Oberoi's Ardhangini

CH | 1

Pranavi Mehta

The night sky is beautiful because of the numerous stars surrounding the full moon. The brightness from the moon illuminates its light on the glass window, making her tiny silhouette glossy.

The soft breeze hit her waist-length wavy hair from the slightly ajar window, making her shiver in the chilly winter. Glancing at the lovely weather, Pranavi had an immense urge to have a hot coffee.

Stretched her muscles with a light yawn, she looked at her mobile, '03:00 Am'.

With a frustrating sigh, she murmured, "As usual, I couldn't sleep again."

Since she couldn't fall asleep, she decided to make herself a coffee to relieve her thirst. As a coffee addict, she's used to having coffee irrespective of the time, and it's no different this time either.

Making a messy bun with her hair, she turned on the music and strode to the kitchen, since the house was eerily silent, which wasn't to her liking.

As she was brewing her coffee, she missed the presence of Shreya in the house and cursed, "Damn this girl! How many days does she need to return?"

Soon, the rich aroma of the black coffee filled her nostrils, and a satisfied grin settled on her face. She took a sip and strode to the balcony to enjoy the serene street.

Jumping into the swinging chair while covering herself with the thick blanket, she opened her laptop and began doing her assignments.

As she's pursuing her dual MBA in Business Analytics and Finance Management from IIM University and is in her final year, her days were pretty hectic with her freelance jobs and studying, but she liked it. At least it was much better than living on the streets starving!

Slowly, she drifted into sleep with her laptop in her lap, and soon it was dawn.

As the clock hit 06:00 am, the alarm began banging in her ears, and she bounced off from her slumber.

Quickly finishing her daily routine, she was dressed in a black jumpsuit with an olive blazer, paired up with her block heels, and had a high ponytail. With a dab of touch-up, she's ready to go.

She grabbed her tote and placed her laptop in it while checking all the documents needed one last time, and a slight pleasing curve spread across her plump lips.

While not stunningly beautiful, she's an average-looking girl with a height of 5'2 and a medium-fair complexion with slight dimples. Her round brown eyes had the depth of an ocean that could hide numerous mysteries.

As she was busy looking for her bike keys, the strong ringtone of her phone interrupted her, and without a doubt, she knew who it was.

"Pranavi," Shreya mumbled in her husky voice, rubbing her eyes while yawning.

"Yeah! Now you got the time to call me?" Pranavi queried while locking the house in a hurry as she glanced at her watch.

"Don't you dare fight with me now? I'm already tired of all the drama in my house." A pout settled on Shreya's lips, remembering all the incidents that happened in the past week.

"Gotcha. You okay?"

"Hmm. By the way, is everything done with our project?" Shreya blurted out without thinking, making Pranavi's temper rise.

"Wow! The almighty Ms. Shreya Chakraborthy remembered it seems!" Sarcasm dripped off from Pranavi's tone since she was obligated to do all the work alone when Shreya suddenly went to her home.

"Babe! You know my situation. Don't poke my faults now." A huff escaped Shreya's lips.

"Oops. I'm not."