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Due to accidental remove, I'm posting this book again. But To manage time and efforts I may combine 2 chapters together and publish. You can see the Character aesthetic on Wattpad.

Wattpad : @authorcherryyyy

Insta : @cherryquills_

Your One vote and comment won't hurt right? But makes a hugeee difference

7:50 A.M

Vidya's POV

For most people, mornings begin with the chirping of birds, gentle sunshine, and a peaceful cup of chai.

For me?

SLAP!

Badi mummy entering like a storm with a slipper in hand and insults locked and loaded.

Preeti Reddy (a.k.a. Hitler Aunty):

"WHY ARE YOU SO LAZY? DO YOU HAVE NO WORK? YOU'RE A BURDEN ON THIS PLANET. NOW GET UP AND MAKE BREAKFAST BEFORE I REDECORATE YOUR FACE!"

Me: nods silently like a tortured Bollywood heroine.

Internally: "Is this life? Or a never ending Ekta Kapoor serial?"

I zombie walked into the washroom, washed my face with tears and tap water, and threw on my lavender kurti ,my only weapon of elegance in this emotionally violent household.

Scrunchie in hand, hair open, I stood by the window and whispered to the clouds like they were my therapists:

Vidya:

"Maa, Papa... why did you leave me here with these cartoon characters? I miss you. Please send help. Even a pigeon with a note would do."

---

Backstory: My parents left me with my uncle and aunt for "higher studies" when I was 16. That was 4 years ago. They said they'd come back. They didn't.

Not because they hate me,they're just too busy living their best childfree lives in Australia.

---

8:00 A.M

Adi's POV

I'd been awake since 6. Already did 40 push-ups, 10 km on the treadmill, and 5 minutes of intense mirror staring. Classic CEO morning.

I walked into the kitchen. Mom was yelling, the maids were panicking, and Aviraj my darling younger brother was living his best Kumbhkaran life on the couch.

Savitri Thakur:

"Avi! Learn something from your brother! Look at him early gym, disciplined, decent jawline! And look at you snoring like a tractor!"

Aviraj Thakur (grumpy, pillow-hugging):

"Mom! Let me sleep na, I don't snore like a tractor Bhai, say something!"

Adi: "Wake up before I forward your search history to Mom."

Avi: flies off the couch like someone pressed fast-forward.

Back to my room. Hair perfect, beard sharp enough to slice bread. My phone rings. My manager, Nihar Sinha.

Nihar: "Boss Shalini Bhatta, your PA, has joined hands with the rival team."

Adi: sips protein shake

"Alright. Inform her husband she's been sleeping with his own brother. I want her to leave that house with a divorce paper in one hand and regret clawing at her neck."

Nihar (probably sweating):

"Sir.."

Click. I hung up. Not because I'm heartless. Just efficient. And i know Nihar is my childhood friend, although I don't show emotions, but I do care for him, I trust him , and will do anything to protect him. Not because he is my friend but because he never broke my trust.

Trust, for me, is like glass. Once it cracks, I don't try to fix it.

I throw the entire window out.

I told Dad everything. He didn't react.

I could've told him the world was ending and he would've just adjusted his glasses and asked if I had dinner.

Love? Empathy?

Don't know

After breakfast, I headed to the office. Just as I stepped outside, I heard:

"RAJSA! SAVE US! WE WANT JUSTICE!"

I sprinted toward the voice, heart pounding.

Plot twist: it was Avi and his friends playing a prank. With fake tears and fake posters.

I nearly filed an FIR.

Adi mentally files an application to disown him.

10:00 A.M

Vidya's POV

"Shit, shit, I'm late! I had an interview today, OH MY GOD."

I'd made aloo parathas for the whole Reddy circus, washed three plates, and managed to run out the door in my lavender kurti.

I reached Thakur Industries the place where dreams either come true or get crushed under deadlines.

Receptionist:

"You're lucky! You're the only one being interviewed by Mr. Nihar Sinha today."

Vidya: smiles nervously, stomach doing bhangra.

But,he's late. So my interview was pushed to 12:00.

I had two hours to kill and only ₹407 in my Paytm wallet. So I walked toward the cafe nearby.Yeah My family is quite rich but the devil doesn't let me save money. She takes all the money that my father sends.

And then... BOOM! I bumped into a wall.

Correction: A wall made of muscles, cologne and expensive black suits.

Vidya:

"Dekh ke nahi chal sakte kya? Andhe ho?"

Then I looked up.

It was him. Mr. Adi Thakur. Thakur of all Thakurs. The Rajsa himself.

I forgot how to breathe. My soul left my body and clapped from above.

He blinked and said:

Adi:

"I'm so sorry. Are you hurt? Do I need to carry you to the hospital?"

Vidya: Did he just say sorry? Did Rajsa just offer me a lift to the hospital like some Mahesh Babu movie?

My mouth worked faster than my brain:

Me: "N-no Rajsa. I'm s-sorry. I didn't mean to insult you, I'm so sorry."

And I ran.

I RAN at the speed of metro.

Straight into the cafe. Probably left my self-respect on the footpath.

Adi's POV

When she bumped into me, I noticed her eyes , full of innocence and storms.

Just a few lines echoed in my head:

~

"Teri aankhon me jo hum khoye

Kuch yun gir gye tere khayal me

Teri nazron se hum na dare

Par kuch yun gir gye teri aankhon me..."

~

(Lost within the depths of your eyes,

I slipped—softly—into your thoughts.

Your gaze never made me afraid,

Yet somehow, I fell… right into your eyes.)

~

The world stopped. My heartbeat raced. I don't know why, but I wanted to protect her.

From what? From whom?

She was a stranger.

Strange, right?

Vidya's POV

I ran toward the cafe - but my legs froze.

There he was. Hugging a girl like she was everything.

That "he" was Shreyansh Verma ,my boyfriend of four years.

Vidya: "Who is she?"

Shreyansh (laughing): "Stop being insecure, Vidya. She's my best friend. Tina, meet my so-called girlfriend."

They both laughed.

I felt my heart break into a million invisible pieces.

I didn't cry. I just.. left.

Checked the time - 11:30.

Back to Thakur Industries. Starving. Exhausted. Crushed.

Inside Thakur Industries

Receptionist: "Ma'am, your interviewer has changed."

Vidya (to herself): Thank God, please let it be a normal person.

Receptionist: "Mr. Adi Thakur will interview you now."

Vidya: "Okay- WHAT?! WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

Receptionist: "Ma'am, please don't scream. Yes, Mr. Thakur. Rajsa himself."

I almost fainted. Smiled awkwardly. Walked to the waiting area.

Inside Adi's Cabin

Adi: "Come in."

He didn't even look up. Focused on his laptop. Hair perfect. Aura dangerous.

A family photo hung on the wall. He looked... human.

He finally looked at me as if he was reading my face. After 5 mins-

Adi: "You're hired as my PA. Starting tomorrow, 9:30 A.M.

Here's my number. If I don't pick up, use this personal number. You may leave."

I blinked.

He handed me two numbers.

I took them silently. Smiled. Left.

Adi's POV

Nihar: "Boss... your personal number? You never give that to anyone."

Adi: "I trust you, you're my best friend, you deserve to know my feelings,When I saw her, I felt she was made for me. Her voice... her eyes... full of pain.

I wanted to protect her. I don't know why. I just know-

She's mine. Only mine."

Vidya's POV

It was 2 PM. I walked to the beach nearby.

Sat on the sand. Eyes burning and still on waves.

Not because I got the job.

Not because of Rajsa.

But because I was shattered.

I cried for hours.

At 8:30 PM, two voices snapped me out of it-

Ayesha: "Babe! Why are you crying?! What happened?!"

Parul: "Are you okay?"

My best friends.

🎀Ayesha Singh - bold, fierce, 5'8, works at Singhania Empire. Long hair. Met 4 years ago.

🎀Parul Dutta - sweet, shy, MBBS student, 5'3. Met 11 years ago.

I hugged them. Told them everything.

Ayesha's blood boiled. She called Shreyansh. Swore at him like a queen in rage.

Then... my phone rang.

Shreyansh:

"Are you mad? Why is Ayesha abusing me? You know what?

I'll never marry a dumb, ugly girl like you.

I love Tina. Apna chehra mat dikhana dobara".

Call ended.

I shattered.

"Apna chehra mat dikhana dobara".

( Don't show me your face ever again )

That line echoed in my ears - again and again -

as if someone had stabbed my heart a million times.

And then came the silence.

The voice of waves somehow calmed the storm inside me,

but what about the wreckage left behind?

What about the heartbreak I was suffering-

the kind that doesn't just break you,

it devours you quietly, piece by piece.

The sea whispered peace,

but inside me... it was a war.

His words didn't just hurt-they haunted.

"Apna chehra mat dikhana dobara."

( Don't ever show me your face again )

Again and again, like a curse, they echoed in my head.

I kept staring at the waves, hoping one of them would carry my pain away,

or maybe pull me in deep enough that I'd feel nothing at all.

~

"Teri hone ke sapna sajati thi

Har pal ko apna maan tera bn rehti thi

Kuch samai ke liye dharti na ho toh chlta

Par tera banne ki koshish mai hurdam krti thi

Tu shayad khel smjhta rha

Mai har mod pe tujhe apna kehte rhi

Mai tuti nhi thi, bs khamosh ho gyi thi

Kyuki tujhme khud ko dhundhti rhi "

~

(I used to weave dreams of being yours,

Every moment I lived, I lived as your own.

Even if the earth vanished for a while, it would’ve been okay—

But I kept trying, endlessly, to become yours.

Maybe you thought it was just a game,

While at every turn, I kept calling you mine.

I wasn’t broken… I just fell silent,

Because I was too busy searching for myself in you)

~

My heart didn't just break... it exploded.

Like someone had set fire to the only thing that kept me alive.

I couldn't breathe. I couldn't cry. I couldn't move.

I just sat there-frozen-trying to register what had just happened.

It was 9:00 PM.

I was supposed to reach home by 9:30.

Badi mummy would be furious if I was even a minute late.

And here I was, not even halfway back.

The distance? At least an hour on foot in this city that suddenly felt unfamiliar-cold, dark, and distant.

Every streetlight flickered like my heartbeat.

Every passing face blurred as tears brimmed my eyes.

But more than the fear of Badi mummy's anger...

I feared reaching home with this version of me-shattered, unwanted, and unloved.

• To be continued...

Did someone witness Vidya breaking down at the beach?

Will she face her badi mummy's wrath?

Or... will a certain Rajsa cross paths with her again?

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