Dark Paradise: Book 1

Chapter 4: Blast From The Past

Paradise Island Resort, Maldives
17th May 2018

It was 6:45 am. Freaking 6:45 am. And she was awake. Why? Two reasons. One, the creepy incident from last night on the pathway. She just couldn’t forget it. What was it, last night? Someone trying to scare her for fun? Some animal? Or worse, a cowardly ghost. And two, a guy. Not just any guy. A very hot, infuriating, mysterious, over smart, persistent guy who called himself Vivaan. She had tried her best, not go give in, not to go to meet him. He was so sure that she would come.
She wanted to prove him wrong, but even after trying her best, she couldn’t resist the opportunity of getting to know him. She put on a sky blue sleeveless top and knee length black tights, tied her hair into a messy pony tail, leaving a few strands on either side of her soft-oval face. She picked her phone and left the room. She made sure that she slipped outside the room without any noise. Everyone was still fast asleep.

She walked down the pathway that had her creeped last night. It didn’t look as scary in the morning. She reached the same bench they had occupied last night. There was no trace of the sun, just cold wind. She looked at her phone to check the time and frowned. It was 7:05 am. Why was he late? Had he stood her up?
She felt an irrational anger surging. She got up and was about to go look for him on the other side of the shore when, suddenly someone grabbed by her arm, spun around and pulled her close. She looked up, stunned. Coal met sapphire. It was Vivaan. He stared at her, with a playful smile. Before she could say anything, he quickly kissed her cheek, again leaving her speechless.
“Good morning” He wished her.
“Mind telling me, what was that for?” Samara asked, still recovering from the sudden closeness. He released her gently and smirked.
“Just a way of greeting someone” He shrugged.
“Sure, captain obvious” She retorted, fake smiling.
“And you really need to stop popping out of nowhere. It’s kind of creepy, you know?” She added, annoyed.
“Why are you so grumpy this morning?” He asked, chuckling.
“Ever heard of punctuality?” She said, turning around and walking towards the sea.
“Did you?” Vivaan said, smiling.
“Oh. So, I was late yesterday so you’re just trying to get back at me, aren’t you?” She asked, frustrated.
“Hey…I’m sorry, it was just 5 mins. But if I’m being honest, I was here half an hour before you.” He informed, sheepishly.
“Wait…what? Then, where were you? The beach was empty…” Samara said, puzzled.
“I was right there” Vivaan pointed at a gazebo. It was partially hidden behind a few coconut trees.
“And what the hell were you doing there?” She asked, amused.
“Watching you. I just love watching you. It was fun to see you all irritated and flustered when you thought that I stood you up” Vivaan said, biting his lip.
“That’s borderline creepy. Are you a psycho killer?” Samara said, squinting her eyes at him.
“Hmmm, you can say so” He said after thinking carefully.
“Ha ha, you’re funny” She replied, sarcastically.
“And you’re a little too dramatic. I was just admiring you” He countered.
“I’m going to kill you if you do that again” Samara threatened.
“Now who’s talking like a psycho killer?” He teased, “But you’ll have to catch me first” He winked and ran as soon as the words left his mouth.
“Hey!” She immediately exclaimed, taking the hint and ran forward chasing him. They ran for the next few minutes, with Samara panting at one point because catching him was impossible.
“Aahh!” She shrieked as she sat down, holding her left leg tightly. Vivaan stopped immediately and ran back towards her. He was beside her in a few seconds, worried.
“Crap…Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself, show me your ankle? He said, looking genuinely worried. Samara kept whimpering. He looked so helpless. And then, a deep laugh erupted from her chest.
“Fooled you” She chimed, playfully and caught his arm.
“Run now” She said smirking.
It took a few moments for Vivaan to understand it but by then it was too late. She had already run off, teasing him.
“You’re evil! You know that?” He yelled at her, shaking his head. As he too followed, chasing her this time.
Samara knew what trick to pull when she saw herself losing. Well, she wasn’t all innocent. She quickly took the opportunity, seeing him blank, to run off.
It had just been a few seconds that she was running, when a pair of two strong arms grabbed her waist from behind, lifting her up slightly from the sand and spinning her around. She laughed uncontrollably as he tickled her to the ground. They both fell comfortably on the warm sand, all over each other, without realising how close they were.
“Okay…Hahahahaa…please...no... haha. Stop…. Viv…okay…fine haha... sorry …. sorry!!!” Samara managed to speak between all the laughter.
Vivaan finally stopped tickling her, and she tried to take in all the air she could. As soon as her breathing stabled, she realised what was happening. He was on top of her and they were very well invading each other’s personal space. Vivaan slowly pulled away and fell on his back beside her. They remained silent for some time, laying on the cold sand, staring at the calm blue sky, but only she knew about the storm was swirling in her mind. All this closeness and proximity, she didn’t know what all that meant.
“I guess you got your lesson” He said, smirking as usual.
“What lesson?” She questioned, mocking innocence.
“That you should never try to run away from me. I’ll always catch you no matter how far you go” He declared, looking seriously straight into her eyes, leaning in close.
His tone was different and not chipper like usual, like he was serious.
“And you’re also a slow runner” He teased and she rolled her eyes.
“Can’t disagree, but aren’t you forgetting something?” Samara said, before he could come any closer. She slowly sat up, dusting the sand off of her.
“Hmm…am I?” Vivaan said, raising an eye brow as he sat up too.
“If you want to know who I am, meet me tomorrow. Same place, at 7:00 am” Samara mocked, trying to imitate his voice.
He chuckled, making her laugh too.
“Okay then. What do you want to know?” He sighed. Something told her that even he didn’t like talking about himself.
“Whatever you want to tell me” She shrugged.
“Hmm. My name is Vivaan Raichand. I’m 25 years old” He started.
“25 huh” She smirked.
“Yes, is that too old for you?” He raised an eyebrow questioningly.
“Age is just a number” She said simply, because it really didn’t change anything.
“Yeah well, good to know” He said somewhat unsure. Was he nervous? She wondered.
“Go ahead, tell me more” She said encouragingly. She didn’t know why she felt the need to make him feel better.
“I was born in Dehradun. I lived there until I turned 18. My parents sent me to live with my uncle after that, to learn and take over the family business. So, I’ve been living in Covington, Virginia ever since. I handle a branch of our company there” He spoke curtly.
It was like someone else was talking. He wasn’t the same guy. His eyes were dark and jaw was clenched. It seemed like he really hated talking about himself or his life.
“Any siblings?” Samara asked carefully. He looked like a ticking bomb which could go off at any second.
“None worth talking about” He said bitterly. And Samara immediately knew that talking further about him would only deteriorate his mood.
“So, that’s it?” She asked, sceptically.
“Yeah” He smiled sadly.
Vivaan Raichand was definitely a mystery. Why did she feel like there was more to him? But for some reason she couldn’t see him upset anymore so she chose to end it there. She knew when to draw the line.
“So, what are you doing here, in Maldives?” She asked, changing the topic completely.
“Life in Covington had become too boring for my taste. A mini-vacation couldn’t hurt” He shrugged.
“Any girlfriends?” She didn’t know why she was asking that question. But it was already out from her mouth now.
“Do I seriously look like a guy who’ll have a nice little committed relationship and play house?” He asked, laughing a little.
“Hardly” She said, rolling her eyes.
“Is the interview over?” He asked, tiredly.
“You had absolutely no problems bugging me about my life yesterday, and look at you now” She smirked.
“Hey, I apologised for that already” He said in his defence.
“Sure, you did. How about a walk along the sea?” She suggested out of the blue.
“Now that’s a question I like” He said and stood up. He offered his hand and helped her up too.
They walked along the shore for the next half an hour, quietly, enjoying the weather.
“I’ll have to go now” Samara said, looking at her watch.
“Do you really have to?” Vivaan questioned looking at her with an unreadable expression.
“Yeah. My parents might wake anytime” Samara said, sighing. She turned towards him.
“Are you always this scared of them?” He asked, amused.
“It’s more complicated than it looks” She sighed.
“Okay” He said without further argument.
“I guess, our time together is over then. It was nice meeting you, Vivaan. Have a great vacation” She smiled slightly.
It was done. She knew she had to say goodbye. They had no reason to meet again. She had met and said goodbyes to a lot of people before, so why was it so unsettling this time? What was it about him that made her want to stay? Was she changing? Now, that was a thought that scared her. She couldn’t change. Not now.
She was about to turn and walk away but he caught her arm gently. He turned her towards him and caressed her cheek. She felt shivers go down through her body. It tingled in a good way.
“You’re highly mistaken if you think this is the last time, you’re seeing me. Our time is hardly over” Vivaan whispered in her ear.
He slowly released her slowly.
“And what makes you think that?” She questioned.
“You haven’t kept your side of the deal. I told you about me. Now it’s your turn” He said, as a matter of fact.
“Yeah right. You hardly told me anything. Just the basic stuff. And now you want me to pour my heart down to you? Not going to happen” She said and started to turn back.
“That’s not fair” She heard him say, behind her.
“Life is hardly fair” She said over her shoulder and walked away.