Everyone in Raivaan City fears him,
Because he is the uncrowned king of the city.
No one dares to go against him.
The first time Ishaani Verma hears the name Raghav Veyr, it’s whispered like saying it too loud might summon him.
She’s in the back of a half-lit café called Mlue Static, pretending to study, pretending her life didn’t collapse two weeks ago.
Her best friend, Myra, leans in.
“Don’t look now,” she says, already looking. “That’s him.”
Ishaani doesn’t.
She already knows that kind of curiosity gets people hurt.
Three days later, she meets him,
Not by choice, But due to her circumstances
Her brother owes money to him.
Not the small amount, “we’ll manage” kind.
The kind that makes grown men stop sleeping.
The kind that drags strangers to your doorstep at midnight.
The knock isn’t loud.
But it echoes in our ears clearly.
Ishaani opens the door before her brother can.
And “Boom” there he is.
Not what she expected him to be.
No loud voice. No drama.
Just
Stillness.
Like the air forgot how to move around him.
Raghav Veyr looks at her like he’s already read the ending of her story.
“You’re not the one who owes me,” he says.
His voice is low. Not threatening.
Worse.
Certain.
“I’ll handle it,” Ishaani replies.
She doesn’t know why she says that.
Maybe because fear feels easier when you turn it into defiance.
There’s a pause.
Not awkward.
calculated.
Like he’s deciding something.
“Good,” he says finally. “You will.”
That’s how it starts.
Not with attraction.
Not with sparks.
With debt.
Since they don’t have enough money to pay back the debt,
They come up with a settlement. ---
Day 1
He doesn’t take money.
He takes her time.
“You’ll work for me,” Raghav says.
“Doing what?” Ishaani asks.
“Listening.”
Sounds simple.
But it isn’t.
She follows him through parts of Raivaan City she didn’t know existed.
Quiet warehouses.
Rooftops where deals happen without words.
Rooms where people don’t ask questions.
And everywhere ---
People respect him.
Or fear him.
Same thing, really.
He doesn’t explain anything.
But he always knows when she’s about to ask.
“Don’t try to understand everything,” he tells her once.
“You’ll ruin it.”
She hates that answer.
Almost as much as she hates how she keeps coming back.
Day 9
“You’re not scared of me.”
It’s not a question.
They’re on a rooftop overlooking the city.
Lights flickering like broken promises.
“I am,” Ishaani says.
“Then why are you still here?”
She shrugs.
“Because you haven’t hurt me.”
Raghav smiles.
Not warm.
Not kind.
Just… honest.
“I haven’t decided if I will.”
She should leave after that.
Anyone with sense would.
She doesn’t.
Day 17
She finds out what he actually does.
Not rumors.
Truth.
He doesn’t run crime.
He controls it.
Quietly.
Systematically.
Like cleaning up a mess no one else wants to touch.
“Why?” she asks him.
Raghav leans back in his chair, watching her like she’s the real question.
“Because chaos is predictable,” he says.
“People aren’t.”
“That doesn’t answer anything.”
“It answers enough.”
It doesn’t.
But she stops asking.
Day 23
Things change.
Someone tries to kill him.
It happens fast.
Too fast.
Gunshot.
Glass shattering.
Myra screaming somewhere behind her.
Ishaani doesn’t think.
She moves.
Pushes Raghav out of the way.
Pain hits her a second later.
Sharp. Blinding.
The world tilts.
And the last thing she sees—
Is Raghav Veyr losing control.
For the first time.
After
She wakes up in a place that doesn’t feel like a hospital.
Too quiet.
Too guarded.
Raghav is sitting beside her.
“You’re awake,” he says.
“Unfortunately,” she mutters.
Her voice is weak, but it lands.
Something shifts in his expression.
Barely.
But it’s there.
“Why did you do that?” he asks.
She looks at him.
“Because you would’ve died,” she says.
“And?”
“And…” she exhales slowly, “I didn’t want you to.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
Raghav stands.
Walks to the window.
Doesn’t look at her.
“That was a mistake,” he says.
“Saving you?”
“No,” he replies.
“Caring.”
Endgame
Her brother’s debt is cleared.
Just like that.
No explanation.
No conditions.
“You’re free,” Raghav tells her.
She should feel relief.
She doesn’t.
“And you?” she asks.
He almost smiles.
Almost.
“I was never trying to be.”
Final Scene
Weeks later.
Mlue Static café.
Same table.
Same city.
Nothing the same.
Ishaani hears the whispers again.
His name.
Always his name.
But this time—
She doesn’t turn.
Because she already knows.
Some people don’t belong in your life.
They pass through it.
Burn everything down.
And leave you standing in the ashes—
Different.
Stronger.
And just a little more dangerous.