Kiaan

******

"Did he reveal anything?"

"He did not have much info except for the name of the person who hired him," I replied to Dhruv about the man we had caught in that warehouse, who was helping that gang smuggle kids.

"Where is he now?" Hredhaan asked this time. A hint of knowing was in his words, which he did not hide.

"Where he should have been." My reply was discreet and to the point. It was enough for all of them to grasp that I had dealt with him like I was used to dealing with the more evil ones.

Namit, Dhruv, Hredhaan, Arjun, and I were working out in the private gym of the mansion. I increased the weight before doing ten more reps of lat pull-downs. Once my sets were done, I headed for the dumbbell section for the triceps workout. I picked the thirty-one-kilo dumbbell for overhead dumbbell extension. As I sat on the bench to go on with my reps, Arjun was done with his pullups and walked to where Namit and I were working out. Arjun rubbed his arms, glancing at the AC.

"Aren't you guys feeling cold?"

"You are sweating like a bull," I commented.

"Yeah, but I still feel the AC's temp should go up a notch."

All of a sudden, Namit left the fifty-kilo dumbbells he was doing bench press with, opened his jacket, and covered Arjun.

"Here, feeling better?"

Fuck!

They both were enacting me from last night. They laughed after that, and so did Dhruv and Hredhaan. Assholes!

I went on with my progressive overload and picked up forty kilos for the next set while they all had stopped their workout and continued teasing me. If only I could hit their head with the dumbbells for them to act reasonably.

"Namit, could you pick that up?" Arjun pointed at the bottle on the floor. Namit bent to pick it up, and I knew what was coming next. Instead of picking and giving it to Arjun, he went on his knees, holding the bottle up to him like I was holding the ring for Simran.

Not again!

"Will you marry me?"

"Yes..." Arjun replied excitedly, took the bottle up close, and kissed it.

Gross!

I knew I was not going to see the end of that teasing anytime soon. They found the rat's tail, and leaving it would really be impossible for them.

"If I had known your brain cells would stop working after a certain point in time, I would never have let you marry my sister..."

"Yeah, right!" Namit replied sarcastically and laughed with Arjun. For my third set, I picked up the fifty-kilo dumbbell.

"But tell me, did you really tell Enzo and the others not to look at her?" Dhruv asked, wiping the sweat off his body with the towel.

"Look at who?" Hredhaan asked, and they all waited for Dhruv to answer.

"Well, apparently my brother here has ordered everyone who works for him not to look his wife in the eye."

"His wife?" Namit emphasized the term wife as he cast me a glance. I ignored him and continued with my reps. I had thought the extensive workout would keep my mind away from certain things, especially the proposal last night, but these guys were hell bent on making things worse for me.

"She is yet to marry him and has already got him on his knees. This is going to be fun...." Arjun commented, gaining laughter from everyone. I thought leaving the gym and swimming instead would help me clear my mind, but I knew these assholes would follow me, so that option was not convenient. But staying there was not viable either. I got up, stacked the dumbbells, picked up the towel to wipe off my sweat, ready to leave, when a familiar voice stopped me.

"What are you guys laughing about so much?" Dhriti entered the gym, freshly showered. Her hair was still wet but was tied up in a bun.

"Morning, love." Namit kissed her cheek, receiving the warmest smile from her.

"Papaya." Hredhaan offered the raw papaya she was a fan of, too. I got alert, knowing well she was not allowed that during pregnancy. Thankfully, she instantly denied.

"I can't. I have been offered this for the fifth time since I woke up." She made a pouty face and glanced at Namit, who looked equally alert and worried as I. I knew it was tough for her to hide her pregnancy. Still, I was making sure everything she was taking was healthy and advisable to her without her knowing.

"Let's go, have breakfast. I am famished and I need to tell you all something." I took out the box of fox nuts from my gym bag. I had been carrying it everywhere with me since I noticed her love for it recently, and gave it to her.

She beamed at me when she noticed what I offered. Grabbing the box like a kid, she started munching on them.

"What do you wanna tell us?" Arjun queried. I wondered if she was about to finally tell us about her pregnancy.

"Let her eat in peace." My words caught her attention. She stopped munching, and the way she stared at me, I knew the wires in her head were running fast now.

"You know, don't you?" She said firmly with the realization that I was aware of her pregnancy. Of course, she would have noticed, considering I did not make fun of her or even tease her when she did not eat her favourite raw papaya, and also knew about her recent fascination with fox nuts without her sharing that information with me. In our usual encounters, we were destined to fight at least once; that's how we showed our love to each other, but that had not happened in days, so obviously, she noticed.

She looked at her husband suspiciously, who was himself confused.

"I swear I did not utter a word." He then looked at me and asked, "How did you know?"

I shrugged. Dhriti huffed like a baby she turns into sometimes, put the box of fox nuts on the bench nearby, and then hugged me, which was so out of her character. She loved bickering with me, so this sudden display of affection confused everyone. I looked over at Namit and mouthed a 'Congratulations'. His smile radiated similar to my sister's.

"I am so nervous." She confessed with a muffled voice as her face was pressed against my tee. Wrapping my arms around her, I caressed her hair. The one thing I hated the most out of all the many things was seeing my sister vulnerable.

"What will calm your nerves?" She looked up at me, still hugging me.

"A cup of hot chocolate. Maybe two or three..." Of course, one would not satiate her.

"I will have it all delivered to you right away."

"What am I missing out on here?" Arjun asked, confounded.

"Why am I not included in that hug?" Dhruv sulked.

"Are you both about to pull some pranks?" Hredhaan was skeptical, and to be honest, it was expected considering Dhriti and I bickered more than we hugged.

"Little one, what's going on?" Dhruv was now a little panicked.

"You are scaring them, love..." Namit gestured towards the guys. Dhriti pulled back from the hug, turned to them, and confessed, "I am pregnant..."

The three of them stayed quiet for longer than usual. Arjun was the first to break the silence. He chortled and shook his head, saying, "It's a prank..."

"Where is the camera?" Hredhaan asked, looking around.

Dhruv stayed silent, analyzing her and the situation.

I shook my head at those dumb wits. Namit and Dhriti shared an annoyed look.

"Guys.... I am not lying." She said, crossing her arms. When Dhruv still did not say anything and Hredhaan and Arjun did not seem to believe it, her irritation grew. She extended her palm to Namit and said, "Come on, give it to me." Namit handed her something that he had taken out of his pocket.

She showed a black-and-white picture to us while she said, "I am pregnant with twins."

"What!" Hredhaan exclaimed. Dhruv snatched that picture and stared at it in shock. This was news to me, too. I walked to where Dhruv, Arjun, and Hredhaan were staring at it. I took a look only to find a digital sonography.

I was the first one to come out of the shock. I picked her up and twirled her, making her giggle. When I put her down, Arjun hugged her instantly, getting excited as he exclaimed with happiness, "So it's going to another twin in the group...Yes!!!"

It was Hredhaan after him who hugged her so gently, as if he would hurt the kids inside of her. When we all looked at Dhruv. We found him still standing still but his eyes were moist with tears. Dhruv and Dhriti were twins, so it was obvious she would be in tears, too. She sniffled as she made her way towards him. He embraced her gently, and then we heard him sob, hiding his face in the crook of our sister's neck. To be honest, we all felt what Dhruv was feeling, but we were good at hiding it. When he pulled back, Dhriti wiped his tears while he wiped hers. They both smiled widely.

"I am so, so happy for you, little one." He finally uttered something before kissing her hair. Meanwhile, Hredhaan and Arjun congratulated Namit.

"Me too...." She said and then giggled with excitement. Namit hugged her from back at the same time when she was out of Dhruv's hold. He protectively wrapped his arms around her stomach.

"I haven't told anyone and my girlfriends yet, so guys, please, please keep it a secret. I will tell them all tonight." We all nodded in agreement.

"Now come on, let's go. We need to have breakfast and then be there for Sangeet and Mehndi. It's going to be so much fun." Everyone went out, but I stayed back. I called Enzo the moment everyone had left.

"What's the status? Did you find anything about it?" I asked instantly when he picked up. He was working to find out what M.P. meant, which was engraved on the crate in which we had found the kids being smuggled. Whether it was the same thing I was suspicious about.

"Not yet. But rest assured, by tomorrow morning, you will have an update." He knew how much I hated any slack at work. Enzo was as much a workaholic as me, and that's why we bonded well.

"I have an update about something else, though." If the update was coming from him, then it was important no matter what.

"Dr. Phil is coming to London this week." This was new and important. Phil was not supposed to come this early, but now that he was, it was important that I took action first before Simran got to him.

"Okay, make sure my wife does not find out about it."

"Sure, Sir." I was not going to lead her to him, not until she was ready for it.

******

Simran

******

I was wearing a purple lehenga. Everything from top to bottom was completely purple, with gold embellishments. But how would I go without yellow in my own wedding, right? So, guess what, the veil of my lehenga was yellow. The colour was so rich it felt like someone painted it with natural sunflowers. This outfit was also of my soon-to-be husband's choice. And it fit me perfectly, hugging my curves. The blouse ended right where my breasts ended. This outfit was similar to the one I had saved on my Pinterest board. The sleeves of the blouse were full, and it had a deep neck, not too deep, but it looked amazing. I could not stop smiling ever since I wore that dress. Amidst the chaos of my life, at least there was something curling my lips.

"I don't feel like I am your best friend," Niti said while she was putting pins in my hair. Meanwhile, I was finishing my makeup. A top makeup artist was hired, but I wanted to do my makeup myself in every function except for the wedding. However, our relatives did not leave a chance to hoard the poor makeup artist who was now donning every other woman except me and my friends.

"Why would you say that?" I picked up my favorite pink powder blush when she asked, "Are you and Kiaan together and have been lying to me?"

I understood that the stunt Kiaan pulled last night had put doubts in her head. Not only her, but everyone now believed we were two lovers who kept our relationship secret until now.

"You actually believe that?"

She shook her head.

"Then why did he say that when he proposed to you last night?"

"I don't know, Niti. To be honest, I don't know anything. All I know is the man I hate is going to be my husband, and I have to make things work with that bull-headed jerk."

"Why marry him then? Marry someone you love." She was done with the pins in my hair, and now she picked up the veil to style it for me.

"What if you never fall in love with him? It will break his heart."

"Are you my best friend or his?" I fake-glared at her in the mirror while pouting like a fish to apply the blush on my cheekbones.

She gave me a sheepish smile in the mirror while she placed the veil on my left shoulder.

"Of course yours, but.... he is my friend too... I care for you both."

"But a little extra for you..."

I put the blush brush in my palette after I was done with it. Niti was still fixing my veil and pinning it on my shoulder with the same style I had asked her to.

"You know, I was not fully honest with you about something. I never told you because I did not want to make your life chaotic. You just started living a peaceful life with Arjun and I..."

"Sim, stop. Nothing you say can make my life more chaotic than me being incapable of helping my best friend. I know something is troubling you, and I have always given you space. But you should not take my silence or me not pestering you that I don't want you to share your problems with me."

She was right. She was my best friend and deserved to know about all the things I had kept hidden from her. But I was also scared to put her in a position where she might have to make a choice. Kiaan was her friend before me, so how could I put her up to something like that?

"I was scared it would mess up your relationship with Kiaan. I know he has been nothing but nice to you, and I would never want to ruin it."

"Okay, I will be bluntly straightforward now. Nothing you say about him will put me in a terrible predicament. As your best friend, I demand some honest answers, especially about your relationship with him. And you have to speak up now, otherwise I will ask Kiaan."

I sighed, nodding.

"Shoot your questions."

"What did he do to make you hate him so much? Why are you marrying him? And why do I keep getting the feel that this is not some conventional wedding?"

"I will start with the easy one."

"Kiaan and I are getting married, not because of the feelings he keeps claiming we have for each other. But because dad's business has been affected after Mom's..." I took a pause. It was still difficult talking about it even after three years. Ending the pause, I resumed with, "... Mom's Accident...Our family's reputation is in jeopardy, too. Things turned out for the worse instead of getting better in these three years. That's when Ashok Uncle proposed this marriage as an idea to Dad as a solution for both the families, and Dad agreed."

"Uncle did not ask you?" Niti asked, shocked, and I shook my head in denial. She definitely was not happy with it, but she did not make things worse by saying anything about it.

"What do you mean for the sake of both the families?"

"Apparently, some media houses that used to target Kiaan because of his image and arrogance are now making Di and Saavi their targets. Ashok Uncle, for now, has handled the situation, but he feels Kiaan's marriage will eventually make everyone shut their mouths and also shift their focus from those pressing matters." Niti hummed in response while she managed to complete the perfect veil look. However, she did not seem shocked this time.

"You don't seem surprised at all. I thought you would freak out."

"Sweetheart, I read drama and suspense novels for breakfast. I can handle this." That's why we were best friends. She understands me like no friend has ever. In fact, no female friendships of mine passed that stage where we could share things without any fear of judgment. But with her, things happened very naturally and organically. I always felt blessed to have her.

"Now the next question: why do you hate him so much?" Now this one was hard. But I did not want to go back to my word. Like I said before, as my best friend, she deserved my honesty and I was going to give it to her no matter how hard it was.

"Remember the guy I told you about...the one I had feelings for who crushed my heart?" I let the cat out of the bag.

"The one we cursed till late night while binge-watching the crime documentary and having the best pizza ever?" I nodded as a sly smile appeared on my face, remembering how I had cried tirelessly, and Niti was there to console me, to get drunk with me. We ordered the best pizza in town, had wine the entire night as we binge-watched crime documentaries while cursing Kiaan.

"What about him?" I gave her a sheepish, apologetic smile. Her eyes widened in realization, and she shook her head in horror.

"No...no...no..." she mumbled, and then a gasp made a way out of her mouth.

"Oh My God!" She covered her mouth with her palms in shock at the big revelation I was dreading telling anyone, but here I let that naked truth out.

"How could I not see it? Was I blind? It was Kiaan all along?"

"Yep!" Surely the suspense novels did not prepare her for that shock.

"What did he do to you?" Concern splashed all over her face as she took a seat on the nearest ottoman and held both of my hands.

"How he broke my heart does not matter, but how the hatred between us escalated does."

I might have eventually told her who the guy was who broke my heart, but I was not ready to confess how yet. That was the part I dreaded sharing the most, and I wondered if I would ever be comfortable enough to share it. So I continued with the hatred part.

"The night he broke my heart, I was too numb to react in a sane way, so I burnt his car."

"The garage fire?" Her eyes widened again. I had set his garage on fire, and it was in the news, too. And then I told her how he made me lose a contract, and then how I was replaced as a soloist from my recent event because of him, and had to dance with the group instead.

Nitya hugged me tightly.

"God! You should have told me. You were dealing with all of this alone, and I had no clue?"

"I am fine, Niti. I just don't know how to deal with this wedding." She pulled back and then stared at me long before she said something that stunned me.

"You still have feelings for him, don't you? If not, you would have escaped or would have done anything or everything to stop this wedding, but you..." She stopped suddenly. Surely found me shocked with her words. 

I hated Kiaan then, how could I still have feelings for him? No, I did not feel for him. The term NO was on the tip of my tongue, but I could not muster to say it. WHY?

"God! How could he break your heart?" Before I could reply that it did not matter anymore, Adya Bhabhi's voice reached us.

"Who broke Simmi's heart?" I turned to find Di, Saavi, Adya Bhabhi, Sonia, Shruti, along with Niharika and Anvi, entering the room. Niharika was their common friend, whom I had interacted with at a lot of events, and so was Anvi. They both were really nice, but my interactions used to be limited to them because they were closer to Kiaan.

"Kiaan broke her heart," Niti said. I dreaded she would tell the truth.

"Kiaan?" Anvi asked, confused.

"Ummm...yeah .... he confessed about their secret dating life last night. Did he not break her heart? It was supposed to be a secret." I took a breath of relief at the way she whitewashed everything.

"But if you really liked my brother-in-law, you should have told me. It would have been so much fun hanging out and pulling his leg." Saavi said.

"Look at his audacity while dating her, he let media houses ruin his image as a playboy," Anvi said, not liking the fact that her friend was termed as a playboy. But the truth was he was actually what the media houses portrayed him.

"I knew my brother was not that kind of person." Di seemed relieved.

"I told you so...." Shruti shrugged.

"Yeah...yeah...you won the bet." Shruti beamed after hearing Niharika. So they even made a bet about him being a playboy. Great!!

They all began pulling my leg about the proposal last night when Aunty came to us.

"Simran, let's go, the mehndi ritual is about to start. And girls, it's time for the Sangeet to. Come on, you are all so slow today." Giggling, we all followed her out. If anything was going to put me in a good mood was dance, and what a great opportunity to dance my heart out than my own Sangeet.

******

The henna artist made an intricate, beautiful pattern on both my hands. The sangeet ceremony had started and was in full swing before the Mehndi even started, and I did not get to dance at all. That was unfair, since I was looking forward to grooving on a peppy number. But some relatives of mine who believed in social, moral policing started advising me on how I would look immoral if I danced on my own Sangeet. According to them, brides were supposed to shy away instead of openly dancing. Not only that, even my outfit got disapproval from so many women, as if I were wearing a bikini. They kept covering me with my veil, almost ruining the whole style. I was really, really close to bursting out at them until Sonia and Adya Bhabhi distracted them. Thankfully, those so-called caring relatives of mine were not breathing down my neck, but I also did not get to dance, which was worse. Since I could not enjoy my Sangeet, I was now busy with my hands getting decorated with henna. I loved henna, to be honest, but I hated sitting in one place. I mean, I was born a dancer, so can someone even blame me? So the henna artist was kind of struggling when I kept wiggling. After three hours, yes, three goddamn hours when it was done, I was ready to sprint away from being sitting in one place. But I was not ready for what the artist asked me.

"Should I write your husband's initials or full name?" The design looked beautiful on both of my hands, but I had completely forgotten that I would have to have my fiancé's name written as part of the ritual.

"Is it mandatory?" She stared at me, confused. Of course, she thought I had lost my mind to be even asking that. To cover my previous blunder, I added, "I mean, I don't think there is any space left," and gave her an innocent, naïve smile.

Please don't write his name. I chanted it in my head. 

Things didn't turn in my favour when she earnestly replied, smiling, "Don't worry. I will manage it beautifully, you just tell me what should I write?"

I pursed my lips into a thin smile and nodded.

"Sure, but I need to use the washroom first. Please excuse me." She nodded, and I got off. The mehndi on my foot was already dry. I did not like henna on my feet, but since it was part of the custom, I had only asked her to draw a small flower on both of them right below my ankle, which did look nice.

I got up and headed inside to think of something that would not make her write my evil fiancé's name on my hand. I had seen Niti heading to my room a few minutes ago, so I was hoping I would find her there. Fortunately, everyone else was busy outside, so no one saw me and pestered me with questions about why I was going inside...etc, etc.

I walked into my room and saw Nitya's phone there on the bedside cabinet, so I was sure she was there. Perhaps she was inside the walk-in closet. Instead of waiting for her to come out, I began to blabber because I was already seething with anger at all the things that had happened to me since the previous night.

"Can you imagine what happened? The henna artist asked me if she should write his initials or his name. I wanted to reply why she had to write anything related to him on my hand, but then she would have given me weird looks, and so would the others who were there. But you tell me, Niti, why should I let her write ...."

I stopped when suddenly, a known fragrance enveloped me. My heartbeats escalated at the same moment, and my words stuck in my throat.

He is not here. It's all in my head. I said in my mind.

But how could my luck work in my favour? It had not worked for the last three years, so how could it now? I heard the door to my room getting shut and when I turned around, I found him there. Words died in my mouth, and it felt like my heart took an enormous leap.

He looked more handsome than ever. No, not only handsome, he looked gorgeously handsome, if that was even a term. He was wearing a purple Kurta similar to my lehenga. His arms crossed as he stared right at me. The sleeves were pulled up his arms a little so I could see the veins popping out right above his wrist. I could not help gawking at him for how one could avert their eyes from a man like him. He caught me staring as when I looked at his face, a smirk was playing on his lips. His eyes raked over me, from my face to my chest, to my hands and to my henna-clad feet. His eyes darkened, and I felt naked under his scrutiny even when I was not.

"It does not matter if my initials are on your hand or not. No one can change the fact that I am your only destiny." My insides tingle with his words. How could he say something which had such a tremendous impact on me? But I was not going to give in.

"Stop being delusional. I am only marrying you for the sake of my sister and family. I will never consider you my husband. This is simply a deal, nothing more than that."

"I see...." He treaded towards me, taking slow and leisurely steps.

"I could easily dispel the doubts now, but we have our whole lives for that, don't we?"

The walls of the room felt like closing in on as he came closer. I took steps back, but all in vain when my foot hit the foot of the bed and I lost my balance. I did not completely fall, but now I was sitting on the bed with him standing right in front of me. He bent so that his face was inches apart from mine. His hands were on either side of me.

"What would it take..." He paused for a moment before he put a strand of loose hair behind my ear and then continued, "..... for you to consider me your husband?"

How could he act so nonchalant after hurting me so many times? How could he ask me such a thing and not try to repent for what he did to me? My eyes burned with unshed tears as I replied, "Nothing. I will never consider you anything but a...."

"Monster?" He asked. I could not even say the term. Why couldn't I? Maybe because the tick of his jaw made me stop. Or perhaps I did not want to hurt him.

Wait! Hurt him? What's wrong with me? Why was I thinking of not hurting him after everything?

"Drop the mask, firefly. It's only us here, so you can stop pretending." I scoffed, and my rage escalated.

"Pretending? You want me to drop the mask? Be honest? Fine.... Here is your truth." My pitch kept increasing with every word, every syllable. Controlling my anger became impossible.

"I hate you. I hate you with all my guts. And no matter how hard I try to consider you as a passing nightmare, you reappear and make my life worse than before. You push me into a new hell each day. So yes, Kiaan Chauhan, I am pretending, pretending that I hate you less, but the truth is, even I don't know the bounds of hatred I am carrying inside my heart for you."

I heaved for oxygen when I was done yelling at him. My body burned with indignation, but my heart was still wounded. So it was not only my anger but also my pain that had me yell at him.

He gripped my upper arm firmly, and with one swift move, I was up on my feet. 

"What... what are you doing?"

"Kiaan...." I kept wiggling, but when his arm fell to my exposed waist, I froze. He pulled the veil out of my waist and tied it around my eyes. His touch was lost, and I could not feel him closer to me. I had henna on my hands, so I could not even remove the veil from my eyes.

"I can't see anything...." I panicked. I took steps around trying to reach him as I called, "Kiaan..." Suddenly, I felt the temperature drop, my heart beating at a speed faster than anything.

"Shhh..." I felt his finger on my lips.

"That's the whole gist, firefly. I don't want you to see anything." He said, his lips closer to my ear. I felt his finger on the part of my exposed skin right above my left breast. I gulped, being scared of what he was up to.

"You can't hurt me just because we hate each other," I mumbled in fear.

"I do want to hurt you, punish you, make you question your existence... but...." His thumb padded the corner of my eye, eliminating one traitor tear as he said,"....I don't hate you...at least not for the things you think I hate you for."

His confession shocked me. Surely he never confessed to hating me ever, but he never denied that, and his actions said otherwise always. I was still unsure of his words. His fingers kept drawing some pattern above my breast.

"Does darkness scare you, firefly?" 

I nodded.

"But you like this rush. It excites you. The high of being chased and the calmness of being found." It was not a question, but he stated an obvious fact. He was right that I liked the rush. It was a weird, sadistic kind of liking, I had figured.

How did he know that much? How could he figure it out in an instant when I could not in years? 

Goosebumps erupted on my skin when his lips touched the base of my ear. The slight contact was velvety, and it dropped my insides so low. I bit my lip to stop the throaty moan from coming out. I was not going to let him know the effect he was having on me. But what worsened the situation was when he said my name. When he called me Simran.

"I want you, Simran. I want to own you, claim you, hurt you, break you, and then make you whole again." I heard his honest confession.

"Because I am some kind of toy?"

I felt his lips forming a kiss on my hair.

"Because you are mine." he was not holding me, but I knew I would melt in his arms if he kept uttering what he did not mean. It was some kind of game, I was certain.

"You don't even love me."

There was a slight pause before he answered, "No, I don't...."

It felt like someone put a slap on my face, pulling me out of the haze he had put me in. I knew he did not love me, but hearing him say it still crushed my already wounded heart.

"I will never go against my morals to be on your side, Kiaan. I will...." I could not complete what I was saying when I felt his hand curl around my throat gently. His thumb rested on my pulse, and he kept tapping it as if controlling it.

"Then be ready to kneel because when I make you mine completely, you will be begging for mercy, and all you will get is what you deserve. Count your days, sweetheart. It won't be long before you will run to me to save yourself from me."

I felt him removing the veil from my eyes. Before I opened my eyes, I heard the door being opened. When I could finally see, he was gone, leaving no trace of his presence behind. I stayed there in shock, my body burning with the velvety touch of his words. I was trying to get my ragged breath to normal when I heard Nitya.

"There you are.... I have been trying to...." She stopped abruptly and then pointed at my chest.

"What's that?"

Confused, I turned to look in the mirror. My face went pale, and then it turned red with anger. K initial was written with henna on my chest, right where my heart was. He planned it all.

Kiaan Fucking Chauhan!

Even though everything he said could have been a ploy to write his initials on me, I still could not keep his words out of my head, which seemed more like a dangerous promise than false claims.

"It won't be long before you will run to me to save yourself from me."

"I don't hate you....at least not for the things you think I hate you for." 

******

Hi Lovelies, 

I hope you all are doing great.  🤗

Any idea what's running inside Kiaan's head to act the way he did? 🤔

What's the connection between Dr.Phil and Simran? 🤔

I really want the wedding to tak place soon. So maybe I will try to club the next two chapters together for the same. ☺️

Do share your views about the chapter. It would mean a lot. ❤️

Thanks, 
Shrishtee