đź’” The Contract Groom
The rain slowed.
Not completely.
But enough for silence to become terrifying again.
Every eye turned toward the man standing beside the black sedan.
Sriyansh Choudhary.
One of the most powerful businessmen in the world.
A man feared in boardrooms more than politicians.
A man who never appeared personally unless something truly mattered.
And right now—
his eyes remained fixed only on Aryan.
Not on the guns.
Not on the battlefield.
Not even on Professor Veer.
Only him.
"…I finally found you."
Those words echoed through Aryan's mind like a forgotten memory reopening itself.
Another flash struck instantly.
A child sleeping safely on someone's chest.
Warm hands fixing a blanket carefully.
A voice whispering—
"Nothing will happen to you while I'm here."
Aryan staggered slightly.
Because that memory felt different.
Not laboratory pain.
Not fear.
Love.
Real love.
Sasmita immediately noticed the change in his eyes.
"Aryan…"
But he barely heard her.
Professor Veer slowly smiled again beneath the rain.
"How emotional," he murmured softly.
Ravan's expression darkened instantly.
"You should've stayed away, Sriyansh."
Sriyansh finally looked toward him now.
Years of silence.
Years of buried hatred.
And yet—
his voice remained calm.
"You stole him from me."
The atmosphere turned deadly instantly.
Nandu's men tightened their grips on weapons.
The Circle operatives repositioned carefully.
Nobody wanted war between these men.
Because if it started—
the city itself could burn.
Ravan stepped forward slowly through the rain.
"I saved him."
"No," Sriyansh replied coldly.
"You erased him."
Aryan looked between them silently.
Confused.
Angry.
Lost.
"What is he talking about?" he asked sharply.
No one answered immediately.
Then—
unexpectedly—
Sriyansh looked directly into Aryan's eyes and spoke softly.
"You were raised in my house for three years."
Silence.
Sasmita's eyes widened.
Even Nandu looked shocked.
Aryan's heartbeat slowed dangerously.
"What?"
Another memory surfaced.
A large mansion.
A piano melody somewhere in the distance.
A man teaching him chess patiently.
Sriyansh.
"No…" Aryan whispered.
Sriyansh nodded slowly.
"Your mother trusted me."
Ravan's jaw tightened instantly.
"Enough."
But Sriyansh ignored him.
"The night your mother escaped the Circle…"
His eyes darkened painfully.
"…she brought you to me."
Thunder rolled across the sky again.
"She knew Ravan couldn't protect both of you forever."
Aryan stared silently.
Then another painful memory exploded inside him.
A woman crying.
Holding him tightly.
A final kiss on his forehead.
"Be good… okay?"
His chest tightened violently.
"She left me there…" he whispered.
Sriyansh's expression cracked slightly for the first time.
"She planned to return."
Silence.
"But she never did."
Even the rain sounded quieter now.
Aryan slowly looked toward Ravan.
"You knew where I came from this whole time."
Ravan didn't deny it.
"Yes."
The honesty hurt again.
"Then why hide him from me?" Sriyansh demanded sharply.
Ravan's eyes became cold instantly.
"Because the Circle discovered your connection."
That answer froze everyone briefly.
Professor Veer chuckled softly.
"He's right."
Sriyansh looked toward Veer with visible disgust.
"You destroyed her life."
"No," Veer replied calmly.
"She destroyed herself by loving weak people."
Aryan's grip on the gun tightened instantly again.
But before anyone reacted—
Sasmita suddenly noticed movement.
One Circle operative near the vehicles was secretly activating something on a device.
Her instincts screamed instantly.
"DOWN!"
Too late.
A loud electronic pulse exploded through the area.
Every vehicle alarm activated instantly.
Lights flickered violently.
Communication devices died.
Then—
the transformed operatives began screaming.
Not human screams.
Something worse.
They clutched their heads violently as black veins spread faster across their bodies.
Professor Veer's expression changed instantly.
"No…"
The device had overloaded the serum.
One operative suddenly attacked another Circle soldier brutally, tearing through him with uncontrollable aggression.
Another smashed his own head repeatedly against the vehicle.
Complete mental collapse.
Nandu shouted sharply—
"Everyone fall back!"
But the battlefield had already lost control.
The unstable soldiers charged wildly in every direction now.
No targets.
No orders.
Only violence.
Gunfire exploded again.
Chaos returned instantly.
Sriyansh's security team surrounded him quickly.
Ravan pulled a weapon immediately.
Sasmita ducked behind cover.
And in the center of it all—
Aryan stood motionless.
Because suddenly—
he heard something.
A voice.
Hidden beneath the chaos.
Familiar.
Then slowly—
he turned toward the forest area beyond the road.
A figure stood there silently beneath the rain.
Face hidden.
Watching everything.
And the moment Aryan saw the silver pendant around the stranger's neck—
another forgotten memory returned completely.
A child version of himself smiling beside a little girl.
Both wearing identical pendants.
His breathing stopped.
Impossible.
Because only one thought existed in his mind now.
She survived?