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Priyanka couldn't believe that Anurag was there. No wonder Revathi looked familiar to her. Sana was a spitting image of her mother.

Her heart thudded against her chest. Anurag's presence took her by surprise. It was crazy as to how many times they bumped into each other. It was as if destiny was trying to bring them together.

Priyanka frowned at that thought. It was weird that they kept bumping into each other. She shook her head and tucked her hair behind her ear.

She had a lot of questions that she wanted to ask but at the moment her brain was a chaotic mess. Not to mention the intense gaze of Anurag was making her more jittery and also slightly happy. He was looking at her! This wasn't the first time that she had caught him staring at her. 

"You never told me what exactly your work was," Anurag said and folded his arms across his chest. His muscles bulged under the long-sleeved shirt that he was wearing. She immediately looked away when he noticed her staring at him.

His question took aback Priyanka. "You never asked," Priyanka mumbled a reply and played with a piece of thread. She shifted her gaze discretely towards him. He was frowning once again. Stupid man, she screamed in her head. If he had asked her she would have told him.

Anurag felt a bit guilty. He had always been a bit rude and abrasive with her.  Sure he wasn't the most social person but he wasn't intentionally rude. He did not want to meddle with this beautiful mess. But it seems like the universe has other plans.

"Do you love gardens?" He asked her randomly. Priyanka immediately grinned and nodded enthusiastically.

"My Ma used to love gardening too. Back home we have a garden with almost all the vegetables growing." Anurag looked at her and smiled slightly. His heart once again twinged. She had lost her mother too.

"That's nice." He mumbled. Priyanka gave him a small smile and gazed back at the garden. She remembered the time she planted her first rose bush with her mother.

Anurag noticed her sad look and cleared his throat. "Mom told us, I'm sorry about your mother. She sounds like a lovely woman. It's never easy to lose your loved one and no matter how much people sympathize or try to console you that ache never disappears completely." Anurag stated while looking at the garden in front of him. His Ma's face flashed before his eyes.

Priyanka noticed the pain in his eyes but the next second it was gone and his blank expression returned. "Come on I'll show you the rest of the house," Anurag said and began walking before she could reply.

She sighed and followed him. They had a total of three floors. Sana's room was right next to his parent's room along with a office on the same floor. On the second floor, Anurag's and Aarav's rooms were there and they even had a practice room. The ground floor had one guestroom. The last floor had a terrace.

Priyanka smiled when she looked at some of the pictures that were hung as they climbed the stairs. A few of them were when Aarav and Anurag had won boxing competitions. Some were of them on vacation. In all the pictures Anurag barely smiled.

She grinned widely when one particular picture caught her attention. It was a picture of Anurag holding Sana when she was a baby and Aarav looked like he was cooing at her but what made her grin was the beautiful smile that Anurag had on his face.

She longed to witness his full, radiant smile. Sure she had seen him smile but it was not his complete smile. Anurag cleared his throat, and Priyanka snapped out of her thoughts and glanced at him. He raised his brows. "This is cute a picture," Priyanka said and pointed at the picture of the three siblings.

"Thank you," Anurag muttered and began walking once again. "Giraffe! Always has to take big steps." Priyanka muttered and caught up with him. Anurag shook his head in amusement when he heard the word. She found it weird that there weren't any baby pictures of Anurag and Aarav. Maybe they didn't want it to be hung around the house. She shrugged off the thought.

"This is where Aarav and I have our rooms." Anurag pointed at the doors of their rooms. Priyanka nodded and followed Anurag who climbed another set of stairs. Anurag wanted to be done with this house tour as soon as possible. The proximity wasn't sitting well with him.

Priyanka huffed and followed him. He opened a door that led to a terrace. She sighed as she looked at the swing set and some of the pots that were hung around. "It's so peaceful here. If I had a book and a cup of coffee this would be the perfect spot to relax."

Anurag looked at her as she leaned against the ledge. Her hair fluttered across her face. He wanted to move them away from her face. No, he can't think about all of this. Priyanka turned to face him and leaned her back against the ledge. She saw him glaring at something. She wondered what he was thinking.

"You know I'm not going to bug you with questions anymore because I know that you hate them so relax," Priyanka said.

Anurag snapped out of his thoughts, "Hate is a bit of a strong word, I find them annoying." Anurag said. Priyanka chuckled and shook her head.

"Well it seems like we keep bumping into each other so why don't we make a pact ?" Priyanka asked and nervously bit her lips. He is making her nervous. 

"What sort of pact ?" He asked and drummed his fingers on the ledge.

"A pact of friendship." Priyanka blurted out, a nervous energy shot through her spine when he stopped drumming his fingers on the ledge and glanced at her curiously.

Anurag was about to answer but before he could Aarav cleared his throat catching their attention.

Anurag sighed in relief internally. He couldn't believe that he was about to accept being Priyanka's friend. What was he even thinking? Hell! He wasn't thinking at all. He wanted to thank Aarav for interrupting.

"Dessert is ready. Come on both of you." Priyanka smiled and nodded. Aarav smiled and curiously glanced at Anurag who was thinking deeply, he walked away after lingering for a few seconds.

Anurag sighed and began walking towards the door. Priyanka pouted and followed him. She didn't want to push him too hard. Maybe he wanted time to think. He didn't say no either.

All these thoughts loomed in her head as she descended the stairs. Anurag abruptly halted causing her to stumble a bit. She was about to crash into him but held on to the railing at the last minute.

"Just one question." He muttered. Priyanka swallowed, "What?" She whispered. His scent was causing her senses to go overdrive. She moved a step back.

"Why the word Giraffe?" Priyanka's eyes widened at the question. She could hear the amusement in his voice. He turned around and leaned against the wall casually. She wanted to run away somewhere and bury herself! He heard her mutter giraffe just a few minutes back. Not to mention the number of times she had referred to him as a giraffe on the day they met at the club. She needed to learn to control her tongue when she was around him.

"Uhh, it's because you are tall and always take huge steps." Anurag chuckled huskily and shook his head. Priyanka couldn't believe that she had made him laugh. Not just smile but laugh too. Her heart was racing.

"You are truly something Priyanka." He said while gazing at her mesmerizing brown eyes. She smiled and fidged with her hands.

Before she could come back with a witty reply Sana raced towards her and grabbed her hand. "Priyanka Di! I made the best dessert combination ever! Your custard is very delicious with ice cream it tastes amazing! Come try it!"

"Anurag Bhai! It's so tasty!" She grabbed his hand too and began pulling both of them. Priyanka laughed and followed her. Anurag ruffled Sana's hair.

"Sana!" Revathi shook her head and chuckled at her daughter's enthusiasm. Once they reached the living room Revathi passed a cup of delicacy to Priyanka, she took it with a smile and sat beside Sana.

"This custard is amazing," Ram said.

"Thank you Ram Uncle. I'm glad you enjoyed it!" Priyanka replied and took a bite of her ice cream.

"You have to share the recipe with me," Revathi said. Priyanka smiled and bobbed her head. 

"I sure will." She said. 

"Yes, I have to agree with Dad. Red your custard is out of the world." Priyanka chuckled and thanked him. Anurag just nodded his head and took a bite of his custard. Priyanka chuckled and shook her head.

"I hope you enjoyed the meal and the house tour," Revathi said once they finished eating their dessert. Priyanka followed her to the kitchen as Revathi had asked her to accompany her.

"You have a beautiful home and the lunch was delicious. Thank you for inviting me." Priyanka said. She had forgotten how to eat a simple meal with a family. Before her mother passed they used to always have meals together at the dining table. She wished she had cherished those for a bit longer.

"Thank you for coming," Revathi said with a smile and passed her a bag that contained a box of biriyani that she packed for her to take home.

"Oh no! That's sweet of you but it's not necessary." Priyanka waved her hands. She couldn't take anymore from the kind woman.

"Nonsense take it, Priyanka. I saw how much you enjoyed my biriyani." Revathi insisted, Priyanka couldn't say no so she grabbed the bag from her.

"Thank you! This is kind of you." Revathi smiled and leaned against the counter.

"Next time bring your friend Nyra too. Aarav told me about her. Sana has been thriving in painting since she started the classes with Nyra." Revathi said, Priyanka smiled and nodded.

"I will bring her next time. Thank you once again for having me here. I had a wonderful time with your family." Priyanka said, Revathi patted her cheek. She could see that Priyanka was missing her mother.

"You know you can come here anytime. I might need some help with some gardening and the boys always whine when I ask them to help. Sana gets a little too excited and makes things a bit chaotic." Priyanka chuckled.

"I would love that, just let me know when you need help and I'll be here," Priyanka said, Revathi smiled at her.

"Okay, then I'll leave now. I have an important article that I'm working on. I have to give it a few finishing touches." Priyanka said, Revathi nodded. The older woman was aware of her writing career.

"Good luck with your article. But don't stress too much. I'm sure it'll be great." Revathi said.

"Thank you," Priyanka said and walked out of the kitchen. Revathi followed behind her.

Revathi laughed and shook her head when she saw her husband and kids playing with the UNO cards. Aarav and Ram argued as to who had won.

"Guys! Enough! All of you are such sore losers. Priyanka is leaving now." Revathi said.

"Bye, everyone! Thank you for having me." Priyanka said and waved her hand. Sana threw the cards on the couch and ran towards her most adored friend. She hugged her, Priyanka chuckled and hugged her back.

"Don't leave so soon Priyanka Di. Play a game with us. Please." Sana said with a pout.

"I would love to Sana bug but I have some work. I promise to play with you the next time."  Priyanka said and ruffled her hair.

"Okay. Have a good day Priyanka Di and tell Nyra Di that I missed her." Priyanka chuckled softly.

"You have a good day too Sana Bug. I'll let Nyra know that you missed her."

She waved at the rest of them. Ram waved back and so did Aarav. Meanwhile, Anurag stood there with a stoic expression on his face. Priyanka smiled and began walking towards the door.

"Anurag, please go and drop Priyanka," Revathi said, Priyanka's eyes widened for a moment.

"Oh no that's not a problem at all. I'm booking an auto. It should be here in another three minutes."

"Cancel it, come on I'll drop you. I need to pick something for Sana from my flat anyway." Anurag said Priyanka was once again starting to feel the nervousness buzz inside her.

"Okay, bye Priyanka take care," Revathi said. Priyanka smiled and waved her hand.

Aarav was smirking now. He grinned widely at his brother. Anurag muttered shut up and flipped him off before leaving the house.

Priyanka sat in the car beside Anurag. She knotted her fingers with the bag and glanced out of the window.

"You write articles?" Anurag asked and pulled the break as it was a red signal. Priyanka raised her brows. She wondered how he knew that.

"I heard you telling Mom about your article. I didn't mean to eavesdrop I just heard it when I came to get a glass of water." Priyanka smiled as he rambled. He was interested in her but the infuriating man refused to accept that.

"Yeah, I do freelance writing and I write blogs too!" She exclaimed with a grin on her face.

"That sounds unique and nice." Anurag looked forward and began driving again. He smiled softly and Priyanka's heart fluttered. Why did he have to conceal his real emotions all the time?

"Thank you." She muttered. The radio played some soft music and the rest of the ride was spent listening to the radio. For some reason, Anurag felt at ease. Priyanka wanted to ask him more things but for now, she was happy that he had initiated the conversation. It took them a bit longer than ten minutes to reach because of the traffic.

He stopped the car near her block. Priyanka got down and shut the door. She leaned against the window and smiled at him.

"Thank you for the ride." She said Anurag nodded curtly.

"Anurag, you should smile more often. You look less intimidating." Anurag rolled his eyes but couldn't stop the soft chuckle that fell out of his mouth. Priyanka grinned widely and took a step back.

"See! Was that so hard." She said.

Anurag was about to reply but his phone pinged. He unlocked his phone to find a text.

"Give me the details and a few days."

Reality hit Anurag like a ton of bricks. The ease that he had felt a few minutes back disappeared immediately. Palesh's face appeared before—the person who snatched Ma away from him and Aarav. Anger bubbled within him. 

Priyanka noticed the change in his demeanor. She leaned closer with a concerned look on her face.

"Hey, what's wrong? Is everything okay?" She asked him softly.

Anurag glanced at her his eyes were blazing with anger but he immediately composed himself. His grip on the steering wheel increased.

"Go home Priyanka and I can never be a good friend to you so don't waste your time trying to be my friend. It's better if you stay away." His words cut right through her.

His words pierced her. It had never hurt this much. She was about to ask him what was wrong but his reply shut her up. "Please leave. I have things to do." The intensity in his voice was enough for her to step back.  He immediately sped the car towards his block.

She frowned and began walking to the lift. She was concerned about him but also a bit angry with him. He was okay but the moment he read the text something happened. What is bothering him? Throughout the remainder of the day, thoughts of him consumed her mind incessantly.

Anurag on the other couldn't control his anger. He wanted to destroy something.

"Palesh Kumar."
Anurag typed and waited for his reply.

"Fine. But I'm busy with another mission right now. You have to wait for a few days."

Anurag let out an angry growl. All these years all he has done is wait and try to let it go but it has only made things worse. He had to find Palesh and show him hell by hook or crook.

"Fine, I want it done soon. Don't tell Aarav about this."

The next two minutes were agonizingly slow.

"Fine. Don't be disappointed if there's nothing."

Anurag frowned at the reply. He shouted and threw the phone on the car seat. He knew Abhinav was right but if he wanted to find Palesh then he had to wait patiently at least for a few days.

Priyanka's face flashed in his mind briefly. He shouldn't have been rude to her but it's better that way.

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A/N: Well I'm going to run away before you guys hit me 🤣 but this was sort of necessary. But I truly love the way Anurag steals glaces at Priyanka. Something is definitely brewing there.

The votes have significantly dipped 🥺 you guys please do vote and comment. It truly makes my day. I know the update schedule is a bit up in the air but I'm trying to figure that out. I promise to update regularly.

Hope you liked this chapter! If you did please do vote and comment! I would love to know what you guys think!