"Sahil, this is awesome!"

"You like it?"

"Of course, I do."

This place was so surreal. I admired the beautiful two-storey building from outside. It was painted in blue sky and yellow colour. There was a huge garden decorated with exotic plants in front of it and it also had a huge waterprool, surrounded by deck chairs.

Sahil chuckled when I ran around the place and expressed my surprise. He took my hand and pulled me to follow him inside the hotel.

The moment the doors opened up, I let out a huge gasp. The interior was so nice. The lobby was surrounded by glass walls on either side while the floor was a sight to see on its own. It had checkered design and LED lights were running in fluid motion along the circumference of each tiles; alternating in colour pattern.

We walked forward and reached the main floor. A huge chandelier-cum-disco ball hung from the ceiling and a small fountain was placed directly underneath it. There was a resto-bar on the right corner and stairs on the left side.

Few pieces of table and chairs balanced the spacing and everything was illuminated in a soft blue tint, giving off a cool vibe.

"Let's go upstairs." Sahil tugged on my hand and I followed him.

We took the stairs and reached the first floor. It had an open-terrace restaurant setting and also had a barbecue spot on the left side. I observed everything around me with saucer shaped eyes and complimented Sahil for his achievement.

"This is so beautiful," I commented and he gave me a toothy grin.

"Hungry?" he asked.

I nodded enthusiastically and he told me to sit wherever I wanted. He went downstairs to take care of our order as I sat at a table in the corner. The view was so amazing from here.

Ping!

I checked my phone for the message and sighed in relief. Mahek had agreed to meet me today and I thought about whether I should ask her about her personal life or not. What if she brought someone along with her? I had told her specifically to come alone.

"Why so serious?" Sahil asked as he came upstairs and I shook my head.

He sat in front of me and told me to tell him what was bothering me.

"It will take some time for the food to get ready. Wanna tell me what's on your mind?" he enquired.

"How do you decide whether something is right or wrong?" I asked as I scratched the table cloth.

"Well.... If your heart feels it is right, then it is right. And if it feels it is wrong, then it is wrong," he replied as a matter of fact.

"What? So, you are saying that I should follow my heart?"

"Yup."

"I don't know what's troubling you but whenever you are stuck in a dilemma, always listen to your heart. Unlike the diplomatic brain, it never lies to you."

"Hmm... Thanks."

"I am humbled."

"Can I ask one more thing?"

"Sure. Go ahead."

"What will you do if it suddenly rains? Everyone will get wet and I think, the main attraction of your hotel is this open terrace." I waved my hands around.

Sahil smirked and motioned towards the safety railing. He tapped a pole and I followed his gaze. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion as he ran his hand along the steel surface.

"It has sensors," he informed.

"Sensors? Where?" I asked in disbelief and touched the pole beside me.

"They are comouflaged so you can't spot them easily. When the weather changes, the sensors detect it and the area gets covered automatically."

"Really? That's so cool."

"So, any comments about the place?"

"You just heard me. There is nothing else to say."

"Oh, come on. There must be something. Don't worry, I won't get sad. You can give me your honest feedback."

"Okay. If you say so."

I laughed when he took out a pocket diary and a pen. He told me to start about what I liked about his startup and what he could improve.

As I was giving him some pointers about the furniture placement and colour combinations, our food arrived. I licked my lips at the sight of various dishes and asked Sahil if I could click some pics to post them on Instagram.

He joined me in my photography session and we clicked some selfies too. We dug in our food and he shrugged me off whenever I complimented every food item. I asked him about Gauri and he seemed a bit uncomfortable at the mention of her name.

"Is everything okay?" I asked.

"Yeah," he replied and gave me a small smile.

"Let's invite her next time with us. Can you give me her number? It has been so long since I talked to her."

"Umm....her number..... Sure. Why not?" He fiddled with his phone and sent me Gauri's contact on WhatsApp.

I thanked him and after having desserts, we talked about random stuff. I got to know that his father was the Mayor of his city while his elder sister was handling the family business.

I knew he was a rich kid but I didn't know about his father being the Mayor. Sahil didn't boast about it and I liked that about him.

"What about you? What do you want to have as a career?" I enquired.

"I want to venture in business too. It's in the genes, I guess," he laughed. "But I want to do it on my own."

"Wow. That's really admirable. I wish you all the best for the future."

"Thanks a lot, Sandhya."

We spent some more time chatting and he told me he wanted to build his own business empire and become a billionaire before he turned 30. By the level of enthusiasm and passion he had, I was sure he would achieve it.

"But, there is just one obstacle," he voiced out his worry.

"Hm? What obstacle?" I asked.

"Ved," he answered.

"Ved? Are you seriously talking about him right now?" I sighed.

"He is my biggest competition."

"How exactly?"

"You don't know much about him, do you?"

"Apart from knowing that he is an absolute idiot, is there something else?"

Sahil laughed at my response and it took him sometime to calm down. He bent a little forward in his chair and shook his head. He ran his middle finger along the edges of his phone as he was deep in thought. He tapped the burnished surface of the device and snapped his head at me.

"What is it?" I asked as he pinned me with his gaze.

"I want to defeat him. In everything." His voice had a cold edge to it.

Why did he become so serious all of a sudden?

"Then defeat him. Who is stopping you?" I smirked.

"It is easier said than done."

He reclined back in his chair and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Don't be so pessimistic. He is human afterall," I told him.

"I know. What about you? I have hardly met anyone who doesn't like him."

"We don't go along well; since we were kids. We always competed for the top spot and that rivalry hasn't ended yet," I replied and noticed that Sahil was observing me quite intently. After few minutes of awkward silence, he spoke up.

"Has he ever lost to you?"

"Me? If we are talking about childhood days, then it was just one time that I was able to get ahead of him. But, I will not take it as a win though," I confessed.

"Why?"

"Well....I came first in the class and teased Ved about it for a long time but later, I learned that....." I trailed off.

The memory was too sad for me to recount it. I suddenly felt really bad for treating Ved like that during that time period. I really regretted my behaviour but I was a kid back then. Also, I wasn't aware of his situation.

"He is always in the lead, isn't he?"

Sahil's voice got me out of my trip down the memory lane and I focused my attention on him.

"Yup. He is. But why are we talking about him? Are you his fan too?" I groaned and rolled my eyes.

Sahil let out a hearty chuckle and I joined him too. This was so absurd. No matter whoever I was talking to, the conversation always led to Ved somehow.

"He is my friend but I want to do better than him. Is it bad that I am a little jealous of him?" Sahil asked and pursed his lips.

"Don't be silly. There is no need for you to be jealous of that idiot. You can always do better. Moreover, a healthy competition is always beneficial for your growth. It serves as a positive motivation," I replied.

Sahil smiled at my reply and I told him to be in his own pace. There was no need to rush and he didn't need to have an inferiority complex.

"I am just afraid," he said.

"Of what?"

"Afraid of losing. You know Ved is not afraid of anything. He doesn't care who his opponent is. It is like nothing fazes him."

"Come on. You are just exaggerating now." I threw a paper straw at him.

"You don't believe me? Then, tell me what is his weakness?" He moved forward in his chair and stared directly at me.

Ved's weakness? I thought about what he had asked and huffed when I couldn't point out anything in particular.

"There must be something, right?" I pondered.

"I think..... I might have a clue about it."

"What? What is it? Tell me."

"Relax. You will know it soon."

"Really?"

"You look so happy right now." He chuckled at my sudden interest.

"I am in your team. I will support you." I extended my hand for a shake.

Sahil shook my hand and gave me a lopsided grin. He asked me if I wanted to watch a movie and I told him that I had to meet a friend. He offered to drop me at my destination which I gladly accepted because otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to reach there on time.

"I know it's late, but you look beautiful Sandhya," Sahil commented as we went downstairs.

"Oh my. Thank you for the compliment. You don't look so bad yourself," I replied and we laughed at our poor timing.

I waited for him outside the gates as he went in the parking lot to get his car. I took out my phone and messaged Mahek that I would be reaching the cafe in an hour. She wasn't willing at first but when I dropped few hints about the evidences, she agreed to meet me at a cafe near our college.

"Let's go, Sandhya," Sahil called and I got in his car.

The ride was enjoyable and helped me to calm my overworking nerves. I was really worried about meeting Mahek because I didn't know how she would react. But as Sahil had said, I would go along with my heart's decision. I should not worry.

"We are here," Sahil announced as the car came to a stop.

"Thank you, Sahil," I said and got out of the car.

He waved me goodbye and zoomed off. I let out a huge sigh and checked the time. I still had half an hour before Mahek came, so I went inside the cafe and got a table for myself. It was my first time coming here and I liked the ambience.

I observed my surroundings and ordered a cup of tea after going through the menu. The place was not so hi-fi like Sahil's hotel but it had a homely feeling to it. The prices were reasonable too.

The owner must have thought about it from the perspective of students since this place was surrounded by various academic institutions and it was really appreciable that it was affordable.

"What did you want to talk about?"

I turned my head when I heard the familiar voice of the person I had grown to hate the most in my life. Mahek Rathi.