"I do not need your pity" Ranbir said as Prachi served him making her pause
"Ok then, you're welcome to leave, and don't come back" Prachi added as she sat down beside him and served herself rice, she made biryani instead of cooking a whole meal due to how tired she felt
Ranbir hesitated to speak further and cleared his throat as his stomach rumbled making her smirk internally
"But, since you made it with so much effort, I'll have it" he said as she tried to control the laugh that was threatening to bubble out and nodded, slightly smirking
"ok then" she muttered and continued to serve him the rice and started digging in as he sighed before having his food
None of them talked but Prachi could see how hungry he was and sighed knowing how he would have never had her help unless he was so desperately in need, she understood how hungry he was, because the two had eaten nothing the previous day due to how busy they had been and today they were too tired and slept through the whole day
"Prachi, Ranbir isn't very cooperative, he'll often forget to take care of himself and will busy himself with work, please take care of him, I know he acts all arrogant and strong but he's a very sweet person, he has a very pure heart, don't hurt him, and I know I already said this, but please take care of him, he's precious" Shahana said knowing Prachi hated Ranbir
If only she knew this was all for just six months, then she wouldn't have bothered to let Prachi know of all the reasons she should care for Ranbir
"Why did you help me?" she looked at Ranbir and rolled her eyes
"There's still humanity in me, in the name of humanity, I decided to help my starving husband! how amazing of me right? I'm so generous honestly" Prachi muttered and got up once she had finished her plate and put it in the sink, making her way to the dining table and sitting there, waiting for Ranbir to finish as he started hurrying a bit
"Dont hurry, you're gonna choke yourself" She muttered feeling sleepy as she soon fell asleep
*****
3 weeks, it had been 3 weeks since Ranbir and Prachi had met, he went to his office early and returned early, whereas Prachi left late and returned late, the two never had to cross paths and after all, how many people living in the same building met each other frequently?
That was until she heard the doorbell ring and opened the door to find Ranbir facing her while panting, and she already knew her day was going to be bad
"you need to move into my apartment" he muttered while she raised an eyebrow at him, making her look at him as if he had grown two heads as she stepped aside, gesturing him to enter as he stepped in before she closed the door and offered him a glass of water as he sat down on the sofa while she leaning against the wall
"and why do you think I would?" she asked as he glared at her and sighed before answering
"Because our parents are coming to visit?" he muttered making her eyes widen as she sat beside him
"What? When? when were you going to tell me this?!" Prachi freaked out making him just look away annoyed
"Tomorrow" He muttered making her sigh in relief
"Alright then it's just for a day, I'll stay at your place for the day, that's it" Prachi muttered and was about to go into her room as he groaned
"they're staying for a week" Ranbir muttered making Prachi choke on her own spit as she looked at him surprised
"Tell me you're joking, it's not even funny" she muttered glaring at him as he rolled his eyes
"Well, I'm not gonna lie, so I think you should start bringing your belongings to my apartment" he muttered making her bite her lower lip
"I'll first visit your apartment and check how it is" Prachi muttered after a few minutes of silence making him nod as the two made their way down towards Ranibr's apartment
"um, when are you going to clean this place?" she asked and he looked at her, and then back at the apartment, which was having all kinds of packets of food, lying all around, it looked as if he hadn't bothered to clean the place for weeks
"you're going to help me clean it!" he said as she snorted and looked at him quirking an eyebrow
"I don't remember agreeing to this, why the hell would I clean your apartment with you? and you could just hire a maid if you can't do your work yourself" she said and he sighed
"because-" he started only to be cut off by her
"stop! I don't care, it would be better if you moved into my apartment instead" she muttered and left not listening to what he wanted to say
*****
Prachi and Ranbir were currently sitting together planning how to act in front of their parents
"NO! mom would catch my lie within a second! We need to act as if I'm not extremely comfortable with you, and that we're not completely well along with each other but we still manage to live together" Prachi muttered making him sigh
"We need to act as if we're learning and getting to know each other better in front of my mom! and that we like each other a lot!" Ranbir said as the two looked at each other stressed
The doorbell rang making Prachi panic as she made her way, ready to greet their parents but to her surprise, she noticed Gaurav standing before her as she chuckled nervously, clearly not wanting to see him in such a situation
"Oh, Ranbir is here too" he muttered making Prachi smile as he entered and kissed her cheek as her eyes widened, it was normal for him, he was always the flirt of the group, but Prachi hadn't expected him to be the same now
"uh, actually I was busy, mum and dad are going to come, I'm so not ready for them to come, and besides, Rhea went looking for you, she had come to meet you" Prachi muttered making him pause and look at her confused
"Oh, she did? I didn't see her on my way here, well I'll go check" he spoke and Prachi nodded as he left making her release a sigh of relief as she closed the door behind him and rolled her eyes
"Who the hell is he?!" Ranbir asked and she rolled her eyes yet again, when with Ranbir, Prachi was almost always annoyed
"I already told you, my ex-best friend!" she muttered making him raise an eyebrow as he snorted
"so your ex-best friend still comes to your apartment randomly out of nowhere?! And, not to mention he just randomly also kisses your cheek like it's nothing and you don't even bother to argue" He muttered emphasising 'ex' much to Prachi's dislike as she glared at him and left for her room
"Whatever" she muttered and was about to go to her room as he held her hand pulling her back and making her jerk his hand off as she glared at him, moving closer
"what the hell is your problem?!" Prachi hissed at him as he released her hand from his tight grip, leaving light red marks on the milky skin of her wrists as she boiled with anger rushing through her veins, clenching her palm into a fist
"And when did Rhea come?" He asked making her step back as she controlled her anger
"She didn't, that was a lie" She muttered and went into her room as the bell rang again, this time Ranbir opened the door to face their parents who waved at them energetically and got in, pulling their bags with them as the two advanced to help them
"We're so sorry to disturb you" Pragya said as Ranbir shook his head
"Oh, no please, you're most welcome here anytime, you didn't disturb us!" He said as Prachi greeted the rest and put their bags in their room and served them water, asking Ranbir to make tea while she brought the snacks since they were all tired through their journey
This was going to be a long day, she thought as she closed the door after their parents had settled down completely
*****
Prachi struggled to wear the dress as Ranbir called her, looking at the clock once again as it ticked by, breaking the silence every consecutive second
"Come on Prachi, it's been half an hour! Get ready! I have a meeting later, I don't have so much time to waste on someone like you!" He spoke knocking on the door making her roll her eyes as she tried to put on the chain of her dress
"Fuck this!" She muttered to herself and then looked at the door as Ranbir knocked once again making her clench her fists as she pursed her lips to control her irritation, their parents had organised a party and wanted them to attend it, the elders had already left and only Ranbir and Prachi were left now
"I'm not coming, leave without me!" Prachi said out loud making Ranbir pause and groan in annoyance, he hadn't waited so long only to leave without her
"NO WAY! I've waited more than an hour for you, I'm not leaving without you, you should've said so hours ago! And besides, mom would ask me a lot of questions about it, what am I supposed to answer, I can't manage to lie to her" He stared making Prachi groan as she heard some shuffling from outside her room making her wonder what Ranbir was doing
She got up and was about to go open the door when she heard the lock go off, Ranbir opened the door and entered her room as her eyes widened and she stepped back suddenly
"Get out of my room, I haven't worn the dress properly yet, do you not have the basic manners to knock before entering especially if the door is locked, you're not supposed to unlock it with the key!" Prachi said looking at him with surprise as he just shrugged making her glare at him
"Let me help" he said and walked over to her and turned her, putting on her chain as his fingers brushed against her back, leaving goosebumps on her arms making her gasp, she bit her lower lip
"How did you know?" She asked and he chuckled, her scent of cherries still lingering over him
"You had a mirror behind you, did you forget?" He asked making her look at him surprised as she turned around and realised how close they were making her eyes widen as she could still feel his hand resting on her waist
Ranbir had never seen her looking like that, this was probably how she looked like from close, he could tell her eyes were the purest he had ever seen at that moment, she swiftly touched his hand, removing it from her waist and stepped back
He moved away and she looked back down at her dress, avoiding eye contact with him as he cleared his throat, she was wearing a body-con silky black dress with a lower cut showing slightly showing the milky skin near her cleavage
"So you're ready to go now?" He asked and she nodded
"Yeah" she muttered and left the room, breathing out as soon as she did and looking back at the room
"What the heck Prachi?!" She muttered to herself and rubbed her temples, calming herself as she went out, getting the keys to the apartment
"Aren't you going to come out?" Prachi asked Ranbir who came out of the room, Prachi picked up her phone and left the apartment as Ranbir followed her out
*****
The two entered the party as the dim lights welcomed them, slow romantic songs were playing and only a few close people were in the party making it a lot more comfortable, the fresh aroma of soft drinks was all over the place
Prachi made her way towards Rhea, Rhea was the perfect person to be around when at a party, Prachi took the glass of red wine her twin's hand in hers
"how many glasses done?" she asked while sipping on to the distasteful liquid as it soon started mixing with her tongue
"Don't worry, wine can't get me drunk, besides, our parents are here, no way in hell am I actually getting drunk, that would be bad" Rhea muttered while she got herself another glass as the two hummed to the soft music sipping wine
"I guess I really need to start attending parties" Prachi muttered making Rhea nod in agreement as the elder took poured herself some more wine
"does Ranbir like you already?" Rhea asked making Prachi surprised at the unexpected question, not counting how much she drank
"where did that ridiculous question come from?" she asked making Rhea pout slightly as she looked at Prachi, noticing how she had emptied almost two bottles
"he's been staring at you hungrily for the past five minutes, it's annoying now, I don't appreciate guys checking you out" she muttered making Prachi look ahead of her, indeed Ranbir was looking back at her, but as soon as their eyes met, he averted his gaze making her sigh
"Don't drink anymore, even I can't tolerate that much alcohol" Rhea muttered as she looked at her sister, stopping her from pouring herself another glass as she nodded slightly, thankfully Prachi clearly didn't look drunk, she could carry herself very well, and so Rhea never had to worry about her, the two were so carefree because of how well they know each other
"I'll be right back" Prachi said keeping the glass in her hand on the table as she walked ahead towards Ranbir, she had to admit, he looked hot in that black suit and probably the definition of what her type was, the music drowned her in it as the sudden urge to dance came over her
"Can I have this dance?" she spoke softly against the music forwarding her hand before him as he smirked before accepting it as the two made their way to the dance floor, Prachi felt his hand travelling down her waist as she put her hands around his neck
She could hear only the slow music as alcohol pumped through her veins, she couldn't recall how many glasses of wine she had taken, normally, it took her a lot of time to get tipsy, she had a high tolerance for alcohol making parties a lot more fun
"So you want to dance with me now?" he muttered putting behind a strand of hair that blocked the vision of her face for him
"You were the one who was staring long enough to make my sister feel like you're a creep, besides, I love a good dance, especially when its paired with wine, it's too precious of a chance to lose" She muttered moving closer to him not being aware of anything around her, for Prachi, dancing was everything
"mhmm" He muttered looking at how she looked so much at peace, this was the first time that none of them felt annoyed or bored in each other's presence but enjoyed their company
"You look hot" she muttered catching the male off-guard as he smirked slightly pulling her closer
"Are you drunk?" he asked as their bodies swerved to the beats of the music
"A little" she muttered as her eyelashes started drooping making him smile slightly as he observed her calm features as she soon rested her head on his chest, falling asleep
*****
Ranbir looked around to find that no room was unoccupied and ended up entering PRachi's room and found her sleeping peacefully on the bed, he sighed and sat down beside her on the bed, he couldn't fall asleep, today glancing at her he was reminded of how he wished it would've been Tara in his arms, twirling with the music, smiling at him in the most appealing way
But then again, it was a wish for a reason, maybe he was never enough for her in the past, but would she still leave him if she was with him now?
He laid on the bed, closing his eyes to another view of an unknown smile trickled into his view
"hey" Ranbir smiled at Tara who chuckled and kissed his cheek before sitting down beside him
They were still in college, and Ranbir was the goofiest person you could ever meet in your entire life
"I was hoping you could join me for a dinner tonight" he muttered as she hesitated and looked at a male behind her, which went unnoticed by Ranbir who looked at her expectantly, fiddling with his fingers nervously
"Of course, I would love to" she said holding his hands and looking at him as if he was a treasure or at least that's what he thought
"you're so sweet Ranbir" she muttered and put her head on his shoulder, Ranbir couldn't help but appreciate how she loved and understood him, just as he was about to reach out for her, darkness spread all over
Fear gripped him as he held on to her tightly, she looked at him painfully looking at her hands which he had held too tightly and shook her head incessantly as he refused to let her go as she soon vanished from his vision
"No!" he screamed and got up, he could feel the sweat droplets on his forehead, he sighed heavily after he had finally realised it was just a nightmare not before just ten minutes had passed, he turned and looked at Prachi who was sleeping peacefully
It was the first time he realised that maybe his first love was never going to come back, and finally, after years of dwelling over his past he could tell, that even though he hated Prachi, she was his wife and also his responsibility now
He laid back down on the bed, closing his eyes and letting the darkness envelop him as he felt himself turning towards Prachi and scooting closer to her unconsciously as he fell into a deep slumber, free of nightmares this time