ROYAL HIGHNESS

40. Brewing friendship

Time passed, and their bond grew-slowly, effortlessly, like the way the sky fades into dusk without anyone noticing when the day truly ends.

It wasn't something either of them had planned, nor had they ever talked about it explicitly. But somewhere along the way, it became an unspoken rule between them.

They talked every day.

If not in person, then over calls. If not calls, then texts that stretched long into the night. There wasn't a single day that went by without them catching up. Even if it was something as mundane as **"I saw a weird-looking dog today"** or **"I forgot my wallet at home"**, they shared everything.

Their visits to each other's places also became a habit-another silent agreement. There was no need for an invitation, no need for formalities. If Amyardh was in Mumbai, he would show up at her set or her home. If Ovie was free, she would drop by his apartment without warning.

Neither of them questioned it.

Neither of them tried to define what they were.

It was just... **them.**

Some days, they'd sit in comfortable silence, doing nothing but existing in each other's presence. Other days, they'd bicker over the smallest things-what movie to watch, what ice cream flavor was better, why Amyardh never saved her contact as "Ovie" and instead had it as **"Ms. Khanna."**

Yet, despite the teasing, the sarcasm, and the never-ending back-and-forth, there was something undeniably **safe** about their friendship.

Amyardh, who never let anyone see his vulnerabilities, found himself opening up to her in ways he never had with anyone else.

Ovie, who had always been afraid of attachments, found herself drawn to him despite every warning her mind screamed at her.

But perhaps the most beautiful thing was this-**they never asked for more.**

At least, not yet.

For now, the world could wait. They were content in the untamed space they had created between them.

There was something about these moments with him that felt unreal-so fleeting, so delicate, that Ovie feared they might dissolve into nothing if she ever dared to acknowledge them too deeply.

Like a dream.

Like a dream she wasn't ready to wake up from.

Like one evening, when the sky was painted in hues of soft lavender and burnt orange, reflecting on the still water of the lake, gentle breeze whispering against Ovie's skin as she had sat on the bank, her gaze fixed on the far end of the lake.

There, blooming in quiet elegance, were the violet Egyptian lotuses-rare, untamed, swaying ever so slightly with the ripples.

"They're beautiful..." she murmured in awe, her voice almost lost to the wind.

And then, before she could even register what was happening, Amyardh took a step back, removed his jacket, and-

*Splaaaash!*

Ovie gasped as he dove straight into the lake without a second thought.

"Amyardh?! What the hell?!" she yelled, her heart leaping to her throat.

Water droplets shimmered under the golden light as he surfaced, his dark hair slicked back, a lazy smirk playing on his lips. Without a word, he swam towards the far end, his strokes powerful yet effortless.

Ovie stood frozen, watching as he reached the other side, plucked a handful of those precious lotuses, and then-

He turned back.