Crown Duty

"Where are you taking me?" Meher whispered nervously as Shaurya pulled her quietly through the empty corridor beside the training ground.

"Quiet."

That one word alone made her heartbeat worse.

The distant sounds of commands and boots faded slowly behind them until he finally stopped in a darker corner away from everyone's eyes. The yellow light above flickered softly against his face while Meher tried to steady her breathing beneath the intensity in his gaze.

"You shouldn't be here," she murmured.

"And you shouldn't wear my uniform like that," he replied instantly, eyes moving slowly over her appearance before returning to her face again. "Yet here we are."

Heat rushed straight to her cheeks.

"Shaurya..."

His jaw tightened.

"Do you enjoy making me lose control?"

Meher's breath caught as he stepped closer, close enough for her back to lightly touch the wall behind her.

"You've been avoiding me all day," she whispered softly.

"I was trying to behave."

"And now?"

His eyes dropped briefly toward her lips.

"Now I'm trying very hard not to kiss you."
_________
Meher Rathore was the country's rising actress-beautiful, soft-spoken, and impossible to ignore once she appeared on screen. Behind the fame and flashing cameras lived a girl with quiet strength and a heart far too genuine for the world she belonged to.

Major Shaurya Singh Rajawat was the ADC to the President of India-a decorated Para SF officer known for his silence, discipline, and terrifying self-control. A man who had spent his entire life choosing duty over everything... until Meher slowly became the one distraction he could no longer command himself away from.