ASRAN SERIES- ACROSS THE BORDER

Chapter - 67

“Mom, I understand what you are worried about but trust me on this one. I will not put myself in danger like before.” Peter said while looking at his mother, Sussan with a pleading look.

Sussan was not ready to give in and kept on looking at him with a stubborn expression. As he noticed that his mom was not going to let him go alone, all he could do was let out a sigh and his face showed a defeated expression.

“Alright, fine! If you are against me going alone by myself to meet the elder, then I will take Draven with me,” He announced and shocked everyone for a second.

Till now, he was hanging around Linda while flirting with her without minding the place or the situation they were in. As Linda lost her patience, she lifted her leg high in the air and kicked him on his stomach. 

When he heard his name being mentioned all of a sudden, he only raised his head for a second in shock. And then he went back to continue his flirting with Linda as if his name was not mentioned at all and decided to ignore everyone else other than the woman he was courting.

James coughed twice to alert Draven after noticing the way he was behaving towards Linda. He just wanted to kick that i***t and make him run around the field as his punishment for ignoring his duties. But right now he understood that the time was so precious as he decided to call Draven and asked him to go along with Peter.

“What? No! I need to give emotional support to Linda who just escaped from the evil witch. She had just come out of such trauma and needs me right now. Nothing is more important than her to me. So, I cannot go with that kid. I am sorry, Chief. Please send someone else on my behalf,” Draven replied relaxedly and shook his head from right to left.

He did not want to get involved in all these politics that were happening around him and only wanted to spend time with Linda alone. He looked at her and smiled like a stupid person who does not have a brain.

‘Don’t worry, I won’t leave you and go anywhere,’ He mouthed those words towards Linda and winked at her.

Linda, who was already getting irritated with all his teasing and wooing, could only kick him on his legs once again. She could not believe there would be someone on this planet who she would hate the most and would never want to meet again.

She suddenly thought that the evil witch’s cage was better than being with this stupid, Draven. As that thought crossed her mind, she shook her head once to get rid of those unnecessary thoughts.

She lifted her head high and asked him, “Who wants your emotional support? Did I ask you to give me any sort of help? Or is it because I have been putting up with you until now, that you have mistaken it for me having any interest in you?”

“No! I… I..” Draven was dumbstruck when she asked him so openly.

His ears turned red and he stuttered as words struggled not to come out of his mouth. He did not expect Linda to say it so openly that she had no interest in him and so he was shocked once again.

He knew about her mind but still, he could not accept it even now. From the day he met her, he had fallen completely head over heels for her. But Linda never even showed any curiosity towards him.

He was hurt but more than that he was ashamed that he was unable to control his heart. He had always thought that one day, he could change her mind and make her like him. But now when she asked such a harsh question to him, reality hit him and made his heart broken into a thousand pieces.

When Linda saw his saddened face, her heart ached but she wanted to clear the misunderstanding between them as soon as possible. She did not want to impact Draven and spoil his career by being with her. She is now almost a criminal and she does not want him to get caught in her mess.

So, she looked straight into his eyes without showing any emotions on her face and said through her gritted teeth, “Just go with Peter! Also, I hope that I would never have to see your face ever again! I heard that you kissed the clone who looked like me earlier. Eww… How could you even think of doing such a nasty thing to someone who resembles me? Moreover, you even have the nerve to come and talk to me so shamelessly. Go and love that clone forever and leave me alone!”

Draven's heart hurt a lot again and he lowered his head in shame. He then tried to explain that it was the clone who took advantage of him by kissing him unexpectedly. He was still as pure as before and would always wait for true love from Linda until his last breath.

Moreover, he did not want to be kicked again by her so he could not reply to her and continued to hang his head low. He then waited for a few seconds in hope that Linda would change her mind.

As that did not happen, with a broken heart he went near Peter and told him that he would follow him. Peter looked at him and wondered if he had made a good decision to bring this lovesick man in front of him along with him on this mission.

Before leaving, Peter instructed everyone to go near the border to help their clan cross across the border through the portals. Also, he informed his mother that, 

“Mom, you need to check each and everyone's hand for an invisible paint marking. Only those people belong to our clan and the ones who do not have the mark will be our enemy or our enemies lackey.”

He then turned towards James and said, “If my mom identifies anyone without those markings, then make sure to arrest them and place them somewhere no one could reach. Or if they try to put up a fight then Uncle James, you do know what to do.”

James nodded his head and prepared his team for the trip to the border. He did not want them unprepared like before and get caught in those sinkholes-like situations. So, he decided to take proper measures and informed his team to be well prepared through the communication devices.

Once he made sure that he had informed his team of all the required details, he walked towards Draven. He bent near his ears and whispered, “Keep safe and also take care of Peter. He may look young in our eyes but he is much more wise and mature than you. So, protect him and never let any harm towards him. He is someone we should protect with our lives.”

“Yes, chief!” Draven saluted and stood behind Peter.

Peter dropped a small smile at Draven after noticing his stiffened body. Draven nodded his head and glanced at Linda once. But Linda did not look at him and had her back towards him.

She was sure that if she turned her head and looked at his face then it would be difficult to let go of him. So, hiding her tears she faced towards the vast land opposite to her. At one point, she lost her vision as tears clouded her eyes.

She clenched her fist and closed her eyes. ‘No, I should stay strong! I am strong! I am strong! No! …. I am not… I am not strong…’ Her mind turned into turmoil.

At that time, Sussan came near her and held her shoulders. Linda hurriedly wiped her eyes and turned around with a bright face.

“Is it time for us to leave?” Linda asked her in a neutral tone.

There was no sadness or even a slight hint of her unhappiness was visible on her face. She looked like she did not care about Draven at all. 

“Yes, Let’s go,” Sussan understood her sorrow but decided to not let anyone know about it.

She knew that it’s not something she should involve as it depends on the two hearts. She was already in a difficult situation after knowing the truth about herself. So, she was unsure if she was in a condition to advise anyone right now.

She thought to let Brenda handle and help these youngsters' romance rather than her involvement in that matter as she was not so confident at that moment.