The Tranquil Predator ✔️

Chapter 21

Patricia's Pov

Our journey back home was awfully quiet.

After what happened in the trial room. I was an emotional mess. I couldn't look at him in the eye. Arjun on the other hand behaved the way he usually does. There wasn't even a tint of red on his cheeks. Maybe because the scene in the trial room didn't affect him that much. That hurt my feelings. Does he even have feelings for me? Or in his eyes am I just a toy to play with? A toy that can be thrown away once his work here is done. Or is he extremely good at hiding his feelings behind that strong masculine personality of his?

I stared out the window, looking at the small houses that blurred by. When a warm large hand touched my wrist and long fingers intertwined themselves with my dainty fingers. His hold was not tight. It was a hold that was strong enough to not let my hand go, yet gentle enough so that he doesn't hurt me.

"You said you wanted to get to know me better. Why haven't you asked anything yet?", he said as he looked at me. "Too shy?"

I gulped and said, "Nah, just don't know from where to begin"

"Ask me anything. The first question that pops into your mind. I am dying to see your interrogation skills", he said gleefully.

"Uh...why did you become a homicide detective?"

His eyes darkened and his smile faded. "Another question"

"Why? U said 'Ask me anything', didn't you?"

"Anything as in anything light. You need to know the present me before you know the past me", he retorted looking down at his sneakers.

"Uh...well, why do you suspect Praveen and Raghu? You got something on them?", I asked worriedly.

"I can't answer any questions related to an open case"

What is wrong with this man? First, he says 'ask me anything', then he won't answer a single question. This bipolar nutcase!

"Ugh fine! What's your favourite animal?", I asked annoyed.

"Tiger, yours?"

"Squirrel"

"Hmm, you even look like one", he chuckled as he cutely pinched my cheeks.

"I DO NOT!", I countered, blushing.

Arjun kept on laughing. That honey-coated voice was so contagious, I started laughing with him.

Soon Arjun became an open book. We talked throughout the journey. From his high school days to his first girlfriend and his string of partners that followed later on. He was a typical casanova. He had been living in Mumbai ever since he was six, but his native house was in Punjab. He still goes there sometimes, to meet his relatives. But that is very rare. Because of his excellent success rate, he is always given tricky cases and so he doesn't get many days for a proper holiday. He was fluent in seven languages namely Hindi, English, Marathi, Punjabi, French, Spanish, and German. So that meant he could speak three foreign languages.

I felt really stupid when he said that. I mean how many languages am I fluent in? Hindi, English, Malayalam, Marathi, and a bit of Korean. I didn't take any Korean classes though. My excellent vocabulary is thanks to the umpteen number of K-dramas I watch and K-pop songs I listen to. So am I fluent in 1 foreign language?

Nope! Can't count that as 'fluent'.

I too opened up about my relationship stories. How I got cheated on by my first and only boyfriend, TWICE! Because, well I forgave him the first time and a few months later, caught him cheating again. I told him about Ruchika and our bizarre incidents. On how she threatened to rip my ex's head off with her bare hands if he came anywhere near me.

"Uh...well, why do you dislike Praveen?"

"You being so friendly with him makes me jealous", he pouted and looked at me with his puppy eyes. I couldn't help but chuckle.

It was unusual how within a month I moved from despising this man to genuinely liking him.

"You know, as a child, I was an introvert. I barely had any friends. Majorly because I didn't know how to talk to people. So I always stayed in the library, reading different books, fantasy ones were my favourites. The characters in the books were my only company", Arjun said with a straight face. I stayed quiet and allowed him to continue.

"One day, when I was going home, I came across an old man. He was finding it difficult to cross the road so I offered to help. The man was very happy. He asked me to come over to his place and have some coffee and biscuits. I was hesitant at first but went with him either way."

"When we reached his place, I saw it wasn't even a proper house. It was like a small room with his belongings scattered everywhere. But none the less he was a generous host. He had a huge book collection. They were all second-hand books you find at a low price in some local stores but they were his treasure. I was bewildered when I saw those books. They were all of a genre I would barely read. They were mystery, thriller books. I was always engrossed in fantasy books, I didn't pay attention to any other genres. He was the one who introduced me to detective books. Sherlock, Hercule Poirot, hardy boys, Nancy Drew, Secret seven, Byomkesh Bakshi, Feluda, etc. He had all."

"I borrowed one book from him and said that I would return after reading it. That man smiled and said, "You are always welcome here". That was it. The start of our friendship. He became my first friend in school years. His books made me inquisitive. There were times I would solve the case before the protagonist could catch the murderer. That man helped me overcome my fear of crowd. He taught me ways of making friends, and I became more social because of him."

"So, that man was the reason why you got interested in this field?", I asked intrigued.

"That is partially true, not entirely", Arjun smiled sadly. 

A/N:

So, what do you think happened? Why did Arjun become a homicide detective? The story is coming to an end, please vote and comment. They make me really happy.