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“Now what?” she snapped.
“Nothing. Just taking in your sight to keep me alive for the next few hours.”
She blushed.
“Since when did you start using cliché dialogues?” she teased.
“Don’t know,” he smirked. “They keep coming to my mind. I think it's from your mother.”
Maya’s jaw dropped. She hit him gently on his arm.
“Stop accusing my mother.”
“She is hardcore romantic,” he praised. “Learn something from her.”
Maya bit the corner of her lip, feeling extremely embarrassed with his words.
“Or…” he came further closer, touching their bodies. “Let me teach you romance.”
The elevator doors opened. Aisha, who had been asked to wait for Maya there, quickly turned around so as not to distract the couple. Maya pushed Ranveer away and stepped out of the elevator. She had started loving these moments with him. He had patiently waited for her, going slow in their relationship, poor guy. Maya got into the car and waved goodbye to him. It was now so difficult for her to be apart from this man, even just for a few hours, that tears welled up in her eyes.
*****************
Few Hours Later
Ranveer Malhotra stood before Malik Villa, staring at it cold-heartedly. His mother had spent years in this house, and every time he paid a visit here, it reminded him of her, making him feel weak. But this was not the time to fall weak. He wanted proofs against Dev Malik, and he would find them today at any cost. He strode to the backyard and jumped from above the huge compound wall. Before planning this step, he had done his homework. Unknowingly, Dhruv had told him a lot about the security protocols of this house. There were alarms everywhere at the gates and the wall which secured the bungalow, which no thief could miss without being caught. But these alarms rebooted every fortnight between 08:00 to 08:30 p.m. Ranveer started his stopwatch. He sneaked into the house through the backdoor. He had a spare key to this door, and it was again because of Dhruv. He stepped into the house and wore a mask to hide his face. He wouldn’t have followed these safety protocols had Maya not been in his life. She was right. He would end up ruining every happiness in their lives if he made a single mistake in avenging Dev Malik. He had promised her to be careful, and he would fulfill that promise.
He strode to the Study room, which happened to be next to the living room. Dev Malik was the only one who had access to this room. None of his sons could step in here because he didn’t trust them. All his personal and official secrets were kept hidden in this room when he didn’t want his sons to sneak in. It took almost a year for Ranveer to hack the secret code of the Study door. He put the complex 9-digit pin and stepped into the room. His Study was no less than a library, with all sorts of business books. Ranveer checked the stopwatch. 22 minutes more, and the alarm would finish the boot process, making his secret exit from this place difficult. He had to hurry up.
**************
Jaipur
It’s 03:00 a.m. and Maya tossed on the bed, dialing his number again for the 100th time in the past few hours. Finally, it rang. She grabbed the phone and pressed it to her ear, her heart fluttering at the slightest delay in him answering the call. The call got disconnected. Did he do it on purpose, or was it a network issue? She fiddled with the phone to dial back, but it dropped from her trembling hands. Gosh! She felt like she was going crazy. As she bent down to pick up the phone, that's when she saw him. Ranveer Malhotra was in her room, watching her silliness and fear. She quickly stood up, not caring about her phone, and walked towards him. He was standing there, cool and unaffected, with a smile on his face. And there she was, trembling, crying, and unable to stand steady. She reached him and hit his chest hard, using her palms to push him away.
“Why didn't you answer my calls?” she shouted.
Ranveer took a step back as she continued to vent out her frustration at him.
“Do you even realize what I went through? Look at me,” she shouted again.
“I am,” he huskily replied, still gazing at her angelic face. “Maya, I—”
“Shut up. Just shut up and let me speak. First, you make horrifying plans and keep me terrified the whole time, thinking about your safety, and then when I deserve to know if you are okay, you ignore my calls? It's not right, Ranveer. Do you hear me? It's not right,” she pushed him back again.
Ranveer continued to smile. This was the first time he saw her so angry because of him. Not because she hated him, but because she had started to care for him.
“Stop smiling. I am not joking here,” she pushed him again, and this time he grabbed her wrist to stop her from hurting herself even more. She struggled to break free, but he tightened his grip and then pulled her into a hug. As their bodies touched, she continued to struggle, but eventually gave in.
“I am fine. Main theek hoon” (I am doing fine), he whispered in her ear, caressing her hair.
His reassurance calmed her down. She didn't know why she reacted that way. She had never felt so uneasy for anyone in her life apart from her mother, whom she loved the most. Did that mean she had started to fall for him? Fall in love with Ranveer Malhotra?
Maya couldn’t recall how long she had cuddled Ranveer, but when she realized her silliness, she slowly withdrew. She found it difficult to maintain eye contact with him.
“You took my words very seriously this time,” his voice still thick with desire. “You missed me more than I expected.”
However true that was, she wouldn’t let him take the credit.
