-• there's no end •-

An hour later, we find ourselves sitting in Mr. Khan's humble bungalow. It was a tentative decision. The twins didn't agree at first, insisting we're safer in the car, but upon noticing the hint of urgency in my tone, they agreed reluctantly.

On our way here, I explained Janet and the twins about the whole situation, and of my real motive behind choosing this place as our campsite. My brothers were not impressed. They refused partaking in my "capers" as they called it, and that I'm wasting my time digging into what was an open and shut suicide case. They were also uncomfortable with Shourya's involvement in it, considering he has a direct, and the most prominent connection with Sunrise Orphan Home, but I tried and failed(?) convincing them that he's a safe bet to make.

"Tea is here," Mrs. Khan announces as she comes with a tray of tea cups and plates of biscuits. I smile at the woman, getting up to help her. "Oh, no, Princess Taranya, please stay seated. Rehmat will help me." She looks pointedly towards her daughter.

The young, petite, brown haired and brown eyed girl, leaning against the beam with her phone in hand, rolls her eyes and steps in, helping her mother serve the tea cups. She smiles extra sweetly towards Shourya and Arush, blushing when Arush smiles back, and squirming when Shourya rejects the tea with the blandest expression on his face.

"The storm is supposed to last the night so I suggest you stay here tonight. I've some extra fuel in the garage, it'll be enough to drive you to the nearest petrol pump. You can leave tomorrow morning." Mr. Khan informs before he takes a sip of his tea. Then he looks at me, no, downright warns me through his eyes, "And I'm not willing to talk about my past profession or any questions related to it. Please consider this as an act of service towards the descendants of rulers my grandparents served, and not as an opportunity to intrude into my personal affairs. I wish you a good night. My daughter, Rehmat, and my wife, Zeenat will be your host tonight. Excuse me." He puts the cup down and gets up. "Stay for breakfast tomorrow." His gaze strays to my brothers and Janet, respectfully passing Shourya, before he smiles warmly at his wife and daughter, and walks out of the living room.

"Would you prefer some snacks?" Zeenat asks us hesitantly, "I'm so sorry, if I knew we were having guests tonight -"

"No, please," Ayush interrupts, "We came uninvited. You don't have to trouble yourself. Just show us where we would be sleeping tonight. It's time we call it a day." He eyes me passive aggressively.

I sigh.

"We have three rooms, so Princess Taranya and her friend can adjust with my daughter, and the room across from it is for guests, the boys can rest there for the night." She gestures upstairs. "It's on the first floor. May I guide you personally?" She offers.

We get up from our respective places and follow her upstairs. She shows us the rooms. The guest room has only one bed, but it's big enough for two people, so the other two will have to make do with the sofa or floor. Her daughter's room has a single bed. Janet and I look at each other worriedly. We both are big girls, and no, I'm not talking about age. I'm 5.8 and Janet is 5.7. So the leg room in that bed is negligible but we'll have to adjust for tonight.

"Rehmat's clothes might not fit you, and mine will be loose, but at least they'll cover you from head to toe. I'll also send some clothes for you boys......" She trails when her eyes falls on Shourya, "You're really tall." She murmurs.

He clears his throat.

"Oh, don't worry about that, we have brought clothes with us. Thankfully, they didn't get wet." I tell her.

"Alright then, good night." She smiles in relief. "And if any need occurs, please let me know." Her eyes acknowledge all of us one by one.

We nod in sync.

She leaves taking her daughter along, reasoning she'll send some water and snacks if we get hungry in the middle of the night. I'm sure it's an excuse to give the poor girl a list of rules she'll have to follow while we're around.

"Let's go to the guest room," Arush points over his shoulder. "We need to talk."

"We definitely do." Ayush says. "And Shourya, mind giving us a moment alone?"

Shourya glances at me blankly.

"He is-"

"Tara, I'm talking to him." Ayush cuts me off. "So unless you've taken up a side job as his spokesperson, I'd rather hear from him." Sarcasm washes over his tone. I cross my arms on the chest, letting things unfold as per the course of wind.

"Sure, let me just put my things inside. I'll go and freshen up so you guys can use the bathroom after me." He carries his stuff inside the bedroom and comes out a minute later. "All yours," he motions to the empty room before heading towards the common bathroom at the end of the hallway.

"C'mon," Ayush nods his head towards the door. I walk in with a defeated sigh. Everyone else follows. He enters last and closes the door shut, switching the lock in place. "Now I'm making one thing clear. I don't care about your intention behind this investigation, whether you're doing it for the kick, or if it's for a noble cause, like justice and all, but you're dropping this, right now. And if not, I'm calling Yuvraaj Bhai and you'll have to answer him."

"Arush, I'm forgiving you if you take my side in this." I state.

"Tara-"

"I'm making my side of defense. Let me." I cut him off. "Yes, so are you in?" My eyes lock with the dark onyx ones. He looks between me and his twin unsurely, unable to pick sides. "To clarify, we're not doing anything illegal. It's a college project and our professor knows and she's onboard with us." Ayush shakes his head, still not convinced. "And if it's about the Rajawats taking offense to this, then rest assured, until I get to the root of it, and until I've a solid proof to claim the accusations, I'll keep this project as transparent as I could on the surface so they simply think of it as a childish and naive attempt of rookie, wannabe journalists that's not important enough to be bothered about, while we work covertly in the background."

"How? By involving Shourya Singh Rajawat in this, must I say, very "genius" plan of yours?"

"We can trust him."

Ayush snorts out a laugh. "You know you don't have to pretend to be childish and naive for the Rajawats to not suspect you, you already are." He glares at me.

"Well, then it's sorted isn't it?" I splay my hands forward. "It's just some stupid college project. Stop sweating over it. If you don't want to be the part of the plan, turn the other way, and pretend you don't know anything. But if this reaches Yuvraaj Bhai and all my hardwork goes to the drain, I'll never forgive you."

"Tara,"

"Don't." I command. "I give you full freedom to stop me by informing Yuvraaj Bhai if this goes out of hand, but not until then. You can either become a part of this, know what's going on, keep a tab on our every activity, or you can turn a blind eye to this. But you won't ruin this by pulling Yuvraaj Bhai in the middle, unless it's a situation of life and death." I implement my perspective clear and firm.

"I'd rather become a part of this plan and help her out than ruin it along with my chances at earning her forgiveness by involving Yuvraaj Bhai." Arush shrugs and walks up to my side.

"Don't be selfish, Arush." Ayush chides.

"I'm just being honest." He says. "There's no point in ruining her college project over something so insignificant. And we've known Shourya since childhood. Let's not lie that he didn't change for better since the accident. If she can trust him, I'm sure there's a reason. Let's go with her gut feeling."

"How did he find out?" Ayush targets me.

I swallow uneasily. Atharva takes the charge and explains the whole unfortunate predicament we went through while returning from his uncle's house, and if it wasn't for Shourya, the situation could have taken a gruesome turn.

"He also knows nothing about this, except that we're investigating it from a more serious point of view than just making a half ass effort to earn good grades at the end of the semester." I add softly.

"And why are you so hell bent on this case?" Ayush continues with his questions, "Why this? Over the last hundred years, there have been many cases surrounding the Rajawats, why not any of them?"

"Remember the time we went to the orphanage and stayed a night there?"

The twins nod.

"I met Meera there. Inayat's friend, or an ex friend if I need to be technical. She was supposed to take this scholarship in Toronto. And she was very excited about it. As per her, that was one of the reasons Inayat was jealous of her." I visit the whole memory through words, "But that night, at around two am, an ambulance belonging to Mankind Medicare came, carried her unconscious body inside the four wheeler, and drove off. The next day-"

"You lied to us and Agastya Bhai about missing Vivaan Bhai." He grits out.

I bite the inside of my lower lip nervously. "Yeah, I went to the hospital to check if Meera was enlisted as an emergency patient or something. She wasn't. And then the cab's brakes suddenly failed."

"Not a coincidence then. Who saved you?"

"Who else?"

"Don't try and act innocent now." Ayush shakes his head. "That evening, Bhai brushed it off, and we were too concerned with you to bother about anything else. But now that I remember, I saw your guard posted at the gates, so how did you get out of that situation?"

"Cops." I whisper.

"Cops helped you?" He repeats.

I nod.

"Do you believe her?" He looks at Arush.

"Are you hiding something else from us?" Arush turns me to face him.

I look at Janet in panic. She avoids meeting my eyes, leaving me in the hands of my fate. When did I sign up for her as my best friend? Right, never.

"No. It's the cops. They helped me." I nod more confidently this time.

"As far as I remember, Tara, Bhai received a call from some builder, saying that you were at his construction site because the brakes failed. And now you're telling me cops helped you? How?"

"Fine! Someone helped me." I give up, throwing my hands in the air. "You should become a detective." I look at him pointedly.

"Who helped you?"

"I don't know." I lie.

"What do you mean by you don't know?" Arush asks.

"He always wears a mask, uses a voice modulator, and I've rarely met him. He saved me from the tail I caught during the boards, and also when the brakes failed two years ago."

"Wait wait wait!" Arush flails his hands desperately, demanding our attention. "Is this the same guy you told us about at your welcome party? The countdown guy?"

"Oh, you finally believe me?" I smile sarcastically.

"He was real?" Ayush walks up to me.

"He was. Or maybe he is." I shrug.

"But you told us it was some kid playing a prank on you?"

"I lied." I tell the twins. "Yuvraaj Bhai made me do it."

"Why?" Ayush questions.

"I've had the same question for the last two years. I didn't get the answer. Might as well try your luck?" I deadpan.

"Okay, this is," Arush rakes a hand through his hair. "This is getting way more complicated."

"Sorry to interrupt but nothing is making sense to me." Atharva raises a feeble hand.

"I'll explain to you later." Janet gestures him to take down his hand. He obliges.

"I'm leaving you guys to make the decision. Whether you want to be with me and dig up the truth, or go to Yuvraaj Bhai and be treated as if you're still a kid who he can't bother dealing with." I exit the room, leaving Janet there deliberately so she puts some sense into the stubborn twin's head, which surprisingly is not Arush this time. And if not sense, then charm him, or seduce him, but somehow gets the work done.

I startle seeing Shourya leaning against the right wall and pull the door close immediately. "Don't tell me you were eavesdropping?" I hiss at him.

He stands straight, now changed in grey sweats and fitted, black v-neck t-shirt. "Come for a walk with me." He juts his chin in the direction of the stairs.

"It's raining outside -" I stop when I see the clear sky outside the window. "It stopped raining."

"A while ago."

"Mr. Khan said it might last the night." I remember. "Who knows when it starts raining again?"

"Do you see dark clouds?"

I shake my head.

"Then c'mon," he grabs my hand and leads me downstairs. I frown. He's acting weird. I follow him to the backyard through the kitchen door. It opens to a wooden deck extended under the board roof that's supported by wooden beams. I see the water dribble down from the slopes of the roof, falling in a long, smooth, uncut trail. He makes me descend the three stairs that connects us with the wet, slippery grass and towards the tall tree shielding the premises of the private property.

"What is it?" I ask, shivering softly as the cold winds blow from the north.

He leans against the bark of the tree, facing me sideways. I turn my head to maintain the eye contact. "They didn't have a toothpaste in the bathroom so I go to the ground floor to inform them, but I couldn't find their room so I knock on each one, and one door accidentally opens. And I see Inayat Rizwan everywhere."

My mouth falls open.

"There were cut outs of every article about that case, his own theories, recordings of every news channel that covered the story and different contacts of people connected with that case."

"Why is he pretending to not care then?"

"Why do you think?"

"I can't see any possible-" I gasp when it clicks. "Because we're Royals."

"Exactly. No matter how hard we try, he's never going to trust us." Shourya states. "I mean you" he blinks.

"What do I do?"

"Stop trying the strategic way. Stop approaching him so head on. You know his weakness?"

My brows furrow together.

"You said I'm doing this despite having a daughter? I'm doing this because I have a daughter."

"His daughter."

"That's right." He holds up a fist. I bump mine. "Manipulation is very simple. You just need to use your own experiences -"

"To sympathise with theirs,"

"And make them believe,"

"That you know a way to cope with them. In a nutshell, present yourself as a better version of them so they see a hope in you."

"And once you win their trust?"

"They willingly open up to you." I smile.

"We complement each other so well." He smirks. "Marry me?"

"Fuck off." I roll my eyes. "But thank you, I owe you." I give him a kiss on the cheek for his help. He grabs my hand when I turn to leave, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me back into his arms to return the favour. I squirm. "Let me go." I wrestle helplessly in his embrace.

He chuckles and lets me go.

I stumble into the kitchen and stop noticing Mr. Khan filling a glass of water for himself from the water purifier. He looks at me, then ignores me.

God is definitely on my side.

This is my last chance.

"Mr. Khan," I call out when he turns to leave. He stops but doesn't make an effort to face me again. "I'm sorry." That gets his attention. His head tilts slightly towards me. "I clearly crossed a line, and I'm ashamed. I get it. I get it why you don't want to involve yourself in this. I saw the way you look at your daughter, it's the same way my father looks at me. And if my father was in your place, I'm sure he'd have prioritised my safety. It's just," I sigh, "I've seen some of my close ones standing at the edges, ready to end their lives. And this case always reminds me of those moments, where I could have lost them forever, but thankfully didn't." This was supposed to be fake, but tears brim my eyes and I don't realise when I start feeling sincere towards my words. "I wonder of those people who lost Inayat, who might miss her even today, who must hope if they could reverse the time and go back to when she took that step so they could convince her otherwise." He finally turns around. I recollect my posture. This is not the time to become emotional. "But then I remember she was an orphan. And has no one who misses her, who hopes she was still alive." His eyes cast down guiltily. "I didn't know her personally, honestly I didn't even know her name before she died. But now that I've decided to do this, I've formed an attachment with her. I searched everything about her, her likes, dislikes, her pictures and videos from the orphanage, her social media accounts, and despite having never met before, I feel like I know her, and hence, I owe this to her."

He meets my eyes, a mirage of emotions crosses those dark irises.

"I'm sorry, sir, I'm really sorry. I'll leave tomorrow morning and I'll never return. I'll never bother you again." I'm taking a risk right now. "But as her doctor, in the last moments when she was brought to you, probably already dead, even if for a split second if you felt like the sixteen year old didn't deserve such brutal end, and that she deserved to live longer, happier, like me, like your daughter, like every other girl our age, then please reach out to me. Good night." I walk past him out of the kitchen.

I head upstairs and find Shourya at the top of the staircase.

"How did it go?"

"I ranted."

"But did he look convinced?" He follows me toward the rooms allocated to us for the night.

"I don't know." I shake my head. "We'll know tomorrow." I say, then thoughtfully add, "or never."

"We'll find a way if this doesn't work."

I nod at him. "Good night." My hand rests on the knob of the door.

He smiles. "Good night." We both enter our rooms and close the door.

Janet elevates herself on her elbows and nods at me in question. "Where were you?"

I lie down beside her on the makeshift bed arranged on the floor. "With Shourya."

"Aren't you spending too much time with him lately?" She whispers.

I place my hand on her mouth. "Sleep." Yanking the covers on top of my head, I turn the opposite direction and close my eyes. She sighs in defeat and gets back inside the covers.

The next morning, we collectively skip showers to not waste anymore of their time and simply wash up before dressing up to head out. Zeenat insists we stay for breakfast so we reluctantly agree. I don't bring up the last night's conversation or anything of our project and neither let Atharva mention it.

Shourya and I glance each other's way often than not, communicating through our eyes. He knows I'm impatient, and he keeps me grounded, shaking his head subtly whenever I'm tempted to try my chance again. It's the last opportunity I have. I promised Mr. Khan I'll never approach him in future and now I'm regretting it because he doesn't look fazed at all.

Breakfast over, we get up to leave. I release a heavy breath.

"Princess Taranya, Mr. Saxena, I need to show you something." Mr. Khan suddenly says. "Please follow me."

We both look at each other alerted.

"Uh, yeah, sure." I nod, looking at Shourya, holding back a smile of victory. As the older man leads us to somewhere, I walk past Shourya and he intentionally brushes his hand against mine, stuffing a piece of paper in my palm. I open it discreetly.

"Keep your voice recording on."

I shove the paper in my pockets and fish out my phone, smiling at Atharva when he glances towards me before I quickly turn on the voice recording and stuff the phone back into my pocket.

Mr. Khan opens the door to a room. I assume it's the same Shourya was telling me about. And it is.

I hear Atharva gasp.

Oh, right, this is my first time too.

I gasp too.

"Wha- What is this?" Atharva stammers.

"I've been following this case for two years now. And everytime I think I've discovered a lead, I hit a dead end." Mr. Khan says.

"Two years and you couldn't find anything?"

He shakes his head, looking disappointed with himself.

"How complicated can a suicide case get?" Atharva sighs exasperatedly.

"Because it was never a suicide case." Mr. Khan states. My eyes meet his in surprise. "It was a murder."

Oops, this got a little darker.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don't forget to vote and comment. Makes my day.