Beautiful Infatuation

Chapter 25

Viraj was peacefully sitting on the sofa with a drink in his hand when he noticed Gaurav approach the site where his eyes were already trained. Nupur had excused herself for the restroom and he was glad to have some alone time. It wasn't as if Nupur disturbed him. On the contrary, she never disturbed him in any way...except for the continuous stares she threw his way. However, seeing Gaurav interact with Sneha made him feel uneasy. He wondered desperately to know what they were talking about.

The curiosity turned into anger, and then into a much more intense emotion, when Gaurav asked for Sneha's hand, and she walked with him on the dance floor like a calf! He didn't realize his grip on the glass of drink tighten and his eyes narrowed automatically.

'Why is she dancing with him?' He wondered angrily.

He hated everything about their little encounter. He didn't like the little distance between them or the way she was hesitantly twirling on his command.

The watershed moment finally arrived when he saw her move closer to Gaurav and whisper something in his ear. Gaurav seemed concentrated as he listened to whatever she was telling him. And then, he smiled...both of them smiled. More than anything...he hated this. She shouldn't be laughing with other men, he concluded.

Without any control over his rational mind, he walked in their direction. He couldn't...wouldn't see her this close with any man. He declared for himself without any rationality.

Gaurav had seen him approaching from his periphery but he ignored it. His attention was focused on Sneha's words. Finally, when he raised his hand a little so as to make her twirl, he noticed Viraj just in front of him. It was quite late and Viraj had already caught Sneha mid-twirl by her waist.

"What...are you doing?" She asked as she looked into Viraj's eyes while being hyper-aware of his hand on her waist.

"Dance with me." Viraj stated as he pulled her closer to his body. Their chests were almost touching each other's now, thanks to her heels. The faint odour of ethanol was clear in the air around him.

Sneha turned to look at Gaurav, who had a small playful smile on his lips. She turned back to look at Viraj who pretty much looked angry! She expected Gaurav to say something! When he didn't help her out, she took her stand.

"I don't want to." She said curtly and tried to get away from him. She had almost succeeded when he pulled her with force and she fell on his body...again. Her head hit his upper chest, and she hated this. For her, it was clearly manhandling!

"You'll have to." Viraj simply announced to her as he glared at Gaurav.

Gaurav raised his hands in playful surrender and stepped back to slowly go back to where Natasha was sitting.

"I won't. Now, let me go. Or, I will shout." Sneha strictly mumbled in his arms.

Viraj finally looked at the feisty woman. His eyes still held anger and maybe...frustration, but seeing her try to push him away made him feel irritated beyond limits. She was dancing perfectly fine with Gaurav! What was the problem now? He wondered.

"Shout." He challenged in his straight emotionless tone.

His word stilled her for a while. She stopped struggling and looked at him in confusion.

'What is his problem now?' She thought as she met his eyes. But, she knew that she couldn't simply shout out of nowhere. It would create drama and Ananya's birthday would be ruined. However, she knew that she won't hesitate to do it if Viraj forced himself on her further.

"I am not lying. Leave me." She repeated and tried to remove his hands from her waist. The couple nearby noticed their weird interaction while others remained oblivious as they went along with their dance.