Chapter 2

Here is the 2nd chapter of the book!
I hope you enjoy!

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2) The Eyes

KAIRAV'S POV

She is coming....

I will see her.

Finally.

I heard a chair scrape against the floor, and then footsteps approaching from deeper inside the hall. My heart started beating a little faster for reasons I couldn't explain. That familiar feeling from earlier this morning - like something important was about to happen - suddenly felt much stronger.

"Coming, Mam." came that same sweet voice, closer now.

I found myself holding my breath as a figure began to emerge from behind a group of children who had gathered around one of the tables. Raghav was still busy with his phone, completely unaware of the strange anticipation building inside me.

Then she came.

But before I could see her face....

Raghav suddenly looked up and called out to me, "Sir. I am sorry to interrupt but an urgent call has come from the office saying that they have preponed the meeting by an hour. So now we have to go."

My head snapped toward Raghav, frustration flashing through me at the worst possible timing. The figure had paused mid-step, still partially hidden behind the cluster of excited children who were now looking between us and their beloved Didi.

My back was turned to Mrs. Charan when I faced Raghav who was expecting my reply.

"Sir, really, we should leave now." Raghav pressed gently.

Behind me, I could hear footsteps approaching and then that voice again, clearer than ever as she spoke directly to Mrs. Charan.

"Mam, is everything alright? The children were asking about the visitors." She said, her voice soft and respectful. I felt a pair of eyes staring on my back. Her bangles made a sound as she probably moved her hands.

My entire body went still. There was something about the way she spoke - not just the sweetness, but the rhythm, the slight accent, something achingly familiar that made my chest tighten.

"Can it wait five minutes?" I asked, my voice slightly strained.

"I am afraid not, Sir. Mr. Gupta specifically said it's urgent - something about the client arriving early from New York."

Mrs. Charan looked concerned. "Oh my, if you have urgent business to attend to, please don't let us keep you. We will be here whenever you would like to return."

That voice, now so close, remained just out of reach. And I still couldn't see her face.

And suddenly a ringtone rang, cutting through the moment like a sharp blade.

"Ah, sorry, I will see this call, might be urgent." Came that same sweet voice, now with a name - Kashvi.

Before I could even begin to turn around, I heard her footsteps moving quickly away from us, growing fainter as she walked toward what sounded like a quieter corner of the dining hall to take her call.

My heart sank.

Kashvi.

Even her name felt familiar on some level I couldn't quite grasp. I had been so close to finally seeing the face that belonged to that voice that had been haunting me all morning.

Mrs. Charan nodded understandingly. "Don't worry, Mr. Mehrotra. Kashvi will be here when you return. She is very dedicated - rarely takes a day off."

"Sir? We really do need to leave now." Raghav's voice brought me back to the immediate crisis.

I felt torn between my professional obligations and this inexplicable pull to wait, to see her face, to understand why her voice felt like a key to a door I didn't even know existed in my memory.

But the business world was calling, and I had responsibilities.

"I will come back for sure, don't worry." I said, my voice heavy with reluctance.

My mind was racing with questions I couldn't answer. Why did her voice affect me this way?

Why did just hearing her speak make my heartbeat faster?

Why did the name "Kashvi" keep playing in my mind like a song I had heard somewhere before but couldn't quite remember? I was someone who always thought things through carefully, who made smart choices based on facts, not feelings.

My whole life had been about staying calm and in control.

But right now, I felt like everything inside me was mixed up and confusing. For the first time in a very long time, I didn't know what was happening to me or why.

"Sir, we have to leave." Raghav said softly, sensing my internal struggle.

Whatever this feeling was, I needed to understand it.

As we walked towards the car outside the orphanage, my mind kept drifting back to those few moments in the dining hall. Even Raghav seemed to notice something was different about me.

"Sir, are you feeling alright?" he asked as he walked side by side.

"I am fine." I replied automatically, though I wasn't sure that was true.

"Okay then. I will go and take out the car from the orphanage grounds." Raghav said, extending his hand for the keys.

I nodded and placed the car keys in his palm, feeling the cool metal leave my fingers. He walked away toward where I had parked under the large tree, the dry leaves crunching softly on the gravel path as he steps on them.

I stood there alone on the orphanage grounds, my feet planted firmly on the dusty earth, but my mind still spinning. The morning sun was getting warmer now, and I could hear the distant sounds of children playing somewhere behind the main building.

Their laughter carried on the breeze, innocent and carefree.

I found myself gazing back at the dining hall windows one more time, hoping maybe I would catch a glimpse of her through the glass. But the windows reflected only the bright morning sky and the branches of nearby trees.

This was it.

I was really leaving without knowing who she was, without understanding why her voice had affected me so deeply. The logical part of my brain told me this was ridiculous - I had important business to attend to. But my heart felt heavy as I slowly began to turn away from the building.

One last look. That's all I allowed myself before I would walk away from whatever this feeling was.

Just as I was about to turn away completely, two men carrying a large mirror were walking towards me. Might be heading toward one of the side buildings. The mirror caught the sunlight, creating brief flashes of reflection on me as they moved.

A large mirror. Might be for the dance room.

"Ji... Hanji... Ham pohoch jayenge vaha... ji jaurur... Rukiye jara..." Came that familiar voice from behind the mirror. She was clearly talking to someone on the phone, her tone polite but focused.

Then she paused mid-conversation. "Bhaiya, aapko pata hai na kaha lagana hai ye mirror? Us din aapko bataya tha hamne." She said to the mirror carriers, her hands moving gracefully as she explained the directions to them.

The large mirror was positioned right in front of me now. I could see my own reflection staring back - my formal shirt, my slightly tense posture, the confusion written all over my face. But what held my attention completely was what I could see behind the glass.

Her eyes.

My breath caught in my throat. Even though the rest of her face was hidden by the angle and the workers around her, I could see those beautiful eyes clearly behind mirror.

They were deep brown, almost amber in the morning light, rimmed with kajal that made them look like they belonged in a poet's dream.

As she talked, her face came alive in the most beautiful way. Her eyebrows would lift a little when she was trying to make the workers understand something important.

And when whoever was on the phone said something that made her happy, her eyes would scrunch up at the corners like she was holding back a laugh.

Every tiny change in her expression - the way her eyes widened when she was explaining something, the soft way they relaxed when she smiled - it all made something inside my chest feel warm and tight at the same time.

I couldn't understand why such small things - just the way her eyebrows moved or how her eyes crinkled when she was happy - were affecting me so much.

But it felt like each expression was reaching right into my chest and gently pulling at something I didn't even know was there.

And right there in the middle of her forehead was a tiny black bindi, sitting exactly where it should be. It was just a small dot, nothing fancy or expensive, but somehow it made everything about her look perfect.

How could just seeing someone's eyes behind the mirror make me feel this way?

Like I had been waiting my whole life for this moment without even knowing it.

Those beautiful eyes felt like coming home to a place I had never been before.

This. Was. Insane.

It. Is. Getting. Crazy.

Unfortunately, that was all I could see - just her eyes and that bindi - but somehow it felt like I was seeing straight into her soul.

Even though I couldn't see her smile, her nose, or hear her laugh clearly, those eyes seemed to show me her whole heart. Like they were windows that let me peek into the kind of person she was - gentle, loving, someone who truly cared about others.

It felt crazy that just a glimpse of someone's eyes behind the mirror could make me feel like I knew something important about them. 

And then suddenly, she looked up. She must have felt me watching her because she turned and looked right at me. Not just a glance - she really stared at me, and I stared back.

My breath got stuck in my throat. I felt like someone had just knocked all the air out of my lungs. This was insane. This was absolutely crazy.

So why was this happening to me now? Why was this stranger - someone I couldn't even see properly - making me feel like my whole world had just tilted sideways?

Why now? Why with her?

Her eyes held mine for what felt like forever but was probably only a few seconds. In that tiny moment, everything else disappeared. The sounds of the children, the workers, even mirror in front of me - it all faded away until it was just her eyes and mine, connected by something I couldn't understand but felt so deeply it scared me.

But then she looked away again, back toward the workers who were patiently waiting for her to tell them what to do. And just like that, the spell was broken, leaving me standing there feeling lost and breathless.

The mirror carriers nodded and began moving toward the building, taking the mirror - and my only glimpse of her - away with them. I watched helplessly as those beautiful eyes disappeared from my view

"Hanji, 10:30 ko pohonch jaungi, don't worry." I heard her say into the phone, but instead of following the workers with the mirror, she turned and walked in the opposite direction, toward the main gate of the orphanage.

She was still talking on her phone, one hand holding it to her ear while the other moved gracefully as she spoke. The workers went their way into the building while she headed toward the exit.

As she walked, I could hear the soft tinkling sound of her bangles with each gesture she made. Her hair swayed gently from side to side with every step, catching the morning sunlight like silk. Even from this distance, there was something so naturally elegant about the way she moved - unhurried but graceful without even trying.

And me?

What could I even do?

I just stood there, completely frozen in the same spot, staring at the empty space where the mirror had been just a few seconds ago. My heart was still beating so hard and fast that I could actually hear it thumping in my ears.

The morning air around me felt completely different now. It felt lighter somehow, like something beautiful had just happened. But at the same time, it felt heavier too, weighed down by this strange, powerful feeling I had never experienced before.

I couldn't move. I couldn't think straight. All I could do was stand there like a statue, trying to make sense of what had just happened to me and why a simple look from a stranger had turned my whole world upside down.

Those eyes - those warm, gentle, beautiful eyes - were now burned into my memory so clearly I could still see them even with my eyes closed.

My eyes followed her.

She reached the gate and stepped outside onto the main road, where a cab was waiting. Still holding her phone to her ear with one hand, she opened the cab door with the other and slipped inside.

"Bhaiya, Sector 15 chaliye." I heard her tell the driver before the door closed.

The cab pulled away and merged into the morning traffic, taking with it the mystery that had shaken me to my core.

And just like that, she was gone.

Again.

I couldn't even see her face.

And what I did?

I stood there staring at the empty spot where the taxi had been, feeling like something important had just slipped through my fingers without me even understanding what it was, feeling more lost than I had ever felt in my entire life.

"Sir? The car is ready." Raghav's voice came from somewhere behind me, probably wondering why I was standing there like a statue.

But I barely heard him. I was still lost in the echo of her voice, still seeing those honey-colored eyes rimmed with kajal, still feeling like something fundamental had just shifted inside me.

How was I supposed to just walk away from this feeling?

"Sir?" Raghav repeated, again forcing me to look at him.

I glanced towards him and nodded.

I forced myself to take a step toward our car, then another. It felt like I was forcing my body to move while my mind was stuck somewhere else, like a robot going through the motions while my heart was still back there with her.

But just as I reached for the car door handle, I felt it - a piercing sensation, like someone's eyes boring into me with an intensity that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

I stopped and slowly looked up.

There, standing near a black car parked a little distance away, was a man. He was watching me with an unsettling focus, his gaze sharp and calculating. The moment our eyes met, his lips curved into a smirk - not the kind of friendly smile you would give a stranger, but something cold and sinister that made my stomach clench with unease.

There was something deeply wrong about that smile, something that felt like a threat wrapped in amusement. His eyes held a darkness that made me instinctively take a step back.

Before I could process what was happening or why this stranger was looking at me like that, he opened his car door with deliberate slowness, still wearing that disturbing smirk.

He slid into the driver's seat, started the engine, gave me a mocking two finger salute, and drove away without breaking eye contact until the very last moment.

I stood there watching his car disappear into traffic, a chill running down my spine that had nothing to do with the morning air.

"Sir? What's wrong?" Raghav's voice sounded concerned now.

The blood drained from my face as recognition hit me like a physical blow. That face. That sinister smirk. Those cold, calculating eyes.

He was back.

After all the three years, after I thought I had finally left that part of my life behind, he was here.

Watching me.

That same predatory look, that same way of making his presence felt like a threat without saying a single word.

My hands began to tremble slightly as old memories I had buried deep came rushing back. Memories I had worked so hard to forget, to move past. My chest felt tight, and for a moment I couldn't breathe properly.

Why now? Why here, of all places? And why had he been watching me at the orphanage?

The timing couldn't be a coincidence - it won't be with him.

"Sir, you look like you have seen a ghost." Raghav said, moving closer with genuine worry in his voice.

A ghost. That's exactly what this felt like. A ghost from my past that I had hoped would stay buried forever, now suddenly appearing when I was already feeling vulnerable and shaken from my encounter with Kashvi.

My mind raced with questions and fears I hadn't felt in years. What did he want? How long had he been watching me? And most terrifyingly - what did his reappearance mean for my carefully constructed life?

I tried to steady my breathing, but my heart was pounding for entirely different reasons now.

I tried to calm down and breathe normally, but my heart was beating fast for completely different reasons now. Not because of those beautiful eyes I had seen behind the mirror, but because of the fear and worry this man always brought with him.

I shook my head and forced myself to snap out of it. Whatever this was about, I couldn't deal with it right here, right now. I had responsibilities, a meeting to attend, a normal life to maintain.

I straightened up and looked at Raghav, who was still watching me with concern written all over his face.

"Nothing. Let's go." I said, trying to make my voice sound normal even though my hands were still shaking slightly.

But even as I said it, I knew this was far from nothing. This was everything I had been running from for years, and now it had found me again.

I slid into the car and shut the door with more force than necessary, the sound echoing in the quiet morning air. Raghav glanced at me through the rearview mirror but didn't say anything as he started the engine.

As we began to pull away from the orphanage, I couldn't help myself. I turned in my seat and took one last look back at the building that had changed something inside me in just one morning.

The white walls looked peaceful in the sunlight, and I could still hear the faint sounds of children playing somewhere in the courtyard.

And somewhere out there in the city traffic was that man from my past, bringing with him all the darkness I had tried so hard to leave behind.

The car merged into the busy street, carrying me back to my regular life, but nothing felt regular anymore.

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MYSTERIOUS MAN'S POV

I was there, standing near my car and watching. I saw him walking out of the orphanage building, and my heart filled with satisfaction.

After searching for this man for three years - ever since I learned he was connected to her - I had finally ordered my people to find him. And here he was, right in front of me.

Kairav Rajveer Mehrotra.

Finally, after all this time.

I remembered seeing him three years ago, as he cried for that girl. That's when I knew - I just knew - that these two were connected somehow. The way he had broken down..... it was obvious they were related to each other.
(Auhor note - He is talking about another girl. Not our Kashvi.)

From my standing behind my car, I watched as he handed something to another man - probably his assistant. The man walked away toward a car parked under a big tree, leaving Kairav standing alone.

Then Kairav looked up toward one of the windows. What was he looking for up there? What had caught his attention?

As he turned around, some men carrying a large mirror started walking towards him. But they stopped right in front of him when a girl appeared, holding a phone to her left ear. She was clearly talking to someone.

And that's when everything changed.

Kairav stopped moving completely. He just stood there, frozen like a statue, staring at the girl who was standing behind the mirror, opposite to him. Her face was mostly hidden by the mirror's angle - he could only see her eyes.

But those eyes... they had completely captured him.

He couldn't move. Couldn't look away. He was like a man under a spell.

After the girl gave some instructions to the mirror carriers, she started walking towards the main gate to leave the orphanage.

But Kairav?

He was still staring at her, following her every movement with his eyes.

Amazing. Absolutely amazing.

He was feeling something for her. I could see it in the way his whole body had gone still, in the way his eyes tracked her every step. He wasn't looking at anyone or anything else - just her.

Only her.

As if the rest of the world had disappeared and she was the only person that mattered.

This was perfect.

That girl who walked outside, wait.... what? Why did she feel so familiar? Like I had seen her somewhere before? As I watched her looking around for a cab, something about her eyes struck me. Those eyes felt eerily similar, like I had encountered them somewhere in my past.

From that incident, maybe?

Could this girl and the one from the past be the same person?

No. That's impossible. I made sure to destroy that girl completely - left her broken enough that she should have... well, she shouldn't be walking around freely like this. So how could these eyes be the same?

I shook my head. Leave it. It is not my problem right now. Lots of people have similar-looking eyes, right? That's all this was.

But what if... what if the girl actually survived? What if she is really alive?

No. It really can't be.

I need to focus on Kairav, not get distracted by some random girl.

I watched as the girl got into a cab and drove away, leaving Kairav Mehrotra still standing there like a lovesick fool, staring at the cab until it disappeared into traffic.

Amazing. This was going to be more entertaining than I had thought.

Kairav's assistant came over and seemed to shake him out of whatever dream world he had been lost in. They both started walking toward their car, Kairav moving like he was in a daze.

Then, as he reached for his car door, something made him look up. Probably felt my eyes watching him.

He stared directly at me, and I saw recognition dawn on his face. He went completely still, like he'd seen a ghost.

Perfect.

I gave him a slow, cold smirk and casually opened my own car door. I slid into the driver's seat, never breaking eye contact with him. I glanced at him one more time - that same sinister smile spreading across my face and giving a mocking salute with two fingers to him - before starting the engine and driving away.

The look of fear in his eyes was exactly what I was hoping for.

I found you, Kairav Mehrotra.

And now I am going to destroy you the same way I destroyed her all those years ago.

The only thing I know for certain right now is that this girl who just left in the cab and Kairav are not connected... yet.

But if she really is related to that incident, then this just became much more interesting. I will make sure she becomes connected to Kairav, and then I will destroy them both together.

This is going to be fun.

Very, very fun. 

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Here ends the 2nd Chapter.

I hope you liked it😃. I know it was short but this was the only scenes I wanted to show.. So yeah bare with it.🥲

Anyway, Did you liked it? Their almost meeting? The eye contact? Or the way they met for the first time?

And how about the Mysterious Man's Pov? According to Kairav, he is back. But what is the reason he came back for? Any guesses?

(Author Note - The girl which Mysterious man mentioned about how Kairav cried for her - is totally DIFFERENT!!! He is not talking about our Kashvi.

And when he saw our Kashvi and thought about one girl whom he destroyed - was Kashvi. I am telling about the THINKING. It is still not clear right now about whom he destroyed back then in the past.

Still confused then comment. I will clear your doubts. )

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Thank You for reading!

Yours Sincerely,
Ishvari🤍.