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Another strand came loose, landing right on his face. Annoyingly persistent. Shaurya exhaled sharply before tucking it back behind her ear.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “See? You have a problem with everything! Not just the leaves and fruits in your pool, but now with my hair too? What next? You want me to trim my hair as well, Mr. Ahuja?”

Shaurya rolled his eyes, his patience wearing thin. The exchange between them was now becoming repetitive. Despite that, neither of them made a move to get up.

“I am not that insensible to ask a living, breathing woman to trim her hair over such petty inconvenience,” he bit out.

She smirked. “Yet you have no problem demanding that a living, breathing tree be trimmed? Didn’t they teach you in school that trees are living things too?”

“Oh, for God’s sake, Nandini—”

But before he could retort, a deliberate throat-clearing interrupted them.

Both of them froze.

Nandini’s gaze snapped up to find a man standing a few feet away, arms crossed, looking far too amused for her liking. He wore designer sunglasses, his casual yet sophisticated elegance reeking of old money and effortless charm.

And he was grinning.

“Ahh, don’t mind me,” the man said, tilting his head like he had just stumbled upon the greatest spectacle of his life. “By all means, carry on. I’ve never seen my dear friend Shaurya so… relaxed. And dare I say, comfortable.”

Shaurya closed his eyes briefly and exhaled sharply.

“Varun,” he gritted out, already regretting every decision that had led to this moment.

Nandini, mortified, scrambled off Shaurya, brushing the dust off her salwar suit as heat flooded her cheeks. Shaurya followed suit, standing up and sending Varun a glare sharp enough to cut steel.

“Shut up, Varun. I was just saving her from a fall,” Shaurya said, straightening his T-shirt.

Varun smirked, crossing his arms. “Ah yes, saving her from a fall… but actually fallingforher. I mean,withher?”

Shaurya rolled his eyes so hard they nearly disappeared into another dimension.

Varun turned to Nandini and greeted her with genuine warmth, a sharp contrast to the teasing tone he had with Shaurya.

“Hello. I’m Varun.” He smiled in a friendly way. “And you must be the Grandpa’s granddaughter that everyone is talking about.”

Nandini arched an eyebrow. “Everyone?”

“Small community. Especially when pretty new neighbours arrive and start tree wars,” Varun said mischievously.

She opened her mouth to retort, but was rudely cut off by Shaurya.

“Inside, Varun,” Shaurya said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

As Varun turned toward the villa, Shaurya glanced back at Nandini. “Try not to do stunts like hanging off balconies again.”

“I have no such plans either,” she scowled, pointing a finger at him. Then she added, “And whatever happened today was because of you!”

Shaurya blinked. “Me?”

“Yes, you!” she huffed. “I was trying to catch a leaf before it fell in your precious pool due to the wind. All because of your legal warning the other day!”

Varun hid his chuckle behind his hand, but Shaurya’s amusement was impossible to contain.

He rubbed his temples, sighing dramatically. “So let me get this straight. You risked your life. For a leaf? To save my pool?”

“Yes!” she snapped, as if it was the most logical thing in the world.