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But now, with her business plans faltering, her father was using his stubborn, old-fashioned attitude and had reverted to the one thing he still thought he could control:her future.

This meeting, he had insisted, was only a formality. But Nandini knew better. Her father wasn’t just hoping. He was planning. Praying. Silently expecting this Rohit to be his son-in-law.

What he didn’t know was that her heart had already chosen. And it had been shattered by none other than their grumpy neighbour, Shaurya Ahuja.

His name was both a curse and a craving all in one breath. Just a week ago, he had looked at her with that smouldering intensity, the kind that made her feel like maybe, just maybe, things between them were real. One week ago, she had believed in that impossible chemistry between them.

And then, he had turned cold. Detached. Dismissive towards their growing bond. Like it hadn’t mattered. Like she didn’t matter.

Just thinking about what had happened between them a week ago was enough to bring tears to her eyes. She had spent the entire week breaking down, over and over, trying to understand how he could treat her that way.

She should have known better. A divorced man, nearly ten years older and emotionally unavailable when it suited him, should have been her first red flag. But she had let fiction blur her sense of reality. And somewhere deep inside, she knew she was to blame too.

She had believed in the stolen glances, the accidental touches, the flirty conversations, and those fiery kisses that left her breathless. She’d believed love could bloom in the cracks of silence. She had foolishly let herself believe that life could mirrorthe romance novels she’d devoured for years. That maybe, her brooding neighbour was meant to be her very own happy ending.

But reality had slapped her hard. There was a brutal difference between fiction and real life, and now she had promised herself one thing: she would never fall for someone just because they lived next door or looked like the hottest devils in town.

The pain of the past week had been enough to make her swear off love, relationships, or anything that even resembled them for decades, or maybe even for life. Still, she had to put on a cheerful front for her grandfather. To act normal, smile, and laugh like nothing inside her had been broken. He couldn’t suspect a thing. Because if he ever found out what had really happened, she wasn’t sure she could handle his fury. And knowing him, there was no telling if he’d actually dust off that old antique shotgun of his and go after Shaurya Ahuja himself.

Even now, just thinking about it made her eyes sting. Her tears burned again, threatening to spill. She blinked them away, biting down on her lower lip until it hurt. She wouldn’t cry. Not again. Not in front of anyone.

“Are you okay, dear?” Lakshmi Aunty’s gentle voice came from the doorway. She had felt the older woman’s concern deeply since the past week. Although she hadn’t told Aunty anything that had transpired between her and Shaurya, the older woman had seen through her silence.

Nandini quickly turned her face away and wiped the corner of her eye with the back of her hand. “Yes. I’m fine,” she lied.

Lakshmi Aunty didn’t press. She had been the only one who noticed, who suspected something had happened between them. She hadn’t asked for details. She didn’t need to. One look at Nandini’s face last week had said everything.

“I told you to be careful with him,”she had said once. It wasn’t an accusation but just quiet wisdom. And it had stung.

Lakshmi Aunty walked closer and placed a hand on her arm. “Rohit will be here any moment. You should go get ready. I’ll finish up here.”

Nandini nodded, the smile on her lips hollow. “Thanks,” she said.

She turned to go, her anklets softly chiming as she took a step. But then she froze.

He was here!

Shaurya stood at the threshold of the kitchen, his hands coolly resting in the pockets of his jeans. He’d paired it with a grey henley and a charcoal bomber jacket. Even dressed casually, he looked maddeningly composed. But his eyes… they told a different story, as if he, too, hadn’t been doing so great either. Just like her.

She had tried her best not to appear before him the entire week after what had transpired between them. She had cocooned herself at home, not even going near the windows where she could see him in and around his villa.

He, too, hadn’t done a thing to erase this distance between them except having his house help, Meera Aunty, call Lakshmi Aunty to check on her wellbeing. As if he cared! Had he done so, he wouldn’t have broken her heart that night.

And just like that, the memory of last week surfaced. She parading her new outfits before him, the intimate moments they shared, the love that she’d felt for him… followed by the humiliation and inevitable heartbreak. Her spine straightened. She wasn’t going to let him have the upper hand here. Enough was enough.

“Can you give us a moment?” Shaurya looked at Lakshmi Aunty. “We need to talk.”

Nandini snapped her gaze toward him, her anger barely held back. “I don’t want to talk,” she said sharply, already moving ahead to step past him.

He reached out and caught her wrist. She froze.

“Please,” he said again, this time looking at Lakshmi.

She hesitated, clearly torn. Then she nodded, silently excusing herself. At the door, Shaurya asked quietly, “Where’s Grandpa?”

“In his room,” she replied. “I’ll keep him there. But make it quick.” Without waiting for a response, she hurried off to keep a check on the old man.

Nandini pulled her wrist free from his grasp and crossed her arms.