Payal and Asra descended the grand staircase hand-in-hand, their morning intimacy lingering like a warm afterglow amid the mansion's opulent chill. The dining hall awaited below, sunlight streaming through towering arched windows to illuminate the long mahogany table set with silver platters and crystal. Everyone occupied their respective chairs in tense formality: Julian slouched with brooding intensity, red eyes flicking between curiosity and restrained jealousy; William sat rigidly at the head, greenish-blue gaze unreadable; Yuri perched at the far end, her "soft and sweet" facade masking simmering resentment from the garden encounter.Asra pulled out Payal's chair gallantly before taking his own beside her, the simple gesture drawing subtle glances. Payal surveyed the dishes—platters of fluffy pancakes drizzled with honey, fresh breads studded with dried fruits, sweetened porridges steaming invitingly, fruits artfully arranged. No savory spices, no hearty curries or tangy chutneys she secretly craved from her Indian roots. She turned to Asra with a playful pout. "You just eat sweet things and bread? There's nothing other than that here."Asra's black eyes softened with earnest disappointment shadowing his features, his cool blue hair still faintly tousled from her drying. "Actually, I searched about food from where you lived," he admitted, voice low and sincere. "This is all I got—humans like sweets, or so the old texts said. You can tell me everything you like. I'll make sure I learn it all, cook whatever makes you happy." In his mind, uncertainty gnawed: his precognitive research had yielded vague mortal cuisines, but Payal's tastes remained a mystery.The food she crave—spicy bhakris from her village , besan ladoos evoking home, or Marathi feasts blending sweet-savory nostalgia. He'd failed her first attempt, determination flaring to master it.Payal laughed brightly, the sound cutting through the room's undercurrents like sunlight piercing fog. "It's okay, really—your effort means everything." Their eyes locked, conversation flowing into private laughter, shared glances lingering as they fed each other bites of pancake, fingers brushing in playful intimacy. The world narrowed to them—Asra's adoring gaze, Payal's teasing smiles—forgetting everyone around, the tensions momentarily banished.The atmosphere thickened into quiet tension, forks pausing mid-air. Yuri's knuckles whitened around her teacup, hatred flashing beneath her mask before she abruptly shoved back her chair, fleeing the table with stiff grace, her gossamer skirts whispering retreat. Julian's jaw clenched, red eyes darkening with envy at their bubble; William cleared his throat sharply—"Cough"—snapping heads toward him like a whipcrack."Payal..." William's voice cut precisely, commanding attention. She blinked, pulled from Asra's orbit. "Ha... you need to leave tomorrow morning."Confusion creased her brow, fork hovering. "Leave? For what?""Your study program is starting," he stated flatly, greenish-blue eyes locking onto hers. "Pack your belongings. I'll take you there."The words jolted her—amid Yuri's lies, chamber deceptions, Asra's confessions, her core goal had slipped her mind entirely. Studying law codes, l carving purpose beyond "minor wife"—tomorrow marked something learn about this planet immersion , her anchor against the plot's doom.
"Thank you, sir," she replied automatically, polite deference from her real-world habits surfacing.Shock rippled visibly: Julian choked on tea, Asra's hand stilled mid-reach, William froze mid- chewing. William's gaze sharpened, repeating with incredulity, "Sir?" He looked at her directly, voice edged. "Why?"Payal met his stare evenly, masking inner turmoil—his lap tenderness versus chamber cruelty—with formal poise. "Actually, sir, we're in a boss-employee relationship here. I must be respectful toward both of you." Her tone held quiet steel, reclaiming distance after his "safe wife" reveal. "Sir, you don't need to waste your time on someone like me. Asra will take me there. Thanks for your concern."Silence detonated. Julian's red eyes widened in stunned amusement; Asra squeezed her hand under the table, pride flickering amid worry for his vision of her leaving. William's face tightened—hurt piercing his calculated facade, the "sir" a dagger to his thawing vulnerability, Her abandonment echoing in rejection, sensing fractures widening. Servants exchanged wide-eyed glances, gossip primed.Payal held her ground, heart racing—transmigrated strategy blending real aspirations with plot defiance. Studies weren't escape but empowerment; calling William "sir" drew lines, protecting her heart while hoarding Asra's love. Tomorrow loomed: The familiar bustle versus mansion intrigue, law texts can help her in lot in trubble. Julian broke quiet with a low chuckle. He whispered only William and he can heard"Boss-employee? Feisty little wife.
" Asra nodded supportively. "I'll take you—whatever you need."William exhaled sharply, mask cracking. "As you wish." Tension simmered, breakfast resuming awkwardly amid unspoken reckonings—The schemes fueled, brothers' alliance tested, Payal's agency blooming defiantly.
Payal pushed back from the breakfast table, the clatter of porcelain and silverware fading into a tense hush as the meal concluded. The dining hall's grandeur—crystal chandeliers glinting overhead, heavy brocade curtains framing sunlit gardens—felt suddenly stifling, charged with William's lingering hurt from her "sir" rebuff, Julian's watchful amusement, and Yuri's seething absence like a storm cloud dissipated but ready to reform. Asra rose smoothly beside her, his hand finding the small of her back with possessive warmth, guiding her toward the corridor before the atmosphere could thicken further."After breakfast, let's go buy necessary things for you," Asra said, his voice a gentle rumble as he led her through the mansion's labyrinthine halls, cool blue hair catching golden light from wall sconces. His black eyes held quiet determination, masking the undercurrent of reluctance she sensed bubbling beneath.Payal glanced up at him, confusion creasing her brow amid the polished marble floors echoing their footsteps. "Necessary things? For what?" Servants bowed discreetly as they passed, their averted eyes hungry for gossip about the morning's drama—Payal's formal distance from William, the brothers' fractured glances, Yuri's abrupt exit fueling whispers of brewing rivalries.Asra paused at a sunlit alcove overlooking the estate's sprawling lawns, turning to face her fully, his fingers brushing her cheek. "After all, you need to stay there for one and a half months." His tone softened, laced with a loneliness that tugged at her heart—visions of her absence haunting him already, the precognitive curse painting futures where she slipped away forever.Payal blinked, reality crashing back. "What do you mean? Don't you know you need to stay there for one and a half months?" Her study program in new place wasn't a day trip; it demanded full immersion—intensive lectures on this planet Evidence Act amendments, literature seminars dissecting saint-poets l, practical sessions blending legal theory with cultural analysis. One and a half months of dorm life, libraries thick with legal tomes, late-night study groups chasing her anchor of purpose amid the chaos. She'd buried it under mansion intrigues, brothers' deceptions, Asra's love confession—but now it loomed, a bittersweet escape laced with separation anxiety.Asra's expression clouded, black eyes searching hers with raw vulnerability. "Let's spend some quality time together before you go." The words carried a quiet ache, loneliness threading through like mist in the Forest—his wandering artist soul dreading empty chambers, flour-dusted mornings without her laughter, visions amplifying the void. He pulled her closer, forehead resting against hers. "Shopping for books, clothes, supplies... whatever you need. Make today ours."Payal's heart twisted, her transmigrated isolation warring with consern, academic rigor shielding against doom. Yet leaving meant fracturing this fragile harmony: Asra's tender domesticity, , Schemes pulling strings; studies offered breathing room to plot defiance, hoard memories against arc she alone foresaw."Okay," she whispered, squeezing his hand, resolve steeling amid loneliness' echo. "Quality time it is." They stepped into the the car Asra's arm around steering as wheels rattled over cobblestones Shopping. Stalls overflowed with silk saris in jewel tones, stacks of legal textbooks emblazoned with strenge pattern brass and twinkling air space station. Asra haggled charmingly for romantic poetry . Necessary things for dorm life.Laughter bubbled as he modeled oversized notebook comically, her teasing him about "human food research" failures. Yet loneliness shadowed their joy—his hand lingering too long, stolen moment behind every stalls, whispers of "Come back soon" amid bargaining. Payal collected it all: his adoring gaze over her all the time fingers intertwined browsing law commentaries, the way he memorized her preferences like sacred incantations. One and a half months loomed—a test of absence and , brothers' alliance straining without her pivot.Back at the mansion by dusk, bags piled high, Asra pulled her into the garden under twilight stars. "These days without you... they'll be endless," he confessed, loneliness raw. Payal hugged him fiercely. You need to for—for us." The novel bent further; her studies weren't flight but weapon, quality time a fortified memory against encroaching ruin.