A thin ribbon of sunlight slipped through the curtains, brushing the room awake. The silence shattered as the alarm buzzed in the room. The stirred awake and rubbed her eyes and sitting up slowly as the morning settled around her. With the alarm silenced, the room fell quiet again. 

She blinked at the clock. 7:00 a.m.

But then- the girl shout "oh no! It's already seven-no no no!".

Today wasn’t just any day. Today was different. She was flying to Bangalore, admitted into the prestigious National Law School of India University — her dream come true.

Her name was Samira Rathore. Twenty-one years old, a girl with quiet strength behind her graceful appearance, and a dream that burned bright: to become the best lawyer in the country.

Suddenly, she shot out of bed, racing toward bathroom for a refreshing bath. After few minutes, She stepped out, slipping into a simple kurta and jeans,wore a pair of sneakers. Slinging her small purse over her shoulder, she had already packed her luggage last night. she made sure to tuck in every essential things- even her small teddy bear- Mr.Grizz .

She hurried down the stairs, her steps quick and eager.

Then she yelled,her voice was like sunlight for the whole house "mumma , khana mein kya hai?"

[She yelled "mom, what's in breakfast?"]

Her mother- mrs. Isha rathore- stood in the kitchen, busy with the morning routine. Her mother caught the sound of her daughter's voice and replied warmly while making tea,"beta khane mein toh daal hai", suddenly Samira's smile fall into a pout when she heard that there were lentils in breakfast.

Her words came out in a whiny tone,"phir se dal?"

["Again lentils?"]

Her mother said "ha, khana ho toh khalo, Verna fek dungi. Bilkul apne papa pe gyi ho"

["Yes, eat it or I will throw it away. You are just like your father"]

From the living room, Mr. Harish Rathore lowered his newspaper. “Abh kya ho gaya?” he called out.

[Her father yelled from living room "what happened now!"]

“Nothing, Papa, focus on your newspaper,” Samira said quickly, carrying a tray with tea and cookies to the table.

“Sab le liya na?” her father asked.

[Her father said,“you took everything na?”]

 "yes papa”.

Her mother then call out ,“beta,beta jaldi se khalo verna late ho jaogi airport ke liye.. vase bhi rudra wait kar raha hoga~”.

“mumma!”,Samira blushed, but her mother only chuckled.

Her mother just chuckled.

One glance at the clock sent panic rushing through her again. She darted into the kitchen, grabbed a roll of roti, and, without pausing, called out, “Bye Papa! Bye Mumma! Love you!”

Her mother called out,“dhyan se jana beta”.

[Her mother called out,“have safe journey my daughter”]

Samira dashed outside, flagging down an auto.

Auto driver said,“madam khana Jana hai?”.

[Auto driver said,“madam,where do you want to go?”]

Samira said,“uncle, airport Jana hai”

[Samira said,“uncle,I want to go to airport”]

As the auto rattled down the street, her phone buzzed.

Rudra Singhaniya: Where are you? I already reached the airport.

Samira: On the way, in the auto. Don’t worry.

Her father had asked Rudra to escort her to Bangalore. Rudra had agreed without hesitation — after all, his family was also settled there.

--at airport--

 The auto dropped her off, and Samira thanked the driver before rushing inside. She scanned the crowd, searching for him.

And then — two arms wrapped gently around her waist. Warm. Familiar. Safe. Her heart skipped; she didn’t need to turn.

“did you show your documents to the security, darling?” she asked softly.

A deep whisper brushed her ear. “Yes.”

It was Rudra. 

Samira nodded and took his laptop bag gently,“let me hold this for you”. 

Rudra started to protest, but her look silenced him instantly. She held the bag confidently as they headed for security, Rudra trailing behind her.

She held the bag and she went to go the arrangements and rudra just following her. 

Samira slid her bag through the scanner.

The bag hadn’t even touched the conveyor belt when Rudra suddenly stiffened-

Warm breath brushed his neck from behind, so close it made the hairs on his skin rise.

A voice — low, almost submissive yet chilling — whispered into his ear:

“There is a gun in the bag, sir.”

Rudra froze, his eyes darting toward Samira, who was still chatting with the security staff, completely unaware. His pulse quickened. He hadn’t even opened the bag that morning. Gun? What gun?!

That man was one of his bodyguard-

Rudra suddenly snatched his bag from samira's hand, making her flinch in surprise.

“Rudra, did you put a cooker in here or something? Why’s it so heavy?” she teased, narrowing her eyes at him.

Rudra clutched the bag close, walked over to his bodyguard, and discreetly handed him a gun hidden inside. Once the exchange was done, he returned to Samira with a sheepish smile.

“Yeah… you’re right. I stuffed it with clothes since I’m going home to my family,” he lied smoothly.

Samira raised a suspicious eyebrow, but shrugged it off and went to get her laptop bag scanned. Rudra followed, and after security cleared them both, they boarded their flight.

When they reached their seats, Rudra’s was empty, but Samira found an older man sitting in hers with his young son beside him at the window.

 “Uncle, excuse me… this is my seat,” Samira said politely.

The man scowled. “What do you want?”

“This is my seat,” she repeated, calm but firm.

“Can’t you see I’m with my son?!” the man snapped aggressively.

Samira frowned, about to check the seat number on his boarding pass, but before she could move, Rudra whispered, “Don’t.”

Samira turned and said "I can manage-".

Rudra cut her off, holding her hand. His voice dropped cold as he addressed the man,"oye khada ho,apni seat pe ja or apne bete ko bhi le ja!".

[Rudra said in cold tone to that man,"hey stand up, go back to your seat and take your son as well".]

The cabin fell silent. An air hostess hurried over. “Sir, is everything alright?”

Without taking his eyes off the man, Rudra said evenly,"this man is not letting my girlfriend sit in her seat".

Samira’s eyes widened—girlfriend? This wasn’t the Rudra she knew: calm, quiet, collected. This side of him was sharp, commanding, and it unsettled her.

As that man stood and go back to his seat with his son mumbling "Aaj kal ke nojawan".

[Man was mumbling,"youth nowadays".]

Samira sat in her seat and she was staring rudra's face.

Rudra said with small smirk on his face "you look impressed".

Samira nodded "impressed? Yes. Amused? Definitely".

 Samira pulled out her phone and showed Rudra pictures of her university, chatting animatedly. He knew every corner of that campus already, but instead of interrupting.

He listened.

After a while, she caught him staring. “Are you even listening?” she asked in a low scolding tone.

He said "yeh".

Samira said ,"then tell what I was saying?".

Rudra hesitated. “Uh… maybe about the… appearance of the university?”

“Aha! Got you!” Samira grinned triumphantly. “I was telling you about my bestie who also studies there.”

Even though, rudra knew about everything about that but he stayed oblivious.

He asked ,"oh, your bestie? Who?".

Samira gave him side eye," I told you, her name is aradhya".

His fake realisation,"ah, yeh yeh".

“Anyway,” she said, “I’ll head to my university, and you’ll go to your house.”

Rudra nodded but sighed,"yes madam ji".

Samira smiled.

Samira pulled out a small bag of cookies from her tote and handed it to him. “Here. You can eat some now, and take the rest home.”

“You made these?” he asked.

She nodded.

“How long is the flight?” she asked next.

“Two and a half hours.”

She got excited "oh yeh~".

Leaning back in her seat, she drifted into a nap. Gently, Rudra tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, his gaze softening.

While she sleep, rudra was into his own thoughts.

He thought,"i don't know how long I can keep this up".

He glanced at her, "I don't wanna lose her".

He sighed and leaned back and her hand in his hand. 

---

A few hours later, the plane landed. Rudra shook her gently. “Wake up, Suko.”

Samira stretched, her excitement bubbling as she gathered her things. She was patient enough not to cause chaos, but her energy was impossible to miss.

“Where are your bodyguards?” she asked as they walked out. 

“They didn’t come. The others are waiting outside with the car,” Rudra replied.

Samira laughed. “Damn, feels like you’re some kind of celebrity.”

He cleared his throat lightly. “Kinda.”

Outside, a sleek Mercedes-Benz waited for them.

Samira was shocked. She said "omg, my favorite car!".

He just smiled a bit.

“So… are we going to your house first?” she asked.

“I thought we’d drop you at your university,” he said.

She said,"right".

And with that, the car pulled away toward her university.