The woman awaited his response as Abhimanyu gawked at her for a few seconds, genuinely uncertain of what to say. However, suddenly he wore a small smirk and slid his hands into the pockets of his track pants, proceeding to approach the location where Raghav stood.

Now, Abhimanyu was undeniably tall, perhaps around 6'2", effectively towering over the woman. He attempted to intimidate her, though it was apparent that his efforts were in vain. In fact, her scowl only deepened upon witnessing how close he stood to her.

"Me? Oh! I'm simply looking at a foolish woman endeavoring to challenge a group of 'not-so-good' men for their territory. I must admit, this is quite a smart move," Abhimanyu remarked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Listen, Mister, I'm not scared of you or your thugs. I've been through worse and I'm not here by choice, but my kids desperately need this place. It's perfect and spacious enough for all of us," she said. "You guys can set up your gambling area anywhere else, Lucknow is a vast city."

"Well, Lucknow is indeed a vast city, you could take your kids anywhere else!" Raghav argued. Abhimanyu looked at his friend and the woman in amusement. It was amusing to see them fighting over a piece of land. Either of them could compromise, but neither of them were willing to do so. Human nature sometimes amused him and other times it annoyed him, especially when it was becoming a hurdle in his work. Right now, the woman was.

Abhimanyu knew that if Raghav left, he wouldn't be able to do any more gambling and he wasn't ready to give up on the one thing that gave him a reason to wake up every day. Any other place would be too far away from where he lived and he was a lazy man, he wasn't going to walk miles just to gamble. So it was best if Raghav stayed with his gambling group, while maintaining his peace.

"Woman, even we know the law, and I have never seen any such law stating that a woman with teaching and orphanage certificates can have control over a government school. This is government property, not yours," Abhimanyu spoke.

"Well, this is not your property either, so I can always file a complaint against all of you for trespassing onto government property," the woman replied sharply. "Moreover, who are you? I have never seen you here before, and by the way, you look disgusting. It seems like you haven't bathed or shaved in ages."

Abhimanyu's smirk turned into a grin as he enjoyed the banter. Her comment didn't offend him because even though he does bathe almost every day, she was right about the shaving part; he was too lazy to shave. Unfortunately for him, someone interrupted just as he was about to retaliate.

"Roop!" Another woman's voice echoed from a distance as the woman in front of Abhimanyu turned to look in the direction of the caller.

Roop, that's her name, and it truly reflected her appearance. 'Roop' means beauty and it suited her perfectly because she was indeed the epitome of beauty.

When Roop saw her friend standing at the entrance of the school, she muttered some words in frustration and looked back at the two men. She gave them her most intense glare before saying, "Don't think this is over! If you don't leave the school by tomorrow, you'll regret it, Raghu."

After threatening men twice her size, without a trace of fear, Roop turned around to leave. She truly embodied the concept of an empowered woman.

"What now, Sakhee?" Roop asked her friend as she approached her at the entrance. She knew she was about to be scolded for confronting the local goons again. But she couldn't help herself. She wanted the orphans to find a home as soon as possible. She couldn't bear to see them living in an old, unpleasant room, which was all she could afford for now.

"Amma told you not to confront the goons like this! These men are dangerous, Roop. When will you understand that?" she asked. Roop rolled her eyes.

"As if we haven't dealt with creatures like them before," she retorted.

"That's different, Roop. This is different. Think about the kids. What if they hold a grudge and try to harm them?" Sakhee, Roop's childhood best friend, pleaded.

But there was no fear in Roop's heart when it came to men. She had seen the worst face of a man and had faced that monstrous figure. Nothing could make her scared anymore. She had forgotten what it felt like to be afraid. It was as if fear had never been a part of her; she was completely numb to it.

Abhimanyu watched the two women walk away, unsure of what exactly amused him about Roop, but something definitely did.

"Well, that was certainly interesting," Abhimanyu mumbled, a small smirk playing at the corners of his lips. Raghav looked at him with disappointment.

"Really? You find her interesting?" Raghav asked. "To me, that woman is a nuisance, and I wish she wouldn't pester me every day."

Raghav groaned in frustration, while Abhimanyu chuckled softly.

"It's rare to see you react like this, Raghu," Abhimanyu commented.

"That woman is full of surprises, and her actions are always unexpected. If she said we'll regret not moving out by tomorrow, then I'm sure she has a big plan," Raghav explained, his tone hinted at his growing curiousity. Abhimanyu raised his eyebrows in response. Despite his reluctance to admit it, he too was curious about what plan Roop had in mind. It would undoubtedly provide him with great entertainment, that much was certain.

"In that case, I might drop by early tomorrow," Abhimanyu spoke, his eyes glinting with anticipation as both men walked back to their previous spot.

Raghav looked at him incredulously. "What? Don't tell me you find that woman interesting. I'm surprised you even took notice of a woman at all," Raghav said, his tone filled with skepticism. He knew that Abhimanyu was only ever interested in humans if they had money to gamble away; he had no interest in forming personal relationships with them.

Abhimanyu simply shrugged in response, not feeling any need to answer a question he himself was unsure about. What was it about Roop that he found so amusing? Was it her recklessness or her bravery, or perhaps it was the combination of both that made her stand out? Whatever it was, he was looking forward to finding out.

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