Authors POV 

Ryan hasn't been able to stop smiling since this morning. 

He was in a meeting where his employees were explaining the presentation one by one but he wasnt mentally present there. His mind was still occupied with last night's thoughts. 

Jenny was all wonder for him. 

He doesnt remember the last time he fully enjoyed himself while living in the moment. It's either a rush for meetings or being sucked up without any energy left till he falls asleep as soon as laid in bed. He had spent a busy life where he didnt get much to enjoy and recall to cherish. He had to constantly run one after another thing or priority. And in the moments of rush he never cared about pausing and appreciating what is in front of him, and what he got to live with. The world was out there for him, but he would still stay in his office, making deals in the morning and cursing his nightmares in the midnights. Peace was a rare find for him until he saw Jenny. 

Be it a day of rain when he first saw her roaming around the street corner enjoying herself or be it the night in a club when Jenny was drunk and he met her there for the first time, Jenny never failed to make him wonder and amaze in every encounter of theirs. 

It is something about the way she is, not her beautiful face and alluring body but She. 

Having to witness a glimpse of his horrific childhood traumas as form of nightmares Ryan never got a hundred percent peaceful sleep during nights. He wouldnt be able to sleep without getting nightmares if he isnt exhausted and even cells in his body drained out of energy so finally when he reaches the bed he has no choice but to sleep out of tiredness. Thats the only way he could spend a night without getting frightful and in a way  that becomes his routine to survive nights that brings darkness closer to him. 

He would work all day, skip the weekends and holidays just to remind himself that if not work then his mind will find something else to overthink about and destroy the little bit of peace he has. After spending a workaholic day in the office when he comes home there would be nothing left in him but a drained out body that needs sleep. Sleep is his way of fastforwarding things that hes not comfortable with. By sleeping he could skip the actual moments and pace of night that is utterly silent and could remind him of things he is running away from. 

 But she didnt let him skip or fast forword even a second while he was with her. everytime minutes spent with her were clearly saved and stored in his memory basket. And probably he will use that memory basket more often when he wants to feel alive. 

Coming back home after dropping her home Ryan got rid of his clothes and hit the bed. As always he expected himself to fall asleep as soon as he went to bed, but he didnt. And surprisingly he understood that sometimes not falling asleep could be fun too. When the clock struck on two and he was still wide awake and the reason behind his sleepless night wasnt some unfinished task or last minute consignment work but Jenny. Recalling about the madness she started after getting drunk Ryan spent the whole night giggling and staring at the ceiling with an unstoppable smile on his face. 

When  this morning he left for office her blabbering about wanting to go on  a real date with him still kept budging his mind. She was blunt and he enjoyed this version of her totally. 

Pulling out his phone from the blazer pocket Ryan checked if she replied for his earlier sent Message. 

Message was left behind, and she didnt reply. 

When this morning he left for his office and all the way to his office he kept thinking about her wanting to go on a date with him. Since she was drunk and blabbered a lot he was sure that she didnt mean it, must be the effect of alcohol. 

With a silly beam on his face Ryan got an idea of pranking her. Last night she only blabbered about dating him, and he didnt respond to any of her blabbering with words as he just simply admired her but now thinking of it gave him an actual idea of pranking her with it. 

He dropped messages for her saying that he will pick her up by late evening for the Date, as if they planned a date together last night which was not true but who cares when he knows that Jenny mostly doesnt recognize what happened in her drunken state. 

After dropping the message he waited for her reply but when he didn't get any reply from her He guessed that she must be freaking out right now and that mere thought made him smile even more. 

All this is new for him, he never pranked someone before and now it seems very interesting to him that he couldnt stop but think of more ways to make it more funnier than it already is. After the last night dinner with her Ryan managed to know a little about Jenny and one of it is that Jenny is a fun loving person and easy  to deal with so he was convinced that she wont take a prank as serious as he imagined.

Biting the lower lip gently Ryan tried to suppress his wide grin as he was still looking at the phone screen while a few of his employees turned their head towards him waiting for his response since the presentation was over. 

sir  

Snapping his head towards the source of the voice Ryan came back to present from his thoughts and looked at Kol, who was waiting for his response to the presentation. 

Kol is team lead of the designing department and had worked hard for this presentation since its his fist time to be leading a team in the last few months of his joining. He was impatiently waiting for his boss Ryan to say  something that could make him feel better from the nervousness and anxiety he was feeling right at this moment. 

Ryan was clueless about what was going on, he surely  didnt pay attention to the presentation as his mind was fully occupied with Jenny and the mission of Pranking her. 

Ahh, mail me the details. I'll take a deep look into this before conforming Ryan deluded the staff with a stern face and got up buttoning his blazer. 

You'll be able to go back to your work now, he said before walking out of  the meeting room leaving a baffled employee behind him. 

Rest of the day he spent in front of his laptop screen, managing the deals and conference calls with investors. In between he used to take a peek on his phone to know if Jenny had replied or called but to his disappointment there wasnt any sign of her. And at last he came to the conclusion of dropping this prank since Jenny didnt seem to be bothered about it. 

He was expecting an awkward call from her to know what else she did in her drunken state or at least a text that could make him believe that what happened last night still matters to her. 

Nevertheless he didnt get a word from her in return and that made him edgy. 

While driving back home by evening, she didnt respond to him. The only thing running in his mind was that he hated to be like this and certainly its not something that he could control.

Even though he has been trying to avoid feeling that way, it seems impossible to avoid because whatever he feels about her is so pleasurable and calming to his soul that it started to consume him. 

Being aware of the consequences he would end up if he continued to let his feelings consume him Ryan decided to drop the idea of knowing her any deeper and would not let himself feel for her anymore. 

Looking out through the glass He sighed, feeling pathetic. If things were different in his life Ryan would not miss a chance to bring Jenny in his life because she is the woman who caught his attention and made sure of never leaving his mind. Jenny is the woman who made him feel those things that he was forbidden to feel. From the day one of meeting her Ryan had been always amused by her presence and lurking positive aura that kept him in hunger of getting more of it. 

Getting down from the car Ryan walked inside his mansion absentmindedly because his mind was actually lingering around some other things that kept him busy. 

Welcome back hearing such  an enthusiastic voice of his mother Ryan stopped on his track and turned back to his mother who was smiling wide at him.

Ryans face lit up seeing his mother in such  a good mood today. 

ohh hi he said walking back to her to give a sideways hug.

How was your day ? she asked, ruffling his hair, just like how she used to do it when he was younger. Nowadays he misses that since he grew up to be a man and his mother cant reach to his height to ruffle his hairs often. 

yep, had a nice day.you seem to be in a good mood he gave an amusing look at his mother. 

Wait, dont tell me you found some old man for yourselfmy poor heart isnt ready to share you yet he went on being dramatic as he clutched his heart showing fake pain on his face. 

Ryann she warned him with a stern glare that made him gulp, he doesnt have the energy to witness the anger of his mother.  

Arching his one eyebrow he asked her whats the matter since her face is glowing out of happiness that he rarely sees these days. With getting older his mother has been missing her husband being beside her and Ryan knows this even if she doesnt talk about it at all. He knows she is missing her husband terribly and would not tell him still because she thinks her son would feel miserable to know that his love and care isnt enough. 

First go and get  changed, I'll prepare a coffee and we would talk about it over a cup of coffee she exclaimed with excitement that her eyes were sparkling, making him more curious to know the reason behind such an excitement.

Okay he agreed and went upstairs to get fresh up,little did he could guess what it must be but yet  he thought to wait for his mother to disclose to him before he jumped into any  conclusion by himself.  

After completing his chores he changed into black hoodie and grey sweatpants. Putting his phone in charge as it was almost running out of battery Ryan walked downstairs.  

Curiosity of knowing what his mother is upto Ryan walked straight away went into the kitchen since he knows his mother is there only preparing coffee for him. 

so, now tell me whats it that made you happy ? he asked as soon as he went in and sat on the kitchen  counter. 

There was another maid preparing dinner as its already past seven thirty and Ryans mother has her dinner before eight at night because as per the doctors suggestion she should eat before eight to avoid digestion issues. 

Ryans mother poured him a cup of coffee and gastured the maid to leave the kitchen and come back later. When the maid left running off the stove his Mother turned towards him with a knowing smile. Ryan scoffed , noticing that, and took a sip of coffee that touched his soul. 

I hope you remember Jessicca, the girl I found for youa few days ago. '' She got started while grabbing her cup of coffee.

Ryan rolled his eyes on instant sighing heavily, Mom, not again..i told you right im not ready for any commitment right now he was irritated with his mother bringing up the same thing over and over again especially when he clearly mentioned about being not interested in commitments. 

Jumping off from the counter Ryan took the coffee mug and gave his mother an unbelievable look before he walked past her. 

Ryan, waitits not about the girl jessica.. she gasped holding his hand inorder to stop him from walking out on the topic.

Then ? he turned around with perplexed writing on his face.

its about her cousin brother .Jermy she breathed out, mentally preparing herself  for what's next. 

By seeing the look on his mother's face Ryan could figure out that she is serious this time.

I don't even know who he is..anyway whats about him ? he questioned, maintaining his tone of voice, no matter what he doesnt want to sound disrespectful to his mother.

he.he seemed to.be perfect she stammered while looking down. 

perfect ? as in  ? Ryan wasnt able to understand what she is actually trying now.

perfect for you.as your life partner she finished saying in one go but still didnt look up at her son, who was standing in front of her dumbfounded  with wide eyes and a big O shaped mouth.