SOLACE, SERENITY, SOULMATE

Chapter 29: A New Equation

    "Would you like to have something?", Vansh asked. 

    "Yes. Would like to have lunch.", Riddhima replied. 

    "Come with me.", Vansh started walking from there along with her, intertwining his fingers with Riddhima's. 

    Riddhima was feeling weird with his acts and also when the airport staffs started looking at their intertwined fingers. 

    They both made themselves comfortable inside the car and Vansh asked his driver to drive them to Vansh's exclusive hotel, ZEST. The driver put on the partition between the back and front seats to give them privacy. 

    "Why didn't you tell me that you were hungry? If I had not asked, you would have never told me.", Vansh threw his question getting a little irritated by her apathy nature. 

    "You are assuming too much.", Riddhima replied turning her face towards Vansh. 

    Vansh raised his eyebrows and said, "Assuming! Really! You are a rank holder in that category, Riddhima." 

    By saying that he shifted his focus to his mobile. Riddhima furrowed her eyebrows but then let it go because she was really hungry. 

    They sat in a cosy, private area with a view of the river in the front, the place which was exclusively designed as per the owner's choice. 

    The waiter came with the menu card and Vansh signalled him to give it to Riddhima. Riddhima almost snatched from his hand and the waiter left from there. 

    Riddhima was going through the items and Vansh was quietly observing her expressions. Only with her weird expressions which were changing every second, Vansh understood that the waiter had handed her the list of continental cuisine. 

    He signalled the waiter to come again and said, "Bring the list of Indian cuisine." 

    The waiter became flummoxed by the demand of his Boss. 

    "Sir, this is continental. Just the way you like it.", he said. 

    Vansh gave him a stern look and ordered, "Indian Cuisine. Right now." 

    The waiter nodded and hurriedly brought what was asked. Riddhima ordered her part and pushed the menu towards Vansh. 

    "You are done.", he asked. She nodded in positive. 

    "Same items for me too.", Vansh said to the waiter. 

    He smirked at her and said, "Lunch date. The suggestion you gave me the day before yesterday."

    Riddhima gave him a confused look.

    Vansh excused himself for a while and Riddhima gave him a nod. He went to the head chef and directed him not to add prawns, shrimp and lobster in any form to any of Riddhima's dishes. 

    While coming back to Riddhima, he received a message from Angre where it was written, "Kabir has shuffled his men's work and Shakib has been allotted for other works so he is unable to stay close to Kabir but he is trying hard to find out about his next move." 

    He took a mental note of the situation and came back to Riddhima. 

    Vansh saw Riddhima was reading something in her phone with furrowed eyebrows and the moment she saw Vansh standing opposite to her, she kept her phone aside. 

    Vansh was keenly watching her movements- playing with fingers, sipping water every minute, looking here and there except Vansh, those were the signs which concluded in Vansh's mind that Riddhima was in a convoluted situation.