Ruhaan's Office – Evening
"I gave you a job. Is it done?"
Ruhaan leaned back in his massive leather chair, eyes closed, head resting against the high backrest, lost in a silence that felt heavier than words. His voice was calm… too calm — the kind of calm that comes before a storm.
"Boss…" the man in front of him spoke hesitantly, trying not to trigger his wrath, "We found something important."
Ruhaan's eyes snapped open.
"Speak." His voice was laced with quiet authority, deadly and focused.
"That girl… the one you've been looking for. She was adopted by an Indian family the very same day you left London twelve years ago. They stayed in London for a while, then moved. Their current location is still unconfirmed, but we're tracking them closely. I'll find her, sir. I promise."
For a moment, silence hung between them.
Then Ruhaan's voice sliced through the air like a whisper of thunder.
"What's her name?"
The man swallowed.
"Aarohi."
The second that name rolled off his lips, something shifted in Ruhaan's expression.
A smile — subtle, dark, and unsettling — curved on his face. A smile of possession. A smile of victory.
It wasn't happiness.
It was obsession given hope.
Aarohi.
He repeated her name under his breath.
Once.
Twice.
Again and again — like a prayer… or a curse.
Kabir, his most trusted man — not just a bodyguard but the closest person Ruhaan ever allowed into his circle — watched silently, knowing better than to question that look.
Ruhaan finally broke the silence.
"I want her. No matter what it takes, find her."
His tone was firm, ice-coated with fire beneath.
Kabir nodded. "Understood, boss," and exited the office.
As the door closed, Ruhaan leaned forward, elbows on the desk, both hands gripping the edge as if holding back something animalistic. His lips moved again…
"Aarohi…"
Her name tasted like power and poison on his tongue.
He laughed — softly at first, then harder, a chilling sound echoing through the empty room.
His eyes burned with desire — not just to meet her…
But to own her.
To claim what he always believed was his.
---
Elsewhere — Aarohi's Home
Aarohi was standing in the narrow kitchen, quietly preparing lunch with tired, mechanical movements. Her eyes seemed distant — far away from the boiling pots and cutting knives. She was somewhere else entirely, her mind dancing through a fog of memories.
Ruhaan.
Why was she thinking about him again?
Before the warmth of his name could settle in her heart, a hand gripped her wrist tightly.
A sharp sting followed.
"Aarohi!" Bina Ji snapped. "Where the hell is your mind? Useless girl! I gave you one job — just one! Can't even do that?"
Aarohi winced. The grip hurt.
Before she could explain, a slap landed across her cheek — so hard it knocked her to the floor.
Her head spun. Her palm touched her burning cheek as tears rolled down instantly. She didn't even scream.
She was used to this.
This wasn't new.
This was her daily routine.
Bina Ji spat out coldly, "Stop crying. Finish cooking. I'm starving."
And with that, she left the kitchen without another glance.
Aarohi stood slowly, her body trembling. She dragged herself back to the stove, ignoring the pain in her cheek, the sting in her heart. She quickly finished lunch, served Bina Ji, and waited silently, eyes lowered like a prisoner watching her captor eat.
Once Bina Ji was done, she left for her room, throwing one last sharp glare at Aarohi.
Then… silence.
Aarohi cleaned the dishes. Cleaned the kitchen.
No one asked if she had eaten.
No one cared.
Because this was routine too.
She hadn't eaten lunch — again.
Sometimes days would pass before her stomach felt full.
But hunger was never the hardest part.
What truly hurt was… being invisible.
---
Later – In Her Room
Aarohi entered her small room — barely big enough for a bed and a broken closet. She closed the door behind her and collapsed onto the thin mattress, hugging herself as the dam inside her finally broke.
She cried.
Loud, muffled sobs that shook her entire body.
She cried not because of the slap.
Not because of the hunger.
But because she felt trapped.
And forgotten.
She clutched her pillow and whispered,
"Why me? Why this life? What did I ever do wrong?"
But life never answered back.
She stared at the cracked ceiling, and then turned to the window — the only piece of freedom she had.
Outside, the sky was heavy with clouds.
And somewhere in the world… she hoped he still existed.
"Do you remember me?"
"Do you still think of me, Ruhaan?"
"Because I… never stopped."
But little did she know…
The boy she remembered had become something else entirely.
And he was already hunting her.
Aarohi sat in silence after her tears had dried — a strange silence, the kind that doesn't bring peace, just numbness.
Her fingers subconsciously traced the faint scar on her wrist — a scar from a time no one ever noticed. A time when the pain inside her became too much to hold.
The world had always been unfair to her, but somehow, she had learned to survive.
Because somewhere deep inside, she still hoped…
Hoped that the boy with the kind eyes, who once asked why she sat alone —
would come back.
That someone, somewhere…
had not forgotten her.
She sat up and looked out the window again. The moon is high now. The stars blurred behind thin clouds.
"If you're still out there… if you really exist… please find me."
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"Before I disappear completely."
---
Meanwhile – Back in Ruhaan's Office
Ruhaan stared at the photo on his phone — little Aarohi with those big innocent eyes and a soft smile that haunted him every damn night.
He leaned back again, eyes half-closed.
"You're mine, purple."
His voice was dangerous… husky…
"You just don't know it yet."
He opened the drawer, pulled out a worn-out sketchbook, and flipped to the back. Hidden behind business plans and maps…
was a hand-drawn portrait of her.
Drawn from memory.
Sketched a thousand times.
Never shown to anyone.
He ran a finger gently along the pencil lines.
"Even if God himself stands between us, I'll burn down heaven to reach you."
The storm inside him was no longer silent.
It was roaring.