A Silent Ride Home

The nightclub’s neon lights flickered behind them as Arnav and Anirudh marched the three troublemakers outside.

No one spoke.

Not a word.

Not even Aryan—who usually had a sarcastic remark for every situation.

Ayush sighed, rubbing his temple. "Look, it wasn’t that bad—"

"Not. A. Word."

Anirudh’s voice was dangerously low.

Avni gulped. Yep. We’re dead.

As soon as they got into the car, Arnav started driving.

Fast.

Avni, Ayush, and Aryan sat stiffly in the backseat, exchanging nervous glances.

Anirudh sat in the front, his arms crossed.

The tension in the car was suffocating.

No one dared to breathe too loudly.

Until Aryan—being the idiot he was—whispered, "At least we had fun, right?"

Anirudh turned around so fast Aryan flinched.

Ayush smacked the back of Aryan’s head. "Shut up, man!"

Avni closed her eyes. This is going to be bad. Very, very bad.

The Storm Hits

The moment they reached home, Arnav slammed the car door shut.

"Inside. Now."

The three rushed inside.

The living room was silent—too silent.

Anirudh shut the door behind them and turned, his eyes blazing.

Arnav stood with his arms crossed, his expression unreadable.

Then, he spoke.

"Do you three have any idea how reckless that was?"

Avni stepped forward, trying to defend herself. "Look, we just wanted to have fun—"

"Fun?" Anirudh’s voice was sharp. "Fun is getting caught in a bar fight? Fun is having drunk men grab you? Fun is almost getting arrested?!"

Avni flinched. "We weren’t going to get arrested—"

Arnav’s voice cut through the room.

"Enough."

Silence.

His gaze was icy cold. "You disobeyed my rules. You snuck out. You caused a scene in public. And worst of all—"

His eyes flicked to Avni.

"You put yourself in danger."

Avni’s stomach dropped.

She expected anger. She expected yelling.

But she wasn’t prepared for the disappointment in Arnav’s eyes.

For some reason, that hurt more than anything else.

"Your punishment starts tomorrow," Arnav said, turning away. "Be ready."

Anirudh smirked. "Hope you all like early mornings."

Ayush groaned. "Oh, come on—"

Arnav shot him a look.

Ayush shut up.

Avni clenched her fists, swallowing her frustration.

Fine. Let them do whatever they want. I don’t care.

But deep down, she knew—

She had messed up.

To Be Continued…