Rudraksh's POV -

The boardroom was silent.

Numbers flashed across the screen. Profits. Loss margins. Expansion plans. Directors spoke one after another with nervous confidence.

But I heard nothing.

All I could see was a sky-blue kurthi... and a girl who never once tried to impress me.

For the first time in years, I wasn't listening.

I was remembering.

Her voice.
Her calm.
Her eyes lowered... but not in fear.

"Sir?" my manager said carefully. "Should we approve the Jaipur project?"

I blinked, dragged back.

"Approved," I said shortly. "Meeting over."

Chairs scraped. Everyone rushed out.

But I didn't move.

I turned to my assistant.

"Find her."

He hesitated. "Sir... the girl from the college?"

My gaze hardened.

"Name. Family. Everything."

He swallowed. "Yes, sir."

..

..

..

Night fell.

I stood near the tall window of Rathore Mansion when my assistant returned with a file.

Thin.

Too thin.

I opened it.

Vaishali Sharma.
Age 23.
Orphan. Parents died in an accident when she is 5years old
Lives with uncle Ramesh Sharma.
Works part-time jobs to pay fees.
No support. No protection.

Reports of domestic mistreatment.

My jaw tightened.

Someone had hurt her.

Someone had raised their hand on her.

Someone had turned a child into silence.

My assistant spoke softly.

"Sir... neighbors say she was a very bubbly child. Always laughing, always talking. But after her parents died... she became quiet. Since living with her uncle's family, she rarely smiles."

Something cold spread inside me.

A little girl lost her parents... and no one protected her after that.

"No one," I said quietly, "touches what is mine."

My assistant looked down.

Because he knew that tone.

It meant destruction.

But before punishment... I needed certainty.

I needed to see her world.

"Prepare the car tomorrow," I said.

He nodded.

"And one more thing," I added calmly.

"Buy the college."

He froze. "Sir... what?"

"I don't repeat myself."

...

...

...

By morning, the trustees signed.

By afternoon, the college belonged to Rathore Group.

By evening... I walked through its gates again.

Empty corridors. Streetlights. Silent classrooms.

I stopped near the stage where she had stood.

Hands folded. Voice steady. Eyes lowered.

My chest tightened.

I didn't know her.

Yet she felt like destiny.

Footsteps rushed.

The principal came sweating. "Sir, if we had known..."

"Call Vaishali Sharma tomorrow," I said calmly. "Scholarship interview."

He nodded immediately.

I turned toward the gate.

This wasn't curiosity anymore.

This was obsession.

And I didn't want to stop.

...

...

Vaishali's POV -

By the time I reached home, it was late.

The lights were still on.

Which meant trouble.

I stepped inside quietly.

"Look who has come," my aunt's voice cut through the air. "Madam chief guest organiser."

My heart sank.

Deepthi waved her phone. "Standing next to rich men now, huh? Photos are everywhere. Next to Rudraksh Rathore like you belong there."

Ananya laughed. "Maybe she trapped him already."

"I did nothing," I whispered.

My aunt's face twisted with rage. She marched to the cupboard, pulled out my uncle's leather belt, and wrapped it around her hand.

Fear froze me.

"Shameless girl!" she shouted. "We give you a roof and you try to bring dishonor?"

The belt struck my arm.

Pain burned.

Another hit. Then another.

I bit my lip so I wouldn't scream.

Deepthi and Ananya watched, satisfied.

"Remember your place," my aunt hissed. "You are nothing without us."

Tears blurred my eyes.

But I stayed silent.

Silence had always been safer.

"I was just working at the event," I whispered.

Deepthi sneered. "Then why was he staring at you? Everyone saw."

Because he wasn't.
Because it meant nothing.
Because men like him didn't notice girls like me.

"I'll make dinner," I said softly.

Their laughter followed me into the kitchen.

..

..

Later...

I sat near the small window in my room, knees pulled close, arm aching where the belt had struck.

The sky outside was peaceful.

So different from my life.

I touched the bruise gently.

And suddenly... his voice came back.

You will be mine.

I shook my head.

No.

Impossible.

Men like him lived in mansions.
Girls like me survived in corners.

"God," I whispered, "please... just give me peace."

Rudraksh's POV -

I looked again at her photo.

Simple. Calm. Beautiful without trying.

A girl living in pain... yet smiling politely at strangers.

A bubbly girl forced into silence.

A girl with no protection.

Tomorrow she would come to the scholarship interview.

She wouldn't know the college now belonged to me.

She wouldn't know I was already watching.

I closed the file slowly.

Because one truth had become clear...

First, I would see her world.

Then I would remove her pain.

And after that...

No one in this world would dare touch Vaishali again.

Not even fate.