𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞 | A Collection Of Short Stories

4.

"Hey, little champ," Ivaan said as he entered the apartment with Adira.

Vansh ran towards him and hugged him; he loved Ivaan so much and enjoyed spending time with him, just like his sister did.

"I'll be back in just a minute. Would you like to have something cold?" she asked him.

"Cold coffee?" he asked, and she nodded.

She went in to make three cups of cold coffee and returned back along with some sandwiches.

"Yum, it looks delicious," Vansh said as he picked up his plate.

As soon as Ivaan took a bite of the sandwich, he made a face, clearly indicating he didn't like something-either the sandwich or the coffee, or perhaps both.

"What's wrong?" she asked, concerned.

"Tamatar kyun dala?" he asked, sounding like a kid, which made her roll her eyes at him. (Why did you put tomatoes)

"Khane ke liye, khayein ab chup chap," she replied. (For eating,eat it quietly now.)

"I don't like it; you have it," he said, removing every piece of tomato from the sandwich and eating it.

She was very happy to see both of them talking and playing with each other. She felt a different level of comfort with him now; he didn't seem like a stranger to her anymore. There was a thin line between CEO and lover; she even felt maybe she liked him? But, guess what, it was her delusional thoughts according to her.

As she was taking the plates back, suddenly the glass fell from the tray, and one of the glass pieces fell on her foot.

She screamed in pain as he rushed towards her, stopping Vansh from coming forward.

"Pagal ho kya? What have you done? Agar kanch andar chala jata to?" he said, shouting at her as he carefully removed the pieces. (Are you crazy? What have you done? If a piece of glass had pierced you)

"Gaya to nhi-" (But it didn't -)

"Chala jata to?" he said, silencing her.(If it had pierced you)

He applied ointment to her injury and cleaned the glass.

"I will do the rest of it. I don't like you doing this stuff," she said, limping to the kitchen. Taking the trash from his hands, she threw away the pieces.

"Mein kardeta to kya ho jata?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest. (What would have happened if I had done it)

"You're the CEO; it doesn't suit you to do all of this," she replied.

"Care to explain what 'all of this' you're talking about?" he said, moving towards her as she backed away.

"Um... I meant you're the CEO... you shouldn't be spending time with a mere employee like me, and you know, it could cause rumours," she replied, looking at the ground. When he bent to her level and frowned at her reply.

"Am I nothing more than a boss to you? Is there nothing between us, not even the status of friendship?" She was silent.

He scoffed and continued, "I guess I was wrong then."

He said and stormed out of the apartment in anger when she tried to stop him, but because she couldn't walk properly, she couldn't stop him.

As soon as Ivaan left, someone else arrived. She opened the door, and Devang, a man in his twenties, entered.

"What are you doing here, Devang?" she asked, surprised.

Without replying, he hugged her tightly, leaving her shocked and rooted to her spot.