ANAYA

"WHAT?" Lia screamed from the other side of the phone.

I clutched my cell phone tighter and somehow managed to not throw it on the floor.

"You're getting married to the Arnav Khurrana? Fuck, dude! This is awesome." She said and I could practically hear the smile in her voice.

Just because he's a freaking billionaire that doesn't mean she has to create such hype. I mean I was never interested in marriage and now I'm going to marry one of the most influential men in the country. She has to be concerned about me instead of acting all happy over my marriage.

"I don't want to marry him, Lia," I whispered loud enough for her to hear me.

"Then why you agreed to marry him? And no, don't give me the bullshit that your father is forcing you for it. I mean I know you babe, there's nobody in this world who can force you to do something. You're Anaya Ray for god's sake. The most badass girl I've ever seen." She said in a duh tone.

I sighed.

I'm not that strong, Lia. I've my weak points which are like catacombs. No matter how hard I try, I'll never be able to escape them.

I'm marrying him only for my mother or else I've no interest in him.

Without saying anything, I ended the call and tossed my phone aside.

I looked at my palms which were wrapped in a cotton napkin. The blood has dried but the pain was sharp. I should find a way to control my anger issues or one day I'll end up hurting myself badly.

I exhaled a deep breath and tried to force a smile on my face. It's okay. Everything will be fine. I mean soon I'll get to meet my mother, what else do I need in my life?

I took out a packet of chocolate from my nightstand and was about to unwrap it when I heard a know on my door.

Eh?

Who it could be?

Dad and that bitchy stepmother never came to my room before.

"Come in," I said, reluctantly and as soon as the door flew open, my jaw dropped in surprise.

"Arnav Khurrana?" I mouthed his name and crinkled my eyebrows, trying to make the nastiest face to let him know how displeased I'm to see him.

He walked straight to the room without paying any attention to my face which made me snicker in disbelief.

What does he think of himself? Acting as if he owns the damn world? Well, wow! Wake up, dude. You may be the billionaire but for me, you're just a weirdo who doesn't even know how to react.

"What are you doing in my room?" I asked, clenching my jaw.

But he didn't say anything. And that raised my temper.

Seriously? Right after walking into my room, he's ignoring me.

"You freaking Asshole..." I mumbled under my breath.

Without uttering a single word, he sat at the corner of my bed and that's when my eyes fell on the first aid box in his hand. And the next, I know, he held my wrist and stared at my palms for a second before removing the blood-drenched cotton napkin from my palm.

Honestly, I didn't know how to react to his sudden action. His grip on my wrist was gentle and warm. And nobody in my family has done this before for me. Nobody cared for my sufferings.

He applied the ointment as softly as he could not for once I felt the urge to resist him. After that, he wrapped a cotton bandage around my palm and let go of his hold on my wrist.

I stayed still, not understanding how to react. I mean I always had a soft corner for the people who care about me because care is the only thing that I craved most ever since I was a child.

Shit. Now I feel sorry for him. I shouldn't have humiliated him like that.

"Thank you!" I whispered.

I bite the corner of my lips and stared at my bandaged hand for a few seconds before shifting my eyes to his black suit which had imprints of the noodles that I threw over him.

Jesus! I'm such a brat. Why the hell I did do that?

"Remove your blazer," I said.

His face remained calm. Not a single sign of change in his expressions.

He removed his blazer and put it aside, just like I said.

I scooted closer to him and started unbuttoning his shirt and the second I did so, my heart broke into pieces.

The flesh of his chest was burnt. Red bruises reminded me that what I'd done.

I purposely slipped the bowl full of hot noodles over him just to irritate my family. It wasn't his fault that I despised my Dad but still, I ended up hurting someone who wasn't at fault.

What's wrong with me? Why do I always act up in rush without even thinking about the consequences that'll follow it?

"I-I'm so sorry." I apologized and quickly took out a cool gel from the box to apply over his burnt skin.

"It's okay." His voice made me look up at him and that's when I realize the proximity of our situation.

His face was so close to me that I almost felt his warm breath fanning over my face. And it took me no time to scan his gorgeous features. Subtle jawline, finely chopped black hair, clean shaved, black eyes and soft lips.

Uh. Wow!

He was looking back at me with zero emotions in his eyes but he looked immensely sexy while doing that.

This man isn't interested in me but still, he cared for me. That's sexy about him.

I blinked, breaking eye contact and maintained a comfortable distance from him.

"You've got a high pain tolerance." I blurted out, trying to initiate a conversation.

Shit. I'm really bad at apologizing.

He chuckled dryly, revealing his dimples. And dude, his dimples were like a piece of cake. So fucking ethereal.

"You've no idea how sensitive I'm." He spoke.

Is he kidding me? This man didn't even react after getting burnt by the noodles. If that's not called insanely high pain tolerance then I don't even know the meaning of it.

"I'm sorry for the mess that I created- It wasn't about you...It's just..." I trailed off.

"You don't need to explain yourself. I don't care." He said with a straight face.

I nodded. "There's something that I'd like to tell you."

"Sure."

"I will divorce you after a month of our marriage. Honestly, I don't want to get married. You seem like a nice man. So please don't get your hopes high for our marriage." I breathed out in one go.

"Get ready by eight, I'm taking you out on a date." He said, completely ignoring my words and with that, he left the room.

What the hell?

That Bastard! What made him think that I'll go on the date with him?

I gritted my teeth at the thought that he just practically ignored me.

Wow, Anaya! What a great way to humiliate yourself.

I lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling in frustration. I have a sudden urge to scream as loud as I can but somehow I managed to control myself.

Date?

God, I've never been on any date before. What the hell am I supposed to do?