Chapter 4

Sunny

I arrived at Jodhpur airport at 6 in the evening. It took me a few hours to pack my stuff and the three hours journey on the plane itself was tiring.

I picked my suitcase and made my way outside the airport where the cabs are waiting for passengers. I am suddenly feeling overwhelmed by coming to my home city. I just wish to pass my 2 months here without hearing many taunts from Dad about me not studying and getting complaints. What I hate the most is he will start comparing me to Karan bro and even to my younger sister Kaya because they both are very serious and focused on their goals and the other hand, I am still wondering what made me take engineering in the first place.

I am stupid to take it. No doubt.

My eyes got fixed on a board with my name, real name, carried by a man in a white driver's suit who must be in his late 40s. He looks like my dad's private driver and is here to pick me up. What I don't get is why he needs to show everyone who I am.

I hate it so much when people get to know I am a prince, they start treating me like I am an alien from another planet and begin to ask me silly questions about being from a royal family. It's much more than just belonging to a wealthy family. I was very well pampered and I never liked it. I hate to go anywhere with the guards. I can't go to the open playground to play cricket with kids because it will create a mess of people watching a 'Prince' playing and the next day, I will be all over the media. Somehow, I have managed to hide my identity so far and even though I know it's not possible for long and that day would be my last of having fun.

I put my black goggles on, adjusting my jacket over my shoulders as I bent my head down in an attempt to not let anyone notice me.

I approached that driver with a serious manner on my pretty complexion. I faked a cough when I saw him looking here and there for me.

"It's me," I said, indicating at the board of my name.

He looked up, stunned, like not able to believe, I was standing in front of him, he gave me a big smile, "Khamma Ghani, Chote Kunwar sa!" He greets me while saying my royal title loudly as everyone's attention turns in my direction.

"Shh!" I shushed him.

As I flashed them a small smile, muttering, "He is just joking." And with that, they turned around from me. I sighed in relief, moving back to him with a glare ready in my eyes to shoot him.

"Ghani Khamma and I don't want anyone to know me!" I told him in a hushed tone.

He nodded in understanding, "I am very sorry, Chote Kunwar sa, I got so excited seeing you that I didn't notice anything!"

"Just call me Sunny," I demanded.

"But it won't be appropriate."

"It would be because I said so, now c'mon!" I said as he didn't argue and took the suitcase from my hand, placing it in the back of the car which was a black Mercedes Benz.

"If you say, chote kunwar sa but it was a pleasure to meet you, I am Deepak, by the way," He says, opening the door of the back seat for me.

"Same here," I replied, sitting inside as he closed the door and hopped onto the driver seat, ignoring that he again denoted me with my title.

He switched on the air conditioner for me, "I just thought you might be feeling hot after the journey." He says with a good intention.

I came here in a fully air-conditioned cab and airplane, I wonder what makes me feel hot.

"If you want I can switch it off." He said when I didn't respond to him.

"No, it's fine," I told him, not wanting to break his heart. He nodded to me as he began to drive.

I busied myself on the phone, texting Bobby to know about his whereabouts since we both left our dorms at the same time.

'Have you reached?' (Me)

'Yeah, in the cab right now, what about you?' (Bobby)

'Same. Just my dad sent a car for me.' (Me)

'That's cool. #Perks Of Being From A Rich Family' he joked.

'Nah, it's nothing like that, I wish to live a normal life.' (Me)

'Then let's exchange our lives, I will live like a prince and you live like me. What do you say?' (Bobby)

I sneered, 'is it even possible?'

'Unfortunately, not'

I rolled my eyes playfully.

"Kunwar sa, I think we need to take another route since the highway is under construction. Is it okay?" Deepak asks. I hardly glanced up at him and nodded.

"Yeah, No problem," I replied to him.

Bobby and I continued to text each other for a while before I saw something was wrong. We were going through a jungle side where there were no streetlights or anything. It was so dark and almost 8 in the night, that only the car's headlights managed to give us some clear view. Suddenly, that driver pushed the brakes to stop the car urgently, making me almost stumble from my place.

"What the heck-!" I let out, annoyingly.

"I am sorry, Kunwar sa, two girls came in our way." He told me.

I peeked outside the window, realizing what he said was true, there were a couple of girls in traditional Rajasthani clothes as the girls were young, one of them must be of my age and the other one was small must be around 10 years old. What are they doing here at this hour?! They could have died if he hadn't pushed the brakes on time.

"Oye! Can't you see?!" The elder one spoke angrily as she walked up to him.

"Oye girl! It's late at night, how could you expect me to see you in the dark?!" Deepak retorted.

"Shut up! You could have hit us and see my water crocks got broken too! Now I have to make new crocks to take water from the well again!" She yelled at him.

"Not my fault!! Get away from our way!"

"Learn to respect! You mister! Don't you know how to talk to a woman?! Also, get out of the car!" I slowly discarded my goggles to get a better look at her, She was just like any other typical Rajasthani girl in appearance because of darkness I didn't able to notice much but her cat eyes which were shining beautifully in the gloam, short lean nose, chubby cheeks, and pinky plump lips from which she was giving him a curse.

"It's not my fault so I won't come out!"

"You have to!" She banged onto the glass window in anger only to give pain to her palms, I wasn't able to hold my laugh.

"What made you laugh, Chote Kunwar sa?" He questions, "This girl is scaring me." He said in a hushed tone. And my eyes were still concentrated on her and the curses she was giving which sounded like heaven to me as my lips were stretching into a wide smile going against my plans to scold them.

"Lemme...handle the matter," I said, getting out of the car only to take a better yet proper look at the angry angel in front of me.

~~~

Sanaya

I kept turning the pages of my book, realizing it's almost about to end. I need to get the new one soon where I can continue to do my college studies. I closed the book and placed it back in the drawer. It's 7 in the evening and I haven't eaten anything since morning because I am studying hard to get the scholarship that will pay for my future education so I can help my parents financially and will give them a better life.

"Sanaya!" My mom yelled my name, "I need your help, girl!"

"Coming!" I replied, putting a dupatta around my neck, and ran downstairs towards the kitchen where I spotted her, looking at the empty vessels.

"What happened, Ma?" I asked, walking up to her.

"What else will happen, Sanaya? Your father didn't purchase groceries and we ran out of water too as usual. I don't get what he does with all the money he earns. I don't even know where he would be right now." She spoke, angrily.

"He must have gone to buy alcohol, Ratna, don't ruin your mood for him, I have some money from which we can buy groceries and while coming home we'll collect water from the well." My grandmother said from behind me.

"You are right, Maa Ji, but you don't have to come, Sanaya and I will manage," Mom told her as she cleans her hand from her saree.

"You both rest at home, I will instantly go and bring all the things!" I told them happily.

"But-"

"C'mon, Maa, I will be fine!" I said, giving her an assuring shake on her shoulders.

Mom didn't argue so I picked up the empty crocks and left the house. To be honest, I hate the fact that going out at this hour is dangerous but only for women that too without protection not for men who can do anything and no one would say a word to them.

"Hey, Sanaya dee, going somewhere?" Latika, the daughter of my old neighbor and my little best friend asked, running in my direction.

"Yeah, just to get some groceries and water, wanna join?"

"Sure!" She excitedly jumped and joined us.

"Ain't you gonna inform your mother first?" I asked her.

"No need because she knows where to find me when I am not at home," Latika replied, smiling. She most of the time spends playing around our house only so her parents know where she could be.

We bought vegetables and collected the water but unfortunately, we forget to bring a lantern and my phone with us because it's way too dark out here and it's hard to go back home in this stupid nighttime even the moon is hidden behind clouds. However, we continued walking through our usual forest way which is a bit closer to our village.

"Ouch!" Latika whined suddenly, making us turn in her direction.

"What happened?" We asked in unison.

"I think I stepped onto a stone." She says, kicking the stone away in anger.

"You should walk carefully," I said, helping her to walk when out of the blue a car came in front of our way at the same time when we were crossing the road. We both yelled out in thought that the car would hit us but it didn't as the crocks from our hand slipped in fear.

I shouted at the driver for his mistake and instead of apologizing he was shouting back like it's our fault, I wasn't able to control the anger when he spoke to me in an insulting way.

"Learn to respect! You mister! Don't you know how to talk to a woman?! Also, get out of the car!" I shouted at him.

"It's not my fault so I won't come out!"

"You have to!" I even banged on the window just to give myself pain but at the moment, I didn't care. I kept cursing him but he was talking to someone in the car's backseat in a low voice.

"Sanaya, I think we should go back. It seems like a car of some rich man which can get us into trouble." Latika mumbled in my ears.

I threw her a look in dread, "How could-" I was about to retort when she responded.

"We should get going, these are rich people and we better not get involved with them." She specifies.

"You must be kidding me!" I hissed at her.

She was saying something but cut herself off when a person came out of the car. I moved around seeing a foreign-type-cute-looking guy smiling at me, showing his perfect white teeth. He was in a black leather jacket, grey shirt beneath with a silver locket around his neck, and ripped blue jeans with matching leather shoes. He must be 5'11 as compared to my 5'2 height hence even not wanting, I was coming to his chest.

He was checking me out with a tense gaze, "What?" I snapped.

"What?" He repeated.

"What do you think you are looking at?!"

"Angel in the dark." He mumbled, glimmering.

"Excuse me?!"

"We are very sorry to bother you, and don't mind her please, " Latika interrupted in the middle.

"It's okay, because of my car, you got so much loss, I will pay for it." He says, taking out his wallet.

"No need! We don't want your money!" I snarled at him.

He furrowed his eyebrows in question, "What? You have to think before creating the fuss at this time." He said, a bit annoyed.

"As I said, we are sorry for everything, brother. " She told him, "We didn't mean it."

He smiled, stroking her head, "It's totally fine, and just call me, Sunny, and you...?"

"You don't have to tell him our names, Latika!"

"He looks like a nice man, Sanaya, I don't think he'll harm us." Her words sent a grin on his face.

"At least, someone is smart here." He says, giving me a look, "and it's okay you don't need to tell me your names, Latika and Sanaya. It was nice to meet you tho," He winked at us.

My mouth hangs open in the realization that we told him our names mistakenly in the argument.

"By the way, you have such a modern name and figure for a village girl." He added in a joking way.

"You!" I was about to slap him when Latika held my hand and pulled me back, making me walk along with her before going. I shot my best glary look at him, and in return, I noticed him smiling wider at me as he waved his hand, mouthing 'See ya soon

I ignored him and continued walking in annoyance.

"I can drop you both if you want!" He shouted from behind, seeing his car following us.

"Go to hell!" I said and rushed away from him, hearing his chuckle for the last time.

We reached home as I threw the bag of vegetables on the table, placed only one left crock with water on the floor, and stormed off towards my room, I never felt so annoyed before! All because of him.