Page 93 of Since You Stole My Heart

Chapter 18

Agust of air blew around them and, under the guise of tucking her hair behind her ear, she snatched her hand back. Viraj held on for a brief second before letting go with a smirk.

He swung the suit jacket over his shoulder, taking a step back as he flexed under the faded pink shirt he wore. His hair was styled with precision, falling just enough over his forehead to soften his face. But no matter how put together he seemed, he couldn’t hide the leech in him.

Her throat tightened painfully as she swallowed against the panic, hyperaware of his every movement in her peripheral vision.

Lavanya rolled her eyes. ‘Really, Swayam? You’re only going to introduce one half of the duo?’

‘What duo?’ Swayam asked, flashing her a cheeky smile.

Lavanya turned to her, a hint of mischief dancing in her eyes. ‘Kashvi, I should warn you. These two have been inseparable since we were kids. Everyone used to call them Jay and Viru. They’re always up to something.’

Kashvi’s heart stuttered as she glanced towards Swayam, still unable to believe he could be connected to someone like Viraj.

Swayam rubbed the back of his neck. ‘That’s not fair. I was the one constantly dragged into his mess. He’d start something, and somehow I’d end up taking the blame.’

‘What can I say? You were always easy to fool,’ Viraj said, a veiled barb in his tone. Then he glanced briefly at her. ‘And I’ve always loved causing trouble. It’s second nature to me.’

Swayam let out a soft laugh, shaking his head. ‘You hear that, Lavanya? There’s still time, you know. I’ll even help you pack.’

Lavanya kept her narrowed eyes fixed on Viraj. ‘If he troubles me too much tonight, I’ll take you up on that offer.’

Viraj moved to stand beside his fiancée, draping one arm around her waist. He nuzzled her neck as he said, ‘I wouldn’t let that happen. You’re my babygirl. I’m not letting you go anywhere.’

A faint blush tinted Lavanya’s cheeks, and Kashvi watched it with tight fists. All she could see was a man cheating on his woman and calling her by the same nickname he used for his extorted victims.

Talk about Prince Charming.

Swayam scoffed. ‘Don’t trust him. He’s a smooth liar.’

Lavanya affectionately patted her fiancé’s cheek. ‘I won’t argue with that. You guys should tell Kashvi the infamous story of how Viraj stole your Ben Ten watch.’

Swayam shook his head, a hint of sadness in his tone. ‘Let’s not. It’s a sore topic. It took me five years to forgive him for that.’

Viraj had a menacing glint in his eyes as he discreetly waved his phone to remind her. ‘I can’t help it. I always had the bad habit of setting my eyes on Swayam’s favourite things.’

The devil sticker at the corner of Viraj’s phone case stared back at her. A cluster of curses rose in her throat, but she swallowed them down, pressing her lips together.

She was startled when it hit her that this was why the orchids she had received felt so sinister. The theme for that party had been lavender, and the entire room had been decorated with orchids.

Swayam scoffed, turning to Kashvi with a resigned sigh. ‘You see what I have to deal with?’

‘Mm-hmm,’ was all she could mumble.

He leaned closer, looking at the drop of blood on her lower lip. ‘What happened to your lip? Are you okay?’ he asked in a hushed tone.

‘Yeah, I accidentally bit it,’ she muttered as a question nagged at her.

Did he have the slightest idea what his cousin was doing, hiding behind a camera and anonymous messages?

She needed to talk to Swayam. Alone. Maybe she could make up a call or an excuse to pull him away.

Kashvi could feel Viraj’s unrelenting, invasive gaze lingering on her, and it made her want to claw at his eyes. But she couldn’t expose him just like that.

Short of grabbing his phone and showing her compromising pictures to everyone to prove it, there was nothing she could do at this moment.

Lavanya’s phone rang, and she answered it with a long sigh. ‘Yes, Mummyji. Okay, I’ll be right there, just give me a minute. Haan, coming, coming.’