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Chapter 14 - Is Shravan Romantic?

"Weren't you his secretary or something?"

A guest asked for the umpteenth time.

"Sanya was trying to do a social experiment," Shravan lied. "She just wanted to get an understanding of the environment and the people here before she introduced her true self."

The old woman gave me an impressed look.

"Clever. You look even more beautiful than before, dear. Good choice, Shravan," she said, giving him a pat on the shoulder. I smiled politely as she left.

Man, I'm so fabulous.

Shravan paid no heed to the compliment, though.

Shubham exhaled loudly next to me.

"People don't care about me," he said disappointed.

"Even in India," Shravan said in a hushed tone.

I chuckled.

"Oh my god, is that his fiancé?!" Some overly excited aunty exclaimed. She was extremely overweight as she sashayed to us and gave me a huge hug, followed by a hug to Shravan and then Shubham. "Aw that's her brother."

She even planted a tiny kiss to Shubham's temple, calling him a "handsome hunk."

I suppressed my laughter.

"Don't mind her," the lady's husband (I think) said.

"The two of you look picture perfect!" the aunty told me and Shravan. We plastered fake smiles. "Rab ne bana di jodi totally (Match made in heaven)." I knew Shravan was growing tired of people's compliments for our jodi (match). "How did you meet?"

"She came for a modelling job in my company," answered Shravan. I met him at a shop. Crying. Over my favorite actor getting married and breaking my heart. "It was love at first interview."

Good for Sanya.

She found a well settled guy.

"How sweet. Was it the same for you?" the aunty asked me.

Not at all.

I still nodded.

"Is he romantic?" she asked me.

I smirked, seeing Shravan's warning look.

"Not at all," I said half teasing. "He's super shy, so I had to make the first move in everything."

"I'm Indian, so I can be a little conservative," Shravan shrugged innocently.

Nice answer.

"Maybe you were just afraid of my brother," I said, nodding to Shubham. That earned me laughter from everyone except Shravan. I was pulling his leg for entertainment.

"Aw Shravan, beta (dear), this is not well. What kind of a guy are you? Your first priority is your love." Shravan gave me a blank look. Not my fault Sanya wasn't here. "Don't give her room to complain right before marriage," the aunty said. She clasped her hands suddenly and turned around.

Now, I was worried.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" she screamed. What a loudspeaker! Shubham rubbed his ears at the piercing voice. "I think we all deserve to see a special dance performance from the soon to-be husband and wife!"

Shubham, Shravan, and I exchanged horrified looks.

"I hurt my foot, so I can't," I said.

"Come on, no excuses. You said he wasn't romantic."

Shit.

I need to think before I speak.

Shravan's family and anyone associated with him was a lunatic.

The fat guest dragged us both on the dance floor, shoving the couples already dancing. She instructed Manan to put on a romantic number. My face--without doubt--turned bright as all pairs of eyes were on Shravan and I. We looked at Preet who appeared helpless. The song "Saans Mein Teri Saans Mili Toh" ("When Your Breath Mixed In My Breath") soon played.

"Oye chance pe dance maar le (Take a dance on chance)," Aunty told Shravan.

"It's the other way around," I said.

She rolled her eyes and pushed Shravan my way. He groaned and gave me a look-what-you've-done.

Shravan lightly placed a hand on my back and entwined the other in mine. I rested my free hand on his shoulder and gazed back into his eyes. We didn't stand too close to each other which didn't go unnoticed. The aunty gave Shravan a small push to make us fall closer to each other. They took the song lyrics too literally.

"You're so dead after this," he smiled.

"Kill me after all this drama is over," I suggested. "I want to do something good in my life before death."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Without a warning, Shravan pulled his hand behind my back away, leaving our arms extended of the hands we were holding. only the hands we held were now extended. He pulled me back in.

The idiot was trying a dance move on me.

Startled by the move, I came back to clung to him to prevent any further twirling. However, I didn't realize how close our faces were and how fast my heart was beating at our nearness. His arms held me tightly in reflex to stop any stumbling or falling. My hands clutched the front of his shirt. His milk chocolate brown eyes captured my eyes and I couldn't care less about the people staring at us. He raised a hand to tuck my hair behind my ear and I froze. For some reason, the faint sound of music wasn't half so bad anymore.

"Oye khatam ho gaya. Ab toh ek dusre ki baahon se nikal ayo (Hey, it's done. You can get out of each other's arms now)!"

The loud aunty snapped us back to reality.

Shravan and I separated within an instant.

People watching us clapped and whistled. Shravan and I gave forced smiles. I tucked my hair behind my ears, nervously.

What just happened?

I was genuinely enjoying my dance even on my hurt ankle.

I'm going mad.

Maybe I needed to visit the Agra mental hospital not Preet.

Both of us went back to our original spot and pretended nothing happened. Well, I did, at least. When Preet came to ask if everything was cool, Shravan gloated, "Ahar and I are talented actors. We pulled off so convincingly!" He was acting?! I blinked rapidly and went along with it, not making much of it.

Maybe I just took it seriously.

Preet seemed relieved.

Manan came running to us with a phone. "Shravan, there's a call for you," he said breathlessly.

"Why do you have my phone?" Shravan asked frowning.

"I was playing Temple Run. Beat your high score!"

Glaring, Shravan grasped his iPhone and attended the call. His anger disappeared, replaced by a baffled expression. "Who?" he asked on the phone. "Yes, it's Shravan . . . What?!" Shravan walked towards a secluded corner of the house. Shubham, Preet, Manan and I followed right behind. "Don't hurt them!" I was almost sure it was the kidnappers. "Everything? I'm not stupid . . . Go to hell!" Shravan cut the call and said a few curses.

"Kidnappers?" Shubham asked.

Shravan leaned against the wall and rubbed his temple. He was going to be paranoid by these kidnappers. "They want Arun bhaiya (older brother) to step away from that criminal's case. Plus, they want twenty-five crores in cash."

"Whoa," I said.

"I don't even know how many zeros are in twenty-five crores," said Manan.

"I think seven," Preet replied.

Those two actually began counting their ones, tens, and hundreds to make sure.

"You guys can afford it," Shubham said.

I can't.

"What's the guarantee we'll get Arun bhaiya and Sanya back?" Shravan demanded. "And that's a shit load of money to get cashed."

"You said you could die for Sanya when you asked for my permission for marriage. This is still money!" Shubham said.

"Shut up," Shravan said.

Everyone fell silent. Someone told us all to stop hovering in a corner and get back to the small party. With grave faces, we returned. I attempted to console Shravan, but he wanted to be left alone. He definitely received a shock from the call.

"Maybe we can try to find the men involved. Did your brother tell you anything about his case?" I asked him when we were alone.

"Just about a family being robbed and then killed by a gang."

"A gang?"

More than one person was involved.

"The criminal kept lying. We have to search through his case," Shravan finalized. "We'll get more information from the police and then maybe visit the crime scenes." I nodded along.

"I feel like a CID officer," I sighed.

He just shrugged.

"Oh my god, great dance performance, children!" Another random, old aunty popped up out of nowhere. "Although Shravan's dancing skills are horrible, you managed well," she complimented me.

I burst out laughing as soon as she left.

"Why is it always me?"

* * *

I had to stay the night at Shravan's place.

Though I had gotten some stuff of mine from my apartment, I still hadn't completely moved. Even Suman didn't know. Anchal hadn't even attended the party today, so I didn't see him either.

Once I finished changing into my pajamas and a t-shirt, I tucked myself in. The guest bedroom had a queen size bed which was so soft and comfortable. I could get used to this. Being Sanya wasn't too bad. I got special treatment. Shravan and I got along well, even though something felt different around him. Just in my head.

I closed my eyes and drifted to sleep.

The next morning, Manan got no specific names from the police database for criminal.

Shravan and I went to the cops first.

"The robbery happened at midnight at the Sharma house on August fifteenth," the officer in charge told us. "The Sharma family--parents and their two girls--were found dead in early morning. Mr. Sharma had gotten involved in some gambling business and borrowed money from a gang. They didn't get their money back and . . . We've only caught Kallu so far. There are four other people in the gang."

"But who?" Shravan asked.

"We don't know," the officer shrugged. "There are tons of underworld gangs that are unknown to us."

I couldn't believe this.

We were getting no leads. How could we find a gang now? It was looking for trouble. My phone rang displaying Anchal. That was weird. I excused myself to attend it.

"Hello?"

"Ahar!" Anchal sounded like he was in a panic.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"I was doing my search and found important news regarding the kidnapping. Can you meet me where the actual kidnapping happened?" he asked.

"Of course!"

"Hurry. My life--"

The line went dead.

I didn't waste another second rushing to Shravan. "We have to move. Anchal wants to meet us." He nodded. We thanked the officer and left quickly. As Shravan began driving, I elucidated, "Anchal said he found some lead or some information."

Shravan sped.

The house where the kidnapping happened was in another town. It was a thirty minute drive and we hurried to get inside the house. There wasn't another vehicle around the house. The front door of the house was ajar.

We cautiously stepped inside and heard a loud engine revving outside.

Maybe it was just a car passing by.

"Anchal?" I called out his name.

"Are you sure he said to come here?" Shravan asked. I nodded, biting my lip. Anchal was okay, right? "Call him. His phone will ring somewhere."

That was a smart idea. I quickly called Anchal and a faint ringing sound echoed from the top floor. Shravan and I were confused when Anchal didn't pick up. I kept calling and we ran upstairs, barging in the first room.

Shravan and I froze.

On the middle of the floor lay a lifeless body surrounded by blood.

Anchal.

__________

A/N
I swear I had a fit laughing when I wrote "Milk chocolate brown eyes." I feel so hungry and its 1am, man. Btw, I began watching BB8 (never got to watch a lot of it) but man, do I love Gautam Gulati. Definitely deserved to win!

How was the chapter?

Is Shravan romantic? :P

Anchal died :'( but who killed him?!

Who could have kidnapped Sanya?

Please give me least ONE tip or guidance to improve.

--K-K-Kiran