I couldn’t shake the feeling. Something was off today. Nervous energy buzzed under my skin, and I couldn’t place the cause. It was like the calm before a storm, but a storm I wasn’t sure I was ready for. Maybe it was just the pressure of the upcoming operation. We were only hours away from presenting our plan to the Army and the special forces, and everything needed to be perfect. Or maybe I was overthinking it—typical of me.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself as I slid into my car and drove to the café where we had agreed to meet. The others were already there when I arrived, and we got straight to work, discussing our strategies and refining our points for the briefing. Thankfully, we finished everything in time and headed straight to headquarters for the meeting.

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈

When we entered the conference room, a hushed silence fell over us. The room was already packed with officials—some from the Army, others from intelligence, and a few unfamiliar faces I assumed were part of the special forces. They were in the middle of a serious discussion, their voices low, their expressions grim.

“Are we late?” I whispered to Rudra.

“I don’t think so... I mean, we still have ten minutes,” he replied, scanning the room.

Just then, Chief looked up and caught sight of us. “Ah, there you are! Please, come in and take a seat. We’ve been waiting for you,” he called out. “And, Vikrant, you finally made it!”

The name hit me like a punch to the gut. Something about it stirred a feeling deep inside me—like I already knew him.

And then, I saw him.

He walked in, tall and commanding—towering at least six feet. His posture was straight, military-perfect, and every inch of him exuded strength. But it wasn’t just his physical presence that caught me off guard. His features—sharp, angular—were like something out of a dream, the kind you see in movies or in those rare, impossibly perfect moments. His jaw was chiseled to perfection, and his soft brown eyes—oh God, those eyes—were warm, inviting, but somehow distant.

And then I realized—he was in uniform.

Everything else in the room seemed to fade as my gaze locked onto him. The room felt too small, too suffocating, and I suddenly found myself unable to breathe. He was real—standing right in front of me—but it felt like I was trapped in a moment I couldn’t escape from.

“Sorry for being late, sir. There was traffic,” he said in a deep, rich voice, his tone calm but authoritative.

“That’s fine,” Chief said. “We haven’t started yet. Come, let me introduce you to the team who’ll be working on the operation with us.”

“Yes, sir,” Vikrant replied, and as he turned to follow Chief, his eyes met mine.

Boom.

In that instant, everything around me went quiet. The chatter in the room, the rustling papers, the hum of overhead lights—all of it faded. There was only him. His eyes held mine with a steady intensity, and for a moment, it felt like time had stopped. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t think. All I could do was stare back into those deep, brown eyes that seemed to know me. It was like we were the only two people in the room, like he had reached into me and taken hold of something I didn’t even know was there.

And then, Sasha nudged me with a playful smirk.

“Ahem, ahem...” she whispered, clearly enjoying the moment. “Someone seems distracted today.”

I snapped back to reality, my heart pounding in my chest. I quickly diverted my gaze and muttered, “No! My eyes just got stuck on him.”

Sasha let out a small, knowing laugh, but I could barely focus on her words. My mind was still tangled in that moment—that gaze.

We all moved to our assigned seats, and I tried to collect myself. I couldn’t let this distraction mess up the briefing. But, deep down, I knew I hadn’t just met another soldier. I had met someone... or maybe I had felt someone. And that, more than anything, unsettled me.

Vikrant.

The name seemed to linger in the air long after he’d turned his attention to the meeting. It was simple, yet it felt heavy. Like it belonged to someone important.

And suddenly, I couldn’t shake the feeling that our paths were now entangled—that somehow, this operation wasn’t just about the mission anymore. It was about something else, something I hadn’t prepared for.