With a confused frown on his face, Viraj answered the call in front of Sneha.

"Nupur." He greeted in his usual tone.

Sneha watched Viraj's expression periodically and desperately wondered what Nupur was saying from the other side. She really hoped Nupur would in some way convince Viraj to marry her.

"Viraj...My mother said that...you want to break the engagement...Why, Viraj?" Nupur slurred making him realize that she was drunk.

Rubbing his forehead lightly, he answered.

"Nupur, let's talk tomorrow." He instructed.

"No, Viraj!" Nupur contradicted quickly in a high tone. Viraj's brows automatically raised in surprise. This was the first time she had probably talked to him in this tone.

"What did you say?" He asked in a strict tone. Hearing his voice, even Sneha felt uncomfortable.

"You need to tell me the truth! Why are you breaking the engagement? We love each other!" Her voice choked by the end.

"Let's talk tomorrow, Nupur. You are not in your right mind now." He repeated while ignoring her confession.

"Please, Viraj. Don't leave me. My father's no more and I don't know what will happen to me now. I am all alone! Don't leave me, please! I am begging you." She cried and her voice indicated her sorrow and desperation.

Viraj took a deep breath and glanced at the girl sitting in front of him who looked just as confused as he was earlier. Seeing Viraj's eyes on her, Sneha quickly looked away.

"Where are you?" He finally asked. Sneha looked up to him with hope clear in her eyes. She understood that their meeting was about to end as Viraj was going to meet Nupur. She couldn't be happier.

"I am at your house. But, the watchman is not letting me in!" She complained.

Viraj sighed.

"Tell him to take you to the hall. I'll be there in an hour." Viraj said.

Nupur nodded and Viraj quickly cancelled the call. Facing Sneha, he gave her an apologetic glance.

"I am sorry, Sneha. But, we will have to cut short our meeting. I have to sort out this issue before Nupur creates more drama." He said as he grazed her cheek gently with his knuckles.

Sneha didn't care about why he was going to meet Nupur and that too at this late hour! But the fact that her so-called fiance was going to spend this ungodly hour with his ex-fiance did bother her. It made her question Viraj's loyalty. Not that she cared about it either. Or did she!

So, she nodded slowly with pursed lips. And, as soon as she expressed her permission, Viraj took the liberty to close the distance between them to entwine their lips again. The small action took her by surprise again as she wasn't expecting it. Why was he kissing her so frequently! She wondered. She had never thought of him as a 'lust-driven' man!

Coming out of the kiss, Viraj pecked her nose and looked at her closed eyes.

"I now understand what addiction feels like." He mumbled while referring to his intense desire to keep on kissing and touching her. However, she didn't understand the meaning. So, she kept her gaze fixed on his chest.

"Come. Let's go before this gets intense." He lightly chuckled at his own train of thoughts. So, Sneha quickly dragged herself out of the bed and stood up.

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.

Viraj skillfully parked the car in front of her little house.

"I'll pick you up at 6 tomorrow, okay? Wear this dress." Viraj said.

"But, I have college tomorrow." She reminded him thinking he was referring to 6 am.

"Your college ends at 4 pm, right? My driver will drop you at your home from college. You will get enough time to get ready then. Right?" He asked.

"Uhh...But from 5 to 9, I work in the library. I can't miss any more days or I'll lose this job." She explained the situation.

Viraj's brows narrowed.

"You are not continuing that job...or any job." He stated as if it was common sense.

Sneha shifted uncomfortably in the car seat and looked at him properly.

"What? I mean, why?" She asked with raised brows.

'Who is he to decide this?' She wondered.

"Sneha, you are my fiancee. You are going to be my wife. And you need to maintain that reputation and responsibility that comes with it." He elaborated.

Sneha just stared at him for a few seconds.

"I don't understand. What responsibility and reputation?" She asked.

"The women in my family do not work, Sneha. They take care of the home and the men take care of the finance." He elaborated.

"That job is my source of income, Viraj. And I want to earn too!" She said with a heavy heart, knowing very well that if Viraj wanted, then she will have to quit her job. He held that much power over her. And if not him, his father would surely go insane.

Viraj sighed. He knew she belonged to those types of girls who wanted to remain independent and at par with all societal elements. And, he didn't want to argue on this topic right now. He had decided to teach her the rules of his family slowly. It would take some time to mould her according to his expectations and ideals. Right now, he'd simply take an action.

"Fine." He faked a smile.

Sneha couldn't believe he agreed with her.

"In that case, I'll pick you up at 9 from the library. Okay?"

Now, she had nothing to contradict. She wondered how and when she'd change into that heavy gown though.

"Okay." She slowly agreed. She held the bag of the gown and bouquet in her hand and attempted to open the door to exit the car. But, the door didn't budge an inch. So, she looked at him in confusion.

Viraj lightly smiled. Her eyes went to his hand that rested on the child-lock button.

"I have been told that the girl kisses her man goodnight." He reminded her.

Sneha looked at him with a blank expression.

'Her man? Is this guy crazy?' She internally screamed.

'You will never be my man!' She wanted to throw it on his face.

"Kiss me goodnight, fiancee." He asked playfully when she didn't make any move to approach him.

Sneha heaved a shaky breath as she realized that he won't let her go until he got what he wanted. Looking at the gear with nervous eyes, she finally started the journey toward his face. The damn man did not move an inch but sat straight and let her do all the work of approaching him. She had to literally push herself using her hand in order to come closer to him since he was so tall. He loved the feeling of her making effort instead of him taking all the initiative.

Viraj kept his eyes on her as she planted a small kiss on his left cheek. Meanwhile, Sneha wouldn't dare to look at him and kept her gaze downcast.

As soon as her lips touched his cheek, she quickly came back to her initial position in a flash.

"You are shyer than I had thought." He commented to which she didn't reply back.

"Go." He instructed and she didn't waste a single second in fleeing from the car.

Viraj chuckled at her behaviour which he, as usual, misinterpreted as being shy. He drove away once he was sure that she had entered her home and closed the door.

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.

"How is papa?" It was the first thing that Sneha asked Priya as soon as she stepped inside her home.

"Good. He is in his room. Are you okay?" Priya asked in worry as her mother came out of the room.

Sneha only nodded and walked towards her parent's room after literally throwing the bag of gown and bouquet on the sofa.

"Sneha." Her mother acknowledged to which she only gave her a sad look. Entering the room, she saw her father talking in a low tone to someone. Looking at her eldest daughter, Shankar quickly concluded the call.

"Sharmaji, I'll call you back. Sneha has come home." Shankar said and Sneha sat on the bed.

Shankar cancelled the call and approached Sneha. Meanwhile, Priya and her mother too took their seats.

"Papa..." Sneha sighed and they all knew why.

"Did he misbehave with you?" Her father asked in concern and the worry was clear in his eyes.

Sneha didn't know what to say. He did yet he didn't.

"How can we get out of this mess, papa? I don't want to marry him. Please!" She asked.

"I just talked to my friend whose son is in Mumbai police. He assured me that he will try to find some way out of this."

"They can help us?" She asked hopefully.

"He said it will be difficult but they can at least try something. That is why he asked me to tell you to play along with the situation for the time being. The Khatris are an influential family, Sneha. You know it, right?"

"Yes, papa. But what about Viraj's father? He..."

"Just don't come in his way if you ever meet him. Be silent. He is a psycho case, just like his son." Her father said. Sneha couldn't agree more on this.

"Okay, papa." She mumbled.

Her father and mother then gave her some advice on how to behave and avoid further entanglements.

She listened patiently and carefully. Finally, she stood to retire to her room.

"Sneha..." Her father called and she turned around quickly.

"How did you... catch his attention?" Her father asked hesitantly while referring to Viraj.

And the simple question froze her...and in a way, bugged her too. She didn't know the answer to this very obvious question.

"I...I don't know..." She whispered.

That night, the beautiful bouquet of roses fell into the dustbin.

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.

"Sneha!!!" Jyoti came running towards her in the classroom.

Sneha looked up from her phone where she had just texted Shashank that she'd like to return the smartphone that he had gifted her. In the morning itself, she had decided to quit using the smartphone and thus, she shifted back to her keypad phone.

Keeping the phone back in her handbag, she gave a small smile to Jyoti.

"What happened? Why so happy?" Sneha asked.

"You won't believe what happened!" Jyoti chirruped, unaware of Sneha's current situation.

"What happened?"

"I got selected by DU (Delhi University) to pursue a PhD! Can you believe it!" Jyoti informed.

"Wow, Jyoti! That's amazing! Congratulations!" Sneha said enthusiastically. However, her smile didn't reach her eyes due to the multiple factors running in her mind.

"But I'll have to move to Delhi for about 4 years! I have never been away from family for even a month. And the mere thought scares me a lot." Jyoti sighed.

"It's okay, Jyoti. Consider this as your new phase in life. I am sure it will be worth it." Sneha encouraged.

"You talk like that old lady we met in Goa. And, I was thinking about the same yesterday. Maybe, she was right. I am just so confused right now." Jyoti mumbled.

Sneha became more depressed upon hearing her. If that old lady was indeed right, then her life would be a living hell! Only in a day, Viraj had initiated too much intimacy. What would happen now?

"Everything will be fine, Jyoti. Just trust yourself." Sneha assured her.

"Hopefully! What about you? How is your intimate relationship with Shashank going on? And did your father teach Viraj a lesson for forcing himself on you in Goa?" She shot the questions.

Sneha fell short of words. She had no idea how to tell her the details! She was ashamed of everything. It almost felt surreal and like a bad dream. But the images of her father being tortured in the worst way she could imagine didn't make her forget the warnings or the truth.

Exactly at that moment, Ananya entered her classroom with a huge smile.

"Sneha! Hi!" Ananya chirruped.

If anything, Ananya's smile made her day even worse.

'Can this family leave me alone!' She wanted to scream.

Jyoti looked at Ananya in confusion but decided to remain quiet. It was their matter, after all. However, she knew that she'd help Sneha in whatever way she could.

"Hi." Sneha replied without any expression, confusing Jyoti even more.

"Hi, Jyoti!" Ananya acknowledged her presence too as she sat in the front seat. In response, Jyoti gave her a tight smile too.

"I am so happy that you said yes to marrying my brother. We'd be like sisters now!" Ananya said enthusiastically.

"WHAT?" Jyoti almost shouted.

Sneha heaved a deep sigh.

"Yes! We went to her home with the marriage proposal on Sunday. And, by evening, her father told my father that she said yes. Isn't it amazing! We can now hang out like sisters!" Ananya said happily.

"That's impossible!" Jyoti couldn't help but say.

Ananya's smile fell and Sneha quickly grabbed Jyoti's hand from under the table to make her quiet. She was afraid that Ananya might complain to her father and then her psycho father would hurt Jyoti too. It was a mess. However, Jyoti didn't take the signal.

"Why?" Ananya asked.

"Sneha hates your brother!" Jyoti blurted out the truth, making Sneha take a sharp breath and then interfere.

"I'll explain later, Jyoti." She made a face, begging her to keep quiet for now.

Ananya nodded and returned back to her smiling face.

"Bhai told me that you are coming with him to the get-together tonight. He'll introduce you as his fiancee. You'll enjoy the party, I am sure." She added.

Sneha nodded.

"Okay..." She said, not knowing what to say anymore.

"Did you open the gifts that I bought for you? Did you like it?" Ananya asked further...with the same level of enthusiasm.

'When will she go to her own class?' Sneha wondered.

"Uhh...Not yet. I came home late...And, then...I didn't get the time to open them in the morning." Sneha elaborated.

"Oh, yes! Bhai took you on a date, right! No issues, you can open it later. I am sure you'll like them. By the way, how was the date?" Ananya asked curiously. She wanted to know how romantic her brother was.

Jyoti's eyes bulged out on hearing the word 'date'!

"Uhh...good." Sneha answered hesitantly while recalling the moments when he kissed her as if he owned her.

"Bhai is a little inexperienced in these things, you know. So, please forgive him if he does anything wrong. Gaurav and I are teaching him slowly." Ananya added.

Sneha only nodded in response.

Thankfully, at that moment, the professor entered and quickly identified Ananya who wasn't in the batch.

"I'll see you both in the lunch break. Bye!" Ananya said quickly and ran out of the room towards her department.

"What is wrong with her? What nonsense was she saying?" Jyoti immediately asked when Ananya exited the room.

Sneha rubbed her forehead but then explained everything to her, except the part where Viraj's father tortured her father. Instead of that, she just used the word 'threatened'.

"Oh my god, Sneha! That's crazy! How...what are you going to do now? You can't marry that arrogant man!" Jyoti whispered as the professor got on with the attendance.

"I don't know. Papa told me to play along as he finds some way out. I can't even go to the police because his father is really scary."

"How about you tell the truth to Viraj directly? Perhaps he'd understand?"

"I...I thought about it too. But, his father had told me to not tell anything to Viraj about his threats."

"Then tell Viraj that you don't want to marry him. He is probably thinking that you are into this relationship voluntarily. Perhaps then he'd understand?"

Sneha thought over it.

"Do you think so?" She asked in hope.

"You can try it! I mean...talk to him in a more mature way. Try to convince him that you both are a very bad pair...the worst actually. And that, whatever he is feeling is...I don't know...is a lie, I guess...or just attraction. He is elder than us, Sneha. He'd understand if you'd talk to him properly." Jyoti tried to convince her.

Sneha nodded in understanding.

"Maybe, you are right. I should talk to him about it before it gets too late." Sneha mumbled, mostly to herself.

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.

Only Sneha knew how patiently she had to bear Ananya's chattering about her brother during the lunch break. But, she passed that phase by faking a smile here and there. But in her mind, she had planned her speech on how to talk to Viraj about the same. And, in a way, she was impressed by her speech.

However, by the end of the last lecture, she got an email from the library that made her both sad and suspicious.

'Dear Sneha Bohra (Emp. code. 2458),

Due to cost-cutting, the HR department has decided to relieve all interns and part-timers from their services. We are thankful for your dedication and commitment to the library. If any vacancy arises in the future, we will inform you through email. Hope to connect with you again.

All the dues and pending payments will be cleared within 45 days.

Thank you.'

Sneha reread the simple message thrice as she sat beside Jyoti who was copying the pending work from her notes.

Her frown deepened when she saw Viraj's number flashing on the screen suddenly.

And, in that instant, she connected the dots and realized that Viraj had made her lose the only job she had!

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{Hi everyone,

I know that I skipped one Friday. I am so sorry about it. I also apologize for not being able to reply to your comments and messages. I get the notification, but then I seriously do not know what to write, since (1) I am not getting time and (2) I don't know what to reply since I am so ashamed of not being able to update.

So, I thought I'd tell you my situation in detail.

As you all know I am a teacher. And, the board exams are soon to be held in a week. There are some students who have performed really bad in the pre-boards. So, now, I have to take remedial classes after school hours. Then, I have to upload assignments/practice papers almost every day. And, then, I have to check the answers and then give the students the required feedback. So, this entire exercise consumes my whole day. I sleep by 11 pm and sometimes 1 am! Then there is the new batch of classes XII and X. I have to prepare the lesson plans for them too. I need to check notebooks after every four days. And, since I have 4 sections in all, I have to check the notebooks almost every day.

So, by the end of all this, I get literally exhausted!

This will go on till the board exams are over so that my duties would finally reduce. Then, I'd be able to focus more on writing this book too. I have the storyline fully complete in my mind. So, I wouldn't drop this book mid-way (in my right mind).

Also, I want to do justice to the book by writing to my best potential and not hurry it up. I am sure, you wouldn't want to see the story getting quick-paced...because then it would be no fun to read a story without getting to know the characters to a deeper level, right? And to write patiently demands time and a peaceful mind. So, we are back to the starting point. lol!

I read some positive messages posted by some of you on Insta and Wattpad, and they literally boosted my confidence a lot! I am so glad that I got such an amazing audience!

I love you all! So, please forgive me if I am unable to respond to your messages right now. I'll definitely reply soon...

Thank you once again.

I can't promise an update for next Friday. But, I'll definitely compensate in the near future.

BY THE WAY, what do you think Sneha will do now? I'd love to hear from you.