No. No. No. No.

Saab.

Yash saab.

A scream leaves my mouth as he falls onto his knees. Head turning towards me, but I don't care. I care about Yash saab. And his wound. His head is bleeding, blood trickling down his temple.

And my feet run. As if running away from demons. Not caring about anything but him. Only him.

I fell onto my knees in front of him, my hands shaking as he bled out.

"Mujhe nahi pata tha ki ek lalia bhi hai," a voice said, but I ignored it, my focus on Yash saab. I slowly, with shaking hands, wipe away the blood with my dupatta. ( I didn't know that he had a lalia. )

Tears spilling out of my eyes, like a river. As always, when he got hurt.

"Jiya," Yash saab says, groaning as two people hold his hands behind his back, twisting them tight, making me wince. "Go home," he says, as they twist his hands.

"Kya kar rahe ho app! Uhaan dard ho raha hai!" I screamed, my anger bursting out at the thought of him hurting more than he did. I have never seen him like this, on his knees. Never. (What are you guys doing? He is getting hurt.)

And a hand touches my arm, pulling me to my feet away from Yash saab.

"Teri himmat kaise hui meri daamdo par gussa karne ki?" Vikram snarled. ( How dare you raise your voice against my men? )

A face I have always feared, as dangerously as possible. Vikram. A man who has lost his mind. With nothing but an animal inside him. Greedy, power-thirsty, bad. Someone I despise with every being of my soul. I hate him.

"Kyu kar rahe ho aap yeh sab?" I scream at him, tears spilling out, but my voice firm and strong. The pain is soaking up the fear. ( Why are you doing this? )

"Because it's fun," he laughed, like a manic.

"Vikram!" Yash saab screams as his eyes reflect his pain. "Chhod usse, jaan de", he says, voice low and dark. But Vikram only smiles, tightening his hand around my arm. ( Vikram, leave her, let her go. )

Vikram smirks before moving in front of Yash saab with me. Forcing me to crouch down with him, his fingers causing pain. I try to shove his hand away, but fail miserably. And his hold only goes tighter. Pretty sure leaving marks.

"Yash, I didn't tell her to come here. Did I?" Vikram says, sarcasm screaming in his voice. I finally gathered all my strength to remove his hand, but not before falling.

Vikram looked at me, "Kya chahiye ab? Sab kuch toh mil gaya aapko! Ajay bhaiya ko maar daala.. Ab kya? Humein sabko maaroge?" (What do you need now? You got everything you wanted. You killed Ajay bhaiya. Now, what do you want, to kill us all? )

He smiled, as if the situation was funny. "Tu mujhe ek baat bata, Jiya.... kyun bacha rahi hai isse? Kaun hai yeh? Tera dost? Yeh tujhse pyaar karta hai? Ye phir pyaar karti hai tu isse? Bata?" (You tell me one thing, jiya. Why are you saving him? Who is he to you? Your friend. How. Or is he in love with you? Or are you in love with him? Do you tell me? )

Vikram's words caused me to gulp, my heartbeat racing, my hands shaking uncontrollably. My eyes flickered towards Yash saab...

I looked at Vikram, my heart about to burst. "Haan, Karti hoon," I say, loud and clear. Confessing it for the frist time. A loud. Not in my heart. ( Yes, I love him. )

And Vikram smirked, and then laughed hysterically, clapping, falling on his back. As I look down, I don't want to meet Yash saab's eyes. But I still feel the dark, intense gaze of me. And I know, every inch of my body knows whose gaze it is. Yash saab.

Vikram looks at Yash saab, "Arrey Yash! Toh tu chhup-rustam nikla! Ladki patayi aur bataya bhi nahi?" he says, grinning, his tone light and fresh as if talking to a friend. He grabs my arm once again, pulling me up. ( Oh, Yash! So you turned out to be a dark horse! You got yourself a girl and didn't even tell us? )

"Chal. Tujhe lalia majnu ka kissa suna hai na, Jiya?" Vikram asked me, to which I nodded. "Toh meri pyaari lalia... majnu lalia ke liya maar tha. Ab lalia, majnu ke liye maregi." He raised the gun to my head. ( Come on, Jiya... you've heard the story of Laila-Majnu, right? Then my dear Laila... Majnu was ready to die for Laila. Now Laila will die for Majnu.)

A gasp leaving my mouth, as Yash saab struggled against Vikram's men's hold. I look at Yash saab as he shakes his head. Telling me to go, run. But my feet don't move. They will never move when he is at stake.

A single tear leaves my eyes.

Yash saab kabhi mujhse pyaar nahi karenge.. And I know that. I am very well aware of that. Par agar main aaj unheard kho doongi, toh main jee nahi paungi. ( Yash saab will never love me. But if I lose him today, then I will not be able to live. )

Meri jaan ka, unki jaan ke samne koi mol nahi. ( My life against his has no significance. )

He doesn't love me. And I can't live without him. Unki jaan bachane ke liye, sab kuch qurbaan. ( To save his life, everything can be sacrificed. )

Kyunki agar woh mujhse pehle chala gaya, toh main nahi jee paungi. And he matters more than I will ever. ( because if he leaves before me, then I won't be able to live. )

I take a deep breath, circling my hands around the gun, making it touch my forehead, eyes closed. Waiting for it to come. My end.

I love you, Yash saab. Mere sab kuch aap hain. Aur hamesha rahenge. Agar agar janam mein hum mile.... toh aap mujhse pyaar na bhi karein, chalega. Bas milna. ( you are my everything, and always will be. If we meet in the next life, even if you don't love me its okay, but meet. )

My knees trembled, but I didn't let me weak. Not today, not in front of Yash saab.

I could hear him struggling against Vikram's men, trying to get out of their hold. "Let her go!"

He didn't yell.

He didn't scream.

He threatened.

The gun was cold. So cold, it felt like ice had kissed my skin.

I didn't cry. Didn't shout. I couldn't. I couldn't show Yash saab, my last image as the always helpless jiya. I can't.

He was still fighting—like a caged lion slamming against steel. And then I gathered the courage to look at him, one last time.

Blood was running down his cheek, his lip was split, and three men had him pinned to the ground. His wrists were in their grip, but they held fast. His chest heaved with rage, and his eyes—god, those eyes—they were burning.

Vikram chuckled as I tightened my grip around the gun. "Pyaar bahut karti ho?' he says. ( Do you love him a lot?) 

And I look into eyes. "Bahut. Ki agar main marr bhi jaaun... toh bhi zinda rahungi." ( A lot. So much that even if I die... I'll still keep living. )

Vikram's fingers aligned on the trigger. As I close my eyes, accepting my fate.

And in the next second, everything broke free.

A loud grunt.

A crash.

And then—chaos.

My eyes flew open just in time to see Yash saab tear through the men holding him like a storm finally unleashed. One of them staggered back, clutching his nose, blood spurting between his fingers. Another screamed as Yash saab's elbow crushed into his ribs.

"JIYA!"

His voice wasn't just a scream.

It was a promise. A war cry.

Vikram's gun still pressed to my head—but his smirk faltered. He hadn't expected that.

No one ever did with Yash saab.

Yash saab didn't slow down.

Didn't blink.

Didn't breathe.

He lunged straight toward us, eyes locked on Vikram like he was death itself.

"Hat ja!" Vikram shouted, jerking me back, gun twitching. ( Move! )  

And then—it happened so fast—

Yash saab slammed into him. Both of them crashed to the ground, the gun skidding out of reach, screeching across the concrete.

Yash saab was on top of Vikram, punching him like he'd forgotten the world existed.

Once.

Twice.

Blood splattered across the floor.

I staggered, trying to breathe—and that's when Yash saab turned to me.

His face. Bleeding. Shaking. Wild.

He stood up, picking up the gun, and stood in front of me. Like a protector.

Pointing the gun at Vikram, as he got up, wiping away the blood with his shirt. "See you next time, Yash. And good night, jiya," he says, completely nonchalant at what had happened. Walking away.

____________________________________________________________

The street was silent.

Not the peaceful kind—the aftershock kind. The kind that comes after violence, where even the wind forgets how to move.

We sat on the footpath, my hands still shaking from what had just happened. Yash saab sat beside me. He turned. Eyes heavy. Shoulders tense. Not with anger—with something else. Something I couldn'tname.

"Un logon ka target ban gayi ho tum," he said, voice low. "Aaj bacha liya.... kal pata nahi." ( You have become a target for them. I saved you today.... but I don't know about tomorrow.)

I said nothing. I knew it was true. You become a part of their fight, you become a part of their world.

"Jiya..." his words hesitated, but I knew what he wanted to say. "Main tumse pya—" ( I don't— )

"Pyaar nahi karte." I cut him off. ( You don't love me. )

"Aap mujhse pyaar nahi karte, Yash saab. Main jaanti hoon. Aur aap pe koi farznahi hai. Aap meri feelings ko apni zimmedaari mat samjhiye. Woh aapkizimmedaari nahi hai. Woh meri hai." I said. My voice didn't go weak, but my heart died. ( You don't love me, Yash Saheb. I know that. And you have no obligation towardme. Please don't treat my feelings as your responsibility. They are not youresponsibility. They're mine. )

"Par tu target ho, jiya. Mujh tak pahuchne ka rasta ab tu hai. Teri jaan pe khatra hai... sirf kyunki tuna meri jaan bachayi." he moved closer. "Shaddi. Shaddi karogi mujhse." ( But you're the target now, Jiya. You're the path to reach me. Your life is in danger... only because you saved mine. Marriage. Will you marry me?)  

And I knew. I knew in that moment exactly why he wanted to marry me.  

Not out of love. Not out of longing.

But out of fear.

To protect me.

Because I had become his responsibility—his zimmedaari.

Someone he had to save to keep his own soul intact.

Nothing more.

Nothing more.... would I ever be.

But still—

In that one moment, standing beneath a flickering streetlight with his blood on my fingers and his name on my breath.

It was enough.

Enough to breathe in a dream I had never dared to speak about.

Enough to let myself feel, just for once, what it might be like... to belong.

Unka naam mere saath juda tha. Chahe duniya se chhup kar hi sahi... ( His name was tied to mine. Even if it was hidden from the world. )