ch 55 dance of cuteness
Then the singer's voice filled the dimly lit restaurant,
soft music wrapping around everyone like velvet.
Kabir grinned, getting up from his seat.
"Come on, Mrs. Kabir Malhotra," he said, dramatically bowing before Prerna.
She laughed and took his hand, and the two of them moved toward the center floor as the crowd clapped lightly.
Raghav followed, offering his hand to Meghna. "Shall we?"
She smiled shyly and nodded, and soon they too were swaying together, lost in their own rhythm.
Arushi turned to Aarav, her voice lilting with nostalgia.
"Come, Aarav... let's dance, hmm? Like we used to in college."
She gave him that playful smile, the one she knew used to work years ago.
For a second, the air around the table shift her hand froze mid-movement as she were about to take a sip of water.
she didn't look up, but her fingers tightened around the glass.
Aarav's gaze flicked from Arushi's extended hand to her sitting there beside Aditya,
deliberately looking anywhere but at him.
Everyone was waiting the music rising,
lights dimmer. Arushi tilted her head. "Aarav?"
He leaned back slightly in his chair, expression unreadable,
that same calm authority cloaking him.
"I don't dance anymore," he said finally, his tone smooth but distant.
Arushi laughed lightly.
"Oh come on... don't tell me the great Aarav Malhotra is scared of a little waltz?"
Aarav's POV:
The music hummed low, smooth the kind that used to fill old college corridors
and make fools of men who thought they didn't feel.
Arushi's voice came again, lilting, playful.
"Come, Aarav... let's dance like we used to in college."
Her words barely reached me. My eyes weren't on her they were fixed on her.
Ashiana.
Sitting there, beside Aditya, pretending not to care.
Pretending she wasn't watching every move I made from the corner of her eyes.
Her fingers toyed with the edge of her napkin, her pout still there that same stubborn little expression that made me lose control every damn time.
I could see the way her jaw tightened when Arushi leaned closer.
The way her eyes rolled, her breath came out heavier.
She could act indifferent all she wanted but I knew better.
She was fire and jealousy wrapped in that innocent face. Mine.
Arushi laughed beside me, a sound that belonged to another life, another version of me I didn't recognize anymore.
"Don't tell me you've forgotten how to dance, Aarav Malhotra?" she teased.
Forgotten?
No.
I just didn't have the same rhythm for anyone else anymore.
My gaze drifted back to Ashiana.
She wasn't looking at me.
Not once.
She was staring at her plate, stabbing her fork into her noodles like they'd done her personal wrong.
That was it.
I stood up slowly, ignoring the flicker of surprise in Arushi's eyes.
Every sound in the room seemed to fade even the music dimmed against the rush of blood in my ears.
I moved past Arushi's still-raised hand and stopped right beside the woman
who had managed to turn my ordered world into chaos.
Ashiana didn't look up. "What?" she muttered under her breath.
I didn't answer. Instead, I extended my hand toward her.
The whole table went silent.
She blinked up at me, those big eyes wide, defiant, confused.
"Dance with me," I said quietly, my voice low, steady — but only for her.
Arushi's smile faltered somewhere behind me. But I didn't care.
Ashiana's lips parted, her breath caught. "Aarav..."
"Get up, sweetheart," I whispered, leaning just enough for only her to hear. "Before I make you."
She didn't even look up properly.
Just pushed her fork around, that little pout still fixed on her lips, and muttered,
"Huh... I'm not in mood. Go and dance with her only."
For a second, I actually thought I'd misheard her.
But no she said it. Casually. Like it didn't matter.
Like I didn't matter.
A muscle ticked in my jaw.
Everyone else was still talking, laughing, pretending not to notice the tension at this end of the table.
But my focus narrowed down to just her this infuriating girl who thought
she could push me away with one sentence.
She didn't even glance at me.
She kept her eyes down, stabbing her food again, deliberately.
That tiny act of defiance that was all it took to set my blood simmering.
I bent slightly, voice low enough to brush against her ear.
"Careful, Ashiana," I said, my tone calm... too calm. "You're testing a line you don't even see."
Still, she didn't answer. Her jaw tightened, her breath came out sharp but she didn't look at me. Not once.
I straightened slowly, eyes locked on her profile that stubborn curve of her cheek, the way her lashes flickered when she blinked.
For the first time in a long time, I wasn't sure whether
I wanted to laugh at her boldness... or drag her up just to remind her who she was trying to challenge.
I leaned closer again, this time letting my breath graze her temple.
"You think ignoring me will make me walk away?"
I whispered, my voice dropping an octave lower. "Wrong move, sweetheart."
Her fork stilled in her hand.
I saw the faint shiver down her spine the one she tried so hard to hide.
Arushi said something in the background, laughing still, but her words were nothing more than noise.
Because all I saw was her.
My infuriating, jealous, beautiful mess of a woman pretending
she didn't care while her pulse betrayed her.
And at that moment, I declared if she wanted to play cold, I'd turn the fire up.
Then I'd had enough.
The pretending.
The little tantrum.
The silent war she thought she could win with her eyes down and her pout sharper than any word.
Without another word, My hand found her wrist before she even realized what was happening.
She looked up, startled.
"Aarav—"
"Get up," I said, quiet but firm.
She blinked, stubborn even now. "I told you I'm not in the mood—"
"Didn't ask," I cut her off, leaning closer so only she could hear, my breath brushing her ear. "I said—get. Up."
The world seemed to still for a heartbeat. Her chest rose, fell. She opened her mouth, probably to argue again
but my fingers tightened around her wrist, not hard,
just enough to make her feel the authority beneath the calm.
And then she stood.
I led her toward the small open space near the singer,
every eye at the table following. Her steps were hesitant at first,
her hand still caught in mine, but she didn't pull away. Couldn't.
Arushi's smile faltered I saw it in the corner of my eye.
Raghav's brows lifted slightly, Aditya exchanged a look with Kabir.
But I didn't stop.
Once we were in the middle of the floor, I turned to face her.
Music swelled soft, slow, achingly intimate.
She looked up at me, eyes flashing with a mix of defiance and nerves.
"Happy now?" she muttered under her breath.
I stepped closer, sliding a hand to her waist, pulling her against me until the protest in her voice melted into a sharp inhale.
"Not yet," I said, voice rough with a quiet possessiveness. "But getting there."
Her fingers trembled slightly against my chest, and I felt her heartbeat fast, uneven.
Mine wasn't much steadier.
I leaned down, close enough that only she could hear.
"You still think I should've danced with someone else?"
Her lips parted, no sound coming out.
I smirked slightly, guiding her into the rhythm, slow and deliberate,
every movement a statement she was mine, and the whole room could see it.
Her breath caught, and I felt her fingers clutch lightly at my shirt.
I smiled faintly, guiding her in another slow turn as the singer's voice wrapped around us,
the world fading away except for her warmth pressed against me.
Her body had just started to relax in my arms,
her fingers no longer stiff against my chest but then, suddenly, she stilled.
Her eyes drifted past my shoulder, fixing somewhere beyond the terrace lights.
Her smile faded, and I could feel her focus slipping away from me.
I followed her line of sight nothing but the faint outline of trees
and the soft sway of leaves under the dim lights. But her gaze... it was sharp, alert.
"Hey," I murmured, tightening my grip on her waist, drawing her closer.
"What are you looking at?"
She didn't answer, still staring at the shadows near the bushes,
brows furrowed like she was trying to make out a shape.
"Ashiana," I said, this time firmer, my hand sliding up to her chin, forcing her to look at me. "Eyes here."
She blinked, almost startled, meeting my gaze again.
"Whatever it is," I said quietly, scanning her face, "it can wait. Right now, you're with me."
Her lips parted slightly, as if to argue but then she sighed,
resting her hand lightly against my chest again.
I smiled faintly, leaning closer until my breath brushed her ear.
"Good girl," I whispered, beginning to move again with the rhythm of the slow song.
Still, even as she followed my lead,
I caught her sneaking one last glance toward the dark corner.
And something in her eyes told me she hadn't imagined it.