Kiara's POV
There stood the devil in disguise, looking hot as hell- might I add- dressed in a navy-blue suit. He had paired it with a white shirt which perfectly complimented his sculpted chest and I tried very hard not to drool at the sight.
Ugh. What am I thinking! I mentally chided myself.
Arjun Singhania wasn't alone, along with him was another guy. With dark brown eyes and black hair, he looked quite good too.
But not as good-looking as Arjun.
My inner conscience had totally lost its mind.
"What are you doing here?" We both yelled again at the same time.
Gosh. This was so annoying.
Arjun was busy glaring at me with a murderous scowl on his face while the guy next to him stared between the two of us in confusion. He resembled an adorable bunny with the way he had scrunched his nose.
"Stop copying me." We stated in unison.
Again.
"What is this, a chorus?" The adorable bunny guy next to Arjun chuckled. We both glared at him sharply which shut him up and he immediately sobered.
All eyes in the café were on us now. Anushka, who had been enjoying the show from her chair till now, stood up to step near me so that she could have a better view of the ongoing drama.
I was quite frustrated from this chorus thing but the same could not be said for Arjun. Now that we had everyone's attention, that man seemed to be enjoying himself.
A sucker for attention.
His lips were twitched in a small smirk and I resisted the urge to maul his face like a cat.
Did he even know any other facial expression than frowning, glaring or smirking?
"Can't resist me, princess, can you?" He asked with his hands folded across his chest, his biceps looking more prominent as a lazy, smug smile spread across his face.
This man-
"Stalking, are we?" He questioned further, raising his eyebrow and I gaped at him.
That was enough.
I moved a little closer to him, squared my shoulders and straightened my posture to look a little intimidating.
This is how they do it in the movies, don't they?
"In your dreams." I looked him dead in the eyes and glared at him with what can be considered as my most dangerous glare. But seems like the devil in front of me found it entertaining as the amusement doubled on his face.
I wanted to rip my hair out due to frustration.
"Damn! I didn't know you were this desperate."
"Excuse me? If anything, I would say that you are so desperate that you are following me like a lost puppy, you stalker." I retorted. This turned him a bit serious and his face darkened.
Yay! Mission accomplished.
He stepped closer to me, his voice low but steady. "I have no interest in following a silly, annoying girl who likes to whine about her favorite clothes like a 4-year-old and go all caveman on people. I would rather put myself into coma than follow you anywhere."
And I lost it.
In a moment of complete adrenaline rush and immense anger, I did the bravest, stupidest thing anyone could ever imagine.
Okay, Harry Potter!
Picking up a cup of cold coffee from a nearby table, I splashed it all over Arjun in a fit of rage.
Dreaded silence enveloped the whole café.
I heard a clank in the distance. Someone had dropped their spoon in their empty bowl.
The sound was accompanied with a loud, dramatic gasp. A hand pulled me back and I realized it was Anushka who had gasped like a daily soap heroine.
"Have you lost it?" She whisper-yelled in my ear frantically. I simply rolled my eyes and ignored her.
Well, he should have thought before speaking anything. I was not going to tolerate any bullshit from anyone, no matter how powerful or rich that person was.
That's how I have been brought up by my parents. To be confident in yourself.
They taught you to be confident, not over-confident.
"What the fuck did you just do?" Arjun yelled, his eyes blazing with fury. His face had turned red in anger, it was priceless. It felt so satisfying watching his reaction.
But that wasn't the best part, oh no. The best part was his prim white shirt looking like it was washed in mud and the bunny guy slapping a hand on his mouth to control his laugh.
Ah! My heart is at peace.
"This is what you get for ruining my favorite shirt." I raised my chin.
Arjun stared at me in disbelief. "Are you out of your fucking mind? Do you know how much this suit costs?"
"Let me think". I tapped my forefinger on my chin pretending to be thinking, "You know what? I don't care." I snapped.
Let me just go and find a suitable place for your grave.
Just then, a man rushed towards us sensing all the commotion. I read the badge pinned to his chest. Manager. Great, now he was going to throw Arrogant Singhania out of the café.
Doing a complete 360 from my expectations, his face paled when he saw Arjun drenched in cold coffee and stammered, "S-sir... I... I... "
"You are fired." Arjun announced, not sparing a single glance in his direction and burning holes in my head through his laser glare.
"B-but.... sir... "
"I said... You. Are. Fired. Now, LEAVE. "
Wait.
Wait. Wait. Wait.
Don't tell me he owns this cafe.
No shit, Sherlock! He is freaking Arjun Singhania. He can buy this whole block if he wants.
Shit.
What the hell did I just do?
I could already imagine my grave near this cafe which would say...
In loving memory of Kiara Sharma - a sweet person who decided to bathe the owner of this café in sweet, cold coffee, the devil himself- Arjun Singhania.
What had I done? I am a complete idiot.
I have been trying to tell you this since years.
I knew I should have stopped drinking coffee a long time back. It made me want to do stupid, impulsive things.
What's done was done now. I couldn't back down, especially not here. The last thing I wanted was to appear weak in front of him.
Then get ready to die.
When I focused back at the current situation, Arjun looked like he was ready to pounce on me once again but his friend held him back.
"Scared, Arjun?" I mocked.
What had gotten into me?
I had never been this courageous earlier.
You are officially dead.
I didn't know my mouth had a mind of its own.
I didn't wait for his answer as I turned around, held Anushka's arm who was gawking at us with a horrified expression on her face and started speed-walking out of the café.
Kiara - 10. Arjun - 0.
Yippee!
We'll celebrate after we make it out alive from here.
I hadn't even taken two steps forward when a hand wrapped around my wrist and I was suddenly pulled into a hard chest.
What in the rom-com -
My dark brown eyes met furious, black ones that held so much hatred for me. I had to suppress a shiver at the coldness on his face.
All of this was so unnerving. I had never been in such a compromising position with a guy before.
I had always thought black was a boring color but his eyes were something that I didn't want to look away from. It was as if his eyes had held me captive.
I gulped at the close proximity between us and tried to step away but he held my hand firmly.
Tingles and sparks shot through my body at his actions.
What the heck?
"I told you to stay away from me." He spoke slowly. Menacingly. "But seems like you do not value your life. The next time you come across me, I'll make sure you regret it." Venom dripped from his tone. His voice broke me from whatever trance I was in.
"So, my last warning to you - Do not. And I mean it. Do not mess with me." His voice was dead calm which made it more threatening. I was completely numb and rooted to my place. He stared at me intensely as if daring me to speak, to oppose him. But I could not think of anything as I was practically flushed against him and our closeness was not helping in the case.
He left my arm and walked away, his friend walking beside him. I released a breath that I definitely knew I was holding and blinked slowly.
Why the hell was I thinking about his eyes?
Before walking out, he cast a single glance at me, chuckled and left.
Why was he smiling like that? He suffers from some smirking disorder. I thought to myself as my eyes travelled down and I gasped.
There was a large, brown coffee stain on my top. It must have happened when he pulled me into him.
And the score's all tied up.
THAT DEVIL.
Ughhh...
I was gonna kill him.
I looked at Anushka and she was trying very hard to control her laughter.
"Ha-ha... So funny. Isn't it?" I asked her sarcastically but that added more fuel to her laughter and she started cackling hysterically.
Great! Now my best friend was laughing at me. Best friends love seeing you all riled up.
"Th...that's...karma! " She managed to say in between her fits of laughter.
"It isn't. He was the one who first ruined my clothes. I just returned his favor." I huffed with indignation.
When she calmed down, we went outside after paying for our coffee.
"So, he is the 'Arjun Singhania' they all talk about." She said, air quoting his name.
"Hmm." I nodded, my mood still sour.
"No doubt he has girls falling at his feet. He has money, fame, looks. Everything. You say it. He has it."
"You are wrong. He does not have one thing. And no money can buy it."
"What is that?"
"A good heart." I whispered dramatically, staring into distance.
And we both burst into giggles.
"You can't deny one fact, though." She said after a long moment of silence.
I knew where this was going.
"Please do not start with this agai- "
"I am totally shipping you guys together!" She squealed.
"Oh Lord, save me please." I looked towards the sky, screaming for help.
*
I entered my home still grumbling about that big, ugly coffee stain on my top. All the way to home, people were staring at me as if I had kidnapped their children.
All because of him.
Ugh... Stop thinking about him.
"Mom, I am home." I announced loudly, entering the living room. "Please tell me Tina hasn't eaten my leftover cake or I swear to God I will burn her favorite makeup- " My voice died in my throat when I saw who was sitting on the couch with my parents.
Mr. Rajveer. The man who was in the accident.
What was he doing here?
Mom looked horrified at my disheveled state while dad just sat there with a conflicted expression.
Something was wrong.
Mr. Rajveer looked at me and smiled. "Oh, Kiara. You are back. Come, sit." He patted the space beside him. I went and sat there, still confused regarding this unexpected visit.
Was he here to pay me for helping him? Was I about to get super rich?
"Hi, sir! How are you? " I asked politely.
He smiled. "I am completely fine. All thanks to you. And no need to call me sir. You can call me dad from now on."
My eyes widened.
Oh my god, he was going to adopt me?
My head snapped to my parents.
And they were okay with this?
Was no one going to tell me about this whole ordeal?
"Is this true?" I asked my parents.
They hesitated and that was all I needed to know.
What if Mr. Rajveer was my real father and he left me to mom and dad to raise me and has now come back to take me with him?
Or were they selling me to Mr. Rajveer?
Was my life slowly turning into a soap opera?
"Kia- " Mom said gently.
I stood up abruptly. "I'm not going anywhere with him."
"But listen to us." Dad started but I cut him off.
"You are the only parents I've known my whole life. Please don't do this to me." I stated frantically.
"Wait, what?" Dad frowned.
"I don't want new parents."
"Kia, honey. What are you talking about?" Mom asked, baffled.
"Are you selling me to Mr. Rajveer?"
Everyone stood up at my accusation. "Who told you that?"
"Then why is he here asking me to call him dad?" My voice was borderline hysterical.
Mr. Rajveer started laughing. "You've grossly misunderstood the situation, Kiara. This isn't what it seems like."
I was confused now.
"I'm here to ask for something else." Mr. Rajveer said.
I sighed in relief.
Okay, well, that's better.
Just when I thought it was nothing serious, that's when he dropped the bomb on me.
"I want you to marry my son."