Saurabhi wipes the sweat from her forehead as she walks slowly through the uneven path of the village fair. Her eyes stay sharp, still trying to find the way back, but her phone screen still shows

“No Signal.”

Frustrated and scared, she places the phone in her bag and looks up only to see a group of boys standing not too far away, staring at her with cheap, disgusting smirks

One of them whispers something to his friend and laughs, their eyes scanning her from head to toe. Saurabhi’s jaw tightens. Her fear suddenly turns into anger. She throws a deadly glare in their direction, her eyes filled with warning

The boys take a step back, clearly shaken by the fire in her expression. She turns away sharply and walks in the opposite direction, keeping her posture straight and strong. She refuses to look weak

Meanwhile, Ayaansh is going mad. He rushes from one stall to another, his voice growing louder with every passing second. He shows her picture on his phone to every single person

"Kya tumne iss ladki ko dekha hai"

(Have you saw this girl)

His face is pale, his heart feels heavy, and his hands are cold. He dials again, hoping for a signal, but there’s still none. The security officers are scattered, yelling her name, but even they haven’t found anything.

He quickly calls the local police station and orders them to send a search team. His mind is spinning with fear

“Where are you, Saurabhi”

He whispers to himself, eyes filled with desperation. He walks even farther away from the fair, into the quieter part of the village, when his eyes suddenly stop

Near a corner, beside a wall, stands a woman wearing a simple kurti. Her back is towards him, but he knows it’s her. His heart jumps

“Saurabhi…”

He breathes out and starts running. Saurabhi hears footsteps and turns around, surprised. Her eyes widen the moment she sees him. A soft, relieved smile appears on her lips. But before she can say a word, Ayaansh reaches her and grabs her arms tightly

Without caring who is watching, without thinking twice, he pulls her close and kisses her hard, right in the middle of the village path. The world around them freezes

People stop and stare. Some whisper, some gasp. But Ayaansh doesn’t care. All he knows is that he found her....His Saurabhi. The kiss speaks everything he can’t say his fear, his relief, and his love

When he finally pulls back, his forehead rests against hers, and he whispers in a trembling voice

“Don’t ever disappear like that again… I thought I lost you.”

Aarushi slowly opens the door of the Rana Mansion and steps inside the living room after roaming alone outside for a while. The house is strangely silent and dark. She looks around in confusion, her footsteps soft as she walks inside

"Itna andhera kyu hai"

(Why is it so dark)

She thought not being able to understand why it's so dark but suddenly.....

BOOM!

Bright fireworks explode outside the window, lighting up the sky in beautiful colors. Aarushi jumps a little in surprise, her eyes wide as she turns toward the sound and in that moment, all the lights in the living room switch on at once.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY AARUSHI!”

Everyone shouts together, making her freeze in shock. Aarushi’s eyes fill with surprise as she looks around the room decorations, balloons, fairy lights, and a big cake on the table. Her cousins, elders, and even the maids are clapping and smiling

Everyone is there… even her parents. Before she can react, her mother walks toward her with a soft smile and gently holds her hand

“Come, beta,”

Her mother says lovingly. Aarushi, still shocked but smiling now, walks with her toward the cake. Everyone claps and sings the birthday song. She closes her eyes, makes a silent wish, and blows out the candles. Then she cuts the cake while everyone cheers

She starts feeding pieces of cake to everyone her mother, aunts, cousins and friends smiling politely. Finally, her eyes slowly search for someone… and they stop at Rudraansh

He is standing quietly in the corner, away from the crowd, his expression unreadable and blank. Aarushi walks toward him with a small piece of cake in her hand. He doesn’t move, just watches her with those deep, serious eyes

She raises her hand slightly and offers him the cake. Rudraansh stares at her for a second, then slowly opens his mouth and takes the bite from her hand. He doesn’t say anything, but something flickers in his eyes… something silent, something unspoken

Aarushi gives him a small smile one that holds a mixture of happiness and warmth before turning back toward the others. But Rudraansh keeps looking at her, as if trying to read all the feelings she hides behind that quiet smile

"Tumhe pata hai aarushi ye sab rudraansh ne plan Kiya tha, usne hame bataya ki aaj tumhara birthday hai aur party organize kiya"

(You know Aarushi, all this was planned by Rudransh, he told us that today is your birthday and organized the party)

Kavita said with a smile making aarushi stare at rudraansh who slightly scratch his neck feeling nervous, she continue stare at him. He sigh and said

"Happy birthday"

Although he have a blank expression aarushi felt very happy from inside, she thought he hate her and didn't even care about her happiness but he organized this big party for her and invited her family & friends which means a lot to me

She smile at him making him stare at her than did a gesture in her sign language making his eyes slightly widened. Others didn't understand it except rudraansh and her parent

"Aarushi keh rahi hai... thanku hubby"

(Aarushi is saying....thanku hubby)

Rudraansh just nod his head not saying anything more because he haven't accepted her as his wife yet. Aarushi's friends start giving her gifts and banquets with a smile

They are also writers and they work under the same publication which make them close, rudraansh stand with harshvardhan and ayaansh but his eyes are on aarushi who is smiling widely and first time he saw her being this much happy

Saurabhi is telling about everything to aarvanshi, they come very fast to celebrate aarushi birthday. Ayaansh think of her as a sister and he didn't wanted to miss the celebration which is organised by rudraansh

Laughter and music fill the room as everyone enjoys the celebration. Harshvardhan says something that makes Rudraansh smirk, but his eyes keep scanning the crowd.

His gaze suddenly stops on Aarushi. She is standing near the gift table, smiling politely as one of her college friends walks up to her with a bouquet. Rudraansh watches closely as the guy extends the flowers to her

Aarushi thanks him with a smile and reaches out to take the bouquet, but their hands brush, and the boy deliberately lets his fingers linger and aarushi flinches

She tries to smile, looking around nervously, but the guy leans in closer and touches her cheek gently with a creepy smile. Aarushi instantly steps back, clearly uncomfortable

Rudraansh’s smirk disappears. His eyes narrow, dark and dangerous. Without saying a word, he gestures slightly to one of his men standing near the staircase. The man nods and walks toward the boy with another guard

In a matter of seconds, they reach him and grab his arms firmly. Aarushi turns her head quickly, eyes widening seeing the dark expression on rudraansh face

He stays silent, his expression unreadable, as his men quietly take the guy out of the living room through the side door. The music keeps playing, and most people don’t even notice what happened.

Aarushi stands frozen, gripping the bouquet tightly, heart pounding. Rudraansh glances at her one last time before turning his head back to Harshvardhan, as if nothing happened. But his clenched jaw says otherwise and he said

"Bro....wanna enjoy"

Harshvardhan and ayaansh smirk after hearing his words knowing that someone is going to get tortured badly and they nod there head

The night is dark and quiet, only the sound of crickets in the distance. A single bike stands in the middle of an open ground, its engine still hot and humming faintly. The air smells like smoke, sweat, and fear. A loud scream suddenly breaks the silence.

"Aaaahhh"

The man shouts, writhing in pain as his hand burns against the hot engine of the bike. His face is red, tears forming in his eyes as he tries to pull away, but he can’t

Rudraansh stands beside him, calm and cold. He takes a slow puff from his cigarette, his eyes dark and emotionless. His one hand is gripping the back of the man's head, pushing it down forcing his cheek closer to the bike’s hot silencer

"You touched her cheek?"

Rudraansh says in a low, threatening voice, almost whispering

"Let me show you what that feels like."

"I...I’m sorry please"

The man begged infront of him nut Rudraansh doesn’t blink. A few steps behind, Harshvardhan leans against a car, arms crossed and a smirk playing on his lips. Ayaansh stands beside him, hands in his pockets, silently watching with the same cold amusement.

Without a second of hesitation, Rudraansh removes the cigarette from his lips, its end burning red, and presses it hard against the man's cheek. The man howls again, the smell of burnt skin fills the air.

"You shouldn't have touch her like that, my wife hates unknown man's touch"

Rudraansh says darkly, letting go of the man, who falls to the ground crying in pain. Harshvardhan chuckles under his breath. Ayaansh shakes his head slowly, still smirking

Rudraansh crushes the cigarette under his boot and walks away, his coat brushing in the wind, leaving the man broken and shaking on the ground. Harshvardhan gesture the guards to kill him and ayaansh just smirk