Author’s POV

The Singhania mansion was bathed in golden light, celebrating the return of their youngest heir, Vihaan. It was a gathering of the country's most powerful elites. While the music hummed and champagne flowed, the talk of the night was the close bond between the two matriarchs—Dadi Singhania and Dadi Oberoi. They sat together on a velvet sofa, two queens of their respective empires, watching their families mingle.

The Oberoi family was there in full force, except for the one person everyone was curious about.

Vihaan’s POV

I stood by the grand staircase, my older brother Shaurya Bhai and my best friends Yug and Rishi beside me. I smiled, shook hands, and played the part of the returning son to perfection. But my mind was already calculating the shipments moving through the docks tonight.

"Still hasn't shown up," Rishi whispered, nudging me. "Anjali Oberoi. Our grandmothers have been best friends for fifty years, and I’ve still never seen her face in person. She’s like a ghost."

"She’s just private, Rishi," Shaurya Bhai said, adjusting his cufflink. "The Oberois protect her like a national treasure. Even in business circles, she only appears when she wants to."

I looked over at the Oberoi family. Their elder brother, Arjun Bhai, was laughing with my father. Their younger cousins, Shanaya Di and Meher, were busy taking photos. But there was a notable gap in their circle. A missing piece.

Author’s POV

Near the buffet, the Oberoi parents were laughing playfully with the Singhania elders.

"Arvind, where is that daughter of yours?" Dadi Singhania asked with a mock frown. "The party is nearly over!"

Anjali’s mother, Gayatri, sighed dramatically. "Oh, don't even ask, Maji. Anjali is... well, she is Anjali. She stayed back at the office to finish a project. That girl is so private, sometimes even we don't understand what goes on in her head. She lives in her own world."

"She carries the weight of that cosmetics empire like a seasoned general," Arvind Oberoi added, pride shining through his complaint. "But she’s stubborn. She said she’d only come to pick up the kids."

Suddenly, the heavy oak doors at the entrance swung open. The chatter didn't stop, but the temperature in the room seemed to drop by ten degrees.

Vihaan’s POV

I felt it before I saw her. A shift in the air.

A woman walked in, and for the first time in my life, my heart didn't just beat—it stalled. She didn't look twenty-seven. With her porcelain skin and sharp features, she looked younger, almost like she belonged with the university crowd. But the way she walked... it was a silent storm. She wore a minimalist, structured white suit that hugged her frame, her face a mask of beautiful, icy indifference.

"There she is," Yug muttered, his eyes narrowing.

She didn't look at the crowd. She didn't look at the decor. Her eyes moved straight to her family.

"Anjali Di!" Shanaya Di waved excitedly. "Over here!"

Meher jumped up. "I'm coming with you! I’m bored of the aunties asking about my grades."

Even Kabir, who was busy devouring a plate of kebabs, stood up quickly. "Wait for me, Di! I’m coming too!"

Anjali’s POV

I walked through the sea of perfumes and fake smiles, my heels clicking rhythmically against the marble. I hated these gatherings. Too much noise, too little substance. I was only here because Shanaya had texted me three times saying she needed a ride.

I reached my family and the Singhania elders. I felt the weight of a hundred eyes on me, but I didn't care. I let a small, genuine breath out as I saw my grandmother.

"Dadi," I said softly, bowing my head slightly in respect. "How are you? I hope the noise isn't giving you a headache."

"I am fine, my stone-hearted child," Dadi teased, pulling me into a side hug. "You finally decided to grace us with your presence?"

I ignored the playful jabs from my parents and turned to the Singhania matriarch. "Dadi Singhania, it’s good to see you looking so healthy. How have you been?"

"Better now that you’re here, Anjali," she smiled.

Vihaan’s POV

She was standing only ten feet away. Up close, her aura was even more suffocating. She was cold. Mature. Completely out of reach.

"Vihaan," my grandmother called out. "Come here, Beta. You haven't met Anjali yet."

I walked forward, my movements slow, my eyes locked on her. She turned her head. Her gaze was like liquid nitrogen—clear, beautiful, and freezing. She didn't blush. She didn't look away. She just observed me.

"Anjali, this is Vihaan. He just got back from London," Dadi introduced us.

I reached out my hand, my voice dropping into a register I didn't even recognize. "It’s a pleasure to finally meet the woman the legends are about, Anjali Ji."

She didn't take my hand immediately. She looked at it, then back at my eyes, as if searching for something. Then, she gave a short, polite nod.

"Welcome back, Vihaan," she said. Her voice was smooth, like silk over glass. "I hope India treats you as well as London did."

She didn't linger. She didn't ask how my trip was. She turned back to her brother. "Arjun Bhai, I’m taking the kids. I'll see you at home."

Author’s POV

As she walked away, flanked by Shanaya, Meher, and a still-eating Kabir, the room felt empty. The "Golden Boy" of the Singhanias stood frozen, his hand still slightly extended, watching the white-clad figure disappear through the doors.

Rishi stepped up beside him. "Tough nut to crack, huh?"

Vihaan didn't answer. He watched the doors close, his jaw tightening. He didn't just want to meet her. He wanted to dismantle that coldness piece by piece until he was the only thing she saw.

"She’s perfect," Vihaan whispered, his voice dark with a new, dangerous obsession.

Vihaan’s POV

The doors clicked shut, and the vacuum she left behind was filled instantly with the mundane chatter of the party. I stood there, my hand now resting casually in my pocket. To anyone else—to Arjun Bhai, to my parents—I looked exactly as I should: the composed, respectful younger son of the Singhanias. I had spent years perfecting the art of the blank mask; in my world, showing a reaction was a death sentence.

But internally, it was a riot. That brief moment our eyes met, I felt a pull so violent it was almost physical. She didn't just look at me; she appraised me, dismissed me, and moved on.

Nobody told Anjali Oberoi "no," but apparently, she didn't even bother saying "yes" to the world.

"Vee? You okay?" Rishi murmured, stepping into my peripheral vision. He was the only one who could read the slight tension in my jaw, the minute sharpening of my gaze.

"I'm fine," I said, my voice as smooth as velvet. I turned toward Arjun Bhai, who was walking toward us, looking relaxed and proud.

"Sorry about the quick exit," Arjun Bhai laughed, clapping me on the shoulder. He didn't see the predator standing in front of him; he only saw his best friend’s little brother. "Anjali is a force of nature. When she says it's time to go, even the furniture starts moving toward the door. She’s been like that since she was five."

"She seems... dedicated," I replied, my tone perfectly neutral, giving away nothing of the fire she’d just lit in my veins.

"Dedicated? She's obsessed," Arjun Bhai said with a fond shake of his head. "Anyway, welcome home again, kid. We’ll catch up properly at the club this weekend."

Author’s POV

While the families continued their farewells, Yug stood a few paces back, his arms crossed. He had seen Vihaan in the trenches of the London underworld, face-to-face with rivals who wanted him dead. He knew that look in Vihaan’s eyes. It wasn't interest. It was a claim.

In the car, the Oberoi siblings were a whirlwind of noise.

"Did you see the way the Singhania Dadi was looking at Anjali Di?" Meher giggled, leaning her head on the window. "She wants a daughter-in-law, I'm telling you."

Anjali, who was driving the sleek black SUV with clinical precision, didn't even blink. Her eyes remained on the road, her face illuminated by the passing streetlights—a masterpiece of cold marble.

"Dadi is allowed to dream," Anjali said, her voice devoid of emotion. "I’m too busy for the Singhanias' 'Golden Boy.' He looks like he’s never seen a day of real work in his life. All suits and smiles."

"He's actually quite handsome, Di," Shanaya teased. "And he’s the same age as your favorite architect, isn't he?"

"He's twenty-three, Shanaya. He’s a child," Anjali replied, her tone final. "Now, are we going for ice cream or am I dropping you all home?"

Vihaan’s POV

The party finally ended. I retreated to my private wing of the mansion, the "loving son" mask falling the moment I stepped into my study. I didn't turn on the main lights. I sat in the darkness, the glow of my monitors reflecting in my eyes.

Yug walked in without knocking. He placed a tablet on my desk. "I already started the pull. You didn't even have to ask."

I looked at the screen. It was Anjali’s professional profile. CEO of Oberoi Glow. 27 years old. Black belt. Independent. Estimated net worth: $400 million.

"She’s older," Yug noted, leaning against the wall. "And she’s clean, Vihaan. No scandals, no dark ties. She’s the exact opposite of our world."

"She thinks I'm a boy," I whispered, my fingers tracing the line of her jaw on the screen. The image was from a business magazine—she looked fierce, distant, and utterly beautiful.

I thought about the way she looked at me—the dismissive nod, the cold 'Welcome back.' She saw a boy who had been pampered in London. She had no idea that while she was building a beauty empire, I was learning how to rule a kingdom built on blood.

"She likes her privacy?" I asked, a dark smile finally breaking across my face. "Good. Because I’m going to make sure that eventually, the only person allowed in her private world is me."

"What's the move?" Yug asked.

I shut the tablet. "Tomorrow morning. I heard the Oberoi cosmetics plant is looking for a new logistics partner for their international shipping. Tell my father I want to handle the negotiation. I want to be the one to sign the contract with the CEO."

"You're going to her territory?"

"I want to see if that ice-cold face of hers cracks when she realizes the 'child' she met tonight... is the only one who can keep her empire moving."