Meera stared at him, her breath catching. "You're still him. The Dilwale. The one with the big heart and the bloody hands."

In the distance, a black car pulled up. Raj stepped out, holding an umbrella, his expression unreadable. He looked at his brother, then at Meera. For a long moment, no one spoke.

She closed the distance between them. The rain stopped. Somewhere, a dog barked, and a coconut vendor whistled a tuneless song. She touched his face, tracing the new lines, the old scar above his brow.