A luxury restaurant crowded with VIP guests, its open-sky design revealing a breathtaking view. The full moon lit the surroundings in a soft glow. Set atop a towering building, it felt as though the structure was reaching for the sky, bringing the stars so near they seemed within arm's reach.
A gentle breeze drifted through the air, brushing softly against Nitya's skin as she sat beside Lavanya, waiting for Yug to arrive.
She had come on time.
He hadn't.
Half an hour had already passed, yet there was still no sign of him or his friends.
She had assumed he would be the one waiting for her.
"It's such a romantic place," Lavanya said brightly, eyes sparkling as she painted the scene in her mind. "The air is cool, the tables glowing under soft lights, the crowd lost in their own worlds… and we're right in the middle of it all."
She clasped her hands together, practically glowing with anticipation.
"This is perfect, Nitya. I'm finally on the kind of date I've always dreamed of." She let out a small, breathless laugh. "My heart's been racing this whole time, just thinking about the person I'm going to meet. Nitya… I love it."
Nitya wasn't sure how to respond.
Waiting for someone who had invited you on a date was already frustrating enough. Sitting beside a person who became more excited with every passing second only made it worse.
Her eyes constantly drifted toward the entrance whenever the door moved, hope obvious on her face. Even now, she still hadn't realized she was being kept waiting.
It felt like Lavanya was enjoying the anticipation far too much.
"Yeah… sure. I feel it too," Nitya replied flatly. Her eyes remained fixed ahead as she spoke, though the faint irritation in her voice was hard to miss.
After a brief silence, her expression turned more serious. "Don't fall for him immediately. Control your excitement, and don't make it so obvious that you're interested."
She paused for a moment before adding quietly, "…assuming he's even a decent guy."
"Yes, ma'am."
Nitya could feel the stares drifting toward her and Lavanya from every corner of the place, and none of them were subtle. Most carried quiet admiration, lingering a little too long to ignore. The two of them attracted attention effortlessly, whether they wanted it or not, and a few people had already gathered enough courage to walk over and start conversations.
Nitya turned every single one of them away before things could continue any further. Lavanya, meanwhile, actually tried to respond a couple of times, only for Nitya to cut her off before she could even finish a word.
Suddenly, the whispers around them shifted, growing louder as attention across the restaurant pulled toward a single direction.
"Oh man… look over there."
"Holy shit… she's gorgeous."
"She looks like a queen in that dress…"
"I'm going. She's mine."
Chairs scraped lightly against the floor as people turned to look. Even the atmosphere felt different for a moment, as if the entire place had unconsciously paused.
Nitya frowned slightly and followed their gaze.
Then she saw her.
A girl stepped into view with effortless grace, calm and composed as she walked forward. The soft lights reflected against her hair while her dress moved gently with each step. She wasn't trying to attract attention, yet every eye in the room had already settled on her.
For a brief moment, even Nitya found herself staring.
"…She really is beautiful," she admitted quietly.
But then her expression changed.
Her eyes narrowed faintly as another figure entered her sight.
"…What the hell is Yug doing there?"
The moment she saw the distance between them disappear, Nitya immediately understood something was wrong. She couldn't properly put it into words, but one thought became painfully clear in her mind.
Kruti was crossing a line.
Yug walked beside her, his expression twisted with irritation. For some reason, not a single person dared approach her—and that only seemed to make his mood worse.
He wasn't wearing the blindfold.
His eyes were visible.
Red.
The same shade as Kruti's.
He clicked his tongue. "I told you not to wear this dress. Look at this—every lecher in the place is crawling over. I hate it."
Kruti glanced at him calmly. She had been noticing it for a while now—something wasn't right.
The way he spoke. The way he pushed. Subtle, but deliberate. Almost like he was trying to provoke her… draw her into a fight.
Yug never acted on impulse.
But this—this felt intentional. Calculated.
"I'm sorry," she said evenly. "I didn't account for… the crowd."
She wasn't going to fall for it. Not when he had been the one to suggest the dress. Not when he had insisted she wear it.
Was this planned?
Something about him felt… off. Different. Anyone else might have taken the bait without noticing. But not her.
"Where is your friend?"
Kruti shifted the topic deliberately. She had already guessed he was planning something far beyond a petty argument over a dress. If there was a trap, she would let it unfold—watch it carefully, and dismantle it before he could take control. She was no fool. She recognized a calculated setup the moment she saw one. It was the same kind of game she had played countless times herself.
"Over there," Yug said, gesturing toward the crowd. "At the center. Beneath the moon."
His finger pointed to a table bathed in silver light, the moon hanging directly above it like a spotlight. Across the distance, Kruti and Nitya's eyes met—brief, silent, but enough.
Beside Nitya, Lavanya shivered as Yug's gaze swept over her. It was heavy. Intentional. Then he noticed something else—an extra presence. Unaccounted for. Yug's lips curled into a slow, widening smile. This wasn't part of the plan.
I've failed too many times trying to break away from her.I can't manipulate her. Kruti is too dangerous.
His gaze shifted, settling on the unpredictable variable at the table.
But this… this one might be enough.The one who can break my chains to the protagonist.
His expression slowly stilled, something darker settling beneath his gaze. It no longer mattered whether Kruti could bend people to her will or whether the world itself seemed to favor her at every turn.
None of it mattered now.
Because he had finally found an opening.
"Oh… it makes sense," Kruti said calmly. "Why you couldn't surpass her. And why your rank is so low."
Her gaze settled on Nitya, sharp and deliberate, as if weighing something unseen. Lavanya didn't exist to her—dismissed in a single glance, not even worth a second thought.
Yug stiffened at her words, a faint crease forming between his brows. He could tell that people like them recognized one another, but whatever Kruti had seen in Nitya, he couldn't grasp it. More importantly, he didn't care enough to try.
His thoughts quickly drifted elsewhere, settling on Lavanya instead. A new plan was already taking shape in his mind—he only needed an opportunity to create some distance.
"You—" he started, pulling his hand back.
"Yes," Kruti cut in smoothly. "Come. I'll explain later."
She turned and walked into the crowd without hesitation, her steps calm and assured. Yug remained where he stood for a moment, watching her retreating figure, a slow smile creeping back onto his lips as his gaze shifted past her—
and settled on Lavanya.
***
Vidyut sat at a corner table, partially hidden as he watched Kruti and Yug. He wasn't alone. Across from him sat Sneha, the receptionist who had informed him about this meeting.
At first, he hadn't believed her. He thought she was only trying to distract him. But the moment Kruti arrived beside Yug, he froze for an instant.
His attention had been on Sneha, a faint curiosity lingering in his mind, yet it disappeared completely the second Kruti entered his sight. Beneath the moonlit glow, she seemed almost unreal, enough to leave him briefly stunned.
Then his hand slowly clenched into a fist. His jaw tightened as his gaze fixed on Yug sitting beside her.
That is my place—
"Snap out of it," Sneha hissed, her voice low and sharp. "You're staring too hard. They're going to notice us."
She kept her distance, careful even in the way she spoke. There was always that edge with him—unpredictable, volatile. She had learned not to push too far. This wasn't loyalty that kept her here. It was a deal, and one that still hadn't paid out.
Her information had failed to impress him, and the memory still irritated her. She wasn't accustomed to being doubted. So she had taken a risk and brought him here herself, stepping directly into the field just to prove her worth. She wanted him to understand that she was more than someone hiding behind whispers and reports—that she could accomplish things even people like him could not.
"Oh, I'm sorry. It was just…" His voice trailed off weakly.
Sneha didn't press further. She didn't need to. His eyes already revealed enough. Fixed ahead, unusually soft, they told her everything.
She followed his gaze toward Kruti before looking back at him, quiet understanding settling in.
So that was it. Not focus. Not strategy. Emotion.
A faint disdain crossed her face. He wasn't watching a target. He was staring at someone he loved.
"In love…" she muttered under her breath.
That made things worse.
"I think you need some distance from HER," Sneha said, her tone measured now, almost deliberate. "Stay like this, and you'll only end up hurting yourself more… or—"
She let the word hang.
That was enough.
Vidyut's head snapped toward her, his focus finally breaking. For the first time since they arrived, his attention was entirely on her.
Sneha smiled, slow and knowing. She had him now.
"Or what?" he asked, suspicion threading through his voice.
She crossed her arms, lifting her chin with quiet confidence, as if she had been waiting for this exact moment.
"I can help you," she said. "Right here, right now. I can drive a wedge between Yug and Kruti. Clean, effective… permanent, if you want it to be."
There was no hesitation in her offer. No doubt.
Just intent.
Vidyut's expression shifted, disbelief flickering across his face. His brows tightened slightly, his gaze narrowing as he studied her, searching for cracks in her confidence.
He didn't find trust.
Only audacity.
"You?" he said, unconvinced. "You really think you can pull that off?"
Sneha didn't flinch. If anything, her smile deepened, like she had expected that reaction all along.