Vanya looked at both brothers.

Then she simply said,

"Chup."
(Quiet.)

Immediately...

Rudra and Veeransh fell silent.

The two most intimidating men in the country...

Who could make powerful businessmen nervous with just one look...

Were now standing quietly after being scolded by a fifteen-year-old girl.

Vanya placed both her hands on her waist.

She looked at Veeransh first.

Then at Rudra.

"Maine woh paani nahi piya."
(I didn't drink that water.)

Both brothers looked at her hopefully.

She continued,

"Peene se pehle hi maine bottle ka paani badal diya tha."
(I changed the water before drinking it.)

The tension in the room immediately eased.

Both brothers let out the breath they had been holding.

Rudra frowned slightly.

"Tumhe pehle se pata tha ki paani mein kuch milaya gaya tha?"
(Did you already know that something had been mixed into the water?)

Vanya quickly shook her head.

"Nahi."
(No.)

She pointed towards the table where the half-filled bottle was kept.

"Actually, paani thanda nahi tha."
(Actually, the water wasn't cold.)

She shrugged.

"Isliye maine bottle khaali karke naya thanda paani bhar liya."
(That's why I emptied the bottle and filled it with fresh cold water.)

The brothers looked at each other.

Neither of them had expected such a simple reason.

What had saved Vanya...

Wasn't luck.

It was simply...

Her habit of drinking cold water.

After a few seconds...

Vanya narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

She crossed her arms.

"Waise..."
(By the way...)

"Aap dono mere room mein kya kar rahe hain?"
(What are you both doing in my room?)

Veeransh lowered his head.

His usual calm expression was gone.

Instead...

He looked genuinely guilty.

"Hum..."
(We...)

He hesitated before continuing.

"Hum tumse maafi maangne aaye the."
(We came here to apologize to you.)

His voice softened.

"Please... hume maaf kar do."
(Please... forgive us.)

Rudra also stepped forward.

His expression remained serious.

But his voice carried regret.

"Haan, Angel."
(Yes, Angel.)

"Hum sach mein bahut sharminda hain."
(We're truly sorry.)

Hearing them...

Vanya blinked.

Only then did she realize...

She had been talking to them normally all this time.

Without fear.

Without hesitation.

Without calling them...

"Mr. Rathore."

Her eyes widened.

She immediately tried to correct herself.

"Mr. Rathore, main-"

(Mr. Rathore, I-)

Before she could finish...

Rudra gently interrupted her.

His voice was unusually soft.

"Angel..."

He slowly shook his head.

"Please hume 'Mr. Rathore' mat bulao."
(Please don't call us 'Mr. Rathore'.)

He looked directly into her eyes.

There was guilt...

Regret...

And sincerity.

"Hum sach mein bahut sorry hain."
(We're truly very sorry.)

He took a slow breath.

"Hum dobara kabhi tum par apni awaaz unchi nahi karenge."
(We'll never raise our voice at you again.)

Veeransh nodded immediately.

"Haan, Sona."
(Yes, Sona.)

"Hum dono se bahut badi galti hui."
(We both made a huge mistake.)

"Please... hume ek mauka de do."
(Please... give us one chance.)

If anyone from outside had witnessed this scene...

They would never have believed it.

The cold and feared Rathore brothers...

Were standing in front of one teenage girl...

Apologizing with complete sincerity.

And waiting...

For her answer.

For a long moment...

Silence filled the room.

Vanya looked at both brothers.

She could clearly see the guilt in their eyes.

Neither of them was pretending.

Neither of them was making excuses.

They were genuinely sorry.

A small smile appeared on her face.

Deep inside...

She had already forgiven them.

Even on that day...

When they had shouted at her...

The next morning..

If they had sincerely apologized and admitted their mistake...

She would have forgiven them back then too.

After all...

Everyone makes mistakes.

The important thing wasn't whether someone made a mistake...

It was whether they accepted it, regretted it, and tried to become a better person.

Taking a small breath...

Vanya finally spoke.

"Theek hai..."
(Okay...)

Both brothers immediately looked at her.

A gentle smile appeared on her face.

"Maine aap dono ko maaf kiya."
(I've forgiven both of you.)

For the first time in many days...

The heavy burden on Rudra and Veeransh's hearts disappeared.

Rudra let out a relieved sigh.

A faint smile appeared on his usually expressionless face.

"Thank you, Angel."

His voice was softer than ever.

Veeransh smiled warmly.

"Thank you, Sona."

He placed a hand over his heart.

"Hum dobara kabhi woh galti nahi dohrayenge."
(We'll never repeat that mistake again.)

Before Vanya could react...

Both brothers stepped forward together.

They gently pulled her into a hug.

Vanya froze.

For a few seconds...

She simply stood there.

Then...

A small smile slowly appeared on her face.

She awkwardly hugged them back.

After a few moments...

The hug ended.

Vanya looked at both of them.

"Lekin..."
(But...)

Both brothers became alert.

Rudra tilted his head.

"Kya hua, Angel?"
(What happened, Angel?)

Vanya slowly pointed towards the floor.

Both brothers followed her finger.

Broken glass.

Broken snacks.

Crumbs everywhere.

She puffed her cheeks.

"Mere snacks..."
(My snacks...)

Rudra and Veeransh looked at each other.

Then...

Both of them suddenly laughed.

Not because they wanted to make fun of her...

But because after everything that had happened...

Her biggest concern was still her snacks.

Vanya frowned immediately.

She stamped her foot lightly.

"Hasna band kijiye!"
(Stop laughing!)

She crossed both her arms.

"Yeh bilkul bhi funny nahi hai."
(This isn't funny at all.)

The brothers immediately stopped laughing.

Although...

Both of them were still trying hard to hide their smiles.

Vanya narrowed her eyes.

"Aur..."
(And...)

She spoke like a strict judge announcing a verdict.

"Main aap dono ko punishment dene wali hoon."
(I'm going to punish both of you.)

Veeransh blinked.

Then smiled helplessly.

"Jo punishment dogi, hume manzoor hai."
(Whatever punishment you give us, we'll accept it.)

He folded his arms behind his back.

"Toh batao, Sona."
(So tell us, Sona.)

"Kya punishment hai?"
(What's the punishment?)

Vanya pretended to think for a few seconds.

Then...

She raised one finger.

"Number one."

She pointed towards the broken glass and scattered snacks.

"Yeh poora room aap dono saaf karenge."
(You two will clean this entire room.)

Both brothers nodded without hesitation.

"Done."

Vanya raised another finger.

"Number two."

A mischievous smile appeared on her face.

"Kal mere liye Honey Cake laayenge."
(Tomorrow you'll bring me Honey Cake.)

Veeransh smiled.

"Bas itni si punishment?"
(That's all?)

Vanya nodded proudly.

"Haan."
(Yes.)

Veeransh chuckled.

"Lekin servants room saaf kar denge."
(But the servants can clean the room.)

Vanya immediately shook her head.

"Bilkul nahi."
(Absolutely not.)

She pointed at the mess again.

"Mera room main khud saaf karti hoon."
(I clean my room myself.)

Then she looked directly at both brothers.

"Aur yeh mess..."
(And this mess...)

She dramatically spread both her hands.

"...aap dono ne kiya hai."
(...was created by both of you.)

She smiled innocently.

"Isliye safai bhi aap dono hi karenge."
(So both of you will clean it too.)

Rudra glanced at Veeransh.

Veeransh looked back at Rudra.

For a second...

Neither of them said anything.

Then both brothers smiled helplessly.

Looks like...

The feared Rathore brothers had officially been assigned housekeeping duty by a fifteen-year-old girl.

Without saying another word...

The two most feared Rathore brothers got to work.

Rudra bent down and carefully started picking up the larger pieces of broken glass.

Veeransh brought a broom and dustpan from the corner of the room.

If anyone from the mansion had witnessed the scene...

They would have rubbed their eyes in disbelief.

The country's most successful businessman...

And one of its most respected lawyers...

Were cleaning a fifteen-year-old girl's room.

Meanwhile...

The owner of the room...

Sat comfortably on her bed.

Swinging her legs happily.

She watched the two brothers with complete satisfaction.

Every now and then...

She pointed towards a corner.

"Wahan bhi..."
(There too...)

Veeransh immediately swept that area.

A minute later...

She pointed somewhere else.

"Udhar ek aur tukda hai."
(There's another piece there.)

Rudra silently picked it up.

Neither of them complained.

Neither of them argued.

Nearly fifteen minutes later...

The room looked exactly as neat as before.

Veeransh checked the floor one last time to make sure not even a tiny piece of glass remained.

Only then did both brothers straighten up.

Rudra dusted off his hands.

Then looked at Vanya.

"Aur kuch, Angel?"
(Anything else, Angel?)

Vanya looked around the room carefully.

She inspected every corner like a strict teacher checking homework.

Finally...

She nodded with satisfaction.

"Nothing."

Then she patted the empty space beside her on the bed.

"Idhar baithiye."
(Come, sit here.)

Without questioning her...

Both brothers obeyed.

Rudra sat on one side.

Veeransh sat on the other.

For a few moments...

No one spoke.

Then Rudra finally broke the silence.

His expression turned serious once again.

"Angel..."

He looked directly at her.

"Kalpana ko main itni aasani se nahi chhodunga."
(I won't let Kalpana go so easily.)

His voice became colder.

"Tum bilkul chinta mat karo."
(You don't have to worry.)

"Main usse sambhaal loonga."
(I'll handle her.)

Veeransh nodded in agreement.

He looked equally determined.

But...

Vanya immediately shook her head.

"Nahi."
(No.)

Both brothers looked at her.

Vanya folded her arms.

"Main usse khud handle karungi."
(I'll handle her myself.)

The brothers frowned.

Vanya continued thinking aloud.

"Mujhe samajhna hai..."
(I want to understand...)

"Usne mujhe hi kyun target kiya?"
(Why did she target me?)

She lowered her gaze.

"Aur woh kyun nahi chahti ki main iss ghar mein kisi ke kareeb jaun?"
(And why doesn't she want me to become close to anyone in this house?)

The questions had been troubling her for a long time.

There had to be a reason.

Kalpana wasn't doing all this without a motive.

Veeransh spoke gently.

"Lekin hum usse easily sach bulwa sakte hain."
(But we can easily make her tell the truth.)

Vanya immediately looked at him suspiciously.

Then...

A mischievous smile appeared on her face.

"Kaise?"
(How?)

She tilted her head.

"Aap log police ho..."

She paused dramatically.

"...ya mafia?"
(...or mafia?)

The room instantly fell silent.

Both brothers froze.

For a split second...

Neither of them knew how to react.

Inside their minds...

Alarm bells started ringing.

'Kahin ise sach ka pata toh nahi chal gaya?'
(Did she somehow find out the truth?)

The brothers exchanged a quick glance.

No.

That wasn't possible.

No one outside the family knew about their real connections.

They definitely couldn't tell Vanya.

Not yet.

Veeransh coughed awkwardly.

Rudra calmly changed the topic before the conversation could continue.

"Woh sab chhodo."
(Leave that aside.)

He looked at her seriously.

"Tum kya karna chahti ho?"
(What do you want to do?)

Vanya's playful expression immediately disappeared.

A thoughtful look replaced it.

She spoke slowly...

Like a detective explaining a plan.

"Ab hume acting karni hogi."
(Now we'll have to act.)

Both brothers listened carefully.

"Aap dono waise hi behave karenge jaise pehle karte the."
(Both of you will behave just like before.)

She pointed towards herself.

"Aur main bhi aisa dikhane wali hoon..."
(And I'll pretend...)

She took a deep breath.

"...ki maine contaminated snacks aur paani pee liya tha."
(...that I ate the contaminated snacks and drank the manipulated water.)

"Aur ab main uske control mein hoon."
(And now I'm under her control.)

The room became silent once again.

Rudra understood her plan immediately.

If Kalpana believed her plan had succeeded...

She would become careless.

And careless people...

Made mistakes.

Veeransh sighed.

He clearly didn't like the idea.

Because it meant...

In front of everyone...

They would once again have to maintain their distance from Vanya.

Even though...

They had finally begun fixing their relationship.

Still...

He slowly nodded.

Rudra also agreed.

"Theek hai."
(Alright.)

Vanya smiled proudly.

Then suddenly...

She remembered something.

She narrowed her eyes.

A dangerous smile appeared on her face.

"Aur ek baat..."
(And one more thing...)

Both brothers looked at her.

Vanya folded her arms.

Her cheeks puffed slightly.

"Mujhe..."

She paused dramatically.

"...apne snacks ka badla bhi lena hai."
(...I also want revenge for my snacks.)

For a second...

The brothers stared at her.

Then...

They couldn't stop themselves.

Both burst into laughter once again.

The next morning...

The dining hall was unusually lively.

The aroma of freshly prepared breakfast filled the mansion.

Everyone gradually gathered around the long dining table.

Vanya quietly walked downstairs.

Her face looked calm.

Expressionless.

She silently took her seat.

No unnecessary words.

No smile.

No cheerful greetings.

Seeing her quiet behavior...

Kalpana lowered her head to hide the smile on her lips.

'It worked...'

She thought happily.

'The medicine has finally started showing its effect.'

Exactly as Vanya had planned.

From the corner of her eyes...

She secretly glanced at Rudra and Veeransh.

Both brothers understood immediately.

Without changing their expressions...

They continued eating breakfast as though nothing had happened.

Inside...

Both of them hated every second of this acting.

But if they wanted to expose Kalpana...

They had no choice.

The breakfast continued in complete silence.

Kabir looked between everyone suspiciously.

Something felt strange.

Usually...

Vanya would be chatting with Aarav...

Or arguing with him over something silly.

Sometimes she would tease Kabir.

Sometimes Arjun.

But today...

She simply ate quietly.

Even Aarav noticed the unusual silence.

He frowned slightly.

"Twinny?"

He softly called her.

Vanya slowly looked at him.

For a second...

Her heart softened.

She wanted to smile.

But...

Remembering the plan...

She simply nodded once before looking back at her plate.

Aarav became even more confused.

Kabir also exchanged glances with him.

Neither of them understood what had happened overnight.

After a few more minutes...

Everyone finished breakfast.

Rudra stood up first.

He adjusted his coat.

Veeransh also stood beside him.

Arjun picked up his office bag.

They were about to leave for work.

Just then...

Arjun walked towards Vanya.

A warm smile appeared on his face.

Without hesitation...

He gently hugged her.

"Bye, Sunshine."

He ruffled her hair lovingly.

"Main jaldi wapas aa jaunga."

(I'll come back soon.)

He smiled.

"Tumhe kuch chahiye?"

(Do you want anything?)

For a brief second...

Vanya almost forgot she was acting.

She looked at him.

Then smiled very faintly.

"Nahi, Ari Bhaiya."

(No, Ari Bhaiya.)

"Bye."

Arjun smiled once again.

Satisfied...

He slowly let go of her.

A few steps behind him...

Rudra and Veeransh quietly watched everything.

Both of them also wanted to walk over.

To tell her goodbye.

To wish her to take care.

To reassure her that everything would be alright.

But...

They couldn't.

Not while Kalpana was watching.

If they suddenly started treating Vanya warmly...

Kalpana would immediately realize something was wrong.

So...

They remained where they were.

Their expressions stayed cold.

But inside...

Both brothers felt terrible.

It almost felt like...

The universe was making them pay for the way they had treated Vanya before.

Yesterday...

They had finally earned her forgiveness.

And today...

They had to pretend that nothing had changed.

It hurt.

Much more than they expected.

Arjun finally walked out of the mansion.

Just before Rudra and Veeransh followed him...

Vanya secretly looked towards them.

Making sure no one else was watching...

She gave them a tiny wink.

The brothers froze for half a second.

Then...

A very small smile appeared on both their faces.

It disappeared almost instantly.

But Vanya had already seen it.

She smiled inwardly.

'Mission successful.'

Without another word...

The two brothers left for work.

After they were gone...

Kabir stretched lazily.

Then looked towards Vanya.

"Toh Cupcake..."

He grinned.

"Aaj kya karna hai?"

(What do you want to do today?)

Normally...

Vanya would have answered with ten different ideas.

But not today.

She slowly stood up.

Her voice sounded unusually dull.

"Nahi, Kabir Bhaiya..."

She looked down.

"Main apne room mein jaa rahi hoon."

(I'm going to my room.)

She spoke softly.

"Mujhe thoda thakaan lag rahi hai."

(I'm feeling a little tired.)

Kabir blinked.

"Tired?"

That wasn't like Vanya at all.

Before he could ask anything else...

Vanya quietly walked away.

She didn't even give Kabir or Aarav a chance to stop her.

Both brothers looked at each other in confusion.

Aarav frowned.

Something definitely wasn't right.

Meanwhile...

Standing a little farther away...

Kalpana watched everything with satisfaction.

Her eyes gleamed with happiness.

'Good...'

She smiled inwardly.

'Very good...'

'The medicine is working exactly as I wanted.'

Completely unaware...

She had already walked straight into Vanya's trap.

Meanwhile...

Vanya quietly entered her room.

The moment she closed the door...

She let out a long sigh.

She placed one hand over her chest.

"Hey Shivji..."

She sighed dramatically.

"Itna silent rehna bhi kitna mushkil hota hai."

(Being this silent is so difficult.)

She shook her head.

"Lavanya..."

"Ab room mein akeli ho."

(Now you're alone in the room.)

She looked around her spacious room.

It was completely quiet.

A few seconds later...

A bright idea crossed her mind.

A smile slowly appeared on her face.

"Chalo..."

"Aaj kuch draw karte hain."

(Let's draw something today.)

She walked towards the study table.

Opening the top drawer...

She took out her drawing notebook.

Then a pencil.

An eraser.

And a small box of colours.

Carrying everything...

She walked back towards the bed.

She sat comfortably, crossing her legs.

Then unlocked her phone.

Opening YouTube...

She searched for a Peacock Mandala Art tutorial.

Soon...

The video started playing.

Completely focused...

Vanya began sketching.

The pencil slowly moved across the paper.

Curved lines...

Beautiful feathers...

Tiny patterns...

Little by little...

The peacock mandala started taking shape.

She smiled proudly.

"Not bad..."

Just then...

Knock... Knock...

Vanya froze.

She quickly paused the YouTube video.

Without wasting even a second...

She slid the drawing notebook beneath her blanket.

Her pencil disappeared under it as well.

She placed her phone face down beside her.

Only after making sure everything looked normal...

She said,

"Come in."

The door slowly opened.

Kalpana walked inside with a gentle smile.

She looked at Vanya with fake concern.

"Beta..."

"Subah se tum theek nahi lag rahi thi."

(You didn't look well since morning.)

She walked closer.

"Isliye socha tumhe dekh loon."

(So I thought I'd come and check on you.)

Vanya lowered her eyes.

Continuing her acting...

She softly replied,

"Ji, Aunty..."

She gently held her forehead.

"Mera sir bahut dard kar raha hai."

(My head is aching a lot.)

"Aur thoda chakkar bhi aa raha hai."

(And I'm feeling a little dizzy.)

Inside...

Kalpana smiled.

'Good...'

'The medicine has started working.'

She sat beside Vanya on the bed.

With fake affection...

She gently placed her hand on Vanya's head.

"Aao..."

(Come...)

"Main tumhare sir ki massage kar deti hoon."

(Let me massage your head.)

Vanya obediently nodded.

Inside, however...

She became alert.

'Let's see...'

'What are you planning next, Kalpana Aunty?'

For the next few minutes...

Kalpana gently massaged her head.

The room remained silent.

Only after a while...

Kalpana casually began the conversation.

"Beta..."

"Iss ghar mein tum sabke saath kaise adjust kar rahi ho?"

(How are you adjusting with everyone in this house?)

Vanya answered exactly according to the plan.

"Sab bahut acche hain, Aunty."

(Everyone is very nice, Aunty.)

She paused.

Then spoke sadly.

"Bas..."

"Rudra Bhaiya aur Veeransh Bhaiya mujhe pasand nahi karte."

(Only Rudra Bhaiya and Veeransh Bhaiya don't like me.)

For a brief second...

Satisfaction flashed across Kalpana's face.

She quickly hid it behind a kind smile.

"Aisa mat socho, beta."

(Don't think like that, dear.)

"Woh bhi ek din tumhe zaroor pasand karenge."

(One day, they'll definitely like you too.)

Then she slowly continued,

"Jab bhi woh tum par gussa karein..."

(Whenever they get angry at you...)

"Tum unke paas baar-baar jaana."

(Keep approaching them again and again.)

She smiled sweetly.

"Aur filhaal..."

"Arjun, Kabir aur Aarav ke saath zyada waqt mat bitao."

(For now, don't spend too much time with Arjun, Kabir, and Aarav.)

"Waise bhi..."

"Woh teenon toh pehle hi tumhare kaafi close hain."

(Those three are already very close to you.)

Vanya quietly nodded.

Outwardly...

She looked like she had accepted every word.

But inside...

Her thoughts were completely different.

'Wah, Aunty...'

(Wow, Aunty...)

'Toh aap chahti hain ki Rudra Bhaiya aur Veeransh Bhaiya meri baar-baar approach se irritate ho jaayein...'

(So you want Rudra Bhaiya and Veeransh Bhaiya to get irritated by my repeated approaches..)

'Aur saath hi...'

(And with that...)

'Aap chahti hain ki main Ari Bhaiya, Kabir Bhaiya aur Avi se bhi door ho jaun.'

(You want me to stay away from Ari Bhaiya, Kabir Bhaiya, and Avi as well)

'Interesting...'

'Ab mujhe aur bhi yakeen ho gaya hai ki aapke iraade bilkul saaf nahi hain.'

(Now I am even more convinced that your intentions are not clear at all.)

Kalpana looked at Vanya.

Seeing her quietly nodding...

She felt satisfied.

'Good.'

'She believed me.'

After a few moments...

Kalpana slowly stood up.

"Ab main chalti hoon, beta."

(I'll leave now, dear.)

"Mujhe thoda kaam hai."

(I have some work.)

She turned towards the door.

Just then...

Vanya's mischievous brain came up with another idea.

She quickly called out,

"Aunty... rukiye!"

(Aunty... wait!)

Kalpana stopped and turned around.

"Ji, beta?"

Vanya smiled innocently.

"Aapne mera sir dabaya na..."

(You massaged my head, right?)

"Ab mujhe bhi favour return karna chahiye."

(Now I should return the favour too.)

She stood up from the bed.

Her smile widened.

"Rukiye..."

"Main aapke liye snacks lekar aati hoon."

(Wait... I'll bring some snacks for you.)

The smile on Kalpana's face instantly froze.

Her eyes widened in surprise.

And Vanya...

Simply smiled sweetly...

As if she had no hidden intentions at all.

---------------

Author's Note 💜

Hello, my lovely readers! 💜

💜 Which scene did you enjoy the most in this chapter?

As always, I'd love to read your theories in the comments! Sometimes your guesses are even more interesting than my plot. 😂

If you enjoyed this chapter, please don't forget to:

❤️Like

💬 Comment

Lots of love,

~ Author ✨