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AUTHOR'S POV-

The courtyard of the grand royal palace was alive with the chaos of celebration - fairy lights half-tied to the arches, floral baskets being tossed from one hand to another, and giggling bridesmaids running across the marble floors with hair clips and saree pins. The soft fragrance of mogra filled the warm evening air as the sun painted the sky golden-pink.

And in the middle of all that whirlwind, there was Ekakshi Yaghuvanshi - effortlessly stunning, blissfully unaware.

She wasn't wearing anything heavy or regal. Instead, a simple peach georgette dress, the ghera fluttering with her every hurried step. Her hair was tied in a loose braid adorned with just two tiny jasmine strands tucked in behind her ear. A delicate silver nose pin, bare silver bangles, and soft Kohl in her eyes - she looked like poetry in motion. Not like a royal princess - but like her own kind of heroine.

She was running - as usual - behind a decorator who had placed the wrong flower garland on the entry gate. "Sunooo! Bhaiya Woh genda nahi... chameli maangi thi!" she shouted, not looking at where she was going.

**

At the same time, Rivaan Randhawa had just entered the palace corridor from the opposite direction.

Crisp white shirt, sleeves rolled just enough to show the veins on his forearm, paired with tailored black trousers and a fitted black blazer - the epitome of silent class. His jaw was set, hair perfectly side-swept, and he held his phone, about to call Vivaan and ask where he was supposed to go.

And then-

CRASH

Thud.

It happened so fast - a flying dupatta, a startled gasp, and within a second -

He was on the ground.

And she - she had literally fallen on top of him.

Ekakshi's hands were on his chest to balance herself. Rivaan's arms instinctively had caught her waist. Her hair had spilled forward, brushing against his cheek. Their faces were inches apart. The world stilled.

For a second - time, wind, heartbeat... everything paused.

There was only that one sacred moment - the same restlessness in her chest, the same flutter in his heart. The faint jasmine scent from her braid. The soft thump of her bangles brushing against his shirt. Their eyes locked, unblinking.

And then -

"Uhh... Can you please let me go?" she whispered awkwardly, finally breathing.

Rivaan blinked once. "I would... but you're on top of me."

She gasped and scrambled up quickly, tripping on her own dupatta as she stood up. He slowly got up too, brushing the marble dust off his blazer and pants, clearly more amused than annoyed.

"You really need to watch where you're going," she said, brushing her own sleeve, pretending like her heart wasn't doing somersaults.

He chuckled internally and raised an eyebrow. "I was literally standing still."

"Well, you were standing still in my way," she shot back, putting her hands on her hips.

He smirked. "So now it's my fault that you turned into a human tornado?"

Ekakshi gave him a glare that could fry an omelette. "Tornado?! Excuse me! I was doing important work!"

"Oh? Running after flowers like a secret agent?" he replied coolly.

"You...!" she pointed at him, then turned around, muttering, "Ugh! Typical rich guest attitude. Don't even say sorry."

Rivaan folded his arms and leaned in a bit. "I'm sorry... that the ground wasn't softer."

Her mouth opened slightly in disbelief.

"Unbelievable! Tall people with ego issues" she muttered, trying to hide her smile as she turned on her heel and stomped away, her braid swinging like a declaration of war.

Rivaan watched her go, a small smile playing on his lips. He know who she is but she don't.

She's the same ruhh which he loved.

The breeze shifted. The jasmine from her braid lingered a second longer.

And his heart - that had been steady for years - was suddenly racing like he had just remembered a forgotten song.

**

"Unbelievable!"

She stormed off, or at least tried to. Her dupatta was still twisted around her arm from the fall and her heartbeat... well, it was not cooperating at all.

Her steps were quick but her thoughts? A mess.

"How dare he smirk like that?" she muttered under her breath. "Like he didn't just drop straight out of a movie set in a Milan fashion week ramp."

Ekakshi tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and pressed her lips into a thin line, trying to suppress the flutter in her stomach.

"White shirt? Really? Who wears a plain white shirt and still manages to look like a Greek god dipped in calm arrogance?"

She mentally slapped herself.

No.

No, no, no.

"Nope. He was rude. RUDE. Absolute jerk energy."

But her brain was busy replaying the exact moment when she fell- on top of him.

The feel of his steady hands catching her waist.

The way his eyes met hers. Calm. Intense. Confident.

And his voice... uff, that voice.

Low. Warm. Slightly teasing.

Like velvet with a hint of rainstorm.

"I'm sorry... that the ground wasn't softer."

She scoffed out loud. "What kind of apology is that?!"

A worker nearby jumped, thinking she was yelling at him. She waved him off with an awkward smile.

Her hands fidgeted with the silver bangles she wore, trying to distract herself. But even they weren't jingling in rhythm today. They were as flustered as her.

She tried returning to her checklist - flowers, entrance decor, food station... but all she could see was that man.

Standing like a poster model for a luxury brand. That stupid, smug blazer still crisp even after falling. How is that even fair?

And those hands- ugh.

No, no. Stop!

She closed her eyes.

"Snap out of it, Eka. You just fell on a guest. A grumpy, annoyingly composed, unnecessarily good-looking guest."

Her heart betrayed her again - beating like it was playing dhol at a wedding already.

She opened her eyes and looked around to make sure no one could hear her internal chaos.

"Okay yes... he looked... decent."

Pause.

"...Okay, fine. Handsome."

Longer pause.

"...Maybe a little hot."

Silence.

"...Okay very hot. Like fresh-out-of-a-Ralph-Lauren-catalog hot. HAPPY?" she said inside her head, frustrated.

But no, she wasn't happy. Because now she was walking into a wedding, coordinating décor, and praying the man she just met - whose name she didn't even know - wouldn't show up again and mess with her head.

"Get a grip, princess," she whispered to herself, "You're not the type to fall head over heels with just one fall... and more over you are committed now... right?"

Right?

But even as she picked up her clipboard and fake-scolded a decorator again, the corner of her lips betrayed her.

They curved up.

Slightly.

Like they remembered the fall more sweetly than they should've.

Like they already knew - she didn't just fall on him.

She might've just fallen for him too.

Rivaan's POV :

It happened in seconds - a blur of white, a rush of jingling silver bangles, and the sudden weight of someone colliding straight into me like a monsoon breeze. Next thing I knew, I was on the ground, slightly stunned, with a soft fragrance of roses, sandalwood and... something deeply familiar surrounding me.

And there she was.

On top of me.

Literally.

Her palms were flat against my chest, her wide eyes locked with mine, and that stunned little expression - half shocked, half embarrassed - I swear, it could've made time freeze if it hadn't already.

She looked... like her. Like my Ruhh.

That same stubborn frown forming on her forehead, the same adorable frustration in her voice, and that fiery spark in her eyes that always lit something inside me. Even when she got up, dusting her dress and grumbling something about my height and "tall people with ego issues," I couldn't stop watching her.

She was cursing me under her breath, lips slightly pouted, silver bangles clinking with every dramatic gesture of her hand. Her dupatta was flying behind her like some vintage Bollywood scene. God, she looked... so much like her.

Except I knew it wasn't just resemblance.

She was her. My Ruhh. My Ekakshi.

The same soul I lost... or thought I lost.

But now... destiny had brought her right back into my arms. Quite literally.

But she didn't remember.

Not our late-night phone calls, not the promises, not those stupid fights over almost everything... how she used to complain about physics to me, not how we used to dream about our future together under starlit skies. Not even how she called me Aan - a name that echoed in every beat of my heart for the past 7 years.

And yet... here she was. In front of me. A little changed, a little grown-up. But still my Ruhh in ways even she didn't realize. Maybe she had lost her memories, but I hadn't lost mine. And I never will.

So this time... I won't rush.

I won't remind her or force the past on her.

I will start again - fresh, gentle, with every bit of love I once gave her... and even more.

Her annoyed face was doing something funny to my heart. It shouldn't have made me smile this wide, but here I was - brushing dirt off my clothes while trying not to laugh at her fake anger and her half-hidden smile.

"I would... but you're the one on top," I had said, and her eyes widened like I'd just won the entire argument. Classic. That annoyed little glare of hers - I'd missed it more than words could tell.

She accused me of causing the fall. I accused her of attacking me with petals. She rolled her eyes, I smirked.

It was a dance. A rhythm.

Like two people who didn't know they belonged to each other... yet still moved in perfect sync.

But only I knew.

Only I remembered.

She still had that same nervous habit of twisting her bangles when flustered. She still had those kohl eyes to which I never get exhausted looking at. Her dress which she wore it with the same grace that made her look ethereal.

She hadn't changed. Not really.

Her laughter, her stubbornness, her aura - it all still fit into the mold my heart had been carrying around for years. She was written into my soul - and now, even if she didn't remember being my story, I was going to rewrite it with her.

This time, I'll wait.

I'll chase her, not like the old Rivaan who feared heartbreak... but like the man who had already lived through it and survived.

This time, I will fall for her all over again - not because I never moved on, but because loving her... it's the only thing I ever did right.

And when she falls again - not into my arms by accident - but into love, by choice...

That's when I'll know.

My Ruhh was truly back.

Until then... let the game begin.

Let the love story restart.

Page one - "She fell on top of me"

Perfect.

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Hello guys, I hope you like the chapter.

Kindly ignore the grammatical mistakes as English is not my first language.

FEW QUESTIONS BEFORE WE SEE OFF FOR THE DAY.....

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Do you like their first meet?

Do you like ekakshi's reaction?

Rivaan's POV?

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