"You're the only thing that exists in my world. Everything I do is just to bring a smile to your face."

- UNKNOWN 

^^^

Kiara opened her eyes, though her eyes were betraying her due to her lack of sleep last night. She rubbed her eyes and lay on the bed for a few minutes longer. "I need to get up or mom will come shouting inside." Yet her body wasn't cooperating with her.

Cell ringing grabbed her attention, and she lazily extended her hand for the phone. "Hello..." it came in a sleepy manner as her eyes were shut again.

"Kiara, what the hell I committed last night?" She heard a familiar exasperated voice from the other hand, making her fully awake.

"You are up?" Kiara sounded amazed, "isn't there something like a hangover?" She inquired as she anticipated the call much later in the day.

"I am immune from it." Harshad reasoned, "you just start with the list. I just don't trust my drunken state."

Kiara had a sweet smile listening to his anxious self. She didn't come across as anxious Harshad on regular basis. A mischievous idea popped into her brain. "Are you sure, you want to listen to your deeds?"

"No! I called you to ask how is the weather. Do you think it's going to rain, today?" Harshad was back to his form making Kiara roll her eyes.

"Oh! Hello! You're the one in need of answers. I can simply hang on you."

"Don't you dare hang on me!" Harshad warned her.

"I WILL! "

"Before you hang on me, I will end the call."

"You can't," Kiara was confident about it.

"Why?" Harshad asked getting suspicious. 

"Then I will announce to our entire gang that you were pleading with me to consider you as my friend. Kneeling down with your hands folded at me in request."

"Lier!" Harshad remarked, "stop spreading fake rumors."

"You were drunk  so you have no idea about it."

"Who provided you with fake information?"

Kiara was stunned by his reply, she took a minute to answer. "Weren't you drunk, last night?"

"As far as I can remember... yes." Kiara rolled her eyes at the response.

"You called me to know about last night?"

"Yes, again."

"So that means you have no idea about yesterday night."

"Absolutely, wrong." Harshad commented chuckling at the end. "I was drunk but I do remember about yesterday night in detail."

There was silence prevailing around them for a few minutes as Kiara was speechless. She had anticipated memory-lost Harshad not fully-aware Harshad.

"Are you there, sweetheart?" His teasing tone was back.

"Then why you called me and disturbed my sleep?"

"Because I wanted to check whether you will lie to me and I was so correct about you. Such a liar, Kiara!"

"I wasn't lying." Kiara pouted, "you had asked me to be your friend."

"Not... friend but a best friend." Harshad whispered softly suddenly the environment turned into something beautiful. The pout disappeared from Kiara's face as a smile appeared.

"And even I was praised."

"Oh! Hello! Are you dreaming? I didn't praise you. It was you who was praising your just friend."

"Yes! She is the best, isn't she?"

"How will I know? I had never met her before."

Harshad chuckled, "there is still time for you to meet her. I need to confess my feelings first and before that, I just want to enjoy some moments with my just friend."

Kiara shook her head, "bye... I need to go before mom walk into the room with a fuming gaze."

"Bye... Good morning, sweetheart."

"Good morning..." Kiara ended the call with a huge smile playing on her lips.

Kiara couldn't describe what his sweetheart could do to her fragile heart.

_____

Her mind kept on rewinding on last night's event. A small blush covered her spirit, she was getting attached to Harshad. She wanted to walk away from the feeling after the way her heart was crushed but she wasn't strong enough to pull herself back.

She shook her head as she walked out of the washroom on the way to walk downstairs when a message popped on her screen. It was a message from Kabir, Harshad's friend whom she had called last night to drop Harshad home.

"It was my duty," he had replied to her thanks. Kiara smiled and walked out with the cell in her hand.

She was on the last stair when a familiar voice got into her ears. A sudden wave of anxiety crossed her spirit. She wanted to shake the thought of the person away. Her eyes moved in that direction, praying that she was wrong. The minute her eyes analyzed his back profile, panic rose in her.

What was he doing? Why? She had started to erase every thought of him from her life. Why he had to return?

"Kiara!" Rajeev called out Kiara on finding her rooted on her spot. "See, who is here?" Rajeev was grinning at the guest. "Your favorite uncle, Ranbir."

Kiara couldn't must the courage to glance at the intense gaze of Ranbir. She couldn't look into that face that had haunted her for years. The person that had offered her awful memories. At some moment she had hated her existence due to him. He had made her disgusted about herself.

"Kiara had turned into a young lady..." His comment made Kiara shiver.

Kiara felt the same disgusting feeling overpowering her. She was feeling sickened under his heated gaze as if he was uncovering her with his orbs. Kiara wanted to walk away. Rush to her safe heaven but she couldn't compel her legs. It seemed as if her organ had stopped working on his mere sight. As if he was controlling her.

"I forgot something..." it was a small whisper and without waiting a minute she rushed inside her room. Her legs were dying to reach her safe heaven. To hide from him. To protect herself from the monster inside the facade of humans.

She locked the room; she wasn't going to take any risk. And rushed to her bed, staring at the door in horror. She couldn't trust him; he might knock on her door at any moment. Wanting to warn her, to scare her more. She won't any longer get scared of his threat, she wasn't a kid any longer. She was an adult; she would deal with it. She would show him, his place.

Tears slowly rolled down her cheek. Flashes of the past rushed into her mind. She had trusted him; she had considered him a father figure. She had never thought he would behave in such a manner with her. He made her feel cheap, the way he touched her, the way he muttered those cheap words. She felt disgusted about her existence but she never built the courage to voice those words to her parents.

He had made her believe that her parents won't ever trust her words. She had seen it from her eyes the way Rajeev believed Ranbir, he considered him as his brother. Kiara attempted various times to express it to Kajal but she had deep-down believed in Ranbir's words. They won't believe her. She was a child, after all, she might have misunderstood things.

The trust issues were built inside her due to those incidents. She would always stare at other males with suspicion. She had a hard time trusting Dhruv as a friend. She had even shut herself down from her father for a long time. But things started getting normal when he suddenly disappeared from her life. There was a constant fear of him returning but with time she had made peace with herself that he won't be back. But she was wrong! He was back and was going to destroy her life further, she could feel in those intense gazes, the warning to destroy her from within.

____

Kiara was engrossed in stirring the straw of the juice she had ordered. Her mind was far away from the conversation taking place at the table. Harshad used to glance frequently at Kiara as he joked around with Avni.

Kiara was forced to waste some time with her bunch of friends. Avni and Yami had pulled her out of the room even after her lots of grumblings.

"What's the matter, Kiara?" Yami inquired in concern. "You aren't getting annoyed by Harshad comments?"

"She also considers it as a truth. I am much good company than her." Harshad muttered but Kiara passed a small smile.

"I didn't hear... was just lost in thoughts," Kiara responded not sparing a glance at disappointed Harshad.

Harshad was getting annoyed seeing her stressed. He attempted to divert her mind but she was hell bound to ignore him.

"Sorry, Mr handsome... she isn't providing you with a sense of peace. She won't allow you to annoy her." Avni commented making Harshad chuckle.

"What about some ice-creams?" Harshad eyes were fixed on Kiara. "What flavors will you all order?"

"Hmm... you're aware of our choices." Avni shrugged her shoulder.

"He was asking it, Kiara," Yami informed making Avni embarrassed.

"Oh!" She hid her face. "Why can't they do it directly?"

"You should question it to Harshad." Yami giggled at Avni's frankness. She was really adoring Avni's nature.

"Kiara!" Harshad called her, "your favorite ice cream flavor?"

"I know it," Avni jumped in. "Chocolate, it was always the same."

Harshad groaned while Yami giggled loudly bringing Kiara out of her thoughts. She was looking at her friend in confusion.

"What?" Avni asked in confusion Harshad was glaring at her.

"From when you changed your name to Kiara?" Mocked Harshad making a smile reach on Kiara's face. Harshad glanced at her and all his efforts were worth it. He felt as if he had won an Oscar. Nothing could be more rewarding than seeing the smile covering Kiara's face.

"Haw, you're behaving so rude to me, Handsome. You haven't even flirted with me from the morning." Avni faked a pout making Harshad shake his head and glance at her.

"I am not to be blamed for it but Kiara."

"What have I done?" For the first time in the evening, Kiara initiated a conversation on her own.

"What have you done?" Harshad voiced out in his dramatic tone making Kiara narrow her eyes at him. "For the last few hours you are ignoring my existence and you have the courage to question what have you done?"

"You stupid human, here the question isn't whether I am ignoring you or not but why are you acting rude with Avni."

"That was what I was explaining if you hadn't jumped in between," Harshad commented and Kiara averted her gaze from him in annoyance. Harshad had a slight smile seeing her getting frustrated with him. It was a far better sight than her gloomy spirit.

"So, Avni... my darling..." Harshad cooed making Kiara roll her eyes. He loved to make her jealous, the way she would fume at the mere sight of him with any girl. "Kiara was ignoring me so I wasn't able to annoy her and which in turn resulted in my bad mood so I wasn't able to concentrate on your beautiful self."

Avni giggled at his reasoning. "How do you come up with it? That too... so early?" She shook her head in disbelief.

"Because he had done a Ph.D. in flirting with random girls." Kiara rolled her eyes.

"Don't get jealous that I don't provide you with attention. It's just that you aren't my type." Harshad joked, making Kiara fume in rage.

"I have no interest in becoming your type as well."

"So, are you concentrating on living a single life?"

"Yes, far fulfilling and amazing life. Better than troubles of relationships."

"What about the dreams of your soulmate?" Harshad inquired wanting to dig further into the topic.

"I had stopped believing in them."

"Why so?" Avni jumped in sounding concerned.

"That stuff is fake; they don't have any reality."

"Same thoughts... that's the reason I don't do commitment."

Kiara just rolled her eyes but the slight hope was crushed by those words of his. She was skeptical to trust her heart with Harshad because she feared that she would meet with heartbreak. Maybe he was just having fun. He wasn't his type the way she wasn't his yet her heart had started feeling for him.