Lazy mornings weren't a luxury I often allowed myself, but Sundays were non-negotiable except for a certain girl who, for the past few weeks, had made my weekends look like endless stretches of chores.

However, I stopped complaining for obvious reasons.

Now that we were almost done with setting up the apartment and noticing my desperate condition last night, she had asked me to rest.

A part of me was hoping to wake up all tangled with her, but she had urged me to get up and helped me back to my room at dawn. I had pleaded for her to stay, and she stayed until morning. Around sevenish, she had muttered something about helping her mother with some work before leaving when I was still half asleep.

I stretched, and the soft Kolkata pre-winter sunlight filtering through the blinds made me squint.

No meetings, no work stress, no calendar reminders pinging my phone — I didn't even realise how desperately I needed that undisturbed sleep.

I finally hauled myself out of bed, showered, threw on a T-shirt, and padded downstairs toward the clubhouse, where the weekly society meetings were in full swing. I knew I would find the annoying group I had now become a part of gathered at the clubhouse and contributing to yet another celebration planning.

As I moved closer, I noticed Tuhin, Kunal, Shreetama di, and of course, Mou and Shumi coming out of the clubhouse, meaning the meetings were finally over. Good! I had no intention of listening to another planning session of yet another festival.

I intentionally stood a bit far, leaning on a pillar as the crowd dispersed. Most of them didn't even acknowledge my presence, while just aunt Ananya and aunt Kakali waved at me with a gentle smile.

I returned their generous gesture and focused on the five people walking at the end of the crowd, along with another girl. As they came near, I walked towards them and spotted Shumi speaking with that girl I didn't recognise.

Tall, dusky, sharp eyes and wearing a simple kurta and jeans, she gave out some serious, dangerous vibes. As if she could smash people's heads who dared to mess with her.

Shreetama di noticed me and waved me over, "Ved, where were you all morning? I expected you to turn up for the meeting."

"You really have very high expectations of me!" I shrugged while Tuhin and Kunal snickered.

Shreetama di rolled her eyes, lightly slapping my arm, "You and your antics! Anyways, meet Nadira Syed. Shumi's friend from high school and college. She will be helping us with some NGO work, and the society will start supporting from next month."

I glanced between them, arching an eyebrow, "The same gang as Chaya and Archana?" I was simply irritated by that bunch Shumi had so lovingly nurtured and then got stabbed in the back. If this were another of those sly bitches –

Nadira laughed, an unabashed, throaty laugh that drew glances. I could already see Kunal slipping a bit.

"Oh no," Nadira grinned wickedly, "I slapped those two idiots when they tried stealing Shumi's project. Trust me, not one of them."

"Really?" Shreetama di was beyond shocked.

"Well, nobody messes with my friend!" Nadira shrugged.

"Ah! You finally have a best friend, here," Tuhin spoke briefly, glancing at me, "otherwise all you attract is just bad energy!" He knew how badly those two girls had used Shumi, and I had also narrated to him about my experience. So, I wasn't the only one annoyed with Shumi's chosen friends.

Shumi flushed, smiling shyly as she hugged Nadira. Nadira threw an arm around her. "I'll always have her back. No matter what."

For a second, something tugged in my chest. Not that I didn't have friends, hand-counted, but I did, yet loyalty like that wasn't common. In a way, the others and including me, were kind of relieved that Shumi was finally with a better company.

"How gutsy you are, Nadira!" Our heads turned at that irritating voice. 

"Openly talking about such fights, and if I remember right, didn't you mention being a prostitute's daughter and still wearing it like an armour." 

It was Sunidhi again. That fifth-floor annoying couple's daughter, with her sultry eyes with too much makeup, sharp cheekbones, and honey-brown hair always perfectly blow-dried, who quipped casually.

"Sunidhi!" While Shumi and Shreetama di were about to snap at her with both Tuhin and Kunal ready to follow them, Nadira just shrugged, laughing and ignored Sunidhi.

"Relax, darling and get your facts right. My mother is not a prostitute. She is an escort. Rich bastards pay lakhs and even crores just to get a glimpse of her. Something I am sure you won't be able to nail even in your dreams. Anyways, it was great meeting you, Ved, always nice to put a face to the name your friend constantly curses."

She waved off and winked at Shumi before leaving. Certainly, both Shumi and I were caught off guard as we stood with our eyes still wide open, staring at the spot Nadira had stood seconds ago.

Kunal smiled, staring while she got into a car and drove off, "She's a firecracker. I like her."

But before I could relax, Tuhin turned his head towards me, leaned closer, and innocently stated, "At least she is bold enough to admit. Unlike some people who keep a lot of things hidden. Seems there's been some... development between you two?" He nodded toward me and Shumi.

Kunal smirked, clearly catching on, "Yeah, what's up, Ved? Is the ice finally melting?"

Shumi rolled her eyes, but her cheeks flushed just enough to betray her. "I'm leaving, maa had called," she muttered, slipping away quickly—too quickly before I could form an excuse and follow her.

She simply left me to endure their taunts, and from experience, I knew the twins never went easy on me! 

"Hmmm....Something is definitely cooking here..." Tuhin eyed me.

Mou, the little brat, snickered, standing beside me and wriggling her brows as Kunal launched one after another teasing remarks.

"Remind me to take your test on that last chapter we covered." I shot her a glare, earning an exaggerated eye-roll and rubbing off that mischievous smile from her face.

During most of the conversation, I decided to remain neutral and became the direct target of the twins, who didn't leave a second of enjoying my misery and tried everything to make me confess. Eventually, after Shreetama di's intervention, the teasing died down, and Kunal and Tuhin wandered off. 

Phew! I was about to leave, but just when I thought I could breathe, Shreetama di, who had been mostly silent throughout, caught my arm gently, and I instantly noticed the strange mix of warmth and worry across her face. 

I wasn't good at reading expressions, but Shreetama di's face was a clear picture. Her eyes held a soft concern that she usually reserved for someone she wanted to caution about some danger ahead. She wasn't teasing like the twins, yet she seemed to be searching for some assurance while warning me.

Despite the heaviness beneath, her voice was soft, almost like a whisper, so that the others couldn't hear, "Ved... don't break her heart."

I stared at her, a little stunned. The way she said it—like she knew something I didn't, like she'd doubted me. Like I had stepped into something without even realising it.

Before I could ask more, she walked off.

The cleaner's machine buzzed somewhere in the distance. I could hear the hum growing nearer as he must be making his way toward the clubhouse for his weekly round. I lingered near the pillar, still a bit startled and trying to shake off the unease gnawing at me. 

Shreetama di's words had pinched me hard. Why did it bother me so much? I didn't know.

I pushed myself away from the pillar and strolled towards the clubhouse, where the machine's buzz grew louder. That sound oddly steady and in a rhythm somehow felt easing. So I climbed up the steps and entered the empty clubhouse to simply stand there while he completed his work.

However, the worker wasn't there. The machine was switched on, lying in a corner, and the sweeping equipment was carelessly left in the middle of the floor. I walked up and switched it off, looking around. Just as the sound died,  I heard a low, stifled noise coming from the washroom. 

My brow creased. I moved closer, hesitating for a second before pushing the door open—and froze. 

The unmistakable intimacy of Sunidhi and the cleaner made my stomach lurch. She was having open sex with a worker right in the middle of the clubhouse, unbothered!

I didn't even realise when she had slipped away from the crowd and sneaked into the very public area. 

I stumbled a step back, feeling disgusted and trying to unsee what I had just seen. She caught sight of me and immediately panic flashed across her face, even when the cleaner pounded into her. I flared my nose and turned on my heel at once to leave. 

Why the fuck did I even bother to check!

God! 

"Ved! Wait!" Her voice echoed behind me as she came running after, but I couldn't look back.

"Ved!" she called, but I kept walking. 

"Oh ho! Why are you in such a hurry?" 

She had the audacity to pull me back. That lich!

"Don't you dare!" I glared at her, snatching my hand away. 

"Tsk Tsk Tsk, ato raag!" she purred, moving to block my way. 

"Sunidhi! Move!" 

"I will, but before you start to judge me, think of what people are saying about you. We are not very different, Ved." 

Yeah, didn't wait and got right into the topic!

"First of all. I don't give a damn what people think of me, and I don't have the time to judge you." I turned to leave, but she chuckled. 

"Sure, you wouldn't want people to say those things." 

Even if I didn't want to give in, I was suddenly curious. 

"What things?" I gritted my teeth without sparing her a glance.

She slyly smiled. "About you and Shumi. About how you're just—"

"Back off, Sunidhi," I cut her off coldly.

She gave a fake pout. "Aw, did I press the right button? Tsk, Tsk. Rumours spread fast... Don't want people thinking you're just trying to get into her pants. Or are you?"

I glared, voice tight, "Is it people thinking or just you?"

"Excuse me!" She stood rigid, crossing her hands over her chest.

I smirked, "Are you just upset that it didn't work between us, and all you are getting is a cleaner's dick in your dirty hole?"

Her face turned red in embarrassment. Bloody bitch! I rejected her the minute she tried to make a pass on me, and that was still bothering her. Not to forget, she suffered from a major inferiority complex.

"Take this as a warning, Sunidhi. You spread anything, and I'll make sure it blows back on you. Unlike you, I don't think twice before exposing people. So don't you dare mess with me."

That did the trick. I knew her kind too well. Knew even better how to silence them.

She backed off, predictably, and left without another glance.

But what she had said, I couldn't just ignore.

Was that how it looked? That I was nothing but a selfish bastard trying to satisfy my hunger?

Was I really using Shumi to just fuck her and discard her like my previous hookups?

Was that what Shreetama di implied, too?

The thought made my stomach twist. Yes, I was a skirt chaser, but I wasn't that person anymore. What I did last night messed with my mind as I replayed my conversation with Naveen and Shomak.

I, so conveniently, desperately got her to stay the night with me. While I should have been a shoulder for her to cry on and relax, and find her ground, it was spinning the other way in a drastic turn.

Shumi had become my only anchor, a breath of sanity I didn't know I needed, yet the way my need for her clawed my insides, it blurred the lines too quickly that I had never thought I would have crossed.

I shut my eyes, pressing my palms against my temples, and recalled Shomak's words. Was I fighting my own voice that whispered and cautioned me? 

Or was it too late to back off?

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