“Don’t do this,” I say again. “You seriously want to spend the rest of your life rotting in jail?”
“I’ll worry about that later. For now, I want you gone.”
But before I can rack my brain for a way to escape this psycho, the door bursts open and Sidharth storms in, fury evident in his every stride.
“Sidharth!” I cry out, relief and terror crashing in my chest. He takes in the scene and instantly positions himself between Maya and me, shielding me from her.
I grab his arm instinctively, my fingers digging into his shoulder. “Sidharth, she’s lost it. We need to go!”
He doesn’t respond. His cold gaze stays locked on Maya.
“Put the gun down,” he growls.
Maya’s lips curl maniacally. “Do you really think I’m that stupid?”
Sidharth shrugs off my hold and takes a slow step towards her.
“Don’t move!” she shrieks, her finger twitching on the trigger. “One more step, and I’ll shoot!”
“Sidharth, please don’t…” My voice cracks, but he ignores me and takes another step forward.
Before I can reach out to stop him, Maya fires. The deafening sound of the gunshot tears through the air. My heart stops, the world tilting beneath my feet, as I see Sidharth jerk back. I watch in horror as he staggers, and then before I can react, he lunges forward and wrestles the gun from Maya’s hand.
Sidharth snarls at her, “Your game is over.”
The door bursts open just then, and Viraj storms in with two female constables. It all happens at once. Maya thrashes and screams as they handcuff her, shouting curses that fade into the background, but at this point, all I can see is Sidharth. I immediately rush to him.
“Sidharth,” I cry, holding him just as his legs give out and we both collapse to the floor. I look down and see his shirt soaked in blood, his breathing uneven, his eyes fluttering shut.
Panic claws at my chest. “No, no, no… stay with me, please….” I beg, my voice breaking as I cradle his head in my lap, his blood seeping into my T-shirt.
Viraj is already shouting into his phone. “We need an ambulance at Sector Nine, now! Officer down. I repeat, officer down!”
“Sshhh… relax, okay?” I whisper, trying to sound calm even as my world shatters around me. “Help is on the way. Just stay with me. Please.”
He coughs weakly, but his eyes remain shut.
“Open your eyes…” I choke out between sobs, brushing his hair back with shaky fingers. “Please, look at me!”
As if hearing me, his eyes slowly flutter open, and his lips curl into the faintest smile.
“I… was right,” he rasps.
Tears spill down my cheeks as I nod. I know exactly what he means… about his instinct, about the feeling that troubled him, that something was off ever since he caught Prakash and Deepak.
“I know,” I whisper, nodding through the tears. “You were right. You always are.”
His breathing grows ragged, and his eyelids become heavy, threatening to close again.
“No!” I shake my head, panic rising in my chest. “You’re not allowed to go. Do you hear me? You are not allowed to go!” My voice cracks as I lean closer. “You have to stay. I haven’t even told you about all the colleges I picked. You promised you’d help me choose.”
Sidharth smiles weakly at me. His eyes are barely open now.
“You promised to take care of me. You can’t break that promise now,” I say, placing his hand against my heart.
“I… I… love…” he tries to speak, but it breaks into a choking sound, followed by a fresh gush of blood.
“I love you. I love you, Sidharth. Please, please don’t leave me.” My hands tremble as I press harder on the wound, desperate to stop the bleeding.
