Place: Udaipur, Rajasthan, India
The golden lights cast a warm glow over the splendid courtyard of the Rathore Palace, where laughter, music, and the clinking of expensive champagne glasses filled the air.
It was an evening of celebration and opulence and every guest invited held high prestige and reverence in the society.
The grand engagement of Ishita Rathore, the younger sister of India's most powerful businessman, was the event of the year. The talk of the country.
However, for Saanvi Sharma, it was a night of pure chaos.
Dressed in a navy blue shirt tucked in her black trousers, she bustled through the crowd, carrying the heavy floral arrangements.
"Excuse me," she breathed, making her way through the designer-clad guests, looking completely out of place. Yet, Saanvi didn't care. She wasn't here to admire wealth. She was here to do her job before her manager blew up and fired her.
"Where are the garlands? Sharma, where are you?" Saanvi heard her supervisor hiss through the earpiece.
"I'll bring them in a minute," Saanvi replied, handing over the arrangements to the man on the ladder before sprinting to carry out her next task.
Dodging a waiter who was carrying a tray of wine glasses, she entered the corridor leading to the bride's room.
Maintaining a professional smile, she swished by the bride's room and entered the small room adjacent to it, the room allotted for the event management staff to store their things.
'One more hour, Saanvi. One more hour and you can leave the place with your paycheck.'
Picking up the tray of rose garlands, she again passed by the bride's room, keeping the tray and the garlands safe. However, she wasn't that lucky when she turned around the corner.
Saanvi crashed into something solid.
"Wow." Saanvi balanced the tray and the garlands on it, sighing in relief at having prevented them from being damaged. They didn't have any extra garlands. These were the only two and she couldn't afford to damage them. They were specially made for the event and each cost a bomb, something she could never afford.
"Watch where you are going," the man before her seethed and it was then that Saanvi noticed who she had collided with.
Veer Rathore.
She didn't need any introduction. The entire country knew who he was.
Billionaire. Business tycoon. The ruthless shark of the corporate world.
And the host of tonight's event.
Saanvi gulped when she met his icy, penetrating eyes. They were cold, dark, and unforgiving.
The man before her stood tall, exuding an aura of cold, effortless authority. He wore a crisp, dark three-piece suit, the jacket tailored to perfection over his broad shoulders. His hair, neatly combed back, highlighted the sharp cut of his cheekbones and the defined line of his jaw.
A thick silence settled between them.
The only sound Saanvi could hear was her thumping heartbeats, the noise in the background reduced to nothingness.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Rathore. I..."
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Veer questioned her harshly, the air around him crackling with an almost dangerous energy.
"I..." Saanvi's mind failed at the critical moment and she gaped at him blankly.
"Who sent you here?"
"What?" Saanvi couldn't comprehend what he was saying.
"Who sent you here?" Veer gritted his teeth, enunciating each word with power. His tone was laced with anger, his face dark and daunting.
"I am..."
"Veer... there you are."
Their conversation was interrupted when Veer's friend, Aryan showed up.
"I was searching for you everywhere. What are you doing here? Nani (Grandma) was looking for you."
Veer didn't move his eyes away from Saanvi, examining her as if she was a criminal.
"Veer, we are getting late. What..."
"Let's go." Veer turned around and walked away, forcing Aryan to put a halt to his questions.
Giving Saanvi a confused look, he followed his friend, allowing the poor girl to breathe.
"Oh my God! For a moment, I thought I'd die tonight." Patting her heart with her free hand, Saanvi tried to calm herself down. "He's so scary. What's the need to have a cold face all the time? It's not like someone is looking for an air conditioner."
"Sharma, where are you?" the supervisor almost shouted in her earpiece.
"Coming, coming," Saanvi replied, picking up her pace, forgetting the devil for the time being.
Saanvi didn't meet Veer again for the rest of the night and managed to complete her job in peace without any problems.
"Umm.. what about my paycheck?" Saanvi questioned after completing her last task for the event.
"You aren't getting it any time soon. None of us are," the supervisor looked at him as if she had asked her to sign her property in her name.
Geez, what's the glare for?
"What?" Saanvi almost screamed in frustration. Wasn't her work over? Why were they unwilling the pay her?
"We'll have to stay until the engagement ceremony ends to get paid. Mr. Rathore wants everything to be perfect."
"But..."
"Sharma, do you want to get paid or not?"
That shut Saanvi up. Her sick mother was waiting for her and she couldn't afford to give up on any money. She had bills to pay and stomachs to feed.
"Fine," Saanvi grumbled, rolling her eyes in dismay. "At least, can I eat something?"
After working for an entire day, she was famished and tired and wanted to rest her legs while she fed her stomach.
The supervisor flicked her hand, too busy to cater to her anymore.
Smiling in glee, she took to her feet and went to the dining area. The aroma of the food made her stomach rumble and she quickened her footsteps.
Saanvi licked her lips when she saw the array of delicacies. Although she wanted to try everything, she couldn't. Her stomach couldn't handle everything in a short time.
'The rich and their way of squandering money,' she thought as she approached the snacks corner.
Meanwhile, Veer was busy welcoming the groom, Rohan Khanna, and his family who had just arrived.
"I must say, Veer, the arrangements are top-notch," Mahesh Khanna, Rohan's father said, admiring the lavish decorations around him.
"Yes, Veer. The arrangements are fantastic," Rohan agreed.
"I'm glad you like it." Veer gave an astute reply.
'If you spoke a word or two more, will you lose your tongue?' Aryan scolded his friend silently while he stood behind him.
"Hello, Nani (Grandma). How are you doing?" Rohan greeted the old woman who was sitting on the chair and the woman welcomed him warmly, her kind eyes radiating love.
"Rohan, you look dashing tonight," Anita praised, giving him an overall.
"But not as dashing as you, Nani (Grandma). If I wasn't marrying your granddaughter, I'd have asked your hand for sure." Rohan winked at her making the old woman chuckle.
"Enough, enough. Don't tease me." She glared at him, but there was anything but annoyance in her eyes.
The music changed subtly and the supervisor approached Veer. "Mr. Rathore, it's time," she reminded him and the man nodded.
"Nani (Grandma), I'll bring Ishita."
However, before he could even take a step, someone came running towards them as they shouted, "Ishita is missing. The bride is missing."
