TejRan - Arranged Love

🔅CHAPTER 25🔅

Hello people. Sorry was busy with college. And it's silver jubilee chapter of this book🎉😭 Happy reading.

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Karan stirred in his sleep, stretching his arms lazily before opening his eyes. His gaze instinctively fell on the other side of the bed-empty.

Frowning, he sat up and looked around. The bathroom door was open, and the room was eerily quiet. His brows knitted together. Where did she go?

Scratching the back of his head, he got off the bed and walked to the bathroom just to make sure. But as expected, Tejasswi wasn't there either. His frown deepened. He grabbed his phone from the nightstand-no calls, no messages. A strange pang of disappointment settled in his chest, but he quickly shook it off. Why do I even care?

Still, he couldn't ignore the nagging thought at the back of his mind as he freshened up and got dressed for the day.

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Descending the stairs, he walked towards the dining area, where his parents, Vikram, and Prachi were already seated, enjoying breakfast. He plastered a casual expression on his face, determined not to show even a hint of concern about Tejasswi.

"Good morning," he greeted, taking a seat beside Naitik.

"Good morning, beta," Akshara smiled, placing a fresh paratha on his plate.

His eyes subtly scanned the room again. Still no sign of her. He cleared his throat and acted indifferent, but his family wasn't one to miss details.

Prachi, sipping on her juice, suddenly asked, "Bhai, where is Bhabhi?"

Karan, caught off guard, paused mid-bite. He blinked at his sister and forced a nonchalant shrug. "How would I know? I'm not her shadow," he replied with an uninterested tone, popping a piece of paratha into his mouth.

Prachi narrowed her eyes at him. "You don't know? But you both sleep in the same room, right?"

Karan scoffed. "Just because we sleep in the same room doesn't mean I keep track of her movements." He leaned back in his chair. "Besides, she does whatever she wants. Not like I care."

Akshara, who had been quietly observing her son's behavior, finally spoke up. "Tejasswi left early this morning. There was an emergency at the hospital."

Karan's fingers clenched around his fork, but he quickly masked his reaction. "Oh," he said flatly. She left that early? And didn't even bother to tell me?

Naitik raised an eyebrow. "Your mother knows, but you don't?"

Akshara nodded. "I was coming downstairs around five when I saw her leaving in a hurry. I asked her what happened, and she said there was an emergency at the hospital. She didn't want to disturb anyone, so she just left."

Everyone at the table nodded in understanding, except Karan, who couldn't shake off the disappointment settling in his chest. He didn't know why it bugged him so much. He should be happy, right? If she was busy, that meant she wouldn't have time to irritate him.

Trying to keep up his 'I-don't-care' act, he scoffed, "Of course. Work comes first for her!"

Prachi, however, wasn't buying his act. "Oh, please, Bhai. Stop the drama. We all know you're missing her."

Karan rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right. Like I have nothing better to do."

Vikram smirked. "You sure? Because you've been looking around for her ever since you came downstairs."