Vani reached out, her eyes wide with terror as she lunged to catch her friend.

But Rudra was faster. He stepped in, catching Noor in his arms before she hit the marble floor.

He looked down at the girl who had been threatening him with a power bank five minutes ago, now looking peaceful and pale in his arms.

"Abe... yeh toh dher ho gayi," Rudra muttered, looking at Veer.

Veer stood there, completely helpless. He wanted to talk to Vani, to beg for her forgiveness, to explain that he loved her—

but how could he? Vani was frantically patting Noor's cheeks, looking between her unconscious friend, the panicked Rudra, and the superstar she now felt she didn't know at all.

The lobby was silent, save for the sound of Vani's frantic tapping. Veer took a step toward her, but Vani looked up at him, her eyes cold and distant,

before turning her full attention back to Noor.

The Rockstar of the nation stood in the hotel, surrounded by his best friend and the girl of his dreams, and he had never felt more like a stranger.

The lobby of the hotel felt suffocatingly quiet. Rudra gently laid Noor across the plush velvet sofa, while Vani immediately sat on the edge,

her hands trembling as she rubbed Noor's palms, trying to bring her back to consciousness.

Vani's world was spinning. The person who had become her safe haven, the one who listened to her thoughts when the rest of the world felt loud, was a phantom.

A celebrity. A man who lived behind a curtain of lights and cameras. To her, "Vivaan" was a friend; to the world, "Veer" was an icon.

The bridge between those two identities felt like a lie that had swallowed her whole.

She felt a soft tap on her shoulder.

She didn't look up. She couldn't. She knew it was him.

She could feel the heat radiating from his presence and the heavy, anxious energy he carried.

Veer knelt on the floor beside the sofa, putting himself at her eye level, though she kept her gaze fixed on Noor's pale face.

He pulled out his phone, his fingers moving slowly, cautiously. He didn't want to scare her away again.

He held the screen out in her line of sight.

"Vani... please meri taraf dekho."

Vani's lip quivered. She slowly turned her head. Seeing him like this not on a stage, but kneeling on a carpeted floor in a silent lobby, looking like he was about to break—hurt more than the lie itself.

She opened her phone, her movements robotic.

"Sab kuch jhooth tha? Marine Drive se lekar ab tak?"

Veer's eyes filled with a desperate light. He typed frantically

"Nahi! Kuch bhi jhooth nahi tha. Sirf naam jhooth tha, Vani. Jo baatein maine tumse ki, jo feelings hain... woh sirf Vivaan ki nahi, Veer ki hain. Main darta tha ki agar tumhe sach pata chala toh tum mujhse dosti nahi karogi. Tum darr jaogi."

Vani looked at the text and then at him. She signed with a slow, heavy hand:

"Main ab bhi darr rahi hoon."

Before Veer could respond, Noor let out a low groan. Her eyelashes fluttered, and she began to mumble. "bhen-ka-pakoda..."

Rudra, who was standing at the head of the sofa, let out a snort.

"Dekho, hosh aa raha hai isse. Aur hosh mein aate hi gaali de rahi hai. Yeh ladki bohot khatarnak hai."

Vani felt noor's finger mioving she immediately turned her, pulling away from Veer's space.

The distance she put between them felt like a physical wall.

Noor opened her eyes, squinting at the bright chandelier.

She saw Vani, then her eyes drifted to Rudra, and finally, they landed on the hooded figure kneeling on the floor.

"V-Vani..." Noor whispered, her voice cracking. 

"Maine abhi ek sapna dekha... ki Vivaan actually Veer Singh Rathore hai aur maine usse... bhen-ka-pakoda bola."

Rudra leaned over, a teasing smirk on his face. 

"Sapna nahi tha, Miss Coffee. Reality hai. Aur sach bataun toh, Veer ko itni pyaari gaali aaj tak kisi ne nahi di."

Noor's eyes went wide. She looked at Veer, then at Rudra, then back at Veer.

She sat up with a jolt, nearly hitting Vani's head. "Oye bete! Sach mein?!"

She looked at Veer, who gave a small, awkward nod.

 Noor looked like she was about to faint again, but then she looked at Vani's tear-streaked face. Her protective best-friend mode fought with her fangirl mode, and the best friend won.

She turned to Veer, her voice shaky but stern.

 "Aap... aap superstar honge apni jagah. Par aapne meri Vani ko rualya kyun? Superstar hone ka matlab yeh nahi ki aap kisi ka dil tod dein!"

Veer looked down, humbled by the scolding of a girl half his size.

Rudra cleared his throat, sensing the situation was getting too heavy. 

"Dekho,bahut raat ho chuki hai aap dono ka itni raat maine jana safe nhi rahega. Ek kaam kijiye... upar ek suite  hai. aap dono wahan ruk jao aaj ke liye,"

Vani looked at the elevator, then at Veer. She didn't sign anything. she just grabbed Noor's hand and stood up, walking toward the exit instead of the suite. 

She needed to breathe. She needed to process that her "Vivaan" was a myth.

Rudra took a step forward, his hand instinctively reaching out to stop them. 

"Oye, ruko! Itni raat ko akele—"

But before he could finish, Veer's hand clamped firmly onto Rudra's shoulder.

 Veer didn't move, didn't shout. He just stood there, his eyes fixed on Vani's retreating back, his expression one of profound, quiet ache.

"Jaane de, Rudra," Veer whispered, his voice sounding hollow.

"Bhai, pagal hai kya?" Rudra turned to him, frustrated. 

"Bahar baarish ho rahi hai, aur raat bhi ho chuki hai ... tu aise kaise jaane de sakta hai?"

Veer slowly let go of Rudra's shoulder, his hand dropping to his side. 

"Usko thoda time chahiye, Rudra. Sab kuch bohot jaldi ho gaya. Sochne do usse... use samajhne do ki jo usne dekha woh sach hai ya jhooth."

He watched as the heavy glass doors of the lobby swung shut behind Vani and Noor. 

The silence that followed was louder than any concert he had ever performed.

"Maine uska bharosa toda hai," Veer added, his voice barely audible. 

"Use dukh is baat ka nahi hai ki main ek star hoon... dukh is baat ka hai ki uska dost ek Jhoota hai ."

Rudra sighed, his anger fading into pity. He looked at his best friend—the man who had everything, yet looked like he had just lost the world. "Theek hai."

Veer walked over to the sofa where Noor had just been lying and sat down, burying his face in his hands.

Inside the Cab

The city lights blurred past the window in streaks of neon and rain.

 Vani sat staring out at the Mumbai traffic, her hand tightly interlaced with Noor's.

Noor was uncharacteristically quiet. She kept looking at Vani, then at her own hands, then back at Vani. 

The shock of seeing Veer Singh Rathore was still humming in her veins, but the sight of Vani's broken expression acted like a bucket of cold water.

Noor gently squeezed Vani's hand. "Vani... tu theek hai?" she signed tentatively.

Vani looked at her, her eyes reflecting the passing streetlamps. She didn't sign back immediately. 

She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. She opened the chat with "Vivaan."

She scrolled up. "Mujhe drawing karna acha lagta hai." "Oh! Kabhi fursat mile toh meri tasveer bhi banana."

She closed her eyes, a single tear finally escaping and rolling down her cheek. She didn't care about the Rockstar. She didn't care about the fame.

She just wanted her friend back—the one who didn't have a face, but had a soul she thought she knew.

She typed a message, but didn't hit send. She just watched the cursor blink.

"Kaash aap sirf Vivaan hote."

Later That Night;

Veer was back in his penthouse studio, but the instruments were silent. He was staring at the screenshot he had taken of Vani's story—the one where she was holding the lilies, smiling that radiant, honest smile.

He realized now that he hadn't just been hiding from the world; he had been hiding from the possibility that someone could love him without the music, without the money, and without the mask.

He picked up his phone and sent one last text, knowing she might never reply.

Vivaan: "Main wahi hoon jo tumse roz baat karta tha. Bas ab mere paas ek chehra hai... aur woh chehra tumhare maafi ka intezar karega. Humesha."