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Maya ate at a local restaurant and walked through the busy lane, enjoying the city life. Everyone was so busy around there. She shopped some souvenirs for Pammi aunty and for her personal collection at home. When she fished for her wallet in the purse, she found something glittering inside. She immediately took it out. It was a bracelet with the initials ‘RM’ written in the same font as the logo of the Malhotra group. Whose bracelet was this? Was it HIS? But what would his bracelet be doing in her purse? She recollected the last time she had packed it hurriedly was on the plane when the landing announcement was made. She had just picked up everything beside her, on the tray table and the seat pocket without even looking at it once to confirm if it really belonged to her or not. But this couldn't be possible. What could Ranveer Malhotra's bracelet be doing on her flight to Hong Kong? That too, next to her seat? It was impossible.
The shopkeeper reminded her of the money, and Maya ignored her chain of thoughts for a moment, paid him, and strode out of the store. She needed to think clearly, and right now, she needed to get back to the hotel first. She looked around and found no taxis available to ride out from there. She looked at the map again and calculated the distance to the hotel. It was hardly two kilometers away, and then she considered walking back instead of waiting for a taxi. She checked the shortest route and started walking on it.
Abruptly, the path veered into a narrow alley that appeared deserted to her. She paused briefly, uncertain about continuing down that route, but ultimately chose to press on, braving the risk. Hastening her pace, she strode forward, a sense of unease creeping over her as a shadow trailed behind. Determined, she quickened her steps. Suddenly, her path was obstructed by the very man who had been tailing her. Clad in a black hoodie with his face concealed by a cloth, he brandished a knife after withdrawing it from his pocket, causing her to recoil in fear.
“Money. Give me all your money,” he demanded.
When she didn't fulfill his demands, he closed the distance between them and aimed the knife at her neck. Maya squealed in fear. She shouldn't have been walking alone at such an odd time in such a lonely street. It was her mistake that she decided to walk to the hotel rather than taking a cab. She had a map of this city with her, but she had no clue that the lane she was taking would be so dangerous.
“Give me your wallet,” the man in the mask demanded again.
“Just let me go. Please,” she pleaded.
“You seem interested in dying,” he yelled and was about to pierce the knife into her neck when he was suddenly hit on his head. The masked man fell to the ground, unconscious, and Maya finally took a sigh of relief for getting timely help. But the moment she saw her savior, her head started spinning again. Ranveer Malhotra? What was he doing here in Hong Kong?
“Call the Police,” he commanded, turning around towards his local chauffeur.
Maya took a minute to absorb his presence here.
“Are you hurt?” he asked, his gaze back on hers. She was so shocked by this incident, firstly because a man was almost going to kill her today for money, and secondly, seeing Ranveer Malhotra saving her from that killer. “Are you hurt, Maya?” he repeated the question again, but this time in a harsh tone.
“What are you doing here in Hong Kong?” she asked in return to his query. Her mouth went dry thinking about the possibilities that he had been following her to fulfill some unknown motives.
“I run a business, Miss Bajaj, much more prestigious than the job you are here for.”
“Why can’t you give a simple answer to a straightforward question?” she snapped.
“How can anything related to a twisted woman like you ever be straightforward?” he said almost immediately.
Maya clenched her jaw.
“This is not a safe place to roam around. Let me drop you to the hotel.”
“No thanks,” she shrugged. “I can find my way back.”
“So much ego doesn’t suit an opportunist like you,” he taunted.
Maya got agitated.
“I am sure you have better things to do than drop an opportunist woman like me back to a safer place. So please mind your own business and let me mind my own.”
The moment she tried to walk past him, he pulled her hand so hard that she almost collided with his chest with force. He held her nape with his other hand.
“So finally, you agreed to what you really are. An opportunist.”
“I just don’t want to prove anything to a demeaning man like you,” she struggled to free herself.
Ranveer kept holding her tight until they heard the sounds of a police vehicle. He slowly let her get off his hold. The chauffeur gave the details to the police about what incident happened here. Maya explained her part, and though she had no praises for the man who saved her, she still narrated how he hit the goon to save her life. The medic team took the man who had fallen unconscious on the ground. The police checked their passports and returned them.
“You may go now. If we have any further questions, we will contact you,” one of the officials said.
“Thank you,” Ranveer shook hands with the police, and when he turned around, he found Maya waving for a cab and getting inside it. She found her ride. He clenched his fists and then got inside his car, heading back to the hotel.
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Maya finally reached her hotel room, feeling a sense of disbelief at what had unfolded. This was not at all what she had anticipated encountering here. After traveling thousands of miles to escape from that man, she found him here as well. Why did fate seem to be so cruel, subjecting her to this ordeal once again? Was it truly impossible to evade the man she despised? Could it be that he was on her flight too? Had he been the one to upgrade her ticket to Business class? Was he the one who had sat beside her while she slept on the plane? Were those his fingers she had felt on her skin, mistaken for part of her dreams? It infuriated her just to entertain the thought. All these suspicions were valid. He had been shadowing her every move, from the moment she boarded the flight in Delhi to the instant she landed in Hong Kong and hailed a cab to the hotel. He had been stalking her. That was how his bracelet had found its way into her purse. It must have slipped from his wrist when he touched her cheek, landing on the seat unnoticed. As she packed her belongings, she inadvertently scooped it into her purse. What did he think of himself? What did he want from her? Whatever it was, she was not going to let any man rule her life. She would fight for her dignity no matter who stood against her.
