The The temple was overflowing with people.
Devotional songs echoed through the air while bells rang continuously above the crowd.
The smell of incense mixed with sweat, flowers, and smoke made the atmosphere heavy and suffocating.
Avira already regretted coming.
She walked beside her elder sister Adya, clearly irritated after being forced into this visit.
Ahead of them, Ekansh kept trying to lighten the mood.
“It’ll take ten minutes,” he said. “Then we’ll leave.”
A few steps behind them stood Reyansh and Avyukt.
Reyansh looked casual.
Avyukt didn’t.
His sharp gaze never left Avira for long, and she hated noticing it.
That alone made her uncomfortable.
There was something deeply wrong about him.
Not obvious.
Not loud.
There was something unsettling about him.
Something cold hidden beneath the calm expression he carried.
The crowd thickened near the temple stairs.
People pushed past each other impatiently to enter the main shrine.
Adya grabbed Avira’s hand tightly.
“Stay close.”
Avira nodded and carefully moved through the crowd beside her sister.
Then suddenly—
Someone pressed against her from behind.
A hand slid around her waist deliberately.
Not accidental.
Not because of the crowd.
Intentional.
Avira froze in shock as the stranger leaned closer with a disgusting smirk.
“Relax,” he muttered.
Fear and disgust hit her instantly.
Before she could react properly, the boy’s hand tightened against her waist again.
“Don’t touch me!” Avira snapped, shoving him away.
The boy laughed carelessly.
And that single sound changed everything.
Avyukt saw it.
His entire expression darkened within seconds.
By the time anyone realized what was happening, he had already reached the boy.
His fist crashed straight into the stranger’s face hard enough to send him falling against the temple railing.
People nearby gasped loudly.
“What the hell?!” the boy shouted angrily while standing back up.
Avyukt grabbed his collar violently.
“You touched her.”
The air around them turned dangerous instantly.
The boy scoffed carelessly. “So what?”
That was enough.
Avyukt completely lost control.
He slammed the boy against the stone wall before grabbing a sharp metal rod lying near nearby construction material.
Fear shot through Avira immediately.
“please stop—”
But Avyukt wasn’t listening.
His face had changed completely.
Every trace of calmness disappeared.
“Avyukt!” Reyansh snapped sharply. “Leave him!”
Too late.
The rod drove straight into the boy’s stomach.
A horrifying scream echoed across the temple.
Blood splattered onto the marble stairs.
Women nearby screamed in panic.
The injured boy collapsed to his knees, clutching his bleeding stomach while crying out in pain.
Avira felt fear crawl into her stomach instantly.
Adya immediately pulled Avira backward in horror.
“Oh my God—”
Reyansh grabbed Avyukt’s arm instantly.
“Enough!”
But Avyukt shoved him away.
His breathing was heavy now.
Violent.
Unstable.
The wounded boy tried crawling backward desperately, blood trailing behind him across the temple floor.
“It was a mistake!” he cried.
Avyukt looked ready to kill him anyway.
Then his hand moved beneath his jacket.
And pulled out a gun.
Pure chaos erupted.
People started screaming and running down the stairs immediately.
“He has a gun!”
“Run!”
Ekansh quickly moved in front of Adya and Avira protectively.
It… was an accident…” he choked painfully.
Reyansh grabbed Avyukt’s arm hard.
“Enough!”
Avyukt jerked his arm away violently.
“Enough?” he repeated softly.
That soft voice terrified everyone more than shouting would have.
“Avyukt,” he warned carefully, “put the gun down.”
But Avyukt wasn’t listening to anyone.
His eyes remained fixed on the terrified boy bleeding on the ground.
The boy shook violently. “Please…”
Avyukt slowly raised the gun toward him.
And that was when Avira moved.
“PLEASE STOP!”
Please don’t do this!” she cried loudly.
Avyukt finally looked at her.
And for one second—
Something softened.
Not kindness.
Not mercy.
Just hesitation.
Avira’s voice shook violently now.
“You already hurt him… please stop…”
The boy sobbed weakly on the ground.
Blood covered the marble beneath him.
Reyansh tightened his grip on Avyukt’s arm again.
“Listen to her.”
But Avyukt slowly pulled his arm free from Reyansh’s hold.
His gaze never left Avira.
Then suddenly—
The gunshot exploded through the temple.
Once.
The boy’s body jerked violently.
A second shot followed immediately after.
Then silence.
The body dropped lifelessly against the blood-covered stairs.
Avira gasped in horror.
A broken sob escaped her lips as tears spilled down her face instantly.
He killed him.
After she begged him not to.
After she cried and screamed for him to stop.
He still killed him.
The crowd erupted into chaos again.
People ran everywhere.
Someone shouted that police were coming.
But Avira couldn’t hear properly anymore.
Her ears rang painfully.
Her entire body shook.
And then Avyukt turned toward her calmly.
The gun still rested loosely in his grip.
Yet his expression remained terrifyingly composed.
He walked slowly toward her while everyone else backed away in fear.
Avira instinctively stepped backward.
Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably now.
She looked terrified of him.
And somehow—
That seemed to affect him more than the police sirens growing closer outside the temple.
“Precious,” he said softly.
Avira flinched at the nickname.
“I didn’t do what you said and.”
"I am sorry."
His voice stayed calm.
Gentle even.
Which made it worse.
Far worse.
Avira stared at him in horror as he continued quietly—
“ But look l gave him peace.”
A terrified sob escaped her lips.
Something about the way he said it
So casually.
So sincerely.
Made him seem completely insane.
“No…” she whispered shakily.
Avyukt tilted his head slightly while looking at her tear-streaked face.
“He would’ve suffered longer if I left him alive.”
That sentence shattered whatever little composure Avira had left.
“You killed him!” she cried.
Her voice broke completely.
“You killed him in front of me!”
For the first time, something unreadable flickered across Avyukt’s expression.
Not guilt.
Never guilt.
Almost confusion.
Like he genuinely didn’t understand why she was horrified.
“He touched you.”
The way he said it made it sound like that alone justified murder.
Avira’s fear deepened instantly.
Because she realized something terrifying—
Avyukt truly believed he had done the right thing.
His attention remained completely fixed on Avira.
Adya immediately pulled her sister behind her protectively.
“She’s scared of you,” Adya snapped angrily.
Those words finally made something crack in Avyukt’s expression.
His jaw tightened sharply.
His eyes returned to Avira again.
And seeing her crying—
Actually crying because of him—
Seemed to make him angry in a completely different way.
“You’re afraid of me?” he asked quietly.
Avira couldn’t even answer.
Her hands shook violently.
Her breathing came out uneven.
She had never been this terrified in her life.
Not because of the dead body.
Not because of the blood.
But because the man standing in front of her looked completely calm after murdering someone who offended him.
Reyansh stepped forward quickly when he saw police reaching the upper stairs.
“Avyukt!”
this time his voice carried actual warning.
Finally, Avyukt looked away from Avira.
Only for a second.
The temple courtyard had turned into complete chaos.
People screamed while rushing down the marble stairs. Priests shouted prayers loudly in panic.
Blood spread slowly across the white floor beneath the dead body lying motionless near the pillar.
And in the middle of it all—
Avira stood frozen.
Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face as her breathing shook violently.
A few feet away, Avyukt still held the gun loosely in his hand.
Calm.
Completely calm.
As if he hadn’t just murdered someone in front of hundreds of people.
The sight terrified her even more.
Adya immediately grabbed Avira’s arm tightly and pulled her backward.
“We’re leaving,” she said sharply.
The moment those words left her mouth—
Everything changed.
Avyukt’s expression darkened instantly.
Not anger.
Something worse.
Pure rage.
The terrifying calmness vanished from his face completely.
“What did you say?”
His voice came out dangerously soft.
Reyansh immediately looked toward him.
And for the first time that evening—
He looked genuinely alarmed.
Adya stepped protectively in front of her sister despite the fear in her eyes.
“I said we’re leaving.”
Avyukt stared at her silently for a moment.
Then his eyes slowly shifted toward Avira.
“You’re leaving too?”
Avira couldn’t even answer properly.
She was still shaking from the gunshots.
From the blood.
From his horrifying words.
But the fear in her expression alone gave him the answer.
And something inside him snapped.
His jaw clenched so hard the veins in his neck became visible.
“No.”
One word.
Cold.
Absolute.
Adya frowned immediately. “Excuse me?”
“You’re not taking her anywhere.”
The atmosphere around them became suffocating instantly.
Even the terrified crowd nearby sensed the danger and stayed away.
Ekansh stepped closer protectively. “Avyukt, enough.”
But Avyukt ignored him completely.
His entire attention remained locked on Avira.
“She’s scared,” Adya snapped angrily.
“Look at her!”
That only made him worse.
His eyes moved over Avira’s tear-streaked face and trembling hands.
And instead of guilt—
Possessiveness flashed through his expression.
“She’s scared because of them,” he said coldly, glancing toward the dead body. “Not me.”
Avira actually took a step backward after hearing that.
That tiny movement shattered the last bit of control he had left.
“You’re afraid of me?” he asked quietly.
His voice almost sounded hurt.
Which somehow made him even more terrifying.
Avira’s lips trembled. “You… killed him…”
“He touched you.”
“That doesn’t give you the right to murder someone!”
The words echoed sharply through the courtyard.
For a second, silence fell between them.
Then Avyukt suddenly started walking toward her.
Adya immediately pulled Avira farther behind her.
“Stay away from her.”
The warning only made his expression darker.
Reyansh stepped forward quickly now, finally understanding how dangerous the situation had become.
Until this moment, he thought Avyukt would calm down eventually.
But now—
Watching the way Avyukt looked at Avira…
The way his rage intensified every time someone tried taking her away…
Reyansh realized something terrifying.
Avira was trapped.
Completely trapped.
Because this was no longer simple obsession or possessiveness.
This was something deeper.
Something unstable.
And Avyukt wasn’t going to let her walk away peacefully.
“Avyukt,” Reyansh said carefully, moving between them slightly. “Relax.”
“Move.”
The single word came out cold enough to silence everyone.
Even Reyansh paused.
That never happened.
Avyukt always listened to him eventually.
Always.
But tonight was different.
Tonight he looked beyond control.
Police sirens suddenly echoed loudly outside the temple gates.
Officers rushed inside moments later while people immediately started shouting over each other.
“He shot someone!”
“He has a gun!”
“The murderer is there!”
Several policemen instantly reached for their weapons—
Then froze after recognizing Avyukt and Reyansh.
The entire atmosphere shifted awkwardly.
The senior officer’s face changed immediately.
“Sir…”
He lowered his weapon at once.
The other officers followed instantly.
Avira stared in disbelief.
The officer looked nervous now.
Respectful.
Careful.
Not like someone confronting a murderer.
Reyansh noticed her expression and looked away slightly.
Of course she didn’t know.
Most people didn’t.
The officer cleared his throat awkwardly before speaking carefully.
“Sir… perhaps we should handle this privately.”
Avira’s eyes widened.
Privately?
A man was dead.
Right there on the floor.
And they wanted to handle it privately?
Adya looked equally horrified. “Are you serious?!”
The officer immediately became uncomfortable.
“Ma’am… please lower your voice.”
Ekansh stared at him coldly. “Someone was murdered.”
The officer glanced nervously toward Avyukt before answering quietly—
“He is the Chief Minister’s son.”
Silence.
Heavy silence.
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