Prajakta's pov

I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing. I groggily reached for it, squinting at the screen to see the caller ID. It was an unknown number, so I ignored it and went back to sleep. But the phone kept ringing. I let out an annoyed sigh and answered it.

'Hello?' I said, my voice still heavy with sleep.

'Is this Prajakta?' a woman's voice asked.

'Yes, this is Prajakta. Who is this?' I replied, trying to sound more awake.

'It's me, akanksha Aunty. Remember we met at the temple two days ago? You helped me when I fainted,' she  said.

It was Mr Abhimaan's kurana's mom. I remembered the incident clearly. I had been at the temple, offering prayers when I saw a woman collapse. I had rushed to her aid, and it turned out to be his mom.

'Oh yes, Aunty. How are you feeling now? Are you okay?' I asked, genuinely concerned.

'I'm feeling much better, thanks to you. I wanted to thank you personally. Could you come to our house? And I also want to introduce you to my daughter. She would love to meet you as well,' aunty said.

'It's okay, Aunty. I don't want to bother you. Maybe some other time,' I said, trying to make an excuse. Seriously I don't want to go. What will I do after going there . I don't even know anyone.

'No, no, it's not a bother at all. We would love to have you over. you can't say no,' she insisted.

I was about to say no again when she suddenly asked me to hand the phone to my mom. Confused, I went to the kitchen where my mom was cooking.I handed my phone to my mom.

My mom took the phone and asked me through eye signals who it was.I put the phone on speaker and replied with a nod. I sat down next to my mom and waited for the conversation to begin .She hesitantly put the phone to her ear and said, 'Hello?'

'  Hi, I'm Akansha Khurana I hope you don't mind me calling,' ,' aunty replied

She went silent for a moment, lost in thought. 'Are you there?' aunty asked breaking my mother's train of thought.

'Yes, yes. Sorry, I was just thinking.Well, if you don't mind, can I ask you something?'' my mother asked

'Of course, you can,' aunty said

'I wanted to know if you are Mrs. Khurana who runs an NGO'. mom asked through phone.

Umm she also knows her . I think it's just me who does not know. How come I didn't know them.

' I have heard a lot about you how you help people,'.' my chain of thought broke listen to my mom voice

'thank you. if you don't mind, can I ask you something?' Mrs. Khurana said.

"Yes sure" mom Said

Aunty explained that I had helped her when she fainted at the temple and she wanted to thank me by inviting us to their house. She asked for my mother's permission for me to go.

My mom hesitated at first, not sure about letting me go to their house.But Mrs. Khurana quickly reassured her. 'Prajakta is like a daughter to me and I can assure you that she will be safe with us. I will ask my son, Abhimaan, to come pick her up. I hope you give your permission,' she said.

Mom agreed and handed me the phone

'Now you get ready, Prajakta. You have to come. You can't say no,' aunty said.

I chuckled  and replied, 'Okay, ma'am. I won't say no. Thank you for the invitation.'

Mrs. Khurana laughed, 'No need for formalities, Prajakta. We'll see you soon.'

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I am waiting nervously for Abhimaan to come pick me up.  I'm feeling so nervous.finally he arrived .To ease the awkwardness, I nervously said, 'Hi' as soon as he arrived.

But his reply was so rude, it caught me off guard. I couldn't understand how someone could be so rude with just a simple greeting. From then on, I made up my mind to not talk to him at all. I'll just keep silent during the drive.

The car ride is filled with awkward silence, and I'M feeling so bored. Why did Auntie have to send him to pick me up? It would have been better if I went alone. At least then, I could have listened to music and kept myself entertained.

I looked around the car, trying to find something to do. I noticed that Abhimaan is driving with such intensity. He looked so focused, but something about him also made me feel nervous. When I caught him looking at me through the side mirror, I immediately averted my gaze. I didn't know why I was feeling so intimidated around him.

Just then, I saw him reach for the radio and turn it on. Finally, some background noise to break the awkward silence. But to my dismay, he was listening to some boring news channel. I couldn't take it anymore and started cursing him in my mind. 'Why can't he just put on some music? Anything would be better than this!'

Lost in my thoughts, I didn't even realize when my eyes started getting droopy. I was so tired from the events of the day that I couldn't help but fall asleep in the car.

The next thing I knew, Abhimaan was  shaking me awake. Embarrassed, I straightened up in my seat and apologized for falling asleep. He just said it was okay. 'We're here. Come' he said as he opened the car door for me.

Mr khurana rang the doorbell."prajakta,you here we were waiting for you." Aunty chirped as soon as she opened the door, the huge grin resting on her face.I bent immediately to touch her feet, but she stopped me and gave me a quick hug, "oh you don't need to touch my feet, my blessings are always with you." I smiled at her warm gesture as she leads me inside.I was still feeling a little groggy as I followed them  inside.

the mansion has the golden interior, It was grand and luxurious, something that I had only seen in movies.

Just then, I saw a girl around my age standing in the foyer with a smile on her face. Mrs. Khurana noticed my gaze and said, 'Oh, that's my daughter, Sarah. Come, let me introduce you.'

She led me to Sarah and introduced me to her. 'This is Prajakta,  i told you about her,' she said, smiling warmly.

'Nice to meet you, Prajakta. Mom has been raving about you,' Sarah said, her smile making me feel at ease.

I returned her smile and said, 'It's nice to meet you too, Sarah.'

As lunch was being prepared by the cooks, Mrs. Khurana asked Sarah to show me around the house. With a wide smile on her face she pulled me inside. 'Let's go first, I'll show you my room.' Sarah exclaimed, and I couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm.

It was girly and cozy, overally i  loved it

She showed me every room, from her parents room to the guest room, the garden the poolside,jim and there is a home theatre. Everything in this house is screaming money .and  you  won't believe me there is a big  library in there home.

As we entered the library, I couldn't contain my excitement. It was my favorite part of the house, filled with shelves and shelves of books.

Sarah saw me staring at the books and asked, 'Do you like reading?' I nodded my head and replied, 'Yes, I love reading books.'

'Really...!?Even my mom love reading books. These all are her collections'. She said excitedly.

Sarah was about to show me another room aunty called her downstairs,'Mom is calling me.I'm going down stairs.Feel free to explore the house .'Saying this she rushed downstairs.

With the great hegitation I slowly opened the door and stepped inside. As I looked around,The room was shrouded in darkness, The walls, painted in a deep, mysterious black.

The room was adorned with luxurious furnishings, . Plush velvet sofas in rich shades of black .

Suddenly, I heard a noise from the bathroom and I quickly turned around to see Abhimaan coming out in a towel.

Our eyes met and I could feel my cheeks burning with embarrassment. 'I-I'm so sorry, ,' I stuttered, trying to find the right words.

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Huss!!! 😮‍💨

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