"Viraj?" Nupur spoke again, bringing Viraj out of his deep thinking.

"It's me. How are you?" He asked in his straight tone, with which she was very well accustomed to. Nonetheless, his mere voice brought a huge smile to her lips.

He heard her light laughter before she answered him.

"I am glad that you called me. I am doing good. How are you?" She asked.

"I am good, too."

"And, Ananya?"

"She is fine."

"That's good to know." She replied before they both went silent for a while.

"My father wants us to fix the wedding date." He came directly to the point.

"Okay." Nupur agreed as a shy smile came upon her lips.

"This Saturday...it's Ananya's birthday. We can discuss this matter on that day." He said.

"Okay." She answered gently.

"I'll mail the flight ticket to you."

"Okay." She replied again.

"Okay then... Bye." He said as gently as he could.

"Bye, Viraj." Nupur said, a little upset with how he didn't try to prolong the conversation. But, it was always like this between them...formal and brief.

Viraj cancelled the call and sighed. He liked Nupur...but not to the extent of getting married to her. He never felt anything romantic for her. And, he knew she loved him. The inability to return those feelings made him hate himself sometimes. She was going to be his wife someday and he didn't want his life to turn like his parents'. He'd rather not marry than suffer that!

He clearly remembers the days when Ananya and Nupur used to play together in their childhood. He used to consider both the girls as his sister. Sometimes, he'd even play with them so as to momentarily forget about his parents' fights. Thinking of that same little girl, whom he had brotherly affection for always, as his wife, wasn't an easy task for him...no matter how perfect she is according to the definition of the right woman for him.

It is the right thing to do, Viraj. You won't find anyone more suitable than her. He reminded himself again, just like always.

And then, suddenly the image of the certain honey-coloured girl flashed before his eyes and he took a sharp intake of breath on her memory. She always managed to accelerate his heartbeat by her mere presence and thoughts, without even doing anything. He recalled how she'd look at him...sometimes in anger...sometimes in...

Stop thinking of her! She is not right for you, damn it! He instantly scolded himself for thinking of Sneha when he just talked to his fiancee.

.

.

.

Viraj came downstairs from his room after one of his men informed the news.

"You are leaving today?" Viraj asked his father as he saw Dev standing near his bodyguard who held his suitcase.

"Yes. I just got a call from my friends. They want me to discuss some things. I'll have lunch at the airport. So, don't worry about it." Dev explained.

Viraj nodded firmly and looked in the direction of Ananya's room, wondering if he should call her to bid farewell to their father.

"It's better if I don't see her face." Dev said rudely as he stepped forward to hug his son.

Viraj hugged his father in an awkward fashion and replied.

"She considers you as her father. Don't be mean to her." He attempted to knock some sense.

"Don't begin with this sh*t. You know what her father and your mother did to me. I am not a saint to forget this betrayal. And, she makes me remember it every time."

"It's not her fault!" He tried to reason.

"Goodbye, son. I'll call you once I reach Delhi." Dev said with a smile while completely ignoring his argument.

"Papa..." Viraj called for Dev as he turned around to exit the mansion.

"Yes?" Dev asked as he turned around again.

Viraj thought over it a bit.

"Ananya is turning 25 this Saturday. And, I want to make the day special for her."

"Do whatever you want! Why are you telling me? It's not your birthday. So, why should I be concerned?"

Viraj sighed before continuing.

"She has never celebrated it with ma. I want you to allow ma to attend her birthday this Saturday...please." He forced the word 'please' out of his mouth.

"Ma?" Dev chuckled humorously, but returned back to normal when Viraj glared at him.

"Fine, I will. But, I want something in return as well." Dev said after a little thinking.

"What?" Viraj asked patiently.

"You will invite Nupur and her family as well. And, you will announce your wedding date in front of everyone." Dev laid his terms of condition.

Viraj's jaw tightened at the imagination.

"Fine. But, you will have to promise that you will not cause any drama on that day, nor will you hurt Ananya in any way."

"Only for that one day." Dev promised to which Viraj nodded.

'At least she'd be happy for a day.' He thought.

.

.

.

Sneha and Ananya came out of the car. It was Gaurav's turn to drive them back home and Sneha was glad about it. She didn't miss on sneaking glances at him once in a while...childish crush!

They both thanked him as he went on to drive back to his place.

"I am so excited about making the model." Ananya chirruped as Sneha and she entered her room.

Sneha smiled in response and kept her handbag on the table.

"Let's gather the items we need for making the base." Sneha said excitedly and they both began removing the things out of the bag.

"Okay...So, we will make some mountains and rugged plains using POP. Then, we will put on some random things on the surface later. And, at last, we will put on the ice and water." Sneha explained as she took the packet of POP and started searching for the pair of scissors.

"Do you know how to use it? Because I don't." Ananya asked with interest.

"I saw a few videos on how to use it, yesterday, in the college's computer lab. But, I have never really used it in a model. It will be an experiment for me too." Sneha answered.

After, setting the things out, they analysed the items.

"We'll need a waste container to make the mixture of POP, and some water." Sneha asked.

"Okay. I'll ask someone in the kitchen for it." Ananya said and walked out of the room to get the items.

Meanwhile, Sneha imagined how she would do her task which seemed more and more challenging as she began executing it in her mind.

'How am I going to make the mountains?' She wondered as the POP mixture will be fluid in the beginning.

"Hey!" She heard a voice that brought her out of her deep thinking. Looking behind her, she was surprised to see Gaurav back.

"Hi! I thought you left?" She asked as she stood.

"I came back to return Ananya's ID card. She forgot it on the front seat." He explained as he walked inside and curiously looked at the POP packet and the two glass boxes.

"Oh!" Sneha exclaimed.

"What is all this?" He asked as he pointed at the POP packet and the glass boxes.

"Our project ingredients."

"Why do you need POP for it? Are you making any structure?" He asked.

"Yes. We'll make some raised surface to show the water-level rise." She answered.

"Great! Can I see this too? This sounds fun!" He asked in his ever so gentle tone. His eyes shone with excitement, making her heart skip a beat.

"Uhh...yeah, sure! If you are not busy!" She answered with a small smile.

"I got...Gaurav?" Ananya asked as she saw him leniently sitting on one of the chairs.

"You forgot your card in the car." Gaurav said as he removed the card from his pocket and gave it to her.

"Thanks!" Ananya answered and passed the steel container to Sneha.

"You aren't going?" Ananya asked Gaurav.

"I am gonna watch this thing for a while." He explained.

Ananya chuckled at his response.

"Since bhai isn't home, you decided to waste your time!"

"He isn't going to come anytime soon. I can get some me-time!"

"Yeah, sure!" Ananya laughed again and passed the water bottle to Sneha.

Sneha took out the tablespoon she got from her home and began removing POP from the packet to the container.

"This will take you forever, Sneha." Gaurav commented as he noticed her take the content using a little tablespoon.

Sneha chuckled and answered.

"I know! But, this is the only measuring scale I know from the video I saw. I don't want to mess up the ratio. So, I am following exactly what I saw in the video." Sneha answered.

"If you don't mind, should I help you?" He asked gently.

Sneha looked up at him from the floor.

"You can?" She asked, a little shyly.

"Yes. I have worked with POP many times with Natasha and I can make the mixture without even needing any scale." He explained as he stood up to sit with her on the floor.

'Must be his sister.' Sneha thought as he mentioned Natasha.

"Thank you!" Sneha said as she passed the POP packet to him.

Gaurav skillfully poured one-fourth of the content into the container and added water as required while giving it a thorough mix. In a minute, he was ready with the mixture.

"Done! Now, where do you want me to put this in?" He asked as he kept the container aside and cleaned his hands with tissue.

"We have to make a rough surface with this in the glass box. And then, we will have to make some mountains.

"We'll need some more tissues and newspapers for it. Plus, for making the mountains, what is your strategy? Because I don't see any mould here. Do you have any?" He asked as he analyzed the glass box.

"No. I didn't realize we would need a mould for it." Sneha answered. All the while, Ananya just sat on the bed while trying to understand what they both were talking about.

Now that Sneha thought of it, she really made the mistake of not thinking over the process in detail.

Seeing her flushed face, Gaurav spoke.

"Don't worry about it. We'll make it. But, we'll have to be quick since we already made our mixture and it will start setting soon." He said and retrieved his phone. He called one of the guards and asked him to bring some newspaper and a stick broom.

Meanwhile, Gaurav and Sneha poured a little quantity of POP into the glass boxes to make the first layer.

In a few minutes, the guard came with the required things and Sneha understood what Gaurav intended to do.

He is so intelligent! She thought in a praising manner.

"Okay! So, Sneha...do exactly how I am doing here." Gaurav mumbled and started stacking small sticks in random fashion followed by putting some patches of tissues and newspaper.

At that instance, Ananya's phone went off and she looked at the phone's screen.

"Why is papa's assistant calling me?" She asked while looking at Gaurav.

"Take it. It must be something important." He said to which Ananya nodded. She accepted the call and went out on the balcony to get some privacy. Meanwhile, Sneha did her task and imitated Gaurav's actions.

"Now, we will put on this paste over this and give it a shape of a hill. Make sure you hold it with both hands and keep on patting with the palm until it starts getting partially dry." He explained.

"Okay." Sneha agreed.

Sneha put on the POP paste first and when her part was done, Gaurav did his work. Both held the little hill structure firmly and waited for it to get semi-dry.

"Press harder from here too, Sneha. It's leaking." Gaurav said while putting his right palm over her little finger. Sneha was taken aback by the little touch but, before she could say or do something, another voice interrupted them.

"What the hell is going on here?"

.

.

.

Viraj entered his house slowly. The meetings concluded earlier than he had expected. He was climbing the stairs when he saw one of the guards, exit Ananya's room.

"What were you doing in there?" Viraj asked the guard.

"Boss, Gaurav asked for some things. I was just delivering those."

"In Ananya's room?" He asked with narrowed brows.

"Yes, boss. Gaurav is there along with the new girl and Ananya." The guard elaborated.

Viraj tried to understand the situation.

"Okay. Go." He told the guard and took a step towards his sister's room.

'What is Gaurav doing in there?' He wondered.

However, after taking a few steps, he turned around and started walking in the direction of his room.

'Why do I care?' He mumbled and sat on his bed. Removing his shoes hastily, he wore his home slippers. He opened the top three buttons of his pale blue shirt and slumped on the bed to relax. However, he only felt more anxious.

'What are they doing in there?' He wondered again.

'I don't care.' He answered himself and remained still for a minute.

'Oh **** it!' He whispered to himself and stood up in a flash. He wore his slippers properly and started walking in the direction of Ananya's room. He had only reached the door of his sister's room when the sight in front of him made him furious.

Gaurav had his hand over Sneha's and the way she was looking at him, with her wide eyes made him...feel something he had never felt.

"What the hell is going on here?" He asked in his heavy voice before he could compose himself.