Page 196 of One Hellish Love

As they walked toward his car, Kashish shot him a sideways glance.

“You did this on purpose, didn’t you?” she teased.

“Didn’t you like the surprise?” He gave her a sly smile.

“I did… but did you have to make it so obvious in front of them?”

“They had to find out sooner or later.”

“Yeah, but not today.”

Rudra stopped too, turning to face her.

“They’ll be even more shocked when they see the ‘Raheja’ tag after your name in two months. This was just to prepare them for what’s coming.”

Kashish rolled her eyes.

“Rudra…”

“Are you going to argue with me, or can we move on to the rest of our day?” He cut her off, his tone firm but playful.

“Plans? I don’t remember us making any plans for today.”

“I made plans for us,” he said with that same enigmatic smile, taking her hand and leading her toward the car.

As they settled in, Kashish’s curiosity got the best of her.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see,” he replied, keeping their fingers intertwined.

But there was something else on her mind.

“Did Daadi notice you weren’t home last night?”

“Yes.” Rudra raised her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles softly.

“What? What did you tell her?” Kashish froze, pulling her hand back.

“I told her I was with you,” he said nonchalantly, “the whole night.”

Her face flushed instantly.

“Rudra! Why would you tell her that? You know she’s already against us. Now you’ve given her another reason to hate me. She’ll think I’m trying to trap you.”

Rudra’s gaze softened as he reached for her hand again.

“She already thinks that, but I don’t care. We both know the truth. It’s notyoutrying to keepme—it’s me who doesn’t want to let you go.”

His words were like a balm, soothing her anxieties, but she still worried about the consequences.

“Stop overthinking about Daadi.” He tilted his head slightly, studying her.

“You wouldn’t say that if you were in my shoes,” she retorted, frustrated.

Rudra grinned, his amusement only irritating her more.

“What are you grinning at? I’m serious.”

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