Chapter 3 - First Rays
Aanchal woke up with the constant beeping sound of her phone ringing in her ears. She yawned as she clumsily picked up her phone and forced her eyes open to look at the screen.
"Good morning beautiful."
"I hope I didn't wake you up."
"If I did, please don't be mad at me."
Aanchal laughed. She was amazed at the fact that a grown up man like Ranvir was acting like a love sick teenager. Not that she was complaining. It was just a lot to take in for her and she knew she would need time to adjust to this new development.
Surfacing back to reality, Aanchal realized that Ranvir was waiting for a reply. She smiled as she texted him
"Good morning. I'm afraid you did. But I'm not mad at you. I had to be up to get ready for office by now anyway."
Aanchal helplessly beamed as she put down the phone and rolled on her bed.
He called her beautiful. That mere thought was enough to make her blush. Damn this man! He was making her imbecile. She didn't know if it was love. Maybe not yet. But she was looking forward to whatever this bonding with Ranvir had in store for her.
As she took a shower and stood in front of the mirror, slightly clutching the towel wrapped around her body, she found that she was admiring herself. In a way a woman would admire her body. She never did it before. But she didn't know why she found herself lost in it.
She was never so conscious about how she looked. Her appearance didn't matter at all before. But now all of a sudden she thought that it was somehow important. If she looked good enough. For Ranvir.
An inner voice argued
"He doesn't care how you look. He loves you for who you are. He wouldn't even care if your hair is ruffled."
She knew it. Ranvir was not a man who will fall for a girl's looks. Still she wanted to look good for him. As she was about to pick up a lipstick from her dressing table, their dinner in Mauritius came rushing back to her mind and she stopped in her tracks. Ranvir loves simplicity. He made it very clear that day. Because he thought that the intimacy in the labyrinth of simplicity was like no other. Maybe he liked her just the way she was- simple.
She smiled again looking at herself in the mirror.
"Bhau!"
Aanchal nearly fell off the stool as her stance was broken by the shrill shriek. She turned around, annoyed and found her brother standing with a smug smile, satisfied with his mission accomplished.
"I can't believe a girl like you can fantasize too! You know Di, I might start liking Ranvir Raichand slightly because for him, you have really started getting a bit less irritating."
Aanchal picked up a pillow from the bed and without any warning, started hitting Aman. He threw his arms around his head in defense.
"Ok! Ok! I change my mind. You have become more irksome!"
He chortled as his sister continued with her onslaught of merciless pillow banging. The one sided pillow fight didn't continue for much longer though, as Mrs Srivastava intervened and literally dragged her two 'annoying the hell out of her' children to have breakfast.
***
Aanchal was reviewing the finalized documents of the Mauritius project in her laptop. She had thought of meeting Ranvir first just as she entered the grand building of the Raichand industries. But then she decided against it. Somehow she felt really odd to face Ranvir. She didn't know why but every time she thought about him, his face would flash in her mind and her cheeks would turn deep red. What was with that blushing? She was never a shy girl.
But Ranvir Raichand was a man who could make her air of confidence vanish like the puff of smoke and every time she imagined of seeing him, her knees would buckle, threatening to give away.
She was getting annoyed with herself. But it was something she couldn't control. Just a day before she was a perfectly serene person and now she was a mess of irrational exuberance.
She neatly folded the paper and put it into an envelope. Ok! She couldn't hide forever. He was her fianc now. Just that thought again made her breathing get heavier. She took deep breaths as she waited for her rapid pulse to get back to normal.
***
Aanchal knocked on the door but the 'come in' she was waiting for never came. She slightly pushed the door and peeked inside. Ranvir was nowhere to be seen.
"Ranvir?"
No one answered. She stepped inside, unsure of what to do. He might have gone for a meeting or something. She kept the envelope on the table, a bit disappointed. Her inner voice chimed
"Shouldn't you be relieved that he is not here?"
She huffed, exasperated. Ok! She admitted that she was really going through a ridiculous chain of mood swings. She was going to turn around and leave when a firm hand closed around her arm and she was pushed back against the wall. Her scream came out muffled as another hand clamped on her mouth
"Ssshhh"
Aanchal's eyes were as big as saucers. Her voice died down in her throat as she looked up at Ranvir, smirking down at her. Slowly, he removed his hand from her mouth and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
Aanchal bit her lip and regretted instantly as Ranvir's eyes turned darker. For a tiny moment, she saw the spark of desire in his dark brown orbs. He wanted her. Badly. But the next moment, he composed himself. Aanchal stared at him surprised, he didn't make any move. He understood her position and respected the fact that they needed to take things slow. Aanchal didn't recognize her voice when she spoke
"Where were you?"
She sounded almost choked. Ranvir chuckled
"In the washroom."
His eyes were glittering. She could tell he was happy. And it was infectious. She found herself smiling back at him like a fool without any sane reason.
Ranvir mischievously raised his brows, smirking with his usual attitude. Aanchal gulped then cleared her throat
"Uhmm, I finished the paperwork of the Mauritius project."
She gestured towards the envelope she kept on his desk. Ranvir glanced at it for a split second and then turned back towards her.
"You did very well in that one."
There was pride in his voice and the fact that she was able to make him feel proud made Aanchal's chest swell with contentment.
"But how do you know that? You haven't even seen it yet. Overconfidence is not good Mr Raichand."
Aanchal playfully batted her eyelashes at him. And as she did, Ranvir swallowed hard.
Uh oh! Wrong move again. Aanchal shifted uncomfortably. Honestly, if this was what people called 'sexual tension' then she agreed it was damn frustrating. It was as if she wanted to throw herself into Ranvir's arms and the next moment, she would totally discard the idea.
Ranvir took a step back as he laughed again. And Aanchal was glad. He knew that she wasn't feeling comfortable and he didn't want things to get more awkward between them. Actually awkward wasn't the correct word. But Aanchal knew that as always, Ranvir knew what was bothering her and how he could solve it. And he did it for her. And she couldn't stop herself from staring at his smiling face at that thought.
"I am not being overconfident Miss Srivastava. But the thing is, when it comes to you, I can be nothing but confident. Because I know you'll never let me down. And I don't need to look at that paper to know that you aced it. I was there with you when you were handling the project. Trust me, my decision to make you the legal head of my company was precise."
Aanchal couldn't help the beautiful smile that made it's way to her lips
"How can you trust me so much?"
This time, her voice was stained with a tiny streak of guilt. She could never forgive herself for what horrible plans she had against Ranvir. He had tried so much to show her the truth but she was hell bent on proving him wrong.
Ranvir closed the distance between them again and cupped her cheek, gently yet firmly
"Because you are you. And I love you."
Ranvir gazed down into her eyes. It was only then that they became conscious about their faces being only inches apart. Their breaths mingled and an instant spark electrified.
Before Aanchal could understand what was happening, her body reacted and she felt her chin lift upwards with anticipation. Ranvir too had inched closer. Their bodies seemed to move on their own will and before they knew, their lips touched.
But they didn't have time to savor the feeling whatsoever as they were harshly jolted away from each other by someone abruptly entering the cabin.
As they turned towards the unwanted visitor, a low whimper escaped Aanchal's mouth involuntarily. Though She and Ranvir weren't in that compromising position anymore but she was sure that he had caught a glance of them.
Aanchal froze. Ranvir seemed a bit embarrassed but he recovered quickly. He flashed his loving smile
"Kabir! Bro, it's good that you are here."
Ranvir embraced him in a bear hug and patted his back while Aanchal looked at Kabir to find him glaring at her.
She had not wanted this.
Hey guys! Sorry for the late update. Hope you guys enjoy it. ;)
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