Shikha reflected upon the conversation she has had with Sunaina and Rajeev with apprehension splayed over her memory. There was something about his persona which intrigued her and piqued her interest while threatening her at the same time. She just hoped that it was her nervousness which was rendering her weak after listening to the stories of his reign of terror, and convinced herself by reminiscing the previous night when he let Rajeev and her free, despite breaking his rules.

"I hope that I am able to prove to them that their fears are unfounded. He does look scary and gives those creepy vibes but his entry in my life has only brought happiness so far. Yesterday, he saved us from a horrific fate and today his company chose me for an internship when I had lost every hope of being selected. Maybe, he is my lucky charm," thought Shikha, her altruistic and naive mind shrugging away the calls of her intuition as she snuggled into her blanket comfortably.

They had been asked to report to VSTech, Vikram's company, and she had no intention of ruining the first impression with her seniors. Despite her enthusiasm and excitement for the following day, Shikha shut her eyes closed in hopes of slipping into slumber as quickly as possible so that she could rise early and prepare herself for her day.

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VSTech,

Shikha and the other interns who were selected the day before reached VSTechHead Office much before the reported time, as they were keen in having a great first impression on Vikram Singhal. It was known to everyone that the man was punctual and liked others to follow his suit, and they had no intentions of letting him down on the first day.

"Are you nervous, Shi?" asked Rohan, who had seen Shikha fiddle continuously with her veil and he was aware it was one of her methods to ease away her nervousness.

"No then, Rohan. After facing so many rejections, I had completely given up on finding an internship. I want to give my best to this, after all, this is such a renowned company. If we are able to get good feedback from here, it will do wonders to our resumes. Do you think we will get to work together?" asked Shikha, hoping that they are assigned to the same supervisor so that she would have some known face around her to help her around.

"I really hope so, Shi. Even if I am not, I am just one text or call away, always, do remember that," assured Rohan, hugging her from her side as she smiled at him affectionately.

Vikram Singhal decided to mark his entry at that very opportune moment. He walked in and his stature demanded attention from everyone present and while everyone willingly gave him the attention he sought, Rohan and Shikha seemed to be lost in each other.

His jaw clenched and he balled his palms into fists, glaring at the couple in front of him, not caring for his presence and openly declaring their affection for one another. Her eyes haunted him day in and day out and it seemed that in reality she had eyed for everyone and everything except him, much to his annoyance and fury.

Shikha's eyes traveled towards Vikram's fuming persona after listening to the whispers around her and she stood up suddenly, realizing what impression she must be giving to him, startling Rohan by her knee-jerk reaction. Vikram was pleasantly surprised and pleased by Shikha's reaction to his presence. The way she pushed his friend away after being alerted to his presence soothed his previously bruised ego.

He signed to Shekhar and began moving towards his own cabin, to which Shekhar nodded affirmatively.

"Interns, follow me into the cabin," ordered Shekhar, following Vikram's stride.

Vikram took his seat and Shekhar stood next to him, ready to offer any kind of assistance his boss might need.

"Ankita and Pamela, you will work under Shashank Sharma. Rohan and Simran, you will be working under Roopa Sen. And Shikha, you are with me!" announced Vikram, enunciating the last few words pertaining to his lady with a predatory smirk dancing on his lips.

"Do we have any questions?" asked Vikram, for the sake of formality as he already knew that no one dared to question him, but much to his surprise, there was someone who had questioned him.

"Sir, Just a small request. Is it possible for me to work with Rohan? I mean, I will be more comfortable working around him as I have never been in corporate atmosphere before," requested Shikha, her tone barely passing above whisper. Shikha was startled to realize that Vikram had chosen her to work with him and she could not help the floor of terror which accompanied her as Rajeev's words of precaution rang in her ears.

Shekhar looked at the girl in surprise who was treading on the last thread of his boss' patience. He had not managed to understand the reason behind choosing Rohan when Vikram had every intention to separate him from the woman of his interest. He just hoped that Vikram's obsession for the timid girl does not end catastrophically for everyone involved.

Anger was about to take the better of him but he had managed to control it, convincing himself that he would exact the payback from her in his own sweet way, or rather bitter way for her. He knew that it was not a right time nor was it a right place to punish Shikha even if he wanted to. He had to take it slow if he wanted her for himself and he knew it very well.

"Miss Agarwal, I cannot allow for this change to happen as it had been already decided. Rest assured, I am always here for you if you need any help. Also, you can always meet him during the breaks..." said Vikram and mentally added, "...if you get any."

"Sorry, Sir. I shouldn't have asked that," replied Shikha, after Rohan kicked her for her reckless and unprofessional demand. She wondered if it was the beginning of what Sunaina and Rajeev had warned her against.

Little did she know, Vikram was the obsessed and devoted thorn, if she was the naive and delicate rose.

Little did he know that in the quest of claiming her, he would end up turning her into a bleeding rose.

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