My eyes wandered at the people around me and I held in another breath, turning around to face Bhavya, who was now giving me her usual sympathetic look.

"Donʼt."

"No, I will. Itʼs already been three weeks Ri! Youʼre telling him tonight."

"Tell him what? That I want to leave and hear him beg me to stay again? Heʼs never going to let me leave Bhavya , why canʼt you see that already? Iʼve tried."

I moved aside to give space to a couple who raised their glasses at me before leaving with a smile still plastered on their faces.

"So youʼre going to keep staying here? In this hole full of undeniably handsome men, who are, by the way, complete and utter jerks-"

"Bhavya..." I mumbled, eyeing the Oberoi brothers, who were now standing right behind her, god knows how long theyʼve been there.

"No, Iʼm serious. Itʼs all about looks for them, isnʼt it? They think theyʼre the real shit just because god blessed them with the looks? And to be honest, that highschool kid, Mohit, I dated? Even he had a better face than most of these overrated vampires-" She held up a hand when I opened my mouth to speak and I stopped in embarrassment.

Maybe itʼs just best friend instincts but Bhavya  seemed to read my expressions and I watched her mouth slightly hung open before they closed right back, a slight shade of pink creeping on her cheeks.

"Do enlighten us." Rudra grinned as Bhavya  turned around and I watched her stop for a minute before frowning at them all.

"No thanks, Iʼm already hurt," Parth gave us his "fake" disappointed look. "Right here." He poked his chest and Bhavya scoffed before turning to face me.

"Letʼs leave. Donʼt talk to them." She pushed the same orders for the millionth time tonight and I sighed with a small nod.

"Really, Bhavya? Youʼre still going to make her shut up? It wonʼt kill her to talk to us, you know?"

"Oh, but it can," she protested, turning to glare at Ajay, who groaned in annoyance.

"Donʼt start, Bhavya , I swear if you repeat that speech one more time-"

"As long as sheʼs staying here? She ainʼt going to talk to none of you." Bhavya  raised her voice and from the corner of my eyes, I could see Rithesh mouthing the exact same words along with her before rolling his eyes in annoyance.

"Keep rolling your eyes, maybe youʼll find a brain back there, Rithesh." I barely muttered under my breath and I could hear the boys cooing and going nuts over my epic "insult". I almost forgot that vampires were able to hear, well, almost anything from a mile away.

How very useful.

"You guys are so immature."
"Why are you both wearing such casual clothes anyways? Itʼs an important annual event, not one of your girly slumber parties" Ajay addressed our causal outfits, jeans and crop tops and both Bhavya and I let out a huff in frustration.

"Youʼre the one to talk!" I snapped at Ajay, eyeing his plain blue jeans and grey shirt, totally not fit for a party but obviously it was okay for them to wear anything they pleased.

"Thatʼs true, you look like shit." Rudra mumbled, leaning closer to Ajay's ears in a cautious manner.

"Fuck off dickhead." Ajay roughly pushed him away and I held back a chuckle.

"Boys, whatʼs going on here?" Ishana popped out of nowhere and I watched her give me a fake smile before snapping her head towards the boys.

"Whereʼs Omkara ?"

"Heʼll be here soon."

My heart ached at the mention of his name. Itʼs been nearly three weeks since Iʼve last had a decent conversation with him.

Iʼd always ignore him or completely shut him out when he attempts to talk to me, and I guess as time flew by, he stopped trying too.

Mostly because he would always be too busy with "work" and taking care of "things". I guess itʼs for the best. I was finally healing, slowly moving on from my feelings and I certainly do not want to give him the chance to tear open that wound again.

"Heʼs always busy these day," Ishana  mumbled and from the corner of my eyes, I could see her glancing at me. "And Gauri , please try to loosen up a bit?" I snapped my head towards her harsh words and narrowed my eyes at her hard expression.

"Whatever do you mean, princess?" Bhavya  cocked her head to a side, taking the words right out of my mouth and itʼs at times like these, that I truly appreciate her as my friend.

"I am not trying to fight, alright? Itʼs just that sheʼs been giving him a hard time and I think that itʼs in both our interests that he stopped pushing himself so hard to find Veer." Ishana countered, plastering on a smile and I mentally scoffed at her words.

"I never told him to find Veer. That has nothing to do with me-"

"It has everything to do with you and you know it!" she suddenly snapped and I heard the boys hiss at her to keep quiet, waving their hands at the passing people in the process.

"Donʼt be so loud, this is not just a normal event alright? Itʼs-"

"Whatʼs that supposed to mean?" I challenged, cutting off Rithesh and taking a step forward towards Ishana , who didnʼt back away either, instead she scowled in distaste.

"It means that you keep playing with his feelings, confusing him and leading him on," my mouth gaped at her words.

"Heʼs having a hard time dealing with this and you have the nerve to ignore him? The only reason why heʼs going out to find Veer is because he thinks you are in danger, which you might be, who knows-"

"Whatʼs your point, Ishana ?!" I started to lose it, my whole body itching to punch her right in the throat.

She thinks I am the one playing him and confusing him?

"My point is that you are whatʼs holding him back and the reason why he is in danger. You are the reason that he is out all the time, day and night, not having to spend a single time with me!" she suddenly roared at the end and this was the first time I was seeing her like this.

"So this is about you then, huh?"

I watched her bite the inside of her cheeks and I swallowed the lump in my throat as well.

"And for your information, itʼs Omkara who is holding me back-"

"Geez, fucking stop it you guys! We are in the middle of a fucking party and I swear, if you both donʼt shut up right now, Iʼll make sure I do it for you." Parth  threatened, sending me a deadly glare and I was about to burst out in anger when a hand grabbed my mouth from behind, pulling me back.

I stumbled back and turned around, ready to push whoever was now wrapping an arm around my shoulders oh-so-casually but stopped when I saw Shivaay , smiling and nodding as we passed by a bunch of people.

"Let me go, Iʼm fine!" I brushed his hands away roughly and attempted to walk away but Shivaay being Shivaay, obviously had to be the hero who stops me from turning into a raging bull.

"Hey, relax." He stepped in front of me, holding both my upper arms and squeezing them gently, causing me to let out another huff.

"She is just so infuriating and stupid and ignorant and-" I involuntarily let out a squeal in frustration, my teeth still gritted in annoyance. God, I just hate everything about her.

"Damn." I heard Shivaay  chuckle a bit, his eyes still widened a little in shock before he pinched the bridge of his nose, slightly blushing and shaking his head as more people stared at us.

"Can you get me a glass of water?" I asked out of the blue, glancing back to see Bhavya arguing with the boyʼs right next to Ishana . I didnʼt care at this point, all I wanted was to let out my frustrations somehow, anyhow.

"Sure, wait here okay?" he said and I watched him leave before turning around and walking towards the main door.

I followed behind a bunch of people and mentally high fived myself for using this opportunity tonight. After all, the main gate is always opened for guests on these kind of annual events between the vampires and humans so it would obviously be easier to sneak out.

"Great, just great." I muttered under my breath in frustration, staring at the heavy rain pouring in front of me. Of all the nights to rain.

"Youʼre the one whoʼs holding him back." Ishana's words rang through my mind and I tried to calm myself down but nothing was helping anymore.

With a grunt, I started walking and before I could even pass through the gate, I was already soaking wet, strands of my hair already sticking to my face, making me groan in annoyance but I kept moving. I didnʼt know where I was going or for how long I could keep walking like this but I didnʼt care.

I just wanted to go for a walk, even if it meant for a few minutes. I gasped when thunder started bellowing across the sky, causing the rain to pour down on me even harder and I let out an uncontrollable sob, hugging myself as tightly as I could.

"I am holding him back? Using him? Playing him? Who the fuck do you think you are?!" I yelled, my tears blurring my vision as I kept walking.

"What do you know...?" I asked out to practically no one and by now, I was too weak to even shout or yell.

"Youʼre just some stupid, ugly girl who-" my lame insults came to an abrupt stop along with my movements as a car stopped right next to the pavement I was walking on and I watched the window slide down to reveal Omkara's face, causing my heart to race faster than ever.

"Get in." he spoke softly and I stood up straight, mentally scoffing to myself before hugging myself tighter, ready to start walking again when he spoke.

"Gauri , Iʼm serious, get in the car." He had a more demanding tone and I quickly replied with a sharp "no" before hurrying my pace.

I could hear him yell something along the lines, "Iʼm not playing with you right now, doll face, get in the car or-" but I couldnʼt care less.

It wasnʼt long before two large pair of hands held my shoulders and turned me around, attempting to drag me towards the car again but I wasnʼt going to take it tonight.

"Let me go-"

"Youʼre going to catch a cold, get inside." He turned to face me as I brushed away his hand and I gave him a hard look.

"Then so be it." I said bitterly, hugging myself only tighter, trying to stop my body from shaking any further.

"Gauri ," my heart almost melted at his voice but I didnʼt show it, instead I put on a blank expression and stared up to meet his blue eyes, plead and guilt suddenly filling inside them but I couldnʼt let that get to me either.

"Can you please get in the car?" he asked softly and let me tell you, this boy got magic tricks up his sleeves because there is no way that he can just make both my heart and mind go crazy with just some simple words.

I noticed that he too was now getting soaked and as soon as he opened the door for me, I stepped inside, knowing that Iʼd be blamed if he walked back home all wet and cold.

The door shut gently after Omkara stepped in and I didnʼt even bother to send him a glance as we drove off.

I could feel his intense staring as we kept driving and after a few minutes, I just turned away to face the window, trying to concentrate on the sound of heavy rain and silence that clouded our atmosphere.

"Gauri ?" Omkara called and my breath hitched at his voice. So much for peace and silence.

"Youʼre going to ignore me again?" I responded with silence and I heard him let out a huff but I didnʼt even bother to look at him.

I didnʼt want to.

Itʼs already been more than three weeks since we last had a decent conversation and I plan to keep it that way.

"Gauri ? Can you at least give me a chance to talk?" I ignored him yet again and gasped when the car suddenly turned to a corner before coming to an abrupt stop.

"What the hell, Omkara ?!" I turned to glare at him but stopped when I realized that he was now leaning closer to my seat now, his fingers already holding a gentle but firm grip on my chin.

My heart almost dropped as I stared into his deep, mysterious blue eyes and I watched something flicker inside them before he flicked his tongue to lick his lips, causing the butterflies in my stomach to go on a rampage.

Oh, how I wanted those lips on mine.

"Say something," his voice was now hoarse, carrying a pleading tone and I almost melted in my seat.

"I miss your voice." He mumbled out and I froze when I felt his thumb caressing my bottom lip gently, causing goosebumps to rise all over my body.

This familiar feeling of warmth and comfort, I couldnʼt take it. In a swift motion, I brushed his hands away and pressed myself against my seat, trying my best to even my heartbeats.

"Take me back ." I said softly yet harshly and from the corner of my eyes, I could see Omkara pull back before nodding slowly, the disappointed look on his face not fading away for even a second.

This is exactly what I didnʼt want to see. I donʼt want to see this side of him. I donʼt want to feel like Iʼm the only one whoʼs making him feel this way.

It would only get my hopes up and I donʼt want to go through that phase again. Luckily, we drove off in silence and Omkara didnʼt utter a word later, thank the lord for that. I could use some alone time to think and get my shit together already.

I had to.

******

I coughed for the hundredth time and let out a groan before tossing off the sheets, my eyes darting around in search of Bhavya but she was nowhere to be seen now.

Letting out another groan, I fought back the painful headache and sat up straight to grab the nearest bottle of water.

Before I could grab it, someone switched on the lights and I sighed, expecting it to be Bhavya but my eyes widened when I saw Omkara leaning against the door, his eyebrows shooting up in the most obvious manner.

"I told you."

"Donʼt start, Iʼm fine. Just need to drink water and go to sleep." I grumbled impatiently and reached out to grab the water bottle from the nearest table.

"Youʼre not fine. I could hear you coughing-"

"Iʼm sorry I ruined your sleep. I already took my medicine, Iʼll be fine, thanks." I cut him off and stopped reaching out towards the table when Omkara appeared in front of me, grabbing the water bottle and handing it over to me.

"You didnʼt ruin my sleep." He said shortly and I sipped down some water before giving him a look, trying to ignore his hard abs that were now staring directly at me, calling out to me, haunting me and-

"God, stop it, Gauri !" I was meant to say those words silently but somehow blabbered them out instead, causing Omkara to look at me in confusion.

"Stop what?"

"Nothing, good night now." I flushed and quickly regained my posture when he shook his head.

I opened my mouth to say something but froze when he suddenly reached out to touch my forehead, his palms covering my whole forehead and I just sat there stiffened for a few minutes before brushing his hands away, my pulse racing at his touch.

I hated feeling this way. I donʼt want to but I keep wanting to at the same time, why am I like this?!

"Youʼre having a bad fever, Gauri . Iʼm not letting you go to sleep like that." He raised his voice, his eyebrows slightly furrowing together before he sat down next to me and I crawled back away from him.

My eyes widened when he suddenly brought his wrists closer to his mouth, his sharp fangs sinking right into his skin, making my whole body shiver in displeasure.

"No-no!" I snapped, shaking my head repeatedly and I watched Omkara stop to frown at me, slightly gulping down his own blood, which he was probably going to make me drink.

"I do-donʼt want you to kiss me." I said finally, inhaling deeply as his confused expression got replaced with a more serious gesture.

"I either pour it down your throat or you drink straight from my wrist, doll face, have it as you please." His tone grew more deep and cold and I gulped softly before turning away, my mind going blank for a few seconds.

"Guess Iʼll have it my way then." I heard him state before an arm wrapped around my waist, yanking me closer and I shook my head, grabbing his hand before he could drink from it.

He stopped to look down at me and I went silent as I brought his wrist closer, my fingers trailing the veins on his arms. God, I was getting obsessed with every part of him again and that was not good.

I could feel his body tense up under my touch but I didnʼt make it a big deal. Instead I took a deep breath and gave him a pleading look, to which Omkara responded with a hard look on his face.

He cocked an eyebrow at his wrist, motioning me to hurry up and I let out a sigh in defeat, knowing that he would do it his "own" way if I didnʼt co- operate right now.

After making the last face in disgust, I licked off a drop of blood and scrunched up when the bitter taste filled my mouth.

"You have to drink more than that."

"I canʼt do it, itʼs gross!"

"Well, Iʼm not really giving you a choice right now, am I, doll face?" Omkara shot right back and his sudden outburst made me jump a little before I looked at him with wide eyes, tears slightly glistening inside them but I quickly lowered my eyelashes to hide my frightened expression.

"Iʼm sorry alright? But I am tired as fuck right now, Gauri  and I canʼt bear to see you sick like this so please just-" before he could finish his half assed apology, I started sucking on his wrist, ignoring his fast pulse that was now racing under my fingers.

I mentally gagged as I kept drinking, closing my eyes shut the entire time and finally pulled away with a cough, my mind growing a bit dizzy.

"Happy now? Go, thanks for your help." I said softly and was about to turn away when he grabbed my wrist, holding me in place. I was about to say something rude to brush him away but my breath hitched when he leaned his face closer to mine, my eyes already getting captivated inside his.

For the new few seconds, we just stared at each other, our breaths only getting heavier with each passing second.

It all happened so fast, yet so clearly.

At first, his eyes held no emotions but slowly, the guilt and plead started filling in slowly, along with an unreadable expression on his face that made my heart melt.

It was frustrating because I wanted to know what was going on in his mind but he was never good with words. But then again, he was never good with emotions either so could you blame me?

I froze when his eyes flickered onto my lips and before I could react, he started leaning closer, making my whole body stiffen immediately.

I wanted to move but I couldnʼt. I flinched when he licked the corner of my lips and then slowly pull away, his eyes instantly drawing mine inside them again.

I hate the fact that he was able to have this effect on me.

"Can you not do that?" I asked, my voice barely audible and I watched him lean closer as I inched away.

"Do what?"

"Do that. Licking, kissing, touching me. I donʼt like it anymore..." I lied, giving him a disappointed look and at this point, Omkara's expression became unreadable but I didnʼt bother to figure it out.

Instead, I turned away and Omkara stood up from his position, ready to leave when the door opened to reveal Shivaay's weary face. His hair was a mess and his eyes looked crazy, not to mention his worn out clothes.

"Are you for real?!" he snapped at me, suddenly plopping down right next to me on the bed and before I could even realize what was going on, I was pulled into a tight hug, causing goosebumps to rise all over my body.

"Wha-"

"You fucking scared me to death Gauri ! I looked everywhere for you, where the hell were you?" he pulled away and I opened my mouth to say something but shut it right back, the guilt suddenly kicking in.

Shivaay was and always have been a sweet guy and I was always giving him a hard time with my stubbornness and mood swings.

Tonight was definitely one of those night.

"I took her in." I could hear Omkara say sharply and Shivaay glanced at him and then back at me before sighing in relief, a wave of emotions filling his eyes.

"So-sorry, I really am. I just-" I stopped and gave him an apologetic look.

Shivaay only gave me a dead stare before a small smile crept up on his face as he leaned closer to kiss the side of my forehead.

My mouth dropped open and I could feel the intense staring as Omkara stood there emotionless, watching us the entire time.

This was sending a bad message, obviously.

"Itʼs alright, just glad youʼre fine." He said shortly, standing up straight and I watched Omkara take a huge step forward but come to a sudden halt when he saw the desperation and panic in my eyes.

I watched his eyes turn a shade darker, his jawlines locked as he turned away and I couldnʼt help but feel somewhat guilty.

Shivaay  left after giving me a few more lectures and advices, almost making me yawn and not feel bad for him again.

Itʼs like talking to a older and better looking version of your dad. As soon as the door shut behind me, I glanced at Omkara , who was now leaning against the wall, his hands folded across his chest as he burned holes through my face the entire time.

"Stop staring at me Omkara . Good night." I mumbled out before burying myself inside the blankets, hoping he would leave but to my disappointment, Omkara stood still with a blank expression plastered on his face.

"Omkara , can you please leave? You are being creepy as fuck." I muttered, but I couldnʼt ignore the disturbing feelings growing inside of me.

Of course he was upset and I know why too. I guess it could be because I took comfort from Shivaay and not him? We all know that Omkara doesnʼt like to share his "toys".

"Seriously? Youʼre just going to stand there?" I tried to conceal the guilt in my voice but it was getting hard to just ignore it so I tossed the blanket and walked right up to him, my eyes narrowing at him as he stared down at me with no emotion.

"Hello? Earth calling to Omkara ?" I cautiously waved my hand across his face and gasped when he caught my wrist in a swift motion, yanking them roughly before straightening his posture.

I cringed a little as the tall figure towered over me and tried to jerk my hand away but held a fine grip this time, making my heart race faster.

"Donʼt ever fucking do that again." He spoke each word painfully slow and I frowned at him.

"Do what?" I watched his jawline muscle flicker before he turned away, releasing his grip in the process.

Before I could say anything, he walked right up to the bed, plopping on it casually. I glared at him in a warning manner but he didnʼt even bother to look at me anymore.

Instead, he turned around, slumping the blanket over his chest and closed his eyes ignorantly, making my blood boil.

"Really Omkara ? You want to act childish?"

"Nowʼs not the right time to fuck me up with that attitude, Gauri ."

"Stop making it sound like Iʼm always fucking you up, Omkara . Itʼs the other way around remember?!" I huffed, marching towards the bed and he went silent at my words.

I let out another huff and climbed into the other side of the bed, not even bothering to tell him to fuck off.

Heʼs always doing what he wants anyways.

"Do you really hate me that much?"

"Yes I am." I replied almost instantly, ignoring the fact that he was carrying a very soft and low tone by now.

"How can I change that?" his words caught me by surprise and for a few seconds I sat still before reaching out to switch off the lights as nothing but the sound of silence and pouring rain filled the room.

You can't." I started turning away but stopped when he turned around to face me.

Even in the dark, I could clearly see his blue eyes flickering in desperation but I had to stand my ground.

"I'm serious."

"So am I." I said sharply and was about to turn around when he grabbed my wrist.

"Gauri , please..." he squeezed my hands a little, as if he was afraid that I would yank them away again. "Don't make me beg."

"I never asked you to nor do I want you to. So stop already and  I told you to stop touching me." I said with a hard expression and I watched his eyes turn a shade darker.

"So it's okay for Shivaay  to do whatever he pleases but it's a crime for me to get a chance to make things up for you?" he raised his voice and I just stared at him in disbelief.

"You're acting childish Omkara . You have no reason to get mad about it unless you are jealous. And I am trying my best to convince myself otherwise because-"

"I am not jealous. I just get fucking pissed when people take away what's rightfully mine." I could sense the anger in his tone and instead of arguing with him, I decided to calm him down a little.

He was misunderstanding anyways, might as well clear it up.

"Omkara , I'm  not his to claim, alright? We're just friends and-"

"Yeah right." I watched him turn around to stare right up at the ceiling, a hand slumping on his forehead and I raised a brow at him.

"I see the way you look at him, Gauri ..." he turned to face me again and my eyes widened when I realized that his face was only an inch away from mine now. "And I see the way you look at me..." I stared dead into his eyes and at this point, my heart ached for him.

Even in the dark, I could see the pain and hurt in his eyes and before I could say anything more, he concealed the hurt with his usual expressionless mask, causing my heart to drop."It's just different."

"I could say the same about you and Ishana." I finally had the guts to say and I watched him sit up straight before frowning at me in displeasure.

"For fuck sake , I am trying my best to keep you and her safe, Gauri . There is nothing going on between me and Ishana! I have tried to tell you this over a million fucking times but you are too stubborn and ignorant to fucking care or to listen to me!" he suddenly started snapping and I sat up straight as well,tossing the sheets as I glared at him furiously.

"And what the hell makes you think you deserve one?! You have been nothing but an asshole to me ever since I stepped inside here and to make things worse, you kiss her ass and make me sound at fault for getting upset about it. You keep lashing out at me because you can't digest the fact that you still have feelings for her, Omkara !"

"Why the fuck would I have feelings for her , Gauri when you're the only person that's running through my mind, every fucking day?!" he grabbed my shoulders and my eyes widened at his words, as did his, right after he realized what he had just said.

His breathings were already getting heavier and I gulped softly before biting my lip gently, processing in his words.

"Don't fucking do that right now." He let out an exasperated sigh, his eyes suddenly landing on my lips and I just stared at him silently before finally mustering up the words I wanted to say.

"So what am I to you, Omkara ?" he gave me a confused look. "Am I someone you care about? Have feelings for or what?" another sigh escaped through his lips and I held my breath for his answer.

"I don't know, alright? I'm still trying to figure that out so-"

"Or I'm  just another blood bag?"

"Just stop, alright? I told you, I'm trying to figure this out so just give me a little more time. I just want to finish dealing with Ishana  too and it's fucking annoying as fuck when you both fight over dumb shit and-"

"What 's your point Omkara ? That i should just take all this and deal with it like a strong little girl? I have been alright? For the past few months, I have been putting up with everything, but this? I can't deal with her. She's been rude and acting like a bitch towards me for no reason and-"

"How am I supposed to defend two people I care about, Gauri ? I can't alright? Iam trying my best to protect you two and you both fighting each other is not helping."

At this point, I just wanted to slap him but I somehow managed to hold back.

This guy keeps trying to do the best thing for everybody and ends up making the whole situation worse than it already is.

"Have it your way then." I muttered getting up from the bed and walking up to the window. I could hear him say some colorful words to himself as we kept a fair distance apart.

The wind greeted me as I opened the window and I glanced back to notice Omkara on the floor, leaning his back against the bed with his knees up, both his elbows slumped on them with his head hung between his arms.

I guess he was just as exhausted and frustrated as I was.

"I just  don't want to lose you, alright? I want you to stay here and be happy too, Gauri ."

"You've already lost me, Omkara ." I breathed in the fresh air, blinking away the tears.

''And there is nothing you can do to change that."

I tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep that night, despite the fact that Omkara was sound asleep right next to me.

We talked a bit more but after I told him that I wasnʼt interested in giving him a chance to make things right, he started giving me the silent treatment.

After that, we both just decided to go to sleep, well mostly I decided to. But I couldnʼt sleep no matter how hard I tried and letʼs be honest, could you blame me? Omkara was acting totally different now and itʼs been making me go crazy.

The worst part is that I canʼt tell whether thatʼs a good thing or a bad thing. After all, he is being extra sweet and is actually trying to be nice to me, for once. Why though? Did he really have feelings for me? Because back in the days, the Omkara I knew wouldnʼt have given two shits even if I was upset or not.

He would have done whatever he pleased and gotten away with it. But itʼs different now. Heʼs actually trying to apologize and begging me to give him a chance, which by the way is still very new to me and I canʼt seem to process that in my head no matter how hard I try.

I finally tossed the sheets over and got up from the bed, silently tiptoeing my way towards the door but froze when I heard Omkara call out my name, his sexy, sleepy voice almost making my knees weak.

"Whereʼre you going?"

"I just want to explore the mansion. I never had the chance to before so I thought-"

"Explore the what-" he asked in disbelief, rubbing his temple in annoyance and sitting up straight.

"Itʼs the middle of the fucking night, Gauri , can we please just go to sleep?" he groaned, running a hand through his hair and face as I folded my hands across my chest stubbornly.

"But I want to right now. I canʼt sleep."

"I can fix that so just come here." He said, waving an arm at me and motioning me to come closer but I didnʼt budge.

"Enlighten me." I raised a brow and I heard him let out another groan before slumping back on the bed.

"Theyʼre insects and all kinds of weird shit living here so good luck." He mumbled and I visibly flinched before frowning at him.

"Youʼre lying."

"And why would I do that?" his sickly sweet tone pricked my nerves and I marched up to him before letting out a sigh.

"Can you come with me then?"

"Must you really play Sherlock holmes tonight?" his words dripped in sarcasm and I nodded, reaching out to switch on the lights.

Omkara let out a soft growl and stuffed his face with a pillow but I snatched it away immediately.

"Come on, Omkara ! Youʼre the one who scared me with the whole insect shit, so why canʼt you just come with me? Iʼve been living here for more than 3 months now and you still havenʼt showed me all the rooms and I donʼt know, secret magic doors and stuff." I ran out of words and Omkara gave me a blank look.

"Youʼre not very good at convincing people." He stated bluntly and I threw the pillow back at his face before muttering a quick

"Fine, then stay." I opened the door and started heading out, slightly glancing back to see if Omkara was following but to my disappointment, he wasnʼt.

A scoff escaped through my lips before I marched through the hallway, trying my best to adjust to the darkness.

I was lucky that the boys didnʼt want to feed on anyone tonight, mostly because after the event, they were probably too tired to do anything besides sleep.

"Oh, , babe." I groaned, poking my head further down the staircase to notice Bhavya  sound asleep on the sofa, one of her arms lazily wrapped around a cushion.

I started walking back and instead of taking a left turn, I took a right turn and marched through the hallway, passing by a few rooms, which I assumed was the Oberoi brothers bedrooms.

"My lady." I gasped and turned to face a butler, who immediately bowed and apologized for frightening me but I told him it was fine.

"Why are you wondering in the middle of the night? Itʼs not safe." He spoke softly, giving me a small smile and I shook my head.

"Itʼs fine, Iʼm just exploring the place for a bit. Just until Iʼm tired."

"Are you sure? Be careful then. Donʼt go wandering too far and if you need anything, please let me know." He said politely before leaving and I let out a sigh in relief.

I turned to notice a door and decided to explore this room first, slightly curious to know whose room it was. I knocked a few times and when no one answered, I slowly opened the door only to be greeted by darkness.

"Where is the lights?" I mumbled out before cautiously walking inside, squinting my eyes to make out any figures. I noticed only the chairs and a table but that was about it, the rest was just darkness.

Just as I took a few steps forward, someone slammed the door shut behind me and I let out a gasp before turning around, my heart almost ripping out of my chest.

Darkness still surrounded my vision and at this point, I couldnʼt even find the strength to scream.

"Whoʼs there?" I choked out, taking a step forward and gasped when I heard something clatter from behind me.

"Who-whoʼs there?! Raj if this is you, I swear I wonʼt forgive you. This is not funny." I started panicking and out of the blue, a picture of Veer's face popped into my head, causing a shiver down my spine.

But Wha-what if itʼs him? What if he was here to take me back again?

Tears started glistening in my eyes at the thought and I took a step back, my movement suddenly coming to a halt the moment my back bumped against someone.

"Boo." With another gasp, I spun around to face the figure and even the dark, I could recognize Omkara's blue eyes flickering in amusement, causing my whole body to tremble.

"Are you ducking  kidding me, Omkara ?!" I snapped angrily but by now, Omkara was chuckling at his own little "joke" and I couldnʼt help but drop down on the floor, my knees finally giving away.

"Itʼs not funny, you scared me." I said softly, trying to get Veer's face out of my head.

"Well no shit." He laughed a short laugh but stopped when I went silent.

"Hey, I was just joking, you alright?" he bent down to wrap an arm around my shoulders and I shook my head with a weak smile.

"Iʼm fine, I just thought that you were Veer or someone else." I said finally, standing up straight and he went silent.

"Youʼre safe as long as I am around so donʼt worry about him."

"Yeah." I said shortly before letting out a sigh. I heard Omkara retreating back before turning on the lights, almost making my eyes bleed.

I adjusted after a few seconds and narrowed my eyes around the room.

It was a simple room, clean and tidy without a bed or wardrobe.

"This is kind of like a study room." Omkara mumbled as I took in every detail of the room, taking my time to explore this mysterious little place.

"Gauri , there is fucking nothing in here, can we please go back?" Omkara almost complained and I waved a hand at him ignorantly before opening the small window a little, a gush of cold wind greeting me as I did.

Halfway, the window got stuck and much to my annoyance, I couldnʼt open it further.

"Here, let me." I heard Omkara's voice from behind before two arms reached out towards the window, his muscles flexing as he gave them a small push.

Out of instinct, I turned around and sure enough, his body was too close to mine now. We both stopped to look at each other and Omkara seemed to notice how nervous I was but rather than taking a step back, he inched even closer, his bare chest almost touching my nose before I looked up at him.

"Wh-what?" of all the moments to stutter, now was the time I had to.

"I didnʼt say anything." He placed both his hands on either side of my waist on the windowsill and leaned closer as I pressed myself harder against the wall.

"The-then-"

"Then what?" his voice turned all soft and hoarse, closing his face to mine and at this point, I just wanted to disappear inside the walls.

"Co-could you-"

"Could I what?" he was clearly making fun of my constant stammering but the asshole somehow managed to keep his tone low and soft, making it so much harder for me to focus on what I wanted to say.

'Youʼre just making fun of me." I managed to say a whole sentence without stuttering, bless me for that and Omkara only raised a brow at my accusation.

"Am I?"

"Fuck you."

"Gladly ." He grinned, showing off his pearly white teeth and by now, my whole face was blushing but I couldnʼt help it.

'Letʼs go see the pool or something." I quickly changed the subject, pushing past him and hurrying out of the room only to hear Omkara chuckling behind me.

After we made to the terrace, Omkara let out a groan but I only inhaled deeply, my mind finally coming to ease.

The rain had stopped pouring but it was still cold and windy, just the way I liked it.

"I am too tired, Gauri . How much longer?" Omkara started groaning again, walking up to me near the pool and I let out a sigh in annoyance before shooting him a frown but now

Omkara was just staring down at the pool, probably lost in his own little world. A very bad but satisfying idea came into my head and without any seconds thoughts, I found myself sneaking behind Omkara before doing the most horrible thing ever.

I kicked him right in the ass, sending him flying right into the pool and it didnʼt even take seconds for Omkara to swim back up.

"What the fuck, Gauri ?!" he started cursing but I was laughing too hard now.

The look on his face was priceless.

"Oh you think this is funny?" he asked, a sadistic smirk suddenly appearing on his face, causing a million shivers down my spine.

Okay, maybe that was a bad idea.

"I-I was just joking because-" I stopped when I noticed him getting out of the water, his eyes not ripping away from mine but I could see the smirk tugging on his lips by now.

"Omkara , come on, it was just a-" without warning, I turned and started running back but two large hands grabbed my waist halfway, lifting them up from the ground effortlessly.

The next thing I knew, Omkara was holding me in his arms, looking down right at me as we stood near the pool.

My eyes widened and I grabbed his shoulders, his cold skin making me shiver but I was desperate to convince him to not do what I think was going to do.

"Omkara , Iʼm serious, if you dare to-" I squealed when he dropped me, my body immediately coming in contact with the cold water, causing me to panic but it didnʼt take seconds for someone to pull me back up.

"Youʼre such an asshole!" I growled, hitting Omkara on the chest as he let out a chuckle.

"Oh, My baby girl, you were begging for it when you pushed me in." My heart fluttered at his words but I quickly brushed them away.

"Jerk." I muttered and pressed my back further against the walls.

"You still donʼt know how to swim?"

"Yes, and I donʼt plan to learn right now so good luck next time." I said sharply and Omkara raised a brow before shrugging it off.

"Guess weʼre both not sleeping tonight then."

"And whose fault is that?" Omkara's words dripped in sarcasm but I was too busy to counter them with an insult.

Instead, I just stared up at the starless sky and smiled a little.

"If I ever leave this mansion, I think this is the only place I will miss." I said softly and I could feel Omkara's intense staring as he kept silent at my words.

"Awww how cute." He muttered under his breath and I chuckled a bit.

"Maybe Iʼll miss the boys too. I can whole heartedly say that I donʼt hate their existence now." I looked at Omkara and I noticed how serious he was by now.

"And me , will you miss me?" my heart raced at his words as he inched closer and I just laughed a short laugh, trying to brush it off but Omkara felt otherwise.

"Gauri ...Tell me." He said softly, suddenly stepping right in front of me and I held my breath as I looked up at him, his icy blue eyes making me feel weak to my knees.

"You? Oh, would I miss the guy who constantly teases and bullies me every chance he gets? Always making fun of me and getting on my nerves 25/8?" I asked with a fake gasp but he kept a straight face, a hint of hope in his eyes clearly evident and I pressed my lips together into a thin line before fixating my gaze inside his.

"Yes, I would Omkara ." I finally breathed, ripping my eyes away from his and biting my bottom lip hesitantly, wondering if I should keep going or stop.

"Despite everything you did, I would still miss you, I guess. But that doesnʼt change the fact that you are still an ass so donʼt flatter yourself okay, and never speak of this again because-" I stopped rambling when I found his lips on mine, my cheeks already cupped inside his hands as he pulled himself closer, pressing his whole body against mine.
I
lost balance halfway and found myself wrapping my legs around his torso under the water, my arms already wrapping around his as I kissed him back hungrily.

It felt like a million butterflies had erupted in my stomach and for the next few seconds, time seemed to stop as we took our time, savoring every moment.

His tongue flickered on my bottom lip and I gladly let him in, knowing that I was going to regret this later but fuck that, he was such a good kisser, it was almost impossible to resist.

The kiss started to get more intense as Omkara took over, slipping a hand under my shirt from the back before parting his lips and placing wet and sloppy kisses down my neck, causing me to moan in pleasure.

"I canʼt do this," I breathed, pulling away and his breath came out in a short gasp as our lips parted. "I shouldnʼt be kissing you, no." I turned away before he could even open his mouth to speak and quickly got out of the pool, ignoring Omkara , who was now calling my name.

"Gauri , wait." He grabbed my wrist, turning me around and I was about to say something but froze when my eyes landed on my wet clothes.

The thin fabric was now stuck to my skin, barely concealing anything. I could legit see my undergarments now and I tried so hard to stop myself from blushing but it was too late.

To make it worse, Omkara had now shifted his gaze from my eyes to my body and I could feel my eyes widening before I shot him a deadly glare, covering my whole chest.

"Stop being such a pervert!"

"What, no! I was just worried because you kept staring at yourself and I thought you were hurt or something like damn, doll face, Iʼm not that low." he muttered under his breath, turning away and I narrowed my eyes at him before letting out a groan.

"Can you get me a jacket or something?"

"W-I-I-F-O?" he asked and I shot him another deadly glare but he wasnʼt even looking at me now.

"Whatʼs in it for Omkara ?" I scoffed in disbelief and marched right up to him, making sure that I was standing close enough for him to only meet my eyes.

"Not in the mood for teasing Omkara ."

"W-I-I-F-O." he repeated ignorantly, wrapping an arm around my waist and yanking me closer.

I gasped and looked up at him, my whole brain coming to a freeze when I noticed him grinning down at me.

"Nothing. Iʼll do it myself then." I huffed and Omkara raised a brow before releasing his grip and disappearing.

After a few seconds, he appeared back in front of me, wrapping a huge jacket around my shoulders and now it was my turn to raise a brow at him.

"Guess you finally gave in."

"No, I just donʼt want anyone else to see you like that."

"Really , how come?" I decided to play the teasing game for once and Omkara stopped to look at me, his head slightly tilting to a side.

"Because my brothers would want to fuck you and thatʼs my job, doll face." I blinked at his words and for the next few seconds, I just waited for him to say something less embarrassing but he just stood there with a stupid grin on his face, as if he was enjoying all this.

"Youʼre such a-"

"There is it," he grabbed my waist, pulling me closer and I gasped before meeting his intense gaze.

"Thatʼs the expression that turns me on every fucking time." He mumbled, his blue eyes flickering in both lust and excitement, making my heart racer ten times than it was before.

"Fuck you..." I went back to insult number one but nothing could cover up the embarrassment anymore.

"If you keep saying that, I really will consider ripping those clothes off and fucking the living hell out of you, doll face, you should understand that your outfit is not in your favor tonight."

I blushed harder and opened my mouth to say something but shut it right back, knowing very well that he would use my own words against me.

So instead, I just walked right past him, ignoring his annoying smirk.

"Oh come on, Iʼm just kidding,Gauri ," I heard him say in an amused tone as he followed behind me.

"Yeah, yeah." I rolled my eyes and stopped when he appeared in front of me, taking my hand inside his as a small smile crept up on his face.

"What now?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to hold your hands. Figured theyʼd be cold by now." He said softly, giving them a small squeeze before turning to walk along with me.

Our hands were interlocked together and I couldnʼt help but smile a little. His hands felt so perfect in mine, warm and comforting. It just felt right.

"Omkara ?" I stopped walking.

"Hmm?"

"Thank you," I said finally and I watched him raise a brow.

"For playing the whole Sherlock holmes with me tonight." He chuckled a little, that same contagious laugh, causing my heart go wild and the butterflies in my stomach to go on a rampage.

"Anything for you, Jaan." He slumped an arm around my shoulders and I looked up to say something else but froze when I found his lips connected to mine again.

It took me a few seconds to kiss him back and it felt like everything was finally perfect again. It was just us, me and him, and I didnʼt have to doubt anything anymore.

Hell, I couldnʼt even think straight right now.

All I want is for this kiss to last a lifetime.

"What the fuck, Omkara ?!" a familiar voice broke our kiss as we pulled away and I looked ahead to notice Ishana  standing in front of us, her whole face burning with both hatred and anger, causing my heart to drop.

Oh boy, here we go.

"Ishana..." Omkara finally called softly and I saw something flash in her eyes before she turned around, disappearing from our sight.

"Wait!" Omkara yelled before his hands were practicallyripped away from mine.

My heart dropped and I took a step forward as he started bolting towards the door but backed away as soon as his movements came to a halt.

He turnedaround and I found him suddenly appearing in front of me before pulling me into a tight hug, my whole body squeezing against his.

"I'll be right back, can you go back inside first?" he pulled away and I saw the desperation in his eyes but I didn't say anything, instead I just gave him one final look before turning away.

"I'll just be a minute." He disappeared and I was left standing alone in the terrace, my whole body freezing cold in this weather.

Wow, okay.

After a few minutes, I found myself back in the bedroom and quickly changed into different
clothes before plopping on the bed, burying myself inside the blanket as I brushed away
some more tears.

I waited for Omkara for about an hour or so but realizing that he was not going to show up anytime soon, I decided to go to sleep.

I literally did not have the strength
to stress out about what happened just now, so it was best if I just go to sleep anyways.

******

The next day was all about avoiding Ishana and Gauri , so I did my best to occupy myself
with almost about anything.

I had spilled the beans for Bhavya  about last night before she left to visit her parents this morning, so yes, I was all alone today. I didn't have breakfast norlunch for that matter and luckily Omkara was out all day. So here I was, back at the library and reading my second book for the day. I wanted to get my mind off about what happened last night and I was willing to do just about anything for it.

"Gauri , we need to talk." Ishana's voice almost made me jump up and I stood up, turning
around to face her. She didn't even bother to hide a scowl as I shrugged at her words.

"Yes?"

"I just want to clear things up. What's going on with you and Omkara ?" My eyes slightly
widened at her words but then I realized that she already saw us kissing so of course there
was no point in hiding anything anymore.

"I don't know. He says that he's figuring things out."

"He's already figured it out. Look, I understand that you both have a thing now, but Gauri, I
didn't go through hell to come back to this," she shook her head, her hair dancing around herface as she did. "I need him and he needs me. He is just confused right now and he is in a lotof pain, which is why he is using you to forget about me. But we both know that that's not happening anytime soon because I don't plan to give him up." She went on and I could feel my mouth forming the shape of an "o" as she continued.

"How are you so sure that he doesn't have feelings for me?"

she visibly flinched at my question before putting on a small frown.

"Because he loves me, Gauri . We have been together for a long time and you can't expect
those feelings to just go away for some random girl he keeps around for pleasure."

At this point, I literally had to hold back a punch and the anger I've been trying so hard to keep in since last night was slowly beginning to rise again, thanks to this ignorant bitch.

Ishana seemed to notice how upset I was getting and I watched her give me an apologetic look before turning away.

"I just want what's mine, Gauri. Wouldn't you fight for something you worked so hard to
build? We both have seen the good side of Omkara and I know how much you care about
him. But so do I. And we both know that he is still in love with me, not you." Her blunt words
formed a painful lump in my throat but I had to keep a straight face on.

"Ishana-"

"Are you falling for him?" my heart raced faster than ever and there was no way that she was not able to hear them.

"No." an obvious lie but Ishana nodded, as if she had just made a point in all of this.

"So let him go and let him be happy. If you really care about him then let him go. Because at the end of the day, I'm all he's got, Gauri . I fixed him when he was broken once, and I can
fix him again, I just need your help," she finally breathed as if we were both already coming to
an understanding.

"So are you going to help me or keep playing the role of a mistress?" I
scoffed at her words and shook my head in disbelief.

"Okay, first of all, Ishana , you need to take a step back and not make this about you-"

"Do you want to keep feeling like a second choice or not, Gauri ? I'm just being real with
you right now because I care about you too and wouldn't want you to get hurt. I know how
many girls Omkara has used in the past for his own pleasure while I was gone. You just
happened to be a bit special because of your blood, darling, it's making him crave for more
but that's about it. He's a vampire, Gauri  and you're a human. That's never happened
before. He is never going to fall in love with a human." She leaned back against the book
shelf and I folded my arms across my chest.

"And what about you?"

"I was different because I was the first girl he ever fell in love with. And after I was taken
away? He never fell in love, and I really hope it stays that way, Gauri , am I clear now?" she
was starting to get impatient and for the first time, her words got to me.

I actually took in everything she said and I somehow found myself agreeing to everything she just made up.

"Crystal." I said finally and thought about everything she said one more time. To be honest,maybe this was for the best. I was never good enough for him and if I stopped trying so hardto get something I can never have, then maybe I can finally move on.

It's kind of true that he is confused, it sure seemed like it when we talked even last night.

Yes, at some point last night, I did believe in him, in us, but that was just my fantasy and I had to face reality now.

As painful as this may be, I needed to let him go.

"Thank you, for understanding." She said softly, touching my arms gently and giving them a small squeeze as I nodded with a weak smile.

After that, she just disappeared and I dropped
back down on my chair, my whole body feeling queasy, the sick feeling in my stomach
making me want to hurl any second. But this was for the best.

After all, Omkara doesn't really care about whatever we had, or else he would have made it clear last night when he went to
talk with Ishana. But he didn't,and I can finally let him go.

It's crazy how things are for us.

One minute, I want him, the next minute, I just want him to stay the hell away from me and
just move on.

God, this is going to be a one hell of a cliché story. I was the side bitch, who
had somehow fallen in love with the devil himself, his ex-lover comes back into his life,
leaving him torn apart and in confusion.

The side chick is now going crazy, bouncing back and forth as she tries to win the heart of a man who has eyes for someone else.

The love triangle becomes-

"Gauri , we're inviting some people over, get ready to greet them," Rudra popped out of
nowhere and I gasped before shooting him a glare as he grinned.

"Ah, never gets old." He amused as I rolled my eyes.

"Do you guys necessarily have to have people around all the time? Why not just do
something more productive and-"

"And read a book?" Rudra made a face in disgust and I gasped before hitting his shoulder playfully.

"How dare you."

"Not everyone likes to live in a mansion and do nothing but mope around like you, kitten."

"I swear, you guys deserve an award for being assholes."

"Good looking ones at that." I rolled my eyes and raised a brow at him.

"You really think you're good looking? Honey, I've seen lab rats better looking than-"

"Step off my ego, kitten, that's not nice." He started sulking and I let out a dark chuckle
before brushing past him and leaving the room.

Later that night, I dressed up for the night, slipping on a black tight with an oversized pink
sweater before making my hair into a messy bun.

I didn't really care about the people or
anything, I just had to be there to say hello and all that, and then I'm out. So after applying a thin layer of lip gloss and mascara, I rushed downstairs where Shivaay was waiting for me.

"Hey, how're you feeling?"

"I feel good actually, thanks." I lied, giving him a genuine smile though and he nodded back
with a smile too as we made our way to the sitting room.

I noticed some females around my age already sitting on the boy's laps, greeting me with a huge grin.

"This is Gauri , our adorable little angel." Rithesh introduced me to the girls and I smiled at each and every one of them.

"Also known as blood bag number one." I decided to humor myself and the girls chuckled, including Ishana  but for some reason, all the guys remained silent at my joke, which was weird because they never pass a chance when it comes to mocking me.

"Come sit, darling." Ishana moved away to create a space and I hesitated but slowly sat down on the sofa next to her.

"Try to act happy, it's how you can convince them and Omkara that you're fine with me and us being together." Ishana barely mumbled, her eyes darting everywhere as she spoke and I narrowed my eyes at her. "Please, this is for Omkara ." She said softly yet harshly and I let out a sigh before nodding.

An hour flew by as everyone talked about random stuff, including life stories and their childhood. They were all joking and laughing now, having a good time but I had to force myself to keep a straight face.

Sure, the boys were fun and all that, but acting
nice around Ishana when I've seen her ugly side was annoying and just suffocating. But at the same time, it was bearable if it means that I'll be getting something out of this.

"So tell us an embarrassing childhood accident that happened to you, Gauri ." Ishana
nudged my shoulders and everyone waited for me to speak.

I cleared my throat and went
deep into my thoughts, trying to remember one.

"Oh god, one time, when I was six, I sleep walked up to the fridge in the middle of the night, opened it and slid the bottom drawer, thinking that it was the toilet," I cringed at the
memory. "And I just stripped off my pants and was about sit down on the drawer ready to go
all out when my papa saw me and stopped me."

Before I could finish, everyone had roared
into laughter, causing a bright shade of pink to creep up on my cheeks and I could hear them
mumbling something along the lines, "Our refrigerators are not safe anymore", followed by a "Seriously though, hide our fridges" and I simply rolled my eyes before chuckling softly.

We were still laughing and cracking more jokes when the door opened and in came Draven,
brushing something off his long sleeved black sweater before his eyes met ours.

"Hey, Om!" Ishana  squealed and I could feel him staring at me but I was now pretending to talk to Ajay about something oh-so-very-important.

"How was it?"

"Couldn't find it, but I'm getting there. Parth is helping to search as well." Omkara breathed and I went silent for a bit, along with everyone else.

"Hey, let's play truth or dare." One of the girls squealed in delight, her eyes shifting onto
Omkara as she batted her eyelashes like there was no tomorrow.

Omkara raised a brow and
muttered something along the lines, "Not interested" and I raised my hands up like a child.

"I'm in." I don't know why I even volunteered but I had to find a way to distract myself from
him.

"Gauri? You don't understand how wild these games get." Shivaay  said in a worried tone
and I simply waved my hands at him.

"Oh, don't be a spoilt sport Shiv, right Gauri? We're just going to have some fun." Ishana
said before disappearing from her spot and I looked at the boys as they nodded with a grin,
clearly surprised but pleased that I was joining in their "fun" for once. We all sat down in a
circle on the floor and I could still feel both Shivaay  and Omkara staring at me from a distanceas they kept silent, which was really not helping but I had to act like I was fine with all this.

And who knows, maybe this could be fun. Ishana returned back with an empty beer bottle and sat down right next to me, much to my discomfort and from the corner of my eyes, I could see Omkara and Shivaay exchanging glances for some reason before going silent.

"If you both are not going to play then leave?" Ishana joked and I watched Omkara lean back
against the sofa as he studied my every movement.

"I'll leave when I feel like it." He said in a rather rude tone and I could see Ishana's lips curl
downwards before she shrugged him off.

"Alright, start!"

Okay, so remember how I said that, "this game could be fun?", Well, I might have been wrong.
Well, fucking dead wrong, considering the fact that we already had two people make out, one
lick someone's foot and another acting like chicken.

The game was all too simple, for them, of
course. The bottle spins and it stops to point at one of us.

We either have to pick truth or
dare and one of us gets to ask that person to do something or answer a question.

The worstpart is that, we can't choose truth twice, which means that we have no choice but to choose dare at some point. Anyways, I was lucky so far, I didn't even have a chance to pick either so I was pretty much safe-

"Ooh, finally." The boys cooed and my eyes widened at the bottle that was now pointing at
me. Talk about bad Karma.

"Truth or dare, baby." Raj grinned and I almost gulped at the question.

"Dare." I blabbered out in a panic. "I mean, truth!" I took it back almost immediately but
everyone started shaking their heads with a grin.

Why the hell did I blabber out Dare when I
was supposed to pick truth?!

"Too late now, okay, I'll choose the dare," Ishana grinned at Rithesh  and my eyes widened, my heart racing faster than ever.

"Remember how you made me lick Abhay's dirty foot? Well, lick her." She grinned, her eyes flickering in amusement as my jaws dropped open in disbelief.

"What-"

"What the hell! No!." Draven interrupted and we all turned to look at him. I narrowed my eyes at his expressionless look and then looked at Shivaay, who was now looking at me with a small frown as well.

Damn! What was their problem? They don't have to be so cold just because I'm playing
a game and actually enjoying for once.

"Omkara , it's just a game-" Raj started but stopped when Omkara gave him a look.

Everyone went silent and I only glanced at Omkara once but was already able to notice thehint of both annoyance and anger in his eyes.

"Fine, then if a guy can't do it, I can." Ishana suddenly said, motioning me to come closer andI just stiffened a bit before giving her a look.

She gave me an obvious nod and for some
reason, I decided to do as she says. Plus, I didn't want to ruin the fun for everybody so mightas well get it over with.

"Seriously, you guys, this is childish." Shivaay grumbled as I made my way over to Ishana and shivered as I turned my back towards her.

I could feel her cold fingertips graze against myskin as she slipped my hair to a side, causing goosebumps to rise all over my body.

To make it extra worse, the boys had gone all silent as I squirmed in my position uncomfortably, waiting for Ishana to do it already but for some reason, this bitch was taking her time.

I swear, if she keeps breathing down my neck for another second, I'm considering her a lesbian, which is a good thing because then Omkara could be mine and-oh shut up Gauri , for goodness sake,why can't you just let him go already and-

I let out a squeal when something hot and wet brushed against my skin, making my whole
body tingle in discomfort and my whole face to flush in embarrassment.

"Hot." Rudra coughed but stopped when he noticed Omkara shoot him another warning glare and it was then when I noticed how impatient he was getting.

One of his elbow was resting
on the sofa's arm rest while his other hand lay on his lap, tapping his fingers on them
impatiently for some reason, not to mention his jawlines locked with a hard expression on his face.

"See, simple. Now let's play again." Ishana finally broke the ice and motioned me to get back in the circle and I did as I was told, slightly wiping her spit away from my neck.

Yeww, now I had to take a bath in holy water for the next two months.

"Dare." Rudra grinned confidently.

"Kiss Ajay," one of the girls said and my eyes widened in shock as I looked at Ajay and
Raymond look at each other in disgust.

"On the lips."

"I would rather kiss a fucking duck, this guy is not even attractive."

"Fuck off mate, girls and guys dig this face." Ajay scowled and I rolled my eyes.

"Plus, we're all straight so kissing on the lips is a no-no." Rudra said in a girly voice and Ajay
agreed.

"Oh hell no, it's a dare. It's either you do that or take off your shirt or pants." Ishana said out
loud and the girls agreed in excitement, except me of course.

"Gladly." Rudra muttered, stripping off his shirt to reveal his abs and I slightly blushed
before turning away.

"Good." I heard Ajay hiss before the game continued. These two should just get married.

"Not again." I groaned as the bottle finally landed on me again and everyone started clapping and cooing again.

"Truth." I said with a smug look on my face and I could see Arjun raise his hand up to ask my question.

"Do you have any feelings for someone here?" he questioned and my heart dropped at his
words.

"I-I-"

"Oh, and remember that we are allowed to use compulsion and get the truth out of you if we
find your answer even slightly suspicious." Abhay added with a grin and I gulped softly before chuckling nervously, the air around me suddenly making me feel suffocated.

"I-I'll pass that question." By now, everyone was legit cooing and making weird teasing noises none-stop. God, just let me die in a hole.

"That means only thing, darling," Ishana whispered into my ears and I shuddered at her voice.

"Take off your shirt." She raised her voice a bit and I went silent as the boys grinned at my
silence.

"Can't you let it go?" I asked softly and everyone shook their head, making my heart race faster than ever.

"It's either that, or we compel you into telling the truth, babe. Maybe reveal the name too
and-"

"Alright!" I cut Raj off and grabbed the end of my sweater, ready to just take it off and get
this over with. I mean anything, anything, would be better than telling them how I felt about Omkara .

I was about to slip it off when a hand grabbed my wrist, suddenly jerking me up from my position. I winced and looked up at Omkara , who was now glaring at me, the expressionless mask he had on was now gone as his jawline locked in furiously, his blue eyes
piercing right into my soul.

"Game over!." He said with so much venom that everyone grew quiet and I was about to
open my mouth to say something when he started dragging me out.

"Om, it's just a game." Ishana stepped in front of us before we could go upstairs and I yanked
my hand away.

"I want to talk with her alone right now so go back, Ishu." He spoke in a dangerous tone and I looked at Ishana , waiting for her to back me up.

"Just calm down, Om." Ishana said in her sweetest voice ever and I just awkwardly stood there, waiting for the right time to fade away and let them have a moment together or
something.

"She's right, it was just a game." I said in a calm voice and Omkara snapped his head to glare at me.

"You're just tired, you need rest." Ishana said softly, reaching out to touch his hand and
Omkara roughly caught her wrist, his eyes still on mine while he did so, causing my breath to
hitch.

"I know what I need to do and you don't fucking tell me," he started painfully slow, turning to face Ishana and I could see her
flinch in fear.

"Right now all I want to do Is talk to her in private, so I'll say it one more time, Ishana," his tone grew colder and I went silent. "Fuck-off, because I am really not in the mood right now."

He brushed her hand away and turned to grab mine before dragging me back upstairs.
I glanced at Lianna, ready to give her an apologetic look but stopped when I saw her glaring at us.

What was her problem anyways? Can't she see that I am trying my best to stick on her side?

"No, I don't want to go inside and talk." I said, roughly jerking my hand away as he opened
the door for me to enter
.
"No, I want to talk so get in."

"And I said that I don't want to get in so talk here." I folded my arms across my chest and
watched him let out a huff in frustration.

"Fine, have it your way then," He cocked his head to a side and I gasped when he slammed
his hands on either side of my neck on the wall that I was somehow already pressed against.

"Talk." He demanded shortly, his eyes already turning a shade darker.

"Talk about what? Will you relax, Omkara ? You made Ishana upset now." I said softly, still
trying to go with Ishana's little plan of making him fall in love with her again.

"Ishana? Since when did you care so much about how she felt?"

"Since I realized that she wasn't so bad." I lied, shrugging it off and he opened his mouth to
say something but stopped when music suddenly blasted through the entire mansion, the lights suddenly turning off and getting replaced with a bunch of disco balls within seconds.

I could hear the boys yelling and laughing downstairs along with a bunch of giggling girls and Omkara let out a painful groan before turning to look at me again.

"Can I join the party?" I asked quickly, trying my best to change the subject and he shot me
another deadly glare before standing up straight, swiftly slipping his hands inside his pockets.

"No."

"Omkara , come on, don't be so gloomy all the time. Loosen up a bit."

"That's rich coming from you, Gauri ."

"Whatever." I muttered and started making my way when someone grabbed the back of my
sweater, yanking me back.

"What now?"

"I want to talk about last night." His words made my heart skip a beat but I faked a smile
before brushing his hands away.

"It's fine."

His eyes widened a bit before he raised a brow at me.
"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Have you finally calmed down?" Ishana's voice made us both turn around and Omkara went silent.

"Good, because you owe me now, Om." he let out a sigh and looked at me as I quickly
plastered on a smile.

"Hey, Gauri , I need help with the drinks. More people are going to come soon and I was
wondering if you could help out a little."

"We have butlers for that, she's not going-"

"Sure." I cut off Omkara and I didn't have to look at him to know that he was looking at me in disbelief now.

"Great." Ishana said and I was about to leave when someone grabbed my hand, again.

"God, not again. No, just let go, Omkara and enjoy for once." I practically ripped my hands
away from his and rushed downstairs, glancing back to see Ishana say something at him.

This was really killing me inside and he has no idea at all, does he...?

After thirty minutes or so, more people started coming in and I was practically running
around, handing them drinks and helping out the butlers.

"Oh god." I breathed, finally leaning against the table of drinks, right in the middle of the
room where everything was going down.

Everyone was now dancing, laughing and pouring drinks everywhere but then again, this was like a normal Monday for us in this mansion.

I turned and started pouring more drinks on the cups and from the corner of my eyes, I could see someone placing a hand on the table right next to me.

"Hey."

"So what's the problem?" Omkara jumped right into the question I was badly wanting to
avoid.

"Nothing, why?" I asked back in a calm voice, not ripping my eyes away from the cups as I
kept pouring the drinks in slow motion, hoping I would bore him somehow and make him
leave.

"Really?"

"Yes, and where is Ishana? Don't just ditch her like that, it's rude." I glanced at him once and
quickly averted my gaze, just in case he could see through my little act.

"Stop concerning yourself about her and stop doing whatever she asks you to do," he
suddenly inched closer. "You're not some servant, Gauri-"

"Omkara , you are exaggerating, I am just helping her out."

Omkara went silent for a few
seconds and I didn't bother to speak either.

"Tell me what's going on, Gauri -"

"Nothing's going on, can you just stop stressing over nothing?" I was trying my best to keep up the act but Omkara poking me to open up is clearly not helping right now.

It was gettingtoo painfully suffocating now and I barely even started this little act.

"Gauri , stop lying," his soft tone caused a lump in my throat but I pasted on a weak smile, my hands now shaking as I kept pouring the drinks.

"I know something's up, you're acting
different," he really was pushing me. "Very different." He grabbed my wrist.

"Omkara , please stop already..." I didn't even try to conceal the hurt and plead in my voice
anymore as I turned to look at him.

Tears glistened in my eyes but I doubt that Omkara would notice them in these lights and luckily, I was right.

"No, tell me. I'm not letting go unless you tell me."

"I just want you to stop alright?" I finally choked out and Omkara fixated his gaze into mine.

"I just want to stop going back and forth already. I just want you to be with her already so that I can finally breathe."

"Gauri , listen-"

"No, you listen Omkara . I have been listening to you all this time and I can't anymore. I really
can't so please just stop playing around with me? If you want a toy to play around with then
find someone else, just let me go." Tears rolled down my cheeks and I immediately brushed
them away.

"Hey, shh," he suddenly wrapped his arms around me and I held in a sob, the lump in my
throat only getting tighter.

"I'm sorry, can-"

"No, Ishana was right," I pulled away, brushing away more tears and shaking my head slowly.

"I never stood a chance." I stated weakly and lowered my eyelashes on the ground.

"Ishana told you that?" My eyes widened and I looked up at Omkara , who was now frowning
at me in suspicion and I quickly shook my head with a weak smile.

"No, I am ju-just saying-"

"You're lying." His eyes grew a shade darker and I shook my head, desperately trying to
convince him.

"I'm not, she never said anything to-" I froze when Omkara reached out to take a firm grip on my cheeks, lifting them up to meet his piercing gaze and I could feel myself getting absorbed inside them almost instantly.

"Tell me what she said." He demanded and my heart raced at his words.

"She told me that I never stood a chance. That I was just another one of your whores that you
were using in order to forget about her." I blabbered out before I could stop myself and my eyes widened before my jaws dropped open at my own words.

"You compelled me , Omkara ?!" I screeched, jerking away and Omkara took my shoulders.

"Don't do that, don't ever do that!" I started hitting his chest repeatedly but Omkara just gripped upper arms, an unreadable expression growing on his face as I kept punching him harder and harder.

It wasn't a good, expression obviously. He was pissed about something but so was I.

"Omkara ,"

we both stopped to look at Ishana and my eyes widened as I quickly turned away,
trying to hide my face that was now full of tears. I didn't even have a chance to brush them away because of Omkara .

"She thinks you don't stand a chance, huh ?" I thought I heard him say and looked up at him
but Omkara was now looking at Ishana as she started walking up to us, a small smile forming
on her face.

"Well, I kinda wonder how she'd feel about this then." Omkara turned to look at me and I looked at him in confusion.

Without warning, he grabbed the side of my neck,swiftly leaning into a rough kiss and I stiffened in my position, my eyes widening in both shock and disbelief.

"Wait! Did he just...?