She would talk. He would listen.
She started bringing treats—expensive ones at first, then realizing he preferred simple things. Bits of chicken. Cheese. The occasional biscuit.
He started bringing her things he found during his patrols. Her scarf that had blown off a chair. A book she'd left in the garden. Once, inexplicably, one of Samarth's cufflinks.
She'd laughed at that, asked if he was trying to get her in trouble.
His expression suggested he found her master's possessions as uninteresting as she did.
"You're a strange dog," she'd told him one night. "Most dogs are friendly, eager to please. You're judgmental and selective."
Bruno's look clearly said: Exactly.
"I'm going to call you Boo Berry," she'd decided. "Since you're sweet underneath all that scary exterior."
He'd snorted but didn't protest.
Their bond had formed in those secret meetings. In shared silence and quiet understanding.
Two souls trapped in lives they hadn't chosen, finding solace in each other.
Present
"You're the only one who doesn't expect me to be someone I'm not," Nimisha told Bruno now, her fingers absently stroking his fur. "The only one who doesn't compare me to what I should be."
She opened her sketchbook—the one she kept hidden in the library—and began drawing. Bruno's profile. The strong lines of his jaw, the ancient wisdom in his eyes, the powerful build that made grown men nervous.
"You're going to be the hero of my next book," she told him. "Dark, protective, loyal to a fault. The kind of love interest who'd burn the world for his person."
The love story she'd never have.
She was so absorbed in her sketching that she didn't hear the door open. Didn't realize she had company until a shadow fell across her page.
She looked up.
Samarth stood in the doorway, his expression unreadable. His eyes moved from her to Bruno and back again, something dangerous flickering in their depths.
"How long?" he asked quietly.
"How long what?"
"How long have you and my dog been..." he gestured vaguely, "whatever this is?"
Nimisha set down her pencil. "A while."
"Define 'a while.'"
"Does it matter?"
His jaw tightened. "He's my dog. He's trained to protect me, to guard this estate. He doesn't fraternize."
"Maybe he got bored protecting someone who doesn't need protecting." She met his gaze calmly. "Maybe he wanted to protect someone who actually needs it."
Something flashed in Samarth's eyes. "You have security now."
"I have shadows following me everywhere. It's not the same as feeling safe."
He was silent for a moment, then: "Bruno. Here."
