A woman in a loose fit, black nightwear pyjama set made of polyester, with printed pizza slices stood outside Aditya's penthouse looking at the stars in a daze. Her eyes showed sadness as her hands could be seen clenching and relaxing alternatively. Her thick long hair was tied up roughly into a bun while several loose strands of hair fell on the sides of her gorgeous face, moving with the breeze while exuding a dreamy feeling.

Hamsa had decided to stay with Aditya for a few days under the persuasion of Dr Saanvi for her own safety. Even though she was pretty relieved that she survived the misfortune, the grief in her heart couldn't be wiped out completely. Tears rolled down every time she remembered 'those' events which made are ask herself what sin she had committed that she deserved such a punishment.

Her heart settled somewhat after spending an afternoon with Elder sister Saanvi (Saanvi didn't like being as Doctor or Miss all the time so she asked Hamsa to start calling her as an elder sister). She noticed that Saanvi was a woman with a very strong heart and calm mentality. People around her would always feel serene as well. Hamsa felt the same way which caused her to like Saanvi all the more.

Saanvi even volunteered to teach her the lessons she had missed and was going to miss in the coming days so that her result would not be affected by her absence. Hamsa felt very grateful when she heard these words as she was a studious person. Ever since her parents passed away, Hamsa was adopted by a couple who were distant relatives of her father. Her father had hoped that Hamsa would be treated well as he had passed all his properties to her and appointed these relatives as caretakers.

What her father did not take into his calculation was that Hamsa was a very soft person with a delicate and fragile heart. All these relatives had to do was scold her and she would cry and concede to their requests. Ever since she became a major, all her properties were forcefully taken away from her through coercion and she suffered a lot after that. There were many days that Hamsa had to sleep with a hungry stomach. She was not given adequate money to spend so she had to use the cheapest means of public transportation to make her ends meet. The only genuine friends she had were also poor and powerless people like her and any other person who tried to get close to her were coveting her beauty.

Since she had grown into a remarkably charming woman, her foster parents had started trying to take advantage of her beauty in exchange for financial benefits. Hamsa had always known their ambition and hence stayed away from them as much as possible. She had always believed that her knowledge was her only asset and hence focused all her energies on studying. Even the college degree she was studying was won through scholarship.

Books were Hamsa's best friends since her parents passed away. She was the most regular and erudite student in her class always. The knowledge she acquired and the learning process allowed her to escape her harsh reality and all the pain she felt on a daily basis. So even if Hamsa had just escaped from a huge tragedy, the fact that Hamsa could not go back to her books and college for a few days pained her more.

Hamsa was deeply aware that she had to depend only on herself in the future, so she took her education very seriously. So, when Saanvi offered to tutor her, she was ecstatic as she knew what kind of eminent character Saanvi was in the medical circle. Even her professors in the medical college were not eligible to hear her lessons. She was an inspiration to many medical students who took their profession seriously.

Aditya was surprised that Hamsa had agreed to stay in his place for a few days as he thought that an elegant and graceful woman like her would find it beneath her to reside here. But he did not know that except that she was not allowed to go to college, Hamsa felt very secure and safe in this small place which she never felt in the huge duplex house of her foster parents. She was in constant stress and tension in her home where she did not know when her foster parents would ask her to have a meal with some affluent people or she would be asked to clean the furniture, wash the clothes, asked to sit in a corner. So in a way, today was the most relaxing day that Hamsa had in many years. This was also an essential reason that she was able to recover greatly from her trauma of last night.

A small, gentle smile surfaced on Hamsa's face when she remembered the embarrassed Aditya fleeing from his own room when he saw that she was awake. Hamsa usually doubled her guard when she was around strangers as she had too many instances of practical lessons in her life. But, she did not have an ounce of guarding in her heart when she thought of Aditya as if she did not have to be afraid when she was with him. Even she felt weird about it.

'Maybe I can consider him as my younger brother since he looks much younger than me' Hamsa thought as she savoured the cold air which allowed her to forget her pain for a little while by making her feel numb.

This lean teen was also an anomaly to her. She had clearly remembered that Aditya was a student from a prestigious international school. Now he was working as a mechanic in this garage. She found all kinds of books in Aditya's room, from nursery rhymes to advanced programming courses. In the morning, when Aditya did not notice that Hamsa had woken up, she had noticed that he as checking freelancer programming jobs.

The fact that he was able to rescue her from those beasts was a mystery to her still and one should not forget that he was able to get Saanvi to come personally to treat her. There was no visible link between all these things but somehow they all came true in this young boy. She also remembered Saanvi had said about Aditya that he would be able to protect himself from that devil easily.

Hamsa knew that Reyansh could have raped her yesterday if he really wanted it but she knew that Reyansh wanted her to willingly climb his bed. That is why he was using her foster parents and her classmates to coerce her and force her psychologically rather than using physical force. She was his prey who could never escape from his hands. Even yesterday he molested her to prove that it was just a matter of his whim to take her. It was kind of mental conditioning he was inculcating in her which would ultimately lead her to become a toy in his hands.

The only difference lay in the time, would it be quick or take some time. Though Hamsa looked soft and delicate, it did not mean that she was dumb. One had to know that she was a topper in all her exams. She possessed an exquisite heart since she was a child which was what protected her from being fully exploited by her foster parents. It was just that she lacked the decisiveness and the boldness to go against them.

Hamsa smiled with sadness as she thought how her future was going to unfold. Maybe she should just die and join her parents before something worse than death happens to her. She had zero assurance of escaping Reyansh's claws and she could not see any hope whatsoever.

VROOOM!!!

A black metal beast dashed through the desolate street raising dust as it rushed while its giant powerful headlights lit up the street. A bunch of street dogs resting on the road were rattled as they ran out of its way and chased it while barking loudly.

All this commotion pulled Hamsa from her suicidal thoughts as she looked at the shiny SUV vehicle which skidded to a halt in front of the garage leaving tire tracks in the dust on the road. She tensed up when she thought that the goons of yesterday had come for her. Before she could start encouraging fearful thoughts any further, she saw a slender figure get off the car. Her heart settled when she saw that it was Aditya, she was also simultaneously surprised that Aditya would come riding a car. 'Is he eligible for riding a car?' Hamsa thought as she saw Aditya with interest, her gloomy thoughts forgotten temporarily.

Aditya looked at Hamsa who was watching from above as he smiled and shouted, "Keys"

"Keys? Where are they?" Hamsa asked back when she saw that gate was locked.

"On the table, beside the laptop."

"Okay, wait."

After a few minutes, Hamsa hurriedly descended as she did not want Aditya to wait for long. She came and unlocked the gate as Aditya drove the vehicle into the garage.

"Don't lock the gate yet, come here and help me carry these things," Aditya said as he left the vehicle while opening its tailgate.

Hamsa saw many boxes crammed into the rear seats. A closer look showed that these were various home appliances including kitchenware, little furniture and dining sets.

Hamsa was embarrassed when she saw all these things as she felt guilty that she was burdening Aditya as she muttered, "You shouldn't have bought all these things."

"I have always wanted to buy these things before but I was just too lazy to make a move. So, you are just a trigger but not the cause. don't delve deeper into it. You know eating outside every day is unhealthy for our body. So, now you can help me take care of our daily food, you can't expect me to give you food every day for free right? You have to work for it," Aditya said with a strict face. It was just a load of bull****. Aditya body could handle any kind of food. He knew that Hamsa would feel awkward if he just bought her food. Instead, if she was preoccupied with something, it might help her to forget those traumatic events. This was the suggestion of Dr Saanvi by the way.

Indeed, Hamsa's guilty expression disappeared when she heard Aditya's words. All these years of a hard life in her home had moulded her into an excellent housekeeper. She had already cleaned Aditya's room in the evening. She changed and washed the bed sheets she had slept on. She had arranged the scrambled books into chronological order and placed in such a way that they occupied the least space. So when she heard that she had to cook for them, she was happy that she had a way to repay Aditya instead of freeloading on him.

"Whose car is it?" Hamsa asked as she took a mixer-grinder box and multi-cooker into her arms at once. She wanted to be as helpful as possible.

Aditya was relieved when he saw that Hamsa was not acting like a haughty princess and spouted dialogues like, 'How dare you to ask me to do measly manual jobs for you? Do you know who I am?'. Then again if she had an attitude of a princess, it also meant that she did not have to live in his place for security as usually people who possess such an attitude, are brought up in a heavily protected environment and pampered accordingly. It made many things easier for him when he saw that Hamsa was just the way he or Saanvi expected her to be.

"Well, this Jeep Wrangler (JK) is my friend's. (he brazenly concealed the fact that he had coerced Faizal into giving the car keys to him.) It is the third generation of the Jeep Wrangler off-road vehicle. It was released in India on 30 August 2016. Alongside the Grand Cherokee, the Wrangler was the first model to be sold directly by Jeep in the country. This particular model is 3.0-litre V6 turbo diesel with 240hp, 570Nm torque..." Aditya started explaining passionately but stopped when he saw the blank look on Hamsa, "Well, let us take these things up first, more furniture is on the way."

Hamsa nodded and followed as they both made multiple trips to get all the things into the kitchen. He bought knives, cutting board, woks, Tawas, frying pans, water bottles, electric stove, tableware, metalware, vegetables, fruits, cereals, grains like rice, flour, salt, chilli powder, spices, cooking oil, new pillows, bed sheets, wool blankets etc.

By the time they finished, an auto trolley stopped in front of the garage as some workers carried a couple of bean bags, an iron folding single bed, a mattress, a small wardrobe into Aditya's room. His room was not spacious, to begin with. So it was not a surprise that both beds almost touched together when placed side by side. They could only move freely when Aditya folded his bed and placed in the corner. Both Aditya and Hamsa felt awkward when they saw this setup but no one spoke about it. Both of them had already eaten so there was no need to unpack these things today. Each got into their respective beds after the furniture guys went away and slept without talking much as it was already late.