Page 54 of Reckless Rival

“What the heck is this new drama about me being your girlfriend? Have you gone bonkers?” she spat.

“Sweetness, the underwear I’m wearing is what you bought me, and I have yours right here.” He pulled a baby pink panty from his pocket and held it out on display.

“Give me that,” she said, grabbing it out of his hand, as she remembered him saying they should stop the game when the message was to have the girl give up her underwear and go commando.

What the heck was she thinking? She was only focused on winning. And she hated how much he was right when he said she would not stop.

Rana had his eyes on her in silence as if he were trying to read her like always.

“Fine, I’m your girlfriend, right?” She fell to her knees next to him in the sand. “Then kiss me, now.”

He leaned back, laying back on the sand. “Baby, I’m only into consensual relationships. I’ll kiss you when I’m ready. Don’t rush me into anything.” There was so much mockery in his tone and in his eyes that she lost her cool.

She picked up a handful of sand, and before she could fling it in his direction, he moved and with him pulled her on top of him, his fingers wrapping around her wrist. His action angered her more, and she started to fight him to get away from him, but his hold only tightened.

“Stop,” he ordered, and something about his tone made her freeze. “If you are done being a mad dog, I’ll let you go.”

“Let me go,” she cried, moving away from him, angry tears rising to her eyes. “You are such an asshole. I should have never believed what you said. Buzz off.”

She dusted her clothes and started walking away. This time she told herself she was not going to get on his bike, even if he threatened her to leak the video. They weren’t far from the campus, and most employees walked from the town daily.

Nami was angry with herself for getting herself into the situation with the rival. She was okay to ignore what his family did to hers and avoid him, but this was the limit. She walked along the side of the road, her shoes in her hand and wearing the flip-flops she purchased the previous night.

She kept walking even when she heard the bike engine come alive, and just when she thought he would zoom past her and make her walk back, he slowed down just behind her and rode the bike at a snail’s pace. He did not utter a word, and she huffed out in anger as she sped up her walk, and he matched the pace.

A few minutes into the walk, her legs were ready to give up from all the running around the previous night, but she still didn’t stop. They became super painful when she reached halfway up the slope, and she started to huff and puff trying to catch her breath. So much for spending time on her architecture project, she had not hit the gym in months.

With every step, her weakness deepened, and she got to a point she could not move another inch. Angry tears rolled down her cheek as she looked up at him as he came to a stop next to her. “I hate you.”

He looked at her for a long moment. “I know. Now, let’s go.”

“I hate you even more now.” With those words, she placed her hand over his shoulder for support and managed to climb on his bike. She hated everything about him, and she was angrier with herself for getting carried away by the game in hopes of not having to deal with him.

Chapter 18

The evening of the Simha event arrived before she even realized it. She had absolutely no enthusiasm or interest to go. She had gone through a million ways to get out of going to the masquerade ball with him. An event she had dreamed of going to, she was now trying to get out of because of her rival. She didn’t want her memory of the traditional Simha ball to be with him.

She sat on her bed staring at the dress hanging in her closet, the one Ramya hand-picked for her. One that somewhat matched her rival’s outfit for the night. If she claimed to be sick, he would have no date to dance with. Not really!

There would be girls lining up to dance with him, and she couldn’t let him rub that in, not after the entire campus saw their pictures from the night of the crazy couples’ party. There were a gazillion pictures posted live, but the ones that got the most responses were the picture of her holding a pair of men’s underwear that she bought for him and another one where he was walking out of the ocean carrying her in his arms.

He was right, she didn’t need to act anymore to prove to be his girlfriend, and she was expected to be there to dance with him. Campus social etiquette.

With that thought, she knew she had no way around the situation, and the easiest thing to do was not to fight it. It wasn’t too bad being around him. She had gotten used to it and knew how to deal with his mockery and arrogance. She knew the boxing championships were nearing, and he would be focusing on training and traveling for tournaments—one of the reasons why she saw very little of him from the time they attended the party together. The other may have been a result of conveying to him how much she hated him. Either way, she had a lot of time now to focus on her work, so it was almost like she was off the hook with that stupid deal of his.

She would definitely be pushing her luck if she didn’t show up at the dance, so she let out a sigh to get dressed and show up as the excited girlfriend—a fake one.

“Nami, let’s get you dressed,” Ramya pushed open the door with Vasavi on her tail.

“Already? The event doesn’t start for another three hours.”

The girls gasped in unison. “Are you kidding me?” Ramya chided. “You and Rana are the hottest couple on campus, and all eyes will be on you two.”

She cringed at the thought. “This is too much pressure. Why would anyone care?”

Vasavi took a step closer. “All those girls who want to be with Rana will dress up to outshine you. We can’t let that happen.”

She rolled her eyes. “That’s a bit too dramatic. Let them dress up, it’s not like they are just for him.”

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