Chapter 1

The police station smelled of sweat, dust, and unfinished arguments.

A place where voices rose, tempers snapped, and truth rarely mattered.

The door burst open.

“Oye! Teri himmat kaise hui meri dost ko andar karne ki?”

Nancy Chauhan stormed inside, eyes blazing with anger. Without thinking twice, she marched up to a man standing near the desk and grabbed his collar.

“Pata bhi hai? Verma family ki eklauti beti hai woh!”

The room fell silent. The man didn’t react immediately.

Instead—

“Miss… calm down.”

 His voice was steady.

 Too steady.

Nancy froze slightly, but her grip didn’t loosen.

 “You’ve got the wrong person.” A pause. “And I’m here to bail Isha out. So… there’s no need to worry.”

Something in his tone made her heart skip. She slowly looked up.

And for a moment—

Everything went quiet.

The man she was holding didn’t look angry.

Didn’t look offended.

If anything…

He looked calm.

Too calm.

His sharp eyes met hers, steady and unreadable, as if he was already in control of the situation… and everyone in it.

Nancy’s grip loosened on its own.

“…I—”

Her voice failed.

She stepped back immediately, letting go of his collar as if she had just realized what she had done.

“I’m… sorry.”

The words came out low, almost reluctant.

But her eyes still stayed on him.

Trying to read him.

Trying to understand why he felt so… dangerous.

Before the silence could stretch further—

“Madam ji! Thoda wait mere liye bhi kar lo!”

The sudden voice broke the moment.

The sudden voice broke the moment.

Aarushi Sharma came running inside, slightly bent, hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath.

“Isha jail mein hai toh hai… kahin bhaag nahi jaayegi.”

She straightened up after a second, brushing her hair back.

“Waise… batana bhool gayi thi—maine uske bhai ko call kar diya tha. Woh sab sambhaal lega. Chinta karne ki zarurat nahi hai.”

Nancy shut her eyes for a brief second, jaw tightening.

Then she leaned slightly toward Aarushi and muttered under her breath—

“Pehle bata deti na…”

Her cheeks burned with embarrassment.

Meanwhile—

The man had already turned away, as if the entire scene hadn’t affected him at all.

He adjusted his cuff calmly, then looked toward the officer.

And when he spoke again—

His voice had changed.

Cold. Professional. Final.

“Let’s not waste time.”

Ishaan stepped closer to the desk, his gaze fixed on the officer.

“Charges?”

The officer cleared his throat, suddenly uneasy.

“Public disturbance… assault—”

“Self-defense.”

Ishaan cut him off calmly.

The room went silent again.

“She was surrounded. Multiple witnesses. CCTV footage hoga.”

He tilted his head slightly. “Ya phir… dekhna padega?”

The officer shifted in his place.

“Sir… baat aisi nahi hai—”

“Then don’t make it one.”

His voice didn’t rise.

It didn’t need to.

He placed a file on the table, sliding it forward with precision.

“Paperwork ready hai. Bail process complete karo.”

A brief pause.

No one argued.

No one dared to.

Within minutes—

The cell door opened with a loud metallic sound.

Isha walked out as if she owned the place.

No fear. No regret.

Just that same fire in her eyes.

The moment she stepped out—

Aaru and Nancy rushed toward her and pulled her into a tight hug.

“Tu thik hai na…” Aarushi asked, concern clear in her voice.

Isha smiled casually, as if nothing had happened.

“Mereko kuch ho sakta hai kya?”

Nancy scoffed immediately—

“Haan haan, tereko kya hoga? Jo hota hai na, woh hamare saath hi hota hai.”

Isha clung to her dramatically, pouting like a kid.

“Nancy yaar… sorry na… woh meri galti nahi thi. Nancy…”

Aarushi raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms.

“Kya hua tha is baar? Jo tune hume golgappe khilane ki jagah bhagava diya.”

Isha rolled her eyes slightly.

“Arey kuch kutte mujhe chedna cha rahe the… toh maine unhe thoda sa maar diya.”

Nancy let out a deep sigh, rubbing her temple.

“Haan, itna ‘thoda sa’ maara tha ki sab hospital mein pade hain. Kisi ki chaar haddiyan tuti hain, kisi ki paanch.”

Aaru couldn’t help but smirk.

“Jo bhi ho… tune jo kiya, sahi kiya. Aise logon ke saath aisa hi hota hai.”

Nancy shot her a look, then turned back to Isha—

“Unke saath jo hua accha hua, par Isha… yeh bata—tune kaunsi trouble magnet le rakhi hai?”

She narrowed her eyes.

“6–7th baar police station aana pada tujhe.”

And just as the laughter between the three settled—

Ishaan shook his head slightly, a faint trace of disbelief crossing his face.

“Tera kuch nahi ho sakta…”

His gaze shifted between them.

“Aur teri dost bhi aisi hi hai. Pata nahi kisne kise bigaada hai.”

Isha rolled her eyes, completely unfazed.

Before she could reply, Ishaan cleared his throat, his tone turning more formal.

“Isha.”

A brief pause.

“Next weekend—Matlab kal. Ghar aa jaana. Mom bula rahi hain.”

All three of them turned to look at him.

Isha’s expression changed instantly.

“Main nahi aa rahi. Aaru ko akele rehna padega.”

Ishaan’s eyes shifted toward Aarushi.

But Aarushi—

Very conveniently—

Looked the other way, as if she had absolutely nothing to do with this.

Ishaan let out a quiet sigh, rolling his eyes.

“Isse bhi saath le aana. Koi mana nahi kar raha hai.”

A beat.

And just like that—

Isha nodded instantly.

“Theek hai. Aa jaungi.”

Nancy raised an eyebrow, clearly judging the sudden change.

But didn’t say anything.

The three of them turned and started walking away, their chatter slowly fading into the background.

But just before leaving—

Nancy glanced back.

For a second.

Her eyes met his.

And then she walked away.

Ishaan didn’t move.

He just stood there, watching their figures disappear.

But his gaze…

Was fixed.

On someone.

Nancy.

Even he didn’t know why.

...----------------...

The night air had cooled down by the time they reached the golgappa stall.

Street lights flickered softly above them, and the familiar tangy smell of pani puri filled the air again—like nothing chaotic had happened just hours ago.

As if jail, fights, and police stations were just… part of the routine.

Isha grabbed a small biodegradable bowl, already dipping a golgappa into the spicy water.

“Nancy, main aur Aaru toh mere ghar ja rahe hain. Tu kya karegi? Tu bhi chal na hamare saath.”

Nancy stuffed a golgappa into her mouth before replying, her cheeks slightly puffed.

“Betu… mere ghar walon ne bhi mujhe bulaya hai. Par nahi pata kis liye. Keh rahe the ki zaruri hai—aa jana.”

Aarushi paused mid-bite, raising an eyebrow.

“Aisa kya zaruri hai?”

Nancy shrugged casually, though there was a hint of curiosity in her eyes.

“Pata nahi… jaana padega.”

For a moment, the three went quiet—just the crunch of golgappas and the distant noise of traffic filling the space.

Then—

Isha squinted at Nancy.

“Kahin shaadi-vadi fix toh nahi kar di teri?”

Nancy choked.

“KYA?! Pagal hai kya?!”

Aaru burst out laughing.

“Haan haan, bilkul. Kal hi tujhe dulhan bana ke bitha denge.”

Nancy shot her a glare.

“Aaru chup reh! Tujhe toh bas mazaak hi sujhta hai.”

Isha leaned closer, clearly enjoying this.

“Waise soch… tu dulhan banegi toh kaafi achi lagegi. Bas attitude thoda kam karna padega.”

Nancy smacked her arm lightly.

“Mera attitude perfect hai. Problem tum dono ho.”

Aaru grinned.

“Haan, woh toh hai.”

They all laughed.

The tension from earlier—the fight, the police station, everything—slowly melted away into something lighter.

Normal.

But not completely.

Because beneath the laughter—

Something still lingered.

Nancy went quiet for a second, her fingers absentmindedly tracing the edge of the bowl.

A flash of a memory crossed her mind.

That calm voice.

That steady gaze.

The way he didn’t react… even when she had grabbed his collar.

She frowned slightly.

“Strange…”

“Kya hua?” Aaru noticed immediately.

Nancy blinked, snapping out of her thoughts.

“Kuch nahi.”

But Isha wasn’t convinced.

She narrowed her eyes.

“Tu itni chup kyun ho gayi achanak? Tu aur chup? Impossible.”

Nancy rolled her eyes.

“Bas thak gayi hoon. Aaj ka din hi aisa tha.”

Isha hummed, half-believing her.

Then suddenly—

“Waise… bhai kaisa laga?”

Nancy froze.

“Kya?”

Aaru smirked.

“Haan… bhai. Lawyer sahab.”

Nancy looked away instantly, pretending to focus on her food.

“Normal hi toh hai.”

Isha let out a laugh.

“Normal? Tu kisi aur ko dekh ke aisa bolti toh maan leti. Par mere bhai ko ‘normal’? Thoda jhoot believable bol.”

Nancy clicked her tongue.

“Achha theek hai… thoda… intimidating hai.”

Aaru raised her brows.

“Bas?”

Nancy hesitated for a split second.

“…Aur thoda ajeeb.”

“Ajeeb?” Isha tilted her head.

Nancy frowned slightly, trying to explain.

“Matlab… pata nahi. Woh react hi nahi karta properly. Jaise sab control mein ho uske. Thoda… unsettling hai.”

Isha smiled faintly.

“Woh aisa hi hai. Sab pe control chahiye usse.”

Aaru nodded in agreement.

“Aur tujhe dekh ke toh aur bhi control lose nahi karega.”

Nancy shot her a look.

“Kya matlab?”

Aaru smirked.

“Matlab… tu uska collar pakad chuki hai. Ab ya toh tujhe ignore karega… ya yaad rakhega.”

Isha added teasingly—

“Aur mera bhai cheezein bhoolta nahi hai.”

Nancy rolled her eyes again, but this time—

There was a slight uneasiness in her expression.

“Mujhe kya… main kyun sochu uske baare mein?”

But somewhere deep down—

She knew.

She already was.

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