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“I’ll check Block 57 first and meet you if I don’t find her there.”

Before I can even acknowledge his plan, Abhay’s voice comes through again, but this time, it’s sharper, panicked.

“Wait! I can see her. She’s at Block 57. Walking alone.”

My heart skips a beat, relief momentarily flooding through me.She’s okay. She’s safe.But the anger, the rage bubbling beneath that relief, surges forward again. I don’t hesitate for a second, yanking the wheel hard to the left, the Raptor’s tyres screeching again against the tarmac as I make the turn.

The engine roars as I push it harder, and then I see her. She’s strolling down the street, all alone, as if she hasn’t just sent my entire security team into a frenzy.

Within seconds, four black SUVs and my Raptor converge on the street, tyres screeching as we create a tight perimeter around her. Simran jumps at the sound, her eyes widening as she spins around, trying to make sense of what’s happening. She’s trapped—just like I want her to be. There’s no running from this conversation now.

I slam the door open and get out of my car, my rage boiling over. The sunglasses I’m wearing suddenly feel suffocating. I rip them off and throw them to the ground with enough force to shatter them. Nothing can calm the fury inside me as I stride toward her.

My men are already out of their vehicles, forming a large, tight circle around her as I stride forward, each step fuelled by rage and fear, and something else that makes my chest feel like it’s going to explode. Simran looks shocked, completely caught off-guard to see me here. Before she can even open her mouth, I grab her arms and pull her roughly toward me.

“What the hell were you thinking?” The words tear from my mouth, harsh and raw. She flinches at my grip, but I’m too far gone to ease up. “Leaving the premises without guards? Do you have any idea how reckless you were being?”

Her eyes widen, but she remains silent. She’s still processing the rage, the fury that I’m barely holding back.

“If you want to put your life at risk to satisfy your own damn ego, and to prove that you don’t need protection, then I have no intention to go out of my way and save you either!”

She tries to pull her arm free, but I don’t let go, my grip firm. I can’t. Not yet. Not until she hears everything I have to say.

“But tell me one thing, Miss Simran Thakkar. Is this the kind of life you want for Veer?” I ask, my voice dripping with venom.

I see the colour drain from her face, but I can’t stop. Not now. The fear I’ve been feeling for the past thirty minutes transforms into words that I can’t hold back.

“A mother who throws herself into danger without a second thought? Seriously, Simran? This is how you repay your son who needs you. Who depends on you?”

In an instant, something snaps in her eyes, and she shoves against my chest.

“What else did you expect me to do then?” she yells, matching my anger with her own. “You’ve been ignoring me for the past three days! I’ve tried calling, messaging, anything to get through to you, but you shut me out! How the hell was I supposed to deal with that? Tell me—what did you want me to do?”

Her words come faster now, almost desperate.

“All I wanted was for us to talk it out, and this was the only way—my only chance—to reach you at home without your guards tipping you off that I was coming to confront you. But there’s a cab strike today, and I left my car keys in the office. I couldn’t even call anyone because I left my phone there too... I couldn’t think straight, Vishnu. I was losing my mind!”

She glares at me, her chest rising and falling with the same frustration that’s coursing through me.

“Youwere losing your mind?” My fingers tighten on her arms as I lean closer, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “Only because I ignored you for three days?”

The rage builds again, explosive and unstoppable, as I continue to vent.

“You have deceived me, Simran. For eighteen months, you’ve kept me in the dark about the biggest truth of my life—something that I deserved to know. You hid my son from me!” My voice rises an octave.

“Not just three days—if I were to ignore you for the next three years, it still wouldn’t come close to the punishment you deserve!”

I see the shock register on her face, but it quickly transforms into her own anger.

“Oh, I get it... I know what I did was wrong, and I deserve to be punished. But tell me, Mr. Vishnu Pratap Walia, where were you?” Her eyes are blazing now, tears threatening to spill over. “Where were you in these last eighteen months? You never called. You never even once checked on me. You never cared to see if I was okay!”

Her voice breaks, but she keeps going, each word cutting deeper, like a knife in my chest.

“We had shared a night together, Vishnu. And you and I both knew that it wasn’t just a fleeting moment of passion. It meant something more to both of us. Even then, you went missing the last eighteen months. Where the hell were you exactly?”

She lets out a bitter laugh that hits me harder than her blows.

“You don’t have any answer for that, do you? Okay, let me tell you where you were. You were with your family—the Walias— protecting them, shielding them, and fighting battles for them. They were your only priority, and they always will be.”