'It's not going to be fun!' She corrected herself quickly when she processed her partner's name.

'How will I look into his eyes for long?' She slowly pondered as Viraj stood in front of her. She raised her head to look at him, but then instantly looked down. He had a faint smirk on his lips.

Everyone cheered for them...mostly for Viraj since he was more popular than Sneha in the group.

Viraj sat on one of the chairs comfortably. He knew he will win. There was no doubt about it.

"Are you going to take forever?" He mockingly asked her when she remained standing in front of her chair.

Sneha looked at him again. Confidence and arrogance reeked from his facial expression. She knew that he knew that he would win.

'Let's burst someone's ego bubble.' She thought to herself before taking the chair confidently. She told herself again and again that she will have to distract herself and think of something peaceful while she stares at her competitor.

So, with this thought, she met his eyes. But, then, she immediately looked away. It was tough for her.

"Okay. Ready?" Tina asked.

Ananya looked at her brother and her friend in anticipation. She wondered who would win...her brother aka King of arrogance...or Sneha, the confident girl.

"Yes." Sneha answered as she finally looked into Viraj's eyes. She had to take a sharp shaky breath as she looked into his emotionless eyes which were already looking into hers. She quickly blinked twice before Tina says 'start'.

Viraj looked into her black expressive eyes. It was no coincidence that she was matched with him for this competition. While everyone had a leisure break, he had silently texted his guard to match his name with Sneha, no matter what name comes for Sneha or himself.

He had wondered why he took the pain of creating this fallacy. And, his rational mind told him that it was a good way to prove her wrong for her earlier statement...of how he was afraid of losing. It would be better to defeat her.

"Okay...So, let's begin. 3...2...1...start." Tina announced excitedly.

Both Sneha and Viraj began their staring contest.

Sneha tried to imagine the scenery of mountains or maybe beaches...But it was so damn difficult. She couldn't think of anything as she found herself, involuntarily, appreciating his eyes. She had never paid attention to them...as she was forced to do now.

'His eyes...are so...beautiful!' She concluded. It had the perfect shape with full lashes. He could make any girl jealous of them. On seeing it closely, she realized that he had brown orbs...a very light shade...but it was brown if one looked into them closely.

She was about to blink involuntarily, when she realized her train of thoughts.

'What's wrong with you, Sneha? Focus! FOCUS!' She scolded herself and slightly squinted her eyes to relieve herself of the natural desire to blink.

"Ooo...It's already been 30 seconds! That's the longest of this night!" Ananya commented as she timed it.

Viraj merely continued his staring. Her eyes were not new to him. He had looked into them many times...too many times. And, he could recognize her eyes even if she wore a burqa!

However, her desire to win this little game, and her amazing performance up till now amazed him. He had never met anyone who had the audacity to stare into his eyes for this long...except his mother who had done it too many times in his childhood while scolding him.

He could see her eyes water a little, due to the lack of blinking. It must have been a minute now. Even if he felt pity for her, he couldn't let her win. He had to win. It was his ego at stake.

"Good going, Sneha!" Jyoti cheered for her friend.

'I should make a face at him.' Sneha thought as she felt she won't be able to hold on any longer.

'Should I stick my tongue out? Nah! That's too childish. Should I crack a joke? Do you think it will even make him smile...let alone laugh!' She talked to herself.

'What would distract his attention?' Sneha pondered heavily. And, an idea crept into her mind. But, then she rejected it. It wasn't a mature idea.

Her eyes felt heavy. She desperately wanted to close her eyes.

'I can't lose...not to him.' She repeated in her mind.

"Ooo! It's already 2 min 15 seconds!" Ananya said and cheered for her brother.

With the prize in mind, and to hit his ego, she finally did what she never thought she'd do...ever in her life...not to a man who isn't her husband.

Sneha winked at Viraj.

She never thought it would work. It was just an idea...a way to see if it would work.

And, it worked.

Viraj blinked his eyes...not once...but twice in a row.

"I win." Sneha smiled and announced for herself as she looked at Tina.

Viraj's heartbeat quickened when she did that. Countless women had done such suggestive and flirtatious acts with him. But, he had never imagined it coming from Sneha.

"Uhh..." Tina hesitated to announce that Viraj lost the game. She wanted him to accept it himself.

"No, you did not." Viraj contradicted with a frown as the reason for her winking dawned on him.

She wasn't flirting with him. She had done it to win this game. He realized.

Sneha looked at him with a frown too.

"You blinked before me. So, I win." She explained confidently.

"You blinked before me." He asserted.

"I did not blink. I winked." She said and looked at Tina to seek her approval.

Tina remained clueless. She wasn't stupid to go against Viraj and his infamous ego.

"And, it counts as blinking too." He opposed.

"No, it doesn't. Winking is closing one eye and blinking is closing both eyes at a time." She defined politely, since she could feel his irritation in his voice.

"Winking comes under blinking, Sneha." He asserted sternly. Had she been one of the women in his family, she would have quietly agreed with him, without another word or argument. But, she was Sneha...the girl who stood for herself if she was correct.

"Let's google it." She finally said and looked in the direction of Jyoti. Jyoti slowly nodded and unlocked her phone to go to the internet.

"Umm...there are mixed results on this." Jyoti said as she kept on scrolling through the search results.

Viraj relaxed on his chair and withdrew his phone from his blazer's pocket.

He quickly typed something and then passed the phone to Tina.

"Read." He ordered Tina.

Tina gulped and started reading. All the while Viraj stared at Sneha who was looking at Tina with confused eyes.

"In a staring contest, any kind of distracting activities, such as making faces, winking, joking, touching, recalling past memories, etc are not allowed." Tina finished reading.

"I hope you got your answer." Viraj asked Sneha.

Sneha looked at him again.

"If we are following these rules, then others before us broke them too." She challenged him.

"I don't care what others did or do. You blinked before me and broke the rules. Thus, you lose and I win." He declared.

Sneha lightly scoffed and looked at Tina again.

"Uhh..." Tina stumbled with words again.

"That's not fair, Viraj." Sneha mumbled.

"Fine. Let's take a vote then. Those who believe I rightfully won, raise your hand." He said sternly. Sneha sighed when almost everyone raised their hands.

'Of course, they'd support him.' She thought.

"And, those who think Sneha won the game, raise your hand." Viraj asked.

Sneha looked around in horror. Only Jyoti and Gaurav had raised their hand for her. Viraj glared at his friend though.

"Uhh...So, Viraj won the game and here is the prize for him." Tina said hesitantly as Sneha glared at him.

Viraj smirked at her expression. He took the wrapped item and kept it in his pocket. Giving her a last glance, he stood and left in the direction of the pool again.

Sneha stood up and reached her friend's side.

"I hate him." She declared to Jyoti while the game resumed for others.

"It's okay, Sneha. You won the first game. Look at me..prizeless!" Jyoti chuckled.

"He knows it. He knows that he cheated. Yet, to save his ego, he made a fool of me." She complained.

"It's your fault. Who told you to wink...that too, at him?" Jyoti asked.

"It was to distract him! He was sitting like an emotionless statue. And, I was struggling so hard to keep my eyes open!" Sneha sighed as she recalled how easily he could stare at her.

"It's okay, Sneha. Think that you won." Jyoti tried to console her.

"I guess, you are right. It was just a game, after all!" She said, mostly to herself.

On the other hand, Viraj hit his chest lightly in order to calm his thumping heart. The moment she winked at him, replayed in his mind. She looked a hundred times cuter when she did it. Even if it lasted for a second, he remembered it clearly.

'What's wrong with me!' He scolded himself as he looked inside the hall from the glass window. She was talking to her friend with a serious expression. He wondered if she was complaining about him! It mustn't have bothered him...but unknowingly...it did.

"Viraj." He stiffened when he heard that sweet melodious voice.

He turned around to see that it was his fiance.

"Nupur." He acknowledged her presence.

When she struggled to speak, he sighed.

"Do you want something?" He asked in a gentler tone.

"No. I was hoping you could play the last game with us. It will be fun." She said, in hopes that he would agree. In her mind, she had believed that, if Sneha...an outsider...a nobody to Viraj...could convince him, she definitely can.

"No. I have to make a few more calls. I already wasted my time." He explained as he unlocked his phone to dial his client's number.

"P.please?" She requested in a humble tone.

Viraj looked at her with a narrowed gaze. One thing that he definitely appreciated about Nupur, was that she never went against his decision. He never had to tell her twice. She was obedient and kept her questions to herself. And hearing her repeat the same thing again, made him furious.

"Do I need to repeat myself, Nupur?" He asked sternly and she could feel her eyes getting wet. So, she quickly shook her head negatively and rushed back in.

Viraj looked at her retreating form, but didn't bother to go after her. That was the family tradition. Men never followed women in his family. It was considered a sign of weakness.

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Soon the game got over and it was time for the next game. Luckily, it was Jyoti's favourite game.

Musical chairs.

The waiters helped Tina in arranging the chairs in a circle. Everyone took their seats. For the first round, 5 chairs were removed straightaway. And, to Sneha's horror, she got eliminated in the very first round along with Gaurav, Shruti and two other cousins of Ananya.

The game continued and at last, the birthday girl and Jyoti remained in the competition cum game.

"Jyoti...let me win, please. It's my birthday!" Ananya playfully said as both of them circled around the only chair left.

"Nope, Ananya. Prize before friendship." She joked and everyone laughed.

Sneha cheered for her best friend and Ananya pouted at it. Seeing Sneha cheering for Jyoti, Tina and Shruti started cheering for Ananya too. The song played for quite a long time since it was the last one. And, soon the song stopped playing.

Before Ananya could realize it, Jyoti ran towards the front of the chair and sat at lightning speed.

"Oh, come on!" Ananya whined playfully and everyone laughed.

"Yay!!!" Jyoti jumped in happiness and Sneha showed her a thumbs-up. They both won something...and it was an amazing feeling.

"That was fun, guys! Thank you for being so energetic throughout the games." Tina said as she brought the game night to a conclusion.

"Now, let's have some food before we hit the dance floor." Ananya said and everyone agreed.

Sneha and Jyoti however went to the restroom before heading towards the dining hall. When they entered the hall, Tina and Shruti waved their hands in their direction. Sneha and Jyoti nodded and waved back.

Ananya pointed towards the corner of the hall where a wide variety of dishes were served. The girls walked in the direction and looked at all the food with wide eyes. There were just too many options. Sneha couldn't even recognize some cuisines.

They stuffed their plates with the food that they could recognize and were certain that they could finish. They then came towards their collegemates and sat next to them. Everyone was chatting with each other.

"I hope you enjoy the food." Ananya said with a smile. Sneha and Jyoti nodded with a gentle smile too.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Your department is holding the charity, tomorrow right?" Shruti asked as they resumed eating.

"Yes." Jyoti answered.

"What are you both presenting?" Ananya asked curiously.

"I have decorated a mirror with seashells." Jyoti answered.

"Wow! I'll definitely bid on that." Shruti said and Jyoti's eyes twinkled.

"You will?" Jyoti asked hopefully.

"Obviously! You are our friend. And this shell-mirror concept appears interesting." Shruti explained.

"Thank you!" Jyoti mumbled happily.

"What about you, Sneha?" Tina asked.

Sneha gulped the food before speaking.

"The answer is in a riddle. And, it is a surprise. So, you all will have to be there tomorrow to crack the riddle and find out what it is." Sneha smiled in a mischievous manner.

"As if we know anything about Geography! Come on, tell us...What is it?" Ananya stressed.

"Nope. By the way, it isn't hard. So, be there tomorrow." Sneha smiled and resumed eating.

"That sounds even more interesting! We will be there, don't worry." Tina said to both Sneha and Jyoti who returned a gratitude-filled smile.

Exactly at that moment, the door to the dining room opened. Everyone looked in that direction curiously. In came another beautiful woman with a big bouquet of flowers in her hand.

Sneha noticed Gaurav standing beside her as he had his hand around her waist.

"Oh my god! NATASHA!" Ananya screamed in joy as she looked at her and stood up to greet her properly.

The ones who knew her waved at her as she returned it with a sweet smile.

"Who is she?" Sneha asked curiously to Tina and Shruti as Ananya walked in Natasha's direction.

"You don't know? That's Natasha. Gaurav's girlfriend!" Shruti answered.

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(Hi!

So, do you also think Viraj cheated?)