“Jealousy doesn’t ask permission before it settles into your heart.”

🎧 Now Playing: Raabta (Kehte Hain Khuda Ne)

ANAYA’S POV

I hovered at the front door, twisting the strap of my bag hard enough to leave a crescent indention in the leather.

This place felt like something out of a dream.

High ceilings, pools of warm yellow light spilling out of every room, carved pillars, quiet, hushed corridors that seemed to swallow every sound whole.

Beautiful. And intimidating.

Not an easy combination to pull off, and yet-

"Meera Chachi?" Rudra said as he set my bag down on the nearest staircase

His feet made no sound as he walked ahead.

Footsteps answered the summons, growing louder as they approached the front door.

I watched as a woman of around forty-five years, with warm eyes and a welcoming smile emerged from the front door. Her gaze fell on me and she raised a curious brow. "Oh..." she said.

"She'll be staying in the guest room tonight. The hotel was full," he said simply

Meera's face softened instantly and she took my hands in hers. "You must be tired."

"Thank you aunty.."

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Anaya."

"Beautiful name," she said. "You'll be perfectly safe here."

Safe

. The word settled in some lonely part of me and made me ache, even as I forced a smile on my face. "T-thank you aunty..."

"That's a lovely room." She gestured for me to come inside.

I hesitated before stepping forward. "It's very kind of you to let me stay here."

"You're family now," Meera said with a warm smile. "Now, come along beta."

I took another uncertain step forward when the sound of a male voice echoed from the living room. "And here I thought you were done with surprises," the stranger drawled, taking in the sight of me with a slow smile. "Who's this?"

Rudra shot a warning glance in the stranger's direction. "Aman," Meera warned, her tone sharper this time. "Don't be rude."

He raised his hands in mock-offense. "I was only asking, Chachi." He turned to me, eyes softening slightly.

I gave him a small, tight smile. "I'm Anaya."

"Pleased to meet you Anaya." He turned back to Rudra with an amused smile playing on his lips. "Didn't know you were into the whole 'rescuing strangers' thing."

"Aman."

"I'm just saying, in the four years that I've known you, you've only brought home two things. A rescue dog that you named 'Dog', and now-" he gestured vaguely around the room, "-this."

"There isn't a dog anymore," Rudra replied evenly.

"He ran away. I don't blame him," Aman said, completely unabashed by Rudra's glare. He turned back to me and gave me a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, he's much nicer than he looks."

"Aman," Meera said, her tone dangerous. "Kitchen. Now.”

“I’m Aman. Resident troublemaker.” He introduced himself.

“Kitchen!”

He gave me one last smile before walking away. Something told me I wasn't going to be rid of him anytime soon. Something else told me that I was very much looking forward to it.

A flicker of something dark crossed Rudra's features. "Leave him," he told me, almost as an afterthought.

I blinked and managed a small smile, the first genuine one that I'd given all night. "Leave him?"

"Yes," he said, turning back to his food.

Meera clapped her hands together. "First food then sleep, beta."

"But I don't want to be a bother.." I started, only for Rudra to cut me off with a sharp glare. I met his gaze and found a strange warmth in the intensity of it. I swallowed hard, suddenly feeling very small.

Dinner was surprisingly loud for what had been billed as a 'quiet heritage house'.

Meera piled food on my plate with the enthusiasm of someone who'd never taken 'no' for an answer. "Eat, beta. You're too thin."

"I really can't finish it all, I promise," I tried again.

"Eat."

I ate.

Aman watched the whole ordeal with the satisfaction of man who had just won a battle of wills and, I was fairly certain, was never going to let me live this down. “I’m being helpful—” he remarked under his breath. "Nobody wins against Meera Chachi's ladle. I've seen grown men cry."

"I have not made anyone cry," Meera said firmly, already gathering more food on my plate as she shook her head. "It was happiness, Aman."

"He specifically said," Aman replied, turning to me with an unrepentant look on his face, and I quote, 'I can't feel my stomach anymore, Meera-ji, please have mercy.'"

"Aman," Rudra said for the umpteenth time that day, his gaze locked on his plate. "Eat your food."

"See, this is what I mean," Aman said to me, clearly delighted that he'd found someone who actually found his musings entertaining. "Two words. Maximum. That's his whole personality."

I laughed, surprised at how easy it was to do considering how tense I'd been most of the night. Rudra glanced up at me as I laughed, a small smile tugging at his lips before he turned back to his food.

I barely ate anything after that, though the general chattering that filled up the dining room masked the sound of my own heartbeat. It was strange, sitting at this table with these people, so loud and boisterous and yet, for the first time in what felt like forever, I didn't feel so alone.

"You didn't eat much, beta," Meera said gently, watching me with worried eyes. "Don't feel like it?"

"I'm not very hungry," I lied, my fingers tightening around the edge of my plate. The movement didn't escape Rudra's notice, apparently, because he shot me a concerned look, but it quickly disappeared when I met his gaze.

After dinner, Meera walked me to the guest room where I was to be staying. It was nice, with a bed that looked comfortable enough and a washroom adjoining it.

"You can stay as long as you want," she said with a smile. "No pressure."

"Thank you," I said, surprised at how sincere it sounded. "Really."

She left me alone in the room after that, and I let out a long breath before slumping down on the edge of the bed. My knees came up to my chest instinctively as I curled inward, letting all the tension drain out of me.

I had just escaped one world, only to fall into another one just as quickly. One that, perhaps, I was no longer so sure I wanted to leave.

RUDRA'S POV

Aman was leaning nonchalantly against the balustrade when I walked up the stairs. He grinned as if he knew exactly why I was here and, most likely, what I had in mind.

"So," he drawled, tilting his head to the side and giving me that look that always promised trouble. "Tell me what happened."

I poured myself a glass of water as I listened to the sound of my own heartbeat. "There is nothing to tell."

"A girl turns up at midnight and that's not a story?"

"I told you not to involve her in your unnecessary curiosity," I said sharply, fixing him with a withering look.

The teasing light left his eyes instantly and they darkened with something unreadable. "You care."

"I am responsible."

"For a stranger?"

I didn't reply for a while, weighing my response in my mind. "For someone who needed help."

Aman studied me for a long time, a thoughtful expression on his face. He was seeing something in me for the first time, I think, that even I wasn't prepared to admit to myself.

I didn't give him anything else, however.

Some things were best understood in time.

ANAYA'S POV

I couldn't sleep.

Even with all the unfamiliar sounds, the foreign atmosphere, the tightness in my chest that refused to loosen, I could not sleep.

I stood up, pushing myself off the wall and walking towards the balcony doors that led outside. I slid the glass panel open and walked out, letting the chill night air prick my skin, hoping that it would do the trick.

Down below, in the courtyard, I saw Rudra standing with his phone against his ear. His expression was grim as he spoke. "I don't want any security lapses. Keep an eye on the back gate." My heart gave a funny little hop.

Was that because of me?

Before I could step back, he turned his head and our eyes met. For a moment, neither of us said a word. It was strange, this sudden gravity between us, as if we both knew there was something there, something that had yet to be uncovered.

"Sorry," I whispered, already stepping back.

"You don't have to apologize for existing here," he said softly

I halted, staring down at the courtyard floor. That was probably the nicest thing anyone had ever said to me, in my entire life.

"I just... I don't want to be a nuisance."

Something in his expression softened, just a little. "You won't be."

That was all he said, really. Two little words, but somehow they settled in my chest and anchored me. He turned away from me and gave me my space, and for the first time since I walked out of my parents' home two nights ago, I felt safe. Not entirely, and not for long, but safe enough.

For now, that was enough.

✨ END OF CHAPTER 3