I knew it, Yug thought. She is absolutely dangerous.
He had been close to death enough times to recognize its scent. Sometimes he could almost taste it in the air before things went wrong. He had even died a few times. And whenever he was around Kruti, that familiar feeling always lingered at the edge of his senses, keeping him on guard.
Now she had proven it again.
She could have stepped in and handled the situation without suffering so much as a scratch, yet helping him had never even crossed her mind.
The urge to point that out nearly slipped past his lips. He swallowed it down, frustration twisting in his chest as he stared at her emotionless face. Yug suppressed a sigh.
"I can handle it. You don't need to concern yourself."
His eyes shifted toward the sniper's position. In an instant, possibilities and angles ran through his mind. If he was going to deal with this, he would do it himself. The last thing he wanted was to look like he was cleaning up his own mess because she had ordered him to. He needed to take control of the situation before the story became hers to tell.
"Why do you think I should care about you?" Kruti replied, raising a single eyebrow.
A flicker of twisted satisfaction ignited in Yug's chest. This was it—the perfect opening. He had spent the entire night setting this up, and now he could finally expose her heartless attitude and initiate the breakup.
"I know you'll be fine," Kruti continued smoothly, cutting straight through his thoughts. "You'll come back without a scratch. Honestly, they're the ones I should pity."
She clicked her tongue and shook her head, a trace of graceful amusement touching her features.
Yug froze. The speech he had prepared vanished before it could even leave his mouth.
"Hey, what are you two whispering about?"
Nitya barged into their conversation, suddenly snapping him back to reality. Kruti's presence had completely thrown her off balance, making her forget why she had come tonight in the first place—and the promise she had made to Nitara.
Yug ignored her entirely.
Kruti let her gaze rest on him for a brief moment before finally turning toward Nitya.
"Oh, it's nothing," she replied smoothly. "Yug just needs to step away for a bit. He'll be back in a few minutes."
"Yeah," Yug added as he pushed his chair back. "But I'm not going alone. I'm taking Lavanya with me."
"What?"
"Huh?!"
Nitya and Lavanya blurted out at the exact same time.
Nitya stared at him in disbelief. Of all the people he could have chosen, he had picked Lavanya. She was completely stunned. She knew their history, and putting Yug and Lavanya in the same room together had always been a disaster.
Lavanya, on the other hand, desperately wanted to reject him on the spot. Yet the chilling weight of his earlier threat still lingered in her mind. She swallowed hard, realizing she had little choice but to play whatever twisted role he had prepared for her.
Across the table, Kruti watched the exchange unfold without the slightest trace of jealousy. Lavanya had never been a threat in her eyes. Yug was rarely interested in women like her; most of the time, he barely spared her a second glance. Kruti knew him too well. He was drawn to exceptional people—those with sharp minds and strong personalities who could stand on equal footing with him.
Even so, her eyes narrowed slightly. Lately, Yug had been changing.
His actions were becoming increasingly difficult to predict, drifting further and further from the person she thought she understood.
"Where are we going?" Lavanya asked, having already accepted her fate. Despite her attempt to sound calm, her voice caught slightly.
"Lavya, what are you saying?" Nitya asked, staring at her in concern. "Why are you forcing yourself?"
"Oh, just over there." Yug pointed casually toward the adjacent building, his expression completely relaxed.
Lavanya followed his gesture and glanced at the structure. Just the next building. A small sigh of relief escaped her. At least it wasn't far.
"Okay," she muttered. "Let's go."
Nitya froze. Her hands slowly clenched beneath the table as frustration and disbelief churned inside her. Neither of them had even looked at her. They had made their decision and moved on as if her opinion didn't matter.
For the first time this night, she felt completely left out. The realization stung far more than she expected.
Her grip loosened, and she lowered her head. Thinking back on everything that had happened, a wave of embarrassment washed over her. She had barged into conversations, interrupted them repeatedly, and kept pushing herself into matters that had nothing to do with her. Suddenly, she wasn't sure whether she was angry at them or ashamed of herself.
Twice in one day, he has ignored me, Nitya thought bitterly. And now even Lavanya is brushing me off. I've done so much for both of them. I helped them through their worst times, and yet they treat me like I'm nobody—
"Yes, you two should leave."
Kruti's calm voice cut through her thoughts. "I wanted to speak with Nitya anyway."
For a while now, Kruti had been quietly observing her, carefully piecing together her nature. She hadn't missed the look that flashed across Nitya's face. More specifically, she hadn't missed that brief, unguarded spark of betrayal before Nitya managed to compose herself.
"Drink some water before we leave," Yug said, glancing at Lavanya. "It'll help."
There was no hidden motive behind his words. He genuinely wanted her to drink it. In his past lives, during those agonizing moments when death crept ever closer, he had always craved water. Time and time again, he had died wishing for a single drop before darkness claimed him, only for his throat to remain painfully dry until the very end.
If they were about to walk into danger, he didn't want her carrying that same regret.
"Hm, alright." Lavanya flinched. With trembling fingers, she reached for the glass and drained it in a single gulp.
Across the table, Nitya and Kruti watched the exchange with thinly veiled disgust. To them, it looked like a pathetic, twisted game—one person giving a quiet command and the other obeying without hesitation, stripped of even the smallest shred of dignity.
Yug, however, only smiled.
Turning away, he left with Lavanya, completely indifferent to the stares burning into his back. A strange sense of satisfaction settled in his chest.
At last, he had found someone who listened. Someone who reacted to fear, danger, and instructions the way a normal person would. It made him genuinely happy.
She was normal. And in his entire, violently looping life, he had never once had a normal person at his side.
Only the two girls remained at the table.
Kruti calmly wiped her hands with a napkin, her movements slow and elegant, while Nitya took a measured sip of water to steady her nerves.
"What exactly is your relationship with Yug?" Nitya asked, her voice laced with suspicion. "I have a rough idea, but your actions—and his—don't match it. Are you using him?"
Her gaze sharpened as she stared at Kruti. The hostility in her eyes was impossible to miss.
"What do you mean?" Kruti replied smoothly. "Are you doubting my love?" She tilted her head slightly. "Or do you have some reason for wanting Yug and that girl separated?"
In a single sentence, she redirected the accusation back at Nitya.
The silence between them grew heavy. Kruti studied her quietly.
The concern. The suspicion. The determination hidden beneath both. Interesting. For all their differences, Nitya wasn't nearly as straightforward as she liked to appear.
"Why are you here anyway, Kruti?" Nitya finally broke the silence, her voice dropping to a sharp whisper. "And why are you publicly using your Authority?"
Her mind raced. The way Kruti had effortlessly blanketed the restaurant with that invisible string of her authority just to manipulate the crowd—it was arrogant, reckless, and deeply unsettling to witness.
"And what exactly do you gain," Nitya pressed, her eyes narrowing, "by showing Yug what you truly are?"
Kruti understood the concern immediately. It was the obvious question. More importantly, it confirmed something she had begun to suspect. Nitya was far more perceptive than she had initially appeared.
A faint smile touched Kruti's lips.
Through her Authority, she quietly examined the girl once more, reassessing her place in her mind. Yet even now, certain thoughts and motives remained frustratingly difficult to read.
"And yet," Kruti said at last, her voice calm and steady, "you didn't try to stop me."
Her gaze met Nitya's. "You just sat there and watched."
Kruti turned her gaze toward the adjacent building. She knew that was where Yug had gone to clean up his mess. For a brief moment, an unfamiliar trace of sadness brushed against her thoughts.
"Hello. Sorry to interrupt."
The sudden voice shattered the tension between them. Before either girl could react, a young woman pulled out Yug's empty chair and sat down as if she belonged there.
"Do you mind if I join you?" she asked. She didn't wait for an answer.
A confident smile spread across her face as she settled comfortably into her seat. "By the way, my name is Sneha."
Her eyes moved between the two girls.
"I couldn't help overhearing your conversation, so I thought I'd introduce myself."