The night was down. Moonlight spills across the earth not letting the world sink completely in the darkness of the night.

Nights carry a different meaning to each person. For some they bring peace, for some they take the peace away leaving them with their loneliness, their miseries.

Some people enjoy the warmth of their loved ones, sleeping in each other's embrace in the nights while some cries their pain out in the dark loosing every ounce of strength they carry to get going with the day.

"Sanu?" a faint whisper echoes through the hallway.

Standing at the large door Mrs Shergill glances at the hallway ahead. Her heart beats faster as she calls her daughter, fear laced in her voice.

Fear of anything happening to her daughter through the time she was not with her. Fear of not wanting to see her daughter in any such condition which she couldn't take.

"She is fine, ma'am" Rana spoke standing a little behind her.

Taking a deep breathe her mother nodded at him. Her daughter will be fine. With that thought she moved inside the mansion.

"Sanu?" this time her voice was louder as she walked through the hallway with urgency.

Sitting on the couch in the hall with her head down, eyes swollen, tear stains on her cheeks, engulfed with sadness and helplessness shehnaaz looked up listening to the familiar voice.

"mumma?" she mumbled confused as she looked towards the hallway. Her brows knitted together while a familiar figure walked into the hall.

A gasp left her mouth as shehnaaz looked at her mother standing in front of her. Tears brimmed in her eyes with the realisation that her mother was there.

"mummaaaa" getting up from the couch shehnaaz ran towards her mother.

"sanu, meri bachi" mrs shergill engulfed her in her arms as shehnaaz wrapped her arms around her mother.

Tears rolled down their eyes as the mother daughter felt relief washing over them. The last few hours were too hard for both of them draining them physically as well as emotionally.

"mummaaaa, mujhe aapki boht fikar ho rahi thi. I knew aap mujhe dhund rahe hoge" a sob left her mouth as she tightened her hold around her mother.

The thought of what her mother must have gone through made her heart ache knowing how much she was protective of her. She must be finding her everywhere, trying every possible way to get to her.

"tune toh meri jaan hi nikal di thi sanu, tujhe dhundte dhundte pagal ho gyi thi" her mother caressed her hair with all the love, the care she had for her daughter.

"mein theek hun mumma" she mumbled against her shoulder while keeping her head on her mother's shoulder.

"ab meri jaan mein jaan aayi hai ke tu theek hai" her mother's voice cracked with the emotions she was feeling making shehnaaz tighten her hold around her mother.

Devyani Shergill rubbed shehnaaz's back while her own tears rolling down her eyes bothered her now. She didn't want to appear weak in front of her daughter.

She always wanted to be her strength, someone who could protect her till her last breathe. She was emotionally drained at that time but didn't want her daughter to know that.

Wiping her tears hurriedly Devyani put a smile on her face pushing back all her fears, all the bad thoughts she just had in the last few hours.

"ab tu mere paas hai, ab mujhe chain aa gya hai" breaking the hug her mother kissed her forehead while caressing her hair. 

Holding her mother's hands which was on her cheeks shehnaaz gave a smile full of relief to her mother. She was relieved seeing her mother in front of her. Her mother was her world. The world where all she knew was happiness, where the worries of the world had no place.

"mujhe bhi aapko dekh ke chain aagya hai mumma" with a cute smile adorning her face she too kissed her mother's forehead mirroring her previous action bringing a soft chuckle from her mother.

"par mumma, aapko kaise pta chla mein yahan hun?" shehnaaz asked as she realised the situation. How did her mother get to know about her location? Her mind wondered about the question.

"mein le kar aaya hun" standing at a corner Rana had a soft smile playing on his lips as he moved towards them.

"aap?" shehnaaz looked at him a little confused. The actions of these two men were just confusing her.

First they caged her there not letting her go home and now he brought her mother there. What did they exactly want to do?

"haan sanu, yehi laaye hain mujhe yahan" her mother answered this time making her nod slightly but the confusion still lingered on her face.

Flashback

The car stopped in front of Mrs Shergill who was sitting on a bench at the side of the road feeling devastated. The car door opened and Rana stepped out.

"Mrs Shergill?" rana stood in front of her making her look at him with confusion.

"Yes? Who are you?" her gaze was sharp as she questioned him while getting up from the bench.

"It doesn't matter who I am. I am here to help you meet your daughter" he answered politely while his words made her eyes widened with shock.

"Where is my daughter? And how do you know that? Are you the one who kidnapped her? What did you do to her? Where is she?" she bombarded him with her questions as she glared at him angrily while he just stood there unfazed with her anger.

"Each of your question will be answered if you come with me. I will make you meet your daughter, ma'am" he answered keeping his tone respectful wanting to convince her as easily as he possibly could do.

"How do I trust you that you know where my daughter is?" she raised her eye brow at him with her gaze suspicious. She couldn't just go with him without being assured that he truly knew where her daughter was.

"Of course ma'am, why would you trust a stranger" taking out his mobile he opened the gallery while she kept looking at him with suspicion.

Clicking on a particular picture he turned the mobile towards her making her gasp.

There she was.

Her daughter was sitting on the couch, tears rolling down her eyes. She looked helpless as she looked around like a lost child seeking her mother's presence.

The sight made her heart cry for her daughter. Never in her life did she want to see her daughter in such a condition.

"What did you do to her? Why did you kidnap her? I will not spare you" she snapped at him as the sight of her helpless daughter angered her.

"If you want to meet your daughter, just come with me, ma'am" Rana spoke keeping his tone polite.

Realising the situation Devyani took a deep breath controlling her emotions. Nodding at him she followed him to the car as meeting her daughter was her utmost priority.

Flashback Ends

"Mrs. Shergill" the deep voice echoed in the hall making the three of them turn their faces towards the source of the sound.

Standing on the staircase Sidharth was looking at the scene unfolding in front of him as the mother daughter met each other.

He let them talk with each other not wanting to intrude unless it was the time to talk.

The look of surprise and confusion flashed on her face as Mrs Shergill looked at him. Of course she knew who he was.

His presence in that place, in that situation brought too many questions in her mind within a second.

"Mr. Raichand?" she looked at him as sidharth came downstairs with his steps firm.

Standing beside her shehnaaz held her mother's arm not wanting to leave her mother even for a second. His gaze followed her movement as he stepped down.

Moving his gaze up from her hand movement he looked into her eyes making her look down immediately.

He didn't like that !

"nice to meet you Mrs. Shergill" standing in front of her Sidharth spoke keeping his tone respectful making her nod at him politely.

The presence of Sidharth there made her question him. Was he the one behind her daughter's kidnapping? But why would he do that? He was Asia's number one businessman. Why would he do such low thing as kidnapping?

"What does this mean Mr Raichand? How do I take your presence here? Was it you who kidnapped my daughter?" Mrs Shergill questioned him keeping her voice firm as she couldn't make anything else out of it.

"about that, we need to have a discussion so...please come" sidharth gestured towards the couch placed in the hall.

Mrs. Shergill looked at him reluctantly, her eyes suspicious as she scanned the hall before looking at him again who had observed her movement clearly.

With a nod she held her daughter's hand as they both moved towards the couch followed by Sidharth and Rana.

"I hope to get my answers now" Mrs Shergill demanded looking at the two of them while shehnaaz sat close to her mother holding her arm.

"Of course, you are here for that only" sidharth nodded while his gaze moved to shehnaaz who was sitting beside her mother with her hold tight on her mother's arm as if her life depended on her.

She was someone who could get scared easily.
She was delicate and kept in a protective environment.

His mind worked faster as he grasped every little detail about her with his observation. Her presence was making him lose control of his mind.

He wanted to stop thinking about her.
He wanted to stop observing things about her.
He wanted to stop noticing her.

Taking a deep breathe Sidharth moved his gaze from her. He needed to work on that.

"I'll keep it simple for you. Your daughter saw a murder today and the murderer got to know about her being a witness to his crime. Now he is after her. She got into this situation because of me. She followed me for some bracelet and got into this mess. I take responsibility of her protection. This is the reason I brought her here. Because the moment she is out of this place, she will be chased by them and you will lose your daughter" sidharth stated calmly while his fist tightened as the thought of them hurting her crossed his mind.

The thought of her getting hurt hit him bad. He could feel it.

"WHAT? Murder? She saw a murder?" Mrs Shergill was shocked with the revelation as she grasped on each point he said.

Sidharth nodded at her making her eyes go wide. Her daughter who could not even see a bird hurt, who couldn't even see a helpless animal without feeling his pain saw a murder.

Leaning back Sidharth gazed at her before he could stop himself. Her hands trembled as she dug her fingers in her mother's arm.

Her lips parted as a gasp left her mouth while her eyes flashed the fear as the incident replayed in her mind.
Her being caged had taken her mind off the incident as there was another issue for her.

But now him mentioning it again made the incident come flooding her mind. The scene of Alessandro putting a bullet in Marco's head replayed in her mind making her breathes go heavy. The body laid lifeless in front of her eyes while blood dripping from the countless wounds on his body.

Closing her eyes she gripped her kurta in her other hand. The dirty smirk on Alessandro's face, that filthy touch of his on her arm, that disgusting gaze of his, it all flashed in her mind making her fist tightened on her kurta while her breathes got heavy.

His jaw clenched while his fist tightened as he observed her with his gaze fixed on her each movement. She was struggling with the incident in her mind. He knew.

His hand itched to hold hers, to take every second of that incident out of her mind. His heart beat was fast as he felt restless.

She was trembling with the fear because of that incident, it hurt him.

It did !

"sanu? sanu!!" her mother called her while wrapping her arms around her as she felt her trembling beside her.

"sanu? idhr dekh" realising that she was not listening to her, her mind wasn't present there, her mother called her again while rubbing her back slowly.

"v...vo... bullet... fire...gun...he...bullet.." her hands held onto her mother's arms as she tried to form a sentence while she could still see the visuals in front of her eyes.

Unable to take her condition he stood up from the couch. Closing his eyes he ran his hand through his hair wanting to calm down his racing heart beat.

"She needs rest. You can take her to the room. It is better if we talk later" not able to take it any more second he dismissed the discussion while his gaze moved back to her.

His jaw tightened as he took in her condition again. She was so scared, so affected with the whole situation. His eyes were locked on her while his hands turned into fists.

Mrs Shergill agreed to him while Rana came forward to help them. Wrapping her arm around her shoulder, her mother got up from the couch along with her daughter.

Holding her close she moved towards the stairs. As they walked just in front of him, the urge to hold her was so strong that he had to take a step back to stop himself.

Taking in a deep breath sidharth watched her as she went upstairs with her mother. His gaze was fixed on her until she was out of his sight.

Her presence alone was making him melt. He was unable to stop himself from thinking about her.

____________________________

Sitting beside her on the bed Devyani was caressing her daughter's hair slowly. With her mother beside her shehnaaz was sleeping peacefully.

Adjusting the blanket on her devyani pressed a soft kiss on her forehead. Giving a last look to her she carefully got off the bed not wanting to make any noise.

Closing the door softly she walked out towards the stairs. Sidharth sitting in the hall along with Rana discussing something took her attention. She needed to talk to him.

The sound of her footsteps took their attention. Rana gave a nod to sidharth before getting up. Glancing at her once rana walked towards the hallway going out of the mansion.

"Please come, have a seat Mrs. Shergill" getting up sidharth gestured towards the couch respectfully.

Once Devyani set on the couch sidharth too sat on his place. There was a moment of silence before Devyaani decided to speak.

"I've so many questions in my head right now. I hope you have answers to all of them" she stated coming to the point while her tone was polite.

"I assure you that every question related to your daughter's safety will be answered" sidharth kept his point clear making her nod.

"Is she completely safe here?" she asked looking at him hesitantly.

She wanted to make sure that her daughter would be safe there. She knew she couldn't keep her safe at their home but still trusting him blindly didn't seem a good idea to her.

"She is ! As long as she is here, nothing and nobody can harm her" sidharth answered calmly while his words held the sincerity which made her believe his words.

"What about these three weeks? What is it?" this was something which made her think so hard trying to understand the situation.

"The murderer, he is not Indian. He is in India for three weeks after that he will be gone" he stated plainly keeping his tone void of any emotions.

"Okay, that makes sense" Mrs Shergill nodded at him understanding his point while there were so many questions still lingering in her mind.

She wanted to ask him what was he doing there. She wanted to ask him why he did not report the crime? Was he involved? But him clearly stating that only the questions related to her daughter's safety will be answered meant no other question will be answered.

"I promise you that I mean no harm to your daughter. I know it is difficult to trust a stranger with your daughter but if you want to keep her safe, you'll have to trust me" sidharth understood her turmoil.

"I see honesty in your words. But why do you want to do this? You are a businessman and a businessman doesn't do something that holds no profit. Helping my daughter gives you nothing in return so why?" she had this question in her mind and she couldn't stop herself from asking.

"She is innocent. She got into this mess because of me so now I feel responsible for her safety" sidharth stated his reason while averting his gaze.

This was not the truth. She didn't get into this because of him. It was her fault that she followed a stranger for a bracelet. And thank it was Rana who helped her.

It didn't matter to him anymore that who was at mistake. He knew that he wanted to protect her. He wanted to keep her safe.

"I don't take it as your mistake because I know it was my daughter's mistake. She shouldn't have followed you in the first place but I am grateful to you for your help. Thank you so much for bringing her safely here. I don't know what would have happened if you were not there" a small smile of appreciation played on her lips as Mrs Shergill thanked him sincerely while Sidharth nodded at her.

"You both can stay here comfortably. Your house is no more safe for both of you so I suggest you should take leave for some days" sidharth suggested as he knew she too was not safe out there.

They will be chasing shehnaaz and if they got to her mother, she could be harmed too. That was the reason he told Rana to bring her here before they reach for her.

"I'll stay with my daughter here but there are exams going on. I can take leave only after two weeks. So I'll be going to university every day from here only" her mother sighed.

"I can talk to the authorities" he offered sincerely.

"No, you don't need to...ek baar University pohnch jaun toh I don't think koi khatra hoga andar...aap bas meri beti ka dhayan rakhna. I will manage" she denied politely thinking it wouldn't be a threat to her life.

"It is totally up to you but I insist Rana will take you to the university every day" sidharth didn't want to interfere in her choice but he knew how dangerous it could be if Mrs Shergill went on her own.

"Thank you Mr. Raichand, I will go with him" she accepted with a small smile on her face while he gave her a polite nod.

__________________________

The washroom door opened and sidharth stepped out. A towel hung around his neck while he rubbed his hair with the towel. He had put on a t-shirt with grey lowers.

The mobile kept on the bed rang taking his attention. Walking up to the bed he took the mobile glancing at the caller I'd. Closing his eyes he took a deep breath as he knew he had to take it.

"Hii, mom" sidharth answered the call while keeping the towel on the couch.

"Kaisa hai sidharth?" the soft voice rang in his ear from the other side.

"theek hun, aap sab kaise ho?" he walked towards the glass wall in front of him while talking to his mother.

"hum sab bhi theek hain beta, agle hafte aa rahe hain hum" his mother stated making him close his eyes as a sigh left his mouth.

"No, you don't need to come here" he denied straight away.

"sidharth, kya problem hai tujhe? tu hume kabhi wahan aane kyun nhi deta? hum iss baar teri koi baat nhi sunenge...agle hafte aa rahe hain bss" the slight irritation in her tone could be felt as she talked.

"mom, you guys don't need to come here. 4 din baad mein khud aa raha hun wahan aap sab se milne toh aapko yahan aane ki zroorat nhi hai" he never let them come to India to meet him.

It would always be him going there, spending some time with them. That was how he wanted it.

"pta nhi kyun karta hai tu aise, kabhi kabhi toh mann karta hai tujhe bina bataye aa jaayen aur zra dekh hi len k kya problem hai jo hume wahan aane ni deta" he could feel that his mother was not happy with his decision but he couldn't change it.

"I'll be there in four days mom" with that he disconnected the call while throwing his mobile on the bed.

Closing his eyes he ran his hand in his wet hair while his mind wondered around the life he was living. The life he didn't want to share with people he loved, with the people he cared about. Keeping them far away from himself was something necessary to him.

____________________________

The dim lights in the hall illuminated the place in the middle of the night. Holding the railing she slowly walked downstairs leading to the kitchen while walking bare feet.

Switching on the light she looked around for something while trying not to make any sound as everyone was sleeping in the house.

"bhukh lagi hai kya karun" she talked to herself while looking around.

Walking up to the fridge she opened it slowly thinking there might be something to eat.

The fridge was filled with fruits, juices and everything she could have to eat. But the dark chocolate kept inside was what took her attention. Her eyes lit up as she looked at the chocolate with hearts in her eyes. Taking it out she closed the door without making any noise.

Her back was facing the door as she unwrapped it quickly and took a bite. The chocolate melted in her mouth as she closed her eyes savouring the taste.

"mza aa gya, shukar hai vo khadus ke ghar mein chocolate toh hai" she mumbled while taking another bite savouring the taste, enjoying it closing her eyes.

"Khadus, haan?" that same deep voice of his reached her ears startling her. Her hands stopped in their movement as she held them up to her lips ready to take another bite.

Her heart pounded in her chest as her breaths got heavy realising he was there. The presence of his around her was enough to make her shiver.

Keeping her eyes shut she slowly turned around as if her closing the eyes would make her disappear from his sight.

Leaning against the door with his hands folded against his chest Sidharth was looking at her with his lips curled up into a slight smile.

The smile he wanted to stop but he couldn't. It was as if he had no control over his own actions.

The moment she turned around the amusement in his eyes was turned into something else. His eyes were dark as his gaze turned intense.

Thank you.