Isha sat quietly in the royal garden of the Albert estate, her thoughts a tangled mess. The evening breeze was soft, carrying with it the faint music of the party still ongoing inside. She was no longer mentally present at the grand party—her mind had wandered far, trapped between the present and her painful truth.
Just then, Harsh had appeared—unexpectedly, casually—dressed in a simple white shirt with his sleeves rolled up, looking refreshingly out of place among men in tuxedos. And somehow, that very rawness made him all the more attractive.
Now, both of them sat beside a small, moonlit pond in the garden.
Harsh, his eyes calmly observing the ripples in the water, finally broke the silence.
"Felt a little suffocated inside… so I came out," he said in a low voice, almost to himself.
Isha nodded, "Hmm," and looked down at her hands.
A sudden rush of thoughts gripped her—Vikram Singh's threats… her helplessness… and her sister's life hanging in the balance.
Seeing her suddenly quiet and visibly unsettled, Harsh turned toward her, concern etched across his face.
"Are you okay?" he asked gently.
Startled out of her spiral, Isha blinked and quickly shook her head. "Yeah… yeah. Nothing. Just... you know, random thoughts."
Harsh didn't seem convinced. "You suddenly looked worried."
Isha forced a smile. "It's really nothing serious. Let's not talk about that. You won't enjoy it anyway..."
But then something inside her cracked—maybe it was the quiet, maybe it was him—and she confessed everything.
She told him about Vikram.
The engagement.
The blackmail.
The fear for her sister's safety.
She poured her heart out.
Harsh listened silently, jaw tightening as her story progressed. He didn't know why—but rage began brewing inside him. A stranger's pain shouldn't have affected him this deeply, but it did.
"Who is this Vikram?" he asked, voice firm.
Isha looked away. "Vikram Singh. A powerful businessman. Influential… and dangerous. If it were just me, I wouldn't care. But he's using my sister to control me. That's why I'm stuck."
Harsh's eyes focused forward again, thoughts racing.
Then, he turned to her. "And Alex? What do you think he can do for you?"
Isha's eyes lit up with sudden excitement. "Actually… I was thinking… maybe on the day of the engagement… Alex could kidnap me."
Harsh's eyes widened in disbelief. He looked at her like she had lost her mind.
"You want him to kidnap you?"
Isha burst out laughing. "I know, I know—it sounds crazy. But think about it! If he kidnaps me, Vikram will be scared. He won't ask questions. He'll just assume something went wrong and back off."
Harsh raised an eyebrow. "Okay… and what exactly will be the reason behind this kidnapping?"
Without missing a beat, Isha replied, "He can say I betrayed him, leaked something confidential, lied—anything! I just need to get out of this mess and save my sister."
Harsh couldn't help it—he laughed. A genuine, soft laugh.
"You're insane," he said, still smiling.
Isha smiled back, watching his reaction. There was something about his laugh that made her heart feel lighter—for the first time in weeks.
They continued talking—about everything and nothing. With him, Isha wasn't the mature, composed girl everyone saw. She was silly, impulsive, a little childish. And strangely, Harsh didn't seem to mind.
He liked that version of her.
He watched her laugh, and his gaze dropped to her lips without realizing it. A desire flickered in his chest—raw, unexpected.
He tried to ignore it. Really, he did. But it grew stronger with each second.
Then, almost without thinking, he asked, his voice lower than before,
"Can I kiss you?"
Isha blinked, caught completely off guard. Her eyes widened for a second—then she laughed softly, her cheeks coloring.
"Actually… I don't know how to kiss."
Harsh chuckled under his breath. "If you don't know… I can teach you."
Their eyes locked. Something heavy and magnetic passed between them.
Isha, without breaking eye contact, whispered, "Okay… teach me."
And that was all it took.
Harsh leaned in, slowly, carefully—as if giving her time to change her mind. His hand moved gently, brushing her hair behind her ear. Their faces drew closer, the soft hum of the night the only witness to the fire beginning to spark.
When their lips finally met—it was soft, slow, and unsure… but filled with something electric.
Isha closed her eyes as her heart raced. Her fingers clenched lightly at the fabric of his shirt, and Harsh tilted his head, deepening the kiss slightly, guiding her. She followed his lead, learning, responding, feeling.
There was no rush, no urgency. Just warmth. Intensity. And two people lost in a moment they didn't expect.
By the time they pulled away, breathless and wide-eyed, something had shifted.
They weren't strangers anymore.
Their hearts had quietly tied themselves together in that one, unguarded kiss.
Isha looked down, blushing furiously. Harsh gave her a small smile—warm, real, and just a little bit dazed.
But before the moment could fully settle…
Harsh cleared his throat.
"By the way… I should've told you earlier."
Isha looked up at him, confused.
A sudden panic sparked in her chest. Did he already have a girlfriend? Was he about to say he didn't mean any of it?
But Harsh, with a slightly awkward shrug, said,
"Alex… left half an hour ago."
The color drained from Isha's face.
"What?" she whispered.
Her heart dropped. Just like that, her only plan—the one thread of hope she was clinging to—vanished.
She didn't say anything for a long time. Just stared at the water, her dreams of escape slowly sinking under its calm surface.
Isha stared at the pond, its surface calm—so calm, it mocked the storm inside her.
Alex was gone.
Her only plan… shattered.
Beside her, Harsh watched her go silent. He could almost hear the sound of her hope cracking, piece by piece.
But what she didn't know… was that he wasn't going to let her face this alone.
Not anymore.
Because in that kiss, he hadn't just tasted her lips—he had felt her fear, her fire, and something else… something he couldn't walk away from.
Whatever happened next, Vikram Singh had no idea what storm was now coming his way.
And it had two names.
Isha. And Harsh.