Chapter 5 – An Unexpected Encounter
The night outside the Iron Lotus was cool, the city lights stretching into the distance, broken occasionally by patches of shadowy alleys. The hum of traffic passed faintly in the background, mixing with the last notes of music spilling from the pub's doorway. Arjun and his group walked down the pavement in a loose formation, the taste of unfinished conflict still hanging thick in the air.
Arjun's cigarette glowed faintly as he inhaled. The curve of his lips betrayed amusement more than aggression. "Some dogs bark loud inside. Outside though—sometimes they remember they've got teeth."
Raghav shot him a side glance. "Or maybe they've got reinforcements waiting for us."
Sameer laughed nervously. "Either way, I'd prefer if they stayed inside licking their wounds. One bottle-smash per night is more than enough for me."
But Arjun's eyes were already on the dark alley to their right. He had noticed movement—shadows shifting unnaturally, the faint scrape of shoes against pavement. The group they'd left behind wasn't done yet.
Sure enough, the wiry boy with the cut across his forehead emerged, wiping blood from his temple with the back of his hand. His friends fanned out beside him, anger hardening their faces. They were trying to cut Arjun and his brothers off, their confidence renewed in the open street.
The wiry boy sneered. "Thought you could walk out easy? You'll crawl tonight."
Arjun flicked his cigarette butt toward him, the ember bouncing at his feet. "You should've stayed inside. At least there you had music to drown out your whining."
The boys bristled at the insult, ready to charge—when suddenly, headlights swept across the road. A black SUV rolled up smoothly to the curb, its engine humming like a restrained predator.
The doors opened. Four men in sharp suits stepped out first, forming a protective wall. Then, a girl emerged.
Damini Thakur.
The moment she appeared, the tension cracked like glass. She carried herself with effortless authority—head held high, eyes sharp, every step measured. Even in casual clothes, she radiated a presence that demanded attention.
The local boys stiffened, their earlier rage faltering. Fear flickered in their eyes. One muttered under his breath, "Damini… Thakur…"
Damini's gaze swept across the street, instantly taking in the scene—the bottle shards glittering on the pavement, the bruised faces, the anger lingering in the air. When her eyes landed on Arjun, her expression shifted. Not surprise, not shock—something quieter. Recognition.
"Arjun Rathore," she said firmly, her voice cutting through the night. "Still the same, aren't you?"
Arjun's smirk widened. He didn't look away. "Depends who's asking. But if it's you… yeah, probably."
Her bodyguards subtly adjusted their stance, ready to intervene if things escalated. But the escalation never came. The wiry boy and his gang looked at one another, weighing their options. They were furious, yes, but not suicidal.
"Shit," one hissed. "Let's go."
Without another word, they backed off, slipping into the shadows of the alley they had just emerged from. Their bravado dissolved as quickly as it had appeared. Within moments, the street was clear.
Sameer exhaled loudly. "They… they just ran. Like scared puppies." He turned to Arjun. "Who is she?"
"Someone you don't cross," Vikram muttered, his tone serious. His eyes never left Damini.
Arjun finally dropped the broken bottleneck still clutched in his hand. It clattered harmlessly onto the pavement. He stepped closer, his demeanor casual as ever, though there was a flicker of something softer in his eyes.
"It's been a long time, Damini," he said.
Damini's lips curved into a faint smile, one that held neither amusement nor judgment—just familiarity. "Too long. And yet… nothing's changed. You always had a way of making chaos follow you."
"Chaos doesn't follow me," Arjun replied evenly. "I just don't run from it."
Behind him, Raghav raised a brow at the exchange. The rest of the boys were silent, caught between curiosity and confusion. None of them had ever seen Arjun talk to someone like this—not an enemy, not a brother, but someone who seemed to know him from another life.
Damini's sharp eyes lingered on him for a moment longer before softening slightly. "You haven't learned to hold back, have you?"
Arjun tilted his head, smirk still in place. "Why should I?"
She exhaled quietly through her nose, almost as if she'd expected that answer. Then she turned to her bodyguards, signaling with a subtle wave of her hand for them to ease their stance. The men stepped back, though their eyes never left Arjun's group.
"Come by sometime," Damini said, her voice carrying a note of quiet insistence. "We have things to talk about. Things you should know."
Arjun gave no promise, no nod, no word of agreement—just a lingering look that suggested he had heard her.
Damini studied him one last time, then returned to her SUV. The door closed, the engine roared softly, and the vehicle pulled away into the night, leaving only fading taillights in its wake.
The silence that followed was heavy.
Sameer broke it first, his voice incredulous. "Arjun, bro… who was that?"
Arjun slipped his hands into his pockets, his smirk returning as if nothing had happened. "Someone from the past." He started walking toward the hostel road without another word.
Raghav, walking beside him, studied his expression. For all his daring and carefree bravado, Arjun wasn't smiling in the same way he usually did. Something in his eyes had changed, even if only for a moment.
The night wasn't over. But one thing was clear: the appearance of Damini Thakur had shifted the ground beneath their feet.