(SCENE WHERE THEY ALREADY ATE PASTA)

Vishesh is watching Alakh, who is sitting in front of him. He wants the pills to start showing their effect so that Alakh can sleep, but it seems that Alakh is used to the pills, so they are not showing any effect on her so soon.

Vishesh is very tired today and he is also very upset, due to which he feels that his eyes are getting heavy. He takes the plates because he is afraid that if the pills start showing their effect, maybe she will fall and hurt herself, but Alakh immediately stops him.

"I know how to wash the dishes."

"I also know how to wash dishes, I will do it. You go from here… sleep quietly… you have taken the sleeping pill, you are going to sleep… you may fall because of dizziness…"

Vishesh is not feeling good, but still, he replies to her immediately, with a full explanation of why he does not want her to wash the dishes.

He quickly washes the dishes and turns, then he sees Alakh in front of him, standing very innocently with her finger pressed between her teeth. She immediately says in one go,

"I changed the plates of both of us. I did not know what you were mixing in the food… so… I…"

Vishesh smiles after listening to her. He was calling this girl innocent a while back, but she is too naughty. He can go to their room quite easily, but how can he let this opportunity slip out of his hands so easily? He immediately tells her,

"Take me to the bedroom quickly, or else I'll fall right here."

Alakh feels that he is telling the truth, so immediately, to help him, she comes close to him, placing his hand on her shoulder, supporting him, and taking him towards the room. Vishesh feels so great to have Alakh close to him, but by the time he reaches the room, his eyes start getting heavier, and he can fall asleep at any time. In the distance, he hears Alakh's voice in his ears.

"We are about to reach the bedroom, just don't fall. I am afraid if you fall, how will I drag you to the bedroom?"

Vishesh wants to sleep immediately, but hearing her words, he also wants to laugh a lot. At this time, his condition is very bad. If it was any other situation, he would have taken full advantage of it, but right now he wants to sleep badly and he also does not want Alakh to suffer because of him in any way, so he wants to reach his room immediately in a proper condition.

After reaching the room, Alakh starts helping Vishesh as they lean slightly to lay him down on the bed. But Vishesh is unable to maintain his balance and he starts falling, so, so that maybe Alakh does not get hurt, he immediately holds her in his arms, but he does not have enough strength to save her too.

He falls on the bed with Alakh and can feel very easily that her body is under his. He wants to move a little and give Alakh a comfortable position, but it is getting too difficult for him with every passing minute.

He can feel very clearly that Alakh is trying to push him off her body, but he feels much better when her delicate body is touching his. He immediately cages her in his arms and locks her legs with his, then hides his face in the crook of her neck. She tries to push him, but Vishesh has held her so well that she cannot free herself from his grip even if she wants to.

"Vishesh, you are very heavy…"

Vishesh wants to move a little away from her after hearing her voice, but he does not want to distance her from himself at all. He just wants to sleep with her in his arms. All of a sudden, he can't hear anything. He feels like he is too much at ease and wants to sleep immediately.

But soon he again feels Alakh's efforts to get away from him. After a while, he feels his lips on her skin. Realizing this, he immediately tries to open his eyes and look at her, but it has become very difficult for him. Her mild erotic scent gives him an amazing feeling; he wants to kiss her uncountable times the whole night.

Alakh is constantly trying to get away from him. Vishesh understands that this situation is uncomfortable for her, so he loosens his grip slightly from her waist, due to which she becomes free from his steel-strong hold.

But as soon as Vishesh realizes that Alakh is trying to get away from him, he immediately holds her in his arms again and clings to her in such a way that he doesn't care that Alakh is uncomfortable. Her fragrance again hits his nostrils, which calms him immediately, and he slips into a deep slumber.

When Alakh wakes up in the morning, she finds herself sleeping comfortably with her head resting on Vishesh's chest. Her hand is on his chest and Vishesh's hand is holding her very protectively by the waist.

Alakh is well aware that Vishesh will still be sleeping under the effect of the sleeping pills, so she quietly removes his hand from her waist and tries to separate from him. But her hair is trapped under Vishesh's shoulder, due to which she is unable to get up properly and she again lies down on his chest.

Then, after thinking for a while, she lightly raises her face near his shoulder, lies down on her stomach. Because of this, her hair starts pulling at her scalp, which hurts her, and because of that, she quickly moves closer to Vishesh's face, due to which she can feel his breath on her face very clearly. She gulps down her saliva and tries to remove her hair strands from there.

Due to the constant movement around him, Vishesh changes his side slightly and at the same time, Alakh successfully removes her stuck hair but doesn't maintain her balance on her elbow and her face falls on Vishesh.

Because of this, her lips completely stick to Vishesh's lips. Within a second she gets up from there and looks at Vishesh, who is still sleeping comfortably. Both her cheeks have become very hot and tinted with the color of crimson red. She immediately runs to the bathroom and starts splashing a lot of water on her face. She hides her face in her hands, then spreads her fingers a little bit and looks at herself in the mirror. Then she presses her lips between her teeth and laughs at herself. After completing her morning chores, she looks at Vishesh, who is still sleeping. She leaves from there.

After some time, Vishesh wakes up from sleep and tries to find Alakh by moving his hand on the bed, but she is not there, so he immediately sits up and looks in front. But she is not even sitting near the glass wall. He immediately rubs his forehead and presses his head lightly, getting up to go to the washroom.

After some time, Vishesh comes out of the washroom and goes outside. The view of the morning is very beautiful. On top of that, the morning breeze feels like it wants to tickle, and the most beautiful view is that Alakh is sitting there enjoying it. Her feet are dipped in the water and she is sitting on the platform near the water while drinking her coffee.

Vishesh looks towards his security and gestures to them to leave with his eyes. All of them bow their heads and slowly leave from there. Alakh does not know anything about all these things; she leisurely enjoys her view with a delighted mood. He immediately removes his T-shirt and jumps over her head into the water. She shouts and flinches because of the sudden action.

"What the hell… Do you want to give someone a heart attack like this early in the morning?"

Vishesh laughs at her expression and splashes water at her.

"You are sitting with your feet hanging in the water. If a shark comes, it will drag you inside."

Alakh shows a tight-lipped smile and says immediately,

"You too look no less than a shark by going underwater… Try it once."

Vishesh laughs loudly after listening to Alakh. He shouts from there and tells her,

"Now what can I do about this? Since yesterday, you have been looking at the fishes in the water. So I thought that I should go in the water too, so that you can see me too."

Vishesh winks and splashes water at her again. This time she also starts shaking her feet vigorously to annoy him, due to which a lot of water starts pouring on him. Vishesh immediately goes under the water, comes to her, and holds her feet in the water, due to which she screams in panic.

"Vishesh, stop it…"

She tries to run away from there by quickly freeing her leg, but Vishesh immediately grabs her leg again and pulls her closer to him, then quickly grabs her by her waist and takes her under the water.

"Vishesh… no… please… you know very well… I don't know how to swim…"

"Relax, Alakh… I am not going to leave you here."

"No… no…"

She immediately hugs him tightly and continuously shouts,

"I am very afraid of going underwater, please quickly come up, I do not want to go underwater."

Alakh tightly hugs Vishesh and he is enjoying it very much. He knows that she is afraid of water and does not want to scare her, but he does not like her fear either.

"I am with you and nothing can happen to you. We are not going underwater at all… now relax. If you keep yourself calm, then you can enjoy everything very well. You have come here to enjoy, so enjoy everything happily. You do not need to worry about anything at all… I will be with you everywhere."

"Will you stop being romantic unnecessarily? I am very scared, I am telling you the truth. Take me out of here or something will happen to me."

Alakh does not realize at all that she is still holding on to Vishesh tightly. Vishesh ignores her words and starts taking her a little further, but she starts hitting him on the shoulders.

"No way… I don't want to go… leave me… somebody, help me."

But Vishesh does not listen to her at all and takes her to the middle of the water. After going there, he turns her in front of him and holds her even better by sticking her back to his chest.

"Vishesh…"

In no time, a lot of small fish start coming around Alakh. She slightly turns her face towards him, because now she knows why he has brought her here, and smiles. She looks at Vishesh, who is smiling at her. She tries to hold the fish in her hands in the water, but they immediately slip from her hands.

After playing with the fish for a while, she starts feeling better. She knows very well that Vishesh is holding her by the waist, but it's not an uncomfortable position for her. She is engrossed in playing.

"I will bring you to the middle of the water like this every day. The color of your face changes completely. You look so happy… Come, let's go."

He holds her by the waist, helps her sit on the wooden platform, and then pulls himself up onto the platform. Her clothes are wet and cling to her body. He grabs a towel, covers her with it, and says,

"Go, change, then we will have our breakfast."

She starts leaving from there without making eye contact, but he immediately grabs her hand, brings her close to him, and tells her,

"We are husband and wife, so we don't have to feel any type of discomfort. I don't want to erase any memory, but I want to create only happy memories for us… only for us."

He kisses her forehead and leaves from there to change. Alakh stands there lost in deep thoughts.

******

Alakh is standing at the corner of the yacht, enjoying herself very much. Vishesh is also very happy to see her enjoying the view. He secretly clicks her photos. Then he comes and stands close to her, grabbing the railing from both sides, caging her within his arms.

Alakh doesn’t say anything to him because she is lost in the view. It is their third day here. Today, for the first time, they are going out of the villa, and they are going shopping because there is a big party they will be attending.

The yacht jerks repeatedly due to the fast speed, and Alakh’s balance gets disturbed. She holds Vishesh’s forearms. He immediately holds her by her waist and steadies her perfectly in his arms. She again focuses on the beautiful view. Vishesh kisses her forehead from behind and says lovingly,

"I have selected a dress for you to wear to the party. I didn’t want to choose this dress because I wanted you to choose… but when I saw it, I thought it could only look beautiful on you. If you don’t like it, you can reject it…"

At first, Alakh doesn’t like the fact that Vishesh selected clothes for her, but when he says she can reject it, she feels unexpectedly good.

Yuvraj never liked the clothes she selected for herself. He always forced her to cover herself completely and never allowed her to wear the dresses she liked. She wanted to dress freely, like a bird, but day by day it became harder for her.

Even though Yuvraj forbade her, she still used to go with her friends to buy clothes behind his back. When he wasn’t around, she wore the dresses she liked… but she was never truly happy. She wanted freedom.

The yacht stops at the shore. Vishesh quickly jumps down and lifts Alakh by her waist to bring her down. But after getting off, Alakh tells him,

"I know how to get down from the yacht. There is no need to hold my waist and pick me up and down again and again."

On hearing this, he laughs loudly, places both hands on her shoulders, and looks into her eyes.

"I know very well that you know how to get down and climb up, and you also know how to eat and feed… but this is called romance, which you don’t know… and that’s what I’m teaching you."

She ignores him and moves forward. She knows there is no point arguing with him. She is enjoying everything because all of this is so new, refreshing, and completely different from her usual life. Vishesh walks beside her. As they move forward, some people standing nearby to guard them make a call.

"Yuvraj sir, your guess was absolutely right. Vishesh sir has come here to shopping with ma’am for the party. We are chasing them. I am sending you the location, come soon."

Vishesh is enjoying the place with Alakh when his phone rings. It’s one of his bodyguards. Without disturbing Alakh, he answers in short.

"Yes."

"Sir, someone is following us. I’m sure it’s Yuvraj’s men. If you give instructions, we can mess them up… chase them away."

"No… enjoy the show."

"As you say."

After getting out of the car, Vishesh holds Alakh by her shoulder and both of them go inside the shop, where they are welcomed grandly by the owner. He shows the dress Vishesh selected for her. A smile appears on Alakh’s face, but she hides it. He knows she is smiling, so he leans near her ear and whispers softly,

"I know your choice very well. That’s why I selected this dress for you. I knew you would like it."

"What if I reject this dress?"

"It’s not a big deal. Look around, there are many dresses here. You can choose any one you like. But I know you won’t find a better one than this… try it once. If you don’t like it, reject it."

Alakh goes to the trial room, puts on the dress, and looks at herself in the mirror. She likes it instantly, but she wants to bother Vishesh, so she calls out,

"It’s not that beautiful…"

She opens the curtain but stands facing the mirror. Vishesh comes and stands behind her, looking at her through the mirror. He says softly,

"As I imagined… you look even more beautiful than this dress. I didn’t know you would look this beautiful. I feel like kidnapping you from here right now."

Alakh laughs but then stops and turns to him.

"All your thoughts are like a mafia don’s, and you expect me not to call you a mafia don? Once you already kidnapped me, so I’m sure you’re used to kidnapping."

Hearing this, the laughter on both faces disappears. They remember that day one they never want to revisit. But Vishesh immediately controls the situation.

"There are many good dresses here. Either change this one, or if you want to wear something else right now, take it to the trial room and change. Whatever you want."

Alakh looks into his eyes and asks confidently,

"You want to say that I can wear any dress? You have no problem?"

"I have no problem even if you come out wearing lingerie and catwalk here. Because I'll be the one enjoying the show."

"Chi… spoiled brain."

He laughs, holds her waist, tucks her hair behind her ear, and says lovingly,

"Whatever you like in this world… just point your finger at it. I want you to live the life you like, not what I like. Our marriage does not mean I stick my choices onto you and force you to follow them. Here, I want to see what you like. I want to do everything for you not impose my things on you."

He kisses her forehead and gives her his card. Alakh doesn’t believe his words fully, so she decides to test him. She spots a dress behind him and says,

"The dress hanging behind you looks very nice. Since we are going to the beach, I think this one is perfect."

Vishesh turns. It is a very short outfit: tiny hot pants and a spaghetti-strap crop top. He immediately gives it to her.

"This one? Go change."

She is shocked. Even after seeing this dress, he didn’t react like Yuvraj. She quietly goes to try it on, fully sure he will complain after she comes out. Vishesh is looking at his phone when she steps out wearing the dress. He raises his eyes, looks at her from top to bottom, smiles, and winks.

"Looking so hot…"

"Pervert…"

"If calling my wife hot is wrong, then I am definitely a pervert. Let’s go."

As they are leaving the shop, Yuvraj bumps into them. He sees Alakh’s dress from head to toe and starts moving toward her angrily. Vishesh immediately steps in front, grabs her waist, pulls her close like a second skin, kisses her forehead, and tells her while looking into her eyes,

"You just have to tell me the name of the place you want to go… I’ll take you everywhere. We’ll enjoy as much as you want."

Vishesh takes her away. Yuvraj stands there, jaw clenched, furious. He hates seeing her in that dress. He never allowed her to wear short outfits because he knew boys would lose their minds over her. He immediately gets in his car and follows them. At the beach, as soon as she sees the water, Alakh becomes very excited.

"Do we need to leave early because of Yuvraj?"

"Not at all. Enjoy as much as you want. We will leave only when you say."

She rushes to remove her shoes. Vishesh folds his pants and follows her, because he doesn’t want her to get hurt while running around excitedly. Alakh forgets the world and has a lot of fun. Vishesh can’t take his eyes off her. But Yuvraj, standing far away, cannot bear their happiness.

The moment the water touches her feet, she smiles. Vishesh holds her waist firmly as a high wave comes. She notices some people staring at her. Vishesh stares back, and they immediately walk away. Alakh bursts into laughter.

"Darling," he says, "if someone looks at my wife, I can’t tolerate it. I will save you from all these people easily… but think wisely who will save you from me?"

Her eyes widen and she runs away, but he grabs her immediately and twirls her. Yuvraj’s eyes remain on her smiling face. Her happiness pierces him. He does not hate her happiness, he hates that he is not the reason for it. He had loved her for nearly five years. He thought she was his future. His arrogance ruined everything. He sees her smile again and murmurs,

"I can’t let my hopes die. I can’t forget you. I can’t live without you… We are made for each other. One day, I will prove it."

An old couple nearby overhears him. The lady smiles kindly.

"Destiny always thinks something good for us. If she is not in your destiny today, it means someone better is meant for you. No matter how much you run… destiny will bring you to the one written for you."

Yuvraj listens silently, but when he looks back toward Alakh and Vishesh, they are gone. He immediately stands up and searches around, but she is nowhere.

******

Aaradhya is crying while lying on the bed silently, with both her hands pressed to her mouth. She doesn't want even the slightest sound of her voice to reach Vikram's ears.

Vikram is not sleeping; he just keeps his eyes closed, and he knows that Aaradhya is crying because of him. Vikram is now getting angry with himself. He should have controlled his anger. When Aaradhya was insisting, he should have explained things to her, not scolded her. But what did he even explain?

Vikram lightly slides closer to Aaradhya and holds her by the waist, very protectively drawing her close to him. Vikram never talks to Aaradhya even in a loud voice, but today he not only scolded her, he also spoke in a very loud voice. Because of that, she is badly hurt. When Vikram holds her waist, Aaradhya does not turn toward him at all, so Vikram gently tells her in her ear,

"Aru, please stop crying. I am sorry… I only care about you and you are pregnant right now, so I can't allow you to go out so easily. And you are not trying to understand what I mean, constantly insisting that you want to go shopping."

Aaradhya is still unable to tolerate Vikram's behavior, so she tells him without turning towards him, in her muffled voice,

"Now I am married to you, so I have to accept all your words… obey all your orders. I will have to do as you say. So it's okay. If you don't want me not to go shopping, then I will not go…"

Vikram is unable to bear this nonsense. He immediately turns her to face him on the bed and, holding her face in his hands, looking into her eyes, tells her,

"I have never stopped you from anything till today, and what is this about orders? When did I order you?… My father wants to kill our children, he wants to harm you. He has sent his man inside the house so that he can harm you. You and I don't know what he can do outside… If anything happens to you… then I will die… You have no idea that I cannot live without seeing you all for even a moment, and here you were going to be harmed right under my nose…"

Aaradhya is very shocked to hear Vikram's words. Tears well up in her eyes and she presses her mouth harder, as she does not believe at all that Raghav can fall so low. Vikram immediately realizes that what he didn't want to tell Aaradhya has accidentally slipped out of his mouth.

Vikram immediately hides Aaradhya in his arms in such a way that no one can even look at his wife without his permission. Aaradhya also holds him tightly. Vikram can feel her rapid heartbeat on his skin. He tries to pacify her by gently massaging her back.

"Shhh… Don't you dare cry now… Stop your crying… Nobody will hurt you at all… I am here with you, always."

Aaradhya is scared, but she knows very well that she is in the safest place in the world where no one can harm her. She knows very well that Vikram will stand in front of her before anything happens to her.

She kisses his chest several times, and Vikram smiles slightly and kisses her forehead. Soon, they are engulfed in deep slumber because they have to prepare themselves for whatever comes next.

*****

(BEACH SCENE)

Alakh immediately goes into the water and starts jumping like a kid; she is enjoying it very much and she wants to play without any boundaries. Vishesh laughs loudly at her, she narrows her eyes and starts playing again.

For a few days, Alakh has been feeling very free. No one is going to stop her from anything and no one is going to force her for anything.

Vikram never forbade Alakh from anything, but he could not stay with her all the time. When her father used to scold her for everything, her stepmother used to stop her from everything, behaving like a “good girl”. After all, she had to be sold to someone else for his business profit, she knew this for a long time.

Alakh is playing in the water, lost in her thoughts, when she suddenly feels Vishesh's hands on her waist. She immediately looks back at him and tells him with a smile,

"I don't want to leave here early, I have to play a lot more here."

"Sure, sweetheart… Who is stopping you?… But you have to promise me that you will take care of yourself. I have been trying to hold you for so long, wherever you go, but you are jumping like a kid. I do not want you to get hurt or upset for any reason, so at least be careful."

"I am not a kid…"

"Yup… I can see…"

Alakh ignores his words and immediately plunges into the water again. She is enjoying taking a dip at the shore. Vishesh, smiling, holds her and plunges in with her. He has seen this level of happiness on her face after a long time, the happiness he has been waiting for so long.

He knows very well that Alakh is very happy after coming here, not because both of them are alone, but because she can live freely here. Alakh does not realize at all that her wet clothes are clinging to her skin, showing all her curves and shape. Everyone is staring at her lustfully.

She is incredibly beautiful, drenched completely in water. Her body looks so hot that Vishesh immediately covers her with his huge body properly, so that her enjoyment is not disturbed in any way, but at the same time, no one can see her with dirty eyes.

The sun is about to set in a while, and Alakh has been playing in the water for a long time, because of which she has started feeling cold, but she doesn't want to stop herself. She doesn't know at all when she will get this chance again to live so freely.

Vishesh immediately grabs her waist, turns her towards him, and looks into her eyes while pushing his wet hair back from her face. He gently tells her,

"Now please stop. It's getting cold. If you keep playing in the water like this continuously, then by night you will be sick, and I do not want this at all. Now change your clothes quickly because they're completely soaked."

Alakh knows very well that Vishesh is not saying anything wrong. Now she has started shivering because of the cold. She puts her shivering hand on his chest while nodding her head. Vishesh immediately gestures to his bodyguard. The bodyguard quickly gives him a thick towel. Vishesh immediately rubs her head with the towel, then wraps it around her shoulders and lifts her in his arms, bringing her out of the water and moving toward the changing rooms.

"Your clothes are inside. Change quickly, I will also change my clothes."

Now she is getting angry at herself because she is feeling so cold. She knows very well that she does not tolerate cold at all, despite that she stayed in the water for so long. She says to herself,

"You are absolutely weak. You want to play and can't even tolerate this… You want to show anger at him, but when he cares for you, then you also feel good… Idiot."

When she sees her clothes, she is very surprised, because Vishesh has chosen thick clothes for her so that she doesn't feel cold, which also brings a smile to her face.

"I am impressed… Ok, now I feel cold so I’ll put on these clothes, but that doesn't mean I will listen to you everywhere."

When she comes out after changing her clothes, Vishesh is waiting for her. He has also changed his clothes. He holds her by her shoulder and checks her temperature.

"Let's go…"

Before Vishesh can say anything else, Alakh immediately tells him,

"I am hungry…"

"Ok…"

Two bodyguards stand in front and the rest of the bodyguards immediately stand behind them. They escort them to the restaurant. Alakh notices everything, but she does not understand why they need so much protection. She knows it is because of Yuvraj's presence here, but she keeps quiet and moves with them. Both of them sit in a very nice sea-view restaurant. He gives the menu card to her and looks at her properly. After ordering for himself, he says,

"Bring one shot of ESPRESSO MARTINI and hot coffee for the lady."

Alakh looks at Vishesh and places an order for herself. She knows very well he ordered a glass of wine for himself, yet she immediately looks at the waiter and quickly tells him,

"Bring three shots and cancel the coffee… And the remaining order I will place later."

Vishesh is looking at Alakh with a smile. He leans over to her lightly and tells her,

"Sweetheart, listen… Madam, what you ordered is wine and you do not drink wine at all…"

"How do you know whether I have ever had wine or not? Because I have drunk beer two to three times with Rashmi."

Hearing her words, Vishesh smiles lightly and tells her,

"Both are different… Beer is not strong, but wine is… Look, I have no problem with you drinking wine, but tomorrow morning when you have a headache, you will not be able to bear it…"

"But I still want to try…"

"Fine… But why three shots…?"

"One for you and two for me…"

"No way… One is enough for you…"

Vishesh is explaining to her when the waiter returns with three glasses. Vishesh does not get a chance. Alakh immediately picks up two glasses, mixes them into one, and drinks it in one breath. Vishesh can't stop her from drinking.

"Damn, Alakh…"

A strange burning sensation rises in her throat from drinking alcohol in a single go. She immediately starts coughing, so Vishesh quickly comes close to her and starts rubbing her back. He gives her water. Alakh is constantly coughing. After some time her cough settles, and she looks at Vishesh and tells him with frustration,

"How can you guys drink this ridiculous thing? It's so bad… Yuck."

"I told you not to drink this. Beer is a different thing… You are very stubborn… How are you feeling now? Are you ok…?"

"There was only a slight cough, now I am completely fine. What did you think, that drinking this would do something to me?… You are an idiot."

"We will see in a few minutes… Let's do this, we’ll order food and eat on our yacht and leave quickly. It is not right for you to stay here."

"No… I want to eat here… right here… You can't order me like this…"

Vishesh knows very well that the wine was very strong, so its effect will be quick and intense, that's why he is concerned about her. Just then, Yuvraj also comes there. She looks at him and suddenly shouts,

"He always keeps giving me orders. Only ‘do this… don't do this… don't come here… don't go there’… What do you think of yourself…?"

Vishesh turns around and looks at Yuvraj, who is looking at Alakh. Yuvraj can't believe that she is drinking. When he couldn’t find her on the beach, he immediately sent his guards to search for her. After searching, they informed him that she is here, so he came to meet her, but she is drunk.

Alakh tries to get up from her place but sits down immediately. She rubs her eyes to look at Yuvraj properly, then stands in front of him and tells him,

"My father is Shakal and you are Mogambo, two popular villains of Bollywood now together…"

Vishesh and his bodyguards laugh at her words, but he immediately goes to Alakh, holds her by her waist, and tells her softly,

"Jaan… I think we have to leave…"

"Shut up… Finger on your lips…"

She holds the index finger of one hand with the help of her other hand and puts it on Vishesh's lips, gesturing for him to keep quiet, and tells him,

"Your hands are always busy on my waist, so how will you put a finger on your lips? That's why I have given you my finger. Keep it there and stand quietly. I am talking to him here, don't disturb me."

Vishesh wants to laugh at her words, but at this time he cannot say anything, because the situation can get worse, and more importantly, Yuvraj is also standing there. She should not say anything to him that will trouble her later, so he thinks it is better to keep quiet for a while.

Yuvraj came here to talk to her, but her condition is not at all such that he can have a serious talk. Still, he is quite surprised to see her like this. Alakh immediately turns to Yuvraj and tells him,

"You know what, Yuvraj, I never loved you…”

Alakh has said this to him before, but today, seeing her genuinely happy with Vishesh the impact of her words strikes much deeper. The effect is like a thunderbolt crashing over Yuvraj.

Vishesh’s eyes remain fixed on Yuvraj’s face, analyzing every shifting emotion, every shade of pain, and it brings him an indescribable pleasure. He smirks faintly and quietly listens to Alakh. He has seen Alakh suffer many times because of Yuvraj, but today, watching Yuvraj so unsettled gives him immense satisfaction.

"Sit quietly…"

Vishesh’s attention snaps back to Alakh as she raises her voice at Yuvraj. She is sternly telling him to sit, but he seems lost in another world, unable to comprehend anything. Alakh blinks twice and shouts louder:

"Can't you listen to me? I said SIT. That means you HAVE to sit!"

Startled by her sudden command, Yuvraj obeys her instantly and sits down. Seeing this, she bursts out laughing and immediately turns to Vishesh like an excited child.

"He always used to give me orders… But today I’m enjoying giving HIM orders. You know he always told me, don’t come in front of me wearing short clothes… wear this… don’t wear that… you have to walk here with me… don’t meet your friends… don’t go there…"

She suddenly turns to Yuvraj again and asks innocently:

"You had to marry me, or you wanted someone in your house who would obey all your orders?"

Her last line hits directly where it hurts. Yuvraj flinches internally. He knows these are the very reasons she is not with him today. He tries to defend himself, his voice breaking slightly.

"I know I’ve made a lot of mistakes… but if I change myself, will you come back into my life?"

Vishesh’s jaw tightens. He looks sharply at Yuvraj, rage brimming but restrained. He wants to kill him for asking this, but he waits, wanting to hear Alakh’s answer. Alakh smiles softly, places her elbows on the table, and taps her chin as if thinking deeply. Then she suddenly says,

"Why do you want to change yourself? And why should I change myself for you? Let’s assume you change for me, or I change for you but it would be forced, right? Why do you need to change when I don’t even LIKE you? Just be the way you are. No one can be forced to like someone. I never liked you. And today, if you were my friend, maybe things would have been different. But you were never someone I could choose as my life partner. You became the dark past of my life, where I was never happy."

Yuvraj freezes. Every word from her lips pierces him.

He never realized how much he had suffocated her.

He always believed she belonged to him, a property he could command.

Obedience was all he expected from her.

Alakh becomes emotional. Vishesh leans closer and she rests her head on his shoulder. He wraps his arm around her protectively, gently caressing her hair. She relaxes instantly.

"I realized long ago… that my father would sell me one day for his benefit. Even then, a little hope lived inside me… that maybe things wouldn’t be that bad…"

Both men tense at her words. Their eyes meet briefly. Both know what kind of monster Raghav truly is but Alakh suffered most closely. They stay quiet and let her speak. She looks at Yuvraj again.

"You are just like my father… full of yourself. I tried to like you… but I couldn’t. I never loved you, Yuvraj. I want to live my life happily now. And I am happy. Everything is sorted… very beautiful… (she remembers her brother)… and those humiliations I felt because of you… spare me… please."

Yuvraj watches her with devastation, while Vishesh watches her with overflowing affection. Vishesh smiles and kisses her forehead lovingly, tightening his grip around her waist as if anchoring her to him. He murmurs softly to soothe her.

"Princess, we need to go…"

"I want to play…"

"We will definitely play…"

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Yuvraj sees them both, how effortlessly they fit together, how naturally they belong to each other. They whisper things only they can hear. He finally stands up and leaves, defeated.

Alakh remains resting against Vishesh. He kisses her forehead again and asks in a whisper,

"Are you happy with me…?"

She looks at him, thinking she must reply in the same soft tone, and answers honestly,

"I am absolutely happy… I love to play in the water and you let me play today. You think I can be sad? I’m very happy… Listen… I want that juice… one more…"

Vishesh smiles knowingly. She is drunk, and drunk people tell the truth. He stays silent and glances around Yuvraj is gone. Good.

He tells her,

"We will drink that juice some other time. Now we should eat. You’re hungry."

He can clearly see the alcohol is affecting her, her behavior is turning unpredictable, and he worries she might cause trouble. He tries to coax her gently.

"We’ll have dinner on the yacht. Please understand, it's getting late. And if it gets too late, how will you see your fish? They’ll sleep soon."

Alakh immediately looks at him, grabs his hand, checks his watch, and asks innocently,

"When will they sleep?"

"Very soon…"

"Then what are you doing here?! Take me now… If they sleep, whom will I see? You’re not cute like them…"

Vishesh bursts out laughing. How can he resist such innocence?

"You can SEE me though, can't you? I’m not that bad."

Alakh grabs his face with both hands, examines him carefully, and smiles.

"Hmmmm… You are very beautiful…"

Vishesh clutches his stomach laughing.

"It seems the drink spoiled your vocabulary too. Beautiful instead of handsome?"

Alakh keeps blinking, trying to stabilize her vision, and suddenly breaks into a song:

"TERE CHEHRE SE NAZAR NAHI HATTI, NAZARE HUM KYA DEKHEN…"

Vishesh laughs, but suddenly she notices something shocking.

"My finger… I gave you my finger… Where did you put it?! I said put it in your mouth!"

She shouts so loudly that people nearby start staring. Vishesh tries calming her.

"I kept it safely in the car. Come on, let’s go… before you praise my beauty even more."

He grabs her shoulders gently and walks her toward the car. He knows he must take her away before she causes more of a scene.

He seats her inside and goes around but she suddenly jumps out and runs toward the beach again. Vishesh immediately runs after her and catches her from behind as she wriggles and shouts,

"I want to play…"

"I’m not stopping you… We’ll play at a better place. Here it's crowded you won’t enjoy it. Okay?"

She thinks for a moment, chewing lightly on her finger, but before she can answer, Vishesh scoops her up in his arms and gets into the car with her.

"Drive fast," he orders the driver.

Alakh sits on his lap in the car, staring at his face closely. Then she suddenly sings:

"DHOOP MEIN NIKLA NA KARO, ROOP KI RANI…

SORRY, ROOP KE RAJA… GORA RANG KALA NA PAD JAAYE…"

Vishesh laughs loudly, unable to control himself. He kisses her cheek. She gasps, touches her cheek, then quickly kisses him back on his cheek. Vishesh freezes in surprise, then smiles and ruffles her hair, placing her head on his chest so she can relax. She gets fascinated with his shirt buttons and starts playing with them.

"Open… close… open… close…"

Vishesh lets her be, relieved she’s distracted. Within minutes, they reach the dock where their yacht is waiting. As soon as they step out holding hands, Alakh sees the water and starts jumping excitedly again. She runs toward the edge, ready to jump in, but Vishesh grabs her immediately.

"Oh my mermaid… We are going on the yacht, not in the water."

"But you said we will play in the water…"

"Tomorrow morning. Even if you don’t want to, I will take you in and play with you all day."

"How cute you are…"

"Cute…? Sometimes beautiful, sometimes cute… I’m waiting for the next adjective. I might get a heart attack today."

She suddenly throws out her arms dramatically and says in a baby voice,

"Carry me inside your arms… If you don’t, I won’t go… I will sit here day and night, I want to be in your arms!"

Vishesh stands there stunned and delighted. Before he can react, she lightly hops toward him, places her hands on his shoulders, jumps, wraps her legs around his waist, hugs him tightly, and declares,

"Twirlllll me…. I want to feel the air…."

He laughs and twirls her fast. Her laughter echoes across the dock bright, wild, and free. And Vishesh has never been happier.