With confidence, Sneha hit Viraj's arm that was holding her hand, using her free hand. Adrenaline rushed into her bloodstream making her feel hot and active.

Not expecting this from her, Viraj left her arm and stared at his hand where he got hit. It didn't hurt, even a bit. What did got hurt was his ego. A woman had raised her hand on him! It was a direct insult and a challenge to his authority. He can tolerate anything but not an insult!

Looking up from his hand, he glared at her. He didn't need to word his anger. His eyes were enough.

And, Sneha would be lying if she didn't get scared at the sight. Angry Viraj is a dangerous sight.

"You c.can't force me, Viraj. This is not right. I can go home by myself." She stuttered and took small steps backwards. His angry eyes followed her.

As soon as she turned around, he held her arm again. In action mode, Sneha tried to punch his hand but, he was prepared for it this time. He knocked her attacking hand away with ease. Sneha stumbled backwards in surprise. His blow was rather harsh on her hand and a low thumping pain coursed through. She looked at him with wide eyes.

Had the war been declared? She wondered.

"I don't want to fight you, Viraj." She said. Her voice came a little shaky. She wasn't stupid to look forward to fighting a mafia boss! She knew that she'd lose it.

"Then get in the car." He stated with finality.

"No." She answered sternly too.

"Fine, then." He tried to hold her arm again when she made a move to hit it. He dodged it successfully. Her next move was aimed at his chest which he dodged again. Then, she tried to strike his right side, but he easily blocked the blow with his hand. Her next move to hit his leg also went in vain. And with every unsuccessful attempt, he came a step closer to her while she moved a step closer toward the car.

Tired of her futile attempts in trying to hit him, he shifted to the attacking mode from the defensive mode. With one sharp movement of his hand, he had knocked her hand away. He pushed her roughly such that her back hit the car's side door.

Everything happened so fast that when she saw his closed fist approaching her face with speed, she instinctively closed her eyes in fear.

To say that Viraj was angry would be an understatement. He was furious and irritated by her childish behaviour. And, he was ready to teach her a lesson right now. But as he saw her scared face with eyes shut tight, all his anger just sublimed into thin air.

He would have punched her hard, but he halted midway. He had never raised a hand on any woman before because the need never arose. His one word was enough. However, right now, he just couldn't hit her.

His fist stopped inches away from her face. The anger was replaced by playfulness now. Her eyes were still closed tightly as if she was awaiting the blow.

His eyes scanned her eyes, followed by her small nose and then to her parted lips. He gulped again as unwanted desire pooled into his mind.

He wondered how it would feel to touch these soft lips of hers. How would it feel to touch them with his own?

Viraj's jaw tightened at the erotic image. His breathing quickened. He had never felt this intense desire for any woman, ever in his life! Why was he feeling this now?

His eyes travelled back to her eyes. They were still closed in fear. So, he lightly tapped the tip of her nose to let her know that he was not going to hit her.

And, it worked.

Sneha opened her eyes in a flash and stared at him with a fearful expression.

"Never raise your hand on me again." He warned in a low voice.

A shaky breath left her lips. He was standing so close to her! In fear, she licked her lips and looked down. She was yet to understand what just happened.

"I...I have to go home." She murmured and tried to step aside. However, he opened the passenger seat's door and signalled her to enter.

"Get inside. I won't repeat again." He stated.

"Why...why are you doing this?" She asked desperately. It just didn't make any sense! Why would he care to drop her home, so much so that he was ready to fight with her!

"Remember one thing, Sneha, because I won't repeat it again. I always get what I want. And, right now, I want to drop you at your home safely." He said flatly and adamantly.

Sneha sighed. There was definitely something wrong with him, she understood.

In a haze, she stepped forward and sat inside the car quietly. Viraj closed the door and walked towards the driver's side.

"Wear your seatbelt." He commanded as he wore his. Without looking at him, she proceeded to buckle herself.

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As soon as Viraj parked the car in front of Sneha's home, Sneha unbuckled herself. She was glad that he had not initiated any sort of conversation during the entire ride, nor did he play any cheap song on the radio.

"Don't misunderstand my gesture of dropping you home to anything illogical." He said out of nowhere as soon as she opened the door.

She looked up at him with raised brows, not really understanding his point of view.

"What?" She asked when he didn't explain further.

"Don't imagine that I have any romantic feelings for you or whatever. I am just dropping you home because you helped my sister once and I do not want you to fall into unnecessary trouble on the bus when I know I could have dropped you home safely." He answered.

"I...I know. You are engaged." She said uneasily and grabbed her bag quickly to come out.

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At home, as she lay on the bed, Sneha reflected on the events of the day, especially on Viraj's parting comment.

'Maybe I am overthinking. Perhaps he really helped me because of the silly debt that he thinks he has on me. Why would he have any feelings for me anyway! We are of two different worlds. Plus, he is too egoistic for his own good. And, he knows that a girl like Nupur, who is rich and beautiful, is best for him. We would be a disaster!' She concluded.

And this is the exact reason why she didn't tell anything about this to her father or mother. Her father had already warned her last time to stay away from Viraj. If he would know that Viraj dropped her home, he would stress unnecessarily.

'I should really work on my self-defence skills!' She reminded herself as she replayed the little fight session she shared with Viraj. He was good at it, she admitted. It took him only 2 strikes to make her submit to him.

With a deep sigh, she closed her eyes.

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"You will have to give me a ride to the library, today." Sneha asked Jyoti as they entered the college library to return the issued books.

"What happened to your cycle?" Jyoti asked.

"I left it in the library's parking lot, last night. Ananya's brother gave me a lift to home." Sneha answered and prepared herself for the bomb of questions to fall on her head.

Jyoti looked at Sneha as if she had gone crazy.

"Why would Viraj give you a lift?" Jyoti asked.

Sneha sighed.

"I don't know! I seriously don't understand him. His actions say one thing but his words say the entire opposite!"

"What do you mean?" Jyoti asked.

"First he came to the library, that too in the kid's section. He said he wanted to give his friend's child a gift. Then he asked me to prepare a list of books for him by giving a review of each book to him. He literally sat with me till my shift got over. Then out of nowhere, he decided to drop me home. We even fought, literally! During the entire ride, I thought he did all this because he has some sort of feelings for me. But then, when I came out of the car, he told me that he doesn't like me romantically. He dropped me home because he owes me for helping Ananya once. Now, I seriously don't know what to make out of his actions!" Sneha explained in frustration.

"Did he do anything that made you think otherwise?" Jyoti asked.

"That is the problem, na! He didn't say or do anything that would make me feel uncomfortable. He just drove and looked straight."

"Then perhaps, he is telling the truth. He doesn't see you as anything more than his sister's saviour."

"If this is the truth, then I am glad about it. But, I...still feel uneasy about all this. I want to tell Ananya about it, but I know she won't be able to do anything. She will only defend her brother." Sneha said with a sigh.

"Don't think much about it. If he does this again, then we can talk to Ananya about it. Or you can ask Shashank or your father to interfere. I am sure he will talk sense to Viraj." Jyoti suggested.

"I guess you are right." Sneha mumbled.

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Sneha and Priya were coming back from the karate classes when they saw a beautiful woman standing at the doorstep of their home.

"Priya, go inside." Sneha whispered to Priya as she recognized the guest.

"Who is she?" Priya asked curiously.

"I'll tell you later." Sneha said while glancing at the car parked in front of her home.

As they approached their house, Sneha nodded and smiled at the woman to acknowledge her presence.

"Hi, Nupur." Sneha greeted.

Nupur smiled at her way and greeted Priya too.

After Priya entered the house, Nupur turned to face Sneha.

"I hope I am not disturbing you at this time." Nupur asked in her general polite tone.

It was almost 6 pm and she had to start packing for the trip to Goa. Still, she lied.

"No, no! How may I help you?" Sneha asked formally.

"I wanted to talk to you for a moment. Can we, right now?" Nupur asked.

"Yes, sure. Please come in." Sneha gestured towards her home.

"Will it be okay if we talk in a nearby cafe? I do not want to disturb your family." Nupur suggested.

"They won't get disturbed." Sneha chuckled.

"It's...a little...personal." Nupur insisted and Sneha got the hint. It was going to be a serious conversation, she realized. But, about what? They didn't share anything in common!

"Uhh...Okay." Sneha nodded and they walked in the direction of the car to go to the nearby cafe.

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Sneha took her seat as Nupur sat comfortably on the two-seater table of a posh cafe.

"What would you like to drink?" Nupur asked gently while surveying the menu.

"I, actually have some work to do at home. Let's get back to the topic that you wanted to discuss with me?" Sneha asked politely.

Nupur glanced at Sneha in surprise. She wanted to make Sneha comfortable, but it seemed that she was in a hurry after all. So, she closed the menu and faced her completely.

"Please do not feel offended by my question. I have been thinking a lot about it, and I am a little confused." Nupur began and Sneha nodded.

"Did...Viraj say anything to you?" Nupur asked finally.

Sneha got confused at the question.

"About what? I don't understand."

"I mean...Viraj is behaving very strange these days. And, he had been behaving like this since the day he danced with you on Ananya's birthday." Nupur explained.

Sneha sensed where the conversation was going.

"Please be clear, Nupur. Are you suggesting that something is going on between us?" Sneha asked.

Nupur sighed and nodded.

"Yes."

"Then why don't you ask him directly? He is your fiance! And it will make more sense if you get an answer directly from him." Sneha said.

"You don't know Viraj. If he gets angry, he will ruin everything. I don't want to make him angry by showing that I doubt him."

Sneha took a deep breath to control her rising temper. How can she think that something was going on between them!

"Nothing is going on between us, Nupur. We haven't even met for almost a week now." She clarified. Ananya had told Sneha during a casual talk that Viraj had gone abroad on an urgent basis to deal with a business crisis.

"Then, is there any meaning to the dance that..." Nupur was about to ask regarding the dance and other moments, when Sneha abruptly interrupted.

"If you have any complaints about my action towards you fiance, then please ask about those to me. I do not want to justify Viraj's actions. You should ask him about the same. I have clarified to you and I will assure you again, that there is nothing going on between Viraj and me. We are as good as strangers. So, please do not assume anything and bring doubts to your relationship. If there is anything else, please let me know. Otherwise, I would like to go home." Sneha said politely, yet firmly. She didn't want to sit here and explain the actions that she didn't even do! If Nupur doubts Viraj, she should go and talk to him! Why was she interrogating her! Sneha thought.

"I am sorry if I disturbed you or hurt you in any way. It really wasn't my intention." Nupur said.

And, just like that, Sneha felt bad. She regretted her tone.

"It's not like that. I...just don't understand why you are asking me for what Viraj did. It is not like I asked him to dance with me or anything. I am sorry if my tone hurt you in any way." Sneha mumbled.

"It's alright. I understand that my questions were not appropriate. But...I just wanted some sort of clarification from anyone. Since I can't ask Viraj, I only thought of you." Nupur explained.

Sneha nodded in understanding.

"Please do not worry about it. Viraj and I are poles apart. There can never be anything between us. He is Ananya's brother and thus, he is like my brother too." Sneha reassured her.

Nupur gave her a wide smile.

"Thank you so much, Sneha. Thanks for your time too! If you want, we may have some coffee before leaving?" Nupur offered but Sneha politely declined.

"No, thank you, Nupur. I have to do a lot of packing for the trip."

"Oh yes! Your college has planned a trip to Goa, right? Ananya told me about it." Nupur said.

"Yes." Sneha answered as they exited the cafe.

"Well, I hope you enjoy the trip and experience some new things...and make wonderful memories." Nupur wished to which Sneha smiled widely.

Even she had a feeling that this trip would be an amazing experience for her.

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