Author’s POV........

Arpana was awake early as she had to go to work. After the morning chores, Arpana went downstairs to see a handsome man cooking in the kitchen. He was frying something in the pan looking engrossed in whatever he was doing.

Arpana inched a tiny bit closer to Arjun and peeked over his shoulders to see what he was cooking only to get his attention.

"Good morning" he greeted Arpana.

"Good Morning. What are you cooking?" Arpana asked curiously.

"Some English breakfast," he replied.

"Oh that's cool. Is there anything that I can help you with?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"No, it’s almost done. If you want to, maybe, could set the table" Arjun suggested to which she nodded.

Arjun then carried on with what he was doing. Meanwhile, Arpana organised the table. Soon they both sat together to have breakfast. An uncomfortable silence filled the room. Every now and then, they both glanced at each other.

To break the silence Arpana decided to apologise "I'm sorry". Arjun looked at her with confusion.

"For creating a nuisance yesterday" Arpana added while lowering her gaze.

"I don't think you did anything wrong. You got triggered by something and expressed some emotions. And that's absolutely fine" Arjun comforted her.

"Thank you for what you did yesterday, it meant a lot to me." She said, making Arjun look up as he did not understand what Arpana was exactly on about.

"I didn't do much yesterday," he replied.

"It might not be a lot for you but for me it was" Arpana said.

I felt a sense of protection in your embrace. Nobody has ever made me feel like this, so protected other than you Arjun... She wanted to say it aloud but decided against it.

"Oh I'm running late. Let me quickly change and get ready. I have work today" Arpana said and rushed upstairs to get changed. She changed into a formal kurta and left her hair loose as she didn’t have time to tie it. When Arjun finished washing the dishes and came out of the kitchen, he saw Arpana organising some books and files on the table. She looked different in Arjun's eyes today... She looked beautiful in her attire and loose hair...

"How do you go?" Arjun asked Arpana peeking at her books.

"I normally catch a bus" she replied.

"Oh, I will drop you today. One sec" he said and rushed upstairs to get changed, not giving Arpana a chance to object.

Arjun came downstairs wearing a white shirt and black trousers. Arpana was struggling to take her eyes off of his toned body. "Shall we leave?" he asked to which she nodded.

They both then got inside the car. Sometime after Arjun started driving, he said "I will be leaving tomorrow evening".

"Oh! I thought you were here for 15 days. Why are you leaving early?" Arpana asked, she didn't want Arjun to leave for some unknown reason.

"It’s been 15 days Arpana" Arjun replied chuckling a bit.

"Oh. Then when will you come back?" Arpana replied feeling a bit embarrassed. The days have definitely gone very quick.

"After three weeks, I hope" he replied.

The thought of Arjun leaving her made her heart void...

They didn't speak to each other until they reached the college where she works. "Bye" they both said in unison. Just as Arpana was going to get out of the car, Arjun caught her hand which made Arpana surprised.

She stared at him in confusion. Suddenly he pecked her on her forehead and said "I will pick you up today". Suddenly Arpana felt hot as if she would faint any second. Immediately she got out of the car without giving him a reply and rushed inside without looking back. Arjun smiled seeing her reaction and then reversed the car to go back.

Every now and then, whilst teaching, the image of Arjun kept flashing on her mind. He was making her feel as a teenager once again...

Once the class was done, Arpana went to the staff room and started marking some exam papers. Just to ruin her mood, Mr Manoj, who is a senior professor, came and sat next to her.

Arpana ignored him and continued doing her work.

"Was that your husband who dropped you today?" He asked Arpana.

"Yes," Arpana said, showing no interest to start a conversation with him.

"Why did you block me on WhatsApp?" He asked, annoying the hell out of her.

"Sir, look I'm busy. I need to finish marking this before the next period starts" Arpana told him, getting irritated but trying to be polite.

"You carry on then, Arpana. Let's talk later" Mr Manoj said and left. Arpana sighed a breath of relief. He was becoming more and more irritating as the days were passing.

Soon the day came to an end. Arpana took her handbag and went to the entrance only to see Arjun, leaning on the car, doing something on his phone. Arjun then looked up and saw Arpana walking towards him. "Hey" he said smiling at her and she smiled back at him.

Arjun then opened the door for Arpana. Her smile broadened seeing this simple gesture of kindness.

"How long have you been waiting for?" She asked him once he sat inside.

"For several minutes" he replied while starting the car.

"You could have called me" she told him.

"I didn't want to disturb you," he replied, concentrating on his driving now.

"Where are we going?" Arpana asked seeing that he took a different route.

"There’s a quiet restaurant that I prefer. Hope you don't mind" Arjun said.

"Oh that's fine. I was hungry too" she replied and carried on staring through the window.

Eventually Arjun parked his car in front of a small but elegant restaurant. It was close to the beach meaning the restaurant had a beautiful view. Arjun and Arpana then started walking inside. The manager then came running towards us.  The manager spoke to Arjun as if he’s familiar with him. It looks like they've known each other for a while. The manager then gave Arjun and Arpana a small table at the far end corner, next to the window with a beautiful view.

Arpana's POV

When we sat down, a waiter approached us and gave us the menu cards. Once the food was served, we started eating it. I dug into it like a lion that was starved for a month unlike Arjun who was calm and composed.

Arjun observed me and said "you’re cute" making me blush....

I didn't know how to react or what to say. I just smiled at him awkwardly and continued to eat. This time a little normally.

Once we had finished eating, Arjun paid the bills. And we left the place and went back to our home.

"Are you okay to be by yourself once I go? Or if you want to stay with your parents till I come back then it would be better" Arjun suggested.

"Nah! I don't want to stay with them" Arpana replied. Her impression on her parents has changed negatively after that incident with Arjun.

"Your mother has been calling me to stay with them for a while now. I was thinking to go and stay with Amma for a few days" I told Arjun but instantly a big "NO" came out of his mouth. "I don't want you visiting that lady or staying with them. I didn't like how you went there for Diwali" Arjun said sharply.

I wanted to ask him why he was expressing so much hatred to his mother but as Arjun and I aren't very close, I didn’t want to intrude on his privacy.

Soon we reached our home. We both went to our respective rooms after calling it a night

..........................

Hope you all liked this chapter

Has Arpana's and Arjun's relationship progressed ?

What might be Manoj's intention?

What was your favourite part of this chapter  ?

Thank you kiki8775for editing this chapter for me ❤