Anvika reached the venue a few minutes later. She stopped her car near the entrance, stepped out, and closed the door behind her. The police vehicle was still a little behind, caught in the traffic outside, but she didn't wait for them and started walking towards the venue.

The entrance was crowded, with people constantly moving in and out. She made her way through them, occasionally slowing down when someone blocked her path, before continuing further inside. She could hear the sound of a speech somewhere ahead, but the crowd was too dense for her to see the stage yet.

She kept walking towards the sound, her eyes moving over the people in front of her. The voice from the speakers grew clearer as she moved further ahead.

Finally, she found a small opening between the people standing in front of her and looked towards the stage. A man was standing there, speaking into the microphone. From where she stood, she could only see him from a distance, so she watched him for a few moments, trying to place his face.

There was something familiar about him.

She had seen that face before, in photographs with her brother. She looked at him again, this time more carefully, her eyes moving over his face as she tried to connect the person standing in front of her with the face she remembered from those pictures.

And then she realised who he was.

Adhiraj Singh Deshmukh.

Her brother's best friend.

The realisation made her expression change. She stared at him for a few seconds, remembering everything.

Her fingers slowly curled into her palms as she watched him continue speaking to the crowd.

Then his voice became clearer through the speakers.

"Aap logon ka bohot shukriya hum par apna vishwas banaye rakhne aur humari party ko support karne ke liye. Main aapka yeh bharosa kabhi nahi todunga."

(Thank you all so much for continuing to place your trust in us and for supporting our party. I will never break this trust.)

The words vishwas and bharosa immediately caught her attention. Her lips curved into a slow, bitter smile as she looked at him.

For a moment, she simply stood there, looking at the man who was speaking so confidently about trust while her brother lay dead because of him. The irony of his words settled heavily in her chest. She could still hear Rakshit's voice in her mind, the way he had always spoken about Adhiraj and trusted him without hesitation.

She lowered her gaze for a brief second, trying to steady herself, before looking back at the stage.

A quiet, humourless laugh escaped her.

Then she began to clap.

Slowly.

Deliberately.

The applause wasn't meant to appreciate his words. It was sarcastic, almost mocking, as if she were applauding the irony of hearing those words from him. She kept her eyes fixed on him while each slow clap made her meaning clearer.

A few people around her turned to look, wondering why she was applauding in such a strange manner. Anvika didn't care. She continued clapping, her bitter smile still lingering on her lips.

The sound eventually reached the stage.

Adhiraj's speech faltered. He stopped and looked towards the crowd, his eyes searching for the source of the unusual applause.

His gaze finally found her.

Anvika stopped clapping.

The smile disappeared from her face as she looked directly at him.

Adhiraj's gaze remained fixed on her. Something about her face seemed familiar, but he couldn't immediately recognise her. He watched her for a few seconds, his brows drawing together slightly as he tried to remember where he had seen her before.

Before he could figure it out, Sahil, who was standing nearby, followed his gaze. The moment he recognised her, a flicker of surprise crossed his face.

"Rakshit sir ki sister?"

(Rakshit sir's sister?)

Adhiraj looked at Sahil, and then back at Anvika. His eyes rested on her face for another moment before recognition finally settled in.

His expression changed subtly. He remembered her now.

Rakshit's sister.

The girl he had seen before, but never expected to find standing in front of him like this.

Anvika noticed the change in his expression, but she didn't give him a chance to say anything. She took a few steps forward, her gaze unwavering as she looked directly at him.

"Vishwas?"

Her voice was calm, but the bitterness behind the single word was impossible to miss.

"Bharosa?"

She gave a small, sarcastic smile, her eyes never leaving his.

"Wow. Tumhari dictionary mein yeh words hain?"

(Are these words even in your dictionary?)

"Kyuki clearly inka matlab toh tumhe pata hi nahi hai."

(Because clearly, you don't know what they mean.)

The crowd around them grew quieter, their attention slowly shifting towards the two of them. A few reporters raised their cameras, sensing that something was happening.

Adhiraj remained silent for a moment after she finished speaking. His eyes stayed on her, and a slight crease appeared between his brows as he took in the way she had deliberately repeated his own words back to him. The bitter smile on her face made it clear that she wasn't praising him. She was mocking him, throwing his words about vishwas and bharosa right back at him. His expression grew slightly more guarded as he watched her, trying to understand where she was going with it. His gaze briefly shifted towards the crowd before returning to her, his composure still intact despite the growing tension around them.

For a moment, it seemed as though he was going to answer her from where he stood. Instead, his gaze remained fixed on her before he finally moved away from the podium. The sudden movement caught the attention of everyone around. A few people exchanged confused looks, while the reporters immediately turned their cameras towards him, trying to understand where he was going.

Even Sahil looked momentarily taken aback. He glanced towards Anvika and then back at Adhiraj, clearly not expecting him to leave the stage in the middle of everything. But he quickly followed when Adhiraj stepped down from the stage, with the security guards moving in behind them.

The crowd instinctively began shifting aside as Adhiraj walked forward, whispers spreading through the gathering as people tried to figure out what had made him leave the podium. The cameras followed his every step, while Sahil stayed close behind and the guards surrounded them, keeping a clear path through the crowd.

Adhiraj's attention, however, remained fixed on Anvika.

When he finally reached her, he stopped a short distance away, his brows slightly drawn together as he faced her.

"What are you saying?" Adhiraj asked, his tone steady but clearly questioning.

Anvika's bitter smile faded into a hard stare.

"Did I say something wrong? No, I don't think so. Agar tumhe in words ka matlab pata hota toh tum apne hi bestfriend ka murder nahi karte."

(If you knew what these words meant, you wouldn't have murdered your own best friend.)

Her words landed with a sharpness that made the few conversations around them die down completely. She didn't look away from him, her anger now unmistakable in her eyes.

"You broke his trust and belief which he had on you as his bestfriend. Whatever kind of person you may be, he would never have thought that you could harm him."

Anvika's voice grew heavier with every word. Her eyes had begun to glisten, but she refused to let the tears fall, her anger keeping her expression hard as she continued to face him.

The people closest to them had gone completely quiet. A few exchanged stunned looks, while whispers began spreading through the crowd as more people realised what she was accusing him of. The reporters reacted almost immediately. Cameras were raised higher, microphones turned towards them, and several journalists began recording the confrontation instead of the event they had come to cover.

Adhiraj did not answer immediately. His lips pressed into a thin line as he looked at her, holding her gaze for a few seconds. Then his jaw shifted once, his expression tightening as he glanced towards the people gathered around them. The sight of the cameras and the attention fixed on them made him straighten, and when he looked back at Anvika, the patience in his face had thinned.

"What rubbish are you talking about?" he said, his voice slightly louder than before. "I don't know anything. So please, go from here. Don't create any scene."

His tone sharpened slightly on the last words.

"It's a public event."

Anvika stared at him, her lips parting slightly at the denial. For a second, she looked as though she couldn't believe he had actually dismissed everything so easily. Then her expression hardened again, the hurt giving way to anger.

"Rubbish?" she repeated, her voice rising. "I am talking rubbish? Don't be so innocent because you are not."

She stepped closer, her voice rising.

"I'm not going anywhere. I want one answer from you. Why did you kill my brother? Tell me. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Her voice shook, but she forced the words out anyway. "He trusted you so much. You were his best friend. How could you do this to him? He believed in you."

The last words came out strained. She swallowed, trying to steady herself, but the effort only made her breathing more uneven. Her eyes had filled completely now, the tears gathering until one finally slipped down her cheek. She didn't bother wiping it away. Another followed, then another, while she kept staring at him as though looking away would mean losing the little control she still had.

"Unhone kya hi bigaada tha tumhara?"

(What had he ever done to you?)

"He was only trying to save those children. He thought you would understand him, but you killed him."

The last word left her with a tremor in her voice.

Her hand moved before she could think.

Her fingers caught the front of his collar and clenched around it, the sudden movement pulling him slightly towards her. She didn't even seem to realise how tightly she was holding him at first. Her knuckles had begun to pale beneath the strain, her fingers twisted into the fabric as though she needed something to hold on to while everything inside her was falling apart.

She looked up at him, tears still running down her face.

"You took him away from me."

Her grip tightened.

"He was my entire world."

Her voice shook, and she drew him a fraction closer, her eyes searching his face with a mixture of disbelief and fury.

"My brother."

The words barely made it past her throat.

She swallowed, but the pain only seemed to deepen.

"How could you do this to him?"

Her fingers trembled against his collar.

"How could you?"

She was crying now without trying to stop herself. The tears blurred her vision, but she kept looking at him, as though she wanted him to see exactly what his actions had done to the person Rakshit had left behind.

Her fingers were still twisted tightly into his collar, the fabric bunched beneath her grip. Her breathing came unevenly, and another tear slipped down her cheek as she stared at him through the anger and hurt that had completely taken over her.

She shook her head once, unable to accept the person standing in front of her.

Her grip tightened again.

And then, in the heat of the moment, something inside her snapped.

She let go of his collar and her hand moved almost on its own.

The slap landed hard across his face.

The sharp sound cut through the air.

His face turned sharply to the side from the impact, leaving him momentarily still.

Anvika's hand remained suspended for a second before dropping back to her side. She stared at him, breathing heavily, tears still running down her face. There was no hesitation in her expression, only the raw anger that had taken over before she could stop herself.

And then she seemed to realise what she had just done.

Her eyes flickered briefly towards her own hand before returning to him.

But she didn't apologise.

She couldn't.

The grief was still there, the tears were still falling, but the anger in her eyes had only grown stronger.

The silence that followed was absolute.

The conversations that had been going on around them stopped one after another. The people closest to them stared openly, while the reporters stood frozen for a moment before their cameras rose again, lenses trained on the two of them. A few voices broke into hushed whispers, but even those seemed to disappear as Adhiraj's guards reacted.

Several of his guards immediately moved towards them, closing the distance and surrounding Adhiraj. Guns were drawn almost at once, the weapons raised as they positioned themselves between him and Anvika.

Sahil reacted just as quickly. He pulled out his gun and stepped in with the others, his eyes fixed on Anvika, his expression hard with anger.

Anvika's eyes widened slightly as she noticed the guns.

Only then did she seem to register the scene around her.

She took a small step back and looked around. So many eyes were on her now. People were staring. Reporters were recording. The entire crowd seemed to have forgotten everything else happening around them.

Her gaze finally returned to Adhiraj.

He hadn't moved.

His face was still lowered from the impact of the slap, his expression caught somewhere between shock and disbelief, as though his mind was still trying to process what had just happened.

His face remained lowered for a moment after the slap, his expression still caught in the stunned aftermath of what had just happened.

Then the sharp sound of guns being drawn broke through the silence.

Adhiraj heard it.

He didn't turn around. He didn't need to.

The slight change in his expression was enough to show that he had understood exactly what was happening behind him. His jaw tightened, and without even looking towards his guards, he lifted one hand with a calm, commanding authority.

It wasn't a request.

It was an order.

The guards immediately stopped and lowered their guns.

Sahil lowered his weapon as well, though unlike the others, the anger on his face remained unmistakable. His eyes stayed fixed on Anvika, his jaw clenched as if he was still struggling to accept what had just happened.

Adhiraj slowly lifted his face.

For a moment, he said nothing. His fingers curled once at his side before he let his hand fall still again. The imprint of the slap was still visible across his cheek, but what held his attention was the woman standing in front of him, tears covering her face and yet not a trace of fear in her eyes.

He stared at her, as though the audacity of what she had just done had finally settled in.

"What the hell?" he said, his voice rising with anger.

Anvika's hand immediately went to her face. She roughly wiped the tears from her cheeks, once, then again, refusing to let them keep falling. She brushed beneath her eyes with the heel of her palm and dragged it across her wet cheeks, taking a breath through her nose as she looked at him again.

There was still pain in her face, but now it was buried beneath something much harsher.

"Hell?" she repeated, almost scoffing at him. "Hell toh tumne dekha hi kaha hai abhi."

(Hell? You haven't even seen hell yet.)

Her eyes stayed locked on his as she continued, her voice no longer breaking the way it had a moment ago.

"But trust me, joh life tumne meri hell banayi hai na mere bhaiya ko mujhse door karke, usse bhi worse main tumhari life hell karungi. And I will personally make sure you experience it and realise what you did and regret that."

(But trust me, the life you have made hell for me by taking my brother away from me, I will make your life even worse than that. And I will personally make sure you experience it, realise what you did, and regret it.)

She wiped beneath her eyes one last time, almost angrily, and stepped back only after making sure he could see that she wasn't backing down.

Adhiraj stared at her for a moment after she finished speaking. Her words had clearly struck a nerve. He looked at her, still processing the fact that she had slapped him and, instead of apologising or showing any regret, was now standing in front of him and challenging him to make his life hell.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he held her gaze, the anger on his face becoming harder to contain.

Anvika didn't look away.

"You are doing all this very wrong and you will regret it," he snapped, his voice sharp with anger as he stared straight at her. There was no calmness left in his tone now, the words coming out firmly, almost like a warning.

"Inspector!" Anvika shouted.

The inspector and his team were already making their way towards them. The moment the people noticed the officers approaching, the whispers started again. Reporters immediately turned their cameras towards them, several of them moving closer while others began asking questions over one another.

Anvika pointed towards Adhiraj.

"Do your work. Arrest him."

The inspector nodded and walked towards Adhiraj. He stopped in front of him, but there was a brief hesitation before he finally spoke.

"Sir... maaf kijiye, par humein aapko arrest karna padega, Rakshit Kothari ke murder case mein. Saare evidences aapke against mile hain, toh aapko humare saath thane chalna padega."

(Sir... I'm sorry, but we will have to arrest you in the murder case of Rakshit Kothari. We have found all the evidence against you, so you will have to come with us to the police station.)

Adhiraj didn't react immediately. He looked at the inspector for a few seconds, letting his words sink in. His anger was still there, but he no longer allowed it to show the way it had moments ago. He glanced briefly around the venue. Cameras were pointed towards him from every direction, people were watching, and reporters were already waiting for his reaction.

He knew better than to lose his temper here.

Whatever had happened between him and Anvika, he wasn't going to make another scene in front of the cameras. He straightened slightly, his expression settling back into the composure people were used to seeing from him.

Sahil, however, stepped forward immediately.

"Do you know what you are saying, Inspector? How can you arrest him?"

His voice rose with anger.

"I am sorry, par..." the inspector began.

"It's okay, Sahil. Calm down."

Adhiraj's voice was calm this time. He didn't even raise it. He looked towards Sahil for a moment, making it clear that he didn't want him to escalate the situation any further.

"Yeh sirf apna kaam kar rahe hain. Inki kya galti hai?"

(They are just doing their job. What fault is it of theirs?)

Sahil looked at him, still visibly angry.

"Par boss..."

(But boss)

Adhiraj held his gaze for a moment.

"Tu yaha pe sambhal lena. Main aata hu."

(You handle things here. I'll be back.)

Sahil's expression remained tense. He clearly didn't like what was happening, but he understood what Adhiraj was asking of him. After a moment, he nodded and stepped back.

Adhiraj turned towards the inspector and gave him a brief nod. "Chaliye, Inspector," he said, his voice composed again. The inspector nodded and moved aside to let him pass. As Adhiraj began walking towards the police van, the reporters immediately surged forward, their cameras following him while questions started coming from every direction.

"Sir, are you being arrested for Rakshit Kothari's murder?"

"Sir, do you have anything to say about the allegations against you?"

"Is it true that you were the last person seen with Rakshit Kothari?"

The questions overlapped as the cameras kept flashing around him, but Adhiraj didn't stop or turn towards them. He continued walking with the same composed expression, not giving the media the reaction they were clearly waiting for. The crowd slowly parted as the inspector and his team accompanied him, while people around them whispered among themselves, trying to make sense of what they had just witnessed.

When they reached the police jeep, the inspector opened the front passenger door for Adhiraj. There was no question of making someone like him sit in the back like an ordinary accused. Adhiraj got into the front seat without a word, while the inspector turned towards the driver.

"Move to the back. I'll drive."

The driver immediately stepped out and moved to the back seat without questioning him. The inspector then took the driver's seat, started the jeep and drove away from the venue. Within seconds, a group of reporters rushed after it, cameras in hand, trying to capture more footage and get a statement from Adhiraj, while others hurried towards their teams, already discussing the arrest among themselves.

..................................

So, finally... how was this chapter? 😭

I have honestly put so much effort into this one, especially the whole confrontation, Anvika finally facing Adhiraj, her emotions, the slap, and everything that followed. This chapter was important because so many emotions finally came out in one place, and I really hope I did justice to the scene 🤧

I know you guys have been waiting for this confrontation, so please tell me what you felt while reading it. I genuinely want to know your thoughts, especially about Anvika and Adhiraj's scene. 👀

And please, don't just read and disappear this time 😔 do vote and leave a comment. 

Also, I know this chapter is a little delayed. My exams are going on, so I haven't been able to get much time to write, but I still managed to write this one for you all 🫠

And now, a little heads-up... there won't be any updates until mid-September because of my exams. 😭🥀 I hope you guys will understand and wait for me till then 🥹🎀

And please do vote and comment on this part too and tell me what you thought about it. Your votes and comments genuinely make all the effort worth it 🫶🏻