5.

Next morning

Abhiraj's POV

"Prepare everything and make sure everything is perfect. If I find any mistake I'll give you all a special training session" I threaten my guard.

"Yes boss" he replies before cutting the call.

I take a deep breath. "Cool down Abhiraj. Why are you panicking?" I tell myself looking in the mirror one last time. I'm ready for tonight's party.

I turn around and see Zar sitting on the floor, looking at me with his bright blue, excited eyes. He has a black bow tie around his neck. He looks cute.

"You’re looking dashing, my boy" I say, stroking his head. He wags his tail.

"Let’s go. Dev must be waiting for us" I say. Zar runs outside before me.

I look at myself one last time in the mirror. I’m acting like those girls who keep checking themselves again and again.

"Finally you’re here" Dev says glaring at me.

I nod innocently. "Let’s go. We’re getting late." He scoffs but walks after me.

I get inside my Rolls Royce with Zar and Dev. My guards get into their cars and start following us.

"Boss we’ve set everything" Varun says through the earpiece. I nod.

"Zar don’t embarrass yourself in front of others okay my boy?" Dev says but I know he’s actually talking to me.

"Zar is an intelligent boy. He won’t do anything embarrassing" I say stroking Zar’s head.

I smirk seeing Dev’s reaction. He’s been telling me since morning that I’ll ruin everything because of my nervousness. But I won’t.

After 20 minutes we reach the university. The whole place is decorated with lights.

My guard opens the door for me. I take a deep breath before stepping out.

The principal walks up to me, extending his hand for a handshake. I shake it.

"Welcome, sir. We are really lucky to have you tonight" he says. I just nod. He starts leading us inside.

Everyone is already here, waiting for us. Zar and Dev walk beside me.

As we enter the hall, loud claps and cheers fill the air. My face is blank, emotionless, like always. Zar and Dev’s expressions are the same.

I can hear girls whispering about me and Dev. But my ears are searching for only one voice.

People are a little shocked to see Zar here. We sit on our chairs and the function begins.

I start looking around searching for those eyes I’ve been craving to see for centuries.

"It’s been just 23 hours since you last saw her" my subconscious says.

I ignore this mind-eater.

All the students are standing in the middle of the hall. Chairs and tables are perfectly set at the back for them.

Where is she? Did she come or not? What if she didn’t come? Then I’ll have to dance with someone else instead of her? No, no, Abhiraj think positive.

I turn to Dev, asking him through my eyes—where is my woman?

"She’s here. Must be in the crowd" he whispers. I sigh in relief.

I feel Zar’s paw on my thigh. I look at him. He looks at me then toward the crowd.

I follow his gaze. My soul returns to my body. My heart starts beating in a beautiful rhythm.

For the first time in my life, my soul feels peace—a peace I’ve never felt before.

Because of her.

She is standing there in the crowd, looking so mine.

She is mine.

Mine.

Only mine.

I want to pull her into my arms. Hide her from this evil world wait....

Who is that boy beside her? And why on earth is she smiling at him? Control, Abhiraj. Or you’ll scare her with your behavior.

She will dance with him if he is her partner. Just thinking about it makes my blood boil. How would they look together? Her smiling at him while dancing and him holding her close to himself. The thought alone drives me crazy.

I can already picture it in my mind her soft laughter, the way she would gaze at him and his hands resting on her waist as they move to the music. My fists clench at the mere imagination of it. I swear, if he ever gets that close to her, I won’t spare him.

But wait… they’re not dancing now. It’s just in my head. And I’ll make sure it stays that way. She will never dance with him or any other man. Not as long as I’m here.

I’ll see you, boy, after tonight. I’ll tell you who Abhiraj Singh Rajvansh is.

I feel a nudge on my hand. I turn to see Dev. He wants to tell me something.

"He’s a nice guy" Dev says nodding toward the boy standing beside my Mira.

I give him a are-you-serious look. What does he mean by he’s a nice guy?

"I mean he treats Mira like a sister" Dev adds. A little relief. But still.

I don’t want to see her with anyone. Especially men. She belongs only in my arms.

Still...I'll make him regret being close to my woman. I look at her again. Now she’s talking to her friend.

Mira’s POV

"I hope we’re not late" Jiya says, walking inside the campus while lifting her gown.

To be honest she looks so hot yet eye-catching.

I’m a hundred percent sure Dev Malhotra is going to fall for my bestie’s charm tonight.

"No girl we still have five minutes" I say walking beside her.

I see Mihir waiting for us outside. Jiya hasn’t chosen her partner yet but she has full confidence that Dev will choose her.

I’m praying that Dev must choose my best friend.

"Sorry we’re late" I say to Mihir but he shakes his head.

"No no you guys are on time. And you both are looking pretty...just like your brother" he says fixing his collar. We smile at his words.

"Let’s go inside guys. I don’t want to miss anything about Dev" Jiya says.

She walks ahead, leaving us behind.

"Shall we?" Mihir asks politely. I nod and walk with him.

"You look good in this" I say. He smiles shyly.

"Thank you" he says. I smile at his shy nature.

"Look I told you we’re on time" I say, standing beside Jiya. She pouts.

"Look we’re almost at the back and it’s impossible for Dev to notice me here" she says pouting again.

I look around. She’s right. Like this, Dev won’t even see that my friend is here.

"Let’s go to the front" I say and am about to walk ahead but....

"Excuse me, we’ve been here since six in the evening and we’re not moving from here" a girl says.

I freeze. They’re really crazy.

"It’s okay. I don’t think I’m getting a chance to dance with Dev today" Jiya says sadly. I pat her shoulder.

"Your mother is here my children and I’ll do anything for you" I say. She gives me a weak smile.

"We’ll help you. Don’t worry" Mihir says comforting her.

"Ladies and gentlemen the stars of our evening are here!" the anchor announces.

ASR, Dev Malhotra and Zar walk in with the principal.

The principal welcomes them and offers them seats.

Then, his motivational speech begins—though let’s be honest it’s not going to motivate us.

All the girls are busy clicking pictures of Dev and ASR But my eyes....my eyes are on Zar.

He looks so cute with that little bow tie around his neck. He looks at me.

And I can’t help but remember that moment in the forest. There are always some embarrassing moments in life that we never forget.

For me, it’s that forest moment with ASR. The anchor’s voice breaks my thoughts.

"And now, the fun part begins! Two lucky girls will get to dance with Abhiraj Singh Rajvansh and Dev Malhotra tonight! I request the stars of our event to choose their dance partners!"

The girls start screaming at the top of their lungs. I glance at Jiya.

She’s staring at Dev excitement in her eyes but also sadness.

"Asr, please choose me!"

"Dev, please! Pick me!"

"No, no! Choose me!"

"Sir, I’m your biggest fan! Please choose me as your partner!"

"Sir, you’ll make my night if you pick me!"

"ASR, Dev, sir! Please!"

The girls start shouting. It’s total chaos.

Then...

"Shhh" Dev says into the mic. Silence. Not a single sound. Dev really has that power.

"So, who will be my dance partner?" he asks. And once again the girls go crazy.

"Me!"

"Me!"

"Me!"

I look at Jiya. She’s excited But I can see it the sadness of expecting rejection.

"So, I’ll choose… her as my partner" Dev says, pointing toward our direction. The girl in front of us screams.

"Me! He chose me!" she shouts.I look at Jiya. She’s on the verge of crying But then...

"No no miss. I didn’t choose you" Dev corrects her.

"I meant the girl behind you the one in the black gown."

My eyes widen. Jiya… she’s wearing a black dress.

"Oh my God! Me?!" Jiya screams. Dev nods with a small smile.

"Oh my God, Mira! He chose me!" Jiya hugs me tightly. I smile.

Seeing her this happy after so long—she deserves this.

"And sir, whom will you choose?" the anchor asks ASR. Every girl waits. Holding their breath. ASR looks at our direction.

"I’ll choose her" he says. He pauses.

"The girl in the champagne color gown."

Silence. Every eye turns to me. I freeze. I look at him. I have no words. I’m not excited. I’m embarrassed.

How will I even face him? I raise my finger toward myself. Me?

"Yes you" he says in his intimidating voice.

"It’s okay Mira. You got a chance every girl here is dying for. Go. I’ll find someone else" Mihir says encouraging me.

I smile at his words.

Abhiraj’s POV

I had strictly warned Dev to choose her friend Jiya. I didn’t tell him that she has a crush on him.

But my woman was worried about it so how could I not fulfill her wish?

When I said I chose her, her reaction was cute. Get used to this my lady. You’re going to face me a lot.

The anchor announces "Now I request everyone to hold their partners and start the dance!"

I step down the stage with Dev. Zar walks beside us.

"Who are you going to dance with?" Dev asks Zar with a smirk. Zar ignores him royally and walks ahead. A girl in the crowd speaks up.

"Sir you should’ve chosen me not that orphan." I stop. I glare at her. She shivers visibly.

"Wanna die by my bare hands?" I whisper darkly. She stumbles back.

I’ll deal with you later bitch. My woman is waiting for me right now. I continue walking. She’s standing there.Waiting.

"Hey" I say stopping in front of her. Even I’m shocked by my behavior. Dev and Zar stare at me in disbelief.

"H…hi" she says looking down.

"Hi sir! I’m a really big fan of yours! It’s an honor to dance with you tonight!" her friend says excitedly.

I smile because my lady is smiling while looking at her friend.

"Hey" Dev says and the music starts.

Everyone moves to their positions and begins dancing. She looks down at Zar.

"H....he’ll stay here?" she asks hesitantly. Zar looks at me. His eyes are clear he wants me to tell her something.

"Yes. And he’s not scary. Believe me he won’t harm you" I say. She looks at me for assurance. Then at Zar.

"You can touch him if you want" I say. She hesitates.

Then slowly she puts her trembling hand on his head. She strokes him lightly. I freeze.

Biggest. Shock. Of. My. Life.

Zar Singh Rajvansh—the deadliest pet in the history of the mafia world is standing there, letting a woman touch him. Not just letting..melting under her touch.

His eyes close in pure bliss.

"You are so cute" she whispers to him lightly and Zar gives her a small smile. Now I want her attention on me.

"Ahm ahm can we dance now?" I say softly.

Believe me, I didn’t know this kind of soft voice could come from my mouth. But in front of my lady everything is possible.

"Ohh yes sorry" she says and then She holds my hand.

My breath hitches. She touched me. She. My woman. My lady. Holding my hand.

"Why is your hand shaking?" she asks concern in her voice.

"It's nothing" I say quickly. She nods.

"Can I put my hand on your waist?" I ask. I don’t want to make her uncomfortable.

"Yes, you can" she says. Slowly I place my hand on her waist.

It fits. Like my hand was made to hold her waist. She starts dancing, moving so gracefully.

Perfectly matching my steps. My heartbeat is racing with a cheetah right now. She is definitely going to hear it.

Talk to her Abhiraj. You have limited time. My subconscious Said and he is right.

"Had you chosen your partner already?" I ask.

This question has been eating me since I stepped here. She nods. My blood boils at the thought of that boy.

"Actually I chose him but when sir I mean you selected me he told me to go with you and that he’d manage" she says. My nerves calm. Good boy.

"Don’t call me sir" I say. She looks up at me. I realize...she only reaches my chest. Something strange stirs in my stomach.

"Then what should I call you?" she asks innocently. I smile.

"You can call me anything. Treat me as your partner not as ASR or someone powerful" I say. She nods.

"Should I forget that you’re powerful and right now you’re just a normal person just my partner?" she asks. I nod. She thinks for a moment. Then she smirks. Cute.

"Then I’ll call you Raju" she says. I burst out laughing. I stop myself before people start staring.

"Why Raju?" I ask trying my best to stop my smile. She smiles back.

"Actually your name is Abhiraj and there’s Raj at the end so… Raju from Raj" she says with a light chuckle.

I smile, watching her laugh. She looks like an angel.

Who would believe that this mafia king actually likes a nickname that doesn’t suit his personality at all?

"Haha I’m joking. I’ll call you Abhiraj only" she says. I smile.

"I’m okay with anything" I say and she smiles again.

I see Zar walking around us in circles and I can’t help but smile at him.

"You know I thought you’d be scary and would dance with your cold self" she says.

I smirk internally. This side of Abhiraj is booked only for you my Queen.

"How can I act like a jerk in front of this beautiful angel?" I say. For a second, I think it sounds cringe but...

Her red cheeks tell a different story. I’m getting more obsessed with her.

"I’m really sorry for that day. Zar scared you" I say. She smiles shaking her head. Then she looks at Zar who is now sitting and watching us.

"I just got scared when he came close and then when he started chasing me, I freaked out But… he’s cute And tonight he’s looking so good" she says, smiling at Zar.

And he looks down, smiling like a teenager. She didn’t compliment me, but she’s complimenting him?

My eyes fall on Dev. He’s glaring at his partner—what’s her name again? Ah, yes. Jiya. He’s glaring. She’s grinning at him.

"Abhiraj." I freeze.

I turn to look at her. What shocks me is—she called me by my name. And trust me, my name has never sounded this good before.

"Yes" I whisper still in shock. A happy shock.

She smiles. Sliding her hand from my shoulder to my chest. Where my heart is. Which belongs to her only.

"Can I ask you something?" she asks softly while dancing with me. I nod.

"Actually I want to ask... Is Dev sir single?" she asks and my heart stops beating.

Does she love him? Maybe she has a crush on him? No. I can’t see her with anyone. She is mine. My heart hurts.

"Abhiraj?" She shakes me bringing me out of my thoughts. I look at her with a pale expression.

"Yes he is single. But why are you asking this?" I ask in a cold voice. She looks at me with a little fear. She noticed my behavior change.

"Actually my friend has a huge crush on him. When you chose me, she told me to ask if he is single or in a secret relationship" she explains. I sigh in relief.

"No. We both are single" I say. She nods. We keep dancing. The music stops. The anchor makes an announcement.

"So we have a game for you all and we want everyone to participate" he says. Everyone looks at the stage.

Dev stands beside me. He glares at me. I don’t know why.

"The game is simple. All couples will stand far from each other. When the music starts you wait. The moment the music stops, you must hug your partner. The last couple to hug will lose" the anchor explains.

"Who wants to play, stay in the center. Who doesn’t, sit and enjoy" he adds. I look at Mira.

"Do you want to play this?" she asks softly.

I smirk. I’m the one who arranged all this. Of course I’ll play. I nod.

"Yes! I also want to play this game!" she says excitedly. I smile.

"Please sir play the game with me please!" I hear her friend pleading with Dev. But he shakes his head. She looks down sadly.

"Play Dev. It’ll be fun" I say. He glares at me like he’ll kill me. But then he nods.

"Thank you so much!" her friend says jumping excitedly. I look at my lady. She’s smiling watching her friend.

"Okay! Boys will stand here and girls will stand here" the anchor says. We take our positions. Zar stands beside me.

"You can sit there if you want" I say to Zar but he shakes his head.

"Why are you so angry?" I ask Dev. He ignores me.

The music starts playing. There is a good distance between us. I look at my Kalp (heart). She is looking at me only a huge smile on her face.

The music stops suddenly. I run towards her with full speed. She runs to me. All the students start running here and there to hug their partners.

But I pull her hand from the crowd and hug her tightly. She jumps in my arms excitedly. Even if I lose the game, I’ll be the only winner here.

Because she is so close to me. Close to my heart.

"Yeay!" she says. I smile at her.

"You guys are out of the game" the anchor says to one couple. They walk out of the center.

"You stay at your place. I’ll come to you because you are wearing heels and it might be difficult for you to run" I say. Her eyes shine with an unknown emotion.

I wish I could recognize all these emotions.

"Okay" she says softly before going back to her place.

The music starts again. It stops. I run towards her. She stays at her place. I hug her tightly.

After playing for a few minutes now only Dev and I are left.

"Okay so sir only two of you are left. Now only one will win" the anchor says. We nod.

"You just see. I’ll win tonight" Dev says, challenging me. I smirk.

"Let’s see who will win" I say.

The music starts. It plays a little longer this time. Mira is all ready to hug me. The music stops. I start running towards her. Dev starts running towards Jiya.

But before Dev reaches, Zar runs towards Jiya. She gets scared. She starts running in the opposite direction of Dev. Till then, I hug Mira.

"Yeayyyyyyy! We won!" Mira shouts hugging me tightly jumping in my arms.

I try to stop smile. I look at Dev. He is dangerously glaring at Zar. Zar made me win.

"This is cheating! He made you win!" Dev complains. I pat his shoulder.

"Everything is fair in love and war" I say. He glares at me. Then he turns to look at Jiya.

"Are you okay?" he asks her. She shyly smiles before nodding. I think he realizes what he just asked.

"So our winners are Mr. Rajvansh and Ms. Rao! Here is your prize!" the anchor announces.

Everyone claps for us. We walk towards the stage.

The principal hands us a cheque of 50 lakh and a beautiful chocolate bouquet. We take it. She looks at me.

"You can take the money but give me this chocolate" she says innocently. I smile internally.

"You can take both" I say and give her both things. Her smile widens.

"Really?" she asks. I nod.

"Let’s go for dinner sir" the principal interrupts. I nod.

Everyone starts walking towards the ground where a lavish dinner is arranged.

By me. I give my hand to my beautiful. She holds my hand and comes down the stage.

"You can take the cheque. I don’t need it" she says. I look at her.

"It’s your prize. And if you want you can give me one chocolate" I say. She looks at me, unsure.

"I don’t share my chocolate with anyone. But you can take one" she says.

I feel like the luckiest person in the universe. She is sharing her chocolate with me. Oh my God. I’m really lucky. I control my excitement.

We reach the garden. pull a chair for her. She sits down saying a small "thank you."

Dev and Jiya sit in front of us. Zar sits beside her. Dinner is served. I am damn sure.

Tomorrow’s newspaper will be full of pictures of me and Mira. Because this is the first time I am behaving like this.

And this is exactly what I want. People should think of us as a couple. I smirk internally. My plan is working.

"Here" I hear her voice. I look at her. She is passing a bowl of milkshake towards Zar. He doesn’t drink milk. He hates milk.

"He doesn’t like milk" I say. She looks at me and is about to pull the bowl back.

But she stops. Because Zar is licking the milkshake. Dev and I both look at him. Shocked. Am I dreaming? He gets angry when I offer him milk. And here he is drinking milkshake.

"But I think he is liking it" she says caressing Zar’s head. I feel embarrassed.

He is acting like a typical kid.

When we tell people "Our kid doesn’t eat this" and then in front of them they start eating it. And we feel embarrassed.

Dinner continues. But then I see Varun is calling me. He never disturbs me like this. I pick up the call and put it to my ear.

He says something. My blood boils. I cut the call. I look at Mira. She is smiling while feeding Zar.

"Excuse me, we have to leave" I say. They look at me.

"We have an emergency" I say. Dev and Zar both understand me. They get up from their places.

"It’s okay. You may go sir" her friend says politely. We nod.

"It was nice meeting you. I hope we will meet again" I say to my woman.

She nods. Even though I don’t want to leave her.

"Hope so. And bye-bye Zar" she says. Zar wags his tail. I look at her one last time.

Then I walk out of the college. My bodyguards follow us.