Page 17 of When Love Trespassed

Nandini, still breathless, still drunk on the feel of his lips, blinked up at him in stunned silence.

Her heart pounded so wildly she could feel it in her fingertips, her pulse alive in every part of her body that had touched him.

Her lips, slightly parted, still tingled as if they hadn’t fully moved on from the kiss yet.

And Shaurya…

Shaurya staggered back as if he had just been jolted awake from a dream that he never should have been in to begin with.

His chest rose and fell in uneven breaths, his jaw clenched, his body stiff, but it was his eyes that gave him away. The same eyes that had only moments ago devoured her without apology now widened with something else entirely.

Recognition.

Shock.

Horror.

“F*ck,” he muttered, almost to himself, like the realisation had physically knocked the air out of him.

His gaze flicked down to her dress, her legs still dangling from the edge of his dining table, her hair messy, lips visibly swollen, and then back to her face.

“You?” he blurted, as if confirming the worst-case scenario out loud. “What are you doing in my house?”

Nandini scrambled off the table like she’d just touched a live wire, nearly tripping in her panic. Her heels hit the floor with a thud, and her dress caught on the edge as she yanked herself upright, flushed, red-faced, and wide-eyed. She couldn’t even meet his eyes.

Oh God.

She had just been kissed thoroughly, desperately by her grumpy, infuriating, emotionally unavailable neighbour?

And worse?

She’d kissed him back like she’d been waiting for it her entire life.

What the hell was wrong with her?

She clutched the edge of the table for balance, her breaths coming in shallow gasps, her brain still not functioning at full speed.

“I—I came here to talk to you,” she managed to say.

“Talk to me? Why?”

“You insulted Daadu in front of the whole neighbourhood. That’s why. I came to tell you it wasn’t okay.” She shot him a glare. “Your door was open. I didn’t know you weren’t home.”

“I thought—” she rushed on, words tumbling out, “I thought you were inside. Then the lights went out, the candles were too far, and I panicked. I climbed up on the table to grab one and—”

She faltered, her cheeks heating. “And then you showed up out of nowhere and kissed me . Don’t twist this like I’m the one who ambushed you on your own table.”

She jabbed a finger toward his chest. “What’s your excuse, Mr. I-Kiss-Whoever-I-See-In-My-House?”

Shaurya ran a hand through his hair, still trying to piece everything together. The wild look in his eyes was slowly replaced by something dangerously close to panic.

“I didn’t know it was you!” he growled, his frustration mounting. “I thought you were—”

He stopped mid-sentence, but she completed it for him.

“You thought I was… someone else ?” she squeaked.

He didn’t deny it.

Didn’t say a word.

And that silence said everything.

Her stomach dropped.

Someone else? Really?

He’d kissed her thinking she was someone else. Someone he had planned to meet here tonight?

A date?

He had a date tonight?

Oh God! Her eyes widened. The dots connected way too fast. Shit .

That stung. More than it should have.

Nandini’s breath hitched, and she swallowed hard.

Outside, more fireworks erupted. The sky was on fire. And inside, so was she, though not from the kiss anymore. Now it was the humiliation, the ache of knowing what that kiss had meant to her… and what it clearly hadn’t meant to him.

And yet, even amidst the rush of emotions, the memory stayed. His hands on her waist. His lips against hers. The way she’d parted her legs and welcomed him closer without thinking. Without fear.

She had wished for a midnight kiss.

What she hadn’t expected was for it to feel like her entire universe shifted with it.

And now, she wished she’d never whispered that stupid wish to the mango tree at all. Because yes, she had asked for a midnight kiss. But nowhere in that wish had she signed up to be someone else’s mistaken identity make-out moment.

Her lips were still tingling. Her body was still humming. And her pride was burning alive.

“I’m leaving,” she said finally, her voice shaking with fury and something dangerously close to heartbreak. “Before I commit actual murder.”

She turned to storm off but Shaurya immediately caught her arm.

“Murder for what exactly?” he snapped. “A consensual kiss?”

She blinked at him. “What?”

“Yes, I kissed you,” he growled. “I thought you were someone else. That’s on me. But you knew whom you were kissing back. And you didn’t exactly shove me off, did you? You didn’t even try.”

Her jaw dropped. “Are you seriously blaming me now?”

“I’m saying it takes two people to stay locked in a kiss that long!” he fired back.

“I didn’t get a chance to process what was even happening!” she yelled, tugging her hand free.

“When was I supposed to stop you, Shaurya Ahuja? Hmm?” She stepped closer, jabbing a finger at his chest. “When your tongue was halfway down my throat? When your fingers were gripping my waist like I was yours? Or when you moved in between my legs like it was your goddamn birthright?”

They stood there, panting, glaring, their bodies still humming from the kiss neither of them wanted to admit had meant anything.

Neither of them moved.

Neither of them blinked.

The air between them was so charged, it could’ve powered all of Serene Meadows for the rest of the year.

Finally, Shaurya exhaled harshly.

“Fine,” he swallowed. “Next time, stay out of my house.”

“Oh, trust me,” she snapped. “There won’t be a next time.”

She turned on her heel and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

Shaurya stood in the darkness. His pulse throbbed at his temples. His shirt still smelled like her shampoo. His mouth still carried her taste.

And for the first time in a long, long time, Shaurya Ahuja had absolutely no idea what the hell to do next.