Third person’s pov!

The evening air was thick with the scent of burning camphor and incense from the temple courtyard. Outside, beneath the sprawling branches of the ancient banyan tree, a group of men lounged around, their laughter and murmured conversations filling the otherwise quiet street. 

At the center of them sat Nanda, casually perched on his Royal Enfield Classic 500, one booted foot resting on the ground as he scrolled through his phone, his brow furrowed in concentration.

Shivangi hesitated at the edge of the gathering, clutching her bag tightly as her heart pounded against her ribs. She had never done something like this before. Approaching a man like Nanda—someone the entire town whispered about—was reckless, but she had made up her mind.

Clearing her throat, she stepped forward. "Err…"

The conversation around her ceased as several pairs of eyes turned to her, their expressions shifting from curiosity to confusion.

"Yes?" One of the men asked, his tone cautious.

"I… I want to talk to Nanda." Shivangi took a steadying breath. 

At her words, the men exchanged amused glances. A girl coming to see Nanda? That was new.

"Why do you want to talk to Nanda?" Another man stepped forward, his head tilting slightly. 

"It’s… personal." Shivangi’s fingers tightened around the strap of her bag. 

A ripple of interest passed through the group, and she didn’t miss the smirks that followed.

"Nandu," one of the men called out, raising his voice to be heard over the murmur of intrigue. "This girl wants to talk to you."

At the mention of his name, Nanda finally looked up, his sharp gaze landing on Shivangi. He frowned slightly, a flicker of recognition crossing his features, though he couldn’t immediately place where he had seen her before.

His phone lowered as he studied her, his dark eyes assessing. 

His phone lowered as he studied her, his dark eyes assessing. 

"Yes?" He asked, trying to place her face in his memory.

Shivangi swallowed hard. There was no turning back now.

"Can we talk in private for a moment?" She asked.

His frown deepened, but curiosity got the better of him. With a small nod, he pushed off his bike and walked a few steps away from the others. Shivangi followed, feeling the weight of the men’s stares on her back.

Once they were out of earshot, she cleared her throat. "I am Shivangi Sivakumar."

"Have we met before?" He arched his brow. 

"Yes. A couple of days ago. You were beating up a guy, and he fell in front of me."

"Right. Now I remember." His eyes widened slightly as recognition dawned. 

"Good." Shivangi wasted no time, reaching into her bag. She pulled out a handful of crumpled notes and an assortment of coins, carefully stacking them in her palm before looking up at him. "This is all I have right now. Consider it an advance. I will pay the rest once the job is done."

"I am not following. What job?" Nanda stared at her, his expression unreadable. 

"I want to hire you."

"Hire me for what?" His frown deepened. 

"As my goon."

For a moment, there was silence. Then, his eyes narrowed. 

"What?"

Unfazed, Shivangi continued. 

"I need you to beat someone up. Once he’s bruised and battered, you should put your foot on his chest, point at him, and say, ‘This is for Shivangi Sivakumar’ in the scariest tone possible. Scare him so much that he never thinks of bullying me again."

"Are you insane?" Nanda blinked, looking at her as if she had lost her mind. 

"No, I am just desperate. I am not physically strong enough to fight him on my own, and that day, I saw how you were beating up that guy. That’s exactly what I need."

"I am not a damn goon. I don’t do ‘quotation’ work." His jaw tightened. 

"But you are! I have seen you get into fights plenty of times. Everyone here knows it."

"Listen, girl. Walk away before I lose my patience." Nanda exhaled sharply, trying to keep his temper in check. Shivangi scowled. 

"You want more money, don’t you? That’s it, right? I get it. You won’t take a job for this little. I promise I’ll arrange for more soon. This is just an advance."

His patience snapped. 

"Get lost!" He growled before turning on his heel and walking away.

Shivangi huffed. 

"Hmph! I’ll pester you so much you will have no choice but to take my ‘quotation.’" she muttered to herself before stomping off in the opposite direction.

Ignoring the curious glances from his men, he swung a leg over his bike and kicked it to life, speeding away from the scene.

Yug Nand Khoda still couldn’t believe what had just happened. Sure, he had gotten into plenty of fights since coming to this town. There was too much anger inside him after everything that had happened with him a year ago. And some of these fights had helped him let off steam. But never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that people actually saw him as the town’s goon.

As Nanda and the girl disappeared in opposite directions, the group of men stood in silence, exchanging puzzled glances.

“Who was that girl?” One of them finally asked, breaking the quiet.

“No idea,” another muttered, shaking his head. “First time I have seen someone walk up to Nandu like that.”

The group remained clueless—except for one.

Kiran, barely nineteen and Nanda’s self-proclaimed shadow, smirked. He crossed his arms, letting the suspense build before speaking. 

“You guys really don’t know?” he asked, his voice dripping with exaggerated mystery.

“You do?” The others turned to him, interest piqued. 

“Of course! Nandu bhai tells me everything.” Kiran puffed out his chest, pleased with the attention.

“Then tell us,” one of the men pressed impatiently.

Kiran leaned in slightly, lowering his voice as if he were about to reveal a deep secret. 

“That girl…” He let the tension stretch for a moment before delivering the bombshell.

“She’s Nandu bhai’s girlfriend.”

The silence that followed lasted only a second before the group erupted in disbelief.

“What?!”

“No way!”

“You are joking, right?”

Kiran simply shrugged, enjoying their reactions. 

“Believe what you want,” he said smugly. “But I am telling you, she’s his girlfriend.”

And just like that, a new rumor was born.

A/N

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SF❤️