zeal of his love

LET THE GAME BEGIN

The phone vibrated against the dashboard as Vansh swiped the screen, and the call connected instantly. A trembling breath on the other end made his stomach knot. Then her voice erupted, strained and desperate,

 "Vansh, the brakes—they're not working!"

His brows knitted.

"What?"

His voice slow with unease building, tension crawling up his dead heart, seizing his soul,

"Mainy sab try kar liya Vansh." 

(I—I've tried everything!)

 Her words cracked, her breaths sharp and erratic, almost drowned by the faint screech of tires in the background.

"Par car nahi ruk rahi hai. Mai tumhare peeche car lekar nikli thi, mujhe nhi pta kaise....please kuch karo..."

(They won't stop, Vansh. I was following you in another car, I don't know how this happened. Please, do something)

Vansh scrunched his eyes, focusing on the rearview mirror, and sure enough soon, he could make the silhouette of a car speeding behind wobbling through the road. The only good thing was they both were miles away from the busy bustling streets of the city. This was Vansh's area, his kingdom. His brain raced. Riddhima gripped the steering wheel in her car until her knuckles turned white. The metal beneath her palms felt ice-cold despite the heat radiating off her panic. She pressed the brake pedal with all her might, her heel digging into it as though sheer force could will it into action. Nothing. The engine roared in defiance, the speedometer climbing with each passing second. She glanced frantically at the road ahead—a blur of asphalt and fog. Her fingers trembled, slick with sweat, as she fought the instinct to scream. Her hammering heart thudded against her chest, her one hand on her stomach, fisting her kurti pressing as she blinked rapidly, trying to clear her foggy vision when,

"Riddhima, turn off the ignition..."

Vansh's voice thundered through the speaker, 

"Kya?"

(What?)

"Turn off the ignition Riddhima"

Vansh screamed again, his urgent voice trying to break through her clouding fear,

"I—what if I lose control?"

she stammered, tears welling in her eyes. Her throat felt tight like a vice was closing around it, squeezing every ounce of air from her lungs.

"Riddhima!" 

Vansh barked. 

"Meri baat dhyan se suno. Kuch nahi hoga, I promise you. Jaisa mai keh raha hu, vaisa karo. Shift to neutral first, then kill the ignition."

(Listen to me. You can do this. Shift to neutral first, then kill the ignition.)

Her breaths came in ragged gasps. She licked, her lips, fisting her quaking palms around the steering wheel, her knuckles white in protest as she stared ahead with determination,

"Okay...okay..."

She whispered to herself, her shaking hands reaching for the gear shift. Her car jolted as she managed to force it into neutral, the growl of the engine lessening but the wheels still hurtling forward.

"Vansh, it's not working," 

she cried, her voice cracking under the strain breaking into full-blown sobs.