𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞

2| 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫

Ayaansh's POV:

I was dead to the world, snoring away when a beam of light hit my face, making me groan in annoyance. I squinted, trying to fend it off, but the assault continued.

"Ayaansh, wake up, beta!" My mother's voice cut through my sleep like a knife.

"Ugh, five more minutes," I muttered, pulling the blanket over my head.

"No, you need to get up now," she insisted, yanking the curtains wide open. The room was suddenly filled with harsh daylight, forcing me to sit up and face the day.

"What's so urgent?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.

"You have to take Ruhi on a date today," she announced, way too cheerfully for my liking.

"A date? With Ruhi?" I echoed, my brain struggling to keep up. "You've got to be kidding me."

"No, I'm not. I already informed her, and she'll be ready by 10 a.m. It's already 9 a.m., so you need to get ready, have breakfast, and go pick her up."

I stared at her, dumbfounded. "Is there anything left to know about her?"

"This is non-negotiable, Ansh. Now hurry up," she said, leaving no room for argument.

As she walked out, I flopped back onto my bed, staring at the ceiling. A date with Ruhi. This day just kept getting better. I sighed, knowing there was no escaping it, and dragged myself out of bed.

I stumbled to the bathroom, splashing water on my face to wake up. A date with Ruhi. What could possibly go wrong? I mean, besides everything.

While brushing my teeth, I started to imagine all the insane things Ruhi might do to me on this date. She could drag me to one of those intense escape rooms and leave me to solve all the puzzles. Or maybe she'd take me bungee jumping just to see me squirm.

Or worse, she might make me go to some boring art gallery and quiz me on modern art. The thought made me shudder. Knowing Ruhi, she'd probably laugh her head off at my cluelessness. Shaking these thoughts off, I went out of the bathroom to get ready.

After getting ready, I headed downstairs for breakfast. As I entered the dining room, I saw Rudra, Alisha, and Anaya talking about something.

"Well, well, look who finally decided to join us," Rudra said with a grin as soon as he saw me.

Alisha smirked. "Hey, lover boy, heard you have a hot date today."

I rolled my eyes and sat down at the table. "It's not a date. It's a forced social experiment."

"Sounds like someone's nervous," Anaya teased, winking at me. "You and Ruhi. This is going to be epic."

"Yeah, epic disaster," I muttered, reaching for the toast.

Rudra laughed. "Come on, man. You might actually enjoy it. Who knows, you and Ruhi might even hit it off."

"Hit it off? With Ruhi? Have you lost your mind?" I shot back, biting into my toast.

"Or maybe she'll hit you off," Alisha added, laughing. "I mean, literally. She does have a temper."

I groaned, shaking my head. "You guys are no help."

Anaya leaned in, a mischievous look in her eyes. "Just make sure to keep your cool, Ayaansh. And try not to do anything too stupid."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, sis," I said sarcastically.

Despite the teasing, breakfast went by quickly. I tried to ignore their constant jabs about the date, but it was hard not to laugh at some of their outrageous predictions.