It slipped Shanaya's mind that she was wearing nothing but an oversized T-shirt. She slid the door wide open, allowing Shaheer who stood outside to take a good look at her. The calm over his face vanished in an instant. His cheeks blushed pink and he lifted his eyebrows in embarassment, clearing his throat at the same time.
"Oh," Shanaya said to herself, realising what had happened and in a haste almost closed the door on his face. Luckily, he stepped behind on time. She sighed deeply and counted to three, letting her erratic heart go back to normal before slightly jerking the door open to peek out. "Did you get what I asked?" She said hurriedly and for a moment Shaheer's brows furrowed in confusion. "What? Oh, yes. Yes, here it is. Ms. Arora," He said and passed through the little gap a bag with her clothes. Shanaya grabbed it without another glance and turned around to find Dhruv looking at her with a smirk. "And who might that be?" He said, more to himself than to her and took a step at a time leisurely towards the door. He was still only wearing a towel around his waist. She outstretched her arm, causing him to halt. Under her touch, she felt his muscles tense. The sight was too tempting and Shanaya had to try very hard to not take another look at those abs.Dhruv tilted his head and waited, looking at her with raised brows, his eyes shining with innocent confusion."Don't make it more awkward than it already is," She said in a sickly sweet voice with a pursed, wide, ear-to-ear smile. He frowned at her dramatically and said, "Sure, darling," loud enough for people to hear in a half mile radius. However, he poked her nose a second later and continued his way to the door. She groaned and stopped behind a wall to change into the new clothes. As she dressed herself, she heard the two guys talking. "Good morning," Dhruv greeted her assistant, his voice full of confidence. Shaheer on the other hand replied with a smaller voice, "Good morning, Sir." There was a pause and then he asked, a hint of curiosity and amusement in his tone, "So you sent Ms Arora those tulips yesterday?" While pulling the jeans up her thighs, Shanaya could picture Dhruv nodding slowly. "Yes," He said cheerfully, but then his voice lowered, "I know, I know. She loved the bouquet so much, she couldn't stop kissing it?" "Er-actually, Sir, when I asked if I should put them in a vase, she told me she hated tulips. Especially the yellow ones and then she tossed them very carelessly into the bin." Shaheer added after a pause, his voice barely a whisper, " I think she also tore down your note to bits. The flowers were beautiful though. What a waste of beauty."Shanaya resisted the urge to cackle up and walked out right in time to catch Dhruv frowning at Shaheer's words. She had never been prouder of the latter before. But, when their gazes met, the smirk returned to Dhruv's face. His eyes raked up and down her figure and the smirk widened. "You looked better in my clothes, darling. You always do," He commented. As Shanaya walked past him, swaying her hips, she threw the t-shirt on his face that was clutched in her hand. He pulled it down, slowly unmasking his wide grin. Dhruv sighed and waved at her. Shanaya pretended to completely ignore him. Shaheer was already in the car when she left the house. "Whether you want to or not," Dhruv shouted on top of his lungs so she could hear him across the road, leaning against the door frame, "we'll meet again. Until then, miss me!" When they were well out of sight, Shanaya looked out of the window and said, "Shaheer?""Yes, Ma'am?" "A word of this goes out and you know what will happen, right?" "Y-Yes, Ma'am." "Good," Shanaya remarked, smirking to herself. _____Shanaya successfully slipped into the Arora mansion through the back door, avoiding anyone's notice and sighed in relief when she got into her room unseen. Tossing the purse on the bed, she entered the bathroom and showered once again because she felt the urge to do so. Shanaya told herself not to think of what happened the previous night between her and Dhruv, but her mind didn't comply, and little goosebumps lined her arms as she recollected moments from the night. The dress, she thought. It didn't deserve that fate. With a swift movement of his strong arms, Dhruv had ripped it from the front, all the way down to her waist before pulling her closer. Before creating havoc inside her body. Before kissing her like his life depended on it. She blushed at the memory. It was engraved in her mind forever; nothing she did would ever erase it. As Shanaya slowly massaged her scalp, she remembered how Dhruv's fingers ran through her hair, gently caressing it as they kissed each other. A shiver ran down her spine at the memory. She traced a finger over her slightly swollen lips and sighed, realising her mind was occupied completely by him.Druv's dark eyes and that stupid smirk plastered across his handsome, handsome face.She needed a distraction. She had to stop thinking about him.Wrapping herself in a bathrobe, she stepped out and for a moment her soul left her body when she saw someone lying across her bed. "Kabir!" She shrieked, holding a hand over her chest to calm her erratically beating heart. "You scared me!" "I see you tried hard but the scent lingers," Kabir commented, straightening himself, a sly smile playing about his lips. "You smell like sex." She rolled her eyes at him. "Is that a gyn thing to say?" Shanaya asked, walking across the room to plug in her hair dryer."It's true then. You got laid last night. That explains why you didn't come here."Kabir shrugged and the smile slipped away, getting replaced by a serious look. His gray eyes stared at her with curiosity. "But seriously, Shan, where were you last night? I called you like a hundred times." She ran her fingers through her wet hair strands as the light buzzing of the machine continued. Pretending to not hear his question, she said looking at herself in the full view mirror, "Do you think it's okay for you to be in my room while I'm not here? And even when I am. With me. Alone?" "Let's not pretend like I didn't spend half of my teen years here," He shook his head as his eyes went over the room, quickly examining it. Picking up a pillow, he flipped it and then stuffed it behind his head, relaxing even more. "You're not scared of what Dadi has to say?" His eyes flickered away from her but a small smile appeared on his clean shaven face. "She stopped doubting me a while ago. Precisely on the day I got married to Noor. Unless she considers me able enough to have an extr
Ahail, was a hero. Her saviour. Her protector. Or at least, he had been; once upon a time before the whole Arora family descended into the ruins. Shanaya had been a notorious teenager. With her heart on her sleeve and her mind in her mouth, trouble was always lurking around, and she attracted it like a magnet—picking fights with girls and boys all the same. But Ahail was there. He was always there to clean up her messes. He'd beat up guys and flirt with girls until they thought no more evil of his little sister. Ahail was the perfect guy—tall, handsome and smart. They were both blessed with a good combination of their parents' genes but while Shanaya struggled with Math, he excelled. With the ability to make friends at just the wave of his hand, he was a charmer. He sang sometimes and played music at pleas of girls. He was the life of every party he attended. Such was the Ahail she knew and loved and admired. The one she was about to meet, however, was a completely different person
"He'll be here in a minute," Shanaya said in an instant, earning a head tilt and a long gaze from her granny before the old woman settled on the seat as the head of the family. Her brother entered moments later, displaying a freshly shaved jaw and carried out the walk of shame with his head low before sitting down. "Now that everyone's here," Suhala began with a small but genuine smile, "I'd like to introduce everyone to Raunak Mehta." So the trouble's named Raunak this time, Shanaya thought as she examined his face carefully. He smiled at her grandmother's words but the moment his gaze met Shanaya's he blushed and looked away. The latter continued to glare. "Ms Chahal is here with her with daughter too," She added with a forced smile. "Mithila, right?""Mridula, Dadi." The girl corrected politely and lowered her head, smiling. "Yes, yes." Shanaya resisted the urge to roll her eyes and sighed instead, failing to maintain a fake smile. Times as such reminded her of why she prefer
When Monday morning dawned, Shanaya could not be more eager to leave her family house. She had always expected it to be a haven; a place to relax after a long week—to heal and recover from the burnout, but it had never felt that way. Going to her family house felt more like an obligation—a duty she was committed to doing. She did that every weekend. Sometimes, she felt guilty for perceiving like checking up on her grandmother and Ahail, were merely tasks on her to-do list. Shanaya sneaked out as always, tiptoeing to the front door. It was still dark outside, but the chirping of birds had replaced the quietness of the night. She needed some time to restore her sanity before reaching her workplace. She was about to turn the doorknob when someone cleared their throat behind her, causing her to freeze in her place. She sighed, feeling like a thief caught red-handed. "One day you'll regret not saying goodbye before leaving," Suhala's throaty voice fell on her ears. Her grandmother was
Despite its beauty, Shanaya frowned as she picked up the bracelet and examined its delicate design. To the touch, it was cool, sending tiny shivers through her fingers. Dhruv's smirking face flashed through her mind and she tried her best not to recall fragments of the night they spent together. What was all of this supposed to mean? What was he up to? Why did he suddenly choose to flood her with his attention after ghosting her for the last eight years? Dhruv was the last person she wanted on her mind that morning, but he was utterly unsettling like a wine stain on her conscience. Shanaya placed the ruby and gold bracelet back in the box with equal care and shut it close. “What an idiot,” she whispered to herself, remembering their conversation. Well, the next time I'll bring you roses carved out of gold. How about you never bring me any flowers? Of gold or otherwise. Dhruv had done just what she had told him not to. That was expected of him. It annoyed Shanaya but she found
[DHRUV]When his eyes opened, Dhruv feared he had slept through the afternoon. The watch on his wrist, however, displayed the time to be ten o’clock. He closed his eyes, breathing in deeply before deciding to begin his day. His body was still trying to adapt to the change. It took most of the night to fall asleep, causing him to wake up much later than he intended to. Alarms had never worked for him, so he did not bother setting them up now either. Standing up on his feet, he wandered around, taking in the emptiness of his room. A bed and a wardrobe were the only pieces of furniture inside. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done, he noted to himself. Dhruv had his old friends from Mumbai hunt for some bungalows while he was still wrapping things up in the U.S. The one he had ended up buying was perfect for him—just as he had pictured.However, everything had been done in haste and there was no housewarming ceremony which aggravated his mother, who was mad in the first place be
Sucking in a deep breath, Shanaya took another peek out the window. Dhruv still stood leaning against his car, dashing in a white shirt. While it made no sense to her, Dhruv wearing white clothes was a sight that had always appealed to her. She recalled a white hoodie he once owned that had ended up being hers. He occasionally looked up toward her window, but she was sure he couldn’t see her. Even though he had been standing there for fifteen minutes, Shanaya still wanted to keep him waiting. She removed the glistening bracelet from her wrist and placed it back into the velvet box. A moment later, Shaheer knocked on her cabin door. “Ms. Arora, I’m leaving for lunch. Are you sure you won’t be joining us today?” he asked solemnly, his hands clasped together. “Absolutely,” she replied without missing a beat, grabbed her handbag, and walked around the oval table. Turning around briefly, she glanced across the room. “Ah, Shaheer. Could you please find a nice vase to place those tu
“What a pleasant surprise it is meeting you here!” he expressed, his smile widening even more. Shanaya lied, maintaining her fake grin, “Likewise.”“You look very beautiful today.”“Thank you so much,” she said. Her cheeks were starting to ache. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't come up with a polite way to dismiss him. “Are you here all by yourself?” he asked, his eyebrows rising in curiosity. In addition to his voice, Shanaya hated the intrusiveness he exhibited, making her want to get rid of him immediately. Sighing loudly, she replied, “Oh, no. I’m here with a client. Business deal discussion.”“Should’ve expected that. Your grandmother admires your working attitude.”“Does she? I did not expect that.” She chuckled. “Raunak, I think I should go. Keeping your clients waiting too long is not a good work ethic.”“Right. So silly of me to keep you here.” He moved to the side, freeing her path. Shanaya sighed in relief, walking with quick strides. But when she reached her tabl