CHAPTER 7 （aryan）
My hand froze midway to my mouth.
"Kavya is here."
The words echoed through the dining room.
Immediately, my gaze shifted toward the entrance.
Kavya stood beside Avni.
But she wasn't looking at me.
Her eyes were fixed on Mahi.
And Mahi—
Mahi was looking right back at her.
Completely indifferent.
Neither of them looked away.
The tension between them was almost visible.
Then, after a few seconds, Kavya finally turned toward me.
A smile appeared on her face.
My jaw clenched.
Great.
She greeted everyone politely.
My mother.
Grandfather.
Noor.
Everyone.
Anyone else would have relaxed seeing how calm and respectful she appeared
I didn't.
I knew Kavya.
More importantly—
I knew her mother.
And whenever Avni looked pleased, trouble usually followed.
Which meant I needed to stay alert.
Kavya eventually took a seat.
Directly across from me.
Of course she did.
My gaze drifted toward Mahi.
She was already looking at me.
A faint smirk played on her lips.
As if she knew exactly what I was thinking.
My eyes narrowed.
Immediately, her smirk widened.
Wonderful.
Now there were two of them.
I forced my attention back to my food.
For my own peace of mind.
My mother smiled warmly at Kavya.
"How was your journey?"
Kavya returned the smile instantly.
"It was good, Mother."
I froze.
Mother?
Since when?
A quick glance at my mother told me she hadn't noticed anything unusual.
Of course she hadn't.
Kavya had always known exactly how to win people over.
My grip tightened around my fork.
Then I saw it.
Her gaze shifted toward Mahi.
And for the briefest second, a devilish smile crossed her face.
There it is.
I knew it.
Trouble.
"I didn't know I'd be seeing a new face here," Kavya said sweetly.
The entire table seemed to grow quieter.
My jaw clenched.
Mahi, however, looked completely unbothered.
She smiled politely.
"Same."
Silence.
No hesitation.
No nervousness.
Just one word.
Same.
For a second, Kavya looked caught off guard.
Apparently, she hadn't expected that answer.
Neither had I.
Interesting.
Kavya's smile widened slightly.
"I'm Kavya."
Across from her, Mahi smiled just as politely.
"I'm Mahi."
For a moment, neither woman looked away.
Then Kavya's gaze turned calculating.
"So, what do you do, Mahi?"
I closed my eyes briefly.
I already knew where this was going.
Mahi placed her glass of water down with a soft click.
"I'm a surgeon."
Kavya immediately choked on her food.
A cough escaped her before she quickly recovered.
The surprise on her face lasted only a second before she smoothed her expression.
"But you don't seem like one."
There it is.
The same mistake.
A smile appeared on Mahi's face.
Calm.
Unbothered.
Her eyes drifted toward Avni for a brief moment before returning to Kavya.
"I am."
A pause.
Then she added pleasantly,
"And you don't seem old enough to be studying abroad."
Silence.
Complete silence.
Noor lowered her head, clearly trying not to laugh.
My mother's eyes widened.
Grandfather suddenly seemed very interested in his food.
Kavya stared at Mahi.
Mahi smiled sweetly.
The kind of smile that looked harmless.
And somehow wasn't.
I took a sip of water.
This dinner had become significantly more entertaining.
I tried my best not to smirk.
I really did.
But the way Kavya's face turned red made it incredibly difficult.
To her credit, she recovered quickly.
A practiced smile appeared on her face.
"But I do study abroad."
Mahi simply nodded.
"As you should."
For a second, Kavya looked unsure whether that was an insult or a compliment.
Then she tried again.
"By the way," she said sweetly, "you're very beautiful."
I immediately looked at Mahi.
Not because of the compliment.
Because I recognized that smile.
The same one she had used at breakfast.
The fake polite smile.
The one that usually meant trouble.
Mahi smiled.
"I know."
Silence.
Noor choked on her water.
My grandfather coughed into his napkin.
Even my mother looked surprised.
Meanwhile, Mahi calmly took another bite of food.
As if she hadn't just answered a compliment with complete confidence.
Kavya blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Clearly, that wasn't the response she had expected.
Honestly?
Neither had I.
A corner of my mouth twitched upward.
For the second time that evening, Kavya had stepped into a battle she didn't know she was fighting.
And for the second time—
Mahi was winning.
I picked up my glass and took a sip of water.
Partly because I was thirsty.
Mostly because I was trying to hide the smirk threatening to appear on my face.
Kavya, however, refused to surrender.
"I love your confidence," she said with a pleasant smile.
Mahi dabbed the corner of her mouth with a napkin.
Then she looked up.
"So do I."
For a second, nobody spoke.
Then Mahi smiled.
A genuine smile this time.
Not the fake one.
Not the dangerous one.
Just a simple smile.
"I worked hard for it."
The dining table fell silent once again.
Kavya opened her mouth.
Closed it.
Then, for what seemed to be the first time that evening, she decided to retreat.
Her attention shifted toward Noor.
"So, Noor, how are your studies going?"
Noor immediately brightened and launched into an enthusiastic explanation.
Just like that, the conversation moved on.
I placed my glass back on the table.
The corner of my mouth finally lifted.
Very slightly.
Mahi noticed.
Of course she did.
And to my annoyance—
Her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
As if she couldn't decide whether I was laughing at her or with her.
Honestly, I wasn't entirely sure either.
After dinner, we made our way back to our room.
Mahi stepped inside first.
I followed behind her and closed the door.
The moment she reached the bed, she sat down and looked at me.
"So," she began, "where are you planning to sleep?"
I raised an eyebrow.
"Obviously on the bed."
She stood up immediately.
"No."
I blinked.
"No?"
"Impossible."
I crossed my arms.
"And why exactly can't I sleep on my own bed?"
She crossed her arms too.
An annoying habit she seemed to have picked up whenever she disagreed with me.
"Because I don't want you sleeping next to me."
A pause.
Then she added bluntly,
"And I don't want you touching me."
I stared at her.
She stared right back.
Neither of us moved.
Unfortunately, I had already learned something about Mahi Sharma.
Once she made up her mind, arguing with her was about as useful as arguing with a brick wall.
I closed my eyes briefly.
Fine.
"Okay."
Her eyebrows rose slightly.
"I'll sleep on the couch."
She looked relieved for exactly two seconds.
Then another thought crossed her mind.
"I think we should sleep in separate rooms."
Surprise flickered across my face.
"Separate rooms?"
"Yes."
She pointed toward the door.
"We live in a mansion."
I waited.
"There are about fifty rooms here."
A slight exaggeration.
Probably.
"So what's the problem?"
I almost laughed.
She genuinely had no idea.
"Because," I said patiently, "you clearly don't know Avni."
Mahi frowned.
I continued.
"The moment she finds out we're sleeping in different rooms, she'll turn it into a family scandal."
Realization slowly appeared on her face.
"Oh."
"Exactly."
A sigh escaped her.
Then she dropped back onto the bed dramatically.
"I hate this house."
For the first time that evening, I found myself agreeing with her.
"That's one thing we have in common."
Mahi looked at me and nodded.
"Indeed."
With that, she walked toward the wardrobe, grabbed a pair of pajamas, and disappeared into the bathroom.
The door closed behind her with a loud thud.
I closed my eyes briefly.
God save me from this woman.
A few moments later, I settled onto the couch.
One arm rested beneath my head as I stared at the ceiling.
The room was quiet.
Then the sound of running water reached my ears.
I ignored it.
Or at least tried to.
After some time, the bathroom door opened.
Mahi stepped out.
Her hair was damp, droplets of water still clinging to the ends.
Without thinking, my gaze followed her.
I frowned at myself.
Why?
Because she was the only moving object in the room, obviously.
That was the reason.
Nothing else.
I cleared my throat.
"The hair dryer is in that drawer."
She looked over her shoulder.
"I don't use hair dryers."
"Why?"
"They aren't great for hair health."
I looked at her for a moment.
Then at her hair.
Unfortunately, she had a point.
Her hair wasn't damaged at all.
In fact, it looked annoyingly healthy.
Great.
Now I was evaluating her hair.
I immediately looked away.
Mahi, completely unaware of my internal crisis, continued arranging her pillow.
I turned my attention back to the ceiling.
A much safer thing to look at.
The ceiling couldn't start arguments.
Or confuse me.
Or somehow become the center of every thought I had
Without another word, she reached toward the bedside lamp and switched it off.
Darkness immediately filled the room.
The only light came from the moon filtering through the curtains.
I stared at the ceiling.
Alone with my thoughts.
A dangerous place to be.
The room fell silent.
For a moment, I thought she had already fallen asleep.
Then her voice reached me.
Soft.
Unexpected.
"Good night."
For some reason, the simple words caught me off guard.
I blinked.
When was the last time someone had wished me good night?
I couldn't remember.
Clearing my throat, I turned my gaze toward the ceiling again.
"Good night."
Silence returned.
The mansion was unusually quiet.
No arguments.
No questions.
No manipulations.
Just the sound of two people trying to sleep.
I closed my eyes.
Tomorrow would bring new problems.
With this family, it always did.
But for tonight—
There was peace.