"Sometimes the heaviest weights we lift are the ones we carry in silence." – Veer.
Three Months Later
The clang of iron rang through the Mehta Combat Gym.
Veer exhaled sharply as he finished a set of heavy barbell squats. His muscles were trembling, his shirt was soaked with sweat, but he didn't stop. He dropped the weights, picked up the battle ropes, and launched into another round.
From the side, someone whistled.
"Oye, Veer!" came Kabir's voice, loud and teasing.
Veer turned, breathing hard.
Kabir smirked. "Losing weight is one thing, bro… but getting two stripes on your belt in two months? Are you on steroids or what?"
Veer just smiled faintly, wiping his face with a towel. "No shortcuts. Just pain. Every single day."
Kabir clapped him on the back. "You're a machine now. Rohit and his guys won't recognise you."
Veer nodded, but his eyes were distant.
He hadn't gone back to school yet. Not until he was ready. Not until Aaradhya came back.
As the others finished training and left the gym, Veer stayed behind, as usual.
He noticed the shadow again.
A man leaned against the far wall, face half-hidden by a hoodie. Slim but strong, movements sharp. He wasn't on the gym's roster. He never introduced himself. He never gave his name.
But every few days, he trained Veer in silence, just tasks.
Today, the man stepped forward again.
"Let's go."Veer blinked. "Huh? Again?""Muscle strength."Veer groaned, surprised. "Today too?""I'm tired."
Veer raised an eyebrow. "If you're tired, take a rest."
The man cracked a small smile for the first time. "Should we skip today, then tomorrow too? Keep postponing?"
Veer hesitated.
"…Postponing things is a bad habit."
The man nodded. "Good. Then let's go."
They began. Pulls. Slams. Pushes—every drill aimed at destroying weakness.
An hour later, Veer collapsed on the mat. The man sat beside him in silence.
Then asked, "You haven't visited the girl?"
Veer looked up. "Aaradhya?"
The man didn't answer. Just watched.
Veer sat up slowly, chest still rising and falling.
"No... I haven't. Her dad said she woke up after 12 days. But..."
Flashback – 2 Months Ago
The hospital corridor smelled like antiseptic and stale food.
Veer had rushed in the moment he heard she'd regained consciousness. Hope and dread clashed inside him like waves.
Raghav met him at the door. "She woke up," he said softly. "But…"
Veer pushed past him into the ward.
There she was.
Aaradhya. Pale. Fragile. Wires were taped to her arm. Her left knee was bandaged and stiff. The bruises on her face were healing, but her eyes…
They were open. Awake.
But when she saw him enter, they didn't light up.
They froze. Stiffened.
Veer stopped in his tracks.
He wanted to speak. Wanted to say something, anything.
But her eyes…
They said: "Don't come closer."
A nurse stepped in, blocking him gently. "She's not ready for visitors outside family."
The doctor followed. "She's withdrawn. Refusing to talk much. Only responds to her parents."
Veer stood silently at the door, fists clenched, heart sinking.
That was the last time he tried.
Back to Present – Gym
The mysterious instructor stood. "You stopped seeing her because she wouldn't talk?"
Veer's voice dropped. "She didn't need words. Her eyes were enough."
He looked down at his calloused hands.
"I swore to protect her. But I wasn't strong enough to stop it from happening. Now I'm not strong enough to face her guilt."
The man paused for a moment, as if measuring something.
Then said, "You'll need to be stronger than you ever imagined. Not just in the muscle. In resolve."
Veer looked up.
"You said you're tired," Veer said again, trying to change the subject.
The man gave a rare smirk. "I'm never tired. Just checking if you are."
Later That Night
Veer sat at home, staring at an old picture on his desk—Aaradhya holding a trophy, him beside her with a goofy grin.
He remembered how she used to joke, "You get scared even when a squirrel jumps at you."
Now… she was the one who needed protection.
His phone buzzed.
Raghav (Text): "Update from the police. Still no usable evidence. They're saying lack of CCTV and no eyewitnesses."
Veer typed:"They're lying or lazy."
Another message arrived seconds later.
Raghav: "They didn't mention this, but I checked. There's a school building camera that has a line of sight to the back wall. Police 'couldn't retrieve' footage. Doesn't add up."
Veer's mind raced.
Why would they hide footage? What if the police weren't just incompetent... but complicit?
He scrolled through his saved images—the ones from that day. A blurry photo of the back wall. The light pole. The angle.
Something felt off.
The Next Mornin', 5 AM AT the GYM BEFORE GOING TO SCHOOL
Veer arrived at the gym early.
The mystery instructor was already there.
Veer approached him with determination. "Do you know anyone in the force? Someone who could help?"
The man didn't respond at first.
Then: "Why?"
Veer held up his phone. "Because something's being covered up. I'm not going to let it go."
The man looked at him with unreadable eyes.
"Good," he finally said. "Because real fights don't happen in rings. They happen in shadows."
Veer nodded.
His muscles ached, but his heart was steady. Every drop of sweat, every bruise, every moment of weakness—he had burned them all into fuel. The boy who once hid behind his friend's shadow now walked into his own.
It was time
NOW IT'S TIME FOR TRUTH AND REVENGE
Meanwhile, Back at School…
Classroom 206 buzzed with the usual noise—chalk against the board, whispers behind textbooks, and Rohit leaning back arrogantly in his chair with his legs on the desk. His goons surrounded him as usual, throwing paper balls and cracking jokes.
The teacher had stepped out for a moment, and chaos reigned.
Just then, the door creaked open.
A girl entered, new to the class. Slim, confident, carrying a notebook and a curious smirk. She walked straight to Rohit.
The room went quiet as she stopped at his desk.
Rohit raised an eyebrow. "Who the hell are you?"
She smiled slightly. "Someone tall, strong, and… very handsome is waiting to meet you."
Rohit scoffed. "Is that supposed to be me?"
The girl shook her head. "No. He's waiting for you on the school rooftop. Said something about... a long-awaited conversation."
Rohit frowned. "Who?"
She tilted her head. "He said you'd remember him the moment you saw his eyes."
And then she walked away.
Rohit looked at his friends, confused but intrigued. "What kind of joke is this?"
End of Chapter 4
Next: Chapter 5 – "Return of the Snake"