Chapter 2
KAVYA
I woke up in an unfamiliar room, the one I had never woken up in before.
The Ivory walls, expensive furniture, heavy drapes filtering the pale morning light.
Everything smelled faintly of polish and perfume, like a luxury hotel suite.
For a moment, I lay still, listening to the soft, distant hum of a world that clearly knew me better than I knew myself.
This was a place I had dreamed of coming to God knows how many times.
A small smile curved my lips as I lifted the edge of my top and inhaled softly.
His cologne still clung to the fabric as it was fresh, strong, and unmistakably his.
As if he were still close. My gaze drifted to the door, I bit my lower lip when the image of kissing Saurav slipped into my mind. Butterflies erupted in my stomach.
I got out of bed and stepped into the hallway. The marble floor was cool beneath my feet, grounding and unreal all at once. I remembered him saying his room was just two doors down.
I stopped in front of the third door, my heartbeat pounding so hard I could feel it in my throat. My hand trembled as I knocked the door softly.
I waited for a few minutes but no answer came. I knocked again, a little louder but still nothing.
After a brief hesitation, I slowly pushed the door open and peeked inside.
My breath caught when I saw him. He was sprawled across the bed, half-naked, sheets twisted around his hips.
His T-shirt lay abandoned on the couch, and half the blanket was slipping off the mattress.
I stepped closer without thinking, drawn in by the quiet intimacy of the sight.
He slept curled around a pillow as if it were someone he loved. Morning light glided over his bare back, softening the strength in his shoulders and tracing the slow rhythm of his breathing. His hair fell in careless waves. In sleep he looked unguarded, almost gentle.
“Saurav…” I called his name softly. My voice sounded too loud in the stillness. “I… I’m leaving,” I added, even though I knew he couldn’t hear me.
Suddenly, his hand shot out. “Don’t leave… ” He caught my wrist and pulled me toward him.
I gasped, stumbling forward, my heart slamming violently against my ribs. Heat rushed to my cheeks, to my neck, to places I couldn’t control.
“Please…” he murmured, eyes still closed, his grip firm but unconscious.
“Saurav… ” I tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let go. I shook him harder. “Saurav, wake up.”
Slowly, his eyes opened. For a second, there was only shock in them as if he were staring at a stranger. Then realization dawned.
“Kavya… ”
He released me immediately and sat up, putting distance between us as if he’d been burned. “I’m sorry.”
I frowned at his reaction. He looked at me like I was something dangerous. Something he needed to escape.
God knows who he was dreaming about. God knows who he had been begging not to leave. But whoever she was, jealousy curled bitterly in my chest.
I had fallen in love with Saurav the day I met him at Aryan and Avni’s wedding. Rhea had warned me about him. She said he was a playboy. She said he wasn’t someone to take seriously. But my heart hadn’t listened. It never did.
Saurav was different. He was charming, warm and respectful. He made everyone feel seen.
And with me there was always something. Something unspoken. Something that lived in the way he looked at me, in the way my pulse reacted to his voice.
I knew he would never give me a chance. Still, I hoped. I hoped that one day he would look at me the way I wanted him to. The way he was looking at me now.
Then I realized what he was actually looking at. My breath hitched as I glanced down and quickly tugged my top back into place. It had slipped just enough as heat flooded my face. Suddenly, the room felt much smaller.
“I also have two eyes,” I glared at him.
“Um … sorry. Again.” He looked away, running a hand through his hair.
“You were mumbling ‘don’t leave’ in your sleep,” I said. The words immediately caught his attention.
“Was I?” he asked, lifting one perfect brow.
“Yes.”
“Oh.” His expression shifted, distant now as if he were slipping back into whatever dream he’d been having.
“Who is she?” The question left my mouth before I could stop it.
“Who?”
“In your dream.”
“Dream girl,” he said lightly, getting off the bed and putting on his T-shirt.
“But I heard you have dream girls, not a dream girl,” I teased.
He laughed softly. “Yeah, but I dream of one girl at a time. I’m not into threesomes.”
“Who knows… ” I crossed my arms over my chest as I was feeling another wave of jealousy. “I’m leaving now.”
“Are you feeling okay now?” he asked.
He stepped closer, too close enough for me to feel his warmth, to smell his skin. His gaze searched my eyes, slow and careful, like he was trying to find something I had been hiding for months.
“You weren’t well yesterday.”
“I’m okay,” I mumbled, lowering my eyes.
“That’s good.” He lifted his hand and gently caressed my hair. The gesture was soft, and protective.
My chest tightened unexpectedly. My own father had never done this. But Avni’s father treated me like his own, so I knew, at least a little, what that kind of affection felt like.
“Want to join me for breakfast?” Saurav asked.
“Breakfast?” I shook my head. “I don’t eat without bathing and taking blessings from Lord Shiv. First, I need to take a bath and then I go to the nearest Shiv temple.”
“So you believe in God?” he asked, tilting his head, clearly amused.
“I don’t just believe,” I said seriously. “I have a full-time contract with Him. Morning attendance is compulsory.”
He blinked, holding back a smile. “Wow. Even my gym trainer isn’t that strict.”
“God doesn’t accept excuses like ‘five more minutes,’” I replied. “And neither does my stomach.”
He chuckled, folding his arms over his chest. He has this beautiful body.
God, save me from imagining myself wrapped around him like a snake.
It was dangerous how easily my mind betrayed me.
How quickly one laugh, one casual movement, could send my thoughts spiraling somewhere they had no right to go.
I looked away, annoyed at myself, at this weakness that bloomed in my chest every time he was near.
“So… temple first, breakfast later?” he asked, interrupting my thoughts.
“Yes.” I nodded.
“Even if I make you the best coffee of your life?” he tempted, flashing that unfairly charming smile.
I hesitated.
He straightened, sensing victory. “Imported beans, expensive machines and foam like clouds. Very persuasive coffee.”
I swallowed, almost surrendering then shook my head firmly. “God comes before coffee. God comes before everything.”
“Respect,” he said solemnly. “What if I come with you?”
I narrowed my eyes. “To the temple?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “Maybe I need divine intervention. My life choices are questionable.”
I laughed before I could stop myself. “You? In a temple? You won’t even survive five minutes without checking yourself out in the donation box reflection.”
“That hurts,” he said, pressing a hand to his chest. “I am very spiritual.”
“Your biceps are spiritual.”
“They’ve helped many people,” he defended. “Mostly me. But still.”
I shook my head, walking past him. “Fine. You can come with me but you have to behave.”
He turned, following me. “What kind of behaviour?”
“No flirting with other women.”
He stopped dead. “… Okay, let’s not make unreasonable demands this early in the morning.”
I burst out laughing. “Then stay home.”
“Alright, alright,” he sighed dramatically. “I’ll be a good boy. I’ll pray and fold my hands. I might even close one eye.”
“One eye?”
“I need the other for safety,” he said seriously. “You never know. Temples are dangerous. There are too many aunties and too many opinions.”
I laughed so hard my stomach hurt.
“Go get ready, Miss Morning-Prayer-First,” he said.
“I’ll drive but after that, breakfast is non-negotiable. I’m not letting you survive only on God and attitude.”
I pointed a warning finger at him. “No butter overload.”
He grinned. “No promises.”
As I turned toward the bathroom, I heard him mutter, “God, if You’re listening… Please help me survive a day with her.”
I smiled.
_________
Surprisingly, Saurav drove us to the same temple I had been visiting for the past ten years. The moment I stepped out of the car, something inside me settled as if my soul recognized the place before my mind did.
While Saurav got busy exploring the temple, I quietly slipped away.
I went straight to Riya’s house. She had been living near the temple for years.
She had lost her parents when she was only two, and her uncle and aunt had taken her in but refused to take responsibility for her education.
So I did. That day, I had come to give her tuition fees so she could continue her studies.
As I approached the house, I heard piercing cries from inside. My heartbeat quickened. “We don’t have money to pay for your sports fees!” her aunt screamed.
I stepped inside before another cruel word could hit her. Riya was standing in the corner, trembling like a leaf under her aunt’s rage.
“What’s happening here?” I asked sharply.
“Ask your dear Riya!” her aunt snapped, then stormed out of the house.
“Riya… ”
“Jiji!” She broke into a run and wrapped her arms around me. “Where have you been all these days? I was so worried. I thought your father sold… ” She stopped abruptly, breathing unevenly. “Thank God. You’re okay.”
“I have my Shiva, Riya,” I said softly, cupping the back of her head. “He won’t let anything happen to me.”
She was still shaking. “Are you alright?” I asked.
“Yes…” she whispered.
“Why was your aunt screaming at you?”
“She’s always like that,” she said quickly, trying to brush it off.
“Riya,” I said gently, holding her hands. “Tell me.”
“It’s nothing, Jiji… ”
“She was talking about money.”
Riya smiled sadly. “It’s always money.”
“Am I not your Jiji?” I asked with a sad face.
“You are,” she said quietly.
“Then tell me.”
She stayed silent for a moment. Then the words finally spilled out. She wanted to build her career in sports. She was a brilliant runner. She was selected for an inter-state competition, but she didn’t have money for travel or sports equipment.
So without thinking twice, I offered her what my father and stepbrother had left me. I had always been like that. Seeing others happy made me happy. And that day, watching Riya’s eyes light up, watching hope return to her face, it felt like my heart bloomed open.
Maybe because somewhere in her, I saw my own childhood. Maybe because I was helping her chase a dream I had never been able to chase myself. Maybe because I wanted everyone to chase their dreams.
“You look pretty in these clothes,” Riya said suddenly, pointing at my T-shirt and lowers.
I smiled softly. Since I had bathed at Saurav’s villa, I hadn’t had any clothes of my own. I had borrowed his. He hadn’t even hesitated. They still smelled like him.
“These belong to your Jiju,” I joked, winking.
Her eyes widened. “Really?” She touched the fabric. “Aren’t they expensive?”
“He’s super rich.”
“Is he an old man?” she asked innocently.
“He’s only three years older than me.” I laughed, taking her hand and pulling her outside. “Come.”
I pointed toward the temple courtyard where Saurav was talking to the priest. “There he is…”
“Oh my God, Jiji,” she whispered excitedly. “He looks like Kartik Aaryan!”
I laughed, squeezing her hand. “Be quiet.”
I watched Saurav as he laughed with the priest. I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but I could tell he was joking about something.
And the priest was laughing with him.
That was Saurav.
He made people comfortable without trying. He made people smile without effort. He walked into spaces and somehow made them warmer.
Whoever he would end up with one day…she was going to be very lucky.
_______