Vishal returned to their table and seated himself. Shreya smiled and Vishal couldn't help reciprocating her dazzling smile.

"So, umm..." Vishal was trying to start a conversation with Shreya when a waiter arrived with their cappuccinos.

There was another long silence after the waiter left as they sipped on their cappuccinos.

"So how has your week been?" Vishal finally broke the silence.

"It was okay. Just busy. How was it for you?"

"Umm... as usual. Nothing special." Vishal frowned a bit as he realized that he had nothing to say to her. The lady seated before me would probably be my future wife. Though I had been speaking to Darling daily, I had always had something to talk to her about. But why wasn't I able to talk to Shreya like that? Certainly, Shreya is the one I should be talking to without any qualms.

"Okay."

"Shreya, do you mind if I ask you a personal question?"

Shreya hesitated. Personal question? What could it be? Despite her uncertainty, Shreya flashed a smile and answered, "Sure."

"Have you ever been in love with anyone before?"

Shreya froze; she had not been expecting that question. Before she could stop it, her eyes glistened with incipient tears for a moment. Shreya shifted her gaze to the wall on her left abruptly, trying to fight back her tears before they spilled. Yes, I am weak. But that is not for everyone to know. I can't let him see my tears. In an instant, she was as composed as before. Shreya forced a smile and glanced back at Vishal, as she replied, "Yeah, once."

"Oh, then what happened?"

"Nothing. It just didn't work out."

Vishal hesitated before inquiring further, "Did he leave you or you left him?"

Shreya smiled a bit again, emotionlessly. "I don't know."

"Oh." Vishal paused. "How was he? What kind of a person?"

"He's a great guy. Please don't ask me anything else about him."

"Okay. I think you really loved him. He's very unlucky to have lost you."

"I don't know; I don't think he's unlucky because he lost me. But I'm sure he will forget me and find someone else for himself soon after that."

Vishal smiled. "So, it was just that one guy who won your heart? No one else?"

"No. Why do you think there might be more guys like that?"

"Just guessed. You're a beauty queen, right? I thought many guys would have tried hitting on you."

"Yeah, there were. But none of them could win my heart. They either ended up becoming my friends or left after calling me arrogant for turning them down."

"Oh, okay."

"Only one guy was able to win my heart; won't you ask me who he was?"

Shreya's heart was beating rapidly inside her chest. What am I doing? This is not according to my plan. I had never expected that Vishal would ask me such questions today. But now that he had asked, I felt an urge to put a stop to my revenge without hurting him even a bit. An urge to tell him the truth. The truth that I was his Darling. The truth that I had loved him before, only to be shattered by his rejection.

He might hate me if he knows the truth. But he should know just how much his actions hurt me. I know he will never belong to me again anyway. So, we might as well get over with it today. But only if he asks me what I want him to ask me now. If he actually asks me who the guy was, I will surely tell him the truth right away. If not, I don't know... I might just return to my plan....

"I don't think it's necessary to know his name but you can tell me if you want or if you think I might know him." Vishal paused but Shreya remained silent. "Actually, I'm like that, you know. Since I was a kid, names have not been very important to me. Don't get me wrong but it's like if I know someone's nickname, then I wouldn't bother to ask for his full name. I guess it might be the influence of my friends. Since I remember when I used to ask someone for their name, they would say: My name is that, but everyone calls me this. So I got used to nicknames that way and now, I just ask whoever I meet, what shall I call you?"

No wonder he never bothered to know his Darling's name. "Oh, okay. No problem, I understand." Now, please ask me what his name is, Vishal. I want to tell you the truth.

"So, who is that guy? Since you initiated it, you might as well tell me who he was."

"Vishal."

"Yeah?" Vishal raised his eyebrow, waiting for her to say the guy's name.

"His name is Vishal."

Vishal's eyes widened. "Oh." A slow smile started playing at the corners of his lips before he asked, "This has to be some sort of coincidence, right? His name is Vishal too? Or do you mean you fell in love with me when you ran away from the wedding? That surely can't be. You wanted a love marriage. So, it has to be another guy named Vishal, right? What a coincidence!"

Shreya narrowed her eyes. He was taking it so lightly like as if it was a joke? Didn't the word 'Darling', the nickname he had called me so affectionately, ever come to his mind? So affectionately, I don't know. But that was how I thought this guy seated in front of me had called me that nickname!

That word... I hated that word now. But more than that, I was beginning to hate the man seated before me. I wish I could go back to the day I first answered your call and just disconnect it without answering. Honestly, it would've saved me so much hurt and pain. I'm sorry, Vi. I'm going back to my plan now. "Yeah, his name is Vishal and it must've been a coincidence."

"Okay."

"So, I guess you know enough about me already. Why don't you tell me about yourself? Have you ever been in love with anyone before?"

"No way! I'm sure you know I've always wanted an arranged marriage. Now, I've given up on it. You're the first girl I'm meeting like this. Everyone else has just been my friend."

"Oh, I see. Then, who is the girl you talk to on the phone every day?"

Hearing Shreya's question, Vishal, who had taken another sip of his cappuccino, almost choked. "Who?" gasped Vishal in disbelief. How did Shreya know about Darling?

Shreya frowned a bit. "Oh, so you talk to many girls like that, is it?"

"No! No, there's only one girl like that."

"Exactly, I'm talking about her."

"Sorry, I know I should have told you about her earlier. But she had... wait, how do you know about her?"

"What difference does it make telling you how I gotta know about her? You didn't tell me who she is to you."

"She... she's just my friend. Honestly!"

"Oh, really? They why did she tell me to leave you and find somebody else?"

"She spoke to you?"

"Yeah, she told me how you've been talking to each other on the phone daily."

"What? What else did she tell you? How could she tell you this? She's the one who told me not to–" Vishal was interrupted by Shreya before he could finish speaking.

"According to her, you belong to her and only her. But you say, she's just your friend?"

"What the...? She is just my friend, Shreya! There's nothing more than that between us."

"Then why didn't you tell me about her? Why did she call me? You've told her everything about me but you never even told me a word about her. I don't even know why I told you everything about myself when you're so secretive to me. I'm leaving!"

Shreya grabbed her purse before standing up to leave.

"Shreya, wait!" Vishal held her wrist in an attempt to stop her. Shreya froze and turned to him. His grip on her wrist was overwhelming her not by his strength, but by the wave of emotions within her, feeling his hand holding hers.

Shreya bit her lip. I can't let him ruin my plan. I have to leave.

"Shreya, please give me a minute. Let me explain," insisted Vishal.

So says the guy who never gave me a chance to explain before. "Sorry, you should have explained before. It is too late now. You have lost my trust. I never wanna see you again."

Shreya jerked her wrist out of his firm but gentle clutch and walked out of the café. Vishal rushed after her towards the entrance of the café, calling out her name. Unfortunately, she had already gone and was no more in sight.

To be continued... 

A/N: A bonus chapter for everyone who was waiting for the next chapter.. There won't be a bonus chapter every week but whenever I complete a chapter between the week.. So next update will be as I said, the regular update on Thursday/Friday.. :)

Please don't forget to vote and comment.. Hope you like this chapter.. What do you think of Vishal and Shreya? What do you think Vishal will do next? Looking forward to know your thoughts.. :)