Protected by a Criminal | Akshaye Khanna X OC

He hates the law.
Despises it. Breaks it for a living.

Akshaye Khanna is a man with blood on his hands and power in his silence - a gangster who wears legality like a disguise. To the world, he's untouchable. To the underworld, he's feared. And to himself, he's someone who stopped believing in justice a long time ago.

Shambhavi Deshpande believes in it.

A corporate professional with a legal backbone and a conscience that refuses to bend, she was never meant to cross his path - and yet, danger doesn't care about intentions. When her life becomes collateral damage in a war she didn't start, the last person who should protect her is the only one who does.

He tells himself it's not personal.
That her job doesn't concern him.
That he's only keeping her alive.

But the truth is quieter. Darker.

Because somewhere between bruises and bulletproof safe houses, between whispered confessions and unspoken restraint, Akshaye realizes he isn't protecting the law.

He's protecting her.

And caring has always been the most dangerous crime of all.