Chapter 2 Rejected

Chapter Two: The Rejection

Khushi’s mouth formed a perfect ‘O’. What had she been expecting? That the campus heartthrob, the man millions sighed for, would actually ask for her hand and lead her to the dance floor?

In your dreams, Khushi, she scolded herself. To make matters worse, she realized in a panic that she had forgotten to swap her glasses for the new contact lenses she’d bought specifically for tonight. She bit her lip. Chasmish. That’s all she was to him—a nerdy afterthought.

She tried to focus on the music, but her eyes were like magnets, constantly drawn back to Arnav as he twirled Lavanya with effortless, masculine grace.

"What are you doing standing here, Khushi? Let’s move!" Her friend Aniya grabbed her arm and dragged her toward the center of the floor.

As she approached, Arnav caught her eye and arched a mocking eyebrow, clearly waiting for her to stumble or shy away. Khushi felt a flare of defiance. She squared her shoulders, raised her own eyebrows in a silent challenge, and pointedly turned her back to him.

Arnav’s breath hitched. He had expected her to hide, but the view of her back was a revelation. Her Anarkali featured a daringly deep cut that exposed a long expanse of flawless, milky skin reaching down to the curve of her hips. A tiny, delicate red mole rested just at the small of her back. Arnav felt a sudden, sharp heat. He wanted to trace that mole with his thumb—or his lips.

Get a grip, his mind warned, but his eyes refused to look away.

Khushi felt the temperature rise. She didn't need to turn around to know his gaze was burning a path down her spine. Shaken, she tried to lose herself in the crowd, but the dance floor was a chaotic sea of bodies.

In the crush of the music, the unthinkable happened. The crowd surged, and Khushi felt the heat of a solid body against her back. She froze. The scent of his expensive cologne enveloped her. Before she could bolt, a pair of strong arms spun her around. She gasped as she was pulled flush against Arnav’s rock-solid chest.

The world seemed to fall away. Her fingers, acting on a mind of their own, gripped his shoulders to steady herself. Her legs felt like jelly as he rested his large, warm palm directly against her bare back. The contact sent an electric jolt through her system.

The music was a roar, but when Arnav leaned down, his voice was a low vibration against her ear. "Come with me."

His eyes had turned a dark, stormy blue. Dazed and unable to find her voice, she let him lead her away from the lights and into a shadowed corner of the hall. The air between them was thick, almost impossible to breathe.

Arnav’s gaze dropped to the ruby pendant nestled in the hollow of her throat. He was reeling from the sensation of her soft skin under his hand. He wanted to kiss her—just one kiss to prove he could have her.

"Arnav, I..." Khushi’s voice was a dry whisper. She licked her lips, a nervous habit that only drew his attention to her mouth.

He didn't wait. He leaned in, his thumb tracing the corner of her lips before he pressed a lingering kiss to her cheek. He moved lower, his lips brushing the sensitive pulse point on her neck, right near the edge of her hair. Khushi let out a shaky breath, her neck arching instinctively under his touch.

"Look at me, Tesoro," he commanded huskily.

Khushi flicked her lashes open. He was so close—his warm breath tantalizing her, his lips inches from hers. Reality hit her like a bucket of ice water. This wasn't love; it was a game.

With a surge of panicked strength, she pushed him back. "No! Stop!"

Arnav stumbled, his face darkening with a mixture of shock and fury. "What the hell, Khushi?"

"This... this can't happen," she cried, her voice trembling as she grabbed her pallu and wrapped it around herself like a shield. "You have no right to touch me like this!"

Arnav’s ego flared. "No right? You weren't protesting a second ago. You were leaning into me."

Shame burned her cheeks. "You manipulated me! I didn't ask to come here."

"But you didn't say no," he growled, closing the distance and pinning her against the wall. He grabbed her wrists, his grip tightening in his anger until her glass bangles began to groan under the pressure. "You’re just like the rest, Khushi. You want this as much as I do. Admit it."

"You’re hurting me, Arnav! My bangles..."

He looked down and saw a thin line of red where a shard of glass had nicked her skin. He released her instantly, his face a mask of cold disdain.

"You’re a tease," he spat, the words like venom. "A hypocrite. You act so pure, but you’re just a big turn-off, Khushi Kumari Gupta."

Khushi’s eyes welled with tears. "It’s not love for you, Arnav. It's just lust. I won't be another one of your trophies."

Arnav’s blood boiled. He had never been rejected, and certainly not like this. He leaned in one last time, his voice a cruel lash. "Fine. If you think I’m dying to touch you, you’re wrong. You’re nothing to me. You’ll stay untouched, Khushi. You’ll crave this intimacy one day, and you’ll find yourself completely alone. No man will want a woman who plays games like you."

He turned on his heel, his heavy boots crushing the fallen fragments of her red bangles into the floor. He disappeared into the crowd, leaving Khushi shattered in the shadows, the earthy scent of her own mehndi now smelling of nothing but regret.