"Call me asap. Everyone's freaking out! "

Viren sent the message quickly. The most frustrating thing was that she wasn't even reading them. He had no idea where she was or what she was doing. He had woken up alone in an empty bed. He guessed she was somewhere inside the house but no, she wasn't. Pacing back and forth, he made up excuses to his step mother. She was literally nagging him about where his newly wed wife was.

Apparently they had few rituals to complete and she was nowhere to be found. Her step mom's friends were teasing her which she apparently took as an insult.

"Where is she Viren? Have you called her!" There she was nagging him again.

"I don't know okay! She has her phone switched off, she must be busy. Why don't you just carry on with the guests? I have work to do too."

He snapped at her and disappeared to his room. He looked at his wrist watch, it was four in the afternoon. He had a very important meeting with one of the shareholders at six. Sighing, he decided to get ready for it.

***

       Viren sighed exhausted. He dropped his hand to his palms. Even after his rigorous convincing for two hours, they were not ready to invest. The whole meeting was a big failure. He felt his mood go down as he heard a cacophony of laughter. He turned his head to the source to see her. Aghanya Jha Raizada. He frowned his eye brows wondering what she was doing her. He couldn't see who she was with, all he could see was the back of a male.

       He tightened his jaw in jealousy. He had been trying to reach her like a mad person and she was right there. Getting up he straightened his cuffs and walked to her. As soon as she acknowledged his presence, he watched her expression drop a total hundred and eighty degree.

     "What are you doing here?" He asked her trying to keep his cool as much as he could.

"What would someone do at a coffeeshop?" She snapped. His eyes fell on the person she was with. Dhruv smiled at him awkwardly. He just glared at him, just what was going on with both of them? First, at her apartment and now.

"I've been calling and texting you all day. Couldn't you just for hells sake just left a message or something?" He raised his voice, few heads turned towards them.

"Don't cause a scene here,Viren." She said through gritted teeth.

"I think I should leave Aghanya." Dhruv said standing up and he gave a nod to him and left the cafe.

"Let's go." He said sternly.

"No. I have to go back to my apartment." She cut him standing up too.

"Aghanya, I'm too tired to argue with you. Let us just go home for now."

"Exactly Viren. Let's go home. You to yours and me to mine." She walked away from him.

"Are you going to be like this? If you have forgotten, we got married yesterday...."

"And what? What is supposed to change if we got married? Does it change the fact that you literally duped me into thinking you were genuinely interested in me for money or how you ran away to Bora Bora with your girlfriend? Am I supposed to evolve into some sati savitri just because we got married? No, seriously, what did you even expect Viren? This is exactly how our marriage contract is going to pass. I have no interest in you and you have no interest in -"

***

She was cut off when he pulled her into an alley away from the curious glances of spectators. She opened her mouth to protest but she shut it seeing the look on his face. She realised that when he had said he was exhausted, he wasn't lying. He looked very much exhausted. She remembered he hadn't slept all night because she hadn't too. He was working all night and only hit the bed in wee hours in the morning.

"I need to grab something from my apartment for work." She calmly said trying to explain to him. She knew she was pushing his limits ever since but guilt weighed her down.

He stood there for a long moment even after what she had said. Then he let out a deep breath as if exhaling all his words he wanted to say to her. "Fine." He dragged stopping himself from saying anything further. They quietly walked to her apartment after that.

***

         She grabbed her stuff and shut her bedroom door. Most of her stuff was still in her apartment. Only her clothes and her daily stuff were packed and sent to The Raizada Mansion. She grabbed her bag and walked to her living room. Viren was waiting for her in the living room.

       She felt herself break into light happiness as she saw him sleeping his head rested uncomfortable on her couch.

     She tapped his cheek, "Viren? Let's go..." He woke up his eyes dazed and drowsy. "Or do you want to nap for a while?" He gave her a half sleepy smile and laid horizontally on the couch. Aghanya clumped her fingers into fists, she so wanted to caress his cheek and run her fingers through his hair. She sighed and nodded sideways, her resolve building again.

"Aghanya..." She felt someone call her. She woke up suddenly to see him hovering over her. She didn't even know when she had dozed off with the laptop on her lap. "Oh you are awake. We can go home now." She said yawning. He slid her laptop shut,"It's too late to go home now." She snapped her head to her alarm clock. It flashed one am.

"Go to sleep, it's fine." He picked up the laptop with ease and placed it on her bedside table. "I'm fine... I'm just hungry, what about you?" She swung her legs from her bed and started walking towards her kitchen. She heard his rustle as he walked behind her. She was too lazy to cook something now. Clicking her tongue, she opened her cabinets checking for something she could make instantly. She heard Viren opening the fridge and she tried to look back.

      "Ahh!" She winced as she hit her head. Pain shot through her head as she stood up holding it. "Aghanya?" He moved closer to her and rubbed the sore spot on her forehead. The fact that he was so close had  made her pain only as an background effect. Her breath was hitched and her heat beat in excitement. All she had to do was dip her head and it would be rested perfectly on his chest, she so wanted it. She wanted to embrace him. Her mind was desperate to feel his arms around her. She knew he was warm. He was always warm.

      Her resolve broke bit by bit with each second that passed. The hell with it! She thought. It was just a hug! She told herself. She did just that, she rested her cheek flat against his chest which rose up and down rhythmically. She felt him freeze for a brief second and he predictably wound his arms around her waist. She didn't know how long they stayed like that, her trance was broken once he called her, "Aghanya..."

      She snapped out of her trance and pushed him away roughly. She cursed herself again and again for losing her mind and doing such such a thing. She quickly turned around to engage herself in cooking.

      Fortunately, Viren hovered for a minute and then left the kitchen. They ate the instant noodles in silence. Aghanya couldn't bring herself to look at him. She just concluded she was sleepy. That was all. He ate in silence until he called her again,

    "Aghanya?"

  "Hmm what?" She answered acting casually. It took her everything to stop herself from blushing in embarrassment.

       "A year back, in Paris, you said you wanted this marriage to work out, I still want it to," He said. Aghanya looked at him partly amazed that he had remembered and partly shocked because he wanted it to work out. "Do you?" He posed her the crucial question.

She struggled to not drop her jaw. She knew Viren was direct, he never beat around the bush, he always went for what he wanted.

"Viren... I..." She struggled for words. She did want it but a year back. Now, she was a completely different person. For her, marriage was always a once in a lifetime commitment. Never in a million years would she have thought she would enter into a contract marriage. But it was marriage, none the less. She did want to give it a try.

A loud ring echoed around the room as Viren's phone rang. Her head snapped to his phone on the table quick enough to catch the caller ID before he picked it up.

"Babe."

That was what the called ID said. Aghanya fisted her hand and looked down to her plate. Every other insecurity and bad memory came back to haunt her. He was the same Viren who eloped with his girlfriend who was probably calling him now. She felt like hitting herself for her stupidity, for thinking that he honestly wanted her.

He had declined the call and switched off his phone. "You were saying...?" He prompted her to continue.

"No. I don't want to work out this marriage." She snapped, hardening her heart. "I didn't even want this marriage in the first place. That was a year ago when we were two different people. I don't want to anymore." She ranted and stood up leaving him alone at the table. She saw hurt flash in his eyes for a second but she shook all those feelings away. This is for the best, she convinced herself failing terribly.

***

A/N: vote and comment!!!!