Chapter 4

Sunday mornings usually belonged to peace: chai steaming gently, her father humming while reading the newspaper, her mother fussing over breakfast, and Harsh running around making unnecessary noise.

But today, Aanya felt... unsettled.

Not in a bad way.

Just in a Veer way.

Every time she tried to read, his voice floated back:

"Stop analysing me."

"Ignoring me won't work."

"Chhori, tu dimaag chalati bohot hai."

She pushed her spectacles up.

This was ridiculous.

She needed to clear her head. So when her father suggested she deliver some old books to the community center, she agreed immediately.

Fresh air. Quiet roads.

No Veer Singh Rathore.

She almost convinced herself of that last part.

Until she reached the center.

Until she saw him.

Until she realized he wasn't alone.

---

VEER

He did NOT want to be here.

Raghav had dragged him to help repair the center's old generator, and Veer had come only because saying no meant enduring an hour of Raghav's emotional blackmail.

Now he was standing under the shade of a neem tree, wiping sweat from his forehead, wishing for silence.

He got noise instead.

In the form of Karan Singh.

Veer's cousin. The chaos incarnate.

Karan strolled toward him, grinning. "Bhai, generator chhodo. Sun, ek baat bolun?"

"No."

"Kuch toh sun-"

"No."

"Itni gussa? Kis baat ka? Woh library waali ladki-"

"Bas," Veer snapped.

Karan opened his mouth to continue-and then froze.

His smile widened.

"Oh ho... bhabhi aa gayi."

Veer spun around instinctively.

And there she was.

Aanya Malik, carrying a stack of books, dupatta fluttering softly, eyes searching the area with her usual calm that somehow made Veer's pulse trip.

She hadn't seen him yet.

But Karan had seen her.

And Karan being Karan, immediately straightened his kurta, slicked back his hair, and whispered, "Aaj toh setting pakki."

Veer saw red.

---

AANYA

Her steps slowed.

Karan Singh-she recognized him from weddings and festivals. A charming troublemaker. He spotted her instantly and waved.

"Aanya ji!" he called, flashing his movie-star grin.

She smiled politely. "Namaste, Karan bhaiya."

"Arre bhaiya mat bolo," he said dramatically, clasping his chest. "Dil toot jaata hai."

Aanya laughed, soft and genuine.

But something tugged her attention.

A presence.

A heat.

A pull.

Her eyes drifted past Karan.

And found him.

Veer stood a few meters away, eyes locked on her with the same intensity he tried so hard to hide. His jaw clenched. His hand tightened around a wrench. His entire body stiffened as Karan stepped closer to her.

Aanya blinked.

Is he... angry?

Karan leaned in slightly. "Smile do na, Aanya ji. Aaj ka din ban jaaye."

Before she could reply-

Something heavy dropped.

A wrench.

Right at Veer's feet.

Karan jumped. "Bhai! Sambhal ke!"

Veer's voice came out low, razor-sharp:

"Main sambhal raha hoon."

But his glare wasn't for the wrench.

It was for Karan.

And Karan-delighted-whispered loudly,

"Jealousy looks good on you, bhai."

Veer nearly lunged for him.

---

VEER

He wasn't jealous.

He wasn't.

He absolutely-

"Bhai, tu aankhon se maar daalega Karan ko," Raghav muttered from behind him.

Veer growled. "Bolna band kar."

Aanya was talking to Karan now. Smiling. Tilting her head that adorable way she did when listening carefully. Karan was being his usual dramatic self, throwing exaggerated lines at her.

And Aanya...

Aanya looked like she didn't mind.

Veer's stomach twisted sharply.

Why does it bother me?

She can talk to anyone she wants.

I don't care. I don't-

Karan reached to take the books from her hands.

Veer moved before his brain caught up.

"Main utha deta hoon," he said, voice deeper than intended.

Aanya looked up at him, eyes wide.

Karan smirked.

"Abey, Veer-"

"Chup."

Karan raised both hands in defeat. "Theek hai, bhai. Tum dono handle karo."

He winked at Aanya shamelessly before walking off.

Veer felt an odd sense of victory.

And then immediate embarrassment.

Because Aanya was staring at him like she could see the entire pathetic jealousy unfold inside him.

---

AANYA

He took the books from her hands gently, but with an unnecessary amount of force-like the books were Karan and he was punishing them.

She fought a smile.

"You didn't have to help," she said softly.

"I know," he muttered. "But I'm helping."

She followed him inside the center.

Veer walked too fast.

She walked too calmly.

Their energies collided in the air between them.

When they reached the shelves, he set the books down, exhaled shakily, and finally looked at her.

"What was he saying to you?" Veer asked, trying (and failing) to sound casual.

"Karan? He was just being friendly."

"Friendly," Veer repeated flatly.

"Yes."

"He flirts with everyone."

Aanya raised an eyebrow. "Are you telling me... or asking me?"

Veer looked away immediately.

She stepped closer, lowering her voice.

"You were angry."

"No."

"You were jealous."

Veer choked on air.

Aanya smiled-small, soft, devastating.

"You don't have to admit it."

"I'm not jealous," he insisted, ears turning red.

"Of course not," she whispered. "You're just... observing closely."

He glared.

She smiled wider.

---

VEER

She was going to drive him insane.

Absolutely insane.

He wanted to walk away, but his feet refused. He wanted to argue, but his voice wouldn't rise above a whisper.

She moved one book on the shelf, brushing past him gently.

Veer's heartbeat fumbled.

"Tum..." he began.

She looked up. "Hmm?"

"Tum... bohot irritate karti ho."

She laughed.

And something warm punched him in the chest.

He looked away, muttering,

"Karan se door raho."

"Why?" she asked quietly.

He froze.

Why?

Because the idea of her smiling like that at someone else made something burn inside him.

Because she was calm in a way that pulled him in.

Because she saw through him too easily.

"Bas," he said weakly. "Door raho."

She didn't push him further.

Didn't tease.

Just nodded once.

And that terrified him more than anything.

---

AANYA - LATER AT HOME

Leela Malik immediately noticed the change.

The way Aanya hummed while washing fruit.

The way her cheeks held a quiet glow.

The way she seemed... distracted.

"Chori," her mother said, narrowing her eyes. "Koi baat chhupa rahi hai?"

Aanya froze mid-step.

"No."

Prakash Malik peered over his glasses. "Aanya, sach hamesha mushkil hota hai, par jaroori."

Aanya looked at the floor.

Harsh jumped in happily,

"Didi kisi ladke se mili!"

Aanya choked on air.

Her mother gasped.

Her father raised his eyebrows.

Harsh grinned like he won a medal.

Aanya covered her face. "Bas. Kuch nahi. Please."

But the warmth in her cheeks betrayed her.

Aanya sighed.

Because the worst part wasn't their teasing.

The worst part was...

They might not be wrong.

***

Chapter 5

AANYA

The afternoon sun felt hotter than usual as she walked toward the community center. She had told herself she wasn't going for Veer.

She was going because the children's reading corner needed volunteers.

Simple. Normal. Logical.

But logic wavered the moment she stepped inside and saw him.

Veer stood near the old generator, muscles taut, brows drawn tight, frustration radiating off him like heat waves. Raghav was talking to him in hushed urgency, but Veer wasn't listening. His jaw ticked-sign of anger barely held together.

Aanya paused.

And then Karan walked in.

Of course he walked in.

He spotted her instantly, grinning with mischief that spelled disaster.

"AANYA JI!" he announced dramatically.

Every head turned.

Veer's included.

His eyes sharpened, darkened. The shift was instant.

Karan reached her first.

"Kal se dhoond raha tha aapko," he said, brushing imaginary dust off her shoulder. "Aaj to library waale kapde aur bhi-"

"Karan."

Veer's voice cut through the air like steel.

Aanya looked up just in time to see Veer walking toward them, eyes locked on Karan with a glare that could melt metal.

Karan smirked.

"Jealous log aa gaye."

Veer didn't even argue this time.

He simply stepped between them.

A protective, possessive move he didn't think through.

Aanya's breath caught.

---

VEER

He didn't plan to react.

He didn't mean to react.

But the second he saw Karan leaning too close, touching her shoulder, smiling at her like she belonged in his pocket-

Veer snapped.

He didn't touch her.

Didn't speak to her.

He just placed himself between them like a wall.

Karan raised a brow. "Bhai, hadd ho gayi. Itna toh main shaadi ke mandap pe bhi nahi aaunga tumhare saath."

"Karan," Veer growled, "main keh raha hoon-"

"Pyaar mein gussa bilkul normal hai," Karan said loudly, dramatically, knowing Aanya was listening.

Veer saw red.

"Karan. Bhaag."

Karan laughed and disappeared inside before Veer could actually swing at him.

"Idiot," Veer muttered, rubbing his temples.

But when he turned to Aanya-

She looked upset.

Not angry.

Not irritated.

Hurt.

Veer's stomach dropped.

"What?" he snapped more harshly than intended. "Kya hua?"

She flinched. Just slightly.

And that flinch punched him in the chest harder than any fist could.

---

AANYA

She didn't know why the sting hit so sharply.

Maybe because his voice hadn't been directed at her but had still landed on her.

Maybe because she wasn't used to being spoken to like she was part of someone's frustration.

Maybe because...

his opinion mattered more than she wanted it to.

Aanya swallowed.

"You're angry."

"I'm not-" he began.

She tilted her head.

He shut up.

"You're angry," she repeated softly, "and you're taking it out on everyone. Including me."

Veer's breath stilled.

Raghav's voice echoed from behind, "Bhai, bas dekh le-"

"Raghav," Veer snapped. "Ja."

Raghav quietly vanished.

Leaving Veer and Aanya alone in the dim, dusty corridor.

Aanya met his eyes. "Talk to me."

"I don't want to talk," Veer muttered.

"Which is exactly why you should."

He shot her a glare-but it wasn't cold.

It was... afraid.

---

VEER

He hated this.

Hated how she looked at him.

Hated how being seen made him feel weak.

"You don't understand," he muttered.

"Then explain," she said calmly.

"I said I don't want to."

"Veer."

Her voice-quiet, gentle, steady-hit him harder than shouting would.

The words slipped out before he could stop them.

"I can't control it sometimes."

Aanya didn't move.

"When things go wrong," he continued, voice rough, "I get... angry. Fast. Hard. It's just-there. Like fire. And then people think-"

"That you're cruel?" she whispered.

Veer looked away.

"I'm not cruel," he said, almost defensively, almost pleadingly.

"I know," she replied without hesitation.

His eyes snapped to hers.

"How?" he demanded.

She smiled-soft, sad, knowing.

"Because your anger never hurts anyone. It only hurts you."

That...

That cut deeper than anything.

Veer felt something dangerous shift inside him.

Not anger.

Not ego.

Something vulnerable.

Something that wanted to reach for her.

But before he could speak-

Karan returned, yelling from afar,

"Aanya ji! Aap ka dupatta atak gaya yahaan-"

Veer slammed the wrench onto the table so hard Karan jumped.

"KA-RAN."

Karan backed away instantly. "Theek hai bhai! Shanti!"

Aanya bit her lip to hold back a laugh.

Veer glared at her.

"You think this is funny?"

"A little."

"I was angry."

"A lot."

He opened his mouth-then shut it.

She stepped closer.

Too close.

"Veer," she murmured, voice soft as breath, "don't take your anger out alone. Let someone help."

"No," he said instantly. "Main-tum- this is not-"

"Why not?" she asked gently.

"Because you'll see more than I want you to," he whispered.

Aanya's heartbeat fluttered.

"I already do," she said softly. "And I'm not going anywhere."

Veer inhaled sharply.

Something inside him shattered.

Something else settled.

He looked away first.

But this time-

he didn't walk away.

---

AANYA - LATER THAT EVENING

Her mother noticed the glow on her face the moment Aanya stepped into the house.

Leela Malik pointed a spoon at her dramatically.

"Chori, yeh kis ki soch mein khoi hai tu?"

Aanya blushed.

Her father raised an eyebrow over his newspaper.

Harsh jumped in happily,

"Didi ke dimag mein koi ladka ghus gaya!"

Aanya shot him a glare, but her smile betrayed her.

Because for the first time...

She wasn't analyzing a person.

She was feeling him.

---

VEER - SAME EVENING

Veer sat on the workshop steps long after everyone left.

Karan teased him.

Raghav smirked.

Both left alive only because Veer was too distracted to kill them.

He kept replaying her words.

"I'm not going anywhere."

"Your anger only hurts you."

"Let someone help."

No one had ever spoken to him like that.

No one had ever wanted to understand him without fear.

No one had ever looked at him like he was worth calming.

Veer leaned back against the wall, exhaling shakily.

"Bas," he muttered to himself. "Door rehna hai."

But his voice lacked conviction.

His chest remained warm.

His mind remained full of her.

And in the quiet evening light, Veer finally admitted the truth he had been choking on:

He wasn't afraid of Aanya Malik.

He was afraid of what she made him feel.

***

Chapter 6

The marketplace was louder than usual, bursting with weekend crowds. She had come for something simple—a new bottle of jasmine hair oil. Ordinary. Calm.

Except nothing felt calm inside her.

Not after yesterday.

Not after standing close enough to Veer to feel his breath.

Not after hearing him admit — in his own raw, stubborn way — that he couldn’t control the fire inside him.

She kept walking through the crowded lane, lost in her thoughts, until someone brushed past her too roughly. Her books almost slipped from her hands.

Aanya steadied herself.

Then it happened again—another shove, harder this time.

The crowd was becoming restless around a street performer. People pushed, elbowed, strained to watch. Aanya exhaled slowly, trying not to panic.

But her breath caught when a man stumbled into her from behind, knocking her backward—

A strong hand gripped her wrist.

Firm. Steady.

She didn’t need to turn to know who it was.

Veer.

---

VEER

He had NOT followed her.

He was here because Riya needed new bangles and refused to go alone.

That was the story.

That was the truth.

…mostly.

He spotted Aanya near the vendor stalls the moment they arrived. The soft cotton suit. The braid with jasmine. The way she held her books like they were part of her breath.

Riya was selecting bangles, chattering nonstop, but Veer’s eyes kept drifting back to Aanya.

Again.

And again.

He was just… making sure she was safe.

That was all.

Just safety.

Only safety.

Then he saw the crowd pushing her.

He didn’t think.

He moved.

“Careful,” he murmured, pulling her toward him before she fell. His hand slid from her wrist to her forearm, steadying her entirely.

Her breath hitched.

And Veer’s chest tightened.

She looked up at him, eyes wide behind her spectacles. Soft. Vulnerable. Trusting.

A sunbeam fell across her face and he forgot how to breathe for a moment.

“You okay?” he asked, voice lower than he meant.

“Yes.”

A pause.

“But… thank you.”

He stepped slightly in front of her, blocking the crowd.

Instinct.

Reflex.

Something deeper.

No one bumped her after that.

Because one look at Veer’s glare and the entire lane shifted away.

---

AANYA

When the crowd calmed, Veer didn’t move away.

He stood there, breathing harder than the situation required, eyes scanning her face for any sign of hurt.

She watched him quietly.

“You get angry when someone pushes me?” she asked softly.

Veer shot her a look. “Who wouldn’t?”

“Kaaran?” she teased gently.

Veer clenched his jaw.

“That idiot flirts. Yeh alag baat hai.”

She tilted her head. “So you were jealous.”

“I WAS NOT—”

He stopped, inhaled sharply.

“I was… concerned,” he muttered.

Aanya smiled, tiny and devastatingly gentle.

Something shifted inside her chest. Something tender. Something frightening.

“Veer… can I tell you something?” she asked.

He nodded cautiously.

“I’m not always as calm as I seem,” she whispered. “I… get scared of things too.”

He blinked, thrown off.

“You?”

“Yes,” she said softly. “I get scared of disappointing my parents. Scared that I feel too much but can’t say enough. Scared that… someone will see me wanting something and call it selfish.”

Veer swallowed. Hard.

She looked down for a moment, fingers twisting the end of her dupatta.

“I pretend I don’t care. But I do. A lot.”

The honesty hung between them like warm rain.

Veer didn’t speak immediately.

He stepped closer instead.

“Aanya,” he said quietly, “being scared doesn’t make you weak.”

She met his eyes slowly.

“And hiding it?” she asked. “What does that make someone?”

Veer went still.

Her gaze wasn’t accusing.

It wasn’t sharp.

It was… understanding.

Too understanding.

“Someone who’s trying,” he whispered. “Bus.”

Aanya’s heart stuttered.

She hadn’t realized how badly she needed to hear exactly that.

“How do you always know the right thing to say?” she asked.

Veer huffed a soft, shaky laugh. “Mujhe khud nahi pata.”

---

RIYA

Riya returned with two sets of bangles in hand, chewing roasted peanuts.

“Tayy—” she froze mid-step.

Veer was standing dangerously close to Aanya.

Aanya’s eyes were soft.

Veer’s anger was nowhere to be seen.

Riya’s grin spread wickedly.

“Oh HO,” she announced loudly enough for half the market. “Kya scene chal raha hai yahan?”

Veer jerked back as if burned. “RIYA—”

Aanya flushed, pushing her spectacles up.

Riya circled them both like a shark spotting prey.

“Veer bhai,” she said sweetly, “tumhari aankhen abhi tak Aanya bhabhi pe hi kyun chipki hui thi?”

Veer sputtered. “Meri aankhen— kya— main— shut up!”

“Arre shut up toh tab bologe jab main jootiyan khane se darrun!” Riya declared proudly.

She turned to Aanya.

“Aapko pata hai? Jab aap girne wali thi, bhai ne aise bhaaga jaise koi filmi hero!”

“RIYA!” Veer nearly shouted.

“Yes, bhai?” she replied innocently.

“Ghar chal,” he growled, ears turning red.

“Han, chalte hain. Par Aanya bhabhi ko bye toh bolne de!”

“RIYA!”

Aanya bit her lip to hold back laughter.

Veer glared at both of them, but it was a helpless kind of glare.

Riya waved dramatically at Aanya.

“Bye bhabhi! Agli baar Veer bhai ko sambhal lena!”

Veer dragged her away by the elbow.

---

AANYA

The moment they left, Aanya pressed a hand over her mouth to hide her smile.

Heat fluttered through her chest, soft and warm and terrifyingly sweet.

He protected me.

He listened to me.

He saw me.

Not as someone analytical.

Not as someone calm.

But as someone who was human, scared, imperfect.

Her heart felt too full.

She closed her eyes and whispered to herself:

“Dangerous man.”

But she didn’t walk away from danger this time.

---

VEER

Veer walked fast, dragging Riya along, face burning.

“Riya,” he muttered under his breath. “Tu marne wali hai.”

Riya only laughed harder.

“Bhai, nazar utaar lo. Bhabhi khoobsurat hai, kya karein?”

“Riya—”

“Bhai, tum usko dekhte ho toh tumhari aankhen literally chamak rahi hoti hain.”

Veer stopped walking.

Chamak rahi?

He hated how true it felt.

He ran a hand through his hair, heart pounding uncontrollably.

She told me her fears.

She trusted me.

She looked at me like… I mattered.

He closed his eyes briefly.

“Bas,” he muttered. “Aage mat bol.”

Riya softened.

“Bhai… tu sach mein fas gaya.”

He didn’t deny it.

Because denial was pointless now.

His anger didn’t flare around Aanya.

His ego melted around Aanya.

His walls cracked around Aanya.

And when she’d looked at him today—

like he was safe,

like she believed in him,

like he was more than his anger,

—something inside him broke open.

He wasn’t running anymore.

He couldn’t.

She had already become too important.

And that scared him more than anything ever had.

***

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