Beautiful Infatuation

Chapter 8

Sneha and Jyoti were peacefully having their lunch in the canteen when Ananya stood in front of them along with her friends.

"Hi, Sneha!" Ananya said which took Sneha by surprise. She looked up and forced a smile to not look rude...or scared.

'Did she know about my scholarship!' Sneha wondered.

"Hi, Ananya." Sneha replied and nodded to the other two girls with a smile.

"May we sit with you two?" Ananya asked.

"Of course!" Sneha replied while glancing at Jyoti.

"Thank you!" Ananya said and all the three girls sat opposite them.

"I am so sorry that I couldn't properly thank you for saving me from those weird men that night. I don't know what would have happened to me if you weren't there. So, thank you so much!" Ananya said with gratitude.

"It's okay!" Sneha only smiled meekly.

"I know you must be wondering why I didn't thank you earlier. Actually, my brother had kept you under surveillance. So, he asked me to not approach you until he allows it. Yesterday, he told me that you were innocent and that I can finally talk to you. This is why I couldn't approach you before." Ananya explained herself.

"Oh!" Sneha said while nodding in understanding.

"Well, they are my friends. She is Tina and she is Shruti." Ananya said with a smile as she introduced her friends to Sneha and Jyoti.

"Hi! And, she is Jyoti." Sneha introduced her friend. They all shared their greetings.

"So, I guess we can have lunch together from now on?" Ananya asked politely. Now, Sneha couldn't deny the polite comment. She gave a look to Jyoti who nodded slightly in reluctance.

"Sure!" Sneha said and Ananya's smile widened.

Ananya and her two friends ordered from the canteen while looking at Sneha and Jyoti's lunch boxes.

"So, you bring your own lunch boxes? No canteen food?" Tina asked to initiate the conversation.

"Yeah!" Jyoti replied while Sneha nodded.

Then they began their usual conversation on academics and extracurricular activities.

"So, Sneha, who is your partner in the EVS project?" Ananya finally asked the question that has been bugging her.

"Jyoti and I are partners." Sneha replied.

"Oh! Great." Ananya replied with a forced smile.

"Who is your partner?" Sneha asked.

"No one as of now. I will have to talk to the professor about who is available." Ananya chuckled.

Sneha contemplated if she should ask Ananya about her brother and his capabilities to actually threaten someone. She really hoped Ananya wouldn't get offended.

"Uh...Ananya, can I ask something about your brother?" Sneha asked slowly and instantly, Jyoti kicked her under the table. She, however, ignore it.

"Okay?" Ananya asked, a little hesitantly.

"What would he do if someone went against him?" Sneha asked.

Ananya shuffled a little.

"It's not appropriate for me to tell you the details. But, I know that you have seen enough of my house and probably know that my brother is in that type of business." Ananya began.

"Yes." Sneha nodded.

"So, as for your question...it completely depends on who is on the receiving side. Generally, he blackmails, and in the extreme case, he is...violent." Ananya tried to use the aptest word that would be less scary for the girls. However, she knew all about her brother and had seen the worst side of him.