Chapter 16- Anisha's Wrath

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Pihu's POV:

It's been about 2 weeks since Dev and my lunch date. Dev's been super busy with his film promotions and interviews. We talk here and there on the phone and he also messages me but we haven't in quite a while. 

Today is the first day in the past 2 weeks that I've had a day off. We have clients like crazy and not enough staff. I have had to hire 12 new employees just to keep up with all the events. 

I'm savoring my day off in front of the TV when Nidha walks in with ice cream. 

"Dun-ta-na! Look what I got, your favorite mint chocolate chip ice cream." She walks over to me grinning. 

I happily take it from her hands and start digging in. "This is why you're my favorite bacha." I smile. 

"I'm your only bacha, di, and even when you have other kids I better be your favorite" Nidha warns me.

"Of course, how can I ever forget you! Now let me watch this movie in peace." I say pointing my finger at the tv. 

She suddenly lets out a laugh. "Di... If you miss him so much, why don't you go and visit him? You don't have to binge his movies." She teases me. 

I realize she's right and that the movie I'm watching is coincidentally of Dev. "Nothing like that." I try to brush it off. 

"Mhhm. You hate rom-coms so why are you watching this then?" The grin on her face is enormous. 

I figure there's no point in lying about it, so I accept it. "Yes okay, you're right."

"I knew it! Why don't you call him? Or go visit him?"

I try to ignore her and continue watching the movie when 5 minutes later she gasps again. 

"What happened??" I ask alarmed. 

"Look what Dev's costar posted on her story!" She turns her phone and shows me. It's a picture of them smiling and clinking their coffee cups. "If I didn't know better, I say there is something 'brewing' between them." She says making air quotes. 

I roll my eyes and focus on the movie. But I can't help but think about the picture. I'm no influencer but in the past 2 months, my following has gone from 400 followers to over 600k.

 So I take my phone, find a cute picture of Dev and me from one of our bowling dates, and post it. 

Moments later, Nidha laughs and puts her hand on my shoulder. "Cute picture Pihu Di." She winks.

I think about what she said about going to meet Dev. Then I remember that Maa is making pakoras for lunch. 

What better way to surprise your boyfriend than at his work with his favorite home-cooked food?

Dev's POV:

Movie promotions and interviews are so goddamn tiring. But they've gotten more tiresome because I finally have something I'd rather tend to. Or someone to say the least. 

It feels like an eternity since I've seen Pihu and miss her so god damn much. But on the brighter side, my movie releases in a week and I have a gap between my next filming schedule. 

Today's interview is at the office and so I'm waiting in the conference room for the team to arrive. 

Suddenly Anisha storms in. "Dev, does everything just happen on accident, or is getting me anxious just your hobby?"

I look at her with confusion. "What are you talking about?" I ask.

"This!" She says as she turns her phone to me. 

On the screen is a cute selfie of Pihu and me from one of our dates. 

I can't help but smile. "What's wrong with it? Do I not look good enough?"

"What's wrong with it?" She scoffs. "Are you actually kidding me? Do you see the amount of engagement this one post got?" She's practically yelling now. 

"I don't get what's wrong with that" I state bluntly.

"DJ, how many likes did the planned post get with Dev's costar?" Anisha asks DJ.

My poor assistant pauses for a minute. "100,000" he says scared.

"That post was strategically planned and got only 100,000 likes. This girl's post was random and yet it got over 700,000 likes! Her following grew to just 90k shy of 1 million." Anisha says as she waves the phone in the air. 

Unable to put 2 and 2 together, I scrunch my eyebrows. "How is this a problem?" I ask.

Anisha scoffs and slams her phone on the table. "Problem? The problem is that your movie doesn't star Pihu and you. The trending couple is supposed to be the 2 lead roles right now! How is the audience going to watch your movie when they can't even bother to like your post?"

I nod my head in silence. 

"Wait a minute, we didn't even plan this post? Why would she post it? Don't tell me you 2 have feelings for each other." Anisha paces back and forth with her hand on her forehead. 

Seeing Anisha worked up like this makes me think this isn't the best time to tell her what's going on between Pihu and me. 

"No of  course not." I decide on telling her after this film launches. 

"You sure?" She asks, not buying my lie. 

"Of course not, how could I have feelings for her? You know me. I'm a nail and bail kind of guy." My heart drops 2 floors. Even lying about Pihu makes me feel like shit. 

"I was getting worried." Anisha finally sits down. She still looks over at me not completely convinced.

"How can you think I would start to have feelings for her Anisha? I don't do feelings, love, and marriage. You know. I just flirt and that's what I did with her. No one said I can't have fun." I pray in my mind Anisha is convinced so I don't have to keep lying. 

"I'll sort out this mess she made." Anisha moves on from the topic. "DJ let's plan a photo shoot with Dev and Shanaya to build hype for the song." She walks out of the room with DJ tailing behind her. 

I quickly make my way to the bathroom and wash my face. My hands shake as I realize the words that escaped my mouth. Even lying about my feelings for Pihu makes me feel like a traitor. 

I scroll through some pictures of Pihu, close my eyes, and take deep breaths as I go out for the interview. 

The whole office smells like pakoras and that is enough to make my mood and day better.

Precap: Pihu ends things with Dev.

The next chapter is going to be MAJOR! 

 Why do you think Pihu is going to end things?

Lmk in the comments what you think. 

-💙


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