Page 34 of One Hellish Desire

“You okay?” I ask, trying to understand if he is fine.

He wipes the sweat from his forehead and starts the engine without giving me any reply. His driving is smooth, and he keeps getting calls in between, keeping him busy all the time. I am glad he doesn't focus on me anymore. By the time we reach the jeweler, he is still on a call.

“I’ll be there in a minute,” he says, urging me to head inside. I hope his calls continue until I finish my selection. I can imagine what it would be like to have him around while I try on each waist chain. I don’t want to put on a show for him. As I enter the store, Deepa, the sales manager, greets me.

“Hi, Deepa.”

“Congratulations, Maahi. When is the engagement?”

“Next week,” I reply, walking inside. She shows me different patterns of waist chains. It’s hard to predict which one will look nice until I wear them. Since I’m already wearing a skirt top, I try a few to see if they fit well.

“This looks nice,” I say, looking at the mirror, holding a chain around my waist.

“It’s too simple,” Vikram says, appearing behind me. My breath catches as our eyes meet in the mirror. I never thought he’d help me select. Deepa quickly shows him other designs.

“Sir, these are the other patterns,” she says.

I’m intrigued as Vikram picks another chain and approaches me.

“Try this,” he urges.

I look at the chain; it's really beautiful and unique. How did I miss this one before? Deepa excuses us and hurries to attend to another customer.

“Strange,” he mutters in a mocking tone. “So much time in selecting a simple waist chain? Wish you could have spent some time in finding the right groom for you.”

I frown.

“You know what, Vikram? Instead of wasting time advising me to find a better groom, utilize it to search for a better bride for yourself.”

He makes an exasperated noise as if I reminded him of something, as if he had already imagined who his wife would be. I look away as his eyes bore into mine, and I fiddle with the chain to unhook it. Damn! It's stuck. Such a wrong timing. I had tried a dozen chains in the past half an hour, and none of them gave me a problem. Now, only when he was right next to me, I needed help? Before I could call Deepa, Vikram Singh Grover's fingers brushed on my waist as he focused on unhooking the chain. I choke. He can't do this. I want to voice it out, but words don't form in my mouth at all. I am never this weak around anyone but him and this isn't just about today. I have felt this from the start... from the time we have met...

In a matter of seconds, he unhooks the chain with ease, as if it was never stuck, and the next moment, he is on his knees. God help me with his torture. This isn't right, and yet I am helpless. This reminds me of what my friend Preet keeps telling me about... The Chemistry... Which I don't have with Shyam and which I have never felt with anyone but this man here... who is on his knees, aiming to make me wear the waist chain which he has selected. He hooks it on my waist, gets back on his feet, and turns me around to look in the mirror.

“Wow,” Deepa interrupts. “Sir really knows what will look best on his fiancée.”

Fiancée? He’s not my fiancée, but before I can correct her, Vikram speaks.

“We’ll buy this one. Bill it.”

Deepa smiles and slips away. I take off the chain.

“How could you do this?”

“Why?” he smirks. “Did something happen?”

I have no reply. Can he see the flush on my face? He gives me a final glance before heading to the billing counter. He takes out his card to pay, but I stop him.

“It’s mine. I’m paying.”

“And what’s mine is with you. How do you think I’m coping with that?”

I know he’s talking about Devki Estate again.

“Listen, Vikram, I—”

He hands over his card before I can finish, and the payment is done. He purposely debated with me so I’d forget he was paying. He takes his card back and grins.

“You’ve got to be quick, Cub.”

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