I couldn't just watch Baldev ruin what I loved. So many people had put effort into the building before me. In fact, it wasn't just a building. When I truly believed that my husband was no more, I had confided in its walls by spreading the greatest wisdom he had taught me: knowledge is wealth.

Delinquent children had learnt to read and write because of the school. Parents were proud of their babies. The very building was the home of a few sincere daily wage workers. It was the livelihood of many.

How could I let one selfish bastard ruin all that?

"Baldev..." I clenched my fist and stepped forward, ignoring the gasps and whispers behind me. "Tumhe zara bhi hosh hai, tum kya kar rahe ho?" I barked at him, bubbling with rage.

(Baldev... Do you even realise what you're doing?)

His eyes zeroed in on me, and there was silence for a while. A few women held my hand, "Thakurain Ji... Woh paagal hai... Aapke jaan ko khatra hai, peeche hat jaiye..." Even a few men warned me. But I had gone deaf by now.

(Thakurain Ji... He's gone mad... Your life is in danger, please step back...)

All I wanted was to rip the bastard to shreds. He had been torturing me for two years. I couldn't put up with it anymore.

"Randi ki itni himmat!" He growled and marched towards me, "Aaj is imaarat ke saath tu bhi jalegi!" Baldev grabbed my hand. I hissed in pain as he pulled me towards him. Nobody stepped forward to save me as his lackeys threatened the crowd with knives.

(The fucking audacity of this whore! Today you'll also burn with this building!)

"S-Sanjana... Bhaag jao..." Keshav coughed blood as he struggled to speak.

(S-Sanjana... Run away...)

"Use bhi maar dalunga...! Tumhare bacho ko bhi! Puri haveli jala-"

(I'll kill him as well...! Your kids, too! The entire haveli I'll burn-)

My eyes widened as a large enough stone struck Baldev's face, and he fell on the ground, barely understanding what had happened. When I glanced over my shoulder, I saw Bhairav Ji appear from the crowd.

"Thakur Ji?!"

"Bhoot! Bhoot!"

(Ghost! Ghost!)

"Woh zinda hai?!"

(He's alive?!)

"Mujhe pata tha ki woh zinda hai! Unhone us gunde Sarpanch ko jail bheja!"

(I knew that he was alive! He's the one who sent the thug Sarpanch to jail!)

"Jab woh jawaan the ek aadmi ko jala diya tha sabke saamne..."

(When he was younger, he had burnt a man in front of everyone...)

"Kya keh rahe ho?! Sach mei?!"

(What, really?!)

My husband dusted his hands as he slowly walked towards us. "Chal sakte ho?" He asked his brother calmly.

(Can you walk?)

"H-haan Bhaiya..."

(Y-yes Bhaiya...)

Gopal helped Keshav stand, and this time, a few villagers took the initiative to help Keshav rest nearby.

"Thakur Ji ke saamne chaku kya dikhata hai?!" Gopal yelled at one of the lackeys, who squeezed his knife tighter while glaring at everyone. Someone threw a much larger rock at the man's head, and he collapsed on the ground. A few other men on the other side managed to steal the lackeys' knives and threatened them with them instead.

(How dare you flash your knife in front of Thakur Ji!)

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. My husband's appearance had suddenly given the villagers courage to stand up for themselves.

"Peeche hat jao," My husband shoved me back towards the other women without sparing a glance. He looked clearly irritated now as he muttered under his breath, "Jab mai yaha hu, tumhe apni jaan khatre mei daalne ki kya zaroorat hai. Pagal ho kya?"

(Move back. When I'm here, what's the need for you to put yourself in danger like this? Have you gone insane?)

I was a little embarrassed, but on the inside, I was smiling as well. He was going to take care of things from now on. Like he always did. It was his way of apologising for not being there for me for two years. It gave me butterflies.

"Tum... Tum yaha... Par... Par kaise...?" Baldev's face turned white as sheet as my husband fixed his dhoti and cracked his knuckles. I was going to enjoy this thoroughly.

(You... You're here... B-but... But how...?)

"Utni jaldi bhi nahi marne wala, Baldev. Tumhe upar wale ke paas bheje bina mai kaise jaa sakta hu?" He replied and grabbed Baldev's collar, lifting him up. "Abdul Majid ko yaad hai? Mera hi khaas dost tha."

(I'm not going to die that easily, Baldev. How can I leave without sending you to God first?)

Baldev gritted his teeth and pushed my husband back. He launched a drunken punch right at his face, but Bhairav Ji stopped it easily.

"Peekar ladai mat karo..." My husband punched him right back in the ribs. Baldev spat blood as his eyes bulged. I could swear that my man looked sexier than ever before.

(Don't fight after drinking...)

Bhairav Ji shook his fist, trying to ease the pain in his bruised knuckles, "Umar badti jaa rahi hai... Aur aise bacho ki tarah ladai karva rahe ho. Kiske liye lad rahe ho?" He stepped on Baldev's chest and pressed down, making him scream in agony as he squeezed my husband's leg.

(I'm getting older... And you're making me fight like children. What are you even fighting for?)

"Tumhara bhagwan... Gulzar Sultan... Ab zindagi bhar jail mei sadne wala hai," My husband smiled like a menace, "Dusron ke biwiyon par haath rakhte rakhte... Khud apni biwi aur bache ko khod diya..." He chuckled, startling even the villagers. My husband had never smiled this viciously before in his life.

(Your God... Gulzar Sultan... Is going to rot in jail for the rest of his life. You were so fond of others' wives, and now you have lost your own wife...)

"Maaf karna, bacha toh kisi aur ka tha... Tum kabhi mard the hi nahi."

(My apologies, the child was never yours anyway... You were never a man to begin with.)

That cut deep. Very deep.

Baldev was gasping for air with tears in his eyes. I had never seen him look this pathetic and helpless before.

But then something happened, and he tried to fight back by pushing my husband's leg away. Baldev was wheezing as he somehow stood up by himself with his fists in the air. Bhairav Ji wasn't smiling anymore as he clenched his own fist.

"Tum meri biwi se shaadi karna chahte the na?" He growled like an animal, and in the blink of an eye, he punched Baldev's face. I could swear that he had broken his nose and had two missing front teeth as well. Bhairav Ji was starting to scare me now.

(You wanted to marry my wife, right?)

When Baldev collapsed on the ground again, Bhairav Ji flipped him on his stomach with a kick and twisted his arm behind him. Baldev sobbed and screamed, "Aah! Bachao! Maar dalega yeh aadmi- pagal hai!"

(Aah! Save me! He'll kill me- He's insane!)

"Zaroor maar dalunga... Do saalo se intezar kar raha hu," Bhairav Ji replied and broke his right arm completely with his foot, "Mujhe apni parivar se juda karne ki koshish ki... Hah, mujhe jaan se maar daalne ki koshish ki! Aur tum chahte ho ki main tumhe chhod doon? Mere kitne aadmi ko tumne maar daala? Is gaon ke kitne auraton par haath uthaya? Kitne logon ki zindagi barbaad ki hai?"

(Of course, I'll take your life... I've been waiting to do it for two years.)

(You tried to separate me from my family... You tried to end my life! And you want me to spare you? How many of my men have you killed? How many women have you assaulted in my village? How many lives have you ruined?)

"M-maafi... Maafi chahta hu... Thakur Ji...! Maaf kijiye...!" Baldev cried over and over again.

(I- I'm sorry... I'm sorry... Thakur Ji!... Please... Forgive me...!)

"Upar wale se jaakar maafi maango. Yaha koi bhi maaf nahi karega," My husband's tone was icy as he towered over Baldev.

(You can beg for forgiveness from God. Nobody's going to forgive you here.)

Everyone gasped as he took the can of petrol and poured it all over Baldev, who began screaming and squirming even more.

"Nahi...! Nahi! Bachao! Bachao koi!-"

(No...! No! Please help! Someone! Please-)

"Kutte ki maut aisi hi honi chahiye."

(This is how a dog should die.)

My husband took out a cigarette and lit it with a match. He dropped the same match onto Baldev.

The flames ate him up immediately. I had tears in my eyes because of the shock and brutality. Never had I imagined seeing my husband kill someone so violently right before my eyes.

Baldev was screaming even as his body turned into ash, until he couldn't anymore. My husband towered over him, smoking, until only his charred flesh remained. He finally tossed the cigarette on the burnt corpse before lifting his eyes to glare at Baldev's lackeys standing not very far away.

"Jaana chahte ho Malik ke paas?"

(Want me to send you to your boss as well?)

Their faces twisted into one of pure horror as they abandoned their weapons and sprinted towards their bikes. Within seconds, they had disappeared. My husband took a deep breath before turning to look at the villagers. Everyone immediately took a step back in fear. I was the only one who couldn't move from the shock.

"Agar aapme kisi ke bhi naukri Gulzar Sultan ke karan nasht ho chuki hai, toh mere daftar aa jao. Mere zameen mein bahut se kaam hai," he sounded a lot calmer suddenly, "Koi bhi ab Sarpanch ban sakta hai gaon mein. Kisi ko bhi chunaav mei khade hone se roka nahi jaega... Par agar phir se kisi ne is tarah se badtameezi ki," Bhairav Ji gritted his teeth, "Isse buri haalat hogi." He gestured at the corpse.

(If any of you have lost your jobs because of Gulzar Sultan, come to my office. There's plenty of work on my estate. Anybody can become the Sarpanch of our village now. Nobody will be stopped from nominating themselves in the election... But if someone dares to wreak havoc like his again... I can do much worse.)

"Agar aapko kisi bhi tarah ki duvita hai... Toh daftar aa sakte hain. Gopal," he turned to the startled young man, "Ise kahi phek do. Hum haveli wapas jaa rahe hain. Keshav ko vedh ke paas lekar jao."

(If you have any trouble at all... You can come to my office. Gopal, throw his corpse somewhere. We're going back to the Haveli. Take Keshav to the doctor.)

The villagers parted on their own when my husband came near me. "Chalo," he sounded a lot more tired now. I followed him quietly without any questions. It was far too overwhelming to be with a man like him.

(Let's go.)