Prologue

Age:

Adwait: 12

Chiya: 6

Rajgarh, Rajasthan

In between the dark forest of Rajgarh, a boy and a girl are running, above them the night is covered in thick dark clouds, indicating the storm looming ahead but nothing compared to the storm they just faced.

Their faces were covered with sweat, their breathing came out shallow and ragged from endless running. But still they kept running, running from the fate they just escaped.

Their hearts were heavy, weighed down by sorrow, a cruel reminder of what they had just lost and what they could never bring back.

Suddenly Chiya's foot got caught in a tree branch and she fell down with a loud screech. The sound made Adwait freeze for a second before he rushed back, heart pounding, and dropped to his knees beside her.

"Are you okay" he asked her panting heavily from running.

He touched her injury gently to inspect. A sob broke through her from the sheer pain. Tears blurred her vision. His face fell when he saw it. "Oh shit..." he whispered, panic flooding his eyes "Your ankle is swollen"

Suddenly, a voice echoed from somewhere within the forest. A man shouted to his companions "There....the sound came from that side"

Adwait instantly became alert. Fear flickered through his emerald green eyes, his heart pounding violently, but he masked it quickly with a blank expression, refusing to let Chiya see it. He couldn't be scared now, he needed to save her. He had to be strong for her. He couldn't let those people have her. Those were animals, they would tear her apart and destroy her innocence at such a tender age.

He tightened his grip around her hand, stood up, and helped her to her feet. But as he tried to run again, a sharp cry broke from her, making him stop instantly. He turned back to see her standing there, trembling, clutching her leg.

"Chiya, come on, you have to run" he pleaded, urgency and fear lacing his voice as he looked at her.

"No I can't. It's hurting" she whispered, tears pooling in her eyes as she held her sprained leg.

Adwait's emerald eyes softened painfully as they met her small, terrified, glistening black orbs. His chest tightened, fear and helplessness crashing into him at once.

"Chiya, we have to"

Before he could complete his sentence, a loud gunshot echoed through the air, freezing both of them in terror. Before they could react, a group of bulky men surrounded them from all sides.

Chiya clutched Adwait's bicep tighter, as if hiding behind him could shield her from their preying eyes.

Then, a tall figure emerged from the darkness. He was dressed in a black three-piece Armani suit, his presence heavy and commanding. His face bore a long scar running from his left eye, cutting across to the other side of his face. A terrifying smirk played on his lips as his gaze first settled on Adwait, before slowly shifting to the pitiful figure trembling behind him.

His lustful gaze made Chiya shudder. She pressed herself closer into Adwait,

"Don't... or I will kill you" Adwait said in an almost terrified voice. His words, barely above a whisper, echoed through the stillness of the night.

The man slowly tore his gaze away from Chiya and looked at him instead. He let out a mocking chuckle. "You are just a pitiful little creature, and you will kill me?" he sneered. Turning slightly, he added coldly, "Take her" the first part meant for Adwait, the second for his men.

As his men marched toward them, panic surged through Adwait. He shouted in a desperate, pleading voice, trying to shield her with his own body. "NO!"

But his cry went unheard. They tore Chiya away from him, her grip slipping from his hands. When he tried to fight back, two men seized him from behind, holding him down as helplessness crushed his chest.

Chiya, terrified by everything happening around her, cried and thrashed in the arms of the men, but her strength was nothing compared to those bulky figures.

Adwait's gaze softened painfully as he saw her fearful face. Her terrified eyes locked onto his, searching for hope, begging him to save her.

He couldn't let anything happen to her. He had promised Her that he would save her. He should save her.

But as he struggled helplessly in the grip of the men holding him back, reality crashed down on him. No matter how much he thrashed, he couldn't do anything. His strength was nothing compared to the men holding him.

With a pleading voice, barely above a whisper, he said, "Please... leave her. You can do anything to me, or just kill me,but please let her go"

The man's eyes met desperate and pleading ones.

"Let her go?" he repeated blankly.

Adwait nodded silently, hope flickering weakly in his eyes.

But the man suddenly laughed, a cruel, mocking laugh that shattered that fragile hope. "I will let go, not only her, but you too. Do you know where?"

Adwait looked at him with a confused, questioning gaze.

The man slowly pointed toward the sky and said coldly, "To Her"

Adwait's eyes widened in horror as the man raised the gun and pointed it at Chiya, who stared back at him with wide, terrified eyes, frozen in fear.

"No... please don't. Your enmity is with my family, she has nothing to do with it. Don't involve her in this. Let her go" his desperate, pleading voice echoed through the forest as his terrified yet furious gaze locked onto the man.

"She is already involved" the man replied, a cruel smirk still etched on his face, the gun unwavering as it remained pointed at Chiya. "She is precious to you and your family, and she has to pay the price for that."

As the man prepared to shoot Chiya, Adwait, thrashing wildly in the arms of the bulky men, finally broke free. He ran toward her without a second thought.

At that very moment, two gunshots shattered the silence of the forest. One struck Adwait in the stomach as he threw himself in front of Chiya, shielding her from the bullet. The other ripped through the darkness, striking the man in the back.