Page 193 of No Boss
A soft laugh came through. “Won’t miss it.”
“Good.”
“Get some sleep now. Morning will feel different.”
“Goodnight, Rajveer.”
“Goodnight.”
The call ended.
Abhinav set the phone on the windowsill and let his eyes return to the temple. He closed them for a second, his palm resting against the wall beside him.
Meera was alive. That was enough.
A knock came at the door.
He turned.
Sarita stood there with the family doctor beside her. “Your hand.”
Only then did Abhinav look down. The dried blood had cracked across his skin.
The doctor stepped in, opening his case. He cleaned the cuts carefully. The antiseptic stung through the broken skin. Fresh blood surfaced before the bandages covered his knuckles and bruised flesh.
Abhinav remained silent through it.
When it was done, the doctor packed his things, bowed to Sarita, and left.
The room fell silent again.
Abhinav bathed and changed his clothes. His body moved from habit alone.
When he returned and sat on the edge of the bed, Sarita crossed the room and pulled him into her arms.
One hand rested at the back of his head. The other moved over his back in slow passes.
For the first time in longer than he could remember, he allowed himself to lean into it. To be held. To be a son, not the man who stood for everyone else.
Her fingers moved through his hair, untangling the strain he had buried hour after hour inside himself tonight.
“She is fine,” she murmured near his hair. “She is safe. Gauri has her. She is being looked after.”
Abhinav drew a slow breath against her shoulder.
“Kuldevi watched over her tonight. As she always does. As she always will.” Her forehead rested against his head. “You can let go now, beta.”
His arms came around her.
Hours earlier, he would have argued. His words would have come sharp and angry. He would have spoken unanswered prayers. Of his father’s death. Of the rage that had risen in him when he stood ready to tear the temple apart if anything happened to Meera.
Now the words refused to come.
Because he had followed a woman in a red saree through roads he didn’t remember. He had walked through a doorway that vanished behind him. He had reached Meera through impossible darkness.
Logic had failed hours ago.
Some things existed outside understanding. Some doors, once closed, remained closed.
