TARGET: 100 VOTES⭐
I could feel the heat of his eyes on the back of my head as I desperately tried to keep my focus on the task at hand.
"And then you tuck the paper from here, like this," I demonstrated, teaching the girls how to fold an origami peacock structure. When they got busy trying by themselves, I turned my head around and glared at Aryan.
A lopsided smile formed on his face as he stood leaning against the edge of the table with his arms folded in front.
I went to stand near him, and with my hands on my waist, I whispered harshly, "Stop staring at me."
"I wasn't staring. I was just...observing." He grinned, deflecting conveniently from the topic.
"And what did you observe?" I challenged.
Tapping his chin dramatically, he pretended to think for a second and answered, leaning to whisper in my ear, "I observed how cute your otherwise scary voice becomes even you talk to kids." His voice dropped to a low note as he continued, "And I also observed, how good you look bent over that table."
In a slow-mo, his eyes connected with mine, entrapping me within them. With my breathing labored, I repeated his words in my head, trying to comprehend their meaning.
But then I caught a glimpse of a self-satisfied, egoistic smirk on his face. He was just messing with me.
Attempting to catch my breath, I said, gritting my teeth, "Stop with this nonsense."
"Only if you-"
Aryan was interrupted by the shrill voice of Amaya calling me. "Ria Didi, come, see this! Fast!"
"Wait a minute, Amaya," I hollered and shifted my attention back to Aryan. "Don't you have to go to the office today?"
"It's Sunday." He shrugged.
"But you always have work to do even on Sundays. So can't you just go to do whatever you do, outside? And perhaps leave us alone?"
"I am free today. And I will do whatever I want. You can't throw me out of my own house," He argued, still grinning.
I grunted, irritated at his lack of compliance. "Then you can at least get lost from this room. This is my space."
"No can do. Because last time I checked, this house still belonged to me. So, technically," He paused to create a theatrical effect, "and legally, this room is also mine."
"Then under the clauses of the Slave contract, I demand you to get lost from here," I said, calmly.
"What Slave contract?"
"Pool party day. Does that ring a bell?" I reminded him.
With a sullen face, he complied sighing, "You don't play fair."
He went towards the table where the girls were sitting and said to Amaya, feigning hurt, "Your Ria Didi doesn't want me to stay. I will get going and just be unhappy and alone. You enjoy, okay?"
I gasped at the audacity.
Applauses, ladies, and gentlemen.
The King of emotional manipulation, right here.
Amaya looked at him with sad eyes and then glanced at me, requesting, "He can stay, right? Please."
"I never told him that I didn't want him to stay. He had some work to do so he wanted to go to his office."
She diverted her watch back to Aryan. "You have to go to the office?"
"No. I want to stay here."
She looked at me again in confusion and before she could say anything, I huffed, "He can stay, alright."
Before I could even finish my sentence, he made himself comfortable by taking up an empty chair and started chatting with the kids. Attentively, he listened to them, as they showed him their creations.
I clapped my hands to gather their attention, "Who wants to star in the coming week's video?"
A chorus of Me's echoed around, including Aryan's. I rolled my eyes at him. "You can stay behind the camera."
I continued, "So, we will be making DIY jewelry. Here's the kit." As soon as I opened the box, their eyes lit-up, up and they hurled towards it, picking up the assorted colored beads and sequins.
"I have already shot the initial part, but we can add your segment in the latter part of the video."
They nodded eagerly and I added, "Make whatever you want. Be as creative as you can. I will be back in a bit."
I went downstairs to my room to pick up my laptop. Being back in the studio, I started to schedule the short videos for the week and completed some remaining work.
After around an hour, I yawned, reclining my chair back, and shut my laptop close. I asked, "What's the progress?"
"We have made best friends bracelets for each other!"
I suppressed the urge to let out an Aww at the cuteness. Instead, I extended my hand and they placed their bracelets into my hand.
Checking the details, I observed how Amaya had assembled the letter beads to pronounce, 'PREET'S BFF' and Preet's bracelet had similar working with Amaya's name.
"Awww...this is the cutest. Come one, now, give me a hug, both of you." I opened my arms and they clutched onto me in an embrace, giggling.
Shyly placing another bracelet into my hand, they said, "We made this for you."
I smiled when I saw what was on it. The letters, 'WE LOVE YOU', decorated the piece as I melted a little, welcoming them into my arms again. "Thank you so much for this. I love it."
"What did you make?" I asked Aryan.
He scrambled the contents to a side, concealing them behind his hands. "It's a surprise. I will show it to you when it's complete."
I pressed my lips together at his suspicious behavior and scowled. We started to film the video after that and Aryan got busy finishing his 'supposed' masterpiece.
He was curled in the corner of the studio with his back toward me when I tapped his shoulder. "We are going out for an ice cream. Amaya wants you to come with us."
"Sure, I am almost done." When I tried to peek over his shoulder to see what he was making, he hid it instantly.
"What nuclear weapon formula are you developing, huh?"
***
"What flavors do you want?"
"Strawberry!"
"Cone or sundae?"
"Cones!"
"Okay. And you?" I asked Aryan, who was busy on his phone.
"Anything except chocolate would be fine." He replied, absentmindedly.
"What's wrong with chocolate?" I was severely offended at the insulting tone that he had used for my favorite ice cream flavor.
He looked up from his phone and scrunched his brows before saying, "It's just not for me. Too sweet."
"It's not sweeter than strawberry," I argued.
"But I like strawberry sweet. I don't like chocolate sweet."
Ugh.
How does that even make sense?
Not wanting to argue in front of children, I tucked this conversation in the back of my mind, totally intending to bring it up with him about how inferior his choices were. And how he was missing out on a chocolate supremacy life.
"Three strawberry and one chocolate. Two scoops each. All in cones." I put forward my card to pay, but before I could do so, Aryan's hand came on at a flying speed, placing his card ahead.
"Get it covered from this one," He instructed the cashier, who was a young girl of barely twenty or nineteen. She blushed when Aryan came nearer to the counter, insisting to pay.
"Okay," A squeak escaped her mouth as she avoided his eyes, shying away and haphazardly typing the order, seeming to be extremely bewildered.
Poor thing.
Not that I blamed her. Aryan had that effect on people. With his oh-so-giant body and demanding persona. Especially in the female population. An ego stabilizer is what he needed in his life.
I took my card back, exhaling loudly.
I wasn't going to put up a fight over this. If he insisted so much on paying, then let him pay. It wasn't like he lacked in the money department.
Okay, maybe, I was a bit of a miser too. Just maybe.
If someone was offering me free food, then my Sindhi self just couldn't refuse.
Taking our ice creams, we decided to go to a nearby park to take a walk, and for the kids to have fun.
We let the children play around for a while as we watched them from a distance, sitting on a park seat. I peeked at Aryan above my lashes, wanting to be as discreet as possible.
What is it about men and grey sweatpants with black T-shirts? Possibly the sexiest outfit to ever exist, except for a well-fitted tux, obviously.
His tongue darted out to lick the seam of the cone, and suddenly I was hot all over. Biting into my own scoop, in an attempt to cool myself down, I hissed when the coldness attacked right onto my sensitive fore teeth.
Bad move, Ria. Never repeat.
I sensed his gaze on me, as I covered my face by creating a halo with my hair around.
The park was empty except for us. And the burbling sound of a fountain rang in my ear as it splattered on the rocks nearby. As the warmth of the day altered into the soothing serenity of the evening, I realized that it had been quite a long time since I took some time out for myself like this. Without the tension of the work or the rush and hustle of the corporate world. My work had become my life for the past so many years, that I had forgotten to spend time just by myself in peace and leisure like this.
I settled comfortably on the seat, leaning my back completely against it as I swung my feet back and forth which were inches above the ground, thanks to my midget height.
"You are looking beautiful today."
I was taken aback by that, not being used to random compliments like this.
I glanced at him, narrowing my eyes playfully, and asked, "What do you mean by that? I look beautiful only today? Then do I look ugly on the other days, huh?"
He chuckled, "I know that it is a trick question. I will choose to stay silent at it."
"Smart ass," I muttered under my breath, with an unexpected smile as my leg brushed against his momentarily.
Intermingled in the solace of the moment, we sat in a relieving silence as we finished our ice creams. The occasional voices of the girls playing around echoed in the deserted park. The night sky was full of life now, with the stars glittering and the lone street lamp casting an indistinct radiance surrounding the seat.
"Close your eyes."
I glimpsed at him, confused. "What?"
"Close your eyes. And give me your hand," He sighed heavily and repeated.
"Is this about that earlier surprise?" I questioned.
"Uh-huh."
I frowned, and said, "I don't like surprises."
"Arey yarr, so stubborn you are." He put his massive palm over my eyes, blocking my view as my eyes closed instinctively.
He then proceeded to take my hand in his. I heard some shuffling, of him taking something out of his pocket
Placing it on my hand, he instructed, "Now look."
***
What do you think the surprise would be?🙈Tell me in the comments!
Also, I have posted another one-shot story for participating in a Wattpad contest. I have tried to write in the third person's POV for the very first time so do check it out on my profile and tell me if you like it or not! It's by the name: BLOSSOMS BOUND BY FATE: AN UNVEILING LOVE. LINK IN THE COMMENTS!👉🏼
Hope you liked this chapter!
TARGET: 100 VOTES⭐
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