After dinner, the living room buzzed with soft laughter, warm hugs, and the subtle chatter that only came before long goodbyes. One by one, everyone stood near the front door, forming an unofficial send-off party for Anaya.
Misha clutched her hand for a second longer, whispering in her ear, " Ria ke liye kuch le aana… aur mere liye shoes."["Bring something for Ria … and shoes for me."]
Komal gently adjusted the collar of Anaya's kurti and smiled, "Kaam ke saath khud ka bhi dhyaan rakhna."["Take care of yourself along with your work."]
Ria gave her a crooked grin. "Singapore se ek bhi Insta story skip mat karna."["Don't you dare skip a single Insta story from Singapore."]
Rakhi pulled her into a hug like only a mother could. Soft, long, filled with words that didn't need speaking. "Best of luck beta."["Best of luck, dear."]
The staff had already moved her bags to Rudra's SUV—black, spotless, parked like a VIP escort outside the mansion gate. The headlights were on low, casting wide arcs across the stone driveway. The night was cool, and the air smelled faintly of mogra from the nearby flower bed.
Rudra stepped forward, glanced around once at the group, then nodded toward the car. His signal was clear.
"Ready?" he asked her, voice even but not cold.
Anaya gave everyone one last smile before following him toward the SUV.
As she settled into the passenger seat and pulled the door shut behind her, the quiet of the car wrapped around her like a blanket. Rudra slipped into the driver's seat next to her and started the engine.
The drive began.
Streetlights flicked past their windows in a blur, alternating between gold and shadow. Neither of them spoke at first. The silence wasn't heavy, just... thoughtful. Comfortable in a strange way.
Anaya broke it first.
"Thank you," she said softly. "For today. For… everything."
He didn't turn to look at her, but she could see the faint smile on his face, just from the curve of his jaw.
"I mean it," she added, fingers nervously playing with the edge of her dupatta. "Main seriously miss karungi tumhe."["I'll seriously miss you."]
His hands stayed steady on the wheel, his posture calm. But she could tell—he wasn't just driving.
He was calculating. Deciding. Controlling the moment.
Her eyes turned toward the road, but her thoughts were on him. Her heart fluttered a little too obviously, but she let it.
Almost halfway to the airport, she suddenly turned to him with a question.
"By the way, Rudra…" she said, brows pinching lightly. "Did we pick Janvi on the way? I didn't see her at home."
Rudra kept his eyes on the road. The SUV hummed under them.
"She's already at the airport."
Anaya turned her head fully now. "What?"
"Hmm," he said casually, adjusting the steering. "Main ne usse bola tha pehle pohonch jaane ke liye. Formalities sab handle kar legi."["I asked her to reach early. She'll handle the formalities."]
Anaya frowned lightly, confused. She didn't remember that being the plan. But she let it go for now, staring out at the speeding highway.
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At the Airport – Terminal B
Janvi was sitting alone near Gate 33A, her backpack resting near her ankles and her phone in hand, fingers scrolling absentmindedly. Her heels tapped against the floor in rhythm with the lounge music as she glanced at the clock on the screen.
Still 30 minutes left for check-in to close.
She yawned, bored, her ponytail swaying slightly as she leaned back in her chair.
Just then, her phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID.
Pranali Ma'am – Senior Manager, Corporate Accounts.
Janvi quickly straightened and answered.
"Hello, ma'am."
"Senior pohonchne wale hain," Pranali's voice said. "Lekin naam confidential hai. You just assist whoever checks in on priority list, okay?"["The senior is arriving shortly. But their name is confidential. Just assist whoever checks in under the priority list."]
"Okay, got it," Janvi nodded to herself. "Main wait kar rahi hoon."["I'll wait."]
The line disconnected.
She put her phone back in her lap and exhaled. Confidential seniors. That was new.
She checked the time again. Still enough room to breathe.
Janvi looked around the nearly empty business class waiting area. The occasional airline staff walking past, a few scattered passengers, and low boarding announcements on repeat.
She went back to scrolling through her feed, absentminded.
That's when—
A quiet voice spoke beside her.
"Excuse me… is the Singapore flight boarding yet?"
Startled, Janvi looked up, already halfway into an answer.
"Not yet. I think there's still—" her words stopped.
Her eyes locked.
And for a solid three seconds, her mouth stayed open.
Her phone nearly slipped from her lap.
Because standing in front of her, in crisp beige pants and a dark slate shirt rolled to the elbows, was---
Aarav.
Aarav Singhaniya.
Looking calm. Looking… completely out of place. And yet, somehow, right there.
"Hi," he said, like it was a normal evening. Like he hadn't just thrown her entire sense of reality off balance.
Janvi blinked once. Twice.
"Aap… yahan?"["You… here?"]
Aarav nodded slowly. "Yeah. Official trip."
Janvi's eyes narrowed just a bit. "But… you don't even handle international accounts."
Aarav raised an eyebrow. "Looks like I do now."
She stared at him. "You're the confidential senior?"
He didn't confirm it out loud.
Just shrugged with a sly half-smile and took the empty seat beside her.
____________+__________________+____________
Back in the car, Anaya's eyes remained fixed on Rudra's face. "You didn't tell me she was already at the airport."
"I told you now," he replied simply, like that settled everything.
She sighed. Something about all of this felt… too smooth.
Too planned.
She narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Is there anything else you're not telling me?"
He glanced at her once. And for a split second, the corners of his mouth lifted.
But he said nothing.
Which, in Rudra Singhaniya language, meant everything.
The car was still gliding down the highway, but Anaya's mind was racing far faster than any vehicle. The silence was thick now — not awkward, but bubbling with questions that had no space to be ignored anymore.
She turned in her seat, eyes narrowed, staring straight at Rudra, whose focus stayed firmly on the road.
She didn't blink.
Didn't break eye contact.
Just stared.
Finally, Rudra exhaled and muttered with a dry chuckle,"Can you stop looking at me like that?"
His voice was cool, but his hand tightened slightly on the steering wheel.
Anaya didn't answer. Instead, she reached down and slipped her hand beneath the neckline of her kurti, pulling out the thin gold chain that had been hidden until now.
The mangal sutra.
Simple. Elegant. Powerful.
It caught the glow of the dashboard lights as she held it up, letting it sway slightly between her fingers.
"Seriously?" she said, her voice rising. "Look. Look at this. Look at what I am to you!"
[Rudra turned for the briefest second, his eyes dropping to the black beads and gold pendant — that delicate thread that bound her to him in more ways than just law.]
He chuckled softly, a warmth blooming in his voice that hadn't been there a moment ago.
"My wife," he said simply.
Two words.
But the way he said them made her breath hitch.
She stared at him — mouth slightly open, surprised that for once, he didn't dodge it. He owned it.
Her chest was still rising and falling as she slowly let the necklace drop back under her kurti.
"Now tell me," she said firmly. "Is there anything else I don't know?"
He paused.
Took a beat.
Then spoke calmly.
"Don't think I'm hiding anything, okay? Main mana toh nahi kar raha…"["I'm not denying anything…"]
"...but I knew tum poochhogi eventually."["…but I knew you'd ask eventually."]
She folded her arms. "Then tell me."
Rudra smirked.
"The senior who's coming with you to Singapore..." he began.
Anaya nodded, leaning forward.
"...is me."
"And…?" she pressed. "And who else, Rudra?"
He grinned. A slow, teasing smile with green eyes lit up with amusement.
"Aarav."
Anaya burst into a wide smile, one hand smacking her thigh. "So it was Aarav's plan?"
Rudra nodded once. "Smart wife."
He shifted gears smoothly.
"Actually, it was Aarav's idea to put both of us in the Singapore meeting lineup — one lead from strategy, one from legal. He called it… 'balancing power.'"
Anaya folded her arms, now half-laughing. "Wow. So I'm just… in the same team as the great masterminds?"