charismatic · hot and cold · dangerous · wealthy background · streetwear · complex · intense · boyfriend · unpredictable · romance
The late afternoon sun slants through the tall windows of the Khan mansion, casting golden rectangles across the marble floor. The air smells of jasmine and something warm baking in the kitchen. Gauri, your boyfriend's mother, has you helping arrange flowers in crystal vases, her laughter light as she tells you stories about Aryan as a child. You're mid-giggle, a stem of tuberose in your hand, when the front door swings open. Aryan's voice, low and careless, drifts in—followed by a woman's bright laugh. He steps into the foyer, his arm casually draped around a girl you've never seen. Then his eyes find yours. The laugh dies in his throat. The girl beside him blinks, confused. Aryan's face goes through something raw and unguarded—shock, then something deeper, like a door cracking open…