That was the norm throughout the terror stricken Uttar Pradesh after Vikram Singhal had taken over the reins after defeating the much feared underworld kingpin Suryaprakash Rao. he had begun an unprecedented reign of terror over the state and had bought every police officer and civil servant posted in the state, after all, the choice was not between money and morals, the choice he gave was between life of luxury or no life, and it was not a tough choice to make.

He was the eldest son of one of the erstwhile royal families which had turned to mafia to retain their luxurious life which eventually took away their lives after being embroiled in bitter gangwars for years. For Vikram, love was the word preserved for only his dear sister, Nikita, and his relationship with everyone else was defined by just one word - power.

Among the numerous rules he had implemented to help his reign of terror, he had instated one rule to fulfill his personal vendetta - persons of opposite gender were not supposed to be seen together after 8 PM, unless related by blood or by marriage. The reason for implementing such an archaic rule was embedded deep in the history which Vikram did not want anyone to know or talk about.

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Late Night,

"Rajeevji, Hurry up. I am sure we would find a store which is open and would have Jiji's nebuliser. Oh God, how can I get so irresponsible?"

Shikha Agarwal was scolding herself as she slapped her palm against her forehead in despair. Her elder sister who took care of her ever since their parents' death in an unfortunate accident, Sunaina Agarwal was an asthmatic, whose asthma was worsening due to cold climate and her stock of medications were exhausted after recurrent use. Shikha, who was appearing for the placement interviews and tests being conducted in her college, had totally forgotten to replenish the supply.

Sunaina's asthma usually worsened in the wee hours and with no medications, Shikha did not dare to think about the possible consequences and had set out with her to-be brother-in-law and Sunaina's fiance to find a pharmacy open which had Sunaina's medication, but thanks to the rules imposed by Vikram Singhal, their task was getting tougher and tougher.

"Happens to best of us, Shikha. I am sure we will find the pharmacy but my real concern is about the patrolling personnel who might find us and question. What will we answer them?" said a very concerned Rajeev Malhotra, because he knew that lying to them would only worsen the consequences.

"Nothing of that sort will happen, Rajeevji. Trust Bholenath! He will save us from this predicament,"assured Shikha, confident about her favorite Lord Shiva, as tried to ignore the same question buzzing in her mind since long.

Suddenly, the nightmare at the back of her mind turned into the stark reality. The patrolling goons had arrived there with golf sticks to beat up anyone who violated the rules laid down by their overlord.

They found two figures walking towards them, the girl holding apparatus of some kind in her hand which was not clear to them due to the distance and the darkness which surrounded them. A smirk pulled the leader's lips to a side as he knew that they would be rewarded grandly for catching the violators by their Singhal Sahab.

"Aye, both of you! Stop!" he shouted, stepping towards them, and realizing that she was holding an asthma pump. Although he realized that they might be out to buy essentials, he did not dare to let them go or let go of his reward for presenting them to his boss.

A strong, intense shiver ran through their spines as the cold voice piercing through the thick silence, resonated in their ears. Involuntarily their feet turned rock and they stood afixed to their place, but not before exchanging petrified looks to each other.

"Introduce yourselves! Are you not aware of the rules?" came a question from one of the gang members.

Rajeev felt a gulp form in his throat as he knew it was his responsibility to answer, being elder than Shikha and being the one to insist she accompanied him to cover more distance.

"Ji, I am Rajeev Malhotra and she is Shikha Agarwal," replied Rajeev in a shivering tone, eying the burly men playing with the golf sticks in their hands as if their hands were itching to beat them up.

"Why are you here?"

"We are buying medicines for my sister, Bhai Saheb!" answered Shikha immediately, hoping that they would be satisfied by her reply. Leader's doubts were confirmed by Shikha and he began to hope that they would be able to answer his next question in a convincing way so that he can send them away. He had taken up the job to round up on pimps, overenthusiastic lovers and drug-dealers, but not someone who had genuine reasons, yet, his hands were tied by his own greed of power and money.

"And how are you both related to each other? You do not have the same surname so not by blood," asked the leader, raising his eyebrow.

"Neither of them, Bhaiyyaji. But.."

Before Rajeev could complete what he was saying, he was pushed on to the ground and two goons pounced on him to pound him to pulp.

Shikha was terrified by the sudden violent act by the goons. Although the restrictions placed upon them gave her immunity, for being a female,from the being at the receiving end of some of the atrocities, she was astounded to see the violence around her. Sunaina had sheltered her to an extent that she was altruistic and saw the world with a rosy tint despite the knowledge that they were captured in a cage, like everyone else in the state.

"Please don't hit him." pleaded Shikha, holding the stick which dealing blows to Rajeev, hoping that they would listen to her words.

Angered by her actions, the goon pushed her away, making her lose her balance and she began to prepare herself mentally for a painful fall but she remained dangled in midair, much to her surprise.

She felt a pair of muscular arms enveloping her at her waist which prevented her from embracing the ground. She looked up to find the face of her savior to express her gratitude, only to be shocked by the face she saw.

Vikram Singhal, the gangster-turned business tycoon, who made everyone dance according to his tunes or to dance to the tunes of death.

Vikram Singhal was shocked to see a young lady, only to be corrected by his mind that she was a beautiful angel, in his arms. He had caught someone midair on instinct when he was advancing towards the area of conflict and he was pleasantly surprised to see the beautiful lady in his arms. The innocent blush on the apple of her cheeks, her heaving breaths, her deep oceanic orbs filled with tears.....

Tears?

He felt.a wave of protectiveness take over him as he realized that the woman in his arms was in tears. He wanted to eliminate the cause of her tears and began to wonder about the ethereal smile that she would flaunt for him after that.

Shikha began to shiver in his arms as she wondered if his arrival marked more trouble for Rajeev and herself and there was something about the way he looked at her that made her hyperventilate. It did not take him long to notice her reactions to him and realized they were out of fear rather than attraction as he would like it to be. Vikram mentally cursed himself and straightened her up.

"How many times have I told you to not show your strength on a girl?" he shouted at the gangleader who hung his head in fear.

All the goons had stopped beating Rajeev up as soon as they sawtheir boss arriving. Rajeev had stood up with a great difficulty as those goons seemed to know the exact reverse of the medical science - the art of breaking human bones.

Vikram moved closer to Shikha and held her shoulder before speaking to her in a extremely low voice, which Shikha would term as a dangerous tone,

"Don't worry! Now that I am here, no one will hurt you and your.." asked Vikram, flinching inwardly at the thought that Rajeev might be her boyfriend. But he was glad that knew how to eliminate people that he did not like from the surface of the earth, doesn't he?

"To be-Jijaji," replied Shikha, in a meek tone, clutching the end of her veil which was hanging down on her sides.

"And your name, sweetheart?" demanded Vikram, his saccharine sweet tone confusing and rattling everyone but Shikha, who was beginning to change her opinion of the man beside her. Rajeev, who considered Shikha as his honorary sister, had his second thoughts about why Vikram was behaving sweetly with Shikha but there was no way he could voice them without getting them killed.

"Shikha. Shikha Agarwal," answered Shikha, with a slight smile on her lips, only enamoring and enticing him further with her innocent smile and transparency - a complete contrast of his own malicious smirk and shrewdness.

And Vikram was just beginning to realize why they said - opposites attract.