Bruises| Abhira FF ✔️

CHAPTER 15

Third Person's POV

Twenty-four hours had been passed and she still had no clue how she's going to keep her house and if not then how's she's going to find a new one, that too in this short span of time. Idea of taking the loan from the company came to her mind and she talked about it with her fellow colleagues but they all suggested her not to apply for a loan due to multiple reasons.

First, she's still new here, not that trustworthy,  and secondly, you need a strong background and a solid confirmation that you'll be able to pay the loan back, but she had none. Her life was getting upside-down.

Talking about life, it really was getting weirder. Don't know why, but her boss was actually trying to be nice to her, the thing that she least expected. She shrugged off his behavior, considering it a mood swing or maybe even a personality disorder.

"Miss Akshara!" Abhimanyu called her out as she was about to enter Aarohi's office.

"Yes, sir!" she stopped as she was just about to push the door open.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Umm.. Aarohi asked me to print out these." she replied, showing him the file in her hand.

"Give this to me." he said, snatching the file away from her. Before she could protest, he again spoke.

"I need you to pick up a client of mine from the airport and then escort him to his hotel." he told her.

"Me?" she asked, confused.

"Yes. It's his first time in India, and I want him to feel welcome. I want you to plan a schedule with him on your way to the hotel so that we can get to work as early as possible." he explained, and she nodded in approval.

"I've texted you all the information. Hopefully there won't be any difficulties." By saying this, he pushed the door and entered Aarohi's office.

Something doesn't seem right to her. Yes, she's his secretary but he was the one who said she needed time to build herself and that's why she for the time won't be dealing with important clients. Usually Neil is the one doing all this and today he asked her to do it, why?

Was he doing this on purpose? To keep her away from Rhea? She very well knew he had problems with her spending time with Rhea, but was it really the problem or his perspective about her actually changing? Perhaps another mood swing.

~

"Sorry, I know I invited you for dinner but I didn't cook anything." Aarohi apologized to Neil as soon as they both entered her apartment.

"It's alright. We can order something." Neil suggested as he took his coat off and placed it on a nearby stool.

"No. I actually have all the things and I planned to take off early from the office to cook but couldn't due to some work." she told him as they both entered the kitchen.

"Well, so you know how to cook?" Neil asked her, scratching the back of his neck.

"Are you challenging me, Mr. Neil?" she raised an eyebrow at him, resting her hand on the kitchen counter.

"Not that I was, but since you're taking it that way, let's see what you got!" he smirked.

"Alright, how about you go and take a seat on the couch and choose a movie to watch while I'll make the best pasta you've ever tasted." she said confidently.

"I like that attitude!" he grinned before making his way to the living room.

It was nearly thirty minutes, and he was sure even the neighbours could hear the voices coming from his empty stomach. It took him only a few minutes to find a perfect movie for them to watch, but the food still wasn't ready.

"If this is all your plan to make me suffer just because of how I was acting lately, then I'm sorry, but please give me something to eat." he pleaded as he again entered the kitchen, and she chuckled at his behaviour.

"The pasta is ready. Just need to garnish some spices over it. Here. Try it!" she said, feeding him a full spoon of pasta.

"OMG! That's so good!" he said, with his mouth full.

"Thank you! Well, what can I say, after all I'm a good cook." she said, flipping her hair in a dramatic way.

"That you are!" he said as he stood closer to her.

"Aarohi?" he whispered, taking her hand in his, moving his face close to hers.

"Yeah?" she couldn't meet his gaze because of how close he was standing to her.

"Next time, throw the pasta sauce bottle in the bin." he said, and she immediately looked at him with her wide eyes.

"I-I...." she was trying to come up with an excuse but couldn't.

"It's okay. Now, can you actually get to the main reason why you called me here?" he asked her and saw her body getting tensed.

"I think the kitchen might not be the best place for these kinds of talks." she chuckled lightly. He smiled before grabbing her hand and leading her to the living room.

"Look, you don't have to say anything you don't want to. I understand some people have trouble with opening up to others." he said as they both took a seat on couch beside each other.

"Neil, I don't know how to say this but--- when I came to India a few years back, it wasn't because I didn't have any opportunities from where I came from. I did. But at the same time, I needed freedom, and while living with my parents, I don't think it was possible." she told him while fidgeting with her fingers.

"What are you actually trying to say?" he asked.

"Look, you're a great guy....." she trailed off.

"Oh, don't give me that 'You're a nice guy, and you deserve someone better' speech." he rolled his eyes.

"Neil, why don't you understand? I'm just not ready for relationships yet. Honestly, relationships are the last thing on my mind. And there are reasons behind it which I'm not willing to tell you, just yet!" she told him.

"Look, I'm not asking much from you. I know you have reasons for this, and I respect them, but at least we can try and take it slow." he held her both hands, making her look at him.

"All I'm asking is for a single chance. And the minute you think that's its not gonna work, I will happily allow you to back out." he said, caressing his thumbs over her knuckles.

"Okay!" she nodded, and he smiled.

"Thank you, Aarohi! I'll make sure you won't regret your decision." he smiled at her.

"You-you can call me aaru, if you want?" she told him, and he couldn't help but chuckle.

"Why are you so late? Why weren't you picking up my phone? Have you seen the time?" Her stepfather bombarded her with the questions as soon as she stepped her foot in the house.

"I'm not a kid!" she rolled her eyes at him.

"Anyways, you remember the guy who I made a bet with. He's here." he told her.

"Why is here?" she was confused.

"He's here to propose a deal. Now come with me." he said, almost dragging her into the living room where the guy was sitting.

"Sir, my daughter is here. Now, can we talk about the deal?" her step-father asked, and the man turned to look at them.

"You?" she felt like someone pulled the rug beneath her feet.

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