The meeting concluded with a sense of triumph. Shourya's confident smile lit up the room as he dismissed his team.
"Sir, I think we're going to win this," Gagan said, matching Shourya's optimism.
Shourya gave him a nod, his usual composed demeanor intact.
Yet, as the evening progressed, his thoughts drifted to Vedha. He left the office earlier than usual, driven by a desire to see her after the day's unsettling events.
In Vedha's room, silence filled the space. She sat cross-legged on the bed, her eyes fixed on nothing in particular.
Today's incident replayed in her mind, sending shivers down her spine.
The fear she had felt, the helplessness—everything was still raw.
But then her thoughts shifted to Shourya.
She remembered her brother's words from the day of her marriage: "This union will shape your future. Shourya will give you the life you deserve."
Vedha had resented those words then, but now she understood their meaning.
Shourya was more than a protector—he was her anchor, her safe haven in a world that felt so unstable.
A wave of gratitude mixed with warmth washed over her as she realized how much she trusted him.
The door creaked open, pulling Vedha from her thoughts. Shourya entered the room, his presence commanding yet comforting.
She looked up at him, her eyes glistening. "Thank you," she whispered. Her voice trembled as she continued, "If you weren't there today... I—I don't even want to think about it."
Shourya's expression softened, and he stepped closer. "I will always be there for you," he said firmly, his voice steady yet filled with emotion.
He wrapped her in a gentle hug, his arms offering her a sense of security she hadn't known she needed so desperately.
Leaning forward, he pressed a soft kiss on her forehead—a simple gesture, yet it carried a world of care and unspoken promises.
Vedha's heart raced, not from fear, but from something entirely new. It was their first kiss—an innocent yet profound moment that left her breathless.
Sensing the heaviness in the air, Shourya decided to lighten her mood. "Don't get used to me playing hero," he teased with a smirk. "It might ruin my reputation."
Vedha laughed softly, the tension easing just a bit. As he grabbed his towel and headed to the shower, she found herself smiling.
When the bathroom door closed, she jumped up, her excitement bubbling over. "Note it down, Vedha. Note it down!" she whispered to herself.
She grabbed her diary from the nightstand, opened it, and began writing with a grin:
Today, Shourya kissed me for the first time. It wasn't planned or dramatic—it was perfect.
She paused, her fingers tracing the words on the page. For the first time in a long while, she felt...happy.
In the dimly lit room of the Malhotra mansion, Meera and Aryan sat across from one another, their minds simmering with dark thoughts.
The silence between them was thick with tension, each of them silently reflecting on what they desired most and how far they were willing to go to claim it.
Meera broke the silence first, her voice quiet but sharp, a dangerous edge creeping into her words. "Do you think it will work?" she asked, her gaze fixed on the glass of wine in her hand, though her thoughts were far away.
She couldn't stop thinking about Shourya, about the way things had ended, and about the growing distance between them.
Aryan looked up at her, a wicked smile creeping across his face. He had his own thoughts, his own schemes swirling in his mind. "Of course," he said, his voice dripping with confidence. "We just need to execute it perfectly, and everything will fall into place. We'll get everything we want—Shourya will come back to you, and Vedha... she'll be mine."
Meera glanced at him, her expression turning serious. "I can't see them together... it's too much to bear." The pain of seeing Shourya with Vedha gnawed at her insides, but she knew she couldn't show weakness. Not yet.
Aryan leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers together, a calculated gleam in his eyes. "That's why we need to act fast," he said, his voice low and menacing. "Once we make our move, they won't be able to stay in each other's lives. It'll be over, and everything will return to how it should be—Shourya with you... and Vedha with me."