Two years later, Shivansh Mehra was no longer the golden boy of business columns. He was a shadow in the financial world, working quietly but with unmatched precision.
His father was still alive—barely—thanks to expensive treatments Shivansh could barely afford. And for that, he had made a ruthless choice: working for Vikrant Kothari, his father's old rival. Pride could wait; survival could not.
If Vikrant was the face of the empire, Rohini Kothari was its spine. As Managing Director, she was feared for her boardroom brilliance and her refusal to bow to anyone—not even her brother.
Rohini was a storm in silk, and Shivansh noticed. Not for her beauty—though it was undeniable—but for the way she carried the weight of an empire without flinching.
Then one evening, she summoned him to her glass-walled office.
"I have a proposal," she said, sliding a file across her desk. "And before you say no, hear me out."
The proposal was absurd. Dangerous. Brilliant.
Her brother had been plotting against her—quietly pushing a marriage alliance between her and an influential businessman with a criminal past. The motive? Once married, her control over the company would weaken, leaving Vikrant in total power.
"I need to stop him," she said flatly. "And the only way is to marry someone of my own choice—someone strong enough to scare him, but not greedy enough to betray me."
Shivansh leaned back. "And you thought of me?"
"You're brilliant with finance, you hate my brother, and you're too stubborn to sell yourself for power," she replied. "Two years. Public marriage, private freedom. When the deal's done, we walk away."
Shivansh studied her. This wasn't love. This wasn't romance. This was war.
And yet, for reasons even he couldn't explain, he said,
"Yes."
That single word set their fates into motion. In forty-eight hours, they were married in a quiet ceremony attended only by lawyers and a handful of witnesses.
The press called it the rise of a power couple. Kanika called it a punch to the gut when she saw the news.
And Vikrant? He called it a problem.
A problem he planned to eliminate.