Bangalore, morning time.

Hania was sitting quietly at the dining table, having her breakfast. She didn’t lift her eyes even once to look at Ransh, but she knew very well that Ransh was staring at her. Until now, Ransh had been ignoring her but now, she was the one ignoring him.

Ransh slammed his hand on the table and said, “Don’t you dare, cupcake!”

Hania lifted her gaze and looked at him.

“What have I done now? I’m not even saying anything, yet you still have a problem. What do you want? Should I disappear from in front of your eyes, or should I stay visible but not let you see me? Tell me clearly what exactly do you want?”

Grinding his teeth, Ransh said, “Are you trying to ignore me?”

Hania replied immediately, “I’m not trying I am ignoring you. So you can also feel what it’s like when someone ignores you. You ignored me for a whole month, didn’t you? So now enjoy it a little… taste your own medicine! Only then will you understand how the other person feels.”

Saying this, she picked up her school bag and added, “I’m done. You continue eating.”

With that, she walked out.

Ransh took a deep breath, grabbed his phone, and followed Hania outside.

Hania was walking toward her car when Ransh caught her hand, pulled her close, and said, “Quietly get into the car, or else—”

At that moment, Hania was extremely close to him. They were staring into each other’s eyes.

Hania looked at him and said, “Or else what will you do? You threaten like you’ll do something huge, but you can’t do anything… except roam around and grind your teeth. Don’t grind them so much that they break. And anyway, today I want to go to school alone not with you. Got it? So why are you forcing me when I’m not in the mood?”

Hearing her words, Ransh took a deep breath and said, “Don’t test my patience level, or the problem will be yours… a very big one. That’s why I’m telling you quietly get into the car, because I don’t want to do something that’ll cause you trouble. You get it?”

Hania stared into his eyes for a few seconds, then sighed and said, “You’ll have to let go of my hand first only then will I sit in the car.”

As soon as she said that, Ransh released her hand. Hania silently sat on the passenger seat, and Ransh took the driver’s seat and drove toward her school.

On the way, Hania looked at him and said, “If you don’t mind, I want to ask you a question.”

Ransh glanced at her and said softly, “Ask. What do you want to ask? I know it’ll be some nonsense question, right?”

Hania shook her head. “Wrong, Mr. Shadow! It’s not nonsense it’s very important. Maybe not for you, but it is for me. Will you tell me one thing? What kind of oath did you take in the last one month that you didn’t come in front of me at all?

It’s been more than a month since Mom and Dad left, and since the day they went away, you haven’t appeared in front of me. I just want the answer to this question. In fact, even when they were here, you never came to India you were always outside India. Why?”

Ransh looked at her and said, “Forget about me… tell me, why are you so desperate to know all this? And if I’m not in front of you, and if I’m not in India, what difference does it make?”

Hania glared at him. “It does make a difference, Mr. Shadow! That’s why I’m asking. Now will you tell me, or will you try to twist the conversation again?”

Looking straight ahead, Ransh said, “I don’t think it’s necessary to answer any of your questions. So you don’t need to ask me such useless things either. Your school has arrived you can go. And yes, don’t try any foolish stunt again, like going outside the school and all that… because this time, I won’t come. And if you step out of the school, the punishment will be very bad. Maybe you won’t be able to forget it. You get it?”

Angrily, Hania got out of the car and slammed the door shut. Then she silently walked toward the school building.

Ransh stood there for a few moments, the car still parked, his eyes fixed on Hania. Until she disappeared inside, he didn’t move the car. As soon as she was out of sight, he finally drove away.

Almost an hour later, he was in his cabin, reading a file, when someone knocked on the door.

In a sharp voice, he said, “Come in!”

Vartika entered. Seeing her, his expression darkened slightly, but he didn’t react immediately.

Vartika sat in front of him and said, “After everything that happened yesterday, we couldn’t talk properly, Ransh. So I thought why not sit and talk calmly? So what have you decided? Look, you’ll have to do this project with me. You’ve already signed the contract papers, so you can’t back out now. And I promise, you won’t face any kind of problem because of this project. You’ll be happy… just try working with me once. I won’t let you face any kind of trouble any kind.”

She stressed heavily on the words “any kind.”

Listening to her, Ransh said coldly, “What do you think? What have you taken me for? What are you trying to prove by saying such things that you’re a characterless woman?”

“After what my Buttercup did to you yesterday, you still have the nerve to come to me again? Think about it if she gets even a hint of this, what will she do to you next? For now, she only burned your car. Didn’t she say that next time, instead of the car, it could be you?”

Hearing this, Vartika said in shock, “You’re taking that girl’s words so seriously and talking so casually about it? She was talking about killing someone!”

Ransh cut her off immediately. “So what? She was only talking… I can actually do it.”

Hearing Ransh’s words, Vartika’s expressions changed completely. Beads of sweat appeared on her forehead as she looked at him in fear.

Ransh said in a hard, threatening tone, “Get out of here! I’m not in the mood to talk to you or answer any of your nonsense questions. I know I have to do the project with you and I will. But you’ll have to stay within your limits. If you even try to come near me… I don’t know what I’ll do to you.”

Gathering some courage, Vartika said, “But yesterday, you seemed to like it when I was close to you…”

A crooked smile appeared on Ransh’s lips. Smiling, he said, “What do you think that when a woman like you comes close to me, I’ll feel good? No. Never! I don’t even like your smell. You know, after leaving the office, I went straight to take a shower because your smell was on my body and I didn’t like that. Only one person’s fragrance is allowed on my body. No one else’s. Now just get out!”

Hearing his terrifying words, Vartika’s face turned pale. She didn’t have the courage to question him any further. She stood up and quickly walked toward the door but then she stopped, turned to look at Ransh, and said, “Be careful, Mr. Kapoor. The fragrance you like so much on your body what if that fragrance ends up on someone else’s body?”

Saying this, she immediately walked out.

Hearing Vartika’s last words, Ransh’s expressions turned extremely dark. He closed his eyes and said to himself, “Only one person has a right over my body and my soul… only one. No one else. And over her body and her soul only I have the right!”

As he said this, a dangerously terrifying smile curved his lips. If anyone had seen that smile, they would have been scared.