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My cheeks burn at his remark. A different tension pulls between us. The kind which reminds me how he noticed it that easily. He has touched me intimately before, and now his one gaze is enough to pick the changes in my body.

“That’s not the kind of remark you make after meeting your wife after two months,” Jaya intervenes and though that comment is for Aarav, she keeps a steady gaze on Aman instead.

“Hi, Miss Parekh.” Aman smiles.

She raises her brow questioningly. Jaya is probably annoyed that Aman called her Miss Parekh and not by her name. But hadn’t she warned him to do the same? Jaya ignores greeting the men and turns to me.

“Are you going to give them importance or dance with me?”

I am speechless because I hadn’t expected to see Aarav in London. Why is he here? When I fail to reply, Jaya makes the decision for me and drags me to the dance floor.

“Gosh!! These men are so secretive.” She scowls. “Do you think they are here for us?”

No? What else can Aarav come here for? Something else strikes in my head and I turn to Jaya. We are already at the center of the dance floor.

“Did you say ‘us’? You mean Aarav for me and Aman is here for You?”

My query shuts her up. She’s literally clueless for almost 20 seconds. I don’t know if it’s the color of her cheeks or the disco lights, but her face has turned pink. Even if my mind was busy analyzing Aarav’s presence, I still hadn’t missed the way Aman and Jaya had stared at each other. They definitely had chemistry. All they had to do was admit it.

“Anyway, can we just ignore that we just met them here and focus on our enjoyment?”

Jaya is right. I came here to change my mood. There’s no way I am going to screw that up. So as the music beats shift, I dance to my famous Bollywood song, grooving my body in sync with the beats. It’s the drink that has made me tipsy but I love dancing here, in this crowd where no one can judge my moves. It’s just me and the music and Aarav’s gaze. Yes!! I know ever since I was on the dance floor, he hasn’t stopped looking at me. He’s practically gawking at me like a hawk on its prey. I don’t know if it’s this thought of Aarav’s gaze that burns my body so badly that I lose my sync, feeling like a stupid girl who doesn’t know to dance and is wasting her energy trying publicly. I have to end this assault at once. I pass an excuse to Jaya and scurry to Aarav Raichand’s table once again. He is alone and knows very well I am headed for him. Putting my palms over the table, I lean in a threatening pose.

“Will you stop drooling at me? There are hundreds of pretty faces here, gawk at them.”

Aarav doesn’t react nor does it stop him from staring at me with that same intensity. My God, he is killing me, baring his soul by his gaze. A second later, he wets his lips, bringing shudders to my already lifeless body and rises to his feet.

“I am leaving,” he mutters.

Putting some cash on the table, and giving me one final heated stare, he exits the club with brisk impatient strides as if he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from returning to me and devouring me the way his heart wants to, if he doesn’t walk away quickly.

CHAPTER 29

Aarav

Doesn’t matter if I am back in my car, heading to the hotel I had checked in two days ago, my heart still hammered and body craved for touching Jhanvi, scooping her in my arms, devouring her ravenously and begging her to give our marriage a chance. I would have done it all, though this wasn’t how I planned my trip here in London. Unlike last time, I won’t force Jhanvi to accept me in her life. I’ll make sure she chooses me like I chose her for a lifetime as my partner, and not a pawn anymore.

It was entirely my idea to invade Jhanvi’s time here in London, at this club where I knew she and Jaya would spend the evening today. I couldn’t resist coming here and not seeing her at all, though that was my initial plan to keep a distance from Jhanvi and not make her aware of my presence for a few days. Eventually, she would know I was here and why. So, I chose the best seat at the dark corner of the club where I could enjoy watching my wife having some fun. She looked breathtakingly divine in that black shiny dress, hugging her curves,the ones I have touched, with her silky hair tied into a thick, high ponytail. She had the same gloss on her lips whose taste still lingers in my mouth, the same flowery cologne giving her the unique scent of her own. Seeing her dance fluttered my heart, raced my pulse like never before. I liked to see her so happy and living free of the tensions she faced back in India with me. But as expected, my drooling affected her, and she wanted me to mind my own business. So, when she came to warn me the same at my table, I decided to walk out. If I hadn’t, Jhanvi and I would have repeated that same kiss, right there in the middle of that crowded club. Sure, no one would have bothered, but I couldn’t fathom what the repercussions would be from Jhanvi’s side. This time I don’t want to leave any chance for her to run away from me. The only path I want her to take is the one leading towards me.

CHAPTER 30

Jhanvi

I wake up at the alarm and turn it off. Another night where I slept peacefully with no medications. But I saw many dreams and even if I don’t remember them so well, I swear Aarav was there in each one of them. Last night, seeing him again in the club was not as shocking as the reactions my body gave when I was closer to him.

My phone buzzes with notifications from my team and my lips curl into a smile, reading one of those. We have found someone who has shown interest in partnering for the single mother’s charity initiative with Sikand Charity Trust. Finally!!

I get down from my bed and head for a shower. I have to hurry to the office and start working on this initiative as early as I can. It’s been two months that we are looking for a sponsor and now we have one. Like Jaya said yesterday, who knew I would actually find one in the span of one night. I mentally made a note to meet Jaya later today with her favorite waffles and muffins. For now, I have to rush to work. But despite my busy schedule and so many thoughts running through my head, I still can’t get Aarav Raichand out of it. Why is he here? For work or for me? How many days will he be here? Will I see him again? Do I want to? What if he forces me to go back with him to India? Do I need to worry that we are still technically married?

I enter my office cabin with the same thoughts until I meet the team handling the initiative. They all are excited about this sponsor who claims to have an equal interest in supporting our cause towards single mothers. But what I don’t like about it is that the Sponsor has already signed a huge amount of cheque and handed it to my team plus have promised to offer more just in case we are short of funds. That’s not something I had expected the partner of this initiative to do. We don’t just want their money, but also their support.

“They never denied support.” Martha, the head of my team, clarifies. “In fact, they are here to provide all kinds of operational support that we need to fund this initiative back in India. Their company is established in India and hence they are more than willing to offer local support. This seems like a good approach for us in case we partner with this company.”

Well!! It is a good approach as Sikand Charity Trust can handle the cause of supporting single mothers in the UK whereas our Indian partner in this initiative can support in India. But I can’t decide only based on the money they are willing to offer.

“I need more info about this company before we work with them.”

“We already have it,” Martha shows me a file. “AR group is a reputed software company and they have already tied up with many charities back in India where they share almost 50% of their profits with NGOs and other organizations. Their Chairman & Managing Director, Mr. Aarav Raichand, is here in London, so if you wish to meet him, we can arrange it.”

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