"Tell me something".

"What?"

"Anything...about your dreams and aspirations".

"I don't have any dream..."

"Oh come on! Everyone has a dream. You're not any different".

"I'm not sure...I've never thought that far".

"How far have you thought then?"

"I don't know..after my graduation, I joined Infosys with bright percentage and made my parents proud...and now I'm pursuing phD because I want to branch out further academically".

"I don't want to know about your academics..."

"Then what?"

"Jeez Amit! How can I explain to you?" Sakshi giggled, enjoying every bit of their late night conversations.

"Okay" Amit said "what's your dream then Sakshi?"

She waited for a moment "I'll only tell you if you do.."

"This isn't fair.."

"Of course it's fair" she laughed "I asked you first". There was a small pause and she wondered if he was thinking.

"It's too personal.." he said simply "I can't really reveal my deepest desire just like that.."

She felt let down at that statement "why not? We're going to be soulmates, aren't we?"

"Yes we are but that's not enough" he replied in a serious tone "we haven't reached that level where we can totally be honest with each other. I hope you understand what I'm trying to say".

She didn't; what was the point in getting familiar then? Wasn't getting closer enough?

"I understand" she lied "I guess you're a secretive person. Not everyone likes to babble about their dreams".

There was a minute pause "I'm not being secretive" he explained "it's just I've not yet figured my craziest passion yet".

Somehow she wasn't convinced; he probably didn't want to share it with her, given that they were distant with each other.

"What's your passion then?"he asked after a while.

"I...don't have any craziest dream yet" she said slowly.

"You're being contradictory" he chuckled "you just said everyone has a passion. I think you're only hiding because I didn't share it with you".

She thought for a fleeting moment abs decided to lie, for her benefit. "My dream is to travel around the world" she lied.

"That's it?"he scoffed and she smiled "yeah..that's all. I would love to see what the real world looks like".

After a paused moment, he replied "well...we can do that once we are settled. I'll take you places".

Even though she was pleased with his response, she knew it wasn't time yet to reveal her deepest desire.

It was too personal. Maybe once they fall head over heels with one another, she would open her heart out to him.

Till then, she would wait...

◇◇◇◇◇

"What were you doing in the cemetery?"she asked, the question throwing him off balance.

"That's...irrelevant" he tried to explain "this isn't about me..it's about you".

"Why do you care?"

Again taken aback, he gazed into her eyes "you're my brother's fiancee...and I feel responsible".

"Your brother's dead" she snapped "I'm not your responsibility so stop treating me like one. I told you my intentions. If you really want to help then be patient and wait for that day when we finally be rid of each other. I hope you can do that".

He rolled his eyes "I know and I'm waiting too. Till then, we need to acknowledge each other's existence right?"

"Oh really?"she sneered "is that what you were doing by hiding out in the studio and hardly exchanging a word with me?"

He clenched his teeth "I didn't want to make things awkward for us. How do I know if you're comfortable sharing room with me?"

She went to say something but stopped when she caught his gaze. The narrow silence that escaped between was haunting and so was the atmosphere.

She cleared her throat "I want to go home.." she avoided his gaze "I'm tired".

He waited for her to add something more but when she didn't, he placed his hands on the steering wheel and started the ignition "fine...I'll drop you home and head back to the studio.. tell maa I was there with you. She won't believe me".

"That won't be a problem" Sakshi quipped "she hardly talks to me". He stared at her, mildly surprised. As much as he had known from his brother, his mother spoke highly of Sakshi and was fond of her.

"Why?"he asked as curiosity got the better of him. She shrugged "I'm not sure why...she probably judges me like the others".

"I didn't judge you" he said hastily, not wanting to embarrass her. She gave a small smirk "you did Aman...only you were polite enough to point it out".

He didn't reply but drove away in silence, fixing the air dopes in his ears. His stomach rumbled and he slowed down when they reached a Chinese restaurant "I'm hungry...do you mind if I eat? You can simply watch".

He observed her face contort into a frown "you're very stubborn, aren't you?"

"Hey I swear I'm hungry!" Aman said with a straight face, watching her smirk and get out of the car.

After they were seated comfortably, he called the waiter to order and looked at her "I would look like a fool dining alone...are you sure you don't need anything?"

She tapped her fingers in exasperation "soup won't hurt I guess". Grinning, he looked at the menu "shrimp soup is fabulous...it's my favourite..try it".

She snatched the menu from him "it's my call". Amused, he observed her while she scanned the entire menu "I'll have chopsuey" she announced "with oyster sauce".

He rolled his eyes "that's a quite a lot for someone who said they weren't hungry". She grimaced "I like Chinese".

"Me too" he caught her gaze and held it, something stirring inside him. Maybe she wasn't uptight at all like he had thought; she had a fun side too. If circumstances weren't too dark, he would have found her appealing. Probably. If she weren't Amit's fiancee...

He withdrew his gaze from hers and signalled the waiter for the order. After the waiter was gone, he turned to his phone and pretended to check for messages, just to avoid starting a conversation. "How's your...job going?"she asked, initiating one, much to his annoyance.

"It's not exactly a job" he explained blandly "it's my passion and it's going well, thanks to my friend".

"That's great" she said, checking her watch. He could feel her awkwardness and decided to be casual "the food is taking long, isn't it?"

She nodded, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She had soft silky hair, he observed which kept swaying all over her forehead. Mentally cussing himself for checking her out again, he looked away and felt relieved when the waiter came back with the dishes.

He helped himself to the meal immediately while she slowly fiddled with the fork taking small bites of shrimp and dipping it into the sauce.

"It's good" she said after she was done "I've never been here...it's great".

"It's an old place" he gave a small smile "I would come here with Amit all the time and we would have.."

He caught himself in time and bit his lip and was saved by the phone call which rang much to his relief but when he saw who it was, the relief was only temporary.

"I have to take this.." he said hastily and walked out before she could react.

Once he was out of earshot, he received the call, his heartbeat rising a little.

"Hey" he could hear Deepa's low voice on the other end and held the phone closer to his ear. "Did I disturb you?"she asked.

"Not at all" he said "you okay?"

"Yeah"she replied through muffled silence "I'm moving to London this week".

"Oh...that's um..nice" he could feel a small lump arise in his throat. Even though he hadn't really betrayed her, it was closer.

"I have a client there who made a special request" she explained "I'll be there for a month or so".

"That's a great opportunity for you" he said in an earnest tone "I'm glad".

"I want to see you before I go" she said slowly "can we meet somewhere private?"

He scratched his head in agitation. Part of him wanted to see her, but he couldn't risk the thought of another separation and longing. "I won't scream at you this time" she joked.

He didn't find it funny somehow, given the circumstances "I think it's a bad idea".

It took a moment for her to reply "are you afraid?" He bit his lip "my life is a hell right now...I don't want to drag you into it. You're better off without me Deepa" he said in a longing tone "as much as I would love to see you again, it will only worsen our relationship, believe me". He waited for her to speak but she didn't.

He took that as a dismissal and hung up, feeling vacant.

◇◇◇◇◇

While he was gone, Sakshi checked her phone for any messages when she felt a shadow behind her.

Confused, she turned to see a guy staring at her with a bright smile on his face.

"It's you!"he waved enthusiastically "I can't believe I would see you again!" She turned to see if he was addressing her "excuse me?"

His smile faded and he looked at her with a serious expression "didn't you recognize me?"

Was this a prank? Who the hell was he? "No" she said "there's a mistake".

"You're Sakshi right?"he asked again. She blinked "how do you know me?"
He looked at her in confusion "I.. never mind" he forced a smile "it's a mistake..sorry".

"Sorry..that took long" Aman had joined them and looked at the stranger in front of him. Sakshi could feel his eyes searching for explanation.

The guy walked away before they could react and Aman turned to her "do you know him?"

Sakshi digested the moment which happened in the blink of time until realization hit like a wave.

"Yeah...he's my..um..college friend" she said immediately and took her purse "I'll be right back".

The guy was out of the restaurant and walking towards the pavement when she yelled "wait!"

He shot back immediately and she rushed to him "how do you know me?"she asked, panting a little "please tell me..how do you know my name?"

He stared at her for a split second "I thought you were pretending". She shook her head "I swear to God I'm not...I don't know you okay? Please tell me!"

He checked his watch "I'm getting late for my class.." he looked at her "you know what? Just forget it..it's not that important".

She grabbed his hand on impulse "no please!"she begged "it is for me!"she almost had tears in her eyes "did we meet at the beach party?"

His eyes widened "of course we did! Finally I don't have to look like a fool"he grinned.

"Please tell me what happened!"she said in desperation "I don't remember anything...I want to know...I lost a night and I've no clue about the whole thing...only you can save me!"

"I already bunked a class and I can't miss another one too!"he frowned. It seemed like a last effort but Sakshi tried it "can we meet tomorrow at the same time here? Please?"

He looked hesitant initially but gave in "okay".

Aman saw them through the glass window, wondering who the guy was. He looked too young to be her college friend, that much he was sure. She was holding his hand which seemed like he was close to her. Was he someone special? No! It couldn't be! She was engaged to Amit. He would have known.

He decided not to ask her as it would appear too nosy on his part. They were pretend couples and shouldn't bother about each other's business.

Then why did he feel that tug at the back of his mind? He decided to ignore the incident and move on as if nothing had happened. That was it.

The moment he saw her come back, he resumed his seat and placed the bill on the table.

"I'm sorry" she gasped and he wondered why she looked like she was guilty "you must be late already". He forced a smile "it's okay..let's go".

It was during the journey back home did he realize that the mysterious guy wasn't going away from the back of his mind.

One question remained; who the hell was he?

Hi guys!!
Hope you enjoyed the chapter(sorry that it's short but I didn't want y'all to wait longer) 😑..please vote and comment..
Have a great day ahead...