On their way to Maya's house, the traffic was heavy. Rain kept pouring, and people were honking nonstop. Everything felt chaotic, like their lives were falling apart. By the time they reached Maya's house, Vedh and Tara were completely drenched and exhausted. Inside the house, it was quiet. As they stood near the entrance, Tara noticed something on the table.
An envelope. Her heart skipped. "Vedh…"
He turned and followed her gaze.
Another letter—lying there, waiting for them.
The letter read -
Hey Maya, You probably don't know me, but yeah, I'm here to help you. And you don't have to come to that exact location—I'll take care of that mess. You just take care and live your life like a free bird. I promise you that you'll have no problem with that guy. I know it's hard to believe me, so let me tell you—I know Uncle Sham, and you know him too. He's a good guy. Just stay home this week, and everything will be fine. Just trust me. If you at least trust me, there's a chance of you surviving in peace. But if you go back there, you'll end up in that hell again. So yeah, just take care. Forget everything, and wishing you a speedy recovery Maya. And I know it's a little silly to write this now, but I wanted to say that I love your smile. So don't you ever stop smiling. Wishing you all the love and success from a secret admirer.
After reading the letter, Vedh said, "Wah! Maya must be soo lucky. Who's this cute, charming secret admirer guy?"
Tara rolled her eyes.
Vedh added, "What, are you jealous of her? Don't worry, Tara, you have me." He winked.
Tara gave a disgusted look and said, "Never."
Vedh replied, "You know what they say… never say never."
Through this journey of finding Maya, Tara realized that Vedh had a crush on her, and she also knew he wouldn't admit it.
Tara went to Maya and asked softly, "How are you feeling now? Better?"
Maya grabbed her hair in frustration. "No… no, no, nooooo! I don't want him. I won't enter that hell again. No!" she screamed in terror.
Tara hugged her tightly, caressed her hair, and said, "It's okay, darling. Listen to me. Everything is going to be okay, okay? Trust me. The day I see that filthy monster who did this to you, I'm going to kill that brat that very day."
And then Vedh walked in, casually eating an apple. "Yeah, Uncle Sham is there, right? He's a great guy. By the way, who is he?"
Maya froze. "What the f— did you just say?"
Tara facepalmed. "Are you stupid, Vedh? Why would you bring that up now? She just woke up."
Vedh took another bite of his apple, gave her puppy eyes, and said, "What? I was just curious."
Maya noticed that Lav wasn't there and asked, "Where is Lav?". Tara replied, "Oh, him? He's such a duffer—". Vedh cut her off. "He had a meeting, so he went out of station." Maya frowned. "Why would he have a meeting?". Vedh said, "He's— I mean, his father had a meeting." "Yeah, but he barely talks to his parents. Or should I say, he never talked to them," Maya said. Vedh replied, "Yeah… but now he had to." Tara cut them both off. "Stop, both of you. And Maya, now it's your turn. What about you? What happened to you? Explain everything to us."
"The first time I saw him, he was wearing a weird mask. I couldn't see him—"
Vedh cut her off. "Wait, Maya, could you explain from the start?". "They gave me some pills that made me unable to hear or speak." "And when I got my senses back, I was in some unknown room. The door was closed, and I was shouting, 'Hey! Is somebody there? Please open the door!' while knocking on it. I kept knocking continuously, screaming for help. Then a maid opened the door. 'Oh, ma'am, you woke up. Let me call our sir.' 'Sir?' I asked. 'Who is he?' Then I saw a man opening the door. He was wearing a white shirt and black pants, and he wore a mask."
"Hello, my princess. How are you? Let me introduce myself. I'm Veer—Veer Malhotra."
I replied, "So what, Veer… I mean, Veer Malhotra? What am I supposed to do with your name anyway? I'm not as free as you are, and I don't talk to stupid people."
He chuckled and said, "I do."
Before I could even react, someone else walked in. "Well, well… look who it is. Maya."
I was shocked. How did this man know my name?
So I asked, "How do you people know me?"
Veer stepped forward. "Well, you are Maya Qureshi. Your favorite color is black. You love street food, especially momos. Your close friends are Tara and Vedh. And the thing you don't know about yourself is that Lav has a crush on you."
His eyes locked onto mine. "Your anger. Your fearlessness. Your character. Everything about you made me fall for you.
I let out a short laugh. "Wow. That's creepy, not romantic."
I met his gaze. "Liking facts about me doesn't mean you own me. And don't mistake my fearlessness for permission." I paused, then asked, "And by the way, how do you know everything about me?"
He chuckled, looking proud of himself, and said, "I'll tell you later. First, have your breakfast."
"I said, 'Nah, I'll have it later. Can I see your mansion? This room itself looks very cool. Can I?''I asked. 'Sure,' said Veer.
While we were walking through the mansion, I saw many servants working under him. Most of the house was covered in black. A random thought crossed my mind.
Wait… his mansion is completely black-themed. Is it because I like the color black? Wow, this man is crazy.
I couldn't stop my thoughts, so I asked him, 'Is your whole mansion black because it's my favorite color?'
Veer chuckled and didn't answer.
I facepalmed, feeling embarrassed. Shit. Why did I ask that?
Veer said, "Okay, let's go."
As we reached the basement, I glanced at one of the rooms and said, "Wait… this room looks interesting. Let me check it out."
Veer's expression hardened. "No need," he said sharply.
I didn't listen and started walking toward it anyway.
Suddenly, he yelled at me out of nowhere, "How many fucking times do I have to tell you—don't go!"
I froze, fear rushing through me.
I immediately turned back and started going to my room. But before I could take even three steps—
Bang.
A loud crack echoed through the corridor.
"A bullet passed very close to Veer's shoulder but did not hit him."
He pulled me into his arms without a word. I stiffened, still shaking. Then he yelled at a few guards, ordering them to take care of the situation.
One of the guards rushed over and gently took me away from Veer. As I looked around, I noticed other people wearing masks—but their masks were different, not the same as Veer's people.
All I could hear were gunshots.
When I turned to look at him, he was drenched in blood. His white shirt turned red within seconds. Thinking I had already left, Veer yelled out in fury.
"Who the hell do you people think you are? I'm the world's biggest mafia. You really think you can play games with me? I'll make sure you people regret it."
He laughed after that—a low, chilling sound that made me even more scared.