𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬

CHAPTER 35

Vijay holding up his phone for Kiara as she convinces Ranbir above.

virago

(n.) a woman demonstrating exemplarily strong or brave qualities

The past week had been a hellish symphony of one attack after another until there was little left in Kiara's life that the public hadn't already scrutinised. First it was her relationship with Chris onto which Vijay's misconstrued comments only seemed to fuel rumour mills and as a result, she had spent majority of the week shutting down one intrusive question after another. To make matters worse, a few unflattering paparazzi shots of her leaving a restaurant after dinner with the tiniest food baby were circulating the internet as people begun speculating whether or not she was pregnant. 

While most hateful comments and taunts barely registered in her mind, Kiara was still human and every so often there would be one stray jibe that stung a little more than expected– body shaming was her kryptonite. Coming up in such an aesthetically focused industry meant she had been subjected to countless critiques of her appearance, so much so that she was surprised she hadn't consequently struggled against some form of body dysmorphia. 

While she logically knew what her body looked like and understood that the photographs were taken from unattractive angles, insecurity was psychologically harder overcome. Being widely recognised as a pioneer for justice and equality, people often associated her with strength and intelligence so she despised the sense of helplessness this debilitating outlook imposed. She couldn't simply wave a magic wand and fix herself as these were deep rooted vulnerabilities that required plenty of time and effort to work past.

As she pensively reached out for an apple from the fruit bowl, Vijay beat her to it and hid it behind his back, "Lunch. Right now. Gimme that."

She gasped reaching for the apple as he jumped further away, speaking in a mock-threatening tone, "If you want to see this apple alive again, you'll come with me."

Placing her hands on her hips as Kiara raised a brow at Vijay but complied and followed behind as he rushed out the door. It was a race to the restaurant as the they drove separately and competed to see who arrived first. The loser would be obligated to foot the bill for both their meals. Laughing as she spotted him doing his silly winning dance at the restaurant entrance, she met him as the waitress guided them to a secluded table. 

Making sure to lean forwards enough to flash plenty of cleavage, the waitress placed two menus before them shooting a seductive smile at him before leaving as her hand trailed over his biceps. Kiara rolled her eyes at the promise of a pleasurable night in the flirtatious wink he sent back to the waitress, knowing without a doubt that it would last one and only one night. Her amusement was short lived when she scanned the menu in front of her, subconsciously counting the calories in each dish as she unintentionally restricted her food intake.

He scoffed and tossed the menu back onto the table, "Pfft I don't even need to look at the menu, Pad Thai all day."

Begrudgingly placing her menu down too, she plastered a polite smile that resembled a grimace, "I actually had a really big breakfast so I'm pretty full. Think I'll stick to a glass of water."

"Wow, never pinned you for the cheapskate."

"I'm not being miserly."

He chuckled, pinching her cheek and swiping her chin, "But you're always hungry!"