Shadows in the Spotlight
The hall was draped in gold and white, the smell of fresh marigolds mixing with the heavy scent of expensive perfume. Meher stood near the back, a tray of juice glasses in her trembling hands. This wasn’t her party — it was her cousin’s engagement — but her family had made sure she was here, not as a guest, but as invisible help.
Her aunt’s sharp voice sliced through the air.
Aunt: “Meher, hurry up! Don’t stand there like a statue. You’re not here to show off.”
Guests glanced her way, whispering behind their champagne flutes. She kept her head down. She’d mastered the art of disappearing in a crowd — or at least she thought she had.
From across the room, Aarav entered in his black suit, every step purposeful, the tension in his shoulders betraying the fact that he had just come from something far darker than this glittering event. His eyes scanned the hall, searching, until they found her.
He was supposed to be here to “network” with the city’s elite, but that was only half true. The other half was sitting right there, in a pale blue kurta, avoiding eye contact with everyone.
Relative (mocking): “Oh look, the ‘writer’ is here. Heard your last piece went viral? Did it get you a rich husband yet?”
Laughter erupted around the table. Meher froze, her knuckles whitening around the tray. Aarav’s jaw tightened. In the world he ruled, this kind of disrespect didn’t go unanswered. But here, in public, with dozens of eyes watching, he couldn’t do what his instincts screamed for.
Instead, he walked toward her, calm but dangerous, like a storm disguised as a breeze.
Aarav (loud enough for the nearest tables): “There you are, Meher. I’ve been looking for you.”
Heads turned. The room fell quieter.
Aarav (to the relatives, polite smile): “She writes words that move millions. That’s more valuable than any fortune.”
The relatives shifted uncomfortably. Aarav took the tray from her hands and set it on a table.
Aarav (softly, to Meher): “Come with me.”
He led her out to the balcony, away from the murmurs. City lights stretched out before them, but Meher’s eyes stayed on the floor.
Meher: “You didn’t have to do that.”
Aarav: “I didn’t ‘have to.’ I wanted to.”
Silence hung between them, filled only by the hum of distant traffic. Aarav’s mind was split — one part here with her, the other replaying the blood on his hands from earlier that day. He had taken down a man who ran a trafficking ring, one of the last threads connected to his sister’s death. The victory should have felt sweet. Instead, it felt heavy.
Aarav: “Meher… sometimes the world won’t protect you. So you need someone who will.”
Meher: “And sometimes… the protector needs someone to remind him he’s human.”
They both smiled faintly, though their eyes told different stories.
A gust of wind lifted the edge of Meher’s dupatta. She turned to him, voice trembling but steady enough to recite:
Meher’s Shayari:
“Woh jo mere saath khada raha, jab sabne peeth mod li,
Main uss saaye ko zindagi ke roshni mein basana chahti hoon.”
Translation:
"The one who stood with me when all turned away,
I wish to keep that shadow in the light of my life forever."
Aarav looked at her for a long moment, then stepped closer, his own reply flowing like instinct:
Aarav’s Shayari:
“Main toh andheron ka aadat daal chuka tha,
Tere aane se rang wapas aa gaye.”
Translation:
"I had grown used to the dark,
But your arrival brought the colors back."
Her eyes softened, but the air between them still carried something unsaid. Aarav’s phone buzzed in his pocket — a coded message from his men: “It’s done. No loose ends.”
He pocketed it quickly, forcing a smile for her sake.
Aarav: “Come. I’ll drop you home.”
But Meher sensed the change in his eyes. That shadow she had spoken of wasn’t just a protector — it was also a man who walked in a world where justice came in bullets, not laws. And tonight, she had seen a glimpse of both sides.
Still, when they left the balcony and stepped back into the golden light of the hall, she walked beside him. And for Aarav, that small act meant more than any victory in the shadows.
