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Varun smirked and wrapped an arm around Priya’s shoulders proudly.

“She’s my official Serene Meadows social gossip manager,” Varun teased.

Priya giggled again, no longer embarrassed.

Nandini still frowned, finally connecting the dots. “Now I realise what was happening in the kitchen earlier!” she said, pointing an accusatory finger at Priya. “When Varun justrandomlyinterrupted our conversation—” she turned to glare at Varun, “—with thatsprain, huh?”

Priya gave an innocent smile and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Oops?”

Varun grinned. “What was I supposed to do? I was missing Priya. We hadn’t even met properly in a week. So this partytonight was our golden chance. And when you turned to get the chilli flakes, I just reached out to touch her, and in her panic over getting caught, she stomped on my foot. Hard. I genuinely hissed in pain. My leg still hurts, I swear,” he said, dramatically wincing at Priya, who laughed unapologetically.

“Serves you right,” Priya muttered.

Nandini shook her head in disbelief, throwing her hands in the air. “This whole time! You two were sneaking around, and we had no idea!”

Priya gave her a mischievous smile.

“And,” Nandini added, narrowing her gaze like a hawk zeroing in on its prey, “Wait a second! If you and Varun were already dating, why were you always swooning over Shaurya like he was some Greek god on vacation?”

Varun immediately dropped his arm from around Priya, clutching his chest like she’d shot him. “YouWHAT?”

Priya rolled her eyes with a smirk. “Oh, relax, drama king. There’s no harm in admiring a well-packaged product.”

Shaurya, who had been grumpy and angry at his friend so far, now looked visibly entertained. He was clearly loving this turn of events. Watching Varun’s shocked expression was far too enjoyable. After all, why should he be the only one shocked over his friend’s affair secrets?

Varun whipped around to face Shaurya with a look of mock betrayal. “You’re clearly enjoying this, aren’t you?”

Shaurya shrugged, looking utterly unapologetic. “What can I say? Some of us just come with premium packaging.”

“Unbelievable,” Varun muttered, dramatically stepping away from Priya and glaring at her. “You lied to me. This is emotional cheating. Withthat…” He pointed towards Shaurya, who looked like he was about to burst with laughter, “… glorified white shirt and denim model.”

“Stop it!” Priya giggled, pushing his shoulder. “Admiring someone and being with someone are two very different things.”

Then she turned to Nandini and grinned. “But seriously, whenever I said anything flirty about your grumpy neighbour, why didyoualways look like you wanted to throw me in the pool?”

Nandini’s jaw dropped. “I— I did not!” she protested.

“Oh, please,” Priya snorted. “You still give us death glares if we so much as talk or swoon over him. Don’t even try to deny it.”

And just like that, Nandini’s cheeks turned crimson. She refused to look at Shaurya, whose smirk had grown devilishly smug.

Varun jumped back in with a mock sigh, “I can’t believe it. My own girlfriend admired my best friend. My best friend’s crush is apparently my girlfriend’s jealousy trigger. And I—I’m just standing here, betrayed and surrounded by crazy people.”

“You’ll live,” Shaurya said, slapping a hand on his shoulder. “And don’t be surprised if the next time your girlfriend swoons over me more than she does for you.”

“Payback’s coming,” Varun shot me a look. “Just wait.”

“Oh, I’m shaking,” Shaurya deadpanned.

Nandini groaned and turned to Priya. “Next time you have a secret boyfriend, at least make sure he isn’t best friends with the guy you’re lowkey flirting with.”

“And next timeyoublush at your grumpy neighbour,” Priya said sweetly, “just admit you like him before you accidentally kiss him.”

Nandini’s eyes widened. Urgh! This was going out of hand. Without another word, she grabbed Priya’s hand and tugged her away. “Let’s go. Daadu will be wondering where we are.”

Shaurya watched her retreat, his lips curved in a way that said he wasn’t done wanting her—not even close.

Varun stood beside him, nudging his arm. “By the way, what’s with that look? You’ve got that‘just kissed a hurricane and loved it’kind of glow.”