Just then, there was a knock on her office door. "Come in," Meher called out. The door opened, and her PA entered, looking a bit tense.

"Ma'am, there's something you need to know," she said. Meher turned fully toward her, sensing that whatever it was couldn’t be good.

"Ma'am, Mr. Rathore made a deal with Mr. Haidri," her PA said cautiously.

Meher clenched her jaw, her frustration bubbling to the surface.

Without saying another word, she stood up from her seat, grabbed her things, and stormed out of the office.

Her PA looked on, stunned, but said nothing. Meher was fuming as she got into her car, slamming the door shut.

"Upon arriving, she stormed into the building, her heels clicking loudly against the marble floor. The employees looked up, shocked to see her there, but immediately bowed their heads as she marched past them. Without pausing, she went directly to Vikram's office. She didn’t bother knocking—she pushed the door open with a bang, fury radiating off her.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Mr. Rathore?” she yelled, her voice sharp, eyes burning with fury.

Vikram stood slowly from his chair, his eyes darkening as he took in her furious expression. His sleeves were rolled up, jaw clenched tightly as he walked towards her with slow, deliberate steps. The tension in the room thickened as he came to stand just inches away from her. His voice dropped dangerously low as he said,

“Don’t you ever—dare to come here like this again, Ms. Meher.”

Each word felt like a challenge, his gaze locking onto hers with an intensity that sent chills down her spine. But Meher wasn’t one to back down.

Her fists clenched at her sides as she spat back,

“Trust me, I’m the least interested in being here. But signing a deal with that bastard Mr. Haidri? Are you serious? You’re making the biggest mistake of your life, and you know it!”

Vikram’s eyes flashed with irritation, but Meher wasn’t finished. She leaned in slightly, her voice low but seething with anger. “You think you're protecting him? Go ahead, but don’t you dare forget—you’re messing with the wrong person, Mr. Rathore.”

Without waiting for a response, she turned and stormed out, slamming the door behind her with a force that echoed through the entire office.

[**So much anger these two have, huh?**]

After some time, Meher reached home. As she was about to step inside, the sharp screech of tires caught her attention. She turned around just in time to see Vikram stepping out of his car, his face set in its usual cold, unfeeling expression.

Their eyes met—hers filled with burning anger, his cold and unreadable. Neither said a word for a moment, the tension between them crackling like electricity.

Without exchanging a single word, they turned in opposite directions—Meher heading inside the house, while Vikram strode toward the garden area.

As Meher entered, she noticed Vikram's mother sitting on the couch. She walked toward her, her expression softening a bit.

"Maa-sa,where is aarvi,dadi and dadu-sa?" Meher asked, keeping her voice steady.

"They went to the mall for Aarvi's shopping," Vikram's mother replied with a straight face without even looking at her.

Meher hummed in response, nodding before making her way toward her room. After freshening up, she walked back downstairs, her mind still racing from the earlier confrontation with Vikram.

As she descended, she noticed Vikram's mother standing precariously on a stool, dusting the large photo frame of Shanaya that hung on the wall.

No servant was allowed to touch it, vikram afraid's that the frame might break. A lamp stood nearby, right in front of the picture.

Meher frowned, concern etched on her face.

"Maa-sa, please come down. Let me help you."

But before she could do anything, Vikram's mother tried to take the picture off the wall, and in an instant, the frame slipped from her hands.

It crashed to the ground, shattering into pieces, and the lamp toppled over, hitting the frame. Within seconds, the picture caught fire.

Without thinking, Meher rushed forward, dropping to her knees to extinguish the flames.

She patted the fire with her bare hands, ignoring the sharp pain as the heat began to burn her skin.

But just as she was about to stop the fire, someone grabbed her harshly and yanked her to her feet.

Before she could register what was happening, a stinging slap landed across her face.

Her vision blurred for a moment, and when she looked up, she saw Vikram standing there, his eyes filled with rage.

"How dare you!" he roared, his chest heaving with anger.

At that moment, Dadi-sa and Dadu-sa walked in, holding a sleeping Aarvi. They froze in shock, witnessing Vikram slapping Meher. Dadi-sa gasped, clutching her chest, while Dadu-sa’s face hardened.

Meher stood there, her cheek stinging from the slap and her hands aching from the burns, her head bowed in shock. But in the very next second, the sharp crack of another slap echoed through the mansion.

This time, it was Meher who struck Vikram. Her eyes were blazing with fury, and she shouted,

“How the hell do you dare to raise your hand on me?!”

Vikram was taken aback, his face burning not just from the slap but from the raw challenge in her eyes.

Meher stepped closer, her teeth clenched as she hissed,

“Mai Gandhi ji ki follower nahi hoon ki koi ek gaal pe mare toh dusra gaal aage kar doon. Main khoon ke badle khoon mein maanti hoon, toh thappad ke badle thappad hi dungi!""

["I’m not a follower of Gandhi, where if someone slaps one cheek, I offer the other. I believe in an eye for an eye, and if you slap me, I’ll slap you right back!"]

Her voice was filled with fire as she continued,

“Aur ye thappad yaad rahega, Mr. Vikram Rathore. Yeh ek warning hai, ki next time tumne haath uthane ki himmat bhi ki, toh us haath ko todne mein der nahi lagegi."

["And this slap will be a reminder, Mr. Vikram Rathore. It’s a warning—if you even dare to raise your hand again, it won’t take me long to break that hand."]

She took a step back, her breaths heavy, her anger like a roaring flame. The room was frozen in stunned silence as everyone processed what had just happened.

Maa-sa stood speechless, too shocked to say a word. Meanwhile, Dadi-sa and Dadu-sa were equally taken aback, but there was a flicker of pride in their eyes, a silent approval as they puffed out their chests slightly.

"She’s no less than a lioness,"said dadu-sa

Vikram stood still, his cheek stinging from Meher's slap, but it wasn’t just the physical blow that had him rattled—it was her defiance, her unwavering strength in that moment.

He clenched his fists, his cold mask cracking just a little as the tension between them grew unbearable.

Meher, without sparing another glance, stormed past everyone, heading upstairs. As she walked away, her back straight and her pace determined, the air remained thick with the unresolved tension that now seemed to hang over the Rathore mansion.

Dadi-sa finally broke the silence, her voice soft yet firm,

"Maybe this is what needed to happen." She looked at Vikram, whose face was now unreadable once again.

Dadi-sa walked in front of Vikram and said,

“Tumne aaj had paar kar di hai, Vikram.” [“You have crossed the line today, Vikram,”] she said, shaking her head in disappointment. Without another word, she left the room, cradling Aarvi in her arms, followed closely by Dadu-sa.

Maa-sa stepped in front of him, her expression heavy with disappointment.

“Woh frame mere haath se slip hua tha, Vikram. Woh sirf uski photo ko jalne se bachane ki koshish kar rahi thi, bina kuch soche-samjhe ki uske haath mein lag jayega. Tumhe kisi ladki par haath uthana nahi sikhaya maine!”

[“That frame slipped from my hand, Vikram. She was just trying to save her photo from burning, without thinking that it might hurt her. I never taught you to raise your hand against a girl!”]

she said, her disappointment clear in her voice. With that, she turned and left, leaving Vikram standing alone, grappling with the weight of their words.