Page 265 of The Redemption
For several seconds, I don’t move.
Then a broken cry escapes Siya’s mother as she drops to her knees beside Samarjeet’s body. Despite everything he has done, he was still her son. I understand that. Because mothers do not stop being mothers simply because their children become monsters. She stares at him through her tears for a long moment, then slowly reaches forward and touches his face.
“I wish...” Her voice breaks as another tear slips down her cheek. “I wish you had chosen a different path. Life could have been so different for all of us.”
She closes her eyes and cries again. I don’t even realise when I walk towards her and help her back to her feet. Her entire body trembles. Then suddenly, she grabs my arm.
“Siya?” The word leaves her mouth instantly.
I nod immediately. “She’s safe. The bullet hit her shoulder, but she’s out of danger. She’ll be okay once the surgery is done.”
A shaky breath leaves her lips as if thanking God. Then she steps forward and hugs me tightly. I wrap my arms around her automatically. My eyes drift towards Samarjeet’s lifeless body, towards the devil responsible for this entire nightmare.
I hear footsteps behind us and turn to see Ayaan emerge from between the trees, followed by Krish and Trisha. Dozens of GLEN operatives spread across the clearing, securing the area.
The war is over. Reports begin to come in almost immediately. The remaining hostiles have been neutralised. The hillside is secured. No major casualties on our side. Kriti has been arrested. And every surviving man in Samarjeet’s network is either captured or dead. The empire he wanted to lead by killing his own father has collapsed in a single night.
Ayaan’s gaze briefly shifts towards Samarjeet’s body and then towards me. Neither of us says anything. We don’t need to. Everything he needs to know is lying on the ground between us.
Samarjeet Vardhaan. Dead. Forever.
CHAPTER 49
RAGHAV
One week later – RK Estate
I’m riding Zephyr through the vineyards, as usual. The weather is perfect today, touched by the golden calm of an early sunrise. I get down from the horse right in front of my villa and freeze on seeing the woman sitting on a small chair in the garden outside.
My mother.
For the first time in years, she isn’t screaming in pain. Her face isn’t half-burnt, and she doesn’t look trapped, helpless, or lost. She’s smiling at me. I walk towards her slowly, unable to look away, and with every step I take, her smile only grows wider. When I finally reach her, I sit down at her feet and look up at her like I’ve been searching for this moment my entire life. I’m almost afraid that if I blink, she might disappear. She’s dressed in white, looking calm, beautiful, and impossibly peaceful.
She reaches down and cups my face gently. “I know you’re tired,” she says softly. “You’ve carried this burden for too long. But look at me, Raghav. I’m finally at peace. You saved me.”
I have been waiting to hear this from her. That she is safe.
A smile finally finds its way to my face too as I lean forward and press a kiss against her forehead. Then, I lower myself andrest my head in her lap like a child, and her fingers immediately begin moving gently through my hair.
“Maa...” The word leaves my mouth before I can stop it.
She smiles down at me. “Yes, Raghav,” she whispers. “I’m here.”
Yes, she’s here, and she’s finally at peace. As her fingers continue to stroke my hair, I close my eyes and simply stay there, holding on to a moment I never thought I would ever have.
But when I slowly open my eyes again, her face disappears, and the first thing I see is Siya’s mother. Her hand is gently stroking my hair. I stare at her, disoriented, then glance around the living room. I’m still lying on the couch, with my phone resting against my chest. The quarterly profit report I had been going through earlier lies open on the table in front of me.
And reality slowly settles in. I must have fallen asleep somewhere between reading messages and trying to finish my work.
Siya’s mom smiles softly when she sees that I am fully awake. “I think you were dreaming about something.”
Yes, it was a dream. Not a nightmare. The last time I had a nightmare, Siya had comforted me in the bathroom and stayed with me until I was okay again. After that night, this is the first time I have dreamt about my mother again. Usually, whenever I wake up after seeing her, I feel anxious. But today, all I feel is peace.
“I came to call you for dinner,” Siya’s mom says, pulling me back to the present. “But when I saw you sleeping, I decided not to wake you.” Her expression softens even further. “Then you called out ‘Maa’... I thought you were calling for me. So I stayed here for a while, waiting for you to wake up.”
My gaze moves to her hand, still resting near my head. Oh, so that was the touch I felt in my dream.
Siya’s mom studies my face carefully. “You okay?”
