Avanthika, who was walking while casually observing the surroundings, did not fail to notice Raghav. He was speaking to someone through his Bluetooth, and because most of the conversation was in Punjabi, she couldn’t understand anything. But words like “Varun bhaiya” and “Bhabhiji” kept appearing, making her guess he was discussing some marriage matter.

Suddenly he turned towards her and, through gestures, asked, “How much farther?”
She replied in gestures as well, “Half a kilometer.”

After nearly half an hour of driving, the car stopped in front of the glass-fronted building that read “Govind Flower Dealers.”

As Avanthika stepped out and tapped the window, Raghav rolled it down and asked, “What?” She began telling him something — a moment that didn’t go unnoticed by Veer, who had been watching them from far away. He immediately updated Vivek, who instructed him not to lose sight of them and, if possible, take photos of them together.

Getting out of the car, Raghav told Avanthika,
“Listen, Jhansi Rani! I need perfection. No matter how long it takes, we’re not leaving Jaipur without buying the exact flowers I want. Mind it!”

The “no matter how long it takes” part made Avanthika’s ears burn in irritation. Just a while earlier, her aunt Kausalya had called to say that she and her uncle Raghuvaran were arriving in Sandhanpur today. If they found out she was here with him, she’d need two armies to manage the situation. She needed to finish quickly — and he was saying anything could take any amount of time!

“I’ve already spoken to the warehouse owner. He said the flowers you asked for are available. He even sent me pictures, so don’t worry,” she said, preparing to cross the road — unaware of the truck speeding toward her.

Raghav saw it first.

“Hey!” he shouted, sprinting toward her. He grabbed her around the waist and lifted her out of the truck’s path, landing with her safely at the roadside. Avanthika, who had shut her eyes tightly, opened them the next second only to find herself in his arms.

It took her a moment to understand what had happened. Raghav’s worried “Are you okay?” brought her back to the present. She realized she had been clinging to him in fear, his arms wrapped firmly around her waist.

Veer, watching the entire scene from a distance, felt this was the perfect opportunity for his work. Without hesitation, he captured photos of their closeness and immediately sent them to Vivek. He continued following them quietly.

Unaware of any of this, the two stood staring at each other until Raghav’s phone rang. Quickly, he pulled his hand away from her waist, turned his back, rubbed the back of his neck, and tried to compose himself.

Inwardly he muttered, “What eyes, yaar… Jhansi Rani doesn’t just have a sharp tongue, her eyes are even sharper.”

Avanthika, embarrassed, answered her call hurriedly.
“Hello, Nani… no, it’s not that… yes, Nani.”

Ending the call, she told Raghav,
“Nani called. A pandit has given an auspicious date for the Sangeet. It’s two days later. Varun’s mother agreed. So… you can calmly select the flowers.”

She crossed the road carefully.
“Hey! Wait,” Raghav said, catching up and holding her wrist as they crossed together.

“Namaskar, Baisa!” she greeted upon entering. Rows of flowers were neatly displayed. She gestured for Raghav to choose the flowers he liked. He rejected almost everything with some complaint or the other.

Her irritation was written all over her face.
Raghav, amused, thought, “Getting angry, Jhansi Rani? You should’ve considered all this before dragging me along. Too late to be irritated now!”

Every flower she pointed at, he dismissed without hesitation. Finally, losing patience, Avanthika said,
“We can select the flowers later. First tell me — what name should I keep for my son?”

Raghav stared at her, wondering if she had lost her mind.

“Don’t look at me like that, Mr. Raghav. At the rate you’re selecting, Usha will be married, I will be married, and I’ll even have a son before you finish!”

Her frustration made him burst into laughter.

She snapped, “Okay, okay! It’s not that funny… stop it, man!”
But his laughter only increased.

Muttering loudly in Tamil, she looked up and prayed,
“Oh God! Are you not even a little bit compassionate? This Snow Prince is irritating me without selecting the flowers! My aunt and uncle will reach any moment. If I’m not there, my aunt will turn me into biryani. Please fix this man!”

Hearing her Tamil, Raghav asked, “You… speak Tamil?”

She looked at him strangely.
“When I get angry, I speak my mother tongue. Why? Did you understand anything?”

“No… but aren’t you Kannadiga?” he asked.

Relieved he hadn’t understood, she said proudly,
“No. I’m Tamilian.”

“Really? But you spoke Kannada earlier.”

“What, Tamil people can’t speak Kannada? Listen, my mom is Malayali, my dad is Tamil. I lived with my aunt and uncle, so I know Kannada. And I lived with Usha, so I know Hindi and Rajasthani too. Any more questions?”

He shook his head quickly.

By the time Raghav finally finished selecting the flowers, it was past 4 p.m. In the time he took, Avanthika had gone to the nearby dhaba twice to eat and returned — that’s how long he dragged it out.

After giving the address and details to the manager, they left.

Avanthika got into the car with the confident hope that they could reach before her aunt arrived.

But fate had other plans.

Rain began pouring suddenly. At first Raghav ignored it, but as the downpour grew heavier, visibility vanished and he could no longer drive.

Without warning, the car’s wheel got stuck in mud. Getting out, drenched, he discovered the tyre deeply sunk in slush. He looked at Avanthika in suppressed anger.

She lowered her head.
She was the one who insisted on taking the shortcut instead of the highway. They were now stuck in a remote village called Veerpur.

Veer, still following them, reached in time to witness their helplessness.

“Holy shit,” Raghav muttered, kicking the tyre. There was no way he could get the car out.

Biting her nails and watching the rain, Avanthika asked nervously,
“Why are you yelling at me now? I only wanted to go quickly, so I told you to take this way. How would I know it would rain? If I had known, I’d have predicted the future myself! Can’t we reach Sandhanpur now?”

“What! Look at the car’s condition and you’re asking this? I’m not Hanuman to lift you and fly to Sandhanpur! You know what? You must have been born carrying bad luck with you. Even in the desert, it rains when you’re around — that’s how powerful your bad luck is!”

“No, no! I wasn’t born with bad luck. Actually, today afternoon while coming to Jaipur, I brought my bad luck with me. A proper black cat,” she shot back.

“This is not the time to fight. We need to find a shelter for the night,” he said.

She, too, realized that was the only reasonable solution.

Looking around, she spotted a large house near where their car was stuck and dragged Raghav towards it. After locking the car, he followed her. She knocked, and an elderly woman opened the door. Raghav suddenly grew nervous — being seen with a girl by a village woman made him feel awkward.

His businessman brain came up with a plan — she must not speak. If she spoke, they’d never get shelter. He had to act first.

As the elderly woman approached, he quickly slipped an arm around Avanthika’s shoulders and held her close. If she had noticed his audacity, she would have burned him alive on the spot.

“My car broke down,” he said. “Can we stay here for the night?”
Just as he expected, the woman looked questioningly at Avanthika.

Before she could say anything, Raghav jumped in,
“This is my wife, Avanthika. Wife, say namaste.”

Grinding her teeth, she forced out,
“Namaste, Dadi.”

The woman smiled warmly, praised their pair, and invited them inside.

She introduced them to her family and instructed her daughter-in-law to give them some fresh clothes. Soon, the woman returned with her son’s and daughter’s clothes and left them at the guest-room door.

The moment she left, Avanthika stormed at Raghav with a pillow.

“Hey! Are you crazy? Don’t hit me! Spare me! Please!” he pleaded, snatching the pillow from her. But she immediately began hitting him with her hands.

“How dare you say that! You idiot! Snow Prince!”

Raghav caught both her wrists and twisted them gently behind her back.
“It seems the word ‘listen’ doesn’t exist in your dictionary. Listen carefully now.”

“I won’t listen! What will you do?” she snapped.

“Oh really? If you want to stand like this all night, I have no problem. If you want to see me up close, I won’t say no,” he whispered in a husky tone.

Only then did she notice how close they were — her face barely an inch from his chest (she was quite shorter), close enough to hear his heartbeat.

Raghav had never been this close to any woman. Her rain-soaked face glowed without makeup, and her naturally rosy lips drew him in. His face moved toward hers instinctively.

But his mind screamed,
“Raghav! What the hell are you doing? This Jhansi Rani will kill you! Why are you thinking like this now?”

He let go of her suddenly and turned away.
He explained himself before she could accuse him again, and she calmed down a bit.

“No matter what explanation you give, how can you call me your wife without my consent, Mr. Kapoor?” she demanded.

Hands raised in surrender, he said,
“I’m sorry! Sorry! My mother! I had no other choice.”

“Okay! Just go outside. I need to change.”

“Fine,” he said, stepping out.

She changed and then sent him inside to change. She went downstairs to help Daadi’s daughter-in-law, Urmila, prepare dinner.

After dinner, Daadi asked them to rest.
Avanthika, exhausted, lay on the bed and fell asleep instantly. Raghav entered later and stood silently, watching her sleep like a child. After a few moments, he placed a blanket over her and lay down on the big sofa, drifting into sleep.

Neither of them knew that dawn would bring disaster into their lives.