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The evening had send the birds to their roosts and the crickets to sing in the swaying grasses. The sand soil was on its way to becoming a rich sable and the cloud full sky promised an unfettered view of the heavens.

Beyond the horizon, the sun illuminated the shimmering haze of pollution. In the far distance, the silhouette of the skyline pierced through the warm glow like a jagged mountain rigged.

Millions of lights caused the dense mass of skyscrapers glitter. People were needle points and cars were blood cells flowing through the veins of the city.

Despite the time, the hustle and bustle never came to a halt. The city's residents were off for a movie or to chill out in a smokey jazz bar town.

And there was she, watching the sunset from the balcony, waiting for that one call that will change her fate once and for all. And that call came at the very moment.

Her heart started beating like it was about to burst. With trembling fingers she reached for her phone and swipe her finger to answer the incoming call.

"Hello, Ms. Shraddha?" a woman's voice greeted her from the other side of the phone.

"Yeah!" she replied immediately, fidgeting with the corner of her shirt.

"You've been invited by Ms. Sara Ali Khan at the 'Dhawan oils and refineries' today." the woman told her.

"Today? But it's evening already. Isn't it too late?" she asked.

"I'm sorry mam. I was told to inform you. You can contact Ms. Sara or kartik sir for further information." she replied. Who the fuck is kartik now? She thought.

"It's okay. I'll come." she replied, unsure if her step-father would let her go.

"Very well, Ms. Shraddha. We're looking forward to see you." she said politely before hanging up the call.

Wearing the same red dress which she wore at the interview, she sneaked out of the house. Her step-father was out with his friends and it usually took him hours to return home.

She took this opportunity and left the house in a hurry. Before entering the 'Dhawan oil and refineries', she stopped in a corner and adjusted her self, trying to look presentable.

Entering the company she was met by the same woman she saw on the day of her interview. She passed her a polite smile which shraddha passed back.

Unlike last time she wasn't wandering here and there like a lost child, she immediately went upto the third floor through the elevator. She made her way to the lobby number one and went to the reception desk.

"Umm.. Hi... Can you please tell Ms. Sara that Shraddha is here." she told the guy sitting behind the reception desk.

"One sec!" he motioned with his finger and made a quick call.

"She's waiting for you in her office. It's on the left side." he told her.

"Thank you." she replied with a smile and marched her way towards the office.

"Can I come in?" Shraddha asked as she knocked on the door.

"Of course! Come. Have a seat." Sara told her with her usual smile that can brighten up anyone's day.

"I'm sorry to call you this late. But actually the think is that varun sir always takes the interview of his secretary but since two days he's not present in the office due to some reasons and I've been told to handle his work so it's really hard for me to manage the time-table." she explained and Shraddha remained silent.

"I hope you understand?" Sara asked and she simply nodded.

"Good. So, I think you already know why I called you here." she said and Shraddha shrugged her shoulders innocently.

"Well, congratulations Ms. Shraddha. You've been appointed as the secretary of Varun Dhawan." she told her.

"Oh. I didn't...." she wanted to say a lot of things but words weren't making way out of her mouth.

"Thank you so much!" she rubbed her eyes, trying not to emotionally breakdown in front sara.

"Don't thank me yet!" Sara said and Shraddha looked at her confused.

"I would've send you the appointment letter at your home and would've asked you to join from tomorrow but I didn't. Because I needed to talk to you face to face." Sara told her clasping her hands together.

"I-I don't understand." Shraddha looked at her confused.

"Look. I know you're excited about your job but this isn't like any other job nor Varun's like any other man. This job can be your worst nightmare. So, all I'm asking you is to maintain distance that's it." Sara explained to her. Although Shraddha didn't get it but she simply nodded.

"Here's your letter, you can join from Monday." Sara said handing her the appointment letter.

"It's getting pretty late. You should go now." She told her and Shraddha stood up to leave the room.

"By the way, this dress looks good on you." Sara spoke before shraddha could exit the room.

She looked at her for a brief moment and walked out of the office, confused, if she was really complementing her or mocking her for wearing the same dress again.

Walking into the house, she was hoping not to get in an encounter with her step-father but as usual fate was never on her side.

"Where were you?" he asked as she entered the living room.

"I had some important work." she replied. He stood up from the couch and that's when she took a good look at him. He was drunk. A lot.

"Important work, huh? With whom were you sneaking with behind my back?" he gripped her by her hairs. She flinched as his drunk-smelly breath hit her face.

"I went to receive my appointment letter." she told him as she struggled to get out of his grip. He left her hair and looked at her with his half-closed eyes.

"You got the job?" he asked, words barely coming out of his mouth.

"Yeah!" she nodded, wiping the sweat off her face. He let out a huge chuckle and went back to the couch and started chugging on the beer bottle again.

Picking up the appointment letter which fell from her hand, she ran towards her room and closed the door. She sat on the bed with tears running down her cheeks.

"I can't wait to get out of this!" she cried. But was she really getting out of a hell or was she making her way into a new one.

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