There was a long winter night in February when Vivaan finally told Radha that he loved her. Her heart was in her mouth when Vivaan hinted that he wanted to have a word with her. She almost held her breath, waiting for him to say from the other end.

"Radha, I wanted you to know...I always had.. You know.. some feelings for you," he murmured nervously. His voice sounded meek and dry.

"What kind of feelings?" she asked gingerly.

"You must have figured that out. I mean.. do I really have to say it aloud?" his desperation was very clear.

"I am listening," she whispered with her phone pressed tightly against her ear.

"Okay," he paused and took an audible long and deep breath. "I love you. I loved you since I first saw you walking in your favorite restaurant with your friends."

As if she had won some battle or some singing competition, she replied nonchalantly, "Oh my. Are you serious?" Inside she was jumping with joy. Finally, her teasing game had worked. She was getting better and better with every unattainable guy she met.

Being a good looking woman, she had some pros working for her. But when it came to money, she had barely any. With her self-indulgence habit, she could hardly keep her month's salary intact.

She would play the men tactfully by sometimes giving attention and sometimes disregarding them. She could identify the emotional chord of their hearts, and then very casually put forth her made up identity orchestrating with his persona. It always worked.

But with Vivaan, she had to dig deeper, his exterior was hard as steel. There were a couple of things that had gone wrong. But yet she persevered. He was too good, a powerful man with money. It was probably the best combination of all.

On the first date they went, he ordered a scotch on the rocks. Her first instinct was that he only liked someone who would be a pass time for him. Her guessing game was based on the drinks the men ordered when on a date. And it actually gave her powerful insights about them.

Right at the moment when he actually offered his heart, she was acting casual. But there was a great apprehension outside of her proud and nonchalant self.

"Never been in life I was this serious, my dear. I probably never said such things to anybody. But with you, I am like a teenager, eager to get you to love me," he mumbled, wanting to be saying the confession personally in front of her. Instead, he was standing on the balcony, overlooking the Arabian Sea, with his heart hammering against his ribcage.

Radha was a confident, a fierce corporate girl with the voice of her own. She was barely afraid of anybody and considered herself as a free spirit. And she was an undeniable beauty, the free smile, the wrinkling of her nose when she would frown. It was unlike he ever seen before.

The day when he saw her, he couldn't help but steal glances at her. Her playful and hearty laugh when she was having a conversation with her girlfriends, was making him curious about her all the more. Soon when she was leaving, he excused himself from his colleagues and went straight to her.

That day, she just took his card and walked away, promising to call. To his dismay, she didn't call him for next two weeks. He would think of her in his leisure time, hoping that she would still contact him, at least will send a message. But there was none.

And then he saw her in that very restaurant while he was out with his friends. The curious thing was, she eating her lunch all by herself. He was so intrigued to the point that he had to go and ask her. She told him that she was too caught up to call him and was going through tough time in her office front. That day she had the rest of the lunch with him, telling him all about herself. She was living alone in Mumbai since her first job and was working as a Marketing Manager in a big MNC. Her parents lived in Bhopal and were looking for a prospective groom for her.

"So you are okay getting married to a stranger?" he asked unable to hide his awe. Though he admitted inwardly that arrange marriages were very common in the Indian context.

"Well, it wouldn't be a complete stranger. After fixing up the marriage, we would have plenty of time to get to know each other."

He brooded silently over her statement, not liking the idea at all. "You might be right." He sighed hoping that it was enough for him to withdraw his interest in her.

Another week passed with three calls and no meeting. The more he thought about it, the more desperate he got. She continued telling him about the list of prospective grooms and their jobs. But when she asked him about his life, he hardly gave her anything. Well, he thought that there was nothing to be say. His family lived with him but hardly saw each other anymore. The parents were in their lives with their jobs, official and unofficial parties. The older brother trying to prove his hand in a new business. He himself barely passing his time at home. He had worked hard for the position he got in his company. He had managed to faster promotions thanks to touring every alternate week, late working and lot of caffeine in his system.

In the evening, when he met her over a dinner, she told him about a man who was coming to meet her. He was a businessman living in Delhi dealing with apparel manufacturing. She told him that her parents were ecstatic to get a proposal from such a gentleman for their daughter who was in the same caste and had a high living.

Though he kept a neutral demeanor, inside he was feeling agitated. He reminded himself that it was not going to pan out. She was never going to consider him any more than a friend. Even if she did, she intended to get married to a man that her parents chose for her. It was illogical to get emotionally vested in her.

He relieved himself from pursuing her by touring Europe for a business project. For a month, he tried his best to distance himself from her. He hardly took her calls or even read her emails. He felt that there was no point.

The day he landed in Mumbai, he noticed her waiting in the arrival area. Her face was angelic like he remembered from the sleepless nights. Though her bright smile was shadowed by some emotional burden on her heart.

"I missed you," she said, standing awkwardly by the railing. "I mean.. I thought I could surprise you."

He nodded, smiling sheepishly. He was astonished about feeling so overwhelming because of her here in front of him. They spent the day together. He wanted to forget that the dream was far-fetched. And he would actually get hurt if he took the chance and ask her to be his. That day he hinted her about his emotions. He was not at all in his element, he was a teenager again.

That night, he confessed her that he loved her. It was nerve-wracking for him to be so open about his emotions. He thought that the naïve girl did not have any clue on whatsoever was going on his mind.

"Tell me Radha, do you feel the same way towards me?" he asked with all his emotions bottled up for her answer.

On the other end, Radha felt every bit of relief. And just like that, she said yes to him. It was probably true. Because when she was pretending and manipulating Vivaan she was herself was losing her heart to him. She was nervous in every way, somehow doubtful that the day would come.

Unknowingly, she had driven herself to the charm of Vivaan Agarwal. It had become more than a game without her realizing so. And now she dreaded that if her truths were exposed, she would lose him forever. There was no way he would understand her lying to him about practically everything about her.

Right at that moment, They were high on each other' confession.

--*--*---

Day after day, it was hard for Radha to keep her shenanigans going for her. The fake parents, fake prospective grooms always plagued her mind. He asked and asked about meeting her parents. She would just tell him that they were mad at her, that they wouldn't talk with her. That had made Vivaan more concerned, wanting to get their approval to seek their daughter's hand in marriage.

Her phone was always locked, her apartment was never the place that welcomed Vivaan. There were many dark secrets hidden there. If he ever found out about her past, he would simply banish her away from his life. She knew better. This was not going to end well. Usually by some months' time, she would break things off with the men and move on with her new project. But she was too caught up in the 'would be happily ever after'.

But one day when she abruptly excused herself, to receive a call while having a dinner date, Vivaan followed her to check on her. He was feeling very suspicious of her lately, the way she was acting was not at all her.

"Papa, what do you want from me?" she blasted in an undertone, over the small balcony of the opulent high-rise restaurant. Her other hand was rubbing her temples. "No. I am not going to be the mediator between the two of you anymore. You have to clean up your mess. I don't care who is at fault. It was me, who was the victim in your fights. Personally, I don't give a damn, on what you guys do or don't do anymore!"

She listened to her papa's whining over her mom's behavior. They had been divorced for last ten years and still they would fight over the money and other material stuff. She already set herself away from them. Every now and then they would channelize their frustration to her.

She told him that she was not going to meet him in Delhi or her in Allahabad anytime soon. "Don't call me again. I mean it!"

She cut the call and turned. The breath left her lungs as she noticed him standing with color drained from his face. He looked at her with utmost disbelief in his eyes and the demeanor devoid of any emotions.

She tried explaining him after taking him back to their table. But nothing logical or smart came to her mind. Instead, she told him every truth of her life. The way she brought by her parents made her skeptic about relationships in general. She had dated more than ten men, creating a different identity every time. And when she would realize that they were becoming too emotionally dependent on her, she would simply walk out of the relationship.

"At first, I was the same Radha, who would manipulate the emotions and make men fall in love with me. I did not call you for two weeks on purpose. I knew you had booked the table after that. Intentionally, I came alone and made up the story."

He listened, afraid to look into her eyes, instead he stared at the glass in front of him.

"But when you shut me off, I was caught off guard. At first, I thought I could find someone new. But day after day, I was getting restless. I was missing you. So I told my heart that the game was not over. That I should continue to pursue you. And that day when you came back, everything had changed. My world turned upside down. I wanted to erase my false identity and tell you about my secrets. But I was too scared."

He finally looked at her tear filled eyes and whispered, "How can I trust you?"

And for that, she had no answer, absolutely no answer. She solemnly swore that she would stop pretending and would never act like that again. That was her lesson.

Days passed since they stopped seeing each other. He warned her not to contact him again and she couldn't dare to wrong him. But when the first rain poured after the blistering heat of May, she thought she could ask him, just the one thing. She was sitting on the park bench under the canopy of a big tree. She sent him a message.

Could you ever forgive me?

She looked at the sky and prayed to the universe that he will at least consider forgiving her.

She willed herself to not check her phone to see if he had replied. It had been about three days now. She hated that she was constantly checking his 'last seen at' status and yes, he had logged in just five minutes ago. Yet she couldn't stop herself. This sinking feeling to find absolutely no communication from him was becoming unbearable, almost torturous.

And then, just as she sat down in her chair, her phone vibrated. With her heart thudding in her ear, she unlocked her phone and stared at the screen. Finally! It was his message.

But when she opened it and read it, she nearly stopped breathing. She didn't know if he was joking or not. What was this?

I have already!

What did he mean by that? Her heart was beating like she ran a marathon. And suddenly there was a ray of hope shone in her dull life as she heard a knock on her door.

Tentatively she walked towards the door with her heart in her mouth. And as soon as she opened it, there he was, standing by the door with a small smile cornered on his lips. 

**THANKS FOR READING!**