Two Scenes & A Lifetime Contract

43

After their little cuddle session, Reyash had returned to his desk, telling her to wait for a bit, then they'd go out for dinner.

So now Kashvi sat on the living-room couch, silently exhausting her own mind.

She still couldn't believe any of this, that she, the girl who used to be too shy to even talk to her male classmates, who didn't have a single boy's number in her phone, now had a boyfriend.
And not just a boyfriend... but an absurdly handsome one.

She could accept the idea of being transported into a book.
But her having a boyfriend?
That felt far more unbelievable.

Maybe... this was only temporary.
Maybe, sooner or later, he would realise she was just a normal—no, weird and boring girl.

The thought pricked at her chest, but she forced herself to think through every possibility. With no past experience, being cautious felt safer than letting herself fully hope.

The next second she pulled out her phone, typed something, and hit send.

Inside the adjacent room—the only bedroom, half of which was now a study, Reyash glanced at his phone, froze, then frowned. A second glance, and he immediately pushed back his chair and stood.

When he stepped out and saw Kashvi sitting rigidly on the couch like a child awaiting punishment, amusement flickered in his eyes. He hid it quickly, lifting his phone instead.

"Why did you send me thirty thousand?"

Kashvi startled, not expecting him to respond so fast, and instantly began fumbling for words. "It... it was my debt from that time. I still owe you twenty more. And those dresses were hell expensive, so I'll pay the rest next month."

Reyash exhaled, a helpless kind of sigh, and sat down beside her.

"Kashvi," he said slowly, leaning just a little closer, "which man takes money from his woman, huh?"

Her cheeks warmed at the casual possessiveness threaded through his voice. Still, she drew a breath and forced herself to reply, "Relationships should start on equal footing. In the beginning... I don't want to owe you anything."
Then, as if remembering more, she added, "And about the expenses and the rent, I'll take my share. After I get a job. I'm still searching, but I'll find something soon."

He stared at her for a few seconds, long enough to make her wonder what was going on behind those unreadable eyes.

"Okay. Fine," he conceded at last, though the reluctance in his voice was impossible to hide. He wanted to take care of her, to provide for her in every way. He earned more than enough to accommodate his little girl without a second thought. But he maybe understood her enough to know; she hated feeling indebted to anyone. And the last thing he wanted was to make her feel burdened... or uncomfortable.

Things would change later, he was sure of it. But for now, he'd meet her halfway.

"Give me that twenty," he muttered with a resigned sigh. "And the house, we'll see after you get a job."

Then his voice gentled, dropping to a low warmth. "But the dresses were my gift..... for accepting me."

His ridiculous logic was enough to make her heart stumble over itself.

"Rey, I couldn't believe..." Kashvi began, wanting, needing, to clear out the doubts crowding her mind. But Reyash wasn't listening to that part.

His brows shot up. "Wait. What did you call me?"

She blinked, confused. "Reyash?"

He shook his head slowly, eyes narrowing in a way that sent a strange flutter through her. "No. not that."