It's easy to make promises but difficult to keep them.

Karan found himself in an empty gas station's toilet, wiping the blood off his white shirt. His face was still smeared with the blood of the gas station worker. He would have to call Rama to clean this place and take all the camera footage.

"It's all because of you!" shouted Karan, seemingly to nobody.

My concern was valid!

"You told me that all my enemies are dead! Nothing can be taken away from me anymore. How can this happen then?" said Karan angrily.

Sometimes, friends become enemies. I didn't make him turn bad, he chose to. You should blame him.

"He is dead; no point blaming him anymore," said Karan as he continued to wipe the blood off his shirt. He might as well just ask Rama to bring him a new set of clothes.

***

Two weeks ago

Karan waited for his kids to get back from school. He had bought two cycles as a surprise gift. Gayatri ran up the stairs to her room as soon as she saw him, but she didn't even glance at the cycle. Gautam, however, seemed to be mesmerized by it. He got close to one of the cycles and moved his hands around it.

"It's yours if you like it," said Karan.

Gautam was pleased to hear that and gave his father a quick hug. Mohini, looking at all this, seemed happy that her husband was taking measures to improve his behavior. Gautam went upstairs to freshen up and quickly returned, taking the cycle out to make a few rounds.

Karan took him in his car to a nearby park, where he could cycle around in nature. It was evening when Gautam returned to the bench where Karan was sitting, his eyes beaming with delight.

"Thank you, Dad," he said with a happy smile.

Stolen novel; please report.

Karan felt happy that after several months, he could spend quality time with his son and not worry about the curse. Next, he had to focus on getting his daughter back, but that was for later. Now, he would spend more time talking to his son.

"So, what's happening in school?' asked Karan.

"It's the same as before, nothing new. Oh, yeah, there is a new English teacher," said Gautam.

"What's special about him?"

"He tells great stories. Yesterday, he told the story of Julius Caesar and how he became the king of Romans and was killed by his own people, including his close friend Brutus," said Gautam, happy to talk to his father after a long time.

That's when a car pulled up near the park, and Sudhama walked in. He seemed concerned. Karan looked at Sudhama and felt something strange that he couldn't explain.

"I wondered why you hadn't come back, so I came to see if everything was alright," said Sudhama.

Liar! He probably came here to prevent your son from telling you about Julius Caesar's death.

Karan was confused by what his other self was talking about. It had been a while since his other self had spoken, and Karan got this strange feeling that his curse had not yet been lifted. He decided not to think too much about it then, and they all went back home.

He is your Brutus!

***

That night, the sleep paralysis came back. He had strange nightmares filled with the deaths of Arjun and his other self, talking about the curse coming back. Karan woke up in the middle of the night and didn't want to go back to sleep, so he just stayed up watching random ads on the TV.

In the morning, Karan had to visit a potential client to expand his business to another country. This was an important meeting, and he was leaving for the client's mansion in an adjacent city. Sitting in the car, he saw that it was just him and Sudhama in the back seat.

As the driver rode, Karan could feel the gun tucked into his back. It felt like the right thing to do was to get the gun.

Sudhama asked the driver to take a different route as the regular route to the adjacent city was blocked due to some digging on the road. So, they continued the journey on this path through deserted land.

There you have your proof! He wants to kill us in this god-forbidden place.

Karan had enough proof that Sudhama wanted to kill him and take everything away from him. Arjun's curse was still in play.

"I want to pee, so stop near the nearby gas station or a public toilet," Karan told the driver.

I am sure the driver is in on this plan to take everything away from you.

As the gas station approached, they stopped, and Karan went into the bathroom and took his gun out. He looked at his white shirt and felt bad that it would be ruined. He wore a cooling glass and walked out with a shining silver gun in his right hand under the hot sun.

Sudhama talked over the phone while the driver said something to the gas station worker.

I am sure the gas station guy is in on this, too!

Karan waited until Sudhama was done with the call and then aimed the gun at his stomach and pulled the trigger. Before the driver and the gas station guy could react, they had a bullet hole in their hearts. Sudhama was on the ground with blood pooling around his stomach. He seemed pretty shocked.

"You were one of the only few friends I had left. Why did you have to do this?" asked Karan as he stood above Sudhama with his gun aimed at his head.

Sudhama seemed confused and was in great pain, "I don't know what you are talking about!"

"Don't pretend; it's over. I know you were planning to take everything away from me!" Karan said with a wild smile.

"I knew you had lost it. You stupid fuck…" Sudhama's words stopped abruptly as a bullet hole appeared on his forehead and his blood sprinkled all over Karan's shirt.

Now you are really free; Arjun's curse is over. No one will take anything away from you.