The illegitimate daughter of a powerful businessman, she was sent to live with her six half-brothers after her father's sudden death.
The boys were born from privilege, pride, and perfectly manicured bloodlines. No one welcomed her. No one cared.
De...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The menu feels like heavy metal in my hand. I continue to flip the pages. One and then another. Starters. Main course. Desserts. But my eyes were not reading a single word.
My eyes were fixed on the leather-bound menu, but my mind was somewhere else.
What could they be talking about?
Ranveer said Avni went for a business meeting. I am repeating his words in my mind since I have seen Avni and Veeransh sitting downstairs to make myself believe these words and to console myself that it's just for business.
But business meetings don't happen like this. I don't see any files, and there are no secretaries. I don't know about Avni, but I have never seen Veeransh without his secretary.
If not his secretary, then at least one person is always hovering around with a laptop or a notepad.
And yet... here they are. Just the two of them. Sitting opposite each other.
My fingers tighten around the edge of the menu. An uncomfortable feeling crawls up my chest. I hate it. I hate how small it makes me feel. I hate that I am even thinking about with whom he spends his evenings.
I always TED talk to myself that fries are before guys, but here seeing him with Avni does something ugly inside me.
How can he be on a dinner date with her when he is flirting with me all the time? He even said "I love you" to me.
'Because he was drunk.'
My inner self mocked me.
But you should not say what you don't mean. Drunk or not. I countered.
I turned the last page of the menu and closed it with such force that it hit the table with a loud thud
I flinch when suddenly a hand rests over mine.
"Sweetheart?" Rudra's voice is soft. "Where are you lost? Any problem?"
"Do you not like the menu? Shall we go somewhere else?" Aarav asked gently. And others nodded, agreeing with him.
I look up. And every single pair of eyes at the table is on me now.
"I—" My throat dries. "It's fine here; I was just... thinking.
I felt Atharyu's gaze sharpen instantly. His voice cuts through the noise of others. "Thinking about what?"
His commanding tone, expecting an answer from me, made something inside me snap.
"That's none of your business," I say; the words are already out before I can stop myself.
And the silence crashes onto the table listening to my harsh reply.
Atharyu's jaw tightens, and the way his tongue pokes in his cheeks at that moment, I know he was gathering all the calm he had and not throwing me out of the window.
