the ch 1

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Aarav was returning from America after completing his master’s in AI. He stared out the plane

window, lost in memories of late-night coding sessions, friends, and laughter with his

roommates. Saying goodbye had been hard—but life was all about ups and downs, meeting

new people, leaving old ones, and making new experiences.

“Hey… you okay?” Dev’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

“Yeah… just lost in thought,” Aarav replied softly

Dev pouted dramatically, arms wide. “Oh, really? I think someone’s getting really emotional.

Aww, my little baby, come to daddy.”

Aarav shoved him lightly, rolling his eyes. “Gross! Eww! Stay away, you idiot!”

Dev stumbled back, pretending to cry. “Ouch! My feelings!”

Aarav smirked, turning back to the window.

Their argument grew loud enough to frustrate the air hostess. She marched over.

“Alright! Can you two just shut up? You’re disturbing everyone! Lower your voices, or I swear…” She stopped, realizing she’d drawn attention. Her tone softened awkwardly.

“For your own good… please just keep it down a little.”

Aarav and Dev straightened up.

“Yeah… sure,” Aarav stammered.

“Thanks for the… detailed explanation,” Dev added, making Aarav giggle.

Aarav secretly giggled as Dev spoke, and the air hostess, clearly embarrassed, quickly walked away. They both burst into quiet laughter.

Then they heard the flight announcement: “Alright everyone, we’re moments away from departure. The cabin doors are closed, and we’re ready to get airborne. Lean back, relax, and enjoy the sensation as we lift off for our non-stop flight to Delhi. Please keep your seatbelts fastened. We’ll be in touch once we’ve reached our cruising altitude. Thank you.”

“I need sleep, or these dark circles will ruin my pretty face,” Dev said, admiring his reflection.

“Pretty face? More like piggy face,” Aarav scoffed.

Dev punched him lightly. “Your stupid Project Lyra kept me up all night!”

“Ouch! Okay, fine. But you still look like a pig,” Aarav teased.

Dev narrowed his eyes. “Want me to punch your little nose?”

“Oh, really? Want me to call the air hostess?” Aarav grinned.

“Well… have you finished Lyra’s interface?” Dev asked.

Aarav froze. “Oh, shit! I forgot!”

Dev smirked. “As expected.”

Aarav grabbed his laptop. “Don’t worry. Take your nap. By the time you wake up, the work will be done.”

Dev pulled his eye mask over. “Good night, genius.”

Basic introduction to Aarav Singh:

Aarav Singh, son of Vivak Singh, owns India’s most powerful tech company, Innovex Private Limited.

Aarav always loved how technology made everything so easy. He was fascinated by Japan and used to think how simple programming could create something so magical that it could be a servant, a friend for someone alone, or a teacher for a student. He believed it could also replace old human jobs, being loyal and safer. Due to these reasons, he decided to go abroad and master AI. He wanted to make something revolutionary, so while studying, he created Lyra – an AI intelligence program that could do anything just like a real human being. Lyra could do household work by connecting with smart devices, handle office tasks, and act as a digital security guard by connecting with systems and calling emergency services if needed. It was just like a magical genie.

He started making this project with Dev, Aarav’s childhood friend. Their parents were business partners and close friends, but unfortunately, they died due to a car accident when Dev was very young. From that time, Dev started living with Aarav’s parents and grew up as their own child and Aarav’s sibling. Dev also had a passion for AI, so they both went abroad for further studies.

On the other hand, New Delhi, Ishika Chohan slept peacefully after a K-drama binge. Her room was a mess—clothes everywhere, chip wrappers all over the bed. Her alarm blared for the fifth time.

She groaned. “8:45?! Oh god, what should I wear?!”

She scrambled through her wardrobe, throwing clothes in all directions. After twenty frantic minutes, she finally chose an outfit and rushed out, brushing her hair aggressively while muttering curses under her breath When she saw the clock, it was far too late, so she just rushed out of her house.

While Aarav was completing his work on his laptop, Aarav and Dev were about to land.

So Aarav woke up Dev and said, “Good morning! Now get up, we are about to land.”

“Hmm, good morning, good morning. So? What about Lyra?”

Aarav replied, “Yeah, it’s done! I’m really excited to show it to Dad. He must be proud of us.”

Dev smiled and said, “He’ll be proud of you, not us. It’s your project; I just helped you with it.”

Aarav said, “Oh, really? That’s great! I’ll tell Dad I did all the work by myself!”

Dev punched Aarav’s stomach really hard.

Aarav said, “Ouch! Damn it! Are you crazy or what?”

Dev retorted, “Do you really think I’ll let you?”

Aarav argued, “What do you mean by that? You were the one who said it was mine!”

Dev replied, “There is something called formality.”

Aarav said, “Oh, really?”

Dev insisted, “Yep, and I want 50% credit because I’ve worked really hard on it—in fact, more than you!”

Aarav exclaimed, “Hey, that’s way too much! And what do you mean you’ve worked harder than me? It was my idea and…”

They were about to argue further when they noticed a shadow on their seat. Looking up, they saw the same air hostess glaring at them with an angry smile. In shock, Dev screamed and grabbed Aarav’s bicep.

“MUMMYYYY!!!!!!”

All passengers started looking at them angrily.

Then the air hostess asked in a sarcastically sweet voice, “Sirs, do you want something?”

Dev replied, “No… no… I’m good. Sorry for bothering you.” He forced a smile.

The air hostess leaned closer to his ear. “You should better not bother me, especially.”

Dev’s whole body shivered as she left; he was traumatized. On the other hand, Aarav was trying to control his laughter.

Aarav said, “If you’re done, can you please leave my biceps? I know they’re strong.” dev was wrapped around his arm

The moment Dev realized his position, he threw his hand away, and Aarav burst out laughing.

Dev grumbled, “Yeah, yeah, carry on.”

Aarav said, “Hey, come on, don’t be so angry. It’s okay, she must be having a bad day.”

Dev complained, “What do you mean she’s having a bad day? Why is she making my flight miserable?”

Aarav whispered, “Shh! Don’t be so loud! If she hears you, she won’t leave you alone, remember?”

Dev got irritated. “Wow, now I can’t even speak, great!”

Aarav said, “It’s okay, we’re about to land, just a few minutes.”

While they were talking, the airline announced: “Attention passengers, we are now preparing for landing at Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi. Please ensure your seatbelts are fastened and all carry-on items are secured. The local time is 9:15 AM. We will be at the gate shortly. Welcome to Delhi.”

Aarav chuckled, “See, see? Because of your drama, even the airlines are ready to land!”

Dev muttered, “Yeah, yeah, very funny.”

After that, within 25 minutes, they landed and got off the plane, entering the airport.

Aarav got a call from his dad he asked dev to handle the luggage for a while

Aarav picked up the call.

“Hello, Dad.”

“Where are you and Dev?” his father’s voice was firm.

“We just landed. We’ll be home soon, don’t worry.”

“No. Don’t come home. Come straight to my office.”

Aarav frowned. “Office? Right now? Is everything okay?”

“I’ll explain when you get here,” his father said curtly, then hung up before Aarav could respond.

Dev walked over, juggling their bags. “What’s with the face? What happened?”

Aarav slipped the phone into his pocket. “Dad wants us at his office.”

Dev blinked. “Office? Seriously? Doesn’t he know we just got off a flight?”

“He knows.” Aarav’s brows furrowed. “But he didn’t say why. Just told us to come immediately.”

Dev whistled low. “That sounds… ominous.”

Aarav sighed. “Yeah. Guess we’ll find out soon.”

“Great,” Dev muttered, hefting the bags. “Jet lag and mystery meetings—welcome back to the Singh empire.”

They hailed a cab and left the airport.

Aarav picked up the call.

“Hello, Dad.”

“Where are you and Dev?” his father’s voice was firm.

“We just landed. We’ll be home soon, don’t worry.”

“No. Don’t come home. Come straight to my office.”

Aarav frowned. “Office? Right now? Is everything okay?”

“I’ll explain when you get here,” his father said curtly, then hung up before Aarav could respond.

Dev walked over, juggling their bags. “What’s with the face? What happened?”

Aarav slipped the phone into his pocket. “Dad wants us at his office.”

Dev blinked. “Office? Seriously? Doesn’t he know we just got off a flight?”

“He knows.” Aarav’s brows furrowed. “But he didn’t say why. Just told us to come immediately.”

Dev whistled low. “That sounds… ominous.”

Aarav sighed. “Yeah. Guess we’ll find out soon.”

“Great,” Dev muttered, hefting the bags. “Jet lag and mystery meetings—welcome back to the Singh empire.”

They hailed a cab and left the airport.

After 30 minutes, they reached the office building.

As Aarav and Dev stepped out of the cab with their luggage, Aarav adjusted his bag on his shoulder. At the same moment, Ishika came rushing out of the building, juggling her phone, a coffee, and a folder.

In a split second, her heel slipped on the curb.

“Ahhh—!” Ishika stumbled forward and crashed straight into Aarav.

Both froze. Her coffee cup wobbled in the air like a slow-motion movie before splattering onto the ground. Aarav instinctively caught her, and for a moment, their eyes locked. Time paused.

Then—

Thud! Aarav’s laptop bag slipped from his shoulder, hitting the pavement with a sickening crack. The screen popped open, flickering with a spiderweb of cracks.

Dev stood there, blinking at the scene, then broke the silence with the most dramatic gasp.

“Well, well… Mr. Singh. Hate to break this Romeo-Juliet moment, but your laptop just committed suicide. RIP Innovex property!”

Aarav snapped his head toward the ground, horror on his face. “No… no, no, no! Do you have any idea what you just did?!” he shouted at Ishika.

Ishika pushed herself off his chest, brushing her hair back like nothing happened.

“Oh please. Don’t blame me for your butterfingers. I almost died because of your cab blocking the way.”

Dev squinted. “Uh, correction, ma’am… the car wasn’t even moving.”

Ishika froze mid-retort. “…Well, I thought it was about to move!”

Aarav threw his hands up. “Unbelievable! First you break my laptop, now you invent imaginary traffic?”

“Excuse me?” Ishika shot back. “Your ancient laptop probably wanted to die anyway. Not my fault.”

Dev coughed into his fist, grinning. “To be fair, Singh… it was looking a little outdated.”

“Shut up, Dev!” Aarav barked, glaring at both of them.

But Ishika’s phone rang. She picked it up, completely ignoring Aarav’s fury.

“Hello, Shreya? Yeah, I’m on my way. Just got delayed by some drama king.” She shot Aarav a look, waved dismissively, and walked off.

Aarav stood fuming, holding his broken laptop.

Dev whistled. “Well, bro… looks like Delhi just gave you your first ‘welcome back’ gift.”

Aarav clenched his jaw, muttering, “That girl… she’s not getting away with this.” His eyes narrowed, and a smirk crept onto his face as he followed Dev into the building.