Ruhana spotted her best friends — Tshanaya and Janice — outside Harper's Midnight Club. A storm of emotions welled up inside her: sadness, longing, happiness. It was the last day of their graduation, and they were celebrating it at the club.
Both girls had been her dorm partners — they had lived through so many memories together. Ruhana felt a deep sense of gratitude for them and their bright futures ahead. Yet beneath it all, she was sad. She knew this would be her last day of freedom before her father locked her up in the palace of her homeland.
She sighed, then caught up to her friends with a wide smile.
Janice (25), curvy, bold, and the life of any party, was a law student. She wore a daring red dress that barely reached her knees, and her fiery red hair matched her flame.
Tshanaya, petite with long straight black hair, was a rising model and social media influencer with quite a large following. She wore a green dress with a low neckline.
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Janice (whistles): "Look at you! You're looking so damn hot, princess, baby. I would always bow to you."
She bows playfully.
Tshanaya(rolling her eyes at Janice's antics): "Better hold up. The men of Sweden would love to hear that from you."
She turns to Ruhana.
"Though seriously, you're killing it. Shall we head inside?"
---
Ruhana was indeed a vision. She had chosen a daring black and purple outfit that barely reached her thighs. The backless design made it irresistibly sexy. It wasn't that she couldn't wear it at home — it just felt right to wear it tonight. Her long wavy brown hair, left open, nearly covered her exposed back.
Ruhana (giggling): "Yes, let's go before we all have to part ways tomorrow… and I go back to Papa."
They showed their IDs to the guard and stepped inside.
The club pulsed with colorful, flickering lights and music that blasted through the air. People were dancing, too lost in the rhythm to worry about the hangovers awaiting them. Ruhana craved this reckless freedom. She had always been kept in a golden cage — like a pretty little bird — but she knew she was too wild to be caged.
At the bar, Janice began flirting with the bartender, her charm doing its usual magic.
Sometimes, Ruhana felt just a tiny bit jealous of Janice — the way she owned her confidence, her curves, her carefree laugh. Ruhana wasn't exactly skinny, but she was healthy enough. Once, she'd joined a gym… but after her trainer made her redo push-ups for a third time, she had quit and never looked back.
The girls clinked their shot glasses together and downed the vodka. The taste burned their throats.
---
Ruhana: "More shots!"
Janice(cheering her on): "You go, girl! Yes!"
Tshanaya(eyeing Ruhana): "You sure? You get pretty wasted, you know."
Ruhana (waving her off): "There are no paps here. Nobody knows I'm a crown princess — so cheers!"
She squealed and knocked back another shot.
They kept drinking until their words slurred and their giggles turned wild. They pulled each other onto the dance floor.
Janice found a guy and started grinding against him. Tshanaya went live on Instagram, recording the scene.
Janice (waving at the camera): "Soo much fun!"
She hugged Tshanaya, and they twirled together. Ruhana joined them.
Tonight, she was truly living. She knew once she returned to India, it would be guards, rules, and tradition. So she danced harder. She smiled brighter.
She let it all go.
Later that night, they somehow stumbled back to their dorm. Drunk, tired, laughing. They hugged each other to sleep.
---
Meanwhile…
Somewhere far away, a gruff voice in a Washington accent broke the silence, a cigarette glowing red in the dark. Smoke curled around the shadowed figure.
Voice: "When?"
He traced a finger along Ruhana's photograph. A slow smirk crept onto his lips at the answer he received. Then he pressed the lit end of the cigarette to the photo — letting it burn.
Voice : "Consider it done."
He shook the hand of the man who had left a money bag on the table.
Then he stood still… watching her photo curl and blacken in the flame.
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"Miss Tanshera… get ready."