Sneha stared at Viraj in confusion. Why was he asking her to enter his car? Were there any other questions still left? She wondered.

"Why?" She asked directly as she kept her gaze shifting between him and the car.

"I will drop you home." He answered.

"Oh!" She sighed in relief and then quickly added. "It's alright though. I will take the taxi from the main road." She replied honestly as she had planned to take the taxi and pay the driver when she reaches home.

"I wasn't asking." He stated in a serious tone.

Her mouth fell in surprise. She quickly recovered and framed a reply to his arrogant one.

"Neither was I." She answered arrogantly in the same tone and started walking. He had no right to talk to her like that. She concluded.

Viraj's brows scrunched and he opened the car's door to come out.

"I don't think I like your attitude." He warned her in a serious tone.

She wanted to say 'Me neither', but refrained. Thus, she continued to walk while ignoring him.

A huge mistake; because Viraj hated being insulted.

He took out his gun and shot exactly behind her feet. The sound echoed in the vacant road and her heartbeat escalated. She slowly turned around to see where he shot. Looking below, she saw the bullet hole on the pavement just in front of her. The bullet could have hit her!

She looked at him in fear while he continued to stare at her with a grim expression.

"Get in the car. Now." He stated.

She didn't need to be told twice now. Keeping her gaze fixed on the gun, she walked towards the car and sat in the backseat. Viraj would have preferred her sitting next to him, but he didn't complain.

Getting back to the driver's seat, he started the engine.

"When I ask you to do something, you are expected to do it." He simply stated, as if it was a normal thing.

Sneha looked at him weirdly. But, to save her life, she merely nodded. He had a gun after all!

"Answer in words." He commanded while glancing at her through the interior rearview mirror.

"Yes." She said gently to not anger him further.

The drive was silent for a while before he spoke again.

"If you are in Ananya's class, then you must be 25 or 26 years old." He asked which came like a statement.

"Yes." She answered, confused by his question. Sure, he had not asked her date of birth during the interrogation. But, how was this question relevant, she wondered.

"25 or 26?" He asked specifically.

"25." She answered and he nodded.

"What are you studying?" He asked.

She answered his question as she thought he still doubted her intentions. And, she didn't want him to doubt her for saving Ananya.

"Geography." She answered.

He nodded as if deep in thought.

"Ananya studies History. How do you both share the same class of EVS?" He asked.

"There are three optional subjects in the master's course. EVS, sports, and art. Coincidently, we both took EVS. So, we share the optional class." She explained.

"Why didn't you take sports or arts?" He asked.

She sighed. He still doubted her, she confirmed.

"Our sports teacher has a...bad reputation among girls. And, arts require too much investment in resources. So, I took the purely theoretical subject of EVS. It also overlaps with some topics of geography, so, it would be good for scoring purposes too." She explained.

"I hope you are not lying." He confirmed.

"I am not." She answered meekly as she looked out of the window with a sigh.

The ride was then quiet and she was thankful for that. He didn't ask any further questions. As for her, she couldn't ask any question to him.

"Direction." Came his voice and she realized that he had entered the colony gate.

"You can drop me here. I will walk home." She suggested while thinking of not wasting his time anymore.

"Direction." He asked again, completely ignoring her request.

"Please go straight and take the third left. The second house is mine." She said in as few words as possible. He didn't reply and neither nodded. She wondered if he heard her.

Within a minute, he had parked the car in front of her home and gave her a side look.

"Thank you." She mumbled and opened the door to exit. As soon as she stepped out of the car, she remembered something very crucial.

"May I request you something?" She asked slowly.

"No. Close the door." He only said.

She huffed at his arrogance and closed the door. She wanted to ask him to not tell Ananya about the fact that she is a scholarship student. She didn't want to be bullied in college. But, what did she expect from him!

Walking towards her home, she pressed the doorbell twice. Within seconds, her father opened the door and hugged her.

"We were so scared for you, Sneha! What happened?" Her father asked.

"At least, let me come in!" She chuckled and entered.

Turning around to close the door, she saw Viraj starting his car again. He gave her one last look and drove off as she completely closed the door.

Was he making sure that I close the door? She wondered.

In the car, Viraj took the earphones and plugged them in his ear. Gaurav had installed a small tracking chip with the audio feature in the pocket of her bag. She wouldn't know it unless she ripped her bag open. And if she did it, he would know for sure that she is a spy who had framed the entire assault scene just to come closer to his sister.

"I was coming home from the library when I heard a girl's cry for help. I went there to see if I could do anything. I did manage to hit the three men and save the girl. But, that girl came out to be my classmate. She is Viraj Khatri's younger sister, Ananya." Sneha started explaining to her family and Viraj heard every single word she said as her bag was still close to her.

"Viraj Khatri? The leader of..." Her father asked in complete surprise.

"Yes, papa. I didn't know that the girl was his sister. I even gave her my phone so that she can call her brother to pick her up. But, instead of telling him the location, she wasted the only 2 rupees balance I had. This is why I couldn't inform you all in time. Then, she asked me to drop her home. I told her to go on her own by taking a cab. But, she was scared and her dress was torn a bit. So, I took her to her home. Unfortunately, her brother started doubting me for God knows what reason. He even interrogated me on a lie detector. He asked my address, about everyone at home, and many more strange questions. His men broke my phone and my cycle too, just to check my things!" She said with a sigh.

"They broke your cycle!" Viraj heard a soft girlish voice. He concluded that it must be her younger sister.

"Hmm. I had no idea that they were going to break my cycle or else I would have broken their hands first." Sneha said in anger which made Viraj chuckle in amusement. He concluded that she had no idea of his power and reach. Good for her, he thought.

"But, how can they break your cycle! I gifted it to you." Priya whined.

"I know, Priya! I am so sorry. I brought the keychain though." Sneha said with a smile as she retrieved the broken keychain out of her bag.

"How did you come back then?" Her mother asked.

"Ananya's brother dropped me home." She answered.

"You showed that criminal our home? You should have denied!" Her father almost scolded her for her stupidity.

"I did, papa. I told him that I would take a taxi. But, he is so arrogant that he threatened me with his gun! So, I sat in his car. I didn't have any idea if he was being serious about shooting me or not. I didn't want to take any risks. Anyway, he had asked for my address earlier." She finally finished.

Everyone in her family sighed.

"Don't worry about your phone. I will get you a new one tomorrow." Her father brought the topic of her phone.

Sneha interrupted instantly.

"No, papa. I will buy it myself. I have some savings." She said as she didn't want her father to 'waste' money on something as trivial as a phone when there were so many EMIs to pay.

"You sure?" Her father confirmed.

"Yes, papa." She answered bringing the discussion to a halt.

"It's good that you are safe." Her mother said at last while soothing her hair in a loving manner.

"And, I am so proud of my daughter for saving a girl today." Her father praised to which Sneha smiled widely. She decided to focus more on the martial arts classes on weekends.

"Okay, then. I am going to sleep. And, Sneha, if you want to skip college tomorrow, you can. Take rest. It's already late." Her father announced and Sneha nodded.

After her father left, Sneha, Priya, and their mother began chatting. She elaborated the entire story again with specific details. And they gossiped over everything.

Viraj got bored as he heard their conversation. He was patiently waiting for Sneha to do something that would strengthen his doubt on her. But, on the contrary, whatever she did or said only tore the fabric of doubt further. Still, he knew from experience to not stop doubting his enemies until he was 100% sure. So, he would keep her in strict surveillance for at least a week, he concluded.

.

.

.

"Bhai, did you drop her home safely?" Ananya asked as soon as she saw her brother enter the hall.

"Why aren't you sleeping? I asked you to sleep, didn't I?" He asked as he removed the earphones for a while. He still couldn't believe that Sneha was still talking to her sister. It was almost half an hour now. How much does she talk! He wondered.

"I was worried." Ananya said as she lowered her head.

Viraj sighed and walked closer to her.

"Don't get too close to that girl. We don't know who she is and what are her intentions! So, keep your distance for at least a week. And, when I am satisfied with her intentions, you can befriend her." He stated.

"Okay, bhai." Ananya answered. She will have to now wait for a week before she could talk to Sneha.

"We will have breakfast tomorrow. So, be there in time." He ordered and left for his room.

Ananya stared at the back of her brother with longing eyes. She missed the lively side of her brother. This man was only a shell of her brother. She wanted her old brother back who would listen to her problems and play tricks with her. However, this man scared her.

.

.

.

Back in his room, Viraj changed his clothes and washed his hands and face. All the while, he had the earphones plugged in. He laid in his bed and closed the lights. Sneha and her sister were now talking non-stop. Her mother had gone back to her room.

"Didi (elder sister), are you really going to buy a new phone?" Priya asked.

"Not now. We have to first buy our laptop and then I will save money for the phone." Sneha answered. Viraj's eyes narrowed as he realized that she had lied to her father.

"Then why did you lie to papa?" Priya asked as she laid close to her sister.

"You know why!" Sneha answered. Viraj now wanted to know the reason and he hoped that she would elaborate.

"The keypad models are cheap, didi. Papa can afford that! Plus, a phone is a necessity for us. You already commute late at night." Priya tried to reason.

"Papa already pays the EMI of four things. Then he saves money for our wedding jewellery too. Nisha's wedding is also next week where papa has to gift her gold earrings. There is so much on his plate. I don't want him to take any more tension because of me. And, no, I will not take out money from our combined savings. It is for our laptop and it will be spent on it only. No exceptions." Sneha explained.

"But how will you travel without a phone? What if someone..." Priya suggested when she interrupted her.

"I will take ma's phone." She said.

"Okay! But, seriously didi, how can Viraj break your phone just out of a doubt!" Priya sighed.

"Don't call him by name, Priya. He is elder than both of us." Sneha corrected her sister.

Priya huffed sarcastically.

"Okay then! Why did Viraj bhaiya break your phone?" Priya asked as she sang the word 'bhaiya' sarcastically. Even Viraj chuckled at her childishness.

"He doubts me, as I told you earlier." Sneha answered as she covered herself with the bedsheet.

"Were you scared today, didi? In the house of a criminal?"

"Obviously, I was! There were so many guards there with real guns. I was scared that they might... shoot me anytime. Even Ananya wasn't helping me either. She was equally scared of her brother as I was. I don't understand why she was scared of her own brother! Anyway, I am out of that house and I am glad about it. I hope I never step into that house ever again." She hoped.

"By the way, did you see any hot men there?" Priya asked to lighten the mood as she snuggled closer to her sister.

Sneha chuckled while Viraj raised his brows at the blunt question. He confirmed that the sisters must be very close to discuss such matters. He would never imagine Ananya asking such a question to him or vice-versa.

"Well, if you are asking....then I think there was a man who looked pretty handsome." Sneha answered after giving a thought.

"Who? Viraj bhaiya?" Priya suggested which brought an unknown smile to Viraj's lips.

'Why am I blushing!' He scolded himself.

"No! Viraj bhaiya is definitely not my type. He is way too tall and arrogant. His mere presence intimidates me. I hate such men. Instead, I like the other guy named Gaurav. He was so soft-spoken. And, he wasn't much taller than me. He even took my side there. He actually believed me when I said that I had no other intention to save Ananya. And, I think he even gave me a smile tonight. I don't know." Sneha replied while remembering the moment.

"So bad that he is a part of the mafia. Or else, my sister would have asked him for a date by now." Priya said sarcastically.

Sneha could only chuckle.

Viraj on the other hand felt irritated by her response. Something hit him inside and he couldn't point the reason for it.

It was 1 am when finally Sneha and Priya decided to sleep. Viraj sighed in relief and called his man, Manish.

"Yes, boss." Manish picked the call on the very second ring.

"I will send you an address. Track each and every member of this family, day and night. Especially, the girl named Sneha Bohra. Report your result after a week. Focus more on Sneha's relationship with any of our rivals or...my father. They must not be aware that your men are following them." He completed.

"Yes, boss." Manish replied and sent the message to his men as well.

"One more thing. I will send you a code now. Access our spyware software and spy on this code. I need you to listen to it day and night for a week and report me anything that you find even remotely fishy." Viraj said while referring to the chip that Gaurav had put in Sneha's bag.

"Yes, boss." Manish answered.

Viraj then laid on his bed comfortably and kept his phone away after texting the code. He knew that Gaurav would be on the tracks of the three men who had tried to hurt his sister. And, he was eager to meet them soon.

He began reflecting on the events of tonight. Sure, Sneha didn't appear as an accomplice but he couldn't take any chance. He couldn't risk his sister's life.

However, as he closed his eyes, his mind replayed a certain girl with a honey complexion and wide black eyes. He opened his eyes and sighed.

'She is definitely messing with my mind.' He thought before closing his eyes again.