Page 33 of When Love Trespassed

Nandini stepped out of Shaurya’s villa, her breath unsteady, her cheeks still warm from the kiss that had left her pulse racing and her lips tingling.

Her thoughts were all tangled, her heart beating like it was trying to escape her chest. But the moment she was outside, she stopped. Something felt off.

Where was Priya?

It had gone suspiciously quiet.

She was about to pick up her pace towards the Raichand Villa when she heard a soft giggle. Not hers. It came from behind a dense ornamental shrub that sat prettily in the corner of Shaurya’s garden.

Before she could react, she heard footsteps behind her. She turned quickly, startled, only to find Shaurya standing there, hands in his pockets, his gaze still locked on her like he hadn’t quite recovered from what had just happened between them.

“I—” he began, but she raised a hand and placed it over his mouth to shut him up.

“Shh,” she whispered, her eyes wide. “Someone’s here.”

He looked at her, confused. “Where?”

She pulled her hand away and pointed toward the shrub. And then, they heard it again. Another giggle. Low. Giddy. Definitely guilty.

They exchanged a look of suspicion before tiptoeing toward the bush. The moment they peeked around the leaves, they froze.

Priya and Varun were kissing . Not hugging. Not holding hands. Kissing. Full-on lip-locked like the garden had suddenly transformed into the set of a romance film.

Shaurya’s eyes slid back to Nandini, who looked equally stunned and then slowly her lips tipped in amusement. The kiss they’d just shared flashed across both their minds. The tension. The breathlessness. The heat.

And in that charged, knowing glance, the realisation struck them both at once: They could’ve been the ones caught.

But right now, it wasn’t about them but their best friends. And clearly, they were not the only ones keeping secrets. Their best friends had kept it too.

“What the hell ?” Shaurya’s voice broke the moment.

Priya yelped and jumped back like she’d been zapped while Varun tripped over his own foot trying to create space between them.

“You two… kissing?” Nandini gasped.

Priya looked mortified, like she wanted to disappear into the earth. “Nandini, it’s not what it looks like. I mean, we both… we… I—”

Varun cleared his throat, clearly looking more at ease than Priya. “Relax. It’s just our friends, not the press,” he said to her. Then, he turned to Nandini and Shaurya with a small smile. “We’ve been dating for a couple of months now.”

“WHAT?” Nandini all but shrieked. Even Shaurya looked stunned, staring at Varun with raised brows and a betrayed expression.

“You both are dating?” she repeated, her eyes bouncing between them like she was trying to solve a puzzle that didn’t quite fit. “And you didn’t tell me?”

Priya winced, guilt written all over her face. “I wanted to, Nandini. I swear, I did. But you were in Mumbai, already stressed out with the whole skincare brand mess and everything... and I just didn’t want to add drama to your plate.”

“But it’s been almost a month since I came back,” Nandini argued. “You had plenty of time to tell me. That excuse doesn’t fly anymore.”

Shaurya folded his arms, levelling an unimpressed glare at Varun. It wasn’t the dramatic kind. He was disappointed. Varun turned slowly to meet his best friend’s stare.

“You too,” Shaurya muttered. “Seriously?”

Varun blinked. “What?”

“You’ve been dating her for months , Varun. And you didn’t think to tell me?”

Varun opened his mouth, then closed it. “Shaurya—”

“I told you everything ,” Shaurya cut him off. “You knew every single detail of my life, when I punched my garage wall, when I had insomnia for three weeks straight… and when I kissed Nandini, I even told you that. And you —you couldn’t tell me this?”

Varun’s face fell. “Shaurya, it’s not like that, man.”

“Then what is it? You think I’d ruin it? That I’d judge you? Or her?”

Varun held up both hands. “No! God, no. Look, I wanted to tell you. I almost did. Twice, actually. But you, bro… you were in this whole phase. ‘Love is for fools,’ ‘Commitment is a myth,’ ‘I’ll die alone,’ and blah blah.

I didn’t think you’d take it well. You were so anti-love. You know what I mean?”

Shaurya scoffed. “Anti-love? That’s your excuse?”

“You were literally growling at couples on park benches last month!”

Nandini covered her mouth to stifle her laugh.

Varun stepped closer, his tone softening. “Listen. I’m sorry, okay? I should’ve told you. You’re my best friend. I just... didn’t want to mess things up when they were finally going right.”

Shaurya rolled his eyes, making it very clear that he was hurt at being left out.

“Don’t be like this,” Varun said, nudging his shoulder playfully. “I’ll tell you the whole love story. I promise. It’s got drama, chaos, Priya’s awful cooking, and one ridiculously romantic night. You’ll love it.”

Shaurya arched a brow. “Now you want to share everything, huh? After we caught you both red-handed?” he asked.

“No, not just because of that,” Varun replied, then looked between Shaurya and Nandini and grinned. “Because now, you’re not anti-love anymore, dude. Just admit it.”

Shaurya shot him a warning glare. Nandini looked away, her cheeks turning pink.

Shaurya narrowed his eyes. “Now I know who’s been feeding you all the Serene Meadows gossip. If it wasn’t from me, it had to be her,” he said, pointing towards Priya.

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 just randomly interrupted our conversation—” she turned to glare at Varun, “—with that sprain , 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 party tonight 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. “You WHAT ?”

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. With that …” 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 did you always 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 time you blush 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.”

Shaurya side-eyed him. “No more updates for you. Not after you kept this secret.”

Varun winced. “Fine, fine. I owe you. I’ll report everything from now on. Even my grocery list. Happy? But seriously, did something happen between you two again?”

“I said I’m not telling you anything. Not a chance,” Shaurya muttered.