Not many found the idea of looking down from a certain height endearing, whether it be in the literal sense or the metamorphical essence to the core.

While some were afraid to do so, other's did not have the time or interest concerning the aspect.

He did, though.

Success, height, topmost positions; they did not vacillate him from looking down upon the unwanted significances. He found it necessary and appeasing for his sanity. The ruined mantles of riches and crushed bones of undead past, time and again used as stepping-stones to reach where he stood today, needed to be viewed upon.

They deserved it. They did earn that much of a right from him.

And, as a demand of the stint, that was what Rudra found himself diving through. Literally and figuratively.

His coat long abandoned upon the armrest of the head chair, sleeves of his white shirt rolled up to his elbows, the top three buttons undone — giving a stolen glance of his muscular chest; he stood straight, tall and as an escalating definition of formidability. The wall of glasses commanded a spectacular bird's eye view of the fast-pace city.

Face simmering with smugness of a smile sheltered by the royally styled moustache, a tell-tale of a plucked private-joke, at least that was the term he would prefer to use.

"I don't agree with you, though."
He had seen a delectable smile spread on her face.

"What?" He had enquired, feasting on her delicate features.

"There are coincidences. We met by coincidence. We befriended each other by coincidence."

The smooth giggles that had trailed her words, for a second, did seem too good to be true. Almost flawless!

A smile had loomed over his lips. He did remember laughing out loud, throwing his head backwards at her innocent sense of humour.

"Got me there."

And she did. Unknowingly, she had struck the sharp strings.

Coincidences, he had scoffed pleasantly. His arms had shackled her within a - literally - callous embrace.

If only she knew. If only!

.
.
.

The day of arrival
Jaipur International Airport

"In Jaipur," Rudra answered the call, purposefully lagging behind whereas Siddharth walked ahead.

"So, the crown prince has finally decided to grace us with his Royal presence. Welcome back! How unfortunate of me to not be able to receive you." The bitterness at the end took a moment to halt Rudra.

He drew a circle on his temple but did not let his face contort in a grimace and replied, "It's all for the better."

"I know and I am glad," came the instant reply.
"Speaking of which, I've had my sources fish out an exclusive news just for us."

Rudra smirked, walking up to a little isolation. Siddharth glanced back at him, to which he received a dramatized-apologetic look.

"What is it?" Rudra inquired whilst leaning against a glass wall.

"Jaswant Singh Shekhawat has an eye out for a girl almost half of his age."

"I am being honest here, pal," Rudra said without as of much interest, "do I look like I give a damn about it? That girl is the least of my concerns. Hell! Get rid of her if she comes in the way."

"Certainly not. However---"

And that was a pause, Rudra did expect at the farthest corner of his head. He knew, this topic would not have been raised if it did not weigh something.

"---the girl may or may not be related to a certain government official who we know well enough. Apparently, that is what we believe."

Steadily, Rudra's lips stretched in a chilling smile, cold enough to freeze the blood in veins. He let his fingers hover his lips, shadowing the onslaught of devilish exhilaration.

"Rajveer Singh," he whispered.

"Yes."
Rudra heard his laughter, the same kind of laughter that was bubbling through his chest.

"His niece, Gauri Singh."

"Gauri," the name slipped out of Rudra's mouth smoothly.
"Details," he said, before disconnecting.

He walked towards Siddharth who had been grumbling under his breath.

"Need help, Sid?"

He kept their bags on a trolley. Turning around, the saw a group of girls checking them out. He let out a low whistle. Smiling, he winked at them. They squealed in return. And Siddharth could only roll his eyes.

"The number of time I roll my eyes, I'm afraid they'll roll back in the head permanently," Siddharth mused in self-pity.

"Where to, sir?" He faced Rudra.

"ITC Rajputana," Rudra answered, smiling cheekily.

"Wait, what? But why?"

"I like it there," Rudra stated.

"Don't give me that answer," Siddharth hissed.
"Why aren't we going where we are supposed to?"

"Siddharth," Rudra addressed seriously.
"Did I ever tell you how lucky I am to have a friend like you? Such an understanding and compatible friend."

Siddharth rolled his eyes. "A lot of time, actually."

"Let me repea---"

"I get it," Siddharth exasperated, raising his hands in surrender.
"To the hotel, I get it."

"Fun time," Rudra spoke in a spooky voice.

Rudra and Siddharth ushered themselves out, with Rudra carefully scanning his surrounding albeit enjoying the amusement of the lack of guards thereof.

Siddharth received the key of his jeeps. Thanking the caretaker and loading their bags, he looked around at Rudra who was tying his shoelace.

"Everything's done. Hurry up," he hollered, walking ahead.

Rudra was done tying when his phone buzzed. He took it out and glanced at it. He really had to appreciate his confidant about his punctuality. But then, that was what he expected. Nothing less.

A photograph of a beautiful young lady revealed in front of his eyes, taking its own sweet time. He had to admit it, he did not expect such a beauty, especially that aura of innocence.

"Pervy bastard!" He cursed in his mind, grinning.

Gold flickered in brown eyes like molten lava did in the deepest pits of hell. Alluring and smoldering, and far out of the reach.

A triumphant smile captured his lips. Jaipur had become a lot more enjoyable than it already was.

.
.
.

"Missing me?" Rudra teased.

Like his previous two questions, this one too went unanswered. He could nearly hear Gauri's heart-racing all the way through the phone.

Exhaling deeply, he focused his gaze out of the window of his car.

He could visualize her. Sitting quietly, clutching onto her phone as if it were a lifeline, softly torturing her lips beneath her teeth, eyes flicking across room in trepidation; what a beautiful vision did she create. So appetizing yet leaving an unsatiated hunger behind.

It had been sometime since he had had a full-blown feast. And just the mere thought of looking forward to some fight and blood, set his blood on fire.

"Oh! The desire to hunt." His eyes glinted with venom.

"Am I getting a silent treatment? Strange, I do not remember offending you," he said, rolling his neck to relax the muscles.
"...angel."

He heard her suck in a deep breath.
She might have been fidgeting like an innocent doe. Her mind would have been in a dilemma, in a war; a lot of wars concerning some of her near and dear ones. He just knew.

He leaned back, smiling and closing his eyes. Why was Mr. Murthy so interested in hearing their conservation? Did he not know that his boss despised eavesdropping? That his boss could not afford to giveaway secrets, he had a lot of them, he might add. Some of the dirtiest and dangerous ones.

"Could you... "

Rudra's grin widened. Did the angel decided to bless him with her honeyed voice? It seemed. How flattering! He might even dance with joy, he thought sardonically.

Or not.

"Can we--- can we meet up?" She asked.

He dropped his phone on his lap and spread his arms, resting them upon the headrest. Relaxing for half a minute, he pulled the phone back to his ear.

"Can't," he spoke, tracing a circle on his forehead.

"I'm on my way to an important site," he added.

Satnarayan Murthy never swivelled his head so fast as he did at that moment. It was his luck, he did not sprain his neck.
Was his boss under any misconception that they had more sites to visit? He pondered over the idea whether to inform him or not. He decided against it as he looked at Rudra's laid back posture.

"Not even when my working-hours end? We could even meet up in the evening."

Did he hear a hint of pleading in her voice? Did he?

"Hate to say it but I won't be free till night, and... " he let that sentence linger between them.

"No. It's okay. You will probably be exhausted, had this been a strenuous day."

The care. She always cared for him. A smirk played on his lips.

"It had been, to be honest," he conceded, peering at the ceiling of the car.
"More to go."

"I-I... Take care."

Not what his ears had been tempted to listen. He knew that much. Her affection was pouring out of her words. Moreover, he knew her enough to know what had been at the tip of her tongue.

He cocked his head sideways. Suddenly reminded of it, it had been a-while since she said those three words out loud, actually.

She needed to now, because he wanted to hear her utter those three words.

"Wanna say a truth?" He asked in amusement.

"I... love you."

"That was fast," he stated, pleasantly surprised.

"As you said, it is the truth. And there's no turning back for me, not from where I am standing. The least I can do is accept this. However vulnerable it makes me, isn't this the truth between us?"

"Indeed," he said curtly.
"Among thousand deceitful statements—wearing a mask of deception, this is one truth I can trust."

"Because that is the way I wanted it to be."
Some words commanded the necessity to remain unspoken.

"There is something... unspoken between us."

He heard her mutter softly. He ran a hand through his hair.
"There is."

"Then let it be the way it is, Rudra. Unspoken. I don't think I can handle to have a confrontation with other hidden truths, other than the fact that I love you unconditionally. And it won't change no matter what. If, in fact, my declaration makes me appear as a delusional fool, then I love to be in this delusion."

"No," Rudra exhaled.
"It is good to live in delusions, sometimes. Reality may be too harsh to leave a charred soul. After all, we are humans," he chuckled dryly.
"It's programmed inside our brain, as an instinct of survival. Better to stay delusioned than scarred by the truth. Be under its shade of contentment. For how long?"

"... as long as you can grab it."

Did a lone tear spill over the brink of her eye? Somehow, he was able to see that. Maybe, she lifted a hand to wipe it off before it further trailed down. However, the bitter remnants of something disguised as an illusion were still scattered upon her skin.

"I'm afraid... " A thick silence followed her words.

"I'm afraid, I am not the one controlling things in my life anymore. I am even more terrified of the actuality, that maybe I know the one who's been pulling up the strings. I don't even know what I am thinking at this point. I am here with just a judgment that it's all a mess, a big, big mess. And I don't know how to find my way out of it."

Both fell into silence. The irony was; there was nothing comforting about this silence. It was prickling and even slow kind of burning, like a flame was kindling right beneath the skin.

Rudra did not know how to provide remedy to her metamorphical scratches. Or maybe, he did not want to.

"I am sorry. I don't even remember half of the things I blabbered off. You are busy and---"

"It's alright," he intervened.
"I assume, you had a tough day. Is it days?"

"Two days. Anyway, thanks and I understand. Perhaps, we could meet up some other day."

"Yeah," Rudra's brows drew together thoughtfully.
"We could."

"I'll... I'll let you be, then. Bye."

"See you soon," Rudra said.

Chucking his phone at the next corner of his seat, he rested his elbow upon the armrest - protruding out of the seat.

"Sir," Mr. Murthy prompted.
"This was supposed to be our last visit for the day."

"We know, Mr. Murthy. She doesn't," he said, grinning.
"That is the way it should be. At least, until I decide otherwise."

He looked out of the window. Staring as the car raced forward, leaving something or the other behind. A reminder that moving on always meant leaving something behind. However important.

But somethings came attached to the soul. No matter how hard one tried, they couldn't cut it out. They just needed to learn to grow with it.

Rudra Pratap Rathore was no angel; he was a devil. The sooner she came terms with this truth, the more good it would do to her.