"Leave him," ordered Vikram, turning to his goons who were surprised by his command. In fact, he had astounded even the man who was being held captive. Such mercy was unheard of, especially without any profit in return for the man who held the state in an iron grip. Or maybe, there was an ulterior motive which they were missing out.

Rajeev knew better than to trust the man standing in front of him. The sickening endearments, the way he gazed at her, barely hiding his interest in her, Rajeev identified the glint of a predator in Vikram's eyes.

Shikha, however, was convinced that the man who just helped her had a golden heart beneath his tough exterior and the rules which he had instated were subject to modifications as and when required. She thanked her Lord, Shiva, for bringing out Vikram, without whose presence, she was sure that Rajeev was destined a horrible fate in the hands of his goons. Little did she know that she would soon be regretting her prayers.

"Thanks a lot, Vikramji. We will be ever thankful of you for this," she muttered, smiling earnestly at him with gratitude gleaming in her eyes, betraying her innocence and naivety to him.

Vikram smirked at her innocence and replied, "Pleasure was all mine, dear."

Another endearment in the place of a warning of disastrous consequences that would await them if they even thought of breaching the rules once again?

Every action and word of the dreaded dictator seemed to cement Rajeev's belief that he had taken a fancy towards the woman who considered him to be her honorary brother. There was little he would not do to keep her safe and he was sure that the situation was going to demand it all, if his suspicions proved to be true.

Vikram Singhal and Shikha Agarwal might have parted their ways in that moment but Vikram's thoughts continued to follow the path which Shikha took, eager for the paths to cross once again. And the self-made man that he was, he would not wait for such an opportunity but make sure of its occurrence in the nearest future.

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Singhal Mansion,

Numerous vivid dreams began to play out his fantasies with the woman who stole his sleep that night. So innocent, so transparent and so angelic, she reminded him of someone hidden in the deepest realms of his mind and that semblance only intensified his passion towards her. He had lost the one whom she resembled, and she was as angelic and as loving as Shikha herself. It was when the destiny snatched her from him that he gave up on the concept of destiny and this time around, he was going to make sure that no destiny, no obstacle and no fate was going to snatch her from him.

Her eyes, warm and gentle, he could lose himself in them and he wanted to drown in that warmth, no matter what it took.

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Shikha's College,

Shikha was waiting for Rohan, her best friend who had promised her that he would meet her after his class, but was nowhere to be seen.

Just as she was lost in thoughts, a white SUV screeched to a halt right in front of her making Shikha step back. Adding to her shock, her supposed savior descended from the car, and wondered what would have brought him to her college.

Vikram smirked at her reaction. The surprise in her eyes, her maddening eyes, made the success of his plan sweeter than he had predicted. His sources had spent the last night in collecting information about the woman who had stolen his sleep and there he was, putting his plan into action to claim her.

"So we meet again, Shikha!" greeted Vikram, with a smirk plastered on his face, bringing her out of her reverie.

"You??" she said, involuntarily, unable to believe what her eyes were telling her.

There was something haunting about the way he was gazing at her. Last night, under the cover of darkness, she was unable to see the dangerous glint in his eyes and she was so preoccupied by the safety of Rajeev that only gratitude knocked at her mind. In the broad daylight, however, she was beginning to see the way he could cause fear in everyone.

"Yes, it's me, darling. Were you expecting someone else?" asked Vikram, wondering if she was waiting for someone in the first place.

"Actually, yes. I was expecting my friend, Rohan. He promised to come here and meet me," answered Shikha, sighing in disappointment at her best friend.

Vikram's blood began to boil after listening to her words. Her disappointment conveyed the importance of that boy in her life and he was keen on extracting every bit of information about her love life. She had taken away his sleep last night by haunting his thoughts and he could not bear the fact that her thoughts were occupied by another man.

Could this person, Rohan, be her secret boyfriend whom she declared to be her friend, to avoid the repercussions and questions on the same?

His trail of questions were interrupted as Shikha dared to pose a question.

"And you? Why are you here?" asked Shikha, timidly, hoping that he would not take offense to her question and punish her for daring to question him.

Her thoughts would have turned to reality if he had not taken an interest in her. He hated being answerable to anyone but he was ready to make an exception to her, in order to win her trust and bring her closer to himself.

"I am here to select a few interns for my company," he answered, his icy tone making shivers run across her spine.

That was his plan, after all. When he had learned that Shikha was trying bag an internship in several companies but her attempts turned futile as the threshold they had placed for selection was much higher than her scores. But he did not care about her academic capabilities or even her qualifications. He just wanted her by his side and unravel her, claim her and prove to his destiny that he would win this time around.

Before Shikha could think of a reply, a voice from behind called her, which Shikha immediately realized as that of Rohan's.

The smile which lit up on her face, the joyous gleam in her eyes and the mischievous glint in her eyes and Vikram was infuriated that it was all for another man.

Her smile towards him was cordial and out of gratitude but never as heartfelt as it was towards the man whom she claimed to be her friend. Rohan hooked his arm around her and pulled her to a side embrace as she wrapped her hands around him. Being childhood friends, they were uninhibited towards one another and they had no restrictions between them but the man glaring at them would not understand that.

"I missed you so much Rohan! How could you go to your home town without informing me? I was so worried for you!" complained Shikha, punching on his shoulders with fake anger although she could not hide her smile.

Rohan held his ears infront of her for apology, after rubbing where she had hit him, saying,

"Sorry, Shi! You know it was urgent right? I will buy your favorite icecream for you, now please forgive me."

He might have been successful in pleading forgiveness from his bestfriend but little did he know, he would soon be pleading for mercy if he did not distance himself from the woman who stole the gangster's sleep.

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