AUTHOR POV
The sound of luxury cars broke the peaceful silence of the orphanage. Three black SUVs entered the narrow lane, creating a cloud of dust behind them. The kids who were playing outside froze. Even the birds atop the temple went quiet.
Everyone knew who had arrived.
The gatekeeper rushed to open the entrance as the doors of the first SUV opened.
Abhimanyu Rathore stepped out first—graceful, humble, and smiling warmly at the children. His presence had always been comforting to the orphanage.
But today… someone else stepped out behind him.
The air shifted.
Rudraksha Singh Rathore.
Tall. Broad shoulders. Sharp eyes scanning the orphanage like he owned the land and the sky above it. His black suit contrasted against the old walls of the orphanage, making him look like he didn’t belong in this world of innocence.
The children stared in silence. Even the little mischief-makers forgot to speak.
Shivanya came running from the kitchen just then, wiping her hands on her dupatta.
She paused.
For a moment she forgot to breathe.
He looked like a storm wearing a suit—cold, intense and unreadable.
And for the first time in his life…
Rudraksha also stopped.
His steps slowed as his eyes fell on her.
She looked like the sunshine he never allowed into his world.
Rose-pink anarkali. Soft eyes. Gentle presence.
Two opposite worlds.
Two different destinies.
And yet, something pulled them towards each other.
Abhimanyu Uncle smiled at Shivanya.
“Beta, hum aa gaye.”
Shivanya bent to touch his feet.
“Namaste Uncle.”
She stood up slowly, eyes unknowingly meeting Rudraksha’s.
A single second felt like forever.
His eyes didn’t soften.
Or show interest.
Or surprise.
But something flickered there.
Something he couldn’t name.
RUDRAKSHA POV
I don’t believe in fate. I don’t believe in signs. I don’t believe in destiny.
But when I saw her…
For the first time in my life, silence bothered me.
She looked… different.
Not like the women in my world—loud, desperate for attention, money, or my name.
She looked like someone who didn’t even know my world existed.
Baba Sa spoke, breaking the silence.
“Rudraksha, yeh Shivanya hai. Orphanage ka dil.”
She folded her hands politely.
“Namaste.”
I simply nodded.
Cold. Controlled. Emotionless.
She smiled in response. A soft, warm, genuine smile.
I hated it.
Because that smile crossed my walls without permission.
SHIVANYA POV
The moment his eyes met mine… something inside me trembled.
I have seen many people come to this orphanage—rich, poor, kind, cruel, selfish.
But I have never seen someone like him.
His presence didn’t just enter the place… it filled it.
He didn’t smile.
He didn’t greet.
He didn’t even try to hide the dominance he carried.
It was like the walls of the ashram were too small to contain his aura.
For a moment I forgot the children, the breakfast, the temple, everything.
My heart beat too loudly, as if confused between fear and curiosity.
Who was he?
His eyes weren’t cruel… but they weren’t gentle either.
They were like reading an unreadable sky—dark, endless, unpredictable.
He looked like someone who never had to ask for space.
The world probably moved aside for him.
I clutched the end of my dupatta nervously.
Why was I staring?
I forced my gaze down, trying to breathe normally.
This feeling was foreign. It wasn’t love or attraction.
It was something deeper… something dangerous.
For the first time in years, my safe little world felt too quiet.
Too small.
And a strange thought echoed in my mind—
“Iss aadmi ka zindagi se kuch lena-dena zarur hoga.”
I didn’t know whether that was a warning…
Or destiny beginning its work.
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