"Maya, where is the exact place where Veer met or saw you for the first time?" Lav asked.
Maya raised an eyebrow. "Who told you about Veer?"
Lav innocently pointed at Vedh.
Maya facepalmed, sighed, and said, "It was evening, and I was walking along the side path of the road. A big guy was a little ahead of me. The traffic was busy. He was looking up, staring at the clouds, when a biker came driving rashly—it felt like he almost crashed into him.
I pulled the big guy aside, and apparently, I scolded him instead of the biker because he was already gone. I held his hand and pulled him back, scolding him like, 'Watch out, grandma!'
"And I kept yelling at him continuously. And guess what? He chuckled softly, watching the fire in my eyes.
I snapped, 'What?'
He just shrugged and said, 'You scare the traffic better than the traffic cops.'
I rolled my eyes and said, 'Now you better apologize.'
Veer frowned. 'Why would I apologize to you?'
'Because you ruined my mood,' I shot back.
He chuckled again, scratched his head, and looked down before mumbling, 'Am I… falling for my bodyguard?'
'Huh? Excuse me? Did you say something?' I asked.
He shook his head quickly. 'No.'
Maya sighed and added, "And that's how my story began with Veer and how i officially ruined my life."
"Then? Then?" Vedh said excitedly. "Continue your mafia story."
Maya raised an eyebrow and replied, "You're showing way too much interest in my life."
Vedh grinned. "What can I say? Your few days in his house are more interesting than my entire life."
Maya continued her story.
"Days passed slowly. And somewhere along the way, I started feeling like this guy was… obsessed with me.
Not in a good way."
Before… if I didn't listen to him, he would just stand there—right in front of me—without saying anything. But later --
She paused.
"Later?" Tara asked carefully.
Maya swallowed. "Later… he slapped me when I didn't listen."
Vedh shot up from his seat. "That bastard," he snapped, fists clenched. "I swear, if he were in front of me right now—"
"Don't," Tara cut in, her voice shaking with anger. "Don't even get me started. What kind of sick, messed-up person raises a hand on someone like that?" She turned to Maya, eyes burning. "He's disgusting."
Lav had gone completely quiet. Then he laughed—low, sharp, and furious. "Slapped you?" he repeated. "Wow. What a brave man. Hitting a girl to feel powerful." His jaw tightened. "If I ever see him again, he's done."
Vedh shook his head. "I hate people like that."
Tara moved closer to Maya. "You didn't deserve that. Not even a little."
Lav looked at Maya and said firmly, "No one ever gets to touch you like that again. Ever."
"Guys, calm down. You people haven't even reached the worst part," Maya said. "What?" Tara frowned. Maya continued, "I hear gunshots and screams echoing through the walls." And one random day, I felt like there was a lot of Hungama going on."
I had just woken up when Veer came in and said, "Good morning, my princess! Come on, get ready for the marriage." "Marriage?" I questioned, completely shocked. Veer replied, "Our marriage, honey." "I'm sorry, what?" I asked again, completely stunned. "Yeah, you heard it right—our marriage. You're going to be mine. Only mine." He winked, smiled, and went off. I collapsed onto the cold floor, tears streaming down my face. "No… nooo… no," I screamed. "Please, let me go. I beg you—I'll do anything. Anything but this."
A few people came in to do my makeup and hair. I kept ruining it on purpose—smudging, shaking, crying—and they kept fixing it again and again. The room felt suffocating. Then Veer snapped.
He pulled out a gun and fired .A guard fell to the ground right in front of me.
I couldn't move. I couldn't even scream.
Veer leaned close, his voice low and calm, almost gentle. "Get ready," he said. "Or everyone here dies. You'll watch it happen—one by one—before our marriage. "He paused. "You don't want that, do you?"
Tears spilled down my face as I whispered, "No." Veer turned and walked away. Uncle Sham was making signs from outside, like he wanted to talk to me. So I told them, "I have to go to the washroom," and left. I just hugged him and cried into his arms. He hugged me back, caressed my head, and said, "Don't worry, sweetie. I'll make sure you escape—just trust me, okay?"I nodded quietly, having no other option but to trust him. We arrived at the marriage venue. Veer stood there in his clean white suit, watching everything closely. I stepped in beside him, wearing a white gown that felt heavy on my body, my heart pounding with every step. I held white flowers while my hands were trembling.
I was desperately praying to God that Uncle Sham would rescue me. Suddenly, a smoke bomb exploded, filling the air with chaos, and enemies started attacking. People screamed in terror. People started running. I couldn't see anything.
A hand grabbed mine.
My heart stopped.
Then a familiar voice whispered close to my ear, "I'm here, ma'am. Let's go." Uncle Sham showed me a secret path leading into the forest and yelled, "Run!" I shook my head, tears already falling. "Wait… you're not coming with me?"He smiled gently, even in all that chaos. "No. I can't. I have to take care of them. You go." "I'll be right behind you in my prayers. Be brave. Live." My chest tightened as tears spilled out. I turned and ran. The path was rough and rocky. I stumbled and fell, my hands scraping against the ground. I cried but forced myself up and kept running. When I finally stopped, breathless and shaking, I realized I was lost—alone in the woods. After walking for days, weak and exhausted, I finally found a way out of the woods. To my shock, I saw posters of myself everywhere. I followed them, my heart racing, and that's when I found Tara.
After hearing the story, Lav left the house without a word and returned within an hour. He brought her favorite snacks and a bouquet of red flowers. Maya took them and smiled, confused.
"Thank you so much, Lav. That's really sweet of you," Maya said.Lav replied, "Yeah… I just thought this might make you feel a little better, since you went through something really terrible." And for some reason, Tara wasn't jealous of the care Lav showed to Maya, throughout the whole journey of her kidnapping and Neha calling him her boyfriend had already brushed Lav slightly out of Tara's mind. That same night, Lav quietly came into Maya's room and slept on the floor. Maya didn't notice—he had come in after she fell asleep.
When Maya woke up, she rubbed her eyes and accidentally stepped on something. Startled, she slowly opened her eyes—and froze when she saw Lav sleeping on the cold floor.
She screamed, making Lav jump awake.
The moment she recognized him, she sighed in relief. "Uff… you scared me!"
Then she crossed her arms and said, "Hello, sir? Excuse me—the other rooms are vacant. Why are you sleeping on the cold floor here?"
Lav scratched the back of his neck, a little embarrassed. "Yeah, I know… I just wanted to make sure you're safe."
Inside, Maya felt her heart soften. Aww.
But she hid it and said firmly, "No thanks. You can go now."