Chapter 32: A trap of Echoes

The stillness of morning had barely settled when Rehan stood at the edge of the safe house's small living room, his expression dark and unreadable.

"There's been movement," he said, holding up his phone to Aarav. "Your security team picked up two unmarked vehicles circling Mira's apartment block just before dawn. They weren't ordinary thieves, Aarav. They were professionals."

Aarav's jaw tightened. "That confirms it. We're being hunted."

Mira's hands instinctively clenched around her shawl, but she didn't panic. Instead, her voice was calm. "Why now? What changed?"

Rehan hesitated. Then, for the first time since this ordeal began, he looked directly at Mira. "You. You're the change."

"What do you mean?"

"They know how much you matter to him now," Rehan said gently, nodding toward Aarav. "And when love is your strength… it also becomes your greatest vulnerability."

Aarav didn't flinch. "Let them try. They won't take her."

Mira turned her face toward him, listening to the conviction in his voice. She believed it. Still, that didn't erase the rising tension that thickened the air between them.

For the rest of the day, they remained inside the safe house. Rehan began setting up motion sensors and temporary security cameras on the perimeter. Aarav made a flurry of encrypted calls to contacts — people from his past, the kind he rarely spoke about.

By late afternoon, the atmosphere was suffocating.

Mira sat by the window, trying to catch a breeze, but her thoughts raced faster than her heartbeat.

"I feel like the more I learn about you," she said to Aarav, who had just come in from securing the backyard, "the less I actually know."

Aarav crouched beside her, wiping sweat from his brow. "I never wanted to drag you into this. There are parts of my past I buried. Not because I was ashamed — but because I didn't want them to touch you."

Mira reached out, brushing her hand across his face. "But they already have. And I'm not going anywhere."

He caught her hand and kissed her palm. "Then I'll tell you everything."

That night, under the shelter of flickering candlelight, Aarav revealed his truth.

Years ago, he had worked briefly with an underground journalism group, exposing corruption and powerful criminals. One of the people they exposed was a high-level arms broker operating through medical charities — the same man who had lost millions because of Aarav's published report.

"He disappeared," Aarav said. "But we knew he'd resurface. And now, after all these years… he's found me."

Mira listened in silence, her heart torn between fear and pride.

"You exposed the truth," she whispered.

"And they want revenge," Aarav finished.

"But why now?"

Rehan cut in. "Because they found a way to hurt you without touching you directly. Mira… is their message."

Suddenly, the room went dark.

All three froze.

The power had gone out.

Rehan rushed to the window. "They've found us."

Aarav stood up immediately, pulling Mira to her feet. "Rehan — lights, now. Check the backup generator."

"I'm on it."

The air turned sharp and tense. Mira gripped Aarav's arm. "What do we do?"

"We follow the plan," he whispered. "Get to the panic room. You're not staying out here."

He led her quickly through the house to a small hidden door behind the bookshelf. It opened into a narrow corridor that led to a reinforced chamber — something Aarav had secretly installed when he first bought the cottage.

"Stay here," he said, placing her inside.

"I'm not leaving you to fight alone," Mira said, her voice trembling.

Aarav kissed her forehead. "I'll come back. I promise."

The door closed.

Minutes passed.

Silence.

Then, voices. Footsteps. A scuffle outside.

Mira sat in the darkness, her breath shallow. She wanted to scream, to run out, to grab Aarav and make him hide with her. But instead, she remembered what he said — "Let love make you brave, not blind."

So she waited.

And trusted.

Outside, Aarav and Rehan faced two masked intruders, silent and swift. But they had planned for this.

Aarav took the first attacker down with a swift blow to the shoulder, disarming him as Rehan tackled the other to the floor. The fight was short but brutal. One of the men escaped, disappearing into the woods. The other lay unconscious, tied up and bleeding from a split lip.

Aarav stood over him, chest heaving. "Tell your boss," he said coldly, "I'm not running anymore. Come for me — but if you touch her again, you'll regret it."

Back inside, the power returned.

Aarav rushed to the panic room and opened the door. Mira flew into his arms without a word, holding him like he was the only thing keeping her grounded.

"I heard everything," she whispered.

"I didn't want you to."

"But I'm still here," she said, pulling back. "And I'm not going anywhere."

He smiled, tired but full of love. "Then neither am I."

As the dawn began to break again, Aarav and Mira stood on the porch of the safe house — bruised, shaken, but unbroken. The war wasn't over, but the first battle had been won.

Together.