DESTINED TOGETHER

6. || Unexpected Date ||

Debu looked at Ananya in amazement, suddenly becoming silent as he observed her.

After a brief pause, testing his own patience, he approached her.

Ananya showed him the spatula. "You, Dabbu, who cooks khichdi in this frying pan? Did you keep the pressure cooker for a Russian show?" She took some pulses and began soaking them in water, muttering to herself, "I don't know which genius made you the chief justice. You're doing injustice even with a cooker."

Debu took a deep breath. "Look, Ananya, you're talking too much."

Ananya shot him another glare. "I said keep quiet, not a single word should come out. You talk too much and work too little."

"What's gotten into you, Ananya? Since when do you keep talking so much?" Debu retorted.

"Here you go again! I told you to shut up and go stand quietly in a corner," she replied firmly.

He was stunned for a moment. This girl dared to talk to him like that. He stood there silently for minutes as she started preparing dinner.

Her hair blew gently in the breeze coming through a small open window in their makeshift kitchen. His heart skipped a beat as she tucked strands of hair behind her ears, her soft lips humming a soothing tune.

After a while, she finished her tasks, but he was still standing there, staring at her, lost in thought. He only snapped back to reality when the lights suddenly went out.

"Ugh, why did the lights have to go out now? There's no one else at home, and Debu and I are stuck in this room," she stomped her feet and began searching for a light source.

"The candles are kept on the upper shelf of the dressing table," he muttered quietly.

"I didn't want to say it, but... thanks," she replied, rolling her eyes.

She stood on her toes to reach the upper shelf but couldn't quite grasp the knob.

Suddenly, she gasped and let out a small shriek as she felt someone lift her from behind, holding her waist. She shivered slightly under his touch, her insides twisting. He could feel her trembling.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he said, "Hurry up, or I might end up hurting my back trying to hold you."

Ananya huffed and grabbed the packets of candles. He gently set her back on her feet after she had retrieved them.

As he moved away, his leg got caught in Ananya's dress, causing him to fall onto the bed with her in his arms. As she tried to regain her balance, he shivered as her warm breath fell on his collarbone. His top three shirt buttons were undone, courtesy of the Delhi summer.

They gazed into each other's eyes, soft moonlight highlighting their faces and intensifying their eye lock.

They were interrupted as some candles crushed under Ananya's hand.

---

She set up the small dinner table with aromatic candles, taking a plate of food and moving towards where he stood by the window. He wiped away a tear as he saw her approaching.