Prologue #2
Strings of fairy lights were looped across food stalls and vendor carts, and rides dotted the sand along the shoreline.
The Ferris wheel stood at the farthest edge, its metal frame outlined in amber bulbs shining in perfect rhythm as it spun slowly.
Laughter and cheers drifted up in the air, bright and unfiltered.
When was the last time she’d laughed freely like that, felt that alive? A pang of sadness rippled through her when she couldn’t recall.
A soft click of the door behind her sliced into her thoughts. Her shoulders tensed, and she gripped the railing tight, bracing for her stepbrother, or worse, her father.
She turned just enough to catch the movement as a figure stepped into view from the shrouded dark edge of the balcony. He wore a black hoodie with the hood pulled over his head, his hands stuffed deep into the front pockets of his faded jeans.
Siya took a step back instinctively, and curled her hands into fists to defend herself.
‘I—shit,’ the man muttered, lifting both of his hands in an immediate gesture of apology, and pushed back the hood from his head. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.’
His voice was low, warm in a sheepish way that softened the edges of her alarm as she loosened her fists. When he stepped ahead into the light, the jolt that moved through her this time wasn’t fear.
He was—quite honestly—gorgeous. His features were striking yet rugged.
A tousled mess of dark hair fell into his whiskey-brown eyes, and his high cheekbones were dusted with the kind of stubble that suggested he hadn’t shaved today.
His black hoodie clung firmly to his broad shoulders, and though he looked around to be the same age as her, he was towering over her five-seven self.
She shook her head once, trying to shed the fog. ‘I was just surprised. Wasn’t really expecting someone to swoop in like Batman,’ she said, trying to calm her erratic heartbeat.
‘I just needed to get out of there before anyone else tried to toast to “new beginnings,” the fourth one in ten minutes.’ He grinned and stepped forward to lean one forearm casually against the railing beside her.
A nervous flicker of laughter bubbled out of her, breaking the tension. She could empathise because she understood that instinct to escape very well. ‘Just wait until they get more drunk. There will be multiple toasts at once.’
‘I just hope I don’t have to suffer through that,’ he said.
‘Are you a party crasher?’ she asked before she could stop herself.
He guffawed. ‘Is that the vibe I’m giving off?’
She almost smiled. ‘You’re wearing a hoodie at a black-tie event. What do you think?’
He glanced back at the party through the glass and made a face. ‘My friend is the event manager for this party, and he needed some last-minute deliveries, so I got dragged in.’
‘Guess you don’t like such events either,’ she said.
‘Let’s just say I prefer conversations where no one’s trying to sell me something. I had other plans.’
That struck a chord so deep it almost hurt. ‘That makes two of us. Why are you still here then? You could be out there somewhere, celebrating the night.’
‘I had to meet someone,’ he said, giving her a casual shrug.
‘Mysterious,’ she said, trying to tease, but there was a thread of curiosity tugging at her chest.
‘What about you? Are you out here for the view or to run away from the crowd too?’
‘Just needed some air.’
‘So you’re not here plotting a daring escape, or thinking of throwing someone off the balcony?’ he asked, arching a brow.
‘Now is that the vibe I’m giving off?’ she huffed under her breath.
‘Kinda,’ he confessed sheepishly.
‘Fair point,’ she said, blurting out a short laugh.
They stood there for a moment, the sea stretching wide and untouchable before them.
‘If you could be anywhere else right now, where would you want to start the new year?’ he asked.
Her heart squeezed at the sight of the uncurated joy and the memories being made across the street.
She thought of Meera and Swayam and how dejected they were when she told them she was backing out of their plan.
She thought back to being at that café they’d decided to explore, before she had to fly here at the last minute for this party.
‘Anywhere but here,’ she said. ‘Maybe somewhere that feels like home, with people who actually know me.’
‘Friends?’ he prompted.
‘Yeah. We’d probably be wandering the streets of Delhi, trying different places, until we got hopelessly lost.’
‘So why aren’t you?’
She let out a slow exhale. ‘I have a younger sister, Kashvi. She worked hard all year to ace her year-end semester, and as a reward, she made plans with her friends for today. Someone had to play the good daughter for tonight, so I figured if one of us gets to be free, it should be her.’
As she spoke, her phone buzzed in her tiny clutch. She slipped it out and tapped on the message bubble. A selfie filled her screen of Kashvi grinning widely, throwing a peace sign, the bright lights of the club behind her making her glow.
That smile on her sister’s face made her sacrifice feel worth it.
A cheer rose from the fair as the Ferris wheel began a new round, pulling their attention to it.
‘Sounds like they’re having the time of their lives,’ she observed dryly.
‘Now that’s the way to begin a new year.’ He turned to her and asked, ‘You know, we could be one of them too, just for a little while.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘We could sneak out,’ he said, a grin teasing at the edges of his mouth.
‘What?’ she asked, whirling around to look at him. The night air stirred a few strands of hair loose from her updo.
‘I mean, it’s right there,’ he said, pointing to the fair. ‘I can’t do anything about Delhi, but we could rush down there, take one spin on the Ferris wheel, and be back before the clock strikes twelve.’
For a beat, Siya just stared at him, stunned by how easy he made it seem.
‘I’m supposed to give a toast at midnight, so I can’t,’ she said, her mind clinging to duty.
‘It won’t take more than half an hour, and we have fifty minutes,’ he said, taking a quick glance at his watch.
‘It’s not that simple,’ she mumbled under her breath.
‘Why not?’
She didn’t answer because she didn’t know how to explain that every part of her life had been measured, monitored, and pre-approved by her father. How could she explain that spontaneity was a foreign concept to her?
‘I shouldn’t,’ was all she said.
‘But you want to,’ he said.
Siya couldn’t argue with that. With every word, the thread holding her resolution was coming undone. She grasped at the scraps of it as she said, ‘You have no idea how many levels of trouble I’d be in if my father saw me leave.’
‘You’re with the right person for that. I came in through the staff entrance, so I know another way out.’
Siya raised a brow. ‘Is that supposed to reassure me?’
He shrugged. ‘Just letting you know I’m a professional in breaking party protocol.’
‘And if I told you I hate heights? I’ve never even been on one,’ she asked with half a smile.
‘I’ll be right by your side,’ he said, like a matter of fact, and her heart flipped in response.
‘That’s a very confident promise from a guy I’ve just met,’ she said, skeptical.
‘I’ve been told I’m good under pressure,’ he smirked.
‘How can I trust you? What if I’m in the headlines tomorrow for being a wild, spoiled brat running around with you on the streets of Mumbai?’ she asked, pinning him with a glare.
He looked at her for a long beat, then said, ‘I don’t know who you are.’
‘You don’t?’ she asked, caught off-guard.
He shook his head. ‘Nah, and I like it better this way.’
‘If you knew my last name, you might leak it to the media. They pay good money to ruin the reputation of a rich kid,’ she said, thinking about the worst-case scenarios.
‘Then why don’t we keep things interesting? Let’s give each other nicknames. No real names,’ he dangled it in front of her.
‘You’re kidding,’ she laughed, but deep down, she was tempted.
‘Not at all. That will allow us to just be ourselves, nothing more. No expectations, no promises, just living in the moment.’
It was then that she finally began to truly think about it. Kashvi was being herself tonight, away from the burden of being a Kashyap daughter. Maybe, just this once, she could do the same.
A slow smile spread across her face. ‘Alright, then I’ll call you Junglee.’
He huffed a soft laugh. ‘Why exactly? No, really, I want to hear the logic behind it.’
‘You show up in a scary way, sweeping me away to a wild adventure wearing a hoodie that has probably never seen an iron. That counts as junglee in my world.’
He laughed again, shaking his head. ‘Unbelievable.’
‘Hey! It is a compliment. You should own it.’
‘Fine, Junglee it is,’ he agreed with a bow. ‘Only if I get to give you my version of a wild nickname too.’
She raised an eyebrow, waiting for his response.
‘I’ll call you Jaan,’ he said, looking pleased with himself.
Her breath stilled, caught between her ribs, and a flicker of heat moved up the back of her neck. ‘Why?’ she whispered.
‘Because adventure is my life,’ he said with a small shrug.
She tried to laugh it off, but her voice came out more breathy than she expected. ‘That doesn’t make any sense.’
‘It does to me,’ he declared, offering no more explanation.
She forced herself to look away from his intense brown gaze that made her feel like he saw far too much for comfort, and the lights of the Ferris wheel caught her attention.
A loud cheer burst from the fair, calling her to it—to be so free that she could scream at the top of her lungs, to break her chains for just a night.
‘But how exactly are we supposed to get out without… you know, alerting my family’s security detail?’
‘That’s simple,’ he said, eyes twinkling. ‘You put on my hoodie and we leave the way I came in.’
It was a stupid idea. It made no sense, and it would probably blow back in her face tomorrow. But that morning was hours away. Siya felt alive, reckless, and free to do something a little dangerous.
A tentative smile crept across her lips as she whispered, ‘Okay, let’s do it.’
In response, his grin widened, boyish and infectious.