Chapter 1 — The Beginning of Love
Chapter 1
City mornings usually wake up with noise.
But that morning…
On a narrow street in the city, silence was already waiting.
It was the same street where dreams are sold before the sun even rises.
Sitting on the corner of the footpath was Aaryan—
With torn canvases, a half-broken easel, and fingers stained with paint.
He didn't look at people.
He looked at the emptiness hiding behind their faces.
Aaryan
Aaryan was the kind of person whose eyes spoke more than his voice.
He didn't just talk—he observed.
Sometimes the bowed neck of a man,
Sometimes the fear hidden in a woman’s eyes,
Sometimes the hunger mixed in a child’s laughter.
He would pour it all onto his canvas.
People used to say—
"This boy is mad."
Maybe he was.
Because anyone who sees the truth in this city either goes mad or becomes dangerous.
Aaryan chose the second path—Silence.
His Poverty
He had no home.
Just an old room where the walls had turned black from dampness.
His mother had left long ago.
His father… left him a debt.
Not a debt of money—but a debt of life.
Aaryan would wake up every morning, pick up his paints, and sit on the street.
Some people gave 50 rupees, some 100.
Most just looked and walked away.
But Aaryan didn't care.
For him, money wasn't important—faces were.
And then… Sana
The sun was a bit harsh that day.
Aaryan was cleaning his brush when his gaze… stuck on a face.
She didn’t just walk in.
It felt like she floated in with the wind.
Sana.
Long black hair, a simple suit, and eyes that held something broken.
But that wasn't the main thing.
On the left side of her face, there was a deep scar.
A scar that wasn’t just on her skin, but on her soul.
Aaryan’s fingers stopped moving.
For the first time, he wasn't looking at a face; he was looking at pain.
Sana’s Gaze
Sana hadn't seen him.
She was standing across the street, looking at a poster.
It was a Model Audition poster.
There was hope on her face, but fear in her eyes.
She knew—
"This scar… won't let me in."
People would look at her beauty first, then the scar.
And then… their look would change.
Sana had only one dream in life—
"I don't want to be just a face; I want to be an identity."
But her reality was crueler than her dreams.
The First Meeting
For the first time, Aaryan called out to someone.
"Portrait?"
His voice was low, as if he wasn't used to speaking.
Sana turned around.
She looked at Aaryan, then at his canvas.
"How much do you charge?"
"Whatever you think is right."
Sana smiled faintly. It wasn't a full smile, just a half one.
She sat down.
Aaryan didn't ask anything.
No name. No story.
He just started looking.
Truth on the Canvas
Sana’s eyes looked tired.
As if she was exhausted from fighting every day.
Aaryan didn't hide the scar on purpose.
Instead, he made it clearer.
Sana got restless.
"You… aren't you going to remove that?"
Without looking up, Aaryan said—
"That is not your weakness."
Sana went silent.
For the first time, someone had called her scar the truth.
The Promise
The portrait was finished.
When Sana saw the canvas, her breath stopped.
It didn't show a broken face.
It showed a living woman.
Fire in the eyes, stubbornness on the lips, and the scar… looked like a battle mark, not a shame.
Tears filled Sana’s eyes.
"You made me… look beautiful."
Aaryan looked into her eyes for the first time.
"You are already beautiful."
Then he said the line that became the foundation of this story—
"I will fix everything. The world will see your face."
Sana laughed. A bitter laugh.
"The world isn't that easy, Aaryan."
Aaryan remained silent.
Because he didn't know yet… that this promise would bind him in a deadly debt.
