Her voice cut through the air like a whip as we stepped into a sleek, transparent-walled office. “Who the hell is this? Are you out of your mind?” she snapped, pointing directly at me, her gaze briefly flickering with disdain before she refocused on Manav.
Manav remained annoyingly calm. “Good to see you too, Sasha,” he said dryly, barely glancing at her. He didn’t even flinch under her glare, just kept walking deeper into this glass-boxed world like he owned the air.
“Do you have any idea how manymillionsof messages are flooding social media right now? I believe there’s already a hashtag trending—something like#ManavInLoveor#ManavGoneCrazyAgain!”
Her voice rose with every word. “Do yourealizethe damage control we’re talking about here?Who is she?!”
I opened my mouth to respond, but no sound came out. I had no idea what to say—or even what was happening. Was this woman blamingmefor the social media circus thathecreated?
Sasha, clearly not needing my input, continued her tirade. “You can’t just pick random women off the streets and hug them in front of international media, Manav. You are not a bachelor on sabbatical! You’re trending in over 40 countries right now. You are the young entrepreneur gracing the front page of every business magazine. Your next talk show is already sold out, and people are asking if you’ve officially lost your mind!”
Manav finally turned to face her. “Cancel all my meetings for today.”
Sasha’s jaw dropped. “Do you have any idea… how many billions are at stake here? The ancient palaces you finalized for conversion into resorts. The Queen is in the country. She wants to set up a meeting with you asap. The contract needs your approval; Your Dad is waiting for you in the Mumbai office to close the Russian deal. Tonight, you are supposed to be at dinner with the Queen.”
“The Queen?” Manav looked confused.
“Yes, the palaces belonged to her after her husband’s death. She is the one who is going to close the negotiation with you.”
“I don’t negotiate. Send her the final copy of the contract.” Manav looked through a seemingly infinite stack of files.
I was still standing there like a mannequin, trying to process the fact that my life had somehow turned into an international incident.
“And in the middle of everything, you havethis?” Sasha looked at me with the same disapproving look my neighbor gives me when I ignore her dog.
I caught my reflection in the glass—messy hair, jetlagged face, and panic clinging to my eyes. What the hell was I doing in the middle of this empire?
“Sasha, stop talking, or I swear I’ll fire you right here, right now.” Manav’s voice was calm but laced with a deadly finality. “And yes, I understand you’ll need to do an enormous amount of damage control, but—correct me if I’m wrong—that’s literally what your job is.”
Sasha’s mouth opened as if to interrupt, but Manav didn’t give her the chance. “From this point forward, leave Kiara out of your interrogations and schedules. I’ve seen your list of events where I’m supposed to make an appearance, and let me beveryclear—I am not going to have any business meetings or dinners today.”
He leaned back in the chair, crossing his legs casually as he continued, his eyes fixed on the screen of his laptop. “And for the next few hours, I don’t want anyone bothering either of us because I’mthis closeto signing a stack of termination papers. For anything else, you can deal with Justin.”
The room fell silent except for the faint tapping of Manav’s fingers on the keyboard. Sasha, who justmoments ago had been breathing fire, now stood frozen, her mouth slightly open, looking like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water on her. She mumbled something under her breath before finally mustering a response. “I hope this new toy doesn’t break your spirit again.”
Without so much as a glance in her direction, Manav continued typing. Sasha’s heels clicked sharply against the floor as she left, the door shutting behind her with a definitive thud.
And then he looked at me.
Really looked.
And I swear—I’ve never been so terrified in my life. Not even when I broke Roy’s robot the day before his finals and had to pretend it exploded on its own. That was bad. But this?
This felt like standing in the eye of a storm—silent, still, but vibrating with the promise of destruction.
My eyes squeezed shut, like they could protect me from his stare. My breath turned traitor. My brain? A total no-show.
And the million-dollar question flashing in neon inside my head:
Why does it feel like he’s mad at me?
20 ♥?Kiara
The entire social media has officially lost its mind. My Instagram is under siege, flooded with millions of messages every single minute. The hot topic? Me—Kiara Randhawa—thenew girlfriendof Manav Oberoi. Yes, that’s right,me.
How did I even get here? I feel like I’ve accidentally walked into some twisted alternate universe. My millions of followers are officially unhinged, and it’s like the entire world has suddenly decided they have nothing better to do than dissect myrelationshipwith Manav Oberoi.
And the worst part? He was right: when I argued about wanting to go home, he warned me this would happen. There are unscheduled interviews lined up outside my house, paparazzi crowding every corner, and endless speculation circling the media like sharks scenting blood. So here I am, stranded in the middle of Manav Oberoi’spalacewhile he works his culinary magic like a five-star chef and conducts back-to-back calls on his phone.
