Dare Trilogy | Book 3 Editing | ✓

3.2 | Always Three Things

There was another knock on the door, and I knew this time it would be the girls. I let them in.

"We have roughly ten minutes before Felix blows the roof off this place." Lavanya commented as she rushed in and went straight for the mirror to dump the make-up products from the bag she had carried in with her on the dresser counter.

Anjali offered me an assuring smile before unfolding the saree and starting to work on draping it. I caught her eyes stop over my scar, but she didn't say anything. She moved the pleats to the other shoulder so the cloth would better hide it.

"Thanks, di." I said.

She placed her palm on my head, giving another understanding smile. We hadn't truly had a conversation about our past, but it had been silently understood. Though, I knew... one of these days, we would talk about it. It was just a relief to know there was no pressure anymore. Everything was out in the open. There were no more secrets weighing in in anyone's shoulders.

Lavanya then made me sit on the chair as she worked. Mostly in silence, but casually scolding me to not blink too much, or move my eyes when she'd asked me to close my eyes so she could do eyeliner and eyeshadow. At the same time, Jennifer took it on herself to give me tips on how to pose and work the camera. To not take Felix's bullshit and every single command to heart because he was a perfectionist who would never be satisfied. I am glad they were here for me to rely on. The only problem? Rather than being assured, Jennifer was unintentionally rising my anxiety levels.

Anjali caught on, however, and put an end to it. "Alright, that's good enough."

It's official. I love Anjali.

. . . ∞ . ∞ . ∞ . ∞. . .

Click. Click. Click.

I force myself to not run for the hills. I hated the sound of camera's shutter clicking every few seconds. Felix must have taken a bunch of bursts, but he was still not satisfied. He kept moving the lights, the angles and telling me to face one direction or the other. I felt like a puppet and I despised the particular feeling.

I blinked away from the camera when I caught a glimpse of Arnav walking up from behind Felix. Catching his eyes tranced on me caused my breath to hitch for a second. The attraction had always been there, but it was just now that I was starting to acknowledge it. Before, I had enough things on my mind to keep me occupied. His eyes traveled from my eyes to my foot and back to my face, essentially checking me out. I started feeling heat creeping up the back of my neck.

Look away, Khushi.

I tried, only so that heat wouldn't rise to my cheek and make it obvious. But, how could I? He was looking at me as if I was the only one present here. The flashes no longer bothered me. Heck. He was right earlier. I just had to look at him, and everything else stopped bothering me. With a fresh breath, inhaling through every ounce of me, I released all the tensed muscles I had been holding back, being uncomfortable as the center of attention while Felix captured shots.

Arnav must have noticed my shoulders relaxing as he offered me a small smile with softening eyes. People here might not know it or even have noticed, but even from a distance, I did. It was one look he always saved for family... for me. He had never quite lost his patience with me. I found myself returning his smile before I blinked back to focus on Felix who had asked me to turn and face the other side for another side profile.

A couple more shots later, Felix suggested, "Okay, I think we have enough in this outfit. Why don't you change, love?"

"Khushi. My name is Khushi." I snapped at him, though a bit relieved I get to change. Hopefully, the next outfit will be better. I caught Arnav hiding an amused smile, and I have a pretty good idea why. Who else knows better than him that I hate endearments? I had given him a tough time in the starting. While I didn't allow anyone else, still, I had grown used to his.