9:30 am, 24th July 2018, Tuesday, Chennai.

It's been five days since his encounter with the god, though Hari regards it as a hallucination somewhere deep inside he knew it was real.

His life has returned to his boring routine except for a couple of hours he spent with the dog.

The last couple of days, Hari has been taking half-an-hour permission in the morning with different excuses to spend some time wounded dog.

Fortunately for him, Lila went abroad for some projects, so he has been having a peaceful week without having to put up with her annoying High Princess attitude.

As usual, Hari drove his trusty motorbike to a restaurant and then went to the covert shed, the little dog makeshift home.

"Hi Fella, Shall we checkup your wound?"

Hari gently picked up the dog and did a thorough examination.

"Not bad, it seems you were a good boy. The cuts are closing up, Quite a progress."

Then he removed the old gauze and cleansed the wound with fresh water before giving a new dressing for the injury.

"Okay here's your reward for being an obedient boy. Delicious and highly nutritious chicken fries."

And Hari placed few chicken fries on the plate; he waited till the dog finished his food. Then he cleaned up the mess and started for his office after a small goodbye.

But what he didn't notice was a beautiful woman taking pics from a White BMW X5 few meters away from the shed.

Hari one hour later for the office and the rest was as dull as any other day. He just worked like a robot and finished all the work assigned to him without any sense of satisfaction.

The sun slowly set while there was a mild drizzle, rapidly bringing down the temperature. Hari was eagerly staring at the clocks as it sluggishly moved; each second seemed more extended than the previous one.

At the exact second the Hour hand struck 5:00 pm his mobile rung, Lila was calling him to her cabin.

The moment he entered Lila's cabin, he found her huffing and snorting with endless anger like a mad bear.

"Hari does your uncle reside in this shed or did you take in a dog as uncle?"

Earlier this morning on her way home she caught Hari in a covert corner of the street, playing with the dog.

Later that day, she received words that he has been taking half-an-hour permission for taking care of his seriously ill uncle.

Hari's blank, expressionless stare further infuriated her.

"Bastard you dared to cheat me, you're Boss. Shithead, I'll make this day your last and most regretful day in the company. It's that Naive fool's fault, he should have put you, low-level scams in their place."

Hari still didn't react; he just stood there like a wooden block without taking anything to his heart. But Hari deadpan face was a lot similar to a cunning poker face for Lila.

The rebukes were like punches on cotton; it didn't damage anything but her throat, so she decided to take some real serious action and took her mobile.

"Hello Dad, it's me; a guy here gets on my nerve. Just do whatever it takes to remove this guy. oh yeh! he's called Hari, an employee in the Finance department."

Lila looked over Hari with an arrogant smirk and crossed hands like an evil villain.

Deep down, she knew it was a bit too overboard, but Hari's poker-faced clouded her brains and anger could make you do the stupidest of behaviour.

Still, Hari didn't do anything radical, he just mildly sighed. He didn't care about the job, so he wasn't worried about losing the job.

Hari's unfazed eyes and inaudible sigh somehow pierced Lila's ego; she was too infuriated to notice something amiss about an employee's uncaring attitude towards his job.

After ending the call, she took her plight on revenge a bit too far just to provoke Hari.

"Dad, he seems to have a witty little brother who has made he was to IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) just make up some excuse to dismiss him. Also, investigate his parents and see what you get."

Lila finally achieved her goal the deadpan zombie faced employee lost his cool, and the level-headed guy hung his low; at least that's what she perceived.

Her last threat sparked the long-extinguished flames, after falling to the lowest point of his life Hari realized how precious and selfless familial love was; so he swore to cherish every bit of it from here onwards. Thus, his family became a reverse scale he gladly accepted.

Hari lowered his head while his eyes flickered a bit and room temperature plummeted by a few degrees. The moment Hari heard his family being targeted, his brain fused and the bloodlust oozed out like an untamed beast.

A spike of chill stuck Lila's spine, and she started quivering like a little prey before a bloody terrifying beast and subconsciously took a few steps back.

The lifeless eyes suddenly became the scariest thing ever existed, and her deadpan employee was much more terrifying than any of the frightening horror films she has watched.

"It was just a pra…."

Lila tried to tell the truth, but she couldn't voice out anything under Hari's killer stare. Then she retreated a few more steps before tumbling down, and tears started to pour from those arrogant eyes. Now the flower of the company, the apple in everyone's eyes didn't look that beautiful.

Hari didn't do anything, he just slightly released a small portion of his killing intent to scare her. Neither her pleading eyes nor her pathetic earned any pity; instead, a glint of disdain flashed past in Hari's eyes.

Lila knew that the guy before her might kill her for real, so she picked her Mobile with trembling hands and showed the caller log to prove her innocence.

"It was just a prank I didn't mean to harm your family."

Hari just shook the head before slowly walking over to her; his slow yet firm footsteps akin to the Chimes of Death further traumatizing the poor soul.

"If it were a real one, you would already be on your way to hell."

Hari's usual indifferent plain voice suddenly became a bit spooky while his words were laden with an aura of death.

Then he went to the computer and quickly typed something. A few minutes later, the printer ejected a printed copy of the letter he typed which Hari swiftly grabbed and threw it at Lila.

*shhh shiiii*

The paper sliced through the air and directly piercing the wooden flooring like a knife. It's a pity that no one was around to see this jaw-dropping stunt.

"I resign, that's my resignation letter. If you dare touch my family, that thing will go right through your head the moment such a thought ever arises in that stupid brain of yours."

Hari didn't wait for an apology or reply, he just picked his bag and left the scene.

Moments later, Anil dashed through the office corridor, pushing some of his employees.

"Ah... Sorry! Make way, please make way. Emergency!"

Anil just got the instructions from his dad to dismiss Hari, and instantly he knew something went wrong between Lila and Hari.

In Lila's cabin, a gobsmacking scene was waiting; the predator and prey reversed their roles. Anil anxiously opened the door, but he was rendered speechless.

Lila was sitting on the floor in a very inelegant posture; the usual arrogance or haughtiness was nowhere to be seen. She was like a frightened lamb quivering from time to time.

Just next to Lila, a paper was standing upright, though it was only a plain sheet it stood there like a majestic tall mountain. He pulled the sheet, it was Hari's resignation.

As Hari drove back, the drizzle suddenly turned into a heavy shower forcing him to stop his motorbike under an old bus stop for shelter. When he looked up, suddenly the shed of dog he saved appeared in his mind out of nowhere.

Then he recalled that shed of the little fella was in a low-level area and it would undoubtedly be flooded. The Freezing rain couldn't stop a warm heart from saving a life. But when Hari reached the spot he neither found the dog nor the shed, water had pulled down the shed.

Hari was heartbroken, he searched for an hour turning every single rock in the street. The rain got heavier, and Hari knew his chances of finding the dog was close to impossible. So he gave up while cursing himself for being so useless.

If he could afford, he would have at least adopted the stray dog until it recovered. Unfortunately, one couldn't change the past and 'If' condition was just a castle build in thin air; Hari knew it better than anyone.

Hari hung his head low and made his way to the house, the cute little dog filled his mind.

Half-an-hour later….

Hari reached his house, he was too occupied to even notice that Shreya had been already inside the house. Hari just took his key and opened the door, a delightful aroma welcomed the depressed guy.

Hari entered the hall, and another surprise was waiting for him. In the room, the dog was sitting on the sofa. Hari even forgot the alluring food waiting for him and rushed to the dog to give a hug.

Hari noticed that the bandages were changed, but they were poorly done and slightly wet; thus, he immediately sprang into action. His hands too fast, healthy human eyes will only perceive blurry movement.

Less than a minute, he untied all the bandages, but before he could inspect the wounds for infection, his instincts alarmed crazy. Hari jumped while picking his hidden knife only to find his wife staring daggers at him.

"Hari what were you up to, touching an injured animal with wet hands and furthermore removing the bandages. Are you trying to kill it?"

Though she didn't have any killing intent, Hari still felt the dangerous aura she was emitting. Hari knew for the longest time that his wife was anything but simple.

Hari felt like crying, he forgot that he was drenched and he only intended to inspect the wound.

'Today's the unluckiest day of my life.'

Since it's only cooperation between the two of them, he knew going soft will not do any good. Though they were collaborating, he still needs to roughen things a bit to lead a peaceful life. But he wasn't planning on taking things too far, as Shreya was angry for the right cause.

*humpf*

With that Hari released his Killer Intent, he knew Shreya wasn't just another woman, so Hari didn't hold back like last time he did with Lila.

Shreya was powerful, but she's an inexperienced killer; on the other hand, Hari might be much weaker than Shreya with his fighting experience Hari could easily kill her even if she 7 lives.

'Eh… what's this, such intense pressure even my body can't withstand it. What's going on?'

The Bloodthirst froze her; she has never encountered such pressure. She could barely cope with the Killer intent, and from Hari's carefree attitude, she knew he wasn't going all out. Only then she realized that her husband was not as simple as he portrayed.

Shreya entirely projected her aura to counter the Killer Intent, but if this goes on her will surely drain, leaving her vulnerable and exposed. Her only scope was to unleash her trump card and overpower Hari.

On the other hand, Hari didn't expect his wife to withstand his pressure. He still couldn't figure out how she was enduring such stress.

'How is she coping with my Killer intent; she thoroughly pure without a hint of murderous aura. What's going on?'

The clash of aura came to a stalemate, at any moment, either of them was ready to take action. Unfortunately, both of them were too engrossed that they ignored the injured dog; the very reason for their fight.

Hari's small probe took a wild turn and became such a dangerous confrontation. Before anything unfortunate happened, the frail dog stopped the calamity.

*Woof*woof*

The dog barked with great effort, breaking the tension. Both Hari and Shreya could only dig a hole to hide from embarrassment; they forgot the dog. Immediately they rushed to the dog only to bump into each other. Before Shreya could start Hari glared at Shreya shutting her.

"Let's talk after treating this guy. Bring a clean towel and few bandages with ointment. Yeah! Also, fetch some cotton."

Hari ordered without turning his head; Shreya could only nod.

'Calm down, calm down the little guy's the priority.'

Shreya religiously mumbled like a holy prayer to keep her temper in check and went to pick the stuff Hari asked; it was a completely new experience for her, being ordered around by someone.

At the same time, Hari started examining the dog; he went through every nook and corner to avoid further complications.

While he was examining Shreya fetched the thick towel and a medical kit.

The clean white towel hung on her hands, and occasional inaudible curses made her even more alluring. At the moment, Shreya was like a damsel in disaster; any man would bleed to save this sweet damsel in distress to capture her heart.

Unfortunately, Hari was the only guy in the room; and he was too immersed in inspecting the dog, so it went down as another unappreciated piece of art.

He just took the towel without turning and dried the little fella before completely dressing the wound, it took him full ten minutes to completely bind the wound.

Compared to Hari's bandage skill Shreya's skills were nothing but garbage; though she was passable for a beginner.

A few minutes later, Hari stood up, he was still dripping wet, so he went to his room to get changed. The entire time he was blocking her sight, so Shreya took a closer look to check if the little fella was doing fine. To her surprise, the dog was happily wagging his tail.

*****

A few hours ago, earlier this evening, she picked this fella, his wounds were professionally dressed; the bandages were too perfect that it didn't hinder his movements even with such critical injuries. The bandage was art from an experienced hand.

Since it rained, the bandages were soaked wet, so Shreya removed them and found a few half-healed injuries.

With each second that passed by the rain got harder and harder; after some deep thought, she decided to take in the dog.

Once they reached the home, Shreya tried to reproduce the dressing in the same method, but she severely underestimated the difficulty.

After many trails the best she could do covered its entire body like a mummy, entirely immobilizing it. Though she felt guilty, there was nothing she could do. It was inadvisable to take him to any veterinary doctor in this stormy weather.

But Hari's dressing looked awfully similar to the previous one; instead it was slightly better; thus, she clearly pictured what transpired earlier this morning.