My hands were still a little unsteady long after Bhai's men had left. The flat suddenly felt smaller, darker, unsafe.
I had been lucky they hadn't searched the place properly.
Otherwise, they would have found the five lakhs in cash inside the wardrobe-my advance payment from Aarav.
I had to move that money somewhere else. And maybe move out of the city for a while. Quickly.
And not after they'd seen my face-well, my girly face-and threatened to "take everything," including me.
I fumbled for my phone and dialled Jyotsna.
It rang once.
Twice.
Three times.
No response.
"Come on, pick up," I muttered, pacing.
I needed her. I needed this disguise removed-the glue dissolved, these damn breasts off my chest, my eyebrows fixed. Everything. I needed to be *me* again before someone else mistook me for a woman and created new problems in my already collapsing life.
But Jyotsna didn't answer.
I tried again.
Straight to voicemail.
I couldn't stay here with the cash. Bhai's men were sure to make a follow-up visit.
Only one name came to mind.
Zahir. My fellow nerdy friend. A computer geek.
I grabbed the bag and rushed out, booking an Uber on the way down the stairs. Thankfully, this time the driver didn't call me *Madam*-he didn't speak at all, which was a blessing.
By the time I reached Zahir's old rundown building, anxiety had settled deep into my bones. I hurried up the stairs and knocked.
The door opened slowly.
Zahir stared at me-eyes widening, jaw dropping.
"Dude... is that you?" He blinked twice. "Did you-did you have a sex change operation?"
"Oh, shut up," I groaned, pushing past him.
I threw the bag onto his sofa and collapsed beside it, resting my knotted neck, my eyes closed.
He closed the door, still looking like he was processing a ghost sighting.
"Bro, why do you look like...someone ran your face through a female filter?"
"Just-sit," I muttered. "I'll explain."
Zahir plopped into the chair opposite me, eyebrows raised to the ceiling. He already knew about my troubles with creditors.
So I told him everything.
The offer. Aarav's desperation. My night pretending to be Sameera. The ten lakhs. The underworld goons barging into my flat. Their threats. The fear.
His expressions shifted with every sentence-shock, confusion, disbelief, horror, fascination-like watching someone act out an entire TV serial worth of reactions in three minutes.
When I finished, he exhaled loudly.
"Ten lakhs," he repeated slowly. "TEN LAKHS. For one night. Bro... do a few more and you'll be debt-free before the new year."
"Are you insane?" I snapped. "I spent the entire night terrified someone would realise I'm a man. One wrong move and I would've been dead-or worse!"
Zahir shrugged. "Yeah, but still... ten lakhs..."
"And anyway, it's over," I said, rubbing my temples. "Aarav said he found Sameera. She'll be back soon. No more acting, no more roleplay, no more pretending to be her."
"Shame," he muttered. "You looked kind of hot."
"Zahir," I warned. "Your glasses might go for a toss."
"Okay, okay," he said quickly, raising his hands.
I pulled out my phone and tried Jyotsna again.
No answer.
Another call. Straight to voicemail.
"What the hell?" I muttered. "She's unreachable."
I stood abruptly. "I'm going to Jyotsna:s parlour. Something's off."
Zahir grabbed his bike keys. "I'll drop you. I'm heading downtown anyway. And hey-chance to ride with a beautiful gal."
"That's not funny," I snapped.
The wind hit my face as we rode through the morning traffic. I kept glancing sideways, slightly paranoid-every passing biker looked like Bhai's men.
We halted at a red light.
Another bike pulled up beside us.
The rider glanced at Zahir, then at me. He grinned.
"Hey, nerdy Zahir," he said loudly, "finally found a girlfriend, huh?"
I froze. Must be one of Zahir's acquaintances.
The guy gave me an appreciative once-over. "She's cute, man."
My blood boiled.
Before I could snap, Zahir flashed a proud, stupid grin.
"Yeah, bro. She's my girlfriend. Thanks, man!"
My jaw dropped.
The signal turned green.
We sped forward.
"What the hell was that?!" I shouted over the engine noise.
"Oh, come on," he said casually. "Let me brag a little. I never get chances like this."
"I AM GOING TO KILL YOU."
He laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world.
I seethed all the way to Jyotsna's parlour.
We pulled up in front of the small salon, sunlight bouncing off the glass window.
I hopped off the bike, walked up to the door-
-and froze.
A handwritten sign hung there:
OUT OF TOWN. PARLOUR CLOSED TODAY.
I stared at it.
Then banged the door.
Once.
Twice.
Harder.
"Are you kidding me?!" I groaned, hitting the door again.
---------
I stood outside Jyotsna's locked salon, staring at the glass door like it had personally betrayed me. After a second, I pulled out my phone and dialled her number again, jaw clenched.
This time, she answered.
"Hello?"
"Where the hell are you?" I snapped the moment I heard her voice. "I've been calling you all day. These bloody boobs won't come off!"
There was a pause on the other end.
"Relax," Jyotsna said calmly. "I had to rush to Pune. My sister met with an accident."
I shut my eyes, pressing my fingers to my forehead.
"And before you start yelling," she added dryly, "you specifically asked for prosthetics that wouldn't come off easily. For a convincing appearance. Remember? You were scared you would be caught."
"But I meant getting them off in a day," I muttered. "And now I can't, because you aren't here."
"They'll loosen on their own in a couple of days," she continued. "It's not like the glue is permanent."
She laughed.
I seethed.
"You don't get it," I said quietly. "I need to go out of town, out of the country. I can't like this."
"Well, you're not growing breasts for life," she scoffed. "I'll be back tomorrow. Come to the salon then."
There were a hundred things I wanted to tell her-about the threats, the fear, the underworld goons-but none of it I could explain.
"I'll be there," I said shortly and hung up.
Zahir was leaning against his bike nearby. "What happened?"
"She's back tomorrow," I said. "Which doesn't help me today."
He grinned. "Chill. One more day won't kill you."
I grunted my discomfort.
Back at Zahir's flat, he acted like nothing in the world was wrong.
"Ordering food from Triggy," he said casually. "What would you like to have?"
"Anything," I mumbled.
"It is you who should be treating me," he added cheerfully. "You're still up five lakhs."
I smiled. "Fine. Lunch is on me."
When the food arrived, he handed me a beer.
"To questionable life decisions," he said.
I clinked bottles with him. "To survival."
The afternoon slipped by quietly. I sprawled on his couch while he worked on some code, muttering at his laptop, completely engrossed. I spent time on my phone, checking crypto rates and scrolling through social media feeds. Yesterday's announcement of Khatri's new movie with Kabir and Sameera was creating a massive buzz.
Damn fools, I thought. It wasn't Sameera. It was me.
Every now and then, I adjusted my T-shirt, painfully aware of the fake boobs underneath.
By evening, I was bored, and the flat felt too silent.
I made coffee for both of us, and just as I handed Zahir his mug, the doorbell rang.
Zahir opened the door and his geek friend entered the apartment.
His eyes flicked toward me-and froze.
"Oh," he said awkwardly. "Hi."
"Come in," Zahir said casually. "This is Sam. A friend."
To me, he said," This is Shreyash, a fellow coding geek"
I nodded politely, keeping my voice low. "Hi."
Shreyash immediately assumed I was a girl. Of course he did.
They launched into geek talk-coding, software versions, platform updates-while I sat quietly, scrolling through my phone, occasionally nodding.
Before leaving, Shreyash said, "By the way, you're coming to Rahul's birthday tonight, right?"
Zahir nodded. "Yeah."
Shreyash's eyes moved to me. "You can come too. Join our gang of geeks"
Before I could answer, Zahir said, "Nah. Sam's leaving soon."
"Oh. Okay," Shreyash said, offering me an awkward smile. "Nice meeting you."
When the door closed, I let out a slow breath.
Zahir went back to his coding, and I went back to my phone.
After a while, Zahir stretched. "I should get ready."
I watched him for a moment. The thought of sitting alone all evening felt worse than being misgendered yet again. It was a gathering of nerds and geeks-they wouldn't pay me much attention. The chances of being found out were slim. And even if I was... it wouldn't really matter.
"I'll come with you," I said.
He froze. "Are you sure?"
"I could use the change of scenery. I'll keep to myself though," I added quickly.
His mouth curved into a grin. "So... a silent, nerdy girlfriend?"
"Try friend, you idiot," I said, laughing.
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That's the end of Chapter 5. Do let me know your thoughts on the chapter. Comment freely. Drop a like if you enjoyed reading it.
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