25) What the hell are you doing here?

Helllooooo cutiieessss! *in Joey's voice* How you doin'?

I'm so sorry for the delay but I got sick and it took me 3 weeks to recover. 🥲

But I'm back now and hopefully I'll be more frequent with the updates.

Have fun reading!

Kiara's POV

"Hello? Is this Kiara?" A soft voice rang in my ears and my eyebrows drew together as I wondered where I had heard the voice before.

"Yes. Who's this?" I asked politely.

"It's me, Roshni."

Roshni? Do I know any Roshni? Wh-

I mentally face-palmed. How can one forget about their mother-in-law?

"Oh. Hello, ma'am." I giggled nervously. "I'm sorry, I didn't have your number saved." I apologized.

"No, no. It's completely okay. And there's no need to call me ma'am. How are you?"

"I am fine. And you?"

"Good, good."

It actually felt quite weird talking to her because the last time we interacted was three weeks ago. And I didn't even know the woman properly.

Yeah, as if you and your husband are childhood buddies.

"Well, I actually called you for a reason." She spoke sweetly as I patiently waited for her to complete what she was saying.

"Rajveer has decided to throw a small party in your welcome."

A party? In my welcome?

"Wow. That's... That's great."

"It's on Saturday, in our mansion only. Just a small get together for family and some business associates. I just need you to inform Arjun about it."

Why do I have to talk to him?

"Oh, and yes, you need to buy yourself a dress. The theme for the party is somewhat formal."

Uh oh.

It felt as if someone poured a bucket of cold water on me.

"I'll have to go shopping?" I whispered as my face contorted into horror and she chuckled lightly, hearing the distaste fear in my voice.

"Don't worry. I talked to one of my designers and she has some of the evening gowns ready. You just need to go and finalize one of them."

She had her own freaking designers?

Well, what else did you expect?

"Oh, okay."

This all felt so surreal. Normally, my friends used to drag me forcefully to the malls if I needed to buy clothes. I've never had any personal stylists.

At least, I wouldn't need to wander from shops to shops, finding the perfect dress. I still remember the cursed day when I had gone shopping with my friends in search of the 'perfect dress' for my engagement.

Thank god, they won't be coming with me this time.

"I'll text you her number and address. Just make sure you go there within a day or two since she will need time for the alterations. And while you're at it, Arjun can get himself a new suit too."

Shopping with my dearest hubby. Yay.

"Okay. That sounds..." Horrible. "good."

"Well, I would love to chat with you some more but I have to make a lot of arrangements for the party. I'll talk to you later, Kiara."

I still can't fathom the fact that this sweet woman is related to Arjun.

"Sure. Take care."

"You, too."

Hanging up the phone, I placed it on the table and massaged my temples, sighing softly.

There goes my whole week.

Not only would I have to go and shop, but also spend my weekend in a stupid party with that angry, ticking bomb and pretend to be hopelessly in love with him.

Wow.

I slumped against the couch, exhaling heavily and then bolted upright two seconds later when I realized I was getting late for college.

*

"So, you jumped on him?"

"Yes."

"Like a monkey?"

"Yes."

"And you choked him, too?"

Nodding bashfully, I buried my face in my hands. "Oh god." I cried out. "Why does it always happen with me?"

"This is the most embarrassing thing I've done in front of him." I rambled.

"Most embarrassing? Does that mean you've done other embarrassing things too?"

Again, I nodded my head regretfully.

"Oh."

"Oh?" I looked up, only to find the idiots trying hard to control their laugh. Saumya being the sophisticated one, tried to cough subtly, hiding her smile while Nandini was sniggering lightly. Maahi and Anushka, being the sweet, kind souls they were, did nothing to hide their amusement as they cackled loudly, effectively grabbing the attention of the whole canteen.

My eyes flitted across the canteen and I found a lot of eyes on me, staring and whispering. Squirming in my seat, I leaned forward and whisper yelled. "Guys! Can you please lower your voice? Everyone's staring."

"Well." Maahi flipped her hair and steepled her fingers together, resting her hands on the table. "If someone is this hot," She pointed towards herself "people are bound to stare, babe."

"Excuse me?" Someone spoke from beside me and I almost jumped in my seat. Looking to my right, I found two excited faces peering at me. Two girls around my age stood there in preppy outfits and creepy, identical grins plastered across their faces.

"Are you Kiara?" One of the girls asked while I blatantly stared at them.

"Uh. Yes?" I answered, my forehead crinkling in confusion.

"You are the one who is married to Arjun Singhania, right?" The same girl asked again, her voice laced with eagerness.

Ugh. Not again!

I groaned inaudibly, resisting the urge to smash my face in the table.

"Yes." As soon as I spoke the word, the girl who had been silent all the time, squealed. Yes! She squealed, shocking me so that I almost jumped from my seat. Clapping her hands, she leaned forward. "You are so lucky." She gushed, placing her palm on my arm and I rose a bored eyebrow at her.

Oh really? I didn't know that.

"I am Sameera and this is Radhika." The girl who first talked to me, spoke.

"We just wanted to ask that..." Sameera bit her lip and smiled nervously as if she was showing her result to her parents.

"Can we get his number? Please, please?"

Huh?

"Excuse me?" My face twisted weirdly at her request.

Who did she think I was? His PA?

"Whoa, whoa. What are you doing?" Maahi piped in. "Do you want to die? You have the nerve to ask for Arjun's number from his wife? Do you know how possessive she is about him?" She widened her eyes dramatically while I gave her a major side eye.

"Oh, sorry. We didn't mean it that way." That girl had the nerve to look apologetic. "If not his number, can we have his shirtless picture then?" She gave me puppy eyes, her lips jutting in a pout.

"What?" Almost shouting, I blinked a few times. Had these girls gone insane?

"Nah, honey. Can't happen. Those sexy abs are for Kia's eyes only." Saumya winked at me, patting my shoulder. "And that, too, in a confined bedroom."

My friends had gone crazy.

"What do you need Arjun's shirtless pic for?" Anushka leaned back in her chair, crossing arms over her chest. Everyone looked amused as if the Cricket World Cup was going on.

They were enjoying this. Great.

"Actually, we are huge, huge fans of Arjun."

"Huh?" If possible, my face twisted even more, making me look like a confused chihuahua.

I was starting to get a migraine.

"His fans? But why?" I asked, my expressions screaming questions at their sanity. "He's not a celebrity."

"Actually," Nandini spoke from her seat, "he kinda is." She opened her mouth to elaborate but my angry glare shut her up.

Oh god. This world is crazier than me.

Never thought it would be possible but here we are.

"She is right." Radhika said, looking at Nandini and bouncing lightly on her tip-toes. "He is so hot."

I looked at her feet and then back at her.

Why was she bouncing?

"I know right?" Sameera replied, fanning herself dramatically while my face turned impassive.

So, that's how it feels like when I fangirl about Chris in front of someone who doesn't like him?

Great! That makes me want to do it even more.

"We just want a photo with him. That's all. Don't worry, we're not trying to steal your man." Radhika joked like I was her childhood buddy and my jaw hung open.

Dude what? You can steal him all you want. I will give you money to kidnap him. Keep that walking, angry godzilla with you. I'm happy without him.

I shook my head.

"Look. I'm sorry but I can't give you his number, nor his shirtless pic." I replied as softly as I could, though my calm facade was slowly cracking up.

"His autograph?"

"Thank you. You may leave." Forcing a tight-lipped smile on my face, I looked at them expectantly.

Pouting, they left and I slumped in my chair, a palm on my forehead.

What had my life become? And what was wrong with these people?

What were they going to do with his phone number? Call him? Message h-

Wait.

I quickly looked up as a bulb went off in my head.

"Uh-oh. I don't like the look on your face, Kia." Saumya muttered as I smirked.

"I'll just come in a minute." I stood up, dusting my jeans. "Hey, wait." I called out after the barbie doll duo and went after them.

Five minutes later, I was sitting back in my chair with a wide smile on my face.

"Kia." Nandini narrowed her eyes at me while I looked at her, still smiling. "What did you do?"

"Nothing." My grin widened even more.

"Then why do you look like you just smoked a pot of weed?" Anushka asked suspiciously. I ignored them and sighed contently.

"Stop that. You're scaring us." Saumya said.

"Yes, you like a scary clown."

I just closed my eyes and giggled lightly.

This was going to be fun.

"So, Kia." My eyes snapped to Maahi, who was playing with a bottle cap in her hands, her eyes glittering with gleeful mischievousness. "You jumped on him. I presume it won't be long when you jump his bones too?"

The grin on my face vanished.

"Guys!" I whined and they again erupted into laughter. "This is not funny."

They ignored me just like I ignore vanilla ice cream in front of a chocolate one.

"Arjun's dad is hosting a party on this Saturday." I spoke and everyone shut up, gazing at me with stunned expressions and wide eyes.

"And I'll have to attend it."

"So, have you finalized a dress yet?" Nandini's voice was excited.

"No, I'll go shopping on Thursday. The-" I immediately clamped a hand over my mouth when I realized what I had done.

Too late.

Oh, no, no, no, no.

No, no, no.

God, no.

I was already weeping in my mind and mentally banging my head against a wall.

Why did I say it?

"We are coming!" All four of them shrieked enthusiastically.

I would've dramatically fallen to the floor at my despair had I not been sitting.

I can't go shopping with them. They'll eat me alive.

"When are we going?"

"Guys-"

"I think we should first check at the mall we went earlier."

"Listen-"

"Yeah. The designs were quite unique there."

"But-"

"What time should we go?"

"You-"

"How about seven-ish?"

They had already started planning for their shopping trip aka 'Let's torture Kia to death' trip.

"Guys." I yelled. They all stopped talking and stared at me.

"You're not coming with me."

Anushka gave me a sympathetic look and patted my shoulder while my eyes flickered at her hand and then her.

"Honey," She shook her head like she was going to inform someone that they had cancer, "your fashion choice is worse than a chimpanzee on crack. So, if you don't want to look like a homeless drug addict at the party, I suggest we go with you."

Toućhe.

"Excuse me. I have a good fashion sense, thank you very much." I huffed.

"You tried to pair a dress with flip flops." Nandini deadpanned.

"So what? They were comfortable." All I got in response were blank stares.

"Fine. I don't really know how this fashion thing works. But you people are not coming with me." I announced and all of them broke into fits of outrage.

"Listen to me." I shouted as they again went quiet and I continued. "Arjun's mom has a personal stylist who has the dresses ready. I just need to choose one among them. And I think the stylist will definitely have a better fashion sense than me."

"If not all, at least one of us can go with you." Saumya suggested.

"Dibs!" Anushka and Maahi yelled simultaneously, bolting from their seats and raising their hands in the air as if their life depended on it.

I face-palmed. "Try to understand. I'm going with Arjun. I can't bring you people too. And don't give me that look, Anushka. No matter how much you plead me, you are not coming."

Stomping her foot like a small kid who has been denied her favourite toy, she sat on her chair, sulking.

Maahi, on the other hand, leaned forward with a devilish smirk to say something but I stopped her.

"No matter how many chocolates you bribe me with, Maahi, you're not going either."

Rolling her eyes, she too, sank in her chair and opened a bottle of pepsi.

"When are you going by the way?" Saumya questioned.

"I don't know." I shrugged. "I need to tell that devil first." I muttered to myself.

*

"Finally." I groaned heavily, cracking my knuckles. I had finally completed my assignment, which was given to us a month ago and was due tomorrow. I had a very bad habit of procrastination and it often got me into trouble.

Glancing at the clock, it was only 7 in the evening, I stood up and stretched lazily.

Okay, so I needed to find the devil and tell him about the party.

Where could he be right now?

Let's try his room first.

Reaching his bedroom door, I knocked lightly.

No answer.

Seems like he isn't there.

I began to leave when my gaze went to the doorknob. I really wanted to know how his room looked like.

My fingers touched the doorknob as I contemplated on what to do.

Should I peep inside?

Or would it be wrong?

I was curious. Just one, tiny peek.

The last time you were curious, you ended up marrying Mr. Arrogant of the century. I suggest you wear your running shoes and run the hell away from here. Don't look back.

I quickly straightened up.

For the first time in my life, I agreed with my conscience.

I'd already had my share of surprises for the whole decade. Turning around, I decided to look somewhere else.

Roaming around the whole house, I finally found him in the study, hunched in front of his laptop with an intense frown clouding his face.

Who looks this hot while doing work?

The way he waved a hand through his hair, the way his brows furrowed as he frowned in concentration, the way his tongue poked out sub-consciously, wetting his lips. That tongue -

Holy water! I need some holy water! Someone sprinkle holy water on me, please!

I exhaled a deep breath.

Let's get this over with.

Mustering all the courage, I squared my shoulders and stepped inside the study since the door was wide open. "Arjun?"

His black orbs flickered towards me, almost glaring as if I was invading his privacy.

"What?"

"Your mom called." I informed him.

His hands froze on the keyboard and he casted a cold glance at me, enough to make anyone shiver.

"What?"

Rolling my eyes lightly, I propped a hand on my waist and spoke. "I said your mom called."

"Let me make something clear to you." He stood up and I immediately took a step back.

Damn it.

"You'll not call her my mom."

Huh?

"Why?"

"Because, I said so."

Bloody controlling tyrant.

"Fine. How about - your dad's wife called?" I asked sarcastically.

"Yes. That's how you're going to address her."

What? I was only half-serious about it.

"Are you crazy? Do you have a problem with your mom?"

"Doesn't concern you." He spoke off-handedly.

"What the hell is your problem?" I asked, irritated.

Maybe it was my frustration that I had been writing continuously for the past 2 hours or the fact that I was craving chocolates, I decided I've had enough of him.

"Why don't you acknowledge your own mom?" I moved towards him.

"I said." He started in a deep, venomous voice, his eyes ablaze with anger. "It doesn't concern you."

"What kind of a human are you? You don't even respect your own mother. How would you even respect other women?"

He stalked towards me.

"You do not question me on this. Okay?" His voice filled with rage.

I stepped back. "I will question you however I like, whenever I like. What will you do, huh? And how could you be so disrespectful to your own mother?"

His jaw clenched tightly, the vein in his forehead popping out.

"You don't know anything. It would be better if you shut the hell up."

I could see his anger was hanging on a thread. Still, me being me, decided to push him further.

"Then why don't you tell me?"

His sharp eyes glared at me as his hands balled into fists at his sides. "And why the fuck do you think I would tell you anything? Who are you to me?"

"I am your w-" I stopped. Who was I to him? Nothing. He made it clear on the very first day of our so-called marriage.

"That's what I thought." He sneered.

He stepped closer and I tried very hard to not wither under his gaze. "You're a nobody." He spoke slowly. "You don't matter to me."

Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry.

"You know what?" I managed to say, swallowing the lump forming in my throat. "You are a monster."

I marched out of the study, shutting the door with a loud bang and ran to my room.

Stupid goblin.

Screw him.

I hate that devil.

Clenching and unclenching my fists, I looked around, resisting the urge to throw something.

I needed to get out of here.

Quickly picking my phone and keys and wiping the angry tears that escaped my eyes, I rushed towards the lift. Whenever I got angry or frustrated, I would ultimately start crying. And I hate myself for that.

Getting out of the building, I started walking away from there. I didn't know where I was going. I just needed some time alone.

I tried calling Anushka but her phone was switched off.

"Damn it." Muttering angrily, I crossed my arms and continued marching aimlessly. There were not many people outside as the sun was starting to set.

A few minutes later, my phone rang. Sid. I picked it up.

"Hey, hotness." If it had been some other time, I would have laughed at his endearing.

"Do you know a good place to hide a dead body?" I asked him.

"There's some barren land near my place. We can hide the body there. No one would notice." He spoke causally as if he did it on a daily basis and was actually considering it. This brought a smile on my face.

"By the way, is it about the crazy douchebag that also happens to be my best friend?"

I pressed my lips in a straight line.

"He is such an ass- idiot!" I almost yelled, my voice shaking in the last.

"What happened? Is everything okay?" He asked politely, sensing the slight tremble in my voice.

I told him everything that happened. I needed to let it out.

"Kia." His voice turned soft as if trying to make a child understand.

"What?"

"She is not Arjun's real mom."

"Huh?"

"She is Arjun's step mom. His real mother, Sapna aunty, died a few years ago in a car accident."

I stopped walking.

"What?" I whispered.

"I... but...he." I breathed out. Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I thought you knew."

"I... I didn't know." I muttered helplessly.

"She's always a sensitive topic for him. We don't talk about her in front of him."

So, Roshni was not Arjun's real mom?

Shit. I felt like jumping from a cliff.

"But-"

"Hey, hey. Relax. It's okay. You didn't know about it. It's fine."

"Oh god. What did I do?"

"Don't stress about it, Kia. Arjun has a short temper. He tends to overreact sometimes. And he probably won't remember it in the morning."

"Yeah. I... um. I'll call you back later."

"Okay. Take care."

"Yeah, bye."

I cut the phone and sighed, looking at the ground.

What did I do?

But I didn't know that his mom...

Why didn't he tell me that Roshni wasn't his real mom?

Like he tells you everything else?

That's why he hates her so much.

If I knew, I wouldn't have said all those things.

Biting my lip, I glanced up.

Wait.

Where was I?

There weren't many houses around. The road was deserted and there was a garden a few blocks away. I speed walked towards the garden and looked around. It was empty. Not even a single person was here. My eyes caught a board near the fence. I went near it and it said-

'Property of the Singhania's. No civilians allowed.'

Oh, well.

Technically, I was a Singhania by law. So, I think I was allowed here. And it wasn't like Mr. Rajveer would be angry I entered their garden without his permission. Well unless he had a temper just like his son.

I entered the garden and walked forward, the dead leaves crunching beneath my feet and some insects chirping in the bushes. Hugging myself as a cold breeze flew past me, I looked around. Trees, benches, bushes, a few swings and a small fountain in the middle. As my eyes flitted across the garden, they landed on a huge tree, standing far and wide. Without even a second thought, my feet took me near that tree. I sat down beneath it, my back resting against the trunk. This place felt serene. Bringing knees to my chest, I cradled my head and wondered what was happening in my life.

Just as I thought I had a few moments of peace with myself, my reverie broke when I heard the familiar voice shout.

"What the hell are you doing here?"