Nakul grinned wolfishly, almost suggestively as he gazed down at the beautiful damsel in distress in his cousin's arms, the former looking up at his cousin from under her lashes with....?

Vihaan felt his cousin's heavy gaze on him and looked up to glare at him, probably catching the suggestive meaning behind it.
"....Don't."

Arshiya was once again spelt under his deep, intimidating voice, that had her head spinning and heart fluttering.

He was a handsome man, probably one of the most handsome she had come across, with those fine cheekbones, his tall, rugged and muscular towering frame, his messy black hairs sprawling lazily on his forehead.

And not to forget, those coal grey eyes absolutely as hard as steel that burned right through her, that she couldn't suppress the tremors and jitters of nervousness that passed through her as those mysterious orbs bore into her.

Nakul's hands raised up in surrender, but his characteristic smirk said otherwise. "I wasn't trying to."

".... Nakul. Go bring the car." Vihaan ordered sternly, almost warningly to keep his mouth shut and get the hell out of there, otherwise, there would be consequences and Nakul fled right out of the studio, but not before giving him a sly smile and left the two strangers alone to wait for her friends.

Silence.

Before she decided to break it with the only question she could form in the heavy silence.

"Don't you speak?"

His gaze snapped to her at her stupid question and his lips draw together in disbelief. Didn't she just hear him speak? "..I do."

"You know what I mean....." She grumbled with a disappointed pout at his lack of participation and he sighed.

".....I don't."

She gaped at him like a fish, her mouth opening and closing in utter shock. Is this man for real?
Here, she was trying to.... trying to what?

Arshiya sighed sadly. One last try.

"What is your name?"

This certainly caught his attention and he raised a surprised eyebrow at her. He was certainly not expecting this.

"Pardon?"

"Your name?" She took her lower lip in between her teeth, waiting for an answer and his lips twitched into the tiniest of a smile.

"Vihaan."

"Vihaan, ahem, it's nice to meet you. My name is Arshiya, but you can call me Arshi, my friends call me that." She rambled on childishly with a bright toothy smile, a smile that squeezed his heart to smile back but he just sighed.

"We are not friends." She gaped at him with parted lips, amazed that he had spoken more than two words in a sentence.

"But we can be." She blurted out without thinking and Vihaan cleared his throat uncomfortably.

Arshiya blinked confused as he didn't speak and bit her lower lip in nervousness. Did she say something wrong?

Arshiya had a habit of making friends with anyone and everyone, another reason why she was the sweetest and the kindest girl.

"So, err, what do you do?" She asked softly, not wanting to offend him and he raised another disbelieving brow at her. Wasn't it clear who he was, just by his name?!

"You know, the VM Towers....." He was cut off by her again, as she saw this chance to let up the information she had picked up between her father and one of his colleagues.

"Oh, You also work there. You see, Shukla uncle also work there and he once told us that their boss is very strict and you know, intimidating and intense and like really very scary, but don't tell your boss I said that. So, ahem, what is your post there?"

She rambled and rambled on about how scary he was, without even knowing that he couldn't help but smile slightly as she looked up at him awaiting his answer.
She didn't really leave anything. He was intimidating and intense in his structure and heartless when it came to be. The thing is about power and he liked to be in control of everything. Literally.

"Eh? Vihaan? You didn't answer?" She asked carefully, trying not to ramble again as she unconsciously tightened her hold on his shoulders and he tilted his head to the side to look over her face again like he was trying to memorize everything.

 What was he supposed to say? He was the scary boss of Shukla Ji, she was talking about or he was just going to say, I am Vihaan Malhotra, the owner of VM Towers.

He didn't have the heart to do that. He actually didn't have the heart to see those beautiful brown eyes filled with tears. Did it matter that much?

Yes.

Vihaan sighed.

"I am the manager of the company." He lied smoothly, letting the big brown eyes looking up at him won, and she nodded, giving him a toothy smile.

Silence.

".....Chocolates or Cupcakes?"

"Huh?" He was surprised that she had still not given up the ridiculous questionnaire and couldn't help but sigh. "....Cupcakes?"

Was it an answer? Arshiya held back a giggle and cleared her throat to prevent the laughter bubbling inside her, to escape from her lips.

"So, do you have a girlfriend?"

..a girlfriend?

The question laid down heavily on him and it stirred the devil inside him and his mind wandered to all those girls, who were just a way for him, to warm his bed, for money. They meant nothing to him, that's why he hated one of those particular species of women.

"No." He growled and she was taken aback by the sudden harshness in his tone. And she took that as a cue that he was done and didn't say anything.

What the hell was he thinking? What's her fault? His grey eyes softened as she squirmed uneasily in his arms and he growled low in his throat. Fuck his inner devil.

Scared, she was fucking scared. He had enough people, scared of him, but for some reason, he didn't want her to be afraid of him. So, he did what he thought was the best! He joined her ridiculous questionnaire.

"....I didn't find anyone special." He added in a low voice and her big brown eyes snapped to him instantly and she looked away immediately.

"I-I am s-sorry, I sh-shouldn't have asked you something p-personal." She mumbled apologetically as she wriggled uncomfortably and Vihaan sighed.

"...It's j-just that I just ramble out nonsense...."

"....I am usually not l-like this....."

"Arshiya." That's it, that's when she looked up at him again. He said her name so softly that her heart did a somersault. It's so unexpected from him, a huge contrast to his stern façade.

"It's alright." Vihaan's grey eyes gaze right back at her, with the voluptuous amount of softness, that her heart did another somersault.

"Let's go. Let's go." Srishti's voice broke through their lost selves and Arshiya immediately looked away from him, the only indication she was affected by it, was the prominent pink tint on her cheek. Her friends walked past them, Vani briefly catching Arshiya's eyes and winked at her cheekily, causing her eyes to widen and she looked up at the Vihaan to check if he noticed, but to her relief, he didn't.

When they stepped out of the studio, they found Shivani talking to the guard while he nodded to whatever important she said.

Vani motioned Vihaan towards the white swift parked in the front and Vihaan followed her. She opened the door for him and he carefully tucked under the hood of the car, aware of her eyes on him.

He settled her comfortably on the back seat of the car, but before he could back away, she held onto the sleeves of his coat, stopping him mid-stride and he looked up at her questionably.

She leaned in closer to him and pressed her heart-shaped lips on his cheek softly, hesitantly, causing his eyes to widen in shock, but her words were more heartwarming.

"You'll find someone Vihaan." She leaned back enough to whisper him luck and his lips parted in absolute shock. "Someone who will love you no matter what."

Then, slowly and shyly, she backed away from him, leaving a lingering sensation on his cheek and a fluttering sensation in his non-existent heart, that Vihaan couldn't help but desire the feel of her lips on him again, but this time not on his cheek.

"I did." The words squeezed out of him before he could stop them and it was her turn to be left absolutely stupefied, but before she could have come out of her stupor, the door clicked shut.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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