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One glance. No words. A beginning neither of them expected.

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Aman ’s POV

The champagne glass in my hand remained untouched.

These parties were all the same—empty smiles, louder lies. Everyone here wanted something.

I didn’t.

I already had everything worth having.

I turned away from the clinking glasses and stale conversations, finding the comfort of silence near the window. Delhi’s skyline blinked in the distance. It reminded me of the nights I worked late, building this empire from ashes.

And then—

A shift in the air.

No sound. No warning. Just... her.

She didn’t belong to this crowd. She owned it.

A red dress, soft waves cascading down her back, and a kind of presence that didn’t beg to be seen—it demanded it.

She didn’t look at me. Didn’t even know I was watching.

But in that split-second, something clicked.

Something irrational. Uncontrolled.

And for the first time in years... I wasn’t thinking about work.

I didn’t believe in love.

Still don’t.

But whatever that was—

It shook something inside me I didn’t know could move.

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Shahneel ’s POV

Another party. Another evening of “You’re Shubman’s sister, right?”

As if I didn’t have a name of my own.

I smiled politely, accepted compliments that felt like rehearsed lines, and drifted away from the noise.

And that’s when I felt it.

A stare. Intense. Unrelenting.

Like being seen through tinted glass.

I turned—slowly. Casually.

And my eyes found him.

He didn’t flinch. He wasn’t even looking anymore.

But I’d caught just enough.

Broad shoulders. Red tie. A jawline that looked like it had been carved in boardroom shadows.

He looked like danger in human form.

I didn’t know him.

But something in my gut whispered—

You will.

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Author’s POV

They never spoke that night.

Not a word. Not even a glance returned.

But the fire had already been lit.

A businessman who didn’t believe in love.

And a dreamer who refused to be defined by someone else’s name.

In a room full of ambition and artifice, they were the only real thing—

Even if they didn’t know it yet.

Destiny didn’t ask for permission.

It simply waited.

Because sometimes...

Love begins not with a kiss—

But with a clause.

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