"Hi, Sadhna."

"Hi, Uttkarsh."

We greeted each other, and I welcomed him inside my home. He gave me a bouquet of orchids and waited for my reaction. I smelled the flowers and smiled brightly at him. His cheeks turned a bit red, and I stifled a giggle.

It had been one month since our first date and this was the first time he came over to my house. We met other times but it was mostly business conferences and other stuff. We never got to spend time with each other if it wasn't for our company meetings.

I turned around and found a vase to place the flowers as he removed his shoes. His eyes roamed around my tiny apartment before he made himself comfortable on the couch.

He brought me flowers! I felt lucky.

I told him that I would make some coffee for both of us, and he offered to help, but I refused. He was a guest. How could I ask him to do that? But he still insisted and followed me into the kitchen.

We prepared coffee, and he told me that his parents were finding a girl for him. I tensed up when he mentioned that but who was I to complain? I myself had my hands full with the whole arranged marriage ordeal back in my hometown.

He snapped his fingers in front of my face when I didn't reply. I quickly masked my disappointment and congratulated him. He didn't seem too happy about it. He just shrugged his shoulders and kept asking me about my engagement.

Why was he so concerned about my life?

I ignored his questions and diverted the topic to politics. He caught on my try but didn't pressurize me to reveal about my personal life. We were totally different. He was really outgoing while I liked to keep things low.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed, and he excused himself. I sighed and mentally punched myself.

If I kept acting like this, he would surely know that I still liked him.

Moreover, I was having double thoughts about the guy my parents had selected for me. We were from the same background and our status matched too. I hadn't met him yet but I had talked to him on the phone a few times. He seemed like a nice guy. He was an engineer by profession; just what my parents wanted. I knew we would get along really well, but I didn't want to agree to this marriage.

Also, I was keeping him on hold when he could easily find some other girl and get married. I needed to take this step immediately, or I would ruin someone's future. But then again, I wasn't confident about my own decision. What about my parents?

"Sadhna! Hey! You okay? I called your name like ten times." Uttkarsh touched my shoulder, and I realised that I had zoned out.

I nodded and stared at his face. His eyebrows were etched together in concern while his hazel orbs penetrated my soul. It was like he was reading me. I brushed off the unnecessary thoughts and gave him a small smile.

He told me that his friends were coming, so he had to leave. It was really urgent, and he couldn't hang up on them. He apologized for not informing me earlier and I told him it was okay.

Just when he went to wear his shoes, I came up with an idea.

"Why don't you invite your friends here? They are at the airport, right? It will be easier for them to come here and they could relax too," I suggested.

"Will that be okay? I mean you haven't met them earlier," he asked.

"It is completely okay. They are your friends and I don't mind them coming over. It will be nice to have more company. We could play some games too."

He grinned at my response and told me that he would pick up his friends and return within fifteen minutes. He put on his shoes and after grabbing his car keys, left the house.

I prepared some snacks and refreshments for Uttkarsh's friends while listening to the song Emptiness by Gajendra Verma.

After half an hour, I heard the doorbell ring and went to open the door. Uttkarsh was standing outside with two people behind him. One was a guy about our age and a girl who looked like a doll.

The guy was clad in a white button up with dark blue jeans, and the girl was dressed in a pink sundress. I welcomed them in and they both thanked me.

I told them to make themselves comfortable and they complimented my home. I brought some snacks and juice for them, while Uttkarsh put their luggage in a corner. He came to sit beside me, and I looked at him when his shoulder brushed with mine.

I scooted away a little, and he quirked up an eyebrow. I avoided his stare and conversed with his friends. The guy's name was Oscar Savanna, while the girl introduced herself as Rhea Jain. She was really cute with her baby face and almond eyes.

"So.... Uttu, you didn't tell that you have such a cool friend," Rhea said and winked at him.

Uttu? They were really close, huh?

"Yeah, man. Keeping her all to yourself," Oscar teased, and Uttkarsh narrowed his eyes at him.

He directed his stare at me when he saw me blush. He moved closer and put an arm behind me. I glanced at him but he was busy staring daggers at Oscar, who was trying to flirt with me.

Was Uttkarsh jealous?

"Rhea, why aren't you eating?" Uttkarsh asked and moved the food plate towards her.

"No, I am already full. I will eat when I get hungry again," she replied, and he smiled at her.

"Sadhna, do you remember I told you about that roommate?" Uttkarsh asked suddenly.

"The one with whom you were in a live-in relationship with?" I questioned.

"Yup."

"What about her?"

"Rhea is that girl."

At this, Rhea spurt out the juice she was drinking, while Oscar looked like he was run over by a roadroller. His eyes were the shape of saucers, and he kept glancing between Rhea and Uttkarsh.

"What?!" Oscar asked as if he couldn't believe what he heard.

My reaction was the same, but I couldn't believe that I managed to hide my surprise. Even Rhea looked more shocked than me.

"Wh-what are you saying?!" Rhea shouted.

"Why you always act like that? It is okay. We are all friends here." Uttkarsh smirked.

Rhea glared at him and glanced at Oscar, but she didn't deny the fact. Uttkarsh got up from his seat and took her hand. She looked at him weirdly, and he pulled her up from her seat. He then took out his phone and started a romantic song.

Oscar and I exchanged curious glances. Rhea slapped Uttkarsh on his shoulder, and he just laughed in return. They started dancing together, and Uttkarsh winked when he saw my baffled expression. I turned to Oscar, and he looked really sad.

That knotted feeling was back.

Uttkarsh bent down and whispered something in Rhea's ear. She blushed and nodded her head. What did he tell her? I shook my head and patted Oscar on his shoulder. He glanced at me and I asked him if he wanted to play pictionary and dumb charades.

He followed me to my room, and we brought out some blank papers and sketch pens. Rhea and Uttkarsh had stopped dancing and were waiting for us. We took our seats and decided that we would play pictionary first.

I sat beside Oscar, and we are laughed at our drawings. All this time, Uttkarsh and Rhea were staring at us, but we ignored them. If they could have fun, then we could too. After pictionary, we moved to dumb charades.

"Sadhna is in my team," Oscar announced, and we high-fived. Oscar was a really nice company.

To be honest, I was really jealous when I saw Uttkarsh being close with Rhea. Moreover, she was the girl who had lived with him. She knew him better than me, so I buried my jealousy and decided to have fun. I wouldn't have been able to play like this anytime soon.

"You were really great, Oscar," I commented, and he smiled at me.

"You guys lost," Rhea spoke up.

"Who cares?" I replied and laughed. Oscar joined me too, and we teased Uttkarsh and Rhea who sulked even though they won.

We left them on their own so they could spend time with each other, and Oscar started telling me about himself. I knew Rhea was Uttkarsh's ex, but they were still close. Maybe they could rekindle their relationship.

As Oscar and I talked about random stuff, Rhea and Uttkarsh sat in silence. They weren't talking but kept glancing at us. After sometime, Oscar excused himself and went into the balcony to take a smoke break. Uttkarsh also followed him, and both guys chatted with each other.

"Hey, Sadhna," Rhea called.

"Yeah?" I replied, and she came to sit beside me.

"Do you like Uttkarsh?' she asked, and I pursed my lips.

Was I that obvious?

"I am sorry if you felt uncomfortable," I said.

She looked at the guys and then looked down at her hands.

"What's wrong?" I enquired when I saw her sullen expression.

"I like Oscar," she confessed, and I opened my mouth to reply but nothing came out. I just stared at her like a fish with my mouth in an 'O' shape.

She liked Oscar?! Then what about Uttkarsh? A love triangle?

"Well... Umm... but doesn't Uttkarsh also like you?" I asked.

She looked at me and scooted closer to me. She motioned with her hand for me to come closer, and I moved my head. She whispered in my ear, and with her every word, my eyes widened.

"Don't tell Uttu; he will kill me if he got to know that I told you," she pleaded.

I nodded and narrowed my eyes at my crush who was standing carefree in the balcony, oblivious to the fact that I got to know a very big secret about him.

He sensed me staring at him and moved his head to look at me. I didn't break the eye contact, and he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

I smirked and he blinked rapidly. He averted his gaze, and I saw him turn red. Cute.