The Arranged Heart

Caught

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                       ★Saanvi’s POV★

The night was in full swing, and i tried to best ignore the thoughts going on in my mind. Aaynash's presence makes me feel better.

Harshit had taken over the dance floor. His wild, completely uncoordinated dance moves had everyone laughing. Aditya was clutching his stomach, barely able to stand from all the laughter, while Aayansh and I stood near the corner, amused by the chaos.

Harshit, in all his enthusiasm, nearly tripped over a chair, which sent another round of laughter through the room.

I nudged Aayansh, who wasn’t paying full attention. His gaze kept flicking toward the balcony, where Akshu and Anish had conveniently disappeared a few minutes ago.

“What’s going on in that head of yours?” I asked, tugging at his sleeve.

Aayansh’s arms crossed tightly over his chest, his jaw clenched. “They’ve been becoming close together nowadays. Something’s up.”

I tried to hold back a grin, but it was too hard. Aayansh was always protective, especially when it came to his sister. But the fact that Anish—my brother—was the one involved? Well, that made it funnier.

“Want to go check on them?” I teased, giving him a playful nudge. “Maybe we’ll catch them in the act.”

He shot me a look but, without a word, followed me toward the balcony. “I’m just keeping an eye on things,” he mumbled, though I could see the tension in his shoulders.

                    ★ Aayansh’s POV★

I didn’t want to go, but my jaan had that teasing glint in her eye, and I couldn’t say no. As we stepped outside, the cool night air hit us, but what I saw next was enough to stop me in my tracks.

Anish had his arms wrapped around Akshara, her hands resting on his chest. They were standing close—too close—leaning in like they were in their own world.

I clenched my fists.

“Well, well, well...” Saanvi’s voice was dripping with mischief as she broke the silence. “What do we have here?”

Anish sprang back so fast he almost knocked over a chair, his face a mixture of shock and guilt. Akshara’s face flushed bright red, her eyes wide as she tried to process being caught.

“We were just—uh—talking!” Akshu stammered, her voice almost too high-pitched to sound convincing.

“Talking?” I raised an eyebrow, my arms now firmly crossed over my chest. “That didn’t look like talking to me.”

                    ★Akshara’s POV★

This was a disaster. The one time Anish and I get a moment alone, and we’re caught—by my brother and bhabhi, no less!

I could feel the heat in my cheeks. “We really were just talking,” I repeated, even though I didn’t believe it.

Anish was no better, trying to appear nonchalant but failing miserably as his gaze flicked between Aayansh and me. “Yeah, talking. That’s all.”

Aayansh snorted, not buying it for a second. “Right. Talking.” He turned to bhabhi with a smirk. “What do you think?”

Bhabi’s eyes twinkled with amusement. “I think they were ‘talking’ about something very… personal.”