, "Let's get out of here!"

When they walked out of the house where they were held captive, they found a vehicle with keys in the ignition. Aryan started the car and drove off. Meera was in the passenger's seat with Amairah in her arms. She showered her baby with kisses as she wept silently.

"Did he hurt you or her?" Aryan asked out of concern.

"No," Meera said tearfully, "He didn't...Pankhudi told him not to..."

Aryan closed his eyes in anguish as he remembered the brutality Meera meted out to Pankhudi.

Aryan drove to the house where Meera had sent Yasmin. They hurriedly opened the locked door. They anxiously looked for Yasmin all over the house. Meera got apprehensive when they didn't find Yasmin.

Aryan and Meera ran upstairs and found the bedroom door bolted from outside. They anxiously opened the door and found Yasmin inside. She was safe and sound, but her eyes were red and tearful. It seemed like she had cried all night. And along with Yasmin was another woman. Meera recognized Fatima instantly and ran towards her, and pulled her into her embrace.

"I owe so much to you," Meera said tearfully, "Thank you for saving my baby."

"That was the least I could do for you and Kabir," Fatima said lovingly.

"Are you OK?" Meera asked Fatima with a concerned expression, "I feared the worst when Qais found out about Amairah. I thought he'll..."

Meera broke into tears and could not speak further.

"Qais had this visitor," Fatima said, "A man I don't recognize...but he seemed to be the one who told Qais about Amairah. Yet he intervened when Qais ordered his men to torture me, and managed to make him change his mind. And this same stranger set me free in the end. I never quite understood his intentions, but I am grateful for my freedom and I am happy to be back with Yasmin."

"I missed you so much," Yasmin said, hugging Fatima.

Aryan just stood there smiling at the women with Amairah sleeping in his arms.

Aryan and Meera had a quick bath and changed into fresh clothes.

Aryan called up Rizwan.

"We've found the child, and we will be leaving the country shortly," Aryan said, "I want to thank you for everything that you have done for us, risking your own life."

"I'm glad it is over," Rizwan said, "Good luck for your journey."

"Riz there is a favor I need to ask," Aryan said, "There is a woman who had been looking after Amairah. I'm afraid she will be hunted now. I need you to give her and her aunt a different identity and move them to somewhere safe. We will bear the costs for this."

"Okay, I'm sending you a location," Rizwan said, "Bring them there."

Aryan drove to the location Rizwan had sent. Once Rizwan arrived, Meera hugged Yasmin and thanked her. Yasmin and Fatima got into the van, and Rizwan took them away, promising to safely relocate them.

Aryan drove to the place where they had buried their money. Meera was sitting in the passenger seat of their car. She was lost in deep thoughts as Aryan dug out their money. Amairah was asleep on the backseat. Meera's heart was now finally at peace as she was now assured that her loved ones weren't in danger.

Aryan loaded the money in the car. Then he walked towards Meera and noticed that a lot of thoughts were running through her head.

"You OK?" Aryan asked Meera.

"Yeah I am fine," Meera said, "I was just thinking..."

"About?" Aryan asked.

"Armaan...he..." Meera said, "I don't know if I understand what he really wanted. He seemed really angry, but he didn't really hurt me or Amairah. He saved your life, he didn't hurt Yasmin, he set Fatima free, and he killed Qais and the doctor who tortured and sold me into sex slavery...why was Armaan really here Aryan?"

"I think he was trying to mend what he broke," Aryan said, "He was trying to fix things. I think, in his own crazy way, he was trying to do you justice. Perhaps, amidst all that anger, he does feel a deep regret for what you went through because of him. Now that he has chosen to forgive you, maybe, you should forgive him too."

Meera nodded in agreement. She turned on her laptop and plugged in her hard disc. Her eyes were tearful as she viewed the evidence of her monstrosity one last time. She deleted all of Pankhudi's videos permanently. She felt like a huge burden was taken off her chest, a burden of anger and hatred.

"I wish I had never been such a horrible person," Meera said, crying uncontrollably, "She was innocent and I...If it weren't for her kindness, I wouldn't be alive today...I couldn't even properly apologize to her. So many people were kind to me Fatima, Kabir, Yasmin, Mithila, and you...why didn't I learn anything from all these wonderful people? I just...I feel terrible for what I did to Pankhudi..."

"She's got a heart of gold, Meera," Aryan said, "She believed you deserve a second chance and she gave it to you. What you do with your second chance now is all that matters."

"I'll be the best person I can be, I'll be kind, I'll try not to ever disappoint her for giving me this chance..." Meera said, wiping her tears.

Then they drove towards the harbour as the sun set over the horizon.

********************************

Armaan returned to India, and Pankhudi welcomed him warmly.

He was cuddling in her arms at night after being away from her for almost a week.

"I missed you," she said, running her fingers through his hair.

Armaan held her closer, relishing the warm feeling of her body in his arms. His heart was finally at peace.

"I was really unable to decide Meera's fate," Armaan said, "Thank you for taking this burden off my chest. You know Pankh, although I had other plans for her originally, letting her go felt like the right thing."

"When you placed her fate in my hands," Pankhudi said, "I could have chosen death for her and her family. I just had to say the word. But killing her was not going to change anything for us. It was not going to change what happened or undo our suffering. Of course, it would have made a statement that we are more powerful and we can kill anyone who dares to cross us. But...taking a life just to make a point, no Armaan, we are better than that."

Armaan kissed her forehead and pulled her closer as his heart melted in her sweet words.

"The responsibility to end this was on you, because you started it," Pankhudi said lovingly fondling him, "She has been through unimaginable pain and I guess that's what made her a monster. Love and forgiveness, it changes people."

"She shouldn't have hurt you, Pankh," Armaan said, "She had no right. I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive myself for this."

"Armaan, my love," Pankhudi said, "When I chose you as my soulmate, I also chose to share your karmic debt. I knew your dark secrets. I knew that your dark past would have repercussions in our lives, but I loved you anyway. And with that love, comes a promise that I'll stay with you, no matter what happens."

Armaan pulled her closer and locked lips with her. "You are the most beautiful gift God has given me, Pankh, I'll always cherish you," he said.

****************************************

Aryan was driving and Meera was in the passenger's seat. They had got a child seat installed in their car and Amairah was safely strapped to it. Meera looked at the child laughing playfully and smiled.

"Here," Aryan said, passing her a blindfold, "Put this on."

"Seriously?" Meera asked, "Why? What have you been up to for the last few days?"

"I was preparing a surprise for you," Aryan said with a smile.

Meera smiled and put on the blindfold. After driving for a while, Aryan stopped the car. He lifted Amairah in his arms and opened the car's door for Meera. He led Meera towards a house and asked her to take off the blindfold.

Meera saw that they were standing in front of a beautiful house. The front yard had a little garden full of beautiful flowers and a swing tied to a tree. The house was beautiful and spacious.

"Do you like it?" Aryan asked.

"I love it!" Meera said, beaming with joy.

"It's ours!" Aryan said, handing over a key to her.

Meera smiled and sprinted towards the door. She entered the house and found it to be exquisitely decorated. The furniture, the curtains, the paint, everything was perfect. She explored all the rooms of the house while Aryan sat down on the sofa playing with Amairah.

"It's so beautiful Aryan," she said, "How much did it cost? You already have another house mortgaged in Mumbai."

"I sold that house," Aryan said.

"What? No!" Meera said as her smile faded, "Aryan, that house was special for you...It had memories..."

"I want to make new memories now Meera," Aryan said with a hint of sorrow on his face, "I want to live in this house with you and Amairah, I want to be...happy..."

Meera hugged him and locked lips with him.

"So what have you thought?" Aryan asked, "Although we have enough money to last a lifetime, but...there must be something that you've always wanted to do..."

"Yeah I..." Meera said, "I always wanted to run a boutique."

"That's wonderful," Aryan said, "Let's start working on setting up your boutique."

"And I've got this bucket list you know," Meera said joyously, "I want to educate myself, and there are so many books I want to read. I wanna learn to play the piano, I want to dance in the rain with you and I want to travel the world. What about you?"

"Me?" Aryan said with a smile, "I want to paint. Come let me show you something."

Aryan led Meera to a room where he had mounted all his paintings on the wall.

"This is my personal collection," he said.

"You painted these?" Meera asked in total awe of his art. She lovingly touched his paintings. She found several paintings of her. All those beautiful moments she had spent with him, he had captured them in his art. There was a painting of her reading a book, there was one of her sleeping like a baby. She was amazed at how beautiful she looked. And there was one painting of her smoking with a determined look on her face. And finally, she saw a painting of her holding a knife in a threatening stance in an abandoned factory. Her hair was disheveled and she was wounded, but her stance was so aggressive, and her gaze fierce like a tigress. Meera suddenly became tearful as she remembered the day she had first seen Aryan.

"This is where it all began..." she said lovingly touching the painting.

Aryan hugged her from behind.

"I painted this the day I first saw you. You mesmerized me that moment," Aryan said looking at the painting, "I always felt strongly attracted towards you Meera, your fierce spirit, and your strength. But I was afraid to express my feelings, because your aura has always been so intense."

Meera just hugged him tearfully.

"And this is my latest creation, and perhaps the most beautiful," Aryan said, leading Meera towards a covered painting, "This is what was keeping me busy the last few days."

As Meera uncovered the painting, her heart was filled with joy. It was a painting of her with Aryan and Amairah.

"Isn't she beautiful?" Meera said, touching Amairah's face in the painting.

"She is indeed," Aryan said.

"You know, Aryan, sometimes I wish..." Meera said, "I wish I could have a child with you. Maybe a boy, with cute dimples like yours."

"Well," Aryan said with a smile, "Only your uterus is damaged, but your ovaries are intact. If you want a biological child with me, we could get a surrogate. Or we could adopt a child. I know what it feels like to be an orphan, we could give a child a better life. But that's if you really want to. As for me, I am happy with our little princess."

Meera's eyes gleamed with joy at the thought of having another child with Aryan.

This was perhaps the most joyful day of Meera's life. Spending a day with Aryan in this beautiful house, watching Amairah run round the house playing with the toys that Aryan had brought for her.

Contd....

[Blue Bull]

After dinner, she put Amairah to sleep and cuddled close to Aryan.

"Is this even real Aryan?" Meera asked, "A few days ago...everything was so different...and this...it just feels like a dream. If this is really a dream, I never wanna wake up..."

"This is real, Meera," Aryan said, kissing her forehead.

"Sometimes, when I close my eyes..." Meera said as she shuddered, "All bad things...all the bad memories...they appear like a monster threatening to engulf me...I feel so afraid...I never dreamed that I would have a life so beautiful..."

Aryan held her close and gently rubbed her back.

"Armaan once told me," Meera said with tearful eyes, "That Pankhudi is the purest soul in this world...now I see the truth in his words...she gave me this beautiful life...I'll pray for her everyday...May God heal the wounds that I gave her, and give her all the happiness in the world..."

Meera could not speak further. Aryan hugged her tightly as she wept on his shoulders.

"Cheers to a new life, Meenakshi!" he said.

"To a new life," Meera said and locked lips with him. They kissed passionately, relishing that warmth of each other's bodies, and a humble gratefulness in their hearts for being forgiven.

***************************************

Armaan acquired custody of Neil's daughters. Aditi's parents weren't quite willing to let them go, but Neil's will had legally enforced Armaan's claim and they didn't want to fight it out in court.

"You think they'll be, OK?" Armaan asked Pankhudi as the girls played in the garden.

"The little one is sweet. The elder one has been hurt, she'll need some time to adjust," Pankhudi said, "But they'll be okay, I guess. I'll try to be the best mother I can."

"You'll be a wonderful mother," Armaan said, hugging her from behind.

"I have something to show you," Pankhudi said with a sweet smile, tugging on his hand leading him to the bedroom.

She playfully pushed him on the bed and said, "Close your eyes!"

Armaan closed his eyes, but he was curious so he opened one eye to look.

"No cheating!" Pankhudi said playfully.

Armaan smiled and closed both eyes again. Then he felt Pankhudi hug him from behind.

"Ok, you can open your eyes now," she whispered.

When Armaan opened his eyes Pankhudi showed him a sonographic image of their child. "Isn't our baby beautiful?" Pankhudi asked.

Armaan smiled at the image. "Come soon little one," Armaan said, "We are waiting for you."

**********************************************

Dear Readers,

The Meera Series ends here. It was an amazing journey I started with "The Girl Next Door" and kept writing prequels and sequels as per reader requests. There are some lapses in the sync because 4 stories were not originally planned, but they are passable I guess.

Do let me know what you think of this series of 4 stories as whole. If you feel something could have been better, do drop a comment or email. Your feedback has always been extremely valuable.

[Muralimm]

One of my best story I ever read ,wonderful brother keep posting like this

[Muralimm]

I forgot to mention please provide the link your next story on my account or email

[Blue Bull]

I forgot to mention please provide the link your next story on my account or email

Thx for ur kind concern ...... On reader's request I started a sequel to "The Accidentally Accident".... "The Beauty Betrayed" whose link is on my signature below each n every of my post ....

Any way you can get all me threads here clicking my threads bellow.....

My Threads

[Andy Smith]

Its the best story i have ever read in this forum so far