Agni was finally ready to leave. Although his bag contained only a few belongings, the decision he had made carried the weight of an entire lifetime. His grandmother stood quietly near the door, trying her best to appear strong, but the sadness in her eyes was impossible to hide. Ever since Agni had told her about his decision, a constant ache had settled inside her heart. She wanted to stop him. She wanted to tell him not to go anywhere and remain by her side forever. After all, he was the child she had raised with her own hands, the child whose laughter brought happiness to her days and whose tears kept her awake throughout countless nights. The bond she shared with him was far deeper than blood alone. However, despite the pain she was feeling, she knew that keeping him here would be the greatest selfishness of her life. This house had never given Agni the love he deserved. Every corner of this mansion reminded him of rejection, neglect, and loneliness. She knew that if he stayed here any longer, he would continue suffocating beneath the weight of expectations and indifference. A bird whose wings were meant to conquer the skies should never be imprisoned inside a cage, and perhaps that was why she remained silent despite the storm raging inside her heart.

Agni's physical condition was still far from normal. Spending two entire days locked inside a dark storeroom without proper food, water, or care had left his body weak and exhausted. Even now, every movement drained his energy. His face had lost its color, and his steps lacked strength, yet none of that weakness could be seen in his eyes. The fire burning within them was brighter than ever before. There was confidence in his gaze, determination in his posture, and an unbreakable resolve hidden behind his silence. Although his body belonged to a thirteen-year-old child, his soul carried the experiences of a man who had already lived through betrayal, heartbreak, loneliness, and even death itself. Sitting quietly on the edge of the bed, Agni looked at his grandmother without saying a word. Among all the people living under this roof, she was the only one who had ever loved him without conditions. She was the only one who had never made him feel unwanted. Whenever the world turned its back on him, she was the one who stood beside him. Whenever he cried, she was the one who wiped away his tears. Whenever he felt abandoned, she was the one who reminded him that he still mattered.

Perhaps that was why looking at her now stirred a deep ache inside his chest. The sight of her immediately pulled him back into memories he had spent years carrying like invisible scars. Memories of another life. Memories of two people whose absence had left a wound that never truly healed.

The memories of his grandfather and grandmother slowly surfaced inside his mind. They were the only two people who had truly considered him their own. In his previous life, when he was twenty years old, he had received the heartbreaking news that his grandfather had passed away. For years, the old man had suffered from a mysterious illness that slowly destroyed his body from the inside. Day after day, month after month, his condition continued worsening despite every treatment they tried. Watching the man she loved suffer like that had broken his grandmother emotionally. She spent years taking care of him, sacrificing her own happiness without ever complaining. The doctors had already declared that the chances of recovery were almost nonexistent, but she continued praying for a miracle. Unfortunately, that miracle never came. The day his grandfather died, something inside his grandmother shattered completely. She loved her husband more than her own life, and losing him created a void she could never fill. The shock was so severe that by the same evening, she too left this world. Not because she was physically ill, but because her heart simply refused to continue living without the person she loved the most.

Even after all these years, the memory still felt as painful as a freshly opened wound. However, what made that tragedy truly unbearable was not just losing them it was the fact that he never got the chance to say goodbye.

The tragedy became even more painful because Agni never got the chance to see either of them one final time. He couldn't attend the funeral. He couldn't say goodbye. He couldn't even look at their faces for the last time. On the night before his grandfather's death, Agni had been the last person seen with him. That single fact became enough for people to accuse him of murder. Without any evidence, without any investigation, and without any concern for the truth, fingers were pointed directly at him. He was arrested before he could even process what was happening. Those days became some of the darkest moments of his life. Fortunately, his friend Yashveer refused to abandon him. Yashveer's father was a respected lawyer, and after a long struggle, they managed to prove Agni's innocence. However, by the time he was released, everything was already over. The only two people who had loved him unconditionally were gone forever, leaving behind nothing but memories and regrets.

Their deaths had left him completely alone in a world that had never truly accepted him. Yet even in the darkest phase of his life, fate wasn't finished with him. It was during that lonely chapter that someone unexpected entered his world and slowly became a part of it.

After losing his grandparents, Agni had spent months drifting through life like a man without a destination. Then one day, he met someone who understood him. Someone who listened to him without judging him. Someone whose presence made the noise inside his mind disappear. For the first time in years, he found himself feeling comfortable around another person. Slowly, he became attached to her. Her smile brought him peace. Her words brought him comfort. And because he was only twenty years old and emotionally inexperienced, he mistook that attachment for love. Maybe it truly was love. Maybe it wasn't. Perhaps destiny had merely sent her into his life to teach him something. Or perhaps she was the person he was always meant to meet. Only the future could answer that question.

A faint smile appeared on Agni's lips before quickly disappearing. This time, however, he refused to leave everything in the hands of destiny. He already knew too many truths that others didn't.

One of those truths concerned his grandfather's death.

The old man had not become sick naturally.

He had been murdered.

Slowly.

Patiently.

Cruelly.

Someone had poisoned him over a long period of time. A carefully designed slow poison had destroyed his organs one by one until there was nothing left to save. Agni had discovered this horrifying truth only during the final moments of his previous life. While trapped inside the burning basement where he met his own death, he had overheard two men discussing how perfectly their plan had worked. They laughed about it. They celebrated it. They spoke proudly about how nobody had ever suspected them. Agni had desperately tried to see their faces, but the smoke and flames had made it impossible. The only thing he managed to notice was a strange tattoo on the wrist of one of those men. Even now, that tattoo remained engraved inside his memory like a mark burned into stone. This time he would find them. Every single one of them. And this time, they would not escape.

Lost in those thoughts, Agni didn't even realize how much time had passed. The memories of the past had swallowed him so completely that he failed to notice when he stood up from the bed or when he reached the doorway.

It was only when his grandmother's trembling voice called out to him that he finally returned to reality.

Slowly raising his head, he noticed a man standing outside. The man was dressed in a black suit and black trousers. Beside him stood a black Thar. The moment the man saw Agni's grandmother, he immediately lowered his head respectfully in greeting. The reason behind that respect was something almost nobody knew. Agni's grandmother wasn't an ordinary woman. She belonged to a powerful mafia family. Every member of that family was connected to the underworld in one way or another. Agni knew this secret. His grandfather had known it too. But nobody else in the Randhawa family had any idea. Years ago, Agni's grandmother had fallen deeply in love with his grandfather. For that love, she gave up everything. Her power. Her influence. Her position. She handed over her entire empire to her younger brother and chose a simple life with the man she loved instead. The man standing outside was one of the trusted bodyguards from that very family. To everyone else, she appeared to be nothing more than a loving old woman who adored her family. But Agni knew the truth. He knew exactly who she was and exactly what she had sacrificed.

For a few moments, neither of them spoke. Some goodbyes were simply too painful for words. They stood there looking at each other, silently trying to memorize a moment they both knew would never return.

Finally, Agni stepped forward and gently kissed his grandmother's forehead.

The old woman immediately closed her eyes.

As if she wanted to preserve that feeling forever.

As if she wanted to lock this moment inside her heart.

As if she was afraid that once he walked away, only memories would remain.

Then Agni stepped back and forced a small smile onto his face.

"Dadi... bye."

(Grandma... bye.)

The single word shattered whatever composure she had left. Tears instantly filled her eyes. Her lips trembled, yet she still smiled and raised her hand to wave back at him. She watched silently as the boy she loved more than her own life turned around and walked away.

Toward a new beginning.

Toward a second chance.

Toward a future waiting to be rewritten.

This time, Agni wasn't leaving to escape his past.

He was leaving to conquer his future.

And somewhere deep inside his heart, a promise had already been made.

One day, he would return.

Not as the helpless boy everyone ignored.

But as a man powerful enough to change the fate of everyone who had once looked down on him.