Kunal Roy isn't just a name; it's a legend wrapped in darkness. A powerful mafia leader with a chilling reputation, he's the man every whisper in Delhi is about. I thought I knew all there was to know about dangerous allure until he stepped into my...
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I stood in front of my dad, arms crossed, practically begging him to see reason. The man was impossible, really. It was like talking to a brick wall that wore an expensive suit and cared way too much about my safety. Ugh, typical.
"Dad, you can't seriously expect me to pack up my entire life and just... move to New York for a whole year?!" I threw my hands up for dramatic effect. “I have my life here! My friends, my final year of university, and—hello, I’m attached to India!”
That last part? Yeah, okay, maybe a little exaggerated. I wasn’t exactly obsessed with India, but hey, I needed something big to throw at him right now. Desperate times, right?
Dad just raised an eyebrow at me. He always did that when he thought I was being overly dramatic. Spoiler: I was. "Shanaya," he said in that calm, dad-voice that usually meant I was losing this argument, "how are you going to manage here all by yourself? Kabir bhai won’t be here either; he’s in France, dealing with the business."
Ugh. Trust him to bring up my overachieving brother. "I’m not a baby, Dad. I’ll be fine! It’s one year, not the end of the world. And besides, Kabir being halfway across the globe doesn’t mean I’m incapable of existing on my own!"
Dad looked at me with that same overprotective gaze he always had. I was his only daughter, his little princess, and I knew he thought I couldn’t handle life without someone hovering over me. To be fair, I’d never exactly done much to prove him wrong, but still.
“I can’t leave you alone in Mumbai for a year,” he said firmly, like that was the final word on the matter. "You’re my responsibility. What if something happens?"
"Dad, this isn’t the 90s! Girls live on their own all the time. I’m a grown woman!" I emphasized that last part with a dramatic hair flip for effect. I could practically feel him rolling his eyes at me.
But my brain, always working overtime when it came to getting my way, came up with a genius idea. I fought the urge to grin. "Okay, okay, how about this… what if I stay with someone you trust? Like… one of your partners or a family friend? You know, someone you really trust, like... really, *really* trust?"
There it was. The seed was planted. Now I just had to wait for him to connect the dots.
Dad paused, rubbing his chin in that way he did when he was thinking something over. “That could still be dangerous…”
I cut him off. “Come on, Dad! If it’s someone you know, someone you trust with your life, how could it be dangerous? You’d have peace of mind, and I’d still be here finishing my degree, not across the world where I don’t know anyone.”
He sighed, and I could tell he was starting to crack. Bingo.
"I suppose there’s one person who fits the bill," he said, sounding hesitant. "But I’ll have to talk to him first."
