"Why...How...What are you going to tell your father?" Gaurav asked as it was the first thing that struck his mind. Sneha could be manipulated for a moment...but not his father!

Viraj's face stiffened.

He had not thought of it when he kissed her and internally swore to make her his wife. He knew his father would not agree to this...not without a condition, at least.

"I'll talk to him." He answered and tried to walk in the direction where his girl ran.

But, Gaurav stopped him by placing his hand on Viraj's shoulder.

"Give her some time, Viraj. You forced yourself on her. She will misjudge you if you will go near her unprepared, especially right now. Let her anger subside a little." He warned, knowing the temper of Sneha.

"What is wrong with her?" Viraj sighed in frustration and ran his fingers through his hair in irritation. Here, he wanted to talk to her and spend some quality time together. But seemed like he'll have to wait longer.

Gaurav rolled his eyes. He knew Viraj was wrong but he also knew that he was highly inexperienced and had no idea what was wrong or right when it came to relationships between man and woman. He'll have to teach him as a kid.

"There is nothing wrong with her, Viraj. It is a normal reaction of a girl who got kissed by a stranger." Gaurav explained calmly.

Viraj glared at Gaurav.

"I am not a stranger to her. She is going to be my wife. So, she must get used to my affection." He said as if it was a universal fact.

Gaurav raised his brows momentarily.

"Uhh...Well, she doesn't know this, you know!" He added cautiously, seeing Viraj's rising anger.

Viraj thought over this. And, damn Gaurav, because he was right!

Viraj sighed. He realized that he never gave her any visible hints about his feelings for her. On the contrary, he only told her firmly that he didn't like her romantically.

"You are right. I should let her know about this." Viraj stated.

"More like...you should ask her!" Gaurav corrected him.

"Why should I ask her? She is lucky that I want her! She'd be screaming 'yes' when I'll tell her that I want to wed her." He said arrogantly.

Gaurav wanted to scoff at him.

"Still, you should ask her, and that too in a proper manner." Gaurav insisted.

"Proper manner?" Viraj asked in confusion.

"You want to marry her, right? So, you should take a proper marriage proposal to her house and ask her hand from her parents. You know how these things work!" Gaurav explained.

Viraj fell into thinking again. It was against his ethics to ask for something. He just got it as soon as he desired. But, apparently, societal norms were a hindrance, after all. And, he knew the rules as he also had a sister who was of age.

He understood that he will have to meet Sneha's parents along with his parents to ask for her hand in marriage. It was the custom in his region. The man had to ask for the hand of the woman.

"I'll talk to my father today. I believe, this Sunday would be good for all of us. Her father would be home too." Viraj decided.

Gaurav immediately calculated.

"Yes, it seems nice to me. This Sunday is also Valentine's day. It will appear romantic too and Sneha might like it as well. And since today is Thursday, we have about three days to plan things properly and also convince your father."

"Don't worry about my father." Viraj assured him. He just knew which card to play if his father contradicts.

At that moment, Viraj got a phone call and he looked at his phone's screen thinking it was Sneha. Perhaps she had got some sense and wanted to talk to him, he thought. He'd easily forgive her for it...especially the fresh memory of her slapping him.

"Why is Ananya calling me?" He whispered and answered the call.

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Sneha just couldn't stop crying as she ran back to the hotel to hide from Viraj. She felt used...harassed and played with! Her lips wobbled and her fingers shook vigorously. She felt as if she'd faint anytime soon.

"Sneha!" Ananya called for her attention as she saw Sneha run at full speed in the corridor. Tina and Shruti were with her and they were waiting for Jyoti to open the door so that they could go upstairs to have breakfast.

Sneha stopped mid-track and looked at Ananya. Her anger resurfaced. Exactly at that moment, Jyoti opened the door with a yawn.

"Sneha, where were you? Are you crying?" Jyoti asked in concern as Sneha walked closer to them. However, Sneha ignored Jyoti and bored holes on Ananya. Ananya looked at her in confusion as well.

Sneha stopped in front of Ananya.

"Let me clear one thing Ananya. Teach some manners to your brother. Go and tell him that if he ever comes near me again, I'll kill him." Sneha said in anger and she didn't care if she sounded rude or not.

"What?" Ananya whispered in shock.

Sneha didn't elaborate further but pushed her away to enter the room. Closing the door at Ananya's shocked face, she turned around to face an equally shocked Jyoti.

"Sneha! What's the matter?" Jyoti asked gently, sensing that something huge had happened.

Sneha crouched on the floor and out of blue started crying again. The memory and feel of a foreign man's lips on her mocked her. How could she let him kiss her! She hated herself for that.

"Sneha! You are scaring me. What happened?" Jyoti asked again in concern as she sat on the floor in front of her. Her laziness and dizziness had far gone now.

"Ananya's brother...He...kissed me!" Sneha stuttered out.

"What?" Jyoti asked in equal surprise.

"Viraj is here? But why? Why did he kiss you? Is he mad?" Jyoti asked.

"I don't know! I hate him! I hate him!" Sneha mumbled as she wept.

"Why are you crying then? You should have slapped and knocked some sense into him!" Jyoti said.

"I did! But, I got scared at that moment. So, I ran away immediately." She said.

"Oh, God! Sneha! You must get a restraining order for him. I am sure he didn't kiss you because he was short of girls or something." Jyoti suggested. Sneha wiped her tears quickly.

Everything became clear to both of them. They weren't that delusional.

Sneha understood that Viraj might have developed a liking for her. And, his past actions confirmed it to her. Him coming to the library, giving her free rides, paying for her, ignoring her snarky remarks, getting wet in rain just for her, telling her to reject the marriage proposal with Shashank, dancing with her so passionately, bidding such an enormous amount for a little pine cone, apologizing to her, and what not...everything made sense to her. If only she had understood the meaning of all this earlier. She would have prevented his feelings to develop further by maintaining her distance from him.

"I am going to complain to the police station. I won't let him get away with this. What is the punishment for kissing forcefully?" Sneha asked in her shivering tone.

"I don't know. But, I am sure it will teach him a good lesson. Don't worry for now. I am here for you. We will safely go to Mumbai. He won't approach you again."

"I swear I'll kill him if he comes near me." Sneha promised herself.

"He won't, don't worry. Your fiance is an IAS officer, after all! They have huge contacts. He will protect you. Just go and tell your father about today's incident as soon as we reach home. Okay?" Jyoti suggested.

Sneha nodded furiously. It was exactly what she had planned too.

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"Bhai, where are you?" Ananya asked Viraj on the phone with her racing heartbeat.

She knew Sneha will not get angry because of nothing. But, she also knew her brother! Her brother won't do anything inappropriate with any girl. She could swear on this. Then what did he do that made Sneha so angry? She couldn't decipher.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Viraj asked in concern.

"I am fine, bhai. But, where are you?" She asked again as she started walking in the direction from where Sneha came running. Tina and Shruti decided to give her space.

"Outside your hotel." He answered and Ananya froze. Her brother was really here. That meant he did do something inappropriate with Sneha.

"Where exactly are you? I want to see you." She asked and started running in the direction of the parking lot.

As soon as she spotted her brother, her confusion increased. Even Gaurav was here.

'What is going on!' She wondered.

"Bhai! What did you tell Sneha?" She asked directly.

Viraj rubbed his forehead in irritation. What he did was something he couldn't tell his own sister openly.

"What did she tell you?" He asked.

"She...She was so angry and almost pushed me in anger. She told me to tell you that if you came near her again, she'll kill you! What did you do, bhai?" She asked, getting a gist of what might have happened.

Viraj's brows raised as he heard Sneha's warning for him.

"She will what?" He asked again. However, internally, he liked her fiery attitude.

"She might have said all this in anger. But what did you do that made her so angry! Did you try to...ra..." Before she could complete her sentence, he interrupted.

"I just kissed her." Viraj immediately clarified himself. He didn't want his affection to be cursed by a horrible act, such as rape!

Ananya's hands flew to her mouth dramatically.

"You kissed her? But why? You clearly told that day that you don't like her!" She asked.

"I do. I like her." Viraj confirmed while looking in the direction of the hotel, as if he was confessing it to Sneha.

Ananya felt silent. She didn't know whether to rejoice or feel threatened. She knew that if Viraj didn't marry Nupur, then her father will hurt her badly. But, she also wanted her brother's happiness. She knew how lonely he was. After their biological mother, he had never loved anything passionately. He had always mourned their mother's separation.

Ignoring everything, she took a step forward and hugged her brother. Viraj looked at Ananya in confusion.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"I am happy for you, bhai! You chose the right girl for yourself." She said while being in the hug.

Viraj felt proud after hearing this. He knew Sneha was a good girl and perfect for him.

Coming out of the hug, she held her brother's hand gently.

"But, kissing her without consent was wrong, bhai. If you want to date her, you should have asked her properly!" She said.

However, Viraj didn't feel sorry for the kiss that he shared with Sneha. It was his first kiss and he was sure that it must have been her first as well. So, in a way, it was special for him.

"We will be visiting her family this Sunday." He announced to her.

"Her family?" She asked.

"I want to ask her hand in marriage, in the traditional way." He explained.

Ananya processed the information for a second.

"Wow! Are you really gonna marry her? That's so great, bhai! You are the best!" She chirruped and hugged her brother again.

For her, having her friend as her sister-in-law was amazing news... especially, a girl like Sneha. She'd have so much fun with her. And, she won't have to hear how her brother was greedy to marry for money as he had to marry Nupur.

"I didn't know you liked her so much!" He asked in suspicion.

"I do! And, I am so happy that you want to make her your wife! She will be the best sister-in-law! I'll buy everything that we will take to her house on Sunday to ask for her hand for you! Okay, bhai?" She proposed eagerly.

"Okay." He nodded with a small smile. His sister was happy with his choice. The mere thought made him happy as well.

"Now, go and try to calm the fireball for me. I don't think she would want to talk to me, right now. Tell her that I didn't want to make her cry." Viraj asked while giving another nickname to Sneha. She was his fireball, after all.

"Okay, bhai!" She agreed happily and almost ran in the direction of the hotel again.

"Where are you going?" Gaurav asked as he saw Viraj walking towards the sea again.

"I left something on the sand. Give me a sec." He said and started walking towards the beach.

Since he had decided to make her his wife, he was ready to take all the responsibilities...responsibility of her happiness, her safety, her honour and the things she wanted.

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Jyoti had finally managed to convince Sneha to have breakfast with everyone in the common hall of the hotel. They sat peacefully and ate whatever the hotel had offered. But, in the back of her mind, Sneha was still furious and sad.

However, all peace left the table when Ananya, along with Tina and Shruti approached the table where they were eating.

"Sneha!" Ananya started gently.

Sneha's anger was quick to resurface. She dropped her spoon on her plate and looked straight.

"Ananya, I want to be alone." She said while not even looking at her. Jyoti looked at Sneha in surprise. She knew that Sneha was not generally this rude to anyone!

Ananya sighed before continuing.

"Please listen to me. I talked to bhai..."

"Please, Ananya! Leave me alone!" Sneha said aloud this time, gathering the attention of the students sitting in their affinity.

Right now, Sneha didn't even want to hear his name!

Feeling embarrassed, Ananya sighed and walked towards the empty table along with Tina and Shruti.

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Sneha knocked at the door of her house. She was tired because of the long journey but, nonetheless, her energy to complain about Viraj to her father was still high.

Ananya had the audacity to approach her again while they were boarding the bus.

"Bhai didn't mean to hurt you!" Ananya had said, but Sneha as expected ignored her and boarded the bus of the Geography department. She wanted to have absolutely no connection with Viraj's family from now on. She had seen the impact of it.

Viraj, on the other hand, stayed a little longer and watched his sister and his soon-to-be wife board the bus safely. He asked his guards to split and take care of both the women. He could have followed them but he had other important business engagements that he couldn't ignore right now.

"Sneha! Come, we are watching a movie!" Her father said with a smile as he held her bag from her grasp.

"This late?" She asked as she glanced at the clock that read 11 pm.

"Priya borrowed this amazing movie from her friend. So, we were watching it while waiting for you." Her father elaborated.

"How was the trip, didi?" Priya asked as she lay on the floor.

"It was good." Sneha said tiredly. She wondered how she should begin the conversation. She was ashamed of it!

"Sneha, go and take bath first." Her mother ordered from the sofa after making sure that she was fit and fine.

So, that's what she did first.

After taking a quick bath and wearing her comfortable clothes, she came back to the living room quickly.

"Papa..." She called for her father's attention who was immersed in the movie just like her sister and mother.

"Want to eat something?" Her mother asked.

"No, mummy. I want to tell you something." She said.

"Okay?" Her father asked.

Sneha wondered if she should tell it in front of her sister or not. But, then she decided to tell it in front of her. It would set a good example for Priya, after all.

"Papa, we will have to go to the police station tomorrow." Sneha started and her father frowned.

"What happened, Sneha?" He asked in concern.

Priya immediately switched off the TV.

"I want to file a complaint against Viraj." She said firmly.

Her father's eyes widened.

"Viraj Khatri?" He confirmed.

"Yes. He..." She said but it was hard for her to word it.

"Sneha, we talked about it, right? Whatever he does is his business! We don't need to interfere. Just let him be. We don't want to be..."

"It's not about that papa." She said as she realized that he was referring to the day when she saw Viraj murder someone.

His frown deepened.

"What did he do then?" He asked.

Sneha suddenly felt ashamed. But then, why was she ashamed? It should be Viraj who must feel ashamed of his act. She was the victim here, not the culprit! So, taking a deep breath, she blurted out the truth while looking at her finger, her gaze downcast.

"He forcefully kissed me in Goa." She said and out of nowhere, tears pooled in her eyes.

"WHAT?" Each member of her family shouted in surprise.

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