"Salem. Let it go, man. She is beautiful, she is bound to have an attitude. You can't be serious about this." Aman was shocked to see Salem angry, especially about a girl. Salem was a chill guy with a bad temper, but never was he so angry at a girl. His wrath was not for the weak.

Aman thought of Salem's anger on Pari as a silly thing but when Salem called Wajid, he realised Salem was serious.

"See, the way she laughs with Karan. She doesn't even smile infront of me." He voiced out his envy to Aman.

Salem saw from afar the practice session of Pari and her dance group. Karan pulled Pari by her hand and was insisting her to practice one more time.
It was a silly banter between them but Salem was angered by her laughter and him touching her at every opportunity.

"Still, that is no reason to call Wajid. Let it go." Aman was serious, he didn't want Salem to do something stupid.

That evening, when Salem went to Oliver's he asked her, "Enjoyed too much with your boyfriend today?" Pari got the hint

"He is not my boyfriend. Not every boy and a girl is romantically involved. Not everyone is like you who roams around with 10 girls."

"Ohh...jealous? For you, I can even stop that." Salem smiled.

Pari just rolled her eyes.
"You are a fool if you think I am jealous. Who are you?  You are no one for me to be jealous."

"Really? I am noone?" He paused and said, "Pari, I love to make people eat their words. Don't challenge me in ways you can't deal the consequences." He said and sat at the table. She saw a group joined him sometime later. When she'd sneak in glances at him, he was already looking at her with those intense stares.

***

Pari had another fight at home. Her parents brushed it off thinking of it as another one of her tantrums. She wanted to buy a make up set and some more dresses for her annual day function which her mother said was an unnecessary expense. She could use of her money for better purposes than to buy thing she didn't need. But Pari angrily went to her room and banged the door shut.

Priya would usually stay silent on these matters but this time she went to Pari. Even she felt, it was high time that Pari understands and not behave like a brat.

"Pari, it's not a requirement. It's okay if you don't get a make up set or dresses. You can save up the money." Priya said.

"No! No! No! Kya ho gaya yaar agar meri ek chahat puri ho gayi? I just want this one thing and Mummy is denying that as well."
(Translation : What is the big deal if I buy the one thing I want?)

"Really? In the last 6 months, count the number of new things you have bought. May be, if you could have saved up that money, I would have taken your side today. You could have been thoughtful about your spends."

"And Pari, you shouldn't forget the days we have spent, when even one meal was a blessing. Today, you use all the little salary you get on yourself. Nobody has asked you to give it for home expenses and you haven't bothered to ask either. Aunty is saying to save it up for your own good."

Pari didn't argue further and decided not to buy the new things. Her anger was the peak. She hated the situation. Why must she suffer? After all what she asked wasn't much. They were simple things!

She cried tears of frustration and prayed that in her next lifetime, she gets a household full of riches and luxury.

***

As the annual day was over, she saw everyone complimenting her for her look and dance. She was glad that Ashley saved her by helping her with the make up. At the beginning of the day, she was extremely nervous about how the event would go and will she able to perform but now, she felt so relieved and happy.

But the most exciting part for her was the after party! The students had booked a club for the party. She wanted to make the most of her final year in college and enjoy every moment.

At the party, she had some tasty food and danced with her friends. Then, there were the popular bunch who was the life of the party. She saw Salem dancing on the DJ and later on he took the mic, stood on the bar counter and jammed with other people from college. He knew how to keep the party going and make it interesting. She also noticed how one particular junior was getting close to him and how he didn't mind her roaming hands. She shrugged the thought and continued enjoying with her friends.

It was late at night when Karan dropped her and Ashley at their home.

**

On a Monday morning, two days after the annual day, when she was at the bus stop. She saw a familiar bike coming towards her but she looked elsewhere.

Salem stopped the bike at the bus stop and used his accelerator's noise to catch her attention.

He removed his helmet and whistled to get to her look at him and she did!
"Do you only sleep on Sundays?" He asked, surprising her with his questions.

"Huh?"

"Don't you know? The bus drivers are on strike. There will be no bus." And he dropped a bomb on her! That's why there was noone on the bus stop today!  There is no way she can walk so fast to college to reach on time.

"Come, I will give you a lift." He offered and right now, it didn't seem bad. She didn't want to spend on rickshaw at all.

"Come quick. Even I have a submission today. I don't want to fail." The submission motivated her to take quick steps and sit behind him.

He started the bike and didn't chat with her the entire way, which was quite unlike his usual self. He would take every opportunity to chat and flirt with her.

"What happened to you?" She probed.

"Stressed. I have three auditions next week. I want to nail them." He said earnestly, stopping the bike at their college gate.

One thing she has to admire about him was his seriousness towards work. He was truly hardworking.

"You will. All the best." She said and got down of the bike and walked away.

"Pari...Pari, she doesn't have Thank You in her dictionary." He sighed and went to park the bike.

Afte the lectures, he spotted Pari with Ashley and Ashish. He went towards them.

"Leaving? Chal (Come), I will drop you."
He said to Pari. Ashley and Ashish glanced at each other in a knowing look.

Pari made calculations in her head. She still didn't want to spend on rickshaw. Plus, he didn't behave in a bad way this morning nor did he try anything. And she did feel good with him. So, she agreed.

He got on the bike and asked her to hop on it. "To Oliver's, right?" He asked to confirm her destination and she said a soft yes.

He accelerated the bike and told her, "hold tightly." But she held on the metal behind the seat instead of him.

As they reached a highway, he increased the speed of the bike causing her heart to beat faster.

"Salem, go slow." She said and he reduced the speed of his bike. She sighed in relief when he applied breaks and caused her bump to his back and hold him.

He did that a few more times until she said, "Don't do it."

"Then, hold me." He replied. "Please Pari."

She still didn't budge, nor did she reply.

He increased the speed of the bike again and fear took over her. She placed her hands on him and held his clothes lightly but he didn't reduce the speed. She asked him to reduce the speed again.

"I can't hear you." He yelled.

Losing the ego war, she put her hands around him and clutched him. Her face was closer to his ears, "Reduce. The. Speed."

"Okay, my love. But stay like this." And he reduced the speed. In this moment, he felt a real connection with her and so did she. It was just them speeding away from the world, with her hands around him.

"You could have killed us." She yelled once they were at a normal speed.

"No! I would not let anything happen to you. But on other thoughts, wouldn't it be romantic, to die with each other?" He joked about the last line.

"Shut up." She saw him take the bridge which didn't go to Oliver's.

"Where...where are you taking me? We don't take this bridge to Oliver's." She stated.

"Relax. I had already informed Oliver. Let's just spend a day together. In peace. You will love the place I am taking you." He was hoping for a date and thanks to the bus strike, he got his chance! He never knew a bus strike would play to his advantage.

"We are going to Marines." He thought of informing her. In Mumbai, nobody hated the Marines. It was a quiet peaceful place where you could see the sea and sit by the queen's necklace.

"Under the scorching sun?" She questioned. Ofcourse, she liked the sea but the sun was a bit much. She would prefer to go in the evening.

"Yes!" He answered, not revealing to her that he is taking her to a restro near Marines with a beautiful view of the beach.

"What do you like? Tell me more apart from studies and books." He questioned. He genuinely wanted to more about this feisty girl with a tough exterior.

"I love shopping! My dream is to shop everything that my hand would touch."
She said, sounding like a kid for the first time.

"Hahahhaha.Your hand would touch meaning?" He found her words amusing.

"I don't want to debate between two things I like. If my hand touches anything I like, I want to buy it without hesitation and thinking. Samjhe?" (Understood?)

"Understood and noted, Madam."

"I didn't know you like to dance. You really dance well." He complimented her on her annual day performance.

"Hmmm. Still, you didn't come to me and compliment me." She complained.

"I was angry at you. You can talk to every guy nicely but not with me." He confessed.

"Every guy, you say? Quite debatable." Pari replied.

"Okay, let's not talk about this. I don't want to ruin this."

They talked more about their likes and discovered their mutual love for the old Bollywood songs.

He stopped his bike across Marines. Pari's face became sad thinking she has to sit here, in this humid weather of Mumbai. But he held her hand and took her towards left direction.

"Don't make that face." He laughed. "I am taking you here." He pointed towards a lavish restro called 'Peace By The Bay'.

"Not going to make my baby sit "under the scorching sun." He quoted using her words and she blushed a bit, the rare times she actually blushed!

He took her hand and walked towards the stairs and settled on a corner seat, the closest view to the sea.

But instead of sitting in front of her, he took a seat beside her and kept his hand over her seat.

"I get to spend less peaceful moments with you. I am not going to waste it by sitting far." He winked.

The waiter brought them a menu. He gave it to her and asked her to pick anything she likes. It was the first time someone took her to a hotel and asked to order anything she liked! She was super happy. Her jaw dropped seeing the prices and her eyes widened. He noticed it and told her not to worry.

"I am going to pay. You order whatever you like." He said.

She had never tasted a pizza before. So, she asked Salem how'd it taste.

"It's good here." But she didn't see him order anything.

"You won't have?" She asked.

"I can't have a pizza with loads of cheese in it. I am good with a grilled chicken." He was very particular with his diet and gym. After all, he wanted to work on more projects and the only eligibility for that is to look good.

"How can you stay without eating yummy food?" Pari asked. She had less self control about eating.

"Grilled chicken is tasty. But yeah, I want to be in the best possible shape to get more work. This is the only way." He answered.

"Do you like to gym?" She asked.

"I do. I mean, there are days I get bored. But I don't think of it like that. To me, it's a crucial part of me. I don't give myself a choice whether I want to go or not. If I don't take care of myself, there will be better guys who would get the assignments." He said.

She smiled at his dedication. "So you are serious about being infront of camera and modelling?"

"Absolutely! I enjoy doing it, so why not? And someone said I am a nobody. I want to work hard enough to be a somebody." He said taunting her about her words.

The pizza came and the first bite was a slice of heaven for Pari! She loved every bite of it and moaned a little.

"Don't make that sound. You are tempting me to take a bite ...of you." He teased her.

"Tch! Only dirty talks. Nothing else you could think of." She rebuked him.

By the end of their lunch, he said, "I hope you enjoyed our date...our first date."

"Was it?" It was her turn to tease him.

"I need to go the washroom. Will you look after my backpack?" She asked.

"No, I will steal your books." He replied to her dumb question.

She went to the washroom which has one basin and two stalls. As she finished her business, she could hear a knock. She didn't take much time, who was being so impatient?!

She opened the door to see Salem inside the ladies washroom!

"What are you doing here?" She whispered yelled. He had even locked the washroom. Anybody could come here and catch them.

"Relax, love!" But she didn't stop panicking. What if someone actually catches them?

"Salem, please anyone can come." She said.

"Shh, nothing will happen, love." He took a hair strand out of her face and kissed her. It felt like an electric wave passing through them.

He went a little lower towards her neck and pushed her sleeve and bit on it hard. He didn't know why he loved marking her. He kissed her neck, bit it until it became red and a mark was there. He made sure not to angry her and give her a mark where she could hide it under the clothes.

Thankfully, noone saw them exit the ladies washroom together.

The got out of the restro and walked by the Marines. It was 3.30 pm and the sun had cooled down. It was pleasant for a walk.

"I liked the pizza. Thank you."

"Finally! Listening to a thank you from your mouth is a big deal! Thank you Madam for enjoying it."

He put a hand in his pocket and removed the cigarette. Her face scrunched when he lit a cigarette.

"Can't you not smoke?" She asked.

"Addicted." He shrugged, not being able to help this smoking addiction.

That date was just like a scene out of a movie for Pari. She enjoyed a lot! Not being stressed about her college, her part time job or fighting with Salem. They actually had a decent conversation. It was nice to not think what the future would hold, not to question and name this relationship. Today, she let things happen at their flow and enjoyed it.

***

Present

The door bell rang continuously. She thought aunty would open it. But realised it was a Tuesday morning. Aunty would have gone to Mandir and Nia at her college. She opened the door thinking it must be their neighbour asking for some milk or other petty stuff.

She got the shock when it revealed to be Tiger, Salem's bodyguard. He showed her a gun, indictating her to be quiet. She didn't want to put other's life on stake, so she allowed him inside the house and locked it.

"How are you, queen?" He asked, taking a softer tone with her, unlike his usual one.

She smirked at the audacity of his question. "You ask this to everyone you have killed before?"

"Queen, I am not here to kill you. Please." He put his hands up to show her he meant no danger.

"Don't you dare call me that. You understand?" She yelled at him. Seeing his six foot stature, those heavy biceps and body, one would think twice before glaring at him. But here was Pari, who had no fear of him. And he took it all, just by looking down and listening to her words, like an obedient student.

"If you are here to kill me, don't waste anyone's time. Just do it a bit far away. I don't want blood in this house."

"I am not here to kill you. I am here to take you home." He said.

"Hahahhaha." She laughed, actually laughed. "Killing me will be a better alternative. Do it, Tiger."

"You know I can't do that. Even with orders, I wouldn't kill you, queen." She was his Saheb's heartbeat. He wouldn't dare hurt Saheb by hurting her. Over the years, even he had a different relationship with her. She was like a sister to him. A sister who he could protect from the world, but not from Saheb.

"He doesn't know I am here. He hasn't asked me to find you." She became serious listening to this. Tiger has always taken permission for everything from Salem. "Come back home and matter will be solved. Just apologize to him." Tiger suggested.

"Neither am I coming to Salem's home nor am I apologising. Do you get it, you piece of trash?" She yelled.

"Then, you are putting the doctor and her mother's life at risk. I didn't think the doc could betray Saheb after all he has done for her. I might save you but I don't care about the doc and her old mother." He said it casually.

"Shame... I can't even expect this from you, Tiger. You don't have any shame left." She was disappointed. She had seen him when he was a lean boy sticking to Salem always to this...being a killer.

"Queen, you don't understand. This is me being merciful. I don't know what is going on in Saheb's head. It's dangerous." His voice was requesting Pari to consider coming home.

"Let him unleash the monster within him. Could he do worse than what he did to me that July? Then, you know what? I would actually be impressed!" She said reminding him of those horrible nights from few years ago.

Tiger had sworn his loyalty to Salem and had no conscience left but he would lie if he'd say those screams of Pari didn't haunt me on some nights.
He had seen people murder gruesomely or do some crazy shit, which never made any difference to him.

May be it haunted him because it was Pari in question,whom he considers his family or may be it was Salem's unhinged fury unleashing, thinking of that night and her screams still makes him restless.

"You can't even think about it. I lived through it. I lived through those chains, the whip and the dark room." She had screamed for help till her throat was dry, till no voice came out, but noone came to help her. Not one man from his security who they call 'powerful'. She was sure the entire building must have heard her but nobody stopped him.

Instead he had mocked her saying, "Scream some more, Pari. Let's see who comes between a husband and a wife." He took a puff of his lit cigarette and touched the cigarette on her back, earning a painful yelp from her.

*********************

17/12/23

Long update !!

Hopefully you enjoyed it. :)