Sitting in her balcony, Neha was feeling miserable. With a cup of tea in her hand, she was missing her morning walk but more than that, she was craving to hug Bruno and relish the morning sunrays while sitting on a bench with Arjun. Her mornings began with coffee, but today she was drinking a cup of strongly brewed tea missing Arjun’s company.

It was six in the morning. Normally she would have been in the community park and spending time with Arjun as well as Bruno was her new routine. She was certainly feeling miserable upon avoiding the person who brought smile on her lips but she was afraid of getting judged. Never in her dreams, she wanted to be called unspeakable names. She did not want to fuel the gossips in her office.

She admired Arjun and relished his company, no doubts, but she was not ready to be judged by her colleagues. Miserably, she watched the golden yellow hues of the sun all alone cursing Pawan all this while.

Scrolling through her Instagram, she found a recent story added by Radha featuring her little kids when she remembered the encounter with Arjun.

She felt guilty for losing her temper in her cabin when Arjun was simply telling her to have lunch for her benefit. She hated herself for snapping at him while he was politely showing his concern.  More than that, she hated herself for avoiding him when he wanted a proper conversation in the evening.

On the previous evening, when she was walking towards the metro station, Arjun had stopped his car near her offering her ride to her home. She was readily going to sit inside when she had remembered Pawan mocking at her character for sharing rides with her boss.

She had wanted to apologise for losing her control during the lunch hour but then she had realised that it was not the right place to talk especially when her colleagues might see her with the manager. She did not want to become a hot topic of gossip so she had simply lied, “Sir, I have to meet a friend”.

As much as she had hated to see the dejected face of Arjun after rejecting the serene rides she adored, she had given a polite smile before entering inside the metro station. Cursing Pawan and the society that bred men like him, she got up to prepare breakfast for herself.

“You have lot to do, Neha. Stop thinking and just cook, eat and then do the laundry.” She told herself as she began cleaning her house.

On the other hand, Arjun was disheartened to see Bruno searching for Neha in the community park. He had realized that she was avoiding him purposefully. On the previous evening, Neha had not accepted the car ride which he had offered just to have a discussion about what was bothering her. He was definitely hurt at her words but he wanted to sort out things.

“Come on, Bruno. Stay quiet. We will go to meet her.” Arjun coaxed his poor dog. He was upset at Neha. She had no right to make Bruno suffer at all. With a desire to make things right just for one last time, he marched to Neha's housing society along with his dog, Bruno.

The idea was simple. He wanted to know what was wrong with her for one last time. He did not want himself to be labelled as a creep therefore, he did not want to pester her any further in the case, she pushed him away once again.
Standing in front of the metal gates of Signature Apartments, Arjun asked himself, “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“A hundred and one percent sure”, he mumbled to himself as he went on making the entry in the Visitor Register while the guard  greeted him with a pleasant smile. Dreadfully, he walked inside the elevator to go to the fifth floor where Neha resided at. His heart raced while his dog barked as he pressed the doorbell.

Neha had been dusting her living room when she heard the doorbell. “Who could it be early in the morning?” She wondered and headed to open the door only to receive the surprise of her life.

For once, Neha was shocked to see dark brown eyes of Arjun looking at her while Bruno pounced upon her, hugging her hard. She took a minute to balance herself on her feet as Bruno wrapped his forelegs around her conveying his anger and misery upon being left alone.

“My poor dog was missing you”, mumbled Arjun looking at Neha caressing his pet dog with a satisfying smile on his face. Clad in a purple tank top and turquoise blue yoga pants, she looked alluring and it took Arjun, his every ounce of willpower to not tell her that she was indeed, looking sexy.

Arjun looked everywhere but her while she crouched on the floor with Bruno in her lap because he did not want to eye on her cleavage inappropriately especially when he was up for a discussion.

“Bruno”, Neha mumbled feeling uneasy when the charming Labrador went on licking her face looking at Arjun for help while he was busy looking at the colourful birds on the accent wall of the living room. Coming out of his reverie upon being called, he chuckled looking at embarrassed Neha trying to free herself from Bruno.

“I bet that you want to do the same or even more than that”, his brain teased him while he crouched on the floor to pull Bruno away. “Stop being a bad boy”, he reprimanded the poor dog who woofed in response while he saw Neha running away.

“Apologize, Neha”, she told herself as she washed her face repeatedly. She loved Bruno no doubts, but getting licked by a dog seemed dirty and unhygienic to her. Realizing that her tank top was wet, she changed into a T-Shirt and went out of her bedroom only to see Arjun sitting on the sofa while Bruno was silently lying on the floor beside the door.

“I am sorry for yesterday”, she murmured fidgeting her fingers as she sat on one of the accent chairs.

“So finally is it right time to talk?” Arjun taunted. He could not stop himself when she apologized. He was angry because he wanted to know why she had snapped at him at first place instead of an apologize.

“Umm... Tea?”, she asked feeling guilty about yesterday.

“Umm... Neha, neither have I come here for an apology nor for your tea”, Arjun said and something broke in her heart.

“I want to know what led you to snap at me. What is bothering you, girl?” He questioned her politely with concerns laced in his voice and Neha’s heart smiled for once persuading her to speak out the truth when her brain warned, “Neha, what if the matter gets worse and Pawan gets to suffer because if any such thing would happen, Pawan would be sure that something is brewing between you two and I am sure, you don’t want anything of such sort.”

“Is everything fine back home?” He asked concerned while Neha chose to stay mum.

“Is it another guy?” He asked referring to her arranged marriage prospects.

“It’s nothing, Sir”, she replied hastily irritating Arjun even more.

“Work pressure? Am I overloading you with work?” He asked trying to keep his tone in check. He was upset upon being referred professionally while he was casually sitting inside her house early in the morning.

“I think you should stop favouring me at work”, Neha finally spoke up.

“Am I doing that?”, asked Arjun agitatedly. He liked her and respected her self-esteem. He appreciated her hardworking nature but favouring her was out of question. Having served in the Indian Army, Arjun was anything but biased. He treated everyone equally, for God’s sake. He lost his cool when Neha nodded accusing him again.

“Why do you feel so?” He asked.

“Umm... Sir....” Neha fidgeted only to hear Arjun mumbling, “I remember we were on first name basis”.

“I am sorry but the thing is, I don’t want you to favour me. I don’t want to be judged.” Neha spoke timidly trying not to meet his eyes.

“Neha, what happened?”, asked Arjun protectively only to hear a meek ‘nothing’.

“Out with it, Neha”, he ordered glaring at her. He was certainly done with her and her riddles. He was tired of her gloomy eyes, timid voice and habit of keeping things to herself. He hated when she was sad and he had no idea about how to comfort her. He wanted her to let him in but she was been stubborn, very stubborn.

“I will get some tea”, mumbled Neha scurrying away regretting to open her mouth at first place. “Stubborn woman”, muttered Arjun angrily holding his head in his palms.

Neha was cursing herself for acting like an immature woman complaining about the grapevine with her boss especially when the gossip was about of them. She felt stupid as she crushed some cardamoms and cloves while Arjun stood at the door irritated at her stubbornness.

“What’s wrong, Neha?”, asked Arjun concerned. He had realized that something had happened in the department which was bothering her. He wondered if he was the reason.

Why would anyone judge her? He wondered but unfortunately he had no answer. She was a hardworking woman and hence, he wanted her to get all the opportunities she deserved. He was not favouring her at all. He was concerned because he did not want the employees to suffer toxicity in the department especially under his leadership.

Neha was startled to find him standing outside her kitchen. She huffed as she added some milk to the boiling tea while he walked inside. “What is it?” He asked firmly.

••••••••••••••♥️••••••••••••••

Hi everyone

So, this guy keeps on gatecrashing at her place while she keeps on overthinking. 😜

He is being too patient but I am excited to see if she would speak up and how he would react? 😉😅

P.S I think Arjun and Neha needs some tangy flavors in their lives 😉😋

P.P.S we have a good surprise before a formal date 😆

I will try writing another update soon! 😍

Thank you for your faith in me that compelled me to write this soon. Thank you so much for this motivation 💗

Don't forget to appreciate Arjun for his patience 😆

With immense love, I sign off only to be back soon 💜