Introducing the second couple of the series on my birthday >>>

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The initial excitement wore off, evoking a high rush of adrenaline and the forthcoming aftermath finally seemed to register in her head. She wondered if she was being rebellious or an utter fool ?

Apeksha visibly shuddered under the camera flash, secretly glaring at the constable who was hovering too close, his phone pointed at her face.

From the corner of her eyes, she caught the sight of her trembling friends, the sitting ducks of the same mess. Naksh and Lakshman, the twins, were getting restless whereas Geet was pacifying a weeping Afreen, her own mind in disquiet.

"Aye! Aankhen neeche kar." The constable barked, making her realise that she had been glaring too hard. Not her fault, he had been staring at her with those judgmental eyes since the chaos unfolded.

(Lower your eyes.)

"Dōna mulānsāṭhī tīna mulī." She gritted her teeth as the constable mocked with disgust.

(Three girls for two boys.)

"We came here for a trip. And we are just friends."

The anger unfurling in her clouded the pleading gazes of her friends off her vision.

"Shareef ghar ke bacche aisi jagah nahin milte hain."

(Children from respectable families are not found in such places.)

The urge to tell them that it was the only place fitting in their budget and they had no idea about its reputation, was on the tip of her tongue. Although she refrained. The head inspector had been generous unlike his colleagues and she wouldn't want to rile him up right now.

Always being deracinated for the permission for even a simple school picnic never felt so unreasonable. Not until her parents happily allowed her brother, five years younger than her, for a week long school trip.

She had nothing against her brother, in fact she loved him. However her parents intolerable unfair behaviour towards her had finally managed to push her buttons.

That led her to instantly jump when the chance knocked at the door in the form of a secret trip. Everything seemed well planned earlier, but the issue occurred when it came to submitting copies of identity cards to rent the rooms. And she was yet to turn eighteen.

She even got a solution for that. Things went smoothly on the first day and she hoped it would go the same for the next two days too. The owner seemed not to catch the tampered date in the identity card copies. Not until the end of the second day, police raided the place out of the blue and caught it.

And here she was, spiralled in this catastrophe, weighing every possibility of what would happen to her if her parents found out.

Suddenly the attention shifted. First to the intruding headlights and then focused on the posh body of the shiny black car that pulled over.

A smile broke on her face, half of the weight already evaporating off her chest at the approaching sight of Vyom. Her saviour. Her knight in that expensive three piece.

"Who is he ?"

Like a desperate horse, her brain ran a marathon and she instantly jumped in, catching the end of his suit's sleeves in her grip, "My brother."

A frown married Vyom's face, having no idea of what was transpiring. Beknownst to his scepticism, she took the command to subtly guide him, so that he could take her and her friends out of this mess.

The head inspector's eyes narrowed in suspicion, probably wondering why that wealthy looking man would allow his sister to stay in such a shady motel ?

She stuck around Vyom, holding his arms as if clutching on her lifeline while he talked with the police. His demeanour never seemed to totter, meticulously handling the situation. And soon the police were hopping back in their jeep, retreating, leaving the teenagers in the care of Vyom.

Now sitting on the front passenger seat, with her four friends stuffed in the backseat, her mind wondered how he managed to cover the two hours long distance just in half of the time.

What she doesn't have to know is that he used the chopper and switched to the car right before reaching her location. It would only make her fuss and feel more guilty than she already had been feeling.

He was in the middle of some important business when his phone rang as the police contacted him. All he had focused on was her panicked voice in the background.

Dropping the others to their houses, he drove through the Somani residence before veering into the far backyard where the servant quarter stared right back at them.

"Is going inside like that okay ?"

Upon his words, her eyes fell on the simple top and denim capri she wore. Nothing explicit. Yet her parents would carp a big time about it.

Her shoulders raised in a shrug, "They are not home."

The trip was being planned for months. Her friends had the excuse of an important seminar whereas she had waited for her parents to attend the relative's wedding.

"Did you see how that constable was staring at me ? Those filthy eyes of his were calling me that_" Anger surged in her veins, her body visibly shuddered recalling the moment. "_you know which starts with S, ends with T and goes with L-U in the middle."

Voluntarily, his gaze drifted away. The muscle in his jaw twitches while he strived to conceal the raging dark unfurling in his eyes from her sight. Only if she knew what her words would lead to.

Exerting a sigh, he enunciates, "From now on, never try anything reckless. You want a trip, I'll plan one for you."

"But you wouldn't take money from me." She pouted. "Moreover it's too much. They find problems in the smallest things about me, so I thought why not actually act on it."

He shakes his head as her complaints unfold further. "Aai made it sound like I was committing a sin, when my hands barely brushed with the boy's as he gave me notes. I'm turning eighteen tonight and now I'll be having my first kiss soon_"

Her words halted as he held her shoulders, dragging her attention to him. "Don't," he chimed. "Don't indulge with anyone that you might regret later."

There was a troubled expression on his face and her heart ached; she knew the root of his distress.

The unforeseen warmth of his lips on her forehead made her freeze; the touch barely lingered. "Happy birthday, little swan."

And it was a moment of betrayal as her heart leaped inside the ribs, skipping a beat. And right then and there she knew her heart had commenced in the path of a forbidden chase to soar.

Chapter Words- 1118

Let me know your thoughts about the Prologue... It might seem boring now but I'll try to improve further

Character Aesthetics coming very soon 🥀🚬

Signing off
~ T.R