Darling, you have always been mine

Part 9

Dragging his half-passed out a friend, Ryan entered Viraaj's room with the help of the house helper. He himself felt his head throbbing due to the influence of alcohol but still, he couldn't deny the contentment his mind felt after hearing Viraaj talk about that girl. 

Removing his shoes, he switched on the air conditioner after making Viraaj lie down on the bed who could barely keep his eyes open now. " Thank you Bhaiya," Ryan wished the house helper as they both came out of Viraaj's room without making any noise to let him sleep peacefully. 

Twisting and turning the phone, Ryan came down his building, smiling at the play that was going to be conducted by God. He walked to the car and sat inside it before signalling the driver to take him home since he was drunk enough to not drive the car. 

As the car screeched and started moving towards the said destination. Ryan found himself dwelling into the time where he had first met Viraaj. His first meeting with Viraaj would still give him chills and nervousness that he felt during that time when he had joined his company to work. 

The cold and bold attitude of his then boss and now friend had thrown him off-guard when he had first started working for him. But as the time passed Ryan realised the Viraaj was quite a mischievous man and fun to be around. 

Coming from a family of a middle-class background, Ryan found it difficult to adjust with the demands and expectations of Viraaj which just made more possessive about him. 

Soon, as time passed, Ryan proved his capabilities to him and they became friends as thick as the trunk of the banyan tree. A banyan tree is known for its strong yet firm trunk and roots and somewhere down in Ryan's heart, Viraaj was just like a brother he never had because even when he wasn't this close to him, Viraaj has always stood like a shield in front of him and protected him from problems. 

A smile escaped his lips as he reminisced all those past times where he could see his not so cold but funny friend and so many memorable incidents that if given a chance he would like to relive all that all over again. 

The smile that had appeared on his handsome and chiselled face started disappearing just like the way smoke disappears into thin air.  He cursed that b***h who made his strict yet a good-hearted person a devil in whole and full sense. 

From the very start, Ryan knew Viraaj was a little cold and arrogant but that was just for the sake of scaring people and not let them mess around with him or the people about he was concerned. But from the time that girl entered his life, its life Viraaj's wisdom went on a run. 

For Ryan, Viraaj was a perfect guy then. No smoking, no drinking habits, in fact, he hated the sight of alcohol. Also, he felt disgusted while looking at the people who indulged in one night stands, short-term affairs for pleasure and cheating on their respective partners. 

But this was the case then, now, there is not a single day when he does not drink. Getting drunk to the fullest and then waking up next to new and different girls had become his routine. Many times, Ryan tried to stop his friend but such things really need strong self-discipline which Viraaj seemed to lose after that b***h cheated him.

He could feel Viraaj losing himself in the intoxication of alcohol to overcome the anger that he had buried inside him from such a long time. He still didn't know what exactly went wrong between that b***h and Viraaj but even during that time he was merely affected in the influence of love as compared to the girl he was referring to now. 

Now I will really have to meet you, Ma'am, He thought to himself as a smirk found its way to his lips. 

Mr Viraaj Thakur, now the game begins.

~~~

Checking the dark circles under her eyes, Ina pouted at the way her face looked. She heaved a sigh of frustration and took a tube of Lakme CC creme to cover up the said shadows under her eyes to look presentable in office. 

Applying small amounts of the creme, Ina gently dabbed her whole face to mix the creme well with her skin, making it give an even skin tone to her face. In addition, she applied large amounts of kohl in her eyes that made her eyes look bolder and bigger. 

Wearing a maroon satin blouse and black trousers, Ina was good to go for work. She picked up her bag and hailed a taxi for her office. As the drive started, Ina found herself feeling sleepy even when sleep was far away from her eyes. 

Her eyes had started to play games with her. They only showed her one thing or rather one person which made her restless to the core that she couldn't even explain. From the time she left the office yesterday, Viraaj was all that Ina could think of. 

Reaching home after such an eventful day, she tried distracting her mind by video-calling her sister and asking about her health and about their parents. Though she was trying to be cheerful and bubbly while talking with her sister, she was unsuccessful in diverting her mind from the very devil who had controlled the way her thoughts were going around. 

Twenty minutes later or so, Ina bid goodbyes to her family and drank her ginger tea as she decided to skip her dinner due to the heavy late evening snacks she had with him. Speaking of which, his images and the way he manhandled her ran into her thoughts. 

Yet, she didn't found herself getting angry with the thought of him kissing her without ay permission. Running her hands in her hair, she pulled it in frustration as this was not the way she should have felt. She should have been bubbling in anger and not be lost in his thoughts. 

Twisting and turning with the thoughts, this is how her entire night got wasted with his thoughts when she retired to bed in hope of getting some sleep. A jerk from the brakes broke her from her sleepy trance and she paid the fare to the taxi driver before entering the office. 

 Ina walked into the premised by flashing few smiles here and there as she was liked by most of her colleagues due to her polite and respectful nature. Greeting her girl gang on her way, Ina made her way to her seat where she found a man standing with his strong and muscular back facing her. 

The black shirt hugged his torso perfectly which gave her the hint of the well-defined shoulder blades that were hidden behind them. Licking her lips deliciously at the sight, Ina cleared her throat to gain the attention of the said man who was busy reading some file. 

Clearing of a throat broke the concentration of that man and he turned towards the source of the sound. His eyes twinkled when they saw her looking at him, questioningly. A smile came on his handsome face as he extended his hand and introduced himself," Hey, My name is Aryan Rathod. Actually I am here to give you these files for the reports that are to be made."

Bewildered, Ina stared at the stunning man who was standing in front of her looking exceptionally good. In her words, his front side was a lot better than the backside. A shy smile went through her features as she grabbed his hand, giving it a firm handshake. 

" Hello, Sir. I am Ina Ghosh. And if you don't mind me asking, who has sent these files?" She introduced herself politely and asked him about the files as she was torn between who had sent these files. Was it Mr Sharma or Viraaj?

" Not at all Ms Ghosh. Mr Thakur has sent these files and he has also told you to report to his cabin as soon as you come," 

I should have known!

Ina smiled at him in acknowledgement but what caught her attention was the natural charisma that this guy had. The way his black shirt hugged his body, stubble that accentuated his jawline and his slightly long hairs that touched his forehead on the side added to his charm. 

Giving her a last smile, full of charm, He made his way out while Ina prepared herself to meet the devil early in the morning. Well I know it's not that early but facing him at the start of the day itself is already making me tired than I already am, she muttered to herself and took steps towards his cabin. 

Standing in front of his cabin door, Ina felt her heartbeat accelerating. Knocking on the door, she took deep breaths in order to calm her down so that she doesn't get an anxiety attack. Hearing his granting of permission, Ina entered his cabin and felt all yesterday's memories hitting her like a tornado. 

She stood there like a statue whereas Viraaj found himself getting anxious with the way she stood and the way there were shadows under her eyes, clouding her face. " Ms Ghosh," Viraaj called out loudly gaining her attention. 

Gobsmacked with the sudden hit, Viraaj's confused yet frustrated face came in front of her eyes as she meekly choked out," you called for me, Sir."

Listening her soft voice acted as a remedy to the growing headache that was the aftermath of becoming wasted last night. He didn't take any medicine while coming to the office as he had gotten super late to work so he had to skip the breakfast in order to reach on time. 

The whole ride, he cursed himself for not taking any medicine for the pounding headache that he was suffering and with the thoughts of the girl who is nervously sitting in front of him now, trying to fight her own inner battles. 

" Yes, I did. I want to discuss the files that I had sent to you" He commanded with the firm voice making Ina let out a shaky breath. 

Making an irritable face with his eyebrows scrunched and nose cringed, Viraaj started explaining what was required to be taken into account while preparing the reports while rubbing his forehead in-between to reduce the pain that was growing slowly. 

" Is something wrong?" Before Ina could think, she asked him making him look at her with burning eyes that resembled two fireballs, forming a knot in her throat. 

" Why do you care? Just concentrate on what I am saying you don't have to act like you care," Viraaj spat out angrily, letting the frustration taking over him. Ina felt humiliated with the fact that he considered his genuine concern like an act. 

Her humiliation soon took the form of anger and matching his burning gaze, Ina retorted," Not everyone is like you, Sir. Some people are really compassionate and show concern for the sake of humanity but I guess you don't deserve to be treated like one. My apologies for treating you like one."

Hearing her, bad-mouthing him, He felt an unexplainable weight on his heart which just made him lose all the self-control he had. Getting up from his chair, he walked around the desk where Ina stood, glaring at him. 

Burning in the fire of humiliation and anger, Ina ignored the fact of him coming close to her. Her senses seemed to kick in when he began dragging her and then stopped at the corner of his cabin before removing a key and inserting into a keyhole that was practically invisible due to the brick-wooden design of the wall. 

Grabbing her one hand, Viraaj pushed opened the secret door to his study room, before dragging her in and closing the door. Ina tried to free her hand from his hulk-strong hold but all in efforts went into the drain as the more she tried, the more his hold on her hand seemed to tighten. 

With one swift movement, he cornered Ina to the wall and looked in her eyes to find fear lurking in those doe-eyes that had caught his attention. Seeing the look on his face, Ina knew that had indeed touched the wrong strings by word of mouth. 

Her heart had come up to her mouth and was threatening to break her rib cage while seeing the man in front of her eyes that had caged her and was watching her with a heated look. His eyes roamed all over the face which made him give quite a predator look that scared her to the core. 

With her rapid breathing and sweat beads forming on her forehead, Viraaj knew that he had gone too far this time and really scared her like a small kitten who is scared of encountering a dog. 

" Scared are we?" Viraaj leaned in and whispered in her ears huskily with a hint of mockery that just evaporated all the fear Ina felt at that time. He intentionally challenged her ego and teased her so that he could see his feisty cat back in action. 

To be Contd...