This Chapter is dedicated to one of my close friend @1999Su

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Liam was fuming, and Vikrant guessed he had seen more than them just hugging. He gulped and climbed down his bike.

'Liam.'

'Bhai.'

They said fearfully. Liam let go of the gate and charged towards Vikrant.

'Bhai!' Annie gasped as he punched Vikrant hard in his jaw. He fell back.

'You rascal.' Liam growled. Vikrant straightened holding his jaw.

'Li-Liam, let me ex-' He couldn't talk further as Liam had hit hard in his gut. Vikrant held his stomach and fell forward. Annie dropped all the books and hurried to them. Liam had raised his arm to hit the vulnerable Vikrant again, but this time Annie held his arm.

'Bhai please, don't.' Annie cried trying to move her brother.

Clenching his hurting stomach, Vikrant fell to his knees. Liam angrily kicked Vikrant and he fell to the ground.

'Vikrant.' Annie cried letting go of Liam. She leaned but her brother held her arm.

'Please, leave me, Bhai.' Annie pleaded but Liam was too angry. He grasped her wrist tightly and tugged her arm harshly.

'Come, come.' He pulled her. Annie refused to move, she kept looking at Vikrant. He was lying in the middle of the road.

Liam let's go of Annie's hand and pushed her. She winced as she fell on the road. Liam glared at her, his eyes ablaze.

'Stay here. I will deal with you later.' He growled at her. Then, he turned and walked towards Vikrant. He held his arm. Vikrant groaned as Liam dragged him. Annie got up and ran to him and pleaded Liam to leave him, but he doesn't. Hearing all the commotion, Aarti's Dad and younger brother came out. They looked confusedly at Liam and gasped upon seeing unconscious Vikrant.

'Bhai, please.'

'Shut up!' Liam pushed Annie with his free arm. He dragged Vikrant and dumped him in the bushes. Annie was crying profusely now but that didn't melt Liam. He held Annie's arm tightly and forcefully turned her. She looked back and tried her best to free her arm from his grip but couldn't. Liam was stronger.

As they passed, Vikrant's bike. Liam kicked it hard and it fell with a crash. Annie let out a small cry, but Liam wasn't deterred. He kept dragging her.

'Bhai, please, leave my hand. I want to go to Vikrant.' She sobbed. Liam stopped and turned to look at her. He glared at her.

'Bhai, please, please. I love him.' Annie confessed in between her cries. Liam stared at her for a second before slapping her hard.

'Shut up, Annie. You have gone mad.' He said bitterly and grabbed her arm again. Annie stopped crying. She was stunned that her elder brother has slapped her. He had never raised even a finger at her. As a child, he had always protected her but today, he slapped her. Liam tugged her arm and dragged her with him. Now, she had stopped protesting. Dazed, she let him take her.

After they had gone some distance, Aarti's father asked his son to get a glass of water. He nodded and ran inside. Aarti's father hurried to Vikrant.

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Vikrant felt a sprinkle of water on his face. He squeezed his eyes shut and winced clenching his stomach. That punch was so hard that he could still feel his guts hurting. He hoped there shouldn't be any internal bleeding. He felt something soft underneath him. Slowly, his eyes flickered open and he looked around. Not so familiar face came to his vision. Vikrant shifted.

'Relax, beta.' The man said softly. He held his shoulder and gestured him to relax. Vikrant realized he was on the bed of this man. He looked around and found a woman, a boy, and a young girl looking at him.

'Aarti.' He managed to say. The girl looked back fearfully and hid behind her mother.

'Son? How are you feeling now?' The man asked. His tone soft and kind. Vikrant blinked.

'An-Annie...?' Then he remembered how furious Liam was and so he feared he might have hurt Annie. He tried sitting up and kept constantly calling Annie's name. The man, Aarti's father, held his shoulder. He insisted Vikrant rest, but he kept refusing. The man sighed and asked his son to help Vikrant to his home. Aarti's home wasn't very far from their home.

Upon reaching home, to Vikrant's bad luck Mrs. Singh Junior opened the door. She had begun panicking on seeing her son hurt so badly. Every family member rushed to him and began bombarding him with questions. Vikrant lied that he had a bike accident near Aarti's home. His bike was still lying there. Aarti's brother assured them he will get the bike tomorrow.

Dev sat beside Vikrant on the sofa. The ladies were busy cursing the bike while Dadu and Rahul kept discussing how everything happened.

'Bhai?' Dev asked softly. Vikrant sighed and looked sadly at him. Dev was taken aback by the look. He inhaled deeply.

'Annie?' He asked. Vikrant nodded and looked away. Dev had tears in his eyes, he leaned and wrapped his arm around his brother.

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Later that night, Vikrant tried calling Annie multiple times, but her phone was switched off. He feared they must have done something bad to her. Around midnight, he began feeling better and he could walk too. He wanted to go to Annie's home and make sure she was alright. But he dropped the idea as he didn't want her to get into more trouble. He tried relaxing in his bed and sleep but couldn't. He kept thinking of Liam and his anger. All of this made him worry more. 

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Me after the Chapter

What are your thoughts on the Chapter, guys? Drop your comments, please *smiles*