Sneha's gaze immediately went downcast on hearing him demand such a thing. She wasn't sure whether he meant it in the literal sense or in a double-meaning way.

"Hmm?" He urged her to reply.

She wasn't okay with both the choices.

Eyes still on the pasta, she replied with a stern face.

"We are not married yet, Viraj."

"So?"

This time, she faced him.

"That means, we are not allowed to...do such things."

"We are just sleeping together, Sneha. And, there is nothing wrong with that. All my friends sleep with their girlfriends. Moreover, I am your fiance."

'Well, I am not your girlfriend.' She wanted to say. But, she had a better response than this.

"Will you let your sister sleep with her fiance before marriage?" She asked ever so innocently because she knew the question would make him go dumb.

And, it did.

His jaw stiffened as he didn't know how to respond. Obviously, he wouldn't allow his sister to sleep, or even spend the night with any man...fiance or not. He might be a hypocrite here, but he cared less about it.

"You love to bring my sister every time into our conversation, right?" He scolded her indirectly.

'It does its job!' She thought internally.

In response, she slowly stood up and discarded the now-empty box in the bin.

"I'll sleep on the sofa. You may take the bed." She announced politely, leaving no space for any argument.

Viraj only stared in her direction as she picked up a pillow and a blanket.

"So you'd rather sleep on the uncomfortable sofa than sleep with me." He asked, which came as a statement.

Sneha, who had just laid down on the sofa, looked at him.

"It's not like that. It's inappropriate, that's it." She replied back and tried to take a comfortable position.

He finally stood up and threw the box in the bin.

"There are some clothes in the closet. You can change..." He advised.

"I am fine...Thank you." She answered quickly.

"Okay." He shrugged and took his pair of clothes to change.

Coming back in comfy clothes, he gave her a look. She was asleep or trying to sleep, and he could tell that she was uncomfortable. The sofa was big enough to accommodate her, but she still took the foetus position. Her knees slightly came out of the sofa.

Sighing, he walked towards the bed. He desperately wanted to cuddle with her. He wanted to touch her soft hair and kiss her senseless. But seemed like he will have to wait...at least till they got married.

'Six months!' He sighed as he recalled his promise to her. He never knew time went so slow!

Laying on the bed, he looked at her again. She was still trying to gain a comfortable position.

'She will come back here.' He concluded since he thought she'd eventually come back to the bed due to the lack of comfort.

However, one hour passed and Sneha successfully fell asleep on the sofa.

Viraj slowly stood up and walked in her direction. In order to not wake her up, he gently placed his hands under her legs and shoulder to pick her up. In his teens, he had watched movies in which the man would easily pick the girl up in her sleep. With that thought, he held her firmly in his arms and lifted her in the air. She was too light for his strong arms, and he couldn't help but chuckle at it.

However, unlike in movies, Sneha immediately realized the change in the environment and opened her eyes with a startle.

"What are you doing?" She shouted while trying to come out of his grasp.

"Calm down, Sneha! Sleep on the bed. I'll sleep on the sofa." He declared sternly and continued to walk in the direction of the bed.

"It's alright! Put me down." She almost ordered which obviously he didn't like.

"Sure." He said with a glare and then dropped her...thankfully on the bed. Her body bounced due to the impact.

She instantly took a seating position as he tried to give her the blanket.

"I was fine on the sofa, Viraj. I can sleep there." She insisted because she didn't trust his intentions. What if...

"Just sleep." He mumbled and then walked away in the direction of the sofa where she initially slept.

Sneha slowly laid down after seeing him take the sofa. She couldn't help but watch him. Due to his tall height, his legs easily came out of the sofa's armrest. And unlike her, he slept straight such that his legs rested on the armrest. It was an uneasy and odd angle and she was sure that he'd get a horrible backache in the morning if he slept like that.

'I don't care whether he gets a backache, heartache or headache!' She thought to herself and closed her eyes.

Five minutes passed and she opened her eyes again. Looking in his direction, she sighed. Her conscience was going insane internally.

'Shut up, Sneha! You can't sleep with a murderer! What if he does something inappropriate?' She reminded herself.

Another ten minutes passed and she took a seating position in anxiety.

'No, Sneha!' She warned herself again but her mouth said something else.

Her conscience was clear, after all.

"Viraj?" She said in a low voice so as to not startle him.

She had expected him to be asleep but he wasn't.

He opened his eyes immediately and turned his head in her direction.

"Hmm?" He asked with a blank face.

"You can sleep on the bed too...on the other side." She said while pointing towards the left side of the bed.

A smile slowly crept upon his lips.

"With you?" He asked playfully.

She immediately took the spare blanket and folded it vertically to place it at the centre of the bed.

"This will be the boundary." She pointed at the folded blanket.

Viraj audibly chuckled and shook his head at her innocence. He stood up and walked in the direction of his side of the bed.

"I hope you wouldn't be this shy on our wedding night." He commented sarcastically and flopped onto the bed.

Sneha immediately laid down and faced the other side such that her back faced his. However, Viraj slept on his side in a way that his front faced her back. With a smile on his face, he closed his eyes. She was so close...yet so far, he felt.

On the other hand, her cheeks developed a red tint on hearing the term 'wedding night'. It brought unholy images to her mind...something that she had never ever fantasized with a man like Viraj! And, if this dreadful night did come, what would she do with him?

Sneha shook her head negatively and covered herself fully with the blanket to hide her embarrassment.

.

.

.

There was a warm thing under her palm and Sneha liked the feel of it. It wasn't too hard or soft...and so, she kept on pressing it like a sponge ball. Soon a light tap on her nose made her come fully into consciousness and she opened her eyes.

She hadn't expected to come face to face with Viraj!

The blanket boundary was still intact. And, they both slept at their sides. However, in their sleep, she had approached the blanket boundary and her hand crossed the boundary only to reach his hands.

She realized that the soft thing that she was pressing rhythmically was his arm that lay in front of his head. And, with his free hand, he had tapped her nose to wake her up. Sensing this, she immediately removed her grasp over his hand and took a seating position.

She couldn't blame him here since she was the violator of their little rule.

"I am sorry. I thought it was a ball." She mumbled and then instantly realized her mistake.

And, his deep chuckle made her realize that he was thinking what she was thinking...the other meaning of the word 'ball'.

Viraj slowly stood up while missing the feel of her touch on his arm. But he had to wake her up since they had multiple sites to visit. Tomorrow was their engagement after all!

"So, you like to hold and press balls?" He added sarcastically, knowing that she knew what he was subtly referring to. He had never spoken so dirty with any woman before, but with her...he just couldn't help it. It almost came naturally to him...to tease her and rile her up.

And she did fall into his trap.

"Yes, but only good balls." She said arrogantly to not give him the satisfaction of making fun of her. But, her cheeks betrayed her as they went all red.

Sneha stepped out of the bed when he spoke again.

"That's good to hear. Because I have some balls that I would love if you would touch them." He said boldly to which Sneha halted in her steps.

She turned around to face him. Her eyes filled with disgust.

"Have some shame, Viraj! I am your sister's friend." She scolded and then quickly turned around to go to the washroom to wash her face.

He chuckled heartily at her choice of words. Why would he have any shame when talking to her, he wondered. She was going to be his wife, after all!

"I didn't say anything wrong. I genuinely have some balls...stab ball, that you would love to touch. What balls were you thinking about, anyway?" He intentionally added with a fake innocent face.

Sneha gave him a glare before entering the washroom and closing the door, rather noisily on his face.

'What is wrong with him today?' She whispered to herself on noticing his playful nature which was completely foreign to his personality. Thinking more about it, she realized that he was going against his normal strict nature a lot these days...especially when they were alone.

She remembered how strict and rude he used to be in the initial days of their meeting. But for a few days, he has been behaving completely different. And the fact that she couldn't understand the reason for his change in behaviour, made her feel more irritated.

With a heavy mind, she did her routine and brushed her teeth with a new toothbrush that was placed in the cabinet. She noticed four folded towels that looked new and one towel that was placed next to the sink. She concluded that he must have used it yesterday night. And seeing the towels, she wanted to take bath too. She was still wearing the dress that she wore since yesterday morning.

She remembered him mentioning something about new clothes in the closet. But what about the undergarments. Sighing, she came out of the washroom only to find him busy talking on his phone. So, his work started this early in the morning, she concluded.

She gave him one look but his back was to her as he was looking out of the window towards the sea. He seemed to be engaged in an important conversation as he used heavy business-related terms that flew over her brain.

So, she ignored him and walked toward the closet in hopes of finding something. As soon as she moved the sliding door to the left, she was met with lines of men's clothing and shoes along with other accessories. A frown developed on her brows. She tried to search for a woman's cloth but didn't find any.

'Was he playing a prank with me yesterday?' She wondered, concluding that there weren't any woman's clothes.

However, exactly at that moment, she felt him stand behind her and move the sliding doors towards the right. Still, on phone, he pointed in the direction of the left section.

Sneha looked at him once and when she did, he gave her a small smile. He ruffled her hair gently and then walked back towards the window where he was talking a few seconds ago.

'What just happened? Did he just ruffle my hair like a child?' She wondered and then looked behind her in his direction.

'There's something definitely wrong with him!' She concluded, but what?

Looking back at the closet, she was quite impressed by the type of clothes. They were simple tops and jeans along with some knee-length dresses and skirts. They were typical of what she generally wears. Her eyes fell on the drawers and she curiously opened them. Her brows shot up on seeing at least ten pairs of new undergarments. Taking one in her hand, she read the size and it perfectly matched hers.

'How did he know?' She wondered. Thinking of it as a coincidence, she picked up another and then another. All were of her size!

'Impossible! Am I that easy to read?' She wondered and then heard him cancel the call.

"Did you buy these clothes?" She couldn't help but ask the question curiously. If he did, she would definitely term him as a pervert.

"No. But, I asked Ananya, yesterday, to fill your closet with clothes of your size. Is there any problem?" Viraj asked in genuine concern and walked towards her.

She sighed in relief. But she had to give credit to Ananya for being so observant of her.

"No. I'll just take a bath. Do you want to use the washroom or should I go?" She asked while hiding the undergarments behind her back as she faced him.

"Go." He said and sat on the bed with his phone in his hand.

Sneha took the required clothes and started walking in the direction of the washroom again. She had just reached the door when she heard him call her.

"Sneha..." He mumbled and she turned to look at him with raised brows.

"Just call me if you'd need balls to play with inside. You know I have them, right?" He said playfully while maintaining a poker face

Sneha glared at him and then closed the door with much higher intensity, on his face.

However, her acts only made him laugh.

But, he did conclude one thing out of her reaction. She wasn't naive in the field of intimacy. And, he was glad about it.

.

.

.

"Show me the latest model." Viraj asked the young boy who was attending them in the huge telecom showroom.

"Yes, sir. I'll be right back." The attendant said politely and excused himself.

Sneha looked at Viraj as they both sat in front of the glass table.

"Why the latest model? I just want the one you threw." She reminded him to which Viraj looked at her with an 'are you crazy' look.

"Sneha, do you really think we will get that cheap phone in this shop?" He asked while pointing at the ceiling.

"Then we should have gone to a normal shop." She contradicted.

Viraj sighed.

"You are going to be my wife, Sneha. And, you need to maintain that reputation! You must possess the best in the market, nothing less." He mumbled.

'That's where you are wrong, Mr Khatri. I'll never be your wife.' She thought.

"What if I lose it or break it by mistake?" She asked since she knew how expensive the phone was going to be.

"Ananya changes phone quarterly. So, don't worry about it." He commented and then crossed his legs to relax on the comfy chair.

'Fine! Waste your money.' She thought but the pinch of making someone else pay for her was biting her.

'Don't worry, Sneha. You can return it to him later when he'll cancel the wedding...just like Shashank.' She consoled her conscience.

The attendant then displayed ten models of different brands. She looked at him clueless as he explained each model's detailed specification. From screen size to the processor, he made sure to not leave any feature of the smartphone.

As she remained dumb, Viraj listened to him carefully.

"Sneha, choose between these two models." Viraj said and then pushed two phones in front of her. She looked at him with raised brows, wondering why only these two.

"Anything is fine." She commented since mentally, she had prepared her mind to return it to him someday.

"Tsch. Choose one. Both have the best processor. But the blue one has a better camera and the black one has better sensors." Viraj explained it to her.

In order to not waste much time, she chose the first one.

"I would have gone for the black one." Viraj commented before asking the attendant to finalize the blue one.

The attendant nodded before turning to face Sneha.

"Ma'am, this model comes in five colours. Blue, black, green, yellow and red. Which one would you prefer?" He asked.

"Uhh...anything is fine." She mumbled wondering why there were so many options!

The boy hesitated before flashing a small smile.

"I'll pack the blue one, then." He said and passed the phone to another girl for further processing. The attendant then soon came back and gave the brand new phone to Sneha along with a chocolate hamper. She couldn't help but chuckle at the sweet gesture.

"Thank you!" She said and accepted both the items.

Viraj gave his credit card to the attendant and then typed the pin on the electronic machine.

"Thank you for visiting us, Mr and Mrs Khatri." The young boy said with a smile making Sneha confused.

Was it so obvious that they looked married? She wasn't even wearing anything that could make someone even think that she was married!

Viraj, however, liked the sound of it. Mrs Khatri. He would have preferred him to say it completely...Mrs Sneha Khatri. But then, they had time. To his distaste, Sneha immediately corrected the young boy.

"I am not his wife." She corrected him politely to which the boy's face colour drained. He thought she took it to her ego and he knew how mighty the ego of rich people was!

"I am so sorry, miss. I concluded without thinking. Please forgive me." The boy mumbled hoping she would not complain to the higher authorities.

Viraj read the nameplate of the boy and then spoke.

"It's alright, Vishal. She is going to be my wife soon." He said proudly and then stood up.

Sneha followed his lead and stood up too.

"It's okay." She said with a smile when the boy looked at her expectantly.

She had waited for Vishal or anyone to give some sort of receipt, but no one did. She wondered if Viraj even knew the cost of the phone that he just bought!

When they entered their car and Viraj resumed driving, he spoke about what he had been observing in the showroom.

"You bless every man other than me with your beautiful smile." He commented to which she looked at him in surprise.

"What?" She asked, not understanding why he said that.

"You were smiling so beautifully at that boy. But, you never smile at me. Why so?" He complained as he took the next left towards his next destination.

"I wasn't smiling at him!" She corrected him. She just returned the polite smile that the boy was giving her.

"You did. I saw you." Viraj added.

"Well...He was being polite and....nice." She mumbled.

"And, I am not polite and nice?" He asked.

Sneha remained quiet at that question. She wanted to laugh at it. Viraj Khatri...polite? Nice?

"Hmm?" He still asked.

"What do you think?" She asked back.

"Well, that is for you to observe. Isn't it?" He said while giving her a short side glance.

Sneha thought over it. His father's warnings were always clear and fresh in her mind. But until and unless Viraj complained to his father, Dev wouldn't know about it, she concluded.

"I don't know." She answered.

"How can you not know?" He asked.

Sneha sighed. He was so persistent!

"Oh, I know it now." He said as a reason struck his mind.

She looked at him curiously. What is it that she couldn't answer but he does?

"It is because you find me too handsome to be true, right? That is why you shy away and can't smile at me directly." He concluded in his own little world.