46) Quit staring at me

Kiara's POV

"Aww, would you look at them?"

"They look so cute cuddling like that."

"Oww. Stop pushing me or I will fall on the bed."

There was a whine accompanied by some grumbling. "I just want to look."

"If I jump from this floor, how fast do you think I'll die?"

"Shh! Be quiet or you'll wake them up." Someone hissed.

"Quick, take a picture."

I frowned in my sleep, shifting slightly.

"If I poke Arjun right now, will he kill me?"

"Would you like me to sing at your funeral or should I arrange for a professional?"

"Does anyone have a sketch pen? I want to draw on Kia's face."

"Why is Kia smiling like a pervert in her sleep?"

"That's nothing new. It's Arjun who is creeping me out. This is the first time I have seen him not frowning or glaring at someone."

"He almost looks... peaceful."

"Can I scream 'boo' in Arjun's ear real quick? I've been waiting for this moment my whole life."

"The previous offer still stands. Me or a professional singer?"

The voices sounded vaguely familiar.

I let out a grunt and turned, snuggling in the warm chest and ignoring the hushed murmurs. I tightened my arm around the strong body beside me and the arm around my waist pulled me closer. Humming, I found a comfortable position and sighed softly, feeling warm and cozy in the tight embrace.

The sound of a long chorus 'awww' fell into my ears and I opened my eyes sleepily, only to get the biggest scare of my life when I found six grinning faces peering down at me.

My eyes popped out of my sockets and I screamed aloud, scrambling to sit properly. My back hit the headboard and my loud-enough-to-turn-someone-deaf banshee screaming scared the shit out of Arjun who was sleeping beside me. He woke up with a jolt, sitting upright in a nanosecond as his eyes frantically scanned my terrified figure.

"What?" He asked me and let out a loud curse when he saw the six idiots looming over us like bats hanging upside down from the ceiling.

"What the fuck!?" Arjun yelled, shocked to his core and Sid's face broke into a grin.

"Hi."

"What are you guys doing here?" I shrieked, my vocal cords aching in protest. I wound my arm around Arjun's elbow sub-consciously, gawking at the uninvited guests.

What were our friends doing in our bedroom at, I quickly glanced at the wall, 8:00 in the morning?

They were eyeing us as if we were a new exhibit at their favourite museum and their creepy smiles kept getting wider.

"Look." Maahi's gaze slid to Sid and she glared at him. "You woke them up."

Sid gaped at her. "I did not! It was Saumya who was gushing over them."

"What? No. Rohan was the one who wanted to prank them." Saumya protested.

"Because Anushka said Kia looked funny while sleeping." Rohan interjected quickly.

"Well, look at her." Anushka exclaimed, gesturing towards my huddled form. "She does look like a cute witch."

As they continued bickering on who was the loudest while entering the room, Nandini clicked a picture of me and Arjun while I sat there, gobsmacked.

Did they get drunk in the morning? Or did they repeatedly hit their heads on a wall?

I think they lost all their brain cells in an accident while coming here.

"How did you guys get inside?" Arjun's puzzled face looked straight out of a comic book as he blinked his wide eyes, his cheeks flushed.

Rohan raised his arm, keys dangling from his hand as he smirked at us.

Arjun dropped his head in his hands, rubbing his face tiredly. "Right."

"I need to change the locks." He muttered to himself, running a hand through his hair.

"We'll simply make a copy of the new keys." Sid shrugged like it was no big deal and Arjun threw a pillow at him. He dodged it like an expert, just the way he dodges his glares and threats.

"Okay, that's enough." Anushka announced, grabbing everyone's attention and then looked at us. "Freshen up and get ready. We are waiting outside."

I breathed a sigh of relief.

She's the only one sensible here. I can trust her to be t-

"And try to keep your hands to yourself while we are here."

Guess I spoke too soon.

She winked slyly and my grateful expression turned into a blank stare as she giggled like an immature school girl holding hands with her equally immature boyfriend.

They left one by one, throwing smug looks our way as if they had caught me doing something frisky with Arjun. Maahi even tried to wink on her way out but ended up blinking both eyes at the same time and almost walked headfirst in the wall. Rohan held her shoulders and steered her out while she mumbled about needing to learn to wink.

"We need to do something about them." I mumbled, still staring at the door.

"I have an idea." Arjun said and I looked at him. "We fake our death, change our home and never tell them."

I rolled my eyes. "We are not doing that."

He slumped against the headboard, messy strands of hair falling on his forehead that suddenly raised the hotness quotient of the room.

"What an amazing start of the day." He grumbled and I giggled at the agitated look on his face.

His gaze flickered to me and his face softened as he leaned towards me.

"Did you have any nightmares?"

My mood turned sober and I shook my head, trying to smile for his sake.

"How do you feel?" He asked as he shifted closer, his intense eyes boring into my timid ones. Goosebumps arose at the back of my neck at his undivided attention on me.

"I'm okay."

"Does your cheek hurt?" His voice was tense.

I muttered a small 'no'.

"Let me see." He held my chin softly and raised his other hand to stroke my cheek. While he inspected my bruise, my eyes were glued on his handsome face as I ogled at him unabashedly. His ruffled hair, his eyes narrowed in concentration, the small V between his brows, his lips pursed in a straight line and all the tiny details that were already engraved in my mind.

"Quit staring at me."

His chest rumbled when he voiced out his thoughts in his deep, morning voice and I jumped in my place.

I huffed, twisting my mouth unapologetically. "It's not my fault you look so delicious in the morning."

His eyes snapped to me as he arched a brow, his lips curving in an amused smile. He cocked his head to a side and it only added to his amusement when I realized, only a second too late, what I had blurted out.

I slapped a hand over my mouth, horrified while his smile widened.

"Delicious, huh?"

I was still not fully awake and my unfiltered mouth and over-imaginative brain in his presence were a deadly combination.

"Chocolates! I was talking about chocolates. Chocolates are delicious."

He opened his mouth to say something but I beat him to it, standing up in a swift motion.

"I should go and see what our friends are up to." Without looking back, I speed-walked to my room, took a quick bath and rushed to the living area to make sure no one had blown up anything. Fortunately, they were sprawled around like dogs tired out after a run.

I went to sit beside Sid and everyone paused what they were doing, choosing to stare at me instead as if I was a new alien species discovered by scientists.

Just as I was about to ask them to stop staring like that, Arjun appeared in the hallway, freshly showered and all of them looked away hurriedly, busying themselves with one thing or the other.

"Kia." Nandini called out and I glanced at her. "We were wondering if you would like to join us to the mall. We are going shopping."

"No."

Everyone froze and glanced at Arjun who stood there with a stern expression on his face.

"The doctor has asked her to rest. I'm not going to risk her health." He explained in a curt voice.

As much as I was touched by his concern, I was a bit offended that he thought I couldn't manage on my own.

"I can take care of myself." I scoffed.

As if on cue, all heads turned towards me and I sunk deeper in the couch.

Anushka folded arms across her chest as she leaned back in her chair, staring at me blankly. "You set yourself on fire once while trying to light a candle."

"That's so cool!"

"She WHAT?"

Sid and Arjun exclaimed at the same time.

Arjun shook his head slightly. I didn't know if it was the I-can't-believe-she-did-that shake or the How-is-she-going-to-survive-like-this shake. Knowing him, it was probably the latter because he was well-accustomed to my antics by now.

"Thank you for proving my point." Arjun said to Anushka and shifted his gaze to me. "You're not going. And you haven't taken your medicines either. I'm gonna bring you to eat something first."

He marched off to the kitchen while I once again became the prime object of my friends' interests.

The rest of the morning involved Arjun silently fussing over me and the others having the time of their lives as they watched us, sending sneaky glances and smug smirks my way which made me want to push them in boiling water.

We spent most of the day just lazing around and doing nothing. Arjun was by my side all time, constantly checking on me and I couldn't help but smile at his concern.

And among all the chaos, I fell a little more for him.

The girls left after lunch and Arjun had to attend a work call. He had decided to work from home for a couple of days even after I insisted I was alright. He said that I was the poster child of clumsiness and couldn't be trusted with my life.

He went to his study which left only me, Sid and Rohan. Sid and I looked at each other, wearing similar expressions and creepy smiles whereas Rohan groaned loudly, burying his face in the cushion. He already knew what we were thinking when Sid skipped towards the TV and played Thor. Cursing under his breath, Rohan threw his head back and grumbled to himself. "I need new friends."

Halfway through the movie, I gasped as I realized I had to write a whole assignment that was due the day after tomorrow.

I haven't even started yet.

Sid and Rohan sent me pitiful looks when I told them about it and left after exchanging some words of sympathy and encouragement.

Gathering every bit of courage in me, I stood up with an animalistic groan that sounded like I was dying. Dragging my body to my room, I stopped at the threshold when I saw the empty study table.

Where were my books?

Wait.

I glanced around, my forehead creasing in confusion. The wall behind my bed that was earlier covered in the photographs was now bare.

Where did the photographs go?

What was happening?

As I turned to my left, I saw that the door of the closet was open and I walked inside, only to get another shock.

It was empty.

What the hell?

No clothes, no books, no photos.

My feet staggered to a sudden halt and my eyes widened in fear as a thought occurred to me.

Was Arjun throwing me out?

Is he done with me?

I ran out of the room in search of him, my heart thudding in fear.

He can't do that.

Whom was I kidding?

Arjun Singhania can do whatever the hell he wants.

Why?

Cause he's Arjun Singhania.

As I took a sharp left, I bumped into a very familiar chest and almost immediately, two strong arms wrapped around me to stop me from falling on my butt.

My hands ended up holding his biceps for support while Arjun looked down at me with a scowl.

"Careful!" He berated, his disapproving stare on me.

"Are you throwing me out of the house?" I cut him off.

His face froze.

It took him another 5 seconds to contemplate what I had said and when he processed my words, his expressions morphed into that of ridicule. "What?"

"What will I say to mom and dad?" I panicked and clutched the collar of his shirt. "Are you going to divorce me?"

"No!" He exclaimed, looking at me like I had sold my brains for free. "Why would I divorce you?"

"How would I know?" I wailed in a shrill voice. "You tell me."

Why was he doing that?

I know sometimes I make him want to ram his head in a wall repeatedly without a break but I thought everything was going good between us.

He had no reason to leave me unless...

I snapped my wide eyes to him, terrified. "Susan is here, isn't she?"

I covered my gaping mouth.

My worst fear came true.

Arjun scrunched his face. "Who?"

"Your new wife!"

"You are my only wife." He stressed on each word. "And who's Susan?"

"That bitch we met in Maldives." I nearly growled, mentally planning to cut her into tiny pieces and then serve them to vultures.

"Are you moving in with her?" I whispered as my heart broke into a million pieces.

"Wha- No!"

"Did she bring a child with her claming it as yours?"

"Princess-"

I gasped, my face morphing in absolute horror. "She brought twins, didn't she?"

"Stop talking immediately." He ordered but I was way past that stage, already thinking of different ways of torturing Susan.

"Oh no." I placed a hand on my forehead, barely breathing. "Why would you do that to me?"

"Kiara-"

"I thought you we-" The words died on my lips as Arjun kissed me, taking me by surprise. The sudden action had me jolting in shock, shivers travelling down my spine. While I was busy calming my thrumming veins and racing heart, he had already pulled back.

"Calm down." He told me, cupping my shoulders and I released my breath in a puff, looking at him with round eyes.

"I don't need anyone else other than you." He brushed away some loose tendrils from my face, his intense black eyes staring directly into my brown ones and my heart filled with a fuzzy feeling as I nearly melted at his confession. "You're enough trouble for a lifetime."

My smile dropped faster than the room temperature when he glares at someone.

Ignoring my death stare, he held my hand and entwined our fingers. "Come with me."

He tugged me along as we entered his room and I spotted the pictures kept in the corner. Arjun refused to look in my direction when we walked to the closet and he opened the door. He stepped aside, allowing me to enter first but I came to a stop when I looked at what he wanted to show me.

His closet which used to be filled with his monotonous, dull coloured suits was now divided into two sections and the second section had my clothes.

"I asked the maids to move your things to our room."

I craned my head to look at him, stumped with his words.

Are we really, really sure that this is Arjun and not his imposter?

"I wasn't throwing you out like you thought." Arjun rolled his eyes.

"Oh."

"That's all you have to say?" He raised his brows.

You haven't left me capable of saying anything else, you sneaky handsome devil.

"Is that okay with you?" He asked and I nodded eagerly, scared of my head falling off my neck at the speed I was moving my head up and down.

I gulped, wringing my hands together. "Yeah, it's... it's fine."

It was more than fine.

He walked back to the room and I followed behind, pinching myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

"And the pictures from your room, we can hang them there." Arjun pointed at the wall on the left side of the bed and I tackled him in a bear hug, unable to control myself.

He was caught off-guard by my sudden attack as I clutched him tightly, grinning widely. Slowly, his arms came around me, unsure as they rested on my back and slightly pulled me closer.

"You are so sweet." I mumbled, pulling back from the hug.

"Excuse me?" He looked slightly offended as I called him sweet.

I ignored him. "Let's get started."

"Right now?"

"Do you have any work?"

"No."

"Then we're hanging the pictures." I clapped my hands together and he shrugged.

My assignment can wait.

He went to retrieve the toolbox from the store room while I laid the pictures on the bed, debating on which picture would go where.

Arjun came back with a hammer in one hand and a tool box in another. He handed me the hammer and opened the box, looking for some iron nails.

I stared at the hammer in my hands.

Let's try to swing it around like Thor does. My conscience jumped excitedly at the thought.

"Wait." He glanced between the hammer and me. "I can already see how this is going to go."

He took it from my hand and kept it aside, far from my reach. "Why don't you just hand me the things when I ask you to?"

"What?" I scowled and then rolled my eyes. "Don't tell me you doubt that I will hurt myself with the hammer somehow?"

"No, I don't doubt it. I'm sure you will end up hitting yourself in the face with it."

I gaped at him. I just wanted to swing it around, I wasn't that clumsy.

.

.

.

Okay, fine. I am clumsy.

But he didn't have to rub it in my face like that. With a huff, I helped him as he hung the pictures, interrupting him every now and then and he became extremely irritated by my constant complaints.

"No, not there." I said for the sixth time in the last ten minutes.

Arjun scowled. "Why not?"

"It will look too crowded. Here." I positioned the nail to a little right. "Just pound it against the wall."

"I'll pound you against the wall." He muttered to himself but I heard it anyway and my soul left my body.

I whipped my head to him, my heart hammering in my chest wildly. "What!?"

"What?"

"I.. uh-I thought... nothing." I looked away, tucking a hair strand behind my ear while blushing profusely.

I fell silent after that but my conscience was screaming at the top of her lungs, running around as if the world was on fire.

My hands refused to co-operate with me and I stood there dumb-founded, his words replaying in my mind on a loop.

Oh boy.

"I talked to the police, by the way." Arjun said in a low voice, hanging the last picture.

That brought me out of my dreamland. "What did they say?"

"They're still searching for the second guy. Chances are, he has fled the city. Police says that he has a strong influence or someone big supporting him. That's why he was able to pull it off easily. But they will find him." He assured me and I nodded mutely, my gaze focused on the floor. I didn't want to talk about it and Arjun sensed my discomfort as he stepped back, standing beside me.

His eyes scanned the wall in front of us. "It looks nice."

"You did a great job." I complimented him.

He placed an arm around my shoulders. "We did a great job."

*

"Are you sure, ma'am?" David glanced at me through the rear-view mirror. I met his uncertain gaze with my furious stare and nodded wordlessly.

He got out of the car and opened the door for me. I stepped out, glaring at the huge building in front of me.

"Wait here." I told him and walked towards Arjun's office with determined steps.

Arjun is not stepping out of this building alive.

The receptionist quickly straightened herself when she saw me storming inside with a furious look on my face. I took the private elevator and reached the top floor.

I can't believe Arjun did that to me.

"Is Arjun here?" I asked the first person that I came across. The woman stopped in her tracks when she realized I had asked her a question. She didn't answer right away as her eyes travelled down my figure, her face twisting in disgust.

"And who are you?" She rolled her eyes, contempt barely hidden in her voice.

"His wife." I crossed arms over my chest and cocked my head to a side. "Any problem?"

All colour drained from her face as she struggled to speak. "I.. uh.. I'm sorry, ma'am. Sir, well-uh, he's in...in his office."

I gave her a sickly-sweet smile, my expressions sharp. "That's better."

I was already in a bad mood and this arrogant woman wasn't helping my case. With an angry scowl, I strode towards my soon-to-be-dead husband's office, barely controlling my temper.

I'm gonna kill him.

I reached the room and opened the door with a loud bang.

"ARJUN SIN-" My voice died in my throat when I realized that it was Arjun's dad sitting behind the desk with a puzzled look on his face at my dramatic entrance.

"Oops." I closed the door swiftly and read the name plate again.

'Rajveer Singhania'

I face-palmed and leaned against the wall, cursing my fate. It took me a couple of seconds to overcome my embarrassment and I spotted another door opposite Mr. Singhania's office. The name plate read 'Arjun Singhania (CEO)' and I tip-toed towards it, peeking a look inside by sliding it open a fraction. When I confirmed it was indeed Arjun sitting on the chair with Peyush standing beside him, I slammed the door open.

"ARJUN SINGHANIA! HOW DARE YOU?"

Peyush yelped in shock at the sudden intrusion and dropped the files on the floor while Arjun looked up from his file calmly, not even slightly bothered by my raging figure breathing fire at him.

"Dismissed." He ordered Peyush, his eyes not wavering from me as he closed his file and steepled his fingers together, resting his hands on the desk.

The audacity of this man!

Peyush didn't need to be told twice as he collected the files in a hurry and ran for his life, not daring to look back.

I narrowed my eyes at Arjun and he looked at me questioningly. "Yes?"

"Stop acting innocent." I warned. "You know why I'm here."

And there it was.

The stupid smirk!

I picked a cushion from the nearby couch and hurled it at him with all my force. He dodged it easily and faced me again, the damned smirk not leaving his face for a second.

"How could you!?" I banged a hand on his desk while he leaned back in his chair, amusement dancing in his eyes.

"Stop. Smirking." I growled and he raised his hands in mock surrender, smirking wider which fueled my anger even further.

I hope you die of smirking too much, you smug bastard.

I can't believe he did that. All I wanted this morning was a peaceful day and lots of sleep but what did I get instead?

.

.

Humming a song, I sat on our bed and picked the book from the nightstand.

Arjun had gone to office today to sign some files and supervise some ongoing projects. After the incident, he had raised security around the building and no one was allowed to enter our floor without David's permission who, to my surprise, lived in the same building on the 10th floor.

I had asked Arjun why he didn't tell me before and he answered with a monotonous 'you never asked'.

I opened the book to start reading where I left off but immediately dropped it on the bed with a loud shriek, scurrying away from it.

A cockroach!

There was a cockroach in the book!

Oh god.

I ran to the farthest corner of the room, screeching in horror and plastered myself against the wall, praying to God for some courage.

I didn't want to die like this.

I kept my eyes on the ugly creature resting on my bed as if he owned it.

Why wasn't the cockroach moving?

With baby steps, I moved closer to the bed, my gaze fixed on that monster.

The cockroach was very still. Was it dead?

Wait a second.

Upon closer inspection, I saw that it wasn't a real cockroach. It was a fake one! A plastic toy.

It was just a stupid prank.

But who would do this to me? Why would s-

Right.

My own freaking husband! Who else?

.

.

.

"Had fun reading?" Arjun smiled cheekily and I pounced on him with a war cry but he jumped from his chair, quickly moving to the other side so that he was at the opposite end of the desk. I tried to run after him but he was fast, always staying at a good distance from me.

Damn that sexy muscled body.

I picked a fountain pen from his desk and chucked at him with full force. Although it missed him, its ink splayed all over his shirt and I gasped aloud, covering my mouth in shock.

Arjun froze, his lips parting as he glanced down at his ruined shirt. Ever-so-slowly, he looked up, his face slowly hardening in anger.

Shit.

"You ruined my favourite shirt." His voice was deathly quiet that gave me chills.

"But you have nine other white shirts."

Yes, you read that right. This man owns ten white shirts! Ten!

Since I was bored back at home and Arjun didn't let me do anything, I had counted his shirts.

"This was my favourite one." He emphasized on 'favourite'.

"They all look the same!" I exclaimed helplessly.

He clenched his jaw, advancing towards me and I screeched loudly, running out of the room.

"Get back here!" He yelled after me but I increased my speed, running like my life depended on it.

And it did.

I glanced back for a nanosecond and a shrill scream escaped my lips when I found him chasing me.

Running like a penguin trying to waddle its way across the snow, I came across the same woman whom I met earlier. Using her as a human shield, I held her shoulders and turned her around, trying to hide behind her frame.

She was flabbergasted when she saw Arjun charging towards her while I tried to hide behind her back.

"Move aside." He ordered her harshly but I moved along with her, making sure to keep her between us.

The poor soul was rooted in her place, unable to understand what was happening around her. Arjun finally pulled her aside and I shrieked in despair, running again with him hot on my heels.

Everyone in the hall stopped dead in their tracks when they saw their boss and his wife playing catch.

As I searched for a place to hide, I saw Peyush coming in our direction. If I hadn't stopped, I would have bumped into him but I turned sideways at the last moment, avoiding him. Since Arjun was right behind me, he didn't see Peyush standing there with a terrified look on his face and collided with him.

The papers flew from his hands as he tried to regain his balance while Arjun chided his PA for his slow reflexes. A breathless laugh bubbled out of my chest and Arjun's gaze snapped to me.

Shit.

With huge, owlish eyes, I tried to escape but Arjun caught my wrist in time, pulling me into him. My back hit his chest and he secured an arm around my middle to keep me in my place.

He leaned towards my ear and I bit my lip as he whispered lowly. "Caught you."

Goosebumps prickled my skin as his hot breath fanned my neck, both of us panting hard.

Someone cleared their throat and Arjun immediately left me, maintaining a proper distance between us. We turned around stiffly, my cheeks heating up as I found Mr. Singhania standing there with a confused frown. There were papers flying around and the hall was filled with murmurs, all eyes on us. Peyush was trying to collect the papers while the woman was blinking in a daze. A man was glued to the wall whom I had pushed while running away from the reincarnated version of the Hulk.

I blushed as Arjun rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

Mr. Singhania gestured towards the mess. "What happened?"

"It's his fault." I pointed at Arjun before he had a chance to open his mouth.

"Wha- No!" He looked at me in disbelief.

"It is. He was chasing me."

"She threw ink on me!"

"Because he pranked me!"

"Because I wanted to-" Arjun stopped mid-way and I smiled triumphantly when he accepted his defeat.

Mr. Singhania flickered his gaze between the two of us, amusement written all over his face.

"Everyone back to their work." He ordered and all the employees turned away from the scene. Mr. Singhania left without a single word, smiling to himself and shaking his head.

I turned to Arjun. "Why did you prank me? I almost died today."

An over-exaggeration but I was born dramatic.

He sighed, stepping closer to me. His knuckles caressed my cheek and I leaned into his touch. "Because I wanted my old princess back."

"I've been watching you since a few days, you're not yourself. You have become so quiet. You don't smile, you don't talk, you don't fight with me. I want my old Kiara back. The one who when starts talking, doesn't know when to stop, the one who loves to irritate me to hell and the one who fights over the last piece of chocolate with me."

I gulped the lump forming in my throat.

"And look, there she is." He smiled, bumping his forehead with mine. My eyes became blurry and I smiled through my tears, blinking to stop them from leaking.

Someone coughed and we sprang apart. A middle-aged man passed us, adjusting his glasses. "Kids these days."

"This kid is your boss so you better behave." Arjun retorted sharply and the man shook in fear, vanishing from there.

"I want to eat ice-cream."

Arjun chuckled at my puppy eyes. "Let's go then."

I smiled excitedly and held his hand as we walked to the private elevator.

"So, you talk to everyone like that?" I asked, referring to the man.

"Except you." He pressed the ground floor button and the doors closed.

"Aw, don't I feel special." I raised our joined hands and twirled around, giggling.

"Fuck this." Arjun muttered and before I could ask what he was talking about, I was backed against the wall in the blink of an eye as he kissed me. I was stunned with his actions but responded back immediately because damn, his lips were so addictive. My hands tangled in his hair while his held my waist in a death grip and we had a full make-out session in the elevator.

After some very long moments, Arjun pulled away and bumped his forehead with mine, his breathing ragged.

My own breathing was uneven as I tried to come back to life after the heavenly experience I just had.

"Stop being so fucking cute." His voice was several octaves deeper and I nearly melted in a puddle, sparks igniting in my body.

Yeah, yeah. Go on. Keep kissing me like that and I'll soon be on my way to heaven.

The elevator dinged open and he took a few steps back, straightening his suit while I patted my hair down, adjusting my top and trying to make it not too obvious what we had just done in the elevator.

We walked out and I gasped lightly, holding Arjun's arm. "We just had a 50 shades moment."

"We can have more 50 shades moments if you like." He winked and my mouth hung open.

Say what?

"No, thank you." I squeaked and turned away from him before he could see me hyperventilating over his words. The problem wasn't that he had said something like that, the problem was that I was dying to say yes to his offer.

How am I going to control myself in front of him now?

*

I glanced at the clock for the fifth time in the last five minutes, groaning.

What's taking him so long?

The business convention in my college was today and I had to deliver the speech on stage.

I was already a nervous wreck, waiting for Arjun to come out of the shower so that I could ask him if he would accompany me to this convention.

After another two minutes, Arjun finally appeared from the closet in a sleek, navy-blue suit, a tie hanging around his neck.

I walked towards him. "Arjun-"

"Kiara, can you tie it real quick?" He stood before me, adjusting his cufflinks. "It's urgent."

"Oh, uh-Yeah." I quickly knotted his tie. "I was wondering if you would like to come with me to college. For the business convention."

"Wait, that's today?"

I nodded.

"Shit! I forgot. I'm really sorry, princess. I have to attend a very important event today. And I can't miss it for the world."

"Oh? No, it's okay." I gave him a small smile, ignoring the sinking feeling in my stomach.

I knew he loved his work and I wouldn't ever ask him to leave his work for me but a small part in me wanted him to come with me. Today was an important day and I wanted him to be with me. His sweet behaviour towards me lately had me wanting for more. I enjoyed his presence a lot. The little things he did for me.

Feeling a little selfish and childish at my thoughts, I shook my head and went to the kitchen. Arjun followed me there and opened the refrigerator.

"Aren't you going to eat something?" I asked him as he rummaged through the contents of the refrigerator.

"No, I am getting late." He answered, taking out a juice carton. Quickly pouring the juice in a glass, he drank it while going through his phone.

"Not even some fruit?" I asked.

"Don't worry, I'll eat something at the office." He said and I nodded although he couldn't see me.

"Okay, I need to leave now." He checked his watch. "I'll see you tonight."

"Bye." I called out after him but he was already gone. My mood even worsened when I realized that he had left without even wishing me luck.

How could he even forget it? I had been rambling about it straight for 20 days and practicing my speech for the past week.

He might have forgotten it amidst all his work and stuff.

It wasn't fair of me to blame him like that while we had so much going on in our lives. Sighing, I pushed myself away from the counter and decided to get ready.

An hour later, I reached college.

"Here you are." Nandini sighed in relief when she saw me. "Why weren't you picking our calls?"

I kept my bag aside, not in the mood to talk to anyone.

"Kia?" Saumya kept a hand on my shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"And where's Arjun? I thought you were gonna bring him too." Maahi frowned.

"He won't be able to come. He has some important stuff to do." I muttered, picking a stray thread from my jeans.

"It's okay." Saumya patted my back encouragingly. "Arjun may not be here but we are."

I smiled at them gratefully.

"Let's go."

We reached the auditorium and everything was ready. All the guests and students were here, only the chief guest was yet to come.

I went through my speech one last time and stood near the stage when the host welcomed everyone.

"Before we get started," The host announced in the mic, "please welcome our guest of honor, the CEO of Singhania Industries, Mr. Arjun Singhania."

What?

And here is the update, guys. I'm sorry I've been a little busy recently. I've shifted from my hometown to a different place and things were haywire for some time. They still are, but I'm doing better now!

How did your Diwali go? I wore a saree and did not trip even once. A huge accomplishment if you ask me.

The next update will be definitely soon!

Till then, go argue with the bad boy of your class so that he hates you but also can't resist you, gets addicted to you and your sassy mouth and finally changes himself for you. *twirls in happiness*