The next morning, Udaipur woke up in whispers and wreckage.

The grand wedding had turned into a scandal. Meher was gone. No goodbye. No explanation. Her mother was still sobbing, and her father — Mr. Raghavan Rao — sat silently in the drawing room, ashen-faced.

No one dared speak the word.But it was everywhere.

Shame.

The groom’s family had stormed out before sunrise, demanding dowry reimbursements and calling the alliance “cursed.”The house was crumbling under the weight of gossip and dishonor.And that’s when he arrived.

Veer.

Black shirt. Black thoughts. Calm face.He stepped into Raghavan Rao’s private study without asking permission. Two of his guards stood quietly outside, unseen by most.

“You…” Raghavan began, rising. “You were at the wedding?”

“I was,” Veer said smoothly. “I saw it all.”

“And you come to… offer sympathy?”

Veer gave a cold half-smile. “I come with a solution.”Raghavan froze.

“A solution?” he echoed.

“Yes,” Veer said, taking a seat as if he belonged there. “You’ve lost a bride. A wedding. A reputation. You still have another daughter.”

Raghavan stared. “Saanvi?”

“She’s not married,” Veer said, voice like silk over steel. “Educated. Respected. She could restore your family’s name. All it would take... is a signature.”

Raghavan’s face paled.

“You want to marry Saanvi?”

“I will offer her a secure life,” Veer said. “Wealth. Protection. Everything you failed to give your first daughter.”

“That’s not—she’s not part of this!”

“She is now.”

Raghavan stood. “She doesn’t even know you!”

“She knew me once,” Veer said quietly. “She just doesn’t remember.”

The older man staggered back slightly, unsettled. “This is madness.”

“Society is madness,” Veer replied. “You can either lose two daughters... or give one a husband who will never abandon her.”

Raghavan was silent.Veer stood, buttoning his coat slowly.

“I’ll wait three days,” he said. “No one else has to know what happened here. Not the media. Not your neighbors. But you know what they’ll say if this isn’t buried under another wedding.”

He turned, walked to the door, and added, without looking back—

“I’m not asking for her hand. I’m giving you a lifeline.”

And then he left.Leaving behind silence... and the smell of tobacco and fear.

---

Meanwhile – Delhi

Saanvi couldn’t sleep.The stranger at the wedding haunted her thoughts. His voice. His eyes. The eerie calm with which he’d spoken to her. No one else remembered him. No photos. No proof. No one saw him at all.

She’d tried searching. Digging. Calling. Nothing.And just when she thought it might’ve been her mind playing tricks—

She found it.Tucked between her balcony door and the glass.

A single white tuberose.

Fragrant. Fresh.

Her hands trembled.

Not just watched.

Marked.

---

Elsewhere – That Same Night

Veer looked out over the city skyline, sitting on the balcony of a hotel penthouse. One of his men stepped behind him. “The father is considering.”

Veer sipped his drink. “He will agree.”

“And the girl?”

Veer’s eyes didn’t blink. “She doesn’t have to agree. Not yet.”

He stood slowly.“She doesn’t know it,” he said softly, “but I’ve already waited years for her.”

He turned away from the city, walking back into the darkness.

“And I don’t lose what’s mine.”