Not A Simple Engineer Boy! | ✓

085 • friendships | three

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Scrollstck- Suganthi Lakshminarayanan

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"What is it?" Xavier asked Satya, walking down the hall to reach her. She was sitting on the sofa—the very place where she had drugged herself to death. Almost to death.

It was quite late at night when she had called and asked him to meet her immediately. A clear agitation laced her voice, making him drop his work and speed to her home. Work could wait.

"What happened?" he asked, staring at her pale face.

Did that fucker Narayan try to contact her!? I'm going to kill him.

She had a grim expression. "Valmiki Shetty called."

His brows creased in confusion. The unexpected reply baffled him for a second. He sat next to her, stretching his back and groaning at the pain that shot through his body. Work was killing him. Ever since the new investors came in to support the expansion, it had been getting increasingly difficult to sleep properly. It was great news, sure, but it brought a lot of attention to him.

Slowly, the media had started floating around him as well. He despised every bit of it. Sharing his life story to become a page on Wikipedia? No thanks.

Turning to face her, he raised an inquiring brow. "Valmiki Shetty? Since when did you start calling him that?"

"He said that..." she swallowed hard. "...he loves me and wants to marry me."

His eyes widened in utter shock. "Marry...? What the fuck?" He couldn't control himself and burst out laughing. "That guy pined for your attention for four years, and the moment he gets some, he fast-tracks it with a proposal to marry you? Tsk, 'Formula Racing Love,' it seems."

"So, you knew." She glared at him.

"It wasn't a secret." He wiped the tears from his eyes and guffawed again. "He was gone the moment his eyes fell on you. First love, I guess."

A pillow hit him square in the face.

"He's had girlfriends and been in and out of multiple relationships. I'm not his first love or whatever," she snapped, holding another pillow in her hand.

Grinning, he pulled the poor pillow from her clutches, which she was murderously squeezing with her fingers. "What did you say?"

"Nothing. I cut the call and blocked him."

"That's fine. He'll find a way—no, don't look at me like that—I'm not going to help him. Trust me, if I wanted to do matchmaking, I would've done it way earlier," he assured her. "Satya, for the love of God, he's an ethical hacker by profession. If he wants, he could track you down and have the details of your La Perla, Simone Pérèle, and a very secretive Bordelle lingerie collection at his fingertips."

"Oh, fuck! Do I blabber such shit to you when I'm completely wasted!?"

"Yes. Also, just stating plain facts about him: if he wants, he could know anything about you. But he's not a creep, that's all."

Looking like an angry baby, she huffed. "I don't want to marry him."

"Care to explain?" He stood and nodded his head toward the wet bar. He wanted some liquor in his system to feel a little less tired. Would a vacation be a better option? That idea sounded rather inviting. Right then, he craved it more than food and oxygen. He needed to rest, for fuck's sake.

Satya grabbed a bottle of the classic Old Monk and poured two glasses. Sliding one to him, she leaned against the counter, supported by her side. "A lot has happened in my life, Xav. You know that very well," she said, pinching the bridge of her nose. "God! I don't even love him, and... huh... I don't think I can love anyone for that matter. I just have no hope about all this corny crap for myself. Why did he have to complicate our friendship!?"

Gulping the contents of his glass in one swig, he nodded. "I agree with your pessimistic outlook on life. You don't deserve love or care. Yes, exactly—you should avoid anyone who even tries to comfort you," he said, grimacing as a burning heat hit the back of his throat.

"Very funny."

"What do you want me to tell you?" Xavier probed, giving her a look of disappointment. "That you should let Valmiki rot in hell while you keep crying over that bastard Narayan?"

She poured more rum into his glass, this time far less than earlier. "Don't you think you're making my traumas sound trivial?"

This was the issue. Satya longed for care and love but wasn't ready to accept it when provided. He was trying to put some sense into her, but all she found was judgment. "No, Satya. I'm not trying to shame you for what you've been through or call you petty for being confused." He took her hand and caressed it gently with his fingers. "I'm saying that you're shutting yourself off for a guy who wasn't even worth your love."

Slowly sipping from her glass, she stared at his face. The nuts and bolts in her brain were turning; he could see that in her expression. She must have been a difficult kid for her parents, always rebellious. There was no doubt Dhanya had inherited similar characteristics.

"Give it a thought. You don't need to marry Valmiki, but at least don't shun him out," Xavier suggested, chugging his rum again in one go.

Satya shot him a dirty look for drinking like a truck driver. He raised his hands slightly in surrender. Chuckling at his antics, she pointed out, "Suddenly, you've become a Love Guru. Never knew kissing Krithika would earn you some wisdom. Maybe I should try it too."

He flushed, his caramel skin glowing with a pink tint. "Oh, shut up!" Dreaming of Krithika's face, he continued, "Don't you dare touch my woman."

"Your woman?" She gave him a knowing look. "Already claiming her as yours?"

Covering his face to hide his foolish grin, he retorted, "How did we jump from Valmiki to Krithika?"

Do tell me what you feel about this and the upcoming chapters, always open to positive criticism.