Beauty and the Bodyguard

Chapter 12: Suffering

"Ishu, why do you have these awful protein chips stashed here? Tu khata toh nai hai, upar se mera setup kharab kar raha hai tu."

"They're not for me Bhai."

"Phir?"

At Ishan's silence, Siraj looked at Shikhar meaningfully.

"Ohhh, kisike liye save karke rakhe hai taaki bhook na lage, hai na?"

Ishan was a trained assassin - he could shoot an enemy from miles and hold up against torture, then why was he blushing like a teen?

His best friends, seeing the blush on his cheeks, ambushed him.

"Kya baat hai, sharmana bhi aata hai janaab ko?"

Not wanting to be accosted anymore, Ishan simply rolled his eyes and hightailed it out of there, but not before he heard the hoots from his friends.

He carried his smile all through the house, until he reached Shubi's room, where Shubman was sitting with Abhishek, one of his friends from college.

Abhishek waved at him, his mouth stuffed with chips.

"Ishan yaar, samjha na ye Shubi ko."

"If it's about taking his books away from him, tried and tested - maar nai khana mujhe."

"Nai. Yaha aa na, ye photos dekh toh."

When Ishan neared, Abhishek shoved the phone into his face.

It was a slew of photos of Shubman from a party he had attended. He had his arms around Sara, his friend and the daughter of a prominent industrialist, as he parted the throng of reporters for her and helped her inside the car. The media was hailing them as the next power couple, with everyone gushing over how beautiful they looked together.

Something cold churned in Ishan's stomach at the images - they did look beautiful together - he knew Sara held a candle for Shubman, could see it in her eyes when she spent time with Shubman. And how could she not? Shubman was everyone's dream come to life - beautiful, kind, and smart.

Shubman, who was currently trying to pry the phone away from Ishan's hands.

"Chup kar yaar Abhi. She's just a friend."

He was talking to his friend, yet his eyes were on Ishan, imploring him to understand something. But what?

Abhishek, oblivious, continued.

"Please, everyone can see the way she looks at you, you used to crush on her in school, and now everyone is shipping you two - Ishan, Sara achi hai na Shubman ke liye?"

Two sets of eyes swiveled around to look at him, holding Ishan hostage.

Ishan felt bile rise up his throat, but he answered.

"Of course, they look beautiful together."

Satisfied, Abhishek smirked at Shubman, but Ishan did not want to see what Shubman's eyes projected, so he ran away for the second time that day.

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He found himself in the training room at Shubman's house. He felt as if he had no strength left, as he dejectedly sat on the floor. Alone at last, he let the tears fall.

He had no idea when he had grown closer to Shubman. At first, he was intrigued by this boy who preferred to stay home, read books, and had so few friends — the complete opposite of Ishan, who would run his mouth off if someone did not stop him. But when he saw just how special Shubman was - his smile, his kindness, his honestly - Ishan was bowled over. He knew how cruel life could be, but whenever he looked at Shubman, a feeling of calm washed over him, as if he had finally find an anchor to calm himself. A surge of protectiveness had risen within him, culminating in a massacre that even Rohit bhai did not have words to explain.

But Ishan knew, knew what he must have done. He killed without remorse because he was good at his job, but for Shubi? He would burn the world down. Shubi, his Shubi, who wore oversized sweaters, tried to make himself small to avoid conversation, who would spend days with orphans, who would try to make his bodyguard smile...

Koi kaise pyar na kare?

Ishan had fallen, hard, but today was a harsh reminder that it could never be.

He and Shubman came from different worlds.

Shubman was light, the beauty from heaven, rich, with a future that would make him heir to an empire.

Ishan was no-one, an orphan who killed to make a living.

He laughed bitterly.

Sara was perfect for Shubman - she was equally kind and beautiful, a perfect match for Shubman. She came from his world - how much more obvious could it be?

Ishan held a hand over his mouth to stop himself from sobbing.

How could he ever harbor hopes of loving Shubman, when it was never meant to be?

He had vowed to never love anyone, never get close to anyone who could destroy him. He had seen Virat bhai, whose focus on his job made him the best he was, while also looking at Rohit, who was constantly worried for his family.

Alone was his destiny, to love Shubman from afar, to protect him but never let him come closer.

He wanted to blame someone, anyone - his parents for not staying with him, the world for making him the way he was, Shubman for making him fall for him - anyone, if it would lessen the pain in his heart.

The worst part was, Ishan knew Shubman had developed a crush on him as well. He was not an expert at hiding it - he stared at him, blushed when Ishan said something - but he was naive and innocent, what did he know of the world? Ishan will have to make sure the crush did not turn into anything else. Knowing Shubi, he would give it his all, but Ishan would never be able to leave then, would never get over it once Shubi found someone who suited him better, which was only a matter of time.

Wiping his tears, he resolved to never let either of their crushes morph into anything. If his heart broke a little every day, who cared anyways?