They have been driving for around an hour. Harleen had woken up from her sleep in about an hour and since then the both of them had been driving in silence.

It was 4:30 in the morning,  and the sky was covered in dark clouds. It looked like it could rain at any moment. Soon it started raining too, lightly at first but it increased gradually.

They were crossing, what looked like a small village, when a sudden noise coming from the engine startled the both of them. Ranbir pulled to the side of the road and parked the car there.

"Ab ye bhi hona tha. Iss kaali gehri raat ki koi subha hai bhi k nahi?" She said in a heavily disappointed voice.

This has to happened today itself. Does the darkness of this night have a morning to it or not?

"Har kaali raat ki sunehri subha hoti hai. Bas sabr hona chahiye." He replied.

Every dark night comes with a morning after it. You just need to have some patience.

"Badi gehri baat hai ye." She remarked.

Such a deep thing to say.

"Mai dekh kar aaya. Bahar mat nikalna." He instructed and got out of the car before she could reply.

I'll check what is it. Don't come out.

He started checking the engine for a problem but since it was too dark, he couldn't see anything properly. She noticed this and stepped out of the car with his phone. She had left hers back at her father's place so no one could trace her location.

"Maine mana kiya tha tumhe bahar aane se." He said as soon as she stepped outside. The rain had immediately drenched her from head to toe just like it did to him.

I asked you not to come out.

"Aap dekhiye problem kya hai. Mai torch pakadti hu." She said and turned on the flashlight in his phone.

You check for the problem. I'll provide the light.

"Bimar ho sakti ho." He warned her.

You can fall sick.

"Aap bhi to bimar ho sakte hai." She argued and he couldn't counter argue to that.

You can as well.

He checked the engine for good 10 minutes but couldn't figure out the problem. He tried calling his men but his phone didn't have any signal.

"Ab kya karenge?" She asked as a sense of panic grasped her.

Now what will we do?

"Gabhrao mat. Abhi k liye yahan kissi se madad lete hai. Kal subhe nikal jayenge." He tried reasoning with her.

Don't panic. For now we'll ask for someone's help here. Tomorrow morning we'll leave.

She nodded as that was the only sane option right now. Amidst this, the rain had stopped and now the winds were blowing, making her feel way more cold than previously she was. She started shivering slightly which didn't go unnoticed by him.

He took his shawl out of the car and handed it to her. She thanked him, wrapping it around herself. She once again covered her head and grabbed it tightly. Ranbir observed each of her move and a small smile threatened to break on his lips. She looked cute in his shawl.

He locked the car and they started walking towards the inside of the village. Ranbir knocked on a couple of doors, but none of them opened, and no reply was heard either. They stumbled across a place after walking for 10 minutes, which looked like a storage area. Luckily, it was not locked, and as Ranbir opened the door, he realised this was so because the place was empty, it only contained two small tables and a small charpaaye.

Cot

"Idhar theher sakte hai." Ranbir said and Harleen nodded as this was the best option available. They walked in and Ranbir closed the door behind.

We may stay here.

"Tum yahan so jao. Mai pehra deta hu." He said and she opened her mouth to argue but he cut her off.

You may sleep here. I'll keep an eye.

"Behas mat karna. Thaak gayi hogi, thoda aaram karlo." He said and she nodded as there was no room for argument.

Don't argue. You must be tired, get some rest.

She hesitantly laid down on the cot and he sat near it on the carpet, facing the door. He rested his back on the leg of the cot with his back close to her face so that if she were to say anything he could hear her immediately.

Sleep took over her senses way sooner than she expected. Ranbir was struggling to keep himself awake as he was tired too. He managed to stay awake till 5:30 but after that he reluctantly surrendered to his sleep.

A loud bang on the door made both of them to wake up startled. Ranbir was immediately up and he looked towards a now awake Harleen.

After making sure she was okay, he went towards the door and opened it. A crowd of around 10-15 people from the village barged inside and looked at Harleen and Ranbir. Harleen immediately got up and stood behind Ranbir. He unknowing clasped his hand with hers as he was now standing in front of her as a shield.

There were multiple questions being thrown their way. The crowd was making cheap allegations at both of them. They were talking amongst each other and bad mouthing those two right in front of their eyes.

Shortly the sarpanch of the village walked in the small space. He asked the crowd to quiet down and then turned towards the couple standing in the corner of the place.

Head of the village

"Jee mai," Ranbir started but was cut off by the sarpanch.

I'm,

"Aapko kon nahi janta Randhawa Sahab. Mai aapse idhar udhar ki baatein nahi karunga. Seedha mudde par aate hai." Sarpanch started saying.

Who doesn't know you, Sir Randhawa. I won't dilly dally. I'll get straight to the point. 

Ranbir smiled at him and nodded for him to continued. He noticed how the number of people who had gathered around had increased drastically. Almost everyone from the village was here to see what was going on. Ranbir was pretty famous and him being caught in such a compromising situation was a gossip everyone wanted to witness first hand.

"Ye ladki aapki kya lagti hai?" Sarpanch questioned.

Who is this girl to you?

A number of thoughts passed through his head in a short span of time. If he were to explain the whole situation to them, they would start questioning the girl's character and also point fingers on him. He couldn't compromise either of their image. He took a deep breath and answered the Sarpanch.

"Mangetar hai meri."

She's my fiancée.

Harleen's eyes widened and her grip tightened on his hand. That was such a big lie but she understood the sensitivity of the situation.

Kahan fas gaye. She thought to herself and started praying internally.

We're so stuck.

She was asking for God's help to get out of this situation with their respect intact.