Since that day, Veeranshu kept following Amaya. It had been a week, and Amaya was totally irritated by his constant presence. He was always there, watching her at work, walking home at night, and even in the morning.

One evening, frustrated after her job, Amaya noticed Veeranshu following her again. She stopped, and Veeranshu halted his car. Amaya walked over, knocked on the window, and Veeranshu rolled it down.

Amaya looked into the car and saw that he was alone. She asked, "What do you want?"

Veeranshu replied, "Nothing."

"Then why are you following me?" Amaya demanded.

"I am not," Veeranshu said.

Amaya retorted, "Do you really think I didn't notice you've been following me for more than a week?"

"So you noticed," Veeranshu responded.

"Stop irritating me, okay? Stay away from me," Amaya said, frustrated.

Veeranshu tried to open the door, but Amaya was standing too close. He signaled her to back off, and she stepped back. He got out of the car, leaned against it, and with his arms folded across his chest, asked, "So what were you saying? To stop, to stay away from you? No, I can't."

"Why not? What do you want from me?" Amaya asked, exasperated.

"I want you," Veeranshu replied.

Amaya, angered, said, "What do you think? Just because I am poor and working at a bar, you want to buy me? You might be a mafia man, but stop thinking about me like that. I am not that type of girl."

Veeranshu laughed and said, "What are you talking about? You are taking it wrong."

Amaya came closer and said, "I know, I understand whatever you want to say. So, stop thinking anything wrong about me and just stay away from me."

Veeranshu put his hand on Amaya's waist and pulled her close, so close that even air couldn't pass between them. He whispered in her ear, "I can't stay away from you. And... don't worry. I'll make sure that even you can't stay away from me. Just wait for some time."

Amaya pushed him away and said, "That time will never come, okay? I don't want anyone in my life, especially a person like you."

Then she walked away. She was waiting for her bus, but when she saw the time, she realized she might have missed it. So, she started walking, not wanting to waste money on a taxi or a cab. Veeranshu was still following her in his car. He called out to her, offering a ride, but she refused, saying, "I can't go with anyone I don't trust."

Veeranshu replied, "Trust me, you will trust me."

Just go away , she said.

Come with me ,he replied .

Amaya kept walking, and Veeranshu continued to follow. As she walked, she entered a poorly lit area. She walked slowly, frequently looking back to ensure Veeranshu was still there, subconsciously depending on him for her safety, though she wouldn't admit it.

She noticed a group of people standing a little further up the road. She hesitated but continued walking, looking down.

One of the men from the group approached her and said, "Where are you going? Do you want a lift? We can help you." She just shook her head and kept walking. Then three boys stood in front of her and said, "Didn't you hear what we said? Come with us, we'll drop you."

"I don't want to, okay? Just leave me," she said, trying to get away, but they wouldn't listen. One of them pushed her as she was trying to leave.

At that moment, Veeranshu got out of his car,went towards them and said "chalo niklo yaha se "

One of the man said , "tu kon h bay, girlfriend h teri ya tu bhi aaya h isse le jaane aaj raat ke liye apne saath "

Amaya felt so ashmed and got hurt after listening this.

Another man said while touching amaya's face " "yrr solid hai , isse kaise jaane de skte h "

Veeranshu's tried to handle all this calmly but after listening all that shit he pulled out his gun, and shot the man in the leg who had touched Amaya. The other two, terrified, quickly took their injured friend and fled.

"Stop! Where are you going?" BC

Ab bolo , Veeranshu shouted after them.

Amaya was in shock, trying to process what had happened in the last some seconds and then she saw Veeranshu standing there.

He patted her head and asked, "Are you okay?"

Amaya pushed him hard and shouted, "What do you think of yourself? Just stay away from me! Do you know he could die?"

Veeranshu said, "Don't you know what he did to you?"

"It's none of your business, okay?" Amaya screamed.

Veeranshu responded, "It's my business. Everything about you is my business."

Amaya shouted back, "I can't expect anything from you because you don't have a heart. You're just a criminal. a criminal."

"True, i dont have my heart" veeranshu said

"Kyoki vo to na jaane kbse aapke

pass h " he added softly.

After listening to this, Amaya said, "You are crazy."

Then she started walking. She turned back and said, "Don't follow me now."

Veeanshu left his car there and kept walking beside her. Amaya was timely turning back to see if he was still following her, and every time she turned, she found him there beside her.

She reached her house and Before closing the door from inside, she looked at him again and said, "Stay away." Veeranshu read her lips and replied, "I can't."

After Amaya left, Veeranshu started heading back home. He realized his legs were hurting so much that he could barely move. He had left his car somewhere along the way, so he sat on a bench at a bus stop near Amaya's house. He called Vikrant and said, "Send a car to pick me up near Amaya's house."

Vikrant replied, "Okay, but where's your car?"

Veeranshu said, "Long story, I'll tell you later," and hung up the phone.

While waiting for the car, he muttered to himself, "It's hurting so much, I don't think I can even walk now. She is so strong, I can't even imagine how she's handling all this on her own.

And she called me a criminal, huh? Okay, let's see how you're going to fall in love with a criminal."

As he was thinking that, a car arrived. It was Sameer who came to pick him up. Veeranshu got into the car and sat down. While driving, Sameer asked, "Where's your car?"

Veeranshu replied, "I don't know the exact place. It's somewhere. I'll send a driver to get it tomorrow."

Sameer asked, "So, did you walk there or take the bus?"

Veeranshu said, "I walked. I was following her, and she walked."

Sameer laughed and said, "Bhai, she is stronger than you. You have to be careful."

Veeranshu said, "Yeah, she is." Coz she was totally looking fine after walking this long distance..

The next day, Amaya slept until 7 AM, enjoying the fact that it was Sunday and she didn't have to go to work. She loved Sundays because she didn't have to deal with the unkind people at her job. However, she still had to face some unkindness from her so-called family. When she woke up, she saw her grandmother still sleeping. As she went outside, she noticed some guests sitting in the hall: a man, a woman, and another man who looked slightly younger than the first.

To her surprise, her aunt spoke to her politely, something that rarely happened. Her aunt said, "Oh Amaya beta, you're awake. Then she turned towards guest and said I love her so much that I didn't wake her early this morning, and yet she woke up early today."

Amaya was shocked at how convincingly her aunt was lying. Her aunt continued, "Amaya beta, greet your uncle and aunt. This is Mr. and Mrs. Ahuja, and their son, Raghuvendra Ahuja."

Amaya greeted all three of them and tried to leave, but her aunt said, "Go and make tea for all of us." Reluctantly, Amaya went to the kitchen. She sensed something was wrong with her aunt today, as she was unusually affectionate.

While Amaya was in the kitchen, she overheard her aunt saying, "Amaya hardly works in the kitchen, but today she is making tea for us because I'm sitting with you ."

The woman responded, "That's totally fine. We all raise our daughters with love."

Her aunt smiled and nodded. Amaya muttered to herself, "Raising me with love? My aunt is really raising me with a lot of love."

She poured tea into the cups, placed them on a tray, and brought it to the guests, setting the tray on the table. As she was about to leave, the woman said, "Amaya, sit with us." Amaya looked towards her aunt, who signaled her to sit with them. She sat beside the woman, who praised her, saying, "You are so beautiful, Amaya." Her aunt added, "Yes, my Amaya is really beautiful."

Amaya started to get an idea of what was happening. Her aunt then said, "So, Mrs. Ahuja, "ye rishta pakka smjhu mai "

Amaya was shocked to hear this. She heard the woman reply, "Yes, of course.

Her aunt said, "We should decide the wedding date." But the woman insisted, "No, no, first we have to do the engagement. I really want my son to have a grand wedding."

Her aunt replied, "There's no need for an engagement, but if you insist, we can do it." They decided the engagement date after calling the Pandit. Amaya had no idea this was happening. After the call, the woman said, "It's next week."

Her aunt picked up the sweets from the table, gave them to all three guests, and then fed Amaya, lip-syncing, "mubarak ho"

Amaya wanted to react but didn't want to cause a scene. She glanced at the man who was staring at her with a slight smile and thought, "Is he the one my aunt wants me to marry? He looks double of my age .

After all of this, Amaya excused herself, saying she needed to check on her grandmother, and left for her room.

Once inside, she closed the door and took a deep breath, trying to process what had just happened. Her mind was racing with thoughts and questions about her future and the sudden arrangement her aunt had made without her consent. She knew she had to find a way to address this situation, but at the moment, she felt overwhelmed and trapped.

Veeranshu was also sleeping in late as his legs had been hurting all night from walking while following Amaya. When he woke up and came down for breakfast, Sameer and Vikrant were already at the dining table. Sameer said, "Bhai, are your legs still hurting?"

Vikrant, confused, asked, "Why are his legs hurting?"

Veeranshu signaled Sameer to keep quiet, but Sameer said, "Vikrant, you know what, he walked more than he could handle following Amaya bhabhi."

Vikrant exclaimed, "Oh my god, Why didn't you use your car? And how many times are you going to follow her? She doesn't give a damn about you."

Sameer said " Vikrant is right bhai, apni thodi to self respect rakhi , kb tak unhe follow krte rho ge "

Veeranshu sat down and, while picking up his plate, said, "How do you know she's not giving a damn about me?"

Sameer, excitedly, asked, "So, did you make any progress?"

Veeranshu replied, "Yes, last night I shot a man for her."

Sameer put his palm on his face, saying, "Oh my god, do you think that's progress? Are you trying to go underground with whatever is happening between you and her?"

Veeranshu responded, "What are you saying? We almost hugged last night."

That caught Vikrant's attention, and he asked, "Really?"

Veeranshu, a bit defensive, said, "Almost."

Sameer said, "Nothing can be expected from you bhai ," aapke haath mai gun or muh mai gaaliyan hi suit krti h "

And sameer and Vikrant start laughing.

Then veeranshu give a cold look ans said , " abey saalo hasna band kro nhi yahi thhok dunga" and they both stop laughing.

Veeranshu said , " bachpan ki aadat h , aasani se nhi jaayegi "

Then sameer said bhai ,"aap kuch bhi kaho par bhaabhi ke saamne , kya kahte h vo , tahzeeb se baat krna , varna aapka koi chance nhi h "

Veeranshu nooded and said , I'll try.

☆☆★☆☆☆☆