**Trigger Warning**
No matter how much he tried, Neer couldn't come to terms with the fact that Maanvi was getting blackmailed. He started pacing around the room, while trying to make sense of it.

"Why? And how? What does anyone have on her? She is a simple girl. She doesn't even have any enemies. Then why would anyone...," Neer trailed off.

"The fictional video was faux," Hritika said, making Neer stop in his tracks.

"What? What do you mean by that?" Neer asked, his voice taking a dark turn.

"The authorities weren't interested in the video at all. It was just a means to get into Maanvi's house.

"They were the ones who provided her with the camera as Maanvi didn't have one with the needed quality.

"Muttering something about safeguarding it from sunlight and all, they managed to convince Maanvi to keep the camera in the place with most the shade- her bedroom."

Hritika gulped as it was hard for her to think and talk about the thing that had actually happened with Maanvi.

"Maanvi believed them, and kept the camera in her bedroom, not knowing that the pause/stop function of the camera was defective. She didn't realize that the camera was still rolling."

Hritika closed her eyes, before letting out the truth, "The Camera had shot something more than the fictional video that day."

"Noooo!!" Neer yelled, as it didn't take much to understand what video was shot in Maanvi's bedroom.

"No! No! No!" He continuously punched the wall, as tears ran down his eyes. The pain in his hands was nothing compared to the pain of his heart.

"Neer, stop it," Hritika pulled him back by clutching his elbows.

She too was crying, but they needed to understand that this wasn't the time to sit there crying.

"Stop it," Hritika whispered pleadingly.

Neer's chest heaved, as he breathed through his mouth. He closed his eyes for a few seconds to gather strength. before turning to Hritika, and asking, "There's more."

She nodded, before asking him to sit as she brought a first-aid box. She started to speak again, while applying the medicine on his hands.

"They blackmailed her through the video to make her do what they wanted. She was stuck in a bad place. You must have noticed her lack of communication, before you all got attacked and exposed in that school fiasco."

"All this happened before our kidnapping," Neer asked in a whisper, guilt hitting hard ten-fold.

It was already killing him that he wasn't there for her when she needed him the most. Yet he could still pacify himself thinking, he had no choice. He was kidnapped and chased at that time. But this happened way before that. Way before he became incapable of saving her.

"The school fiasco came as a ray of hope to her," Hritika said, earning his attention.

"Your powers were exposed for everyone to see. They immediately recognized you and remembered the video Maanvi had shot. It was a big deal to the authorities. This was like a jackpot for them.

"Unfortunately, they had discarded that video thinking it to be useless. They all had thought that whatever you did was through the effects. They realized it too late that it wasn't technology but your real powers.

"That fictional video was the one that saved Maanvi. She received that dreaded tape and freedom from those blackmailers in return for that fictional video."

"So she sold me out to save herself," Neer said, not really angry by her choice. He would have readily handed himself over if it meant saving her.

Hritika took his words in a wrong way, and hurried to explain,
"Yes, she sold you out but she was really desperate at that time. Trust me Neer, she isn't happy by doing this. She lives in guilt, considering herself as the reason behind your death. She is dying little by little everyday, thinking she is your murderer."

"And here I thought she was enjoying the fame and power she received after releasing my video," Neer said, letting out a sardonic chuckle.

"She was forced to do it as well. So that no one would believe her words if she ever tried to out those authorities. Everyone would see her fame and automatically make her the culprit," Hritika informed.

The authorities had thought ahead. Because it happened exactly as they thought. The moment the innocence of elements were proved, it was Maanvi who took the entire fall.

"And she is in danger again," Hritika said, making Neer's head snap towards her in an instant.

"Although the authorities are safe from the accusations for releasing a fake video, they have still faced a great loss. Their finances are depleting. And all this will come back to bite Maanvi. They are on her case again."

"I won't leave them," Neer said, curling his bandaged fists. "I will become the exact thing they made the world think of me. See if there's even a single drop of water left, after I have done with them," he thundered, his eyes crazy with vengeance.

Hritika pulled him, making him sit back with force. "Don't even think about it," she said sternly, looking at him with hardened eyes.

"Hritika, they deserve it," Neer said, staring hard at her as well.

"They do. But the kids, who tried hard to prove your innocence don't. The elements whose life is just starting to get easy don't. Don't ruin everyone's life around you in the name of revenge," Hritika said, pulling him close.

"Then what do you want me to do? Just sit here and let down Maanvi once again," Neer asked, screaming at her face.

It didn't even take a second for Neer to realize what he had done, and he immediately and profusely apologized to Hritika who had closed her eyes in reaction to his scream.

He backed down and moved away from her, while whispering, "I didn't mean to."

"I know," Hritika said softly, having opened her eyes as soon as he apologized.

She cleared her throat to get rid of the tension, before coming back to Maanvi's topic.

"You haven't seen werewolves torture techniques, have you?" Hritika asked.

Neer shook his head silently, waiting for her to ellaborate.

"These nice and cute looking werewolves you have seen are pretty gruesome to the traitors. I was thinking of dragging those criminals into our dungeons and making them rot here for the rest of our lives.

"Mind you, we have warriors specifically trained for these things. Those guys are going to find death merciful after these guys perform their skills on them."

Neer shook his head, chuckling. Leave it to Hritika to make scary things sound funny. "Why did you tell me Maanvi was in danger when you had everything planned out?"

Hritika looked at him sadly, before answering honestly, "I didn't know how to start that scary conversation. And it seemed to get your attention." She shrugged.

"So when are we capturing those bastards?" Neer asked, earning a sheepish smile from Hritika.

"They are already here, aren't they?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Don't get angry. I just thought it was more important to safeguard Maanvi as soon as possible rather than what method was used to give her justice," Hritika said, "But you can always take them out and give any punishment of your wish if that soothes your pain a little," she added, knowing how much guilt Neer was currently feeling.

Neer denied her proposition, before saying, "I will let Maanvi decide how she wants to punish them."

Hritika nodded. Hardening her heart, she informed him, "I have called Maanvi tomorrow in the nearby human town. Let's discuss it there."

Hritika immediately left the room, not wanting to see Neer's reaction upon finally being able to meet his love.

Getting to a far distance away from him, she slided down the wall.

She held her chest, as her body shook violently. "I know I did the right thing, but why does it hurt so much?" She whimpered, asking the question, she knew she would never get an answer to.