"Woh dost hi toh hai, jo zindagi ko haseen banatay hai"

~ Kabir ~

Mumbai, India

I waited for Meher to come back home. From the message I had gotten from Alpha, one of Meher's bodyguards, they were already on their way back home. There was still an hour and a half for her to come back whilst I sat in my study, working on something.

As Meher was investigating the cases, I was investigating from my end as well.

I have been investigating the threats surrounding the government project—
Eclipse, for weeks. Our company had won the contract to develop the cutting-edge artificial intelligence system to detect potential cybercrime, but I had been receiving threats and warnings hinting that someone didn't want us to succeed.

This project was important. Considering recent cases of cybercrime where predators hunted over young girls via social media, the need to increase online security was very crucial.

And that message Meher got? After that, I lost it. I knew I had to investigate in some way.

The doorbell rang, and I tensed up. Who could it be? I wasn't expecting anyone at this time and Meher was supposed to come later. I cautiously approached the door and peered through the peephole.

Thankfully, it was Maan. I let out a sigh of relief and opened the door.

"Maan, what brought you here?" I asked, trying to hide the worry from my voice.

Maan stepped inside, leaving his shoes on the doorstep. "I've been digging as you had told me to do," he said, his eyes scanning the room. "All of them came from burner phones, making it nearly impossible to track the sender."

We got seated in the living area. Maan was the only one who was aware of the threats. Since he was an expert in the field of tech, I knew he was the one who could help me find evidence.

I nodded, frustration etched on my face. "I know. It's like they're trying to cover their tracks."

Maan handed me a small note. "But I found something interesting. Look at this," he zoomed in on the image, "Look at this symbol in the background, it's a logo." He showed the logo to me and indeed it was there, right at the background of the image.

I squinted my eyes to get a closer look as the confusion settled in. "That's unusual. I've never seen anything like it."

Maan nodded. "Me neither. But I think it might be a signature or a logo. If we can identify the logo, we might be able to trace it back to the person or company behind the threats."

My mind raced with possibilities. "Let's get to work on it. See if we can find any matches or connections."

I quickly grabbed my laptop and searched for information about the symbol. Maan sat down next to me, and together we scrolled through various search results, but nothing seemed to match the description.

"Let me try something," Maan said, taking the laptop from me. He opened a new tab and started typing furiously.

"What are you doing?" I asked, curiosity piqued.

"I'm trying to access a secure database," Maan replied, his gaze fixed on the screen. "If anyone has any sort of information about this logo, we will find it here."

After a few minutes of typing and scrolling, Maan's face brightened. "We were correct. It is indeed a company logo. A tech startup— Code Crunch. It focuses on making and selling applications for different companies, one of the fastest growing startups, famously called as the Code Beasts. Their annual profit last year's was over two hundred crores."

I could now faintly recall the company. "Who is the owner, by the way?"

"Rishabh Verma, he's thirty-three, has already bagged a few awards for the company," Maan answered as he read through the details.

And then I recalled.

"Of course I know about Code Crunch," I told him. "They were pitching against our company in the final round of selection."

"Then you should have remembered the name, right?" Maan furrowed his eyes in confusion.

I shook my head. "You know before meeting, we do small talks. Everyone there addressed his company as a startup and not by its name. Also, the managing director was representing the company and not the CEO, so I never saw him."

Then I saw the connection. Rishabh Verma wanted to grow his company. He wanted more connections and getting the government project would have been the real deal. A proper plan of blackmail.

Maan sighed and rubbed his eyes. "He wanted the project to help his company grow. Boy has some guts to get Meher and Arya followed by also sending Meher text messages like this. Did you catch the one who was following them previously?"

I shook my head, trying to process what this meant. Rishabh had gone to great lengths to cover their tracks, to make sure that no one could uncover their identity. It was a chilling thought, and it only made me more determined to get to the bottom of things.

So much dirty work to bag a government project.

But I could still feel stuck. "Blaming Rishabh could be a false alarm as well, right?"

Maan stood up and walked over to the window, staring out at the city below. "It can be," he said finally. "But we cannot strike out that possibility."

I nodded, knowing he was right. But as we stood there in silence, I couldn't shake the feeling that we were in over our heads. We were dealing with someone who was smart, resourceful, and determined.

It didn't seem that easy as it seemed.

The silence stretched out for minutes until finally, Maan spoke up. "Let's take a break and clear our heads. We'll come back to this later and see if we can find a new angle."

I nodded, and we both walked out of the room, unsure of what to do next. The mystery just deepened as we progressed.

Maan took the liberty to go to the kitchen and fetched two beer cans and came back, handing one to me as he sat next to me on the sofa.

In silence, we opened the cans and sipped our beer, boring holes into the switched off television.

The ticking of the clock seemed to echo in silence when I noticed Maan, not in his usual self. He had his days, where he would enjoy silence more than chaos, a peace that he found with me.

His words, not mine.

But those days were only stemmed by something very unfortunate, the reason being his family.

"You're dying to ask me the question, right?" He said, still staring at the blank TV.

"Well, I assume you do want to say something, so go ahead."

"Maa came over today," I looked at him in surprise, that lady had the guts to meet him even after disowning him. "Then proceeds to tell me that there is only one way I would be accepted into the family if I marry someone by their choice," he scoffed. "I mean the audacity of her to tell me that and I have to salute her to even think that I would even consider that option and go back home. She was mistaken and I showed her the way out."

"As you should," I supported, patting him on the back.

"It is kind of surprising and sad that due to their resentments, they don't even see what I have done for myself in these past few years. If I just sell my company and become a doctor in some corner of the world they would still be happy rather than seeing me make money tenfold greater than them through business," he said bitterly.

Who said you need some villains in your life when sometimes it is your family who can do that job very well?

"You know I envy you for having a family like I always wished to have," I closed my eyes, looking away.

"I don't think you would wish to be in my position," I told him.

He tutted. "Uh-huh. I would very much love to be in that position."

"Yeah, a family who doesn't believe their own child," I muttered bitterly. Suddenly, that can of beer felt more bitter as the aftertaste lingered on my lips.

"Maybe they already believed their child," my head spinning in his direction as I watched him smile ruefully. "Maybe they just did not want their child to get into bad practices. You should have told them Kabir so that they did not have to hear from me."

"But they sent me to the police without a confrontation, what about that?" I countered.

"Because you did not defend yourself when the confrontation happened and focused on protecting me. You could have saved yourself but you didn't."

I stayed silent.

"You were so focused on hating your father back then that opposing him did not matter to you. You rebelled against him and he had no option but to do things his way."

"I don't believe this," I scoffed, "Should I have let you rot in jail? With all that drug scandal going on, should I have just let you die?"

"No," he said, "What we should have done was to call for help. Even back then I had asked you to ask for help from Uncle and you did not bother saying you would handle it all. We were just teenagers, Kabir, definitely not smart enough to make decisions. Look what it made you— aloof, distant and having that feeling to yearn for a little affection and love."

There were so many things that were happening inside of me all at once that it was hard to be caught up in it. I glanced at my watch. There was still half an hour for Meher to come home.

My relationship with Dad had always been a sour topic. A topic that I always wanted to run from as I wasn't strong enough to face it by myself.

"He believed Meher. He should have believed me too, even without me saying," I made the last pitiful attempt to prove myself.

"What Meher did, was awful as fuck. But think of it Kabir, nobody would have let you two marry if they didn't already know the truth," and a wave of realisation dawned upon me.

"What?" I whispered.

"Parents are the most beautiful creation of God, well except for mine of course. Don't you think it was a little bit more convenient for you two to come and announce to everyone that you guys want to marry each other and everyone is just happy? Everyone has a hint of you two not getting along, I mean it was a secret out in the open but no one addressed it. I always believed Uncle knew about Meher lying but he wanted you to come to him for help. You didn't come to him," he tried to make me understand.

Maan's words struck a chord, and I felt a mix of emotions swirling inside me. I couldn't believe what he was implying - that my parents, especially my father, had known all along about Meher's deceit from years ago and had chosen to ignore it.

"No, Maan, that can't be true," I protested, trying to defend my family's honour. "My father would never condone such a thing. He's a just and fair man."

Maan's expression was sympathetic, but his tone remained firm. "Kabir, think about it. Your father's behaviour towards Meher - was it really anger and hatred, or was it more like... understanding? Like he knew she was just a child when she lied, and he forgave her for it?"

I hesitated, unsure of what to say. Maan's words were planting seeds of doubt in my mind, and I didn't like where this was going.

Maan placed a hand on my shoulder. "Kabir, your parents are good people. They probably forgave Meher because they knew she was young and naive. They didn't hold it against her, and they didn't want you to hold onto anger and resentment either."

I nodded, feeling a weight lift off my shoulders. That made sense. My father was a kind and compassionate man, always willing to give people second chances.

"Thanks, Maan," I said, feeling a sense of gratitude towards my friend. "You always know how to make me see things clearly."

Maan smiled, but his expression quickly turned serious. "I know how hard it is to deal with family issues, Kabir. My own parents— well, you are well aware how they are."

I nodded, understanding the pain and frustration Maan had been going through with his toxic parents.

"I hate standing up to them but that is what they compel me to do," Maan continued. "But I had to stand up to them, Kabir. I told them I won't take it anymore."

I placed a hand on his shoulder, offering support. "You're strong and capable, Maan. Whatever they say, shouldn't get under your skin. You're not my best friend, you're a brother to me like Aryan is, my family is yours. Never feel alone."

And for the first time in a while, his eyes glistened as he smiled, nodding at me.

"Is this the part where you two are going to hug each other?" Meher's amused voice drew our attention to her.

I saw her leaning against the wall, arms crossed across her torso and smiling at us. I got up immediately and walked towards her, taking the bag from her.

"Did everything go okay?" I asked her, as I followed her to the kitchen.

She gave me a half smile. "Well, I guess I missed out on a lot."

She looked sad and Maan was present so I didn't pry. I would ask her later when we would be alone.

"Are you hungry?" I ask her as I notice her checking the fridge.

She turned to look at me and smiled sheepishly. "I am starving," she ran her hand over her stomach.

"Well, I should take my leave then," Maan gave a two finger salute as he proceeded to leave when Meher stopped him.

"Kabir is ordering food," she told him while giving me a knowing smile. I fished my phone out and started ordering food. "Stay and have some dinner."

Maan awkwardly stared at me and I nodded. "Stay, it's already dinner time."

"Okay," he mumbled as he retreated back to the sofa.

While Meher sauntered back into her room to get freshened up, I plopped back into the sofa opposite to Maan and started ordering the food.

"Ordering food, already? What a dedicated husband?" He raised a brow at me. I just shrugged at his teasing expression to which he smiled, seemingly understanding that things had changed between the two of us.

Meher came soon later and naturally sank beside me, snuggling up to me on the sofa. I put my arms around her shoulder, pulling her close. My eyes caught Maan's who kept on looking at us and he raised an eyebrow again to which I just smiled and he finally looked away, a small smile playing on his lips.

I knew he knew.

That our hatred was a past we were leaving behind.

When the food finally came in, we dug in, savouring the taste of the Chinese food and enjoying each other's company. Maan seemed to loosen up as he constantly made jokes, making Meher laugh incessantly.

It was a sight to watch.

In a long time, I could finally feel a sense of happiness, the darkness that I always felt inside of me seemed to be going away.

As we finished dinner, Meher took the liberty to take the plates back to the kitchen, leaving the two of us. "Thanks," he told me and I patted his back.

"It has finally changed, hasn't it?" The corner of his eyes crinkled when he smiled looking at me and then at Meher and I nodded.

"I am glad, I am genuinely very glad that finally you are getting out of that shell."

"I am too."

And we come to another sweet end to this chapter. Exploring a bit more into some investigation and some healthy moments between two best friends is what I felt like I needed to show. Maan is Kabir's confidant, probably the only person he trusts the most, even beyond Meher.

How did you find this chapter to be? Let me know in the comments below.

My era of inconsistent updates has started since my college started. I can't guarantee an update schedule, I will update as fast as I end up completing a chapter.

Do VOTE, SHARE and COMMENT. Comment a heart if you enjoyed reading this chapter.

With Love,

Akii.