Agni had a few files in his hand. Placing them on the table, he glanced around while the men who had come with him settled into their seats. The meeting had barely started when an unexpected sound came from the adjoining room.

“Ummm…”

Everyone froze. Their eyes darted from one face to another, pretending not to notice what they all clearly heard. Agni clenched his jaw and shut his eyes tightly, already knowing what this was about.

“This won’t go in that easily.... If we keep wrestling like this, I’ll miss my meeting.” a man’s muffled voice from inside. “We’ll have to widen the hole with a knife.”

“Are you insane? Just push a little harder; you are a pro at it, and it’ll go in smoothly.”

Every man seated at the table looked utterly horrified. Eyes widened, throats cleared, and everyone tried to hide their expressions. Agni covered half his face with his hand, silently begging the universe for mercy.

Then

“Ahhh...” she screamed.

That was it. All the men except Agni jumped up instantly, their faces turning red with embarrassment. Agni slowly lifted his head, glaring at the door as if it had personally offended him. One of the men coughed awkwardly and said.

“Uh… Azaan sir seems a bit… busy right now. We’ll just… come back later.”

Before Agni could say a word, they all bolted from the room like guilty teenagers caught sneaking out of class. Agni sighed heavily, rubbing his temples and muttering something under his breath about murder being an easier job than friendship.

A few minutes later, Azaan emerged, wearing a freshly pressed shirt, blissfully unaware of the chaos he’d caused. Finding the room empty, he grinned, clapped Agni on the shoulder, and said cheerfully.

“Hey… Weren’t we supposed to have a meeting? Where did everyone run off to all of a sudden?”

Agni raised a brow at him, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. “They ran off after hearing your… unpaid live performance. You were a little too busy inside.”

Azaan blinked, confused. “Busy? What are you talking about?”

Then realization hit.

INSIDE THE ROOM (Earlier)

Azaan had just kissed Aayat softly on the forehead and was about to get up when she suddenly pulled him back onto the bed, straddling his lap with a mischievous grin.

“Your wife designed a new suit for you,” she said, eyes gleaming. “You’ll wear that one.”

“Of course,” he said instantly, smiling like a fool in love. “Whatever my wife says, I obey.”

She hurried off to fetch the suit while he wrapped a bedsheet around his waist and ran a hand through his hair. When she came back holding the suit, she caught him half-dressed and whistled playfully.

“So hot…” she teased.

“All yours, sweetheart,” he shot back with a grin. “But I really have to get ready now. You know your Agni Bhai will be here soon with that mountain of files. Since marrying you, I’ve started holding meetings at home, I can’t stand being away from you for long.”

Aayat laughed loudly, handing him the suit. He slipped into his pants and began buttoning his shirt but soon frowned. The button wouldn’t fit into the hole.

He looked at her accusingly. Aayat was a brilliant designer, just one with a terrible sense of measurements. She caught his look and, instead of admitting her mistake, marched over, muttering under her breath.

“Give it to me. You just don’t know how to button properly.”

She grabbed the fabric and started forcing the button through. It wasn’t budging.

“Ummm…” she grunted, pushing harder.

Azaan groaned. “If we keep wrestling like this, I’ll miss my meeting.”

He reached over to the bedside table, grabbed a knife, and said, dead serious.

“This won’t go in easily... I’ll have to widen the hole with a knife.”

Aayat gasped. “Are you insane? Just push a little harder; you are a pro at it, and it’ll go in smoothly.”

He smirked but followed her stubborn logic, holding the shirt tightly while pressing the button with all his strength using her finger in his hand. It went in along with her thumb.

“Ahhhh …” she screamed.

BACK TO THE PRESENT

Azaan was now laughing hysterically at the memory, while Agni’s expression hadn’t changed an inch. He sat still, his face as unreadable as stone. Azaan’s laughter died down slowly as he realized Agni wasn’t amused in the slightest. Clearing his throat, he sat down quietly.

Just then, the men who had fled earlier returned, pretending nothing had happened. The meeting resumed, though a few tried hard not to look toward Azaan. Every time Azaan’s gaze drifted toward his bedroom door, someone bit back a smile.

Azaan had been married barely two months, and everyone in the house knew he couldn’t stay away from his wife for more than fifteen minutes. Watching him sneak glances toward the door was both ridiculous and oddly endearing. A few chuckles escaped around the table. Even Agni, who rarely smiled, shook his head with quiet amusement, a faint grin ghosting across his lips.

Azaan and Agni shared a bond that went far deeper than business. They were brothers by heart, two men who had crawled through the same darkness. Both had once been part of the underworld, bound to blood and crime. But ever since Azaan married Aayat, he wanted out. He wanted a clean life. And Agni was helping him get it because if anyone deserved peace, it was his best friend.

As the meeting finally ended, Azaan jumped over the couch like a kid and ran straight toward his bedroom to meet Ayaat again. Everyone burst out laughing. Agni buried his face in his hand, shaking his head with a rare, genuine smile spreading across his face. He turned slightly toward Azaan’s room, that faint smile still lingering.

Because for the first time in a long time, he was truly happy, happy for his friend. He picked up a file, laughed, and was about to walk away when both his men came up in front of him. He gestured for them to sit with him; without much conversation, they quietly took their seats. Agni himself sat behind the wheel, staring straight ahead. The silence was meaningful, and they all understood it. Finally, one of the men spoke.

"We have everything on the girl we found the night before last, the one who witnessed Mittal's death."

Agni nodded slightly. The man opened the file without delay and began to read aloud.

“Driti Mehra… 22 years old. Born with a silver spoon in her mouth, Daddy’s little princess, very pampered. "

Agni snapped to attention and glared at him; his jaw tightened and veins throbbed in his neck. Agni stared forward at the file. The image of the helplessness he’d seen in her eyes kept replaying, he knew now that his first impression hadn’t been wrong. It made him feel suddenly wrong inside, and he refused to let himself be proven wrong; that was his biggest problem. Anger flared up, but as the man continued, Agni’s temper slowly cooled. The man still spoke on.

“She was a fine arts student but never completed her education because her father, Ravi Mehra, was accused by the government six months ago in an enormous fraud case that no one could help him escape from. To save himself, he struggled fiercely, but when he realized the matter had slipped out of control and that if the police got on him, his life would be spent in jail, he vanished…. Some say he ran away with whatever money he could hide from the government. The girl who used to be her father’s princess is now out on the road. She has two younger siblings, twins, and a mother who works as a clerk in an office. She never finished her graduation. She tried to sell her paintings, but it didn’t help. Both the younger siblings are seventeen; they go to school. They left their old town to try a new life here. The last six months have made their life turn to stone. The girl does food delivery during the day and works in a club at night to earn decent money; that’s how she gets around. However, for the past two days, she has not returned home from the alley where Mehta was killed…. She’s never seen hardship before in her life; what she’s doing now is actually admirable.”

They drove in silence until they reached the office. Agni stepped out of the car and walked inside; the two men exchanged looks. These two were Ram and Abdul; they’d been working with Agni for many years. With them by his side, nothing could happen to Agni. Azaan had specifically assigned these two to Agni’s security, and today they wouldn’t hesitate to lay down their lives for him. Seeing him enter the office, Abdul immediately turned to Ram and said.

“Do you think we should tell Azaan Bhaijaan everything?”

“And if Agni Bhai finds out, we’ll be dead,” Ram replied.

“I’m ready to die,” Abdul said. “Ever since I saw Azaan Bhaijaan so happy, I’ve wanted nothing more than to find a nice girl for Agni Bhaijaan. This girl, she’s good. It’s the first time he has shown interest in a girl; I won’t let this individual go.”

They looked at each other and shook hands.

Driti counted the delivery money, took a deep breath, and glanced at her scooter; the petrol was nearly finished. She didn’t know whether to fill it up now or not, because it was already getting late and there were no more delivery requests coming in. If she topped up petrol now, her younger brother would surely go out riding the scooter with his friends again and use it up. She had explained the situation to him, but all she got in return was her brother’s annoyance. She didn’t want to start another argument and ruin her mind over it. She looked around because for the last three or four days she had felt like someone was watching her, and every time that thought made her oddly happy, as if her father were secretly watching over them but couldn’t reveal himself because of the police. She didn’t think too hard about it; she just felt quietly glad that even if her father wasn’t in front of her, he was safe somewhere nearby. That gave her solace.

She took a deep breath, mounted the scooter, and drove off. Azaan smiled as he watched her, sitting in the back seat while Ram and Abdul looked on. He removed his sunglasses and said to them,

“Ufff… Agni told you that this girl must not have any problems and that you should have all the information on her…. So listen to me and do as I say: make sure this girl faces lots of trouble, and that all the information goes to Agni…. Got it?”

“Very well,” they replied.