Viren’s POV

I had never chased anyone before.

Until her.

She moved like a ghost through the crowd—graceful, detached, untouched by the noise around her. Like I was just another forgotten whisper in a palace full of old stories.

But I wasn’t a whisper. I wasn’t finished. I had questions. I had fire. And I was not the kind of man who got left behind.

She had slipped through my fingers that day, I was not even aware of her name, and she vanished in thin air.

Until now.

Because suddenly, she was here. Real. Breathing. Laughing.

The very next moment I saw something that made my blood turn to ice.

Shaurya. My best friend. My brother in every way that counted. He turned, spotted her, and smiled at her. That easy, familiar smile he reserved for people who meant something.

Not just that, he_ hugged her. Tightly. Like she was his.

Not politely. Not awkwardly.

He embraced her like she belonged there. Like she belonged to him.

What. The. Actual. Hell?

The air in my lungs froze.

And the worst part?

She smiled back at him.

Softly. Naturally. Comfortably. Casually.

As if they knew each other. Like she had done it a thousand times. Like he was her home.

My fists curled. No!!

Who was she to him?

Was she one of his exes? Some old flame? A past he never mentioned? A girl who had once lit up his nights the way she had burned through mine? Someone who had slipped between us just like she had that night—unannounced, unforgettable?

He still had his arms around her, talking to her, laughing with her.

She wasn’t his.

She couldn’t be.

Because she was mine for taking.

Even if she didn’t know it yet.

I stalked into the drawing room, heat blazing in my chest, eyes locked on Shaurya like a storm about to break. Our families were chatting, seated in relaxed circles after lunch, unaware of the inferno building inside me.

My gaze was locked on Shaurya like a missile. Just then, she saw Sagarika, Shlok, his wife Gauravi, and Gauravi's brother, Siddh, and went to them.

She even knew his family?? She looked absolutely comfortable with them as well, how? How come she was so close to them?

I had to ask him about her.

“Shaurya,” I snapped. He came towards me “Who was that girl?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

He arched a brow lazily, not taking me seriously. “Which girl? Why are you frowning? "

"Tell me! Who is she?" I glanced toward her instinctively.

She was laughing with Gauravi and Siddh now, effortlessly blending in, like she had always belonged here.

How?

How the hell did she know Shaurya’s family so well?

He followed my gaze, chuckling as realization dawned.

“Oh, her? “That’s Suhana.”

The name hit me like a punch.

No.

No way.

“Suhana?” I repeated, my voice strangled. “As in…?” I asked, though I knew who Suhana was, but I was not ready to accept it, wanted to confirm.

He grinned, oblivious to the storm breaking loose inside me. “Yeah. Suhana—Sahil chachu’s daughter. You didn’t recognize her?”

I staggered back a step.

His sister.

His. Damn. Sister.

My head reeled. A thousand moments from that night clashed with this truth. The way she had touched me. Kissed me. Disappeared before dawn like a shadow. The girl I’d chased through dreams was now standing here wrapped in bloodlines and family ties.

“She’s changed, obviously,” Shaurya added with a shrug. “You haven’t seen her since we were kids. None of us has.”

Changed.

No. She had transformed.

But I knew those eyes. That voice. That fire.

Shaurya raised a hand, grinning. “Suhana! Come here for a second!”

Her head turned.

She saw me.

And everything stopped.

The smile on her lips slipped. Her eyes widened. She froze like her body remembered me before her mind allowed it. Then slowly, carefully, she gathered herself, smoothing invisible creases, schooling her features.

But I saw it.

That flicker of panic.

That breath she forgot to take.

She walked over like she wasn’t on fire.

I watched her like a man starved, my chest burning with everything I couldn’t say.

Shaurya gestured between us. “You remember Viren, right? My best friend. You two probably haven’t met since childhood.”

I smiled. Slow. Sharp. Cutting.

“Oh,” I said, gaze fixed on her, “we’ve met.”

Her breath hitched.

She clutched her dupatta tighter, knuckles white.

“Haven’t we… Suhana?”

She looked down, lashes lowering like a curtain falling on the past.

Her voice was barely a whisper. “I don’t think so. Maybe you’re mistaken.”

I stepped closer, a beat too fast. “I’m not. I can tell you the time and place.”

Her eyes darted away. “I think you’re confusing me with someone else.”

She was lying.

And I knew it.

Before I could answer, Shaurya laughed. “Oh wait—maybe you met Sanya? Her twin. They look absolutely identical. Just like Shlok and I.”

I didn’t blink. “Is that so? Then I’d very much like to meet her again.” I said but I knew it was this one I had met.

Suhana’s jaw clenched.

I turned to her, “Anyway, nice meeting you, Suhana.”

She replied, her tone as cold as marble. “Nice to meet you too, Mr. Viren.”

“Mr. Viren?” Shaurya howled with laughter. “Come on, that sounds ancient! Just call him Viren. Or Bhai.”

Bhai? Bhai??

I nearly choked.

If he knew what I thought of the girl standing inches away, he’d drag me to the nearest boxing ring and knock my teeth out.

I held her gaze. Even she looked uncomfortable hearing him suggest it. Just then, a relative of Shaurya passed by, and he greeted him.

“Viren is fine,” I said, my voice low, just for her deliberately. “Or you can call me Veer.”

Her eyes widened.

That was the name she had known.

Veer.

Recognition crashed into her like a wave, her expression crumbling for a second before she looked away.

She had never known my real name that night.

Just as I had never known hers.

But now I did.

And it changed everything.

She wasn’t some fleeting stranger anymore. She was family. Almost.

" I know it was you, not your sister..." I said, she shook her head, and before any of us could argue, Shaurya turned back to us.

" Um, Bhai, please excuse me, I need to go and be with Vihan." She said and left as he nodded looking at her lovingly.

"Vihan? How does she know Vihan?" I asked, and his expression changed all of a sudden.

"By the way why were you asking about her?" He asked with a frowning face.

"Just like that!!"

" You looked angry when you asked about her before I introduced you to her. Why?" He asked and before I could reply to him, he got very serious all of a sudden and asked, "By any chance were you asking about her when you were lost in a girl?? " He looked ready to punch me.

" What??? No! Of course, not!" I replied and he relaxed a bit.

" Sure?? Because it should not have been her. Don't even think about it! I know you very well and I will not allow you anywhere near any of my sisters."

"No! There is nothing like that." I said guilty.

" Then why the hell were you so inquisitive about her?"

"I was wandering around the haveli and saw Vihan being over friendly with her, he even hugged her and she smiled."

" So??" He was still glaring at me. Shit!!

" So_ so, since he is getting married to Roohi, I was concerned if he had already started flirting with other girls. You know how he is, I was concerned about Roohi. " I replied, and he relaxed, hearing my explanation.

" Oh, yes, I understand, we all are concerned about sisters, you were right in getting cautious and angry as he has been just like one of us, playboy... I would not have liked any such man near any of my sisters."

Oh, god!!

"But don't worry, Vihan is her maternal cousin. Her mom and Vihan's dad are first cousins." Shaurya clapped my shoulder. “Crazy, right?”

Of course, it was a crazy night.