People talked a lot.

They pre-planned a lot.

What, when, how, why; everything had already been sorted out in here, inside the brain. Whatever be the situation, they were ready.

Gauri was not much different. Like everybody, she too had planned a lot.

She had seen numerous shows, heard uncountable accounts and prepared herself, both mentally and physically, that if ever she came across a situation where she would have to put them to use, she would.

That, she would atleast try to save herself and not be any damsel in distress, waiting for another to help her.

But reality was faraway.

And, she was getting to know it the hard way.

No matter how much one prepared or planned, reality of the situation would be ready to smack them upside down.

Because, there came a time in everybody's life where every rational thought, every fore-planned action, every defense tactic would get thrown out of the window and the person...

They would find themselves standing alone, helpless, defenseless, utterly and truly.

And, that was what Gauri was facing right now.

The erratic heartbeat, pouring sweat and teary eyes were least of her importance at the moment.

Her captor had muffled her screams by his right hand whereas the fingers of his left hand were digging in her shoulder, painfully.

She wiggled out of his hold in vain. Clawing his hand, she prayed to free her mouth at the least.

Her hair, already been tumbled out of her messy bun, was wet with sweat and sticking on her face and neck. The upper half of her kurta was soggy with sweat, the fabric clinging her heaving chest.

Gauri's eyes roamed around, trying to figure out anything in the darkness.

Her other hand moved ever so slightly over the wall, searching for anything she could get her hand upon and use it as a weapon.

She almost breathed a sigh of relief when her fingers touched the hard contours of a wooden wall-hanging showpiece.

Gripping it fiercely, she hit her captor on his head with it.

He groaned in pain and loosened his hold on her.

Gauri crashed the showpiece against his head again.

The momentary haze of pain dissipated off of him and he twisted Gauri's arm.

A cry of pain left her mouth and the showpiece fell out of her hold.

The man didn't notice but in the tussle, he had freed her legs. Raising her leg, she kicked him, missing her target, however still unbalancing him. Instead of kicking him in between the legs, she ended up kicking him on his shin.

Gauri knew, she didn't come anywhere near to fist fight the man of such stature, so she took off.

She half-stumbled and half-ran towards the stairs.

"You b*tch," the man roared.
"Once I get a hold of you, trust me to show you living hell, you w..."

"Now, now. Is this any way to address a lady?"

Gauri stopped short in her run. That voice.

She turned around.

Rudra didn't wait for an answer.

Gripping the man by his hair, he kneed him in the gut, enough to get his breath knocked.

He then slammed his already injured head against the wall, repeatedly.

"Want me to beat some etiquettes into you?" Rudra growled.

"Silly me, didn't even ask you."

The man managed a roundhouse kick but Rudra was quick with his reflexes. He managed to deflect it.

"Not bad, not bad," Rudra chuckled.

Rudra slipped past the man and drove his elbow into the man's back, making him drop on his knees.

Blow upon blow of punches met the man's face.

Suddenly feeling out of breath, Gauri slid down and splayed herself on the stairs. She couldn't stop the cry of relief from escaping her mouth.

The sound distracted Rudra and drew his attention towards her. The man took this opportunity to throw Rudra off of him.

Scrambling to his feet, the man held his bloody face and ran towards the kitchen.

"Rudra Pratap Rathore is here. Master would kill me if I get caught here," he thought fleetingly.

Rudra rolled on his feet and languidly followed him, grinning all the while.

By now, Gauri had gained her momentum. She too traced their path.

Before Rudra could get a hold of the intruder, he jumped out of the window and ran, disappearing in the darkness of night.

"Crap," Rudra smiled.
"He got away."

"Did he?" Rudra laughed mentally.

Running his fingers through his hair, he turned around.

There she stood, hair sticking in all directions, chest heaving with exertion and eyes-wide with fear, staring at him.

Gauri's legs gave way under her but before she could meet the ground, Rudra reached her.

"Gauri... "

Her tiny fist landed on his chest, silencing him.

She hit his chest with her fist again and again... and again.

At one point, one had to let their actions speak more than the words. Gauri was doing the same.

Her fist collided again, tears streaming down her cheeks. She let him know what he did to her, what he made her feel.

Rudra stood still, taking every blow and grinning from ear to ear. 

"So much love, Gauri?" He questioned, smiling more brightly.

Gauri broke into tears and hiccups, hugging him.

Rudra returned her gesture, just more tightly than hers. Chuckling softly, he kissed the top of her head and stayed that way for a while.

"Don't you ever do that again, do you hear me?" Gauri fisted his shirt and stifled a hiccup.

"Ssh, everything's fine now," Rudra rested his chin on her head and drew her closer.

Gauri looked at the window from within his embrace.

"Nothing's fine," she whispered.

Her words did reach Rudra. He held her close and walked them to the living room.

"We should call police," Gauri said, wiping her face.

"Police? He might just be a thief but yeah," Rudra nodded thoughtfully.
"I will ensure to let them investigate this."

"I don't feel safe here," she looked around warily.
"What if he wasn't alone?"

"Alone?" Rudra's gaze fixed at the limp human hand, sticking out from behind the sofa.

"He has to be alone, Gauri," he said calmly.

He coiled his arm around her shoulders and drew her close. Acting quick, he gave a shove to the hand with his leg, so as to put it out of sight. It was not like Gauri would notice it in the dark.

Rudra threw another glance to the place and groaned mentally.

"Will have to get the trash removed."

Gauri was right, there wasn't one but two intruders. Rudra had been quick enough to get a hold of one of them while the other was chasing Gauri. Knocking him out cold in darkness, wasn't too hard for him.

"No, no, you... you don't understand. I am being stalked. Someone's been stalking me, Rudra," she rambled.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Don't you trust me? Why would I lie about it," Gauri said accusatorily.

"Of course I trust you but I don't trust the situations around. I trust you because I know you but situations... how will I trust them when I have no idea about them," Rudra explained.

"Sometimes, it's not as we think it is, Gauri. Do you get it?"

Gauri shook her head in discouragement.
"Why would a random car be parked outside my house? There was a Sumo standing outside."

"Gauri," Rudra said softly, grabbing her shoulders.
"Look here, look at me, angel.
There was no car outside."

Gauri frowned. Her gaze flicked around, maybe trying to figure out the answers.

Rudra sighed, "Maybe it had been standing there for a different purpose."

Gauri stared at him and exhaled.
"I... I guess you are right."

"You alright?" Rudra asked.

She nodded positively, then let out a frustrated sigh.

"God! Who am I kidding? My head is on the verge of blasting."

She swiped a hand over her face which she noticed was still trembling. In fact, the aftershock of the incident did not fully leave her.

"How did you enter?" She quipped, all of a sudden.

"Terrace," Rudra smiled.
"You know, wanted to surprise you... "

"I had locked the door," Gauri stated dryly.

"I broke it," Rudra deadpanned.

Gauri's mouth went slack.
"What do you mean you broke it?"

"You know, the fact that I used my leg to give it a nice push and bolt came out along with the screws," he shrugged casually.

"You..." Gauri pointed her finger at him.

"I... " Rudra cocked his head to one side and smiled.

Seemingly rejoicing the union, the power came back and illuminated the room.

"God! How am I going to stay here tonight when there are two welcoming entrances for thieves, robbers, kidnappers and what not?" Gauri murmured.

"Simple. I am staying the night here."

Rudra looked like he had just forecasted the weather.

"What?" Gauri almost yelled, freaking out of her wits.

He did not let her speak any further and sweeped her off of her feet.

"Rudra! Put me down, put me down. Wha... "

"Quiet," he said curtly.

"You are behaving as if I asked you to strip. Dramatic much?" He rolled his eyes.

"What did you say?" Gauri flushed red, her arms wrapped around his neck for support.
"How can you say it so casually, may I ask?"

Rudra stared at her for a second, then smiled.
"No, you may not."

He started climbing the stairs. Gauri did not utter a word further.

"You can put me down," she said at the sight of her bedroom.

"Don't kid me," Rudra said sardonically.

Entering the room, he gently placed Gauri on the bed and backed away. Gauri breathed in relief.

Rudra turned around and shut the door, bolting it.

"Wha... why are y-you shutting the door?" Gauri stammered.

"Precaution is better than cure," he answered, shrugging.

Gauri's pupil dilated fractionally. She averted her gaze, mentally preparing herself and then, looked at him only to let out a shriek of terror.

"What are you doing?" She yelled, scrambling out of the bed.

"What am I doing? You look like you don't know," Rudra's voice turned deeper.

He gave her a lazy smile and undid the button.

"Look, this is not... " Gauri seemed to be out of words.

"What?" Rudra blinked innocently, unbuttoning yet another one.

"Oh my god!" Gauri shrieked and moved away from him.

Rudra suppressed his laughter and walked closer.

"What is this, Gauri?" He stepped forward, making her retreat a couple of steps.

"You really don't know?" His husky voice made her shiver.

She did not even realize and he had already had her backed against the wall. Rudra shrugged out of his shirt incredibly slow and threw it on his bed.

Gauri thanked the god above when she realized he had been wearing a black vest underneath it.

Rudra smirked and leaned towards her, caging her by placing his hands on the either side of her head.

"Oh no!" Gauri gulped and glued herself further to the wall.

His biceps were clearly on the view. The slight flexion of his muscles did not miss her eyes. His vest too wasn't of much help. It was glued to his body, highlighting the ridges of his muscular torso and chest.

"What are you staring at, you unholy girl?" She screamed at herself and shut her eyes.

Rudra let out a breathless chuckle, his hot breath fanning her neck.

"I am sweaty and all, and you expect me to wear that. Now tell me, what did you think?" Rudra backed a little and folded his arms.

Gauri opened her eyes, her gaze automatically falling upon his biceps. Blushing a brilliant shade of crimson, she stared at him.

"Umm..."

Rudra threw her an accusing glance.
"Don't tell me you had your mind diving in gutter."

"What? No," Gauri yelled incredulously.

Rudra grinned, "Liar, liar! That's a damn lie."

"I ah... have to change," Gauri squeaked, not finding any other counter-back.
"My dress is... "

"Sure, angel," Rudra blatantly gazed at her from head to toe. "We have a full night for us to figure out how we're gonna do what we're gonna do."

Gauri couldn't find a better time to die out of embarrassment. She dashed straight to the bathroom, returning three seconds later.

Rudra raised an eyebrow.

"Clothes," she squeaked.

Hurriedly taking her clothes out, she ran to the bathroom yet again. Rudra let out a hearty laughter, making her blush to the roots of her hair.

Rudra's eyes hardened the moment Gauri shut the door.

"F**king hell!" He cursed.

He walked up to the window.
Looking out, he saw his men dragging the two intruders into the car, one of whom was half unconscious. The Sumo was no where in the sight.

He managed to catch Bhairav's eyes.

Bhairav fisted his hand above his heart and bowed a little. Rudra gave him a curt nod in return. Drawing the curtains, he took out his phone.

"I apologize," the person on the other side of the phone, spoke before Rudra.

Rudra smiled.
"You wouldn't have guessed he would plan this."

"I should have been careful," the person yelled.

Rudra could already imagine him pacing back and forth, flipping tables off his way.

The man breathed heavily, "That son of a... "

"Human mother," Rudra completed.
"Don't drag the mother into this," he said, chuckling.

The man growled in frustration.

A violent anger took over Rudra's features.

"That a****le grew some b**ls to be playing his sh*t over this game," Rudra roared.
"F**king moron, he thinks he has a chance over this."

The man on the other side exhaled.
"What do you want me to do?"

Rudra let his lips stretch in a wicked smile.
"Gift, that jac***s."

The man sniggered in response.
"Gladly. Trust me, he would never forget it."