Vani's POV:

I was working on my assignment while Noor was in the kitchen, humming as she whipped up something for us to eat. Suddenly, my phone screen lit up. 

A small, involuntary smile played on my lips as I saw the name on the notification: Vivaan.

"Kya kar rahi ho, Vani?

I picked up the phone immediately.

 "Kuch nahi, bas assignments poore kar rahi thi,"  I typed back.

"Acha, karo karo," (Okay, go ahead) he replied. Then, a moment later, another message popped up.

 "Vaise, tumhe kya pasand hai? I mean, tumhari hobbies?" (By the way, what do you like? I mean, your hobbies?)

I felt a warmth spread through my chest. It felt so strange, yet so beautiful, to have someone genuinely interested in the little things about me.

"Mujhe drawing karna acha lagta hai," (I like drawing) I told him.

"Oh! Kabhi fursat mile toh meri tasveer bhi banana,"

 he replied.

I paused, my thumb hovering over the screen. Noor's words echoed in my head:

 You haven't even seen his face yet.

I thought for a moment before typing, 

"Uske liye mujhe aapko dekhna bhi toh hoga na... aur ab tak maine sirf aapki aankhen dekhi hain, chehra nahi."

There was a long pause. The three dots appeared and disappeared several times. Finally, his reply came:

"Sahi waqt aane pe aapko mera chehra bhi dikh jayega... lekin tab tak, meri aankhen hi yaad rakhiye." 

I stared at the screen, my cheeks heating up. His words had a mysterious edge to them, yet they were laced with such softness.

"Us din ka intezar rahega hume," (I will wait for that day) I replied.

I put the phone down and pressed it against my chest, lying back on the bed. My heart was thumping a rhythm I didn't recognize.

 What is this feeling? It feels like a story is beginning—one where the silence finally has a voice.

Veer's POV:

I stared at the last message on the screen until the light dimmed and the phone went black."Us din ka intezar rahega hume."

I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding, leaning my head back against the cold glass of the window.

My reflection looked back at me—a man the world called a "Rockstar," a man whose face was plastered on every second billboard in this city.

And yet, here I was, lying to a girl about being a manager named Vivaan, just so I could keep talking to her without the shadow of "Veer Singh Rathore" ruining it.

"Intezar..." I whispered to the empty room.

If only she knew. If she saw my face, she wouldn't see 'Vivaan.' She'd see the guy from the concert, the guy from the college stage, the guy whose life is a circus of paparazzi and scandals.

Would she still look at me with those calm, soft eyes then? Or would she become just another 

person who sees the star and misses the man?

The thought left a bitter taste in my mouth.

I picked up my guitar, my fingers mindlessly picking at the strings, creating a melody that felt as 

heavy as my heart. Every time I closed my eyes, I didn't see the thousands of fans screaming my 

name.

I saw her looking at the ocean like it held all her secrets.

Suddenly, the door to my balcony slid open. Rudra walked in carrying two cups of black coffee. 

He didn't say anything, just handed me one and slid down to sit on the floor beside me.

"Tu abhi tak soya nahi?" (You haven't slept yet?) Rudra asked, staring at the skyline.

"Rudra... am I doing the wrong thing?" I asked, my voice cracking slightly. 

"I'm faking an entire identity just to talk to her. Every 'Hi,' every 'How are you,' it's all built on a lie. Vivaan doesn't exist. He's a ghost."

Rudra took a slow sip of his coffee. 

"Bhai, look at it from your perspective. If you told her you're Veer Singh Rathore right now, would she talk to you like this? Would she tell you her hobbies or complain about her assignments? Or would she start behaving like a 'fan'?"

"I don't know," I said, frustrated.

 "But at least it would be the truth. Right now, I feel like I'm stealing these moments. I'm taking her trust and using it to hide behind a mask."

I looked at Rudra, my eyes searching for some sort of validation. 

"What if she hates me for this? What if the moment I show her my face, she sees a liar instead of a friend?"

Rudra sighed, his playful demeanor finally fading. 

"Dekh Veer, tune jhooth isliye bola kyunki tu darta hai. Tu darta hai ki log sirf 'Rockstar Veer' se pyaar karte hain, uske peeche ke insaan se nahi.

 Vani is the first person who doesn't know the Rockstar. You're just protecting that feeling."

"But for how long?" I challenged. 

"I can't be Vivaan forever. Eventually, she'll get to know. And then... what? 'Surprise, I'm actually the guy you saw on the big screen'?"

Rudra patted my back. "Theek hai, coaching point number two:

The Truth Debt. Every day you lie, you're adding interest to a debt you'll have to pay back later. But don't do it now. 

You're both still strangers, really. Give it time. Let her like the 'soul' of Vivaan first. If that bond is strong enough, the name 'Veer' won't matter."

I looked back at my phone. I felt like a criminal. I was Veer Singh Rathore, the man who had everything, 

yet I was jealous of a guy named Vivaan—because Vivaan had her honesty, and I only had her ignorance.

"I just don't know, Rudra,"

Author's POV:

Next Morning;

The rehearsal hall was cold, but Vani was sweating. She and Arnav had been practicing the same four-step sequence for an hour. 

Arnav was patient—incredibly so. Whenever she missed a step because she couldn't feel the vibration clearly, he would just stop, smile, and tap the floor again to show her the beat.

After the intense rehearsal, Vani and Arnav sat down on the polished wooden floor to catch their breath. 

Vani was wiping the sweat from her neck when Arnav gently tapped her shoulder. He held out his phone, a question already typed out.

"Aaj raat ko tum free ho?" 

Vani looked at the screen, then at him, slightly curious. She picked up her phone and typed back, "Haan, kyun?"

Arnav's eyes twinkled with a bit of shyness as he typed again: "Mera aaj birthday hai." 

Vani's eyes widened in surprise. A genuine, warm smile broke across her face as she looked at him, then quickly typed: 

"Happy Birthday, Arnav!" Arnav's smile widened.

He typed that he was planning a small celebration at a nearby cafe and would love for her and Noor to join. 

Vani nodded enthusiastically; after all the patience he had shown her during rehearsals, this was the least she could do.