Beautiful Infatuation

Chapter 18

"Viraj?" Nupur spoke again, bringing Viraj out of his deep thinking.

"It's me. How are you?" He asked in his straight tone, with which she was very well accustomed to. Nonetheless, his mere voice brought a huge smile to her lips.

He heard her light laughter before she answered him.

"I am glad that you called me. I am doing good. How are you?" She asked.

"I am good, too."

"And, Ananya?"

"She is fine."

"That's good to know." She replied before they both went silent for a while.

"My father wants us to fix the wedding date." He came directly to the point.

"Okay." Nupur agreed as a shy smile came upon her lips.

"This Saturday...it's Ananya's birthday. We can discuss this matter on that day." He said.

"Okay." She answered gently.

"I'll mail the flight ticket to you."

"Okay." She replied again.

"Okay then... Bye." He said as gently as he could.

"Bye, Viraj." Nupur said, a little upset with how he didn't try to prolong the conversation. But, it was always like this between them...formal and brief.

Viraj cancelled the call and sighed. He liked Nupur...but not to the extent of getting married to her. He never felt anything romantic for her. And, he knew she loved him. The inability to return those feelings made him hate himself sometimes. She was going to be his wife someday and he didn't want his life to turn like his parents'. He'd rather not marry than suffer that!

He clearly remembers the days when Ananya and Nupur used to play together in their childhood. He used to consider both the girls as his sister. Sometimes, he'd even play with them so as to momentarily forget about his parents' fights. Thinking of that same little girl, whom he had brotherly affection for always, as his wife, wasn't an easy task for him...no matter how perfect she is according to the definition of the right woman for him.

It is the right thing to do, Viraj. You won't find anyone more suitable than her. He reminded himself again, just like always.

And then, suddenly the image of the certain honey-coloured girl flashed before his eyes and he took a sharp intake of breath on her memory. She always managed to accelerate his heartbeat by her mere presence and thoughts, without even doing anything. He recalled how she'd look at him...sometimes in anger...sometimes in...

Stop thinking of her! She is not right for you, damn it! He instantly scolded himself for thinking of Sneha when he just talked to his fiancee.

.

.

.

Viraj came downstairs from his room after one of his men informed the news.

"You are leaving today?" Viraj asked his father as he saw Dev standing near his bodyguard who held his suitcase.

"Yes. I just got a call from my friends. They want me to discuss some things. I'll have lunch at the airport. So, don't worry about it." Dev explained.

Viraj nodded firmly and looked in the direction of Ananya's room, wondering if he should call her to bid farewell to their father.

"It's better if I don't see her face." Dev said rudely as he stepped forward to hug his son.