Scene Title: Smoke, Silence & A Warning

Author's pov

The warehouse near the outskirts of Jaipur was silent — too silent.

Only the sound of boots against concrete echoed in the dark.

Arjun Singh Rathore stood in the center, black shirt sleeves folded to his elbows, a cigarette resting between his fingers. The dim yellow light above him created shadows on his sharp features. He inhaled slowly… exhaled even slower.

Control.

Two men were tied to chairs in front of him. They were trembling. Not because of pain.

Because of him.

Vivaan stood to Arjun’s right — younger brother, calmer, but not weak. His jaw was tight. He had grown up watching Arjun become this man. He didn’t question anymore.

On Arjun’s left, Reyansh his best friend leaned against a table, rolling a glass of whiskey in his hand. His expression wasn’t scared.

It was loyal.

The three of them weren’t just partners.

They were a storm trio.

Arjun flicked ash to the ground and took the glass Reyansh offered him. One slow sip. His eyes never left the men in front of him.

“You had one job,” Arjun said quietly.

That was the scary part.

He never shouted.

One of the men tried to speak. “Sir, we—we didn’t mean to—”

The gun appeared in Arjun’s hand so smoothly it felt like it had always belonged there.

Vivaan didn’t flinch.

Reyansh didn’t move.

Arjun stepped closer. “Main bewakoofi bardasht nahi karta.” (I do not tolerate stupidity.)

The air felt heavy.

He looked at Vivaan for a second. Not for permission. Not for approval.

Just a silent understanding.

Vivaan gave a small nod.

Reyansh placed his glass down.

A single gunshot echoed in the warehouse.

No chaos. No screaming scene. Just silence afterward.

Arjun lowered the gun calmly, handing it to Vivaan as if it were just another business file.

“Clean it,” he ordered.

His voice didn’t shake. His expression didn’t change.

He picked up his cigarette again.

Reyansh walked beside him as they stepped out of the warehouse. “You could’ve let them go,” Reyansh said casually.

Arjun looked ahead, lighting another cigarette.

“And let the world think Arjun Rathore forgives mistakes?”

He exhaled smoke into the night air.

Fear was currency.

And he was rich.

Vivaan joined them outside, adjusting his watch. “our people will handle the rest,” he said calmly.

Arjun placed a hand on Vivaan’s shoulder — rare, but meaningful. “We don’t make examples twice.”

Reyansh smirked slightly. “You really are heartless.”

Arjun’s lips curved into the faintest shadow of a smile.

“Heartless men survive.”

The black SUV doors closed.

As the car drove away, smoke trailed behind them — just like rumors.

In the underworld, people didn’t say Arjun Singh Rathore was dangerous.

They said something worse.

They said if you crossed him… you wouldn’t get a second chance to regret it.

And beside him, always —

Vivaan.

Reyansh.

Not followers.

Brothers by choice.

The Rathore mansion stood tall under the night sky — royal, silent, untouchable.

The black SUV stopped at the entrance.

Arjun stepped out, the scent of smoke still clinging to his clothes, the night’s violence hidden perfectly behind his calm expression. By the time he entered the house, the Mafia Don had disappeared.

Only the “businessman” remained.

Inside, chandeliers glowed softly. The house staff immediately straightened.

Fear followed him here too.

Not loud. Not visible.

But present.

Vivaan entered behind him, their eyes meeting for a brief second. No words were needed. Whatever happened at the warehouse stayed buried in silence. Chacha Harsh was already in the study, pretending to read files. He knew. He always knew. But he never interfered.

Because Arjun didn’t allow interference.

Only Dadi didn’t fear him.

And that’s why she was the only person who could still command him.

“Arjun beta?” Vinita Rathore’s voice came from the living hall.

His steps slowed.

The sharp businessman softened — just barely.

He walked toward her and bent slightly to touch her feet. She placed her hand on his head lovingly. “Khush raho.” (Stay blessed.)

She observed his face carefully. “You’re working too much.”

“I’m fine, Dadi.”

She sighed. “You’re thirty-two now, Arjun. Kab tak akela rahoge?” (How long will you stay alone?)

“It’s time you think about marriage. Move forward in life. Jo ho gaya usey bhool jao.” (Forget what has happened.)

The word forget did something to him.

His jaw tightened.

Forget?

How does a fourteen-year-old boy forget watching his world collapse?

How does he forget the truth hidden behind headlines calling it an accident?

Dadi believed it was fate. A tragic car crash. She still prayed for their souls every morning.

She didn’t know it was murder.

And Arjun made sure she never would.

Arjun’s POV

Marriage.

Moving on.

Letting go.

They sound easy when you don’t know the truth.

I was fifteen when I started searching for him. The man responsible. The man who ordered it. The man who thought a child wouldn’t understand.

But I understood everything.

The brake lines weren’t faulty.

They were cut.

I built this empire for one reason.

To make sure when I find him… he has nowhere left to run.

Back in the living room, Dadi held his hand.

“Beta, tumhare maa-baap bhi yahi chahte.” (Your parents would have wanted this.)

For a second, something dangerous flickered in his eyes — not anger.

Pain.

But it vanished just as quickly.

Vivaan stood at a distance, watching silently. He knew that look. He had seen it before. That invisible war Arjun fought every single day.

The entire family feared Arjun.

Servants avoided eye contact.

Relatives spoke carefully.

Even Chachi Veena chose her words wisely around him.

But Dadi?

She cupped his face gently.

“You are not made of stone, Arjun.”

If only she knew.

He gave her a controlled smile. “When the time is right, Dadi.”

It wasn’t a promise.

It was a delay.

She nodded, satisfied for now, unaware that her grandson’s life wasn’t paused because of grief.

It was paused because of revenge.

As Arjun walked toward his room, the mansion fell silent again.

Vivaan followed him upstairs.

Inside the corridor, Vivaan spoke quietly. “You can’t keep living like this forever, bhai.”

Arjun stopped.

Turned slowly.

His eyes were cold again.

“Until I find him,” he said calmly, “nothing else matters.”

Vivaan didn’t argue.

Because he knew.

The world feared Arjun Singh Rathore.

But what they didn’t know was —

Arjun wasn’t heartless.

He was unfinished.

And until the truth of that night is revealed…

No wedding.

No peace.

No forgiveness.

Just a man wearing a mask in his own home,

Protecting his grandmother from a truth that would break her.

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See you in next chapter

With our heroine roohi sharma