Ashi froze where she stood.
The same gangsters from earlier stepped into her street, blocking the narrow path that led to her house.

Their eyes were sharp.
Their expressions darker than before.

“So you’re back,” one of them said.
His voice carried a slow, mocking calm.

Ashi instinctively stepped back.

“I don’t want trouble,” she said quietly.

“That’s the problem,” another one laughed.
“You already created it.”

They moved closer.
Ashi moved back again.

Her legs were tired.
Her body still hurting from earlier.
And fear — real fear — finally crept into her breath.

She took another step back.

And her heel hit the edge of a loose stone on the road.

It tilted.

Her balance vanished.

Ashi gasped — the world tilting with her—
her body falling backward toward the hard ground.

No, no 

But before she hit the ground—

A strong hand grabbed her arm.
Another steadied her waist.

Warm. Steady. Unshakably firm.

Ashi’s breath caught as she looked up.

Haruv.

He stood behind her, one arm wrapped around her, stopping her fall completely.
His face was half-shadowed by the streetlight, expression unreadable… but his grip on her was steady, protective.

The gangsters froze — startled.

Haruv didn’t look at them.

His eyes were only on her.