8:07 PM -

Siya was finally sitting inside a cab.

A REAL cab.

Not Shashwat's car.

Not a suspicious luxury vehicle.

Not a kidnapping documentary starter pack.

An actual cab.

Victory.

Or so she thought

Aaru: "You know what?"

Siya: "No."

Aaru: "Today felt like a fever dream."

Siya: "Agreed."

Aaru: "You fainted."

Siya: "Yes."

Aaru: "Went viral."

Siya: "Unfortunately."

Aaru: "Met a rich mysterious man."

Siya: "Stop."

Aaru: "Whose name sounds like a CEO and a poet simultaneously."

Siya: "Aaru."

Aaru: "I'm just saying."

Meanwhile, in another car behind them...

Kabir was driving.

Shashwat sat in the backseat.

Silent.

Very silent.

Which usually meant trouble.

Kabir: "Sir."

No response.

Kabir: "Sir."

Still nothing.

Kabir: "You smiled today."

The silence became hostile.

Kabir: "Three times."

Still nothing.

Kabir: "Actually four."

Shashwat: "Focus on the road."

Kabir: "I am."

Pause.

Kabir: "You laughed too."

Shashwat: "Kabir."

Kabir: "You accepted fan art."

Shashwat: "Kabir."

Kabir: "You let a child call you a cartoon villain."

Shashwat: "KABIR."

Kabir immediately grinned.

Rare.

Dangerous.

Historical.

Kabir: "Interesting."

Shashwat: "Don't."

Kabir: "You're doomed."

Shashwat: "You spend too much time with Aaru."

Kabir: "She's contagious."

Back inside the girls' cab...

Aaru suddenly gasped.

The loud dramatic kind.

Siya: "What now?"

Aaru: "I HAVE A THEORY."

Siya: "Those words have never led to anything good."

Aaru: "What if Shashwat is secretly a mafia boss?"

Siya stared.

Then burst out laughing.

Siya: "You need sleep."

Aaru: "NO LISTEN."

Siya: "I'm not listening."

Aaru: "He's rich."

Siya: "Lots of people are rich."

Aaru: "He's mysterious."

Siya: "Lots of people are mysterious."

Aaru: "He has trauma eyes."

Siya: "TRAUMA EYES ARE NOT A THING."

Aaru: "They absolutely are."

The cab driver suddenly spoke.

Driver: "Madam, trauma eyes are real."

Both girls froze.

Aaru: "SEE?!"

The driver nodded seriously.

Driver: "My wife says I have them."

Siya: "Why?"

Driver: "Because she married me."

The driver started laughing.

Aaru started laughing.

Siya started laughing.

At this point, everyone was laughing.

When the cab stopped outside Aaru's house-

Aaru got out dramatically.

Then leaned back through the window.

Aaru: "Text me."

Siya: "Okay."

Aaru: "And if Mafia Man messages you-"

Siya: "He doesn't even have my number."

Aaru: "Good point."

A pause.

Aaru: "...actually that's surprising."

Then she left.

Now Siya was alone.

The city lights blurred outside her window.

The laughter from earlier slowly faded.

For the first time all day-

Everything felt quiet.

Peaceful.

Normal.

Her phone buzzed.

Siya glanced down casually.

Then froze.

Unknown Number.

One message.

Just one.

> Reached safely?

Her heart skipped.

Just once.

She stared at the screen.

Then immediately typed:

> Who is this?

The reply came almost instantly.

> The man whose jaw was apparently uneven.

Siya covered her face.

" Oh my God."

At the exact same moment-

In another car across the city-

Kabir heard a notification sound.

He glanced into the rear-view mirror.

Saw Shashwat looking down at his phone.

And sighed dramatically.

Kabir: "She's texting back already?"

Shashwat: "Focus on the road."

Kabir: "You literally used the jawline joke."

Shashwat: "Focus."

Kabir: "That's embarrassing."

Shashwat: "Kabir."

Kabir: "Goodnight, sir."

Back in her cab, Siya looked at the message again.

Then smiled despite herself.

Just a tiny smile.

One she would absolutely deny if anyone asked.

And somewhere behind her-

A black bike rolled slowly away from the street corner where it had been waiting.

Its rider lowered his phone.

Another photograph saved.

Another update sent.

Someone was still watching.

And unlike the internet-

They weren't watching for fun.