Chapter-3

PRADEEP

I still can't get her deep blue eyes out of my head. The memory of her makes my heart crazy. I've never had this experience with women before. Not even those who offered themselves at my feet even when I ignored them. 

The power she holds in her eyes is formidable. No one can ever resurface once they've fallen into the depths of her eyes. Her long curly hair filled with the colour that resembles my dark soul tied my heart to it with its long tendrils that grew just to perfectly cover the back side of her waist. Her pink plump lips make her face look so innocent, covering her eyes' profundity. Her unique fragrance of jasmine and a hint of rose from the red flower in her tied-back hair held by a clip in a half ponytail still lingers in my head. She might be the dream girl for every other boy who's into a traditional type or something.

He would have died to walk around her like a puppy holding that long dupatta she's wearing. 

If Amma was still here with me and she saw her, she would be more insistent on going and talking to her until she accepted me. 

I smiled at my thoughts. 

It was the first time since I lost everyone, that I thought about family. 

I don't even have the heart to be into someone. But this girl made me doubt myself. 

I can still hear her ethereal voice in the corners of my head. I wonder what she sounds like when she laughs at my jokes, shouts at me for making something wrong, keeps talking about her day or whatever she wants to talk about. 

I don't feel like myself thinking about her. 

Maybe she's a witch? She might've done something to hold such a power over me.

I hate being so helpless over some girl. It might be the whiskey from last night speaking in my head. 

This girl made a 27-year-old grown man dream again. 

Shiva's loud banter echoed through the house. 

Sometimes I feel like smacking right on his face for disturbing me with just his loud voice. 

"You better have something reasonable to tell me, so that you'll walk out of this room alive after disturbing me with that irritating voice of yours," I warn him not caring to look in his direction occupied with my phone.

I got intel that someone again is trying to get back into the deal with drug smugglers. I've already killed one of those who was holding power against all the drug dealers and human trafficking in Hyderabad. And his daughter is the divine beauty that captured my heart and soul in just an encounter I believe. 

Still, the last night's whiskey speaking.

When I snatched her phone to delete the video, I saw the picture of my victim and her. Suspicion rose the second I saw it. 

Bad guys will never learn, will they? Just like I am… 

I proudly accept that I am bad. 

The second I saw the photo, her eyes were filled with accomplishment.

Trap. 

Someone is using her as a puppet to get to me by using her only emotion. Her father. 

I'm sure who that fox is. I just need the confirmation.

He scoffs.

"You were right about that girl Pradeep. She's working for Officer Prakash now. Her name is Kalyani." 

"I wasn't wrong after all," I mutter with a smirk pulling up the corner of my lips. 

"Shiva, I need to know every single detail about her."

I learned nothing but his surprised expression from this question. 

He might be thinking, is Pradeep asking about a girl? I wonder if this has ever happened before. 

Before he jumps to some conclusion about me being obsessed with this girl, I interrupt his chain of thoughts.

" And also try to know their moves to get me into their trap," 

He nods in agreement.

"What about the guy we hit this morning? Has he opened up yet?" 

"No Pradeep. He's giving us a hard time. I'm pretty sure this is just a part of the police to divert us or trap us. He thinks we don't know about his plan and now here we are." he grins and looks at the guy outside the compound whom we suspect to be a mole in our gang working for that stupid Prakash. 

I nod and Shiva leaves leaving me in my pool of thoughts. 

I lay back on my armchair in the corner of my living room. Traces of sunset are evident through the glass windows just beside me. 

During all these years after my parent's death, I never even bothered to think about having a girl or even a person for myself in my life. 

But this girl, she's bringing out, no- she's creating a special place in my heart and soul for herself.

They say, love at first sight, is just heard in stories. But ever since I ran into her, all I can think about is her. It's not just attraction. I can feel it all in my heart. She woke up a part of me I didn't even know existed. 

Never in my life, had I wanted to touch or for that matter, even look at a girl. But now, all I can think about is, caressing that curly soft hair of hers and touching those pink cheeks, staring into those eyes. The eyes that held me captive with just one encounter.

Once I get to know her, or even maybe not, no one can ever stop me from making her mine. 

As selfish as I sound now, I really am. Anything I want, I will have it. But it was the first time that I wanted a girl. 

She made me feel different. Maybe home? I need to figure it out. 

Or maybe it's her spells and she's a witch.