Chapter 20: A Weekend Getaway
Aryan Kapoor didn’t know what possessed him to suggest it. Maybe it was the constant buzzing of paparazzi cameras, the suffocating walls of the set, or the way every stolen glance between him and Selena felt more dangerous by the second. Whatever it was, by the time the thought came to him, it had already slipped past his lips.
“Pack a bag. We’re leaving.”
Selena blinked, halfway through tying her hair in a loose bun. “What do you mean, leaving?”
“A weekend getaway. No press. No Paul. No cameras. Just... peace.”
Her brow arched in skepticism. “Since when are you into spontaneous road trips?”
“Since now.” Aryan grabbed his keys off the counter, offering a crooked smile that made Selena narrow her eyes. “Come on, Selena. Live a little.”
She crossed her arms, still suspicious. “What’s the catch?”
“No catch.” He shrugged, trying to act casual though his heart was pounding like crazy. “Unless you count getting to spend uninterrupted time with me as a burden.”
Selena rolled her eyes but couldn’t hide the hint of amusement tugging at her lips. “Fine. But if this turns into some weird publicity stunt, I’m throwing you out of the car.”
Aryan grinned. “Deal.”
---
The Road to Somewhere
The drive was peaceful, the kind of tranquility Aryan had craved for weeks. Selena sat beside him, legs tucked under her, fiddling with the radio. They bantered back and forth about music, argued over Selena’s love for 90s ballads, and shared stolen moments of comfortable silence.
For the first time in months, there were no cameras in sight. No expectations. Just Aryan and Selena, two people trying to outrun the chaos of their lives.
“Where are we going, exactly?” Selena finally asked, glancing over at him as they cruised down a winding road.
Aryan shrugged. “Somewhere quiet. No plan, no schedule. Just... freedom.”
Selena tilted her head, watching him with a curious expression, as if seeing a version of him she hadn’t known existed.
“Freedom sounds nice,” she murmured.
---
A Quaint Town and Simple Joys
They arrived in a small coastal town nestled along rolling hills, with cobblestone streets and a harbor that glimmered in the afternoon sun. It was quaint and sleepy, the kind of place where no one recognized them.
Aryan and Selena spent the day exploring the narrow streets, popping into bookstores, eating gelato on a park bench, and bickering playfully over who had better taste in pastries.
For once, it felt like they were just two people enjoying life—no pretense, no acting.
At one point, Aryan caught Selena laughing over something trivial, and the sight of her carefree smile made his heart stutter in a way that scared him. He knew they were playing a dangerous game, but in that moment, he didn’t care.
---
Under the Stars
As night fell, they drove to an open field just outside town, the sky above them a canvas of stars. Aryan spread out a blanket on the grass, and they lay side by side, shoulders brushing, lost in the beauty of the night.
“Do you ever think about what you wanted to be when you were a kid?” Selena asked softly, her voice almost lost in the breeze.
Aryan tilted his head toward her. “All the time.”
“What did you want?”
He smiled faintly. “I wanted to be an astronaut. Thought it’d be cool to float around in space with no rules.”
Selena chuckled. “I can see that. You’ve always had a thing for running away from rules.”
“And you? What did little Selena dream of?”
Her expression softened, her guard lowering in a way Aryan hadn’t seen before. “I wanted to be a dancer. I used to think if I could move perfectly, everything else in life would fall into place.”
Aryan’s chest tightened at the vulnerability in her voice. He shifted closer, their shoulders pressing together. “Why didn’t you?”
“Life happened,” Selena whispered, her gaze distant. “And somewhere along the way, I stopped believing in perfect.”
Aryan’s heart ached for her, for the quiet sadness she carried beneath her sharp wit and sarcasm. He reached out, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “You still move perfectly .”
Selena’s breath hitched, and in the stillness of the night, something shifted between them—something neither of them could deny any longer.
---
The Slow-Burn Kiss
Their eyes locked, the air between them heavy with unspoken emotion. Aryan knew he shouldn’t—knew that crossing this line would change everything. But the way Selena looked at him, her lips slightly parted, made rational thought impossible.
He leaned in slowly, giving her every chance to stop him. But she didn’t.
Selena’s eyes fluttered shut, and Aryan’s heart raced as his lips brushed against hers—soft, tentative, as if testing the waters of something neither of them fully understood.
The kiss deepened slowly, not frantic or rushed, but deliberate—filled with all the longing and tension that had simmered between them for months.
Selena’s hand found its way to Aryan’s chest, fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt as if grounding herself. And Aryan swore he could feel the earth shift beneath them.
When they finally pulled apart, both of them were breathless, their foreheads resting against each other.
“That…” Selena whispered, her voice shaky, “was a bad idea.”
Aryan smiled, his thumb tracing a gentle path along her jaw. “Yeah.”
But neither of them moved away.
---
The Aftermath
They lay in silence for a long time, the weight of the kiss hanging between them. Neither dared speak, as if words would shatter the fragile moment they’d created.
Eventually, Selena sighed, shifting onto her side to face him. “What are we doing, Aryan?”
He looked at her, his expression unreadable. “I don’t know. But I don’t want it to stop.”
Selena’s heart pounded in her chest, fear and hope warring within her. She knew this wasn’t part of the plan—knew they were supposed to be pretending.
But nothing about this felt fake.
And that terrified her more than anything else.
YOU ARE READING
LIGHTS, LOVE AND WAR
Romance"WHEN BOLLYWOOD'S PERFECTIONIST MEETS HOLLYWOOD'S HOTTEST STAR SPARKS AREN'T THE ONLY THING THAT FLY. " Aryan Kapoor and Selena Reed are the undisputed lions of their respective jungles-Bollywood and Hollywood's biggest stars. Both fiercely independ...
