Hello everyone! Araina here 👋! How are you doing? What's your take on IPL?

Thanks a lot for showering your love on my books 💛 Means a lot ❤ And trust me, your words not only inspire me to put on my creativity in this platform but also, in other aspects of my life 😇 You all are true gems and I love you all !!

Coming to this book, I know it's going slightly slow in terms of character development ☹ But, I assure you things are gonna take an interesting turn in the next two chapters. Please, enjoy and feel free to share your opinion 😊

Lame chapter alert 📢 😒
But, I plan to update the next chapter sooner.

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'Aaaaaaaaaahhh.. what are you doing, Eshaanvi?' Hardik almost moaned at the pain-pleasure sensation he received from the tip therapy on his back.

'Ssshhh...if you want to be fine, let me do my job.' I said, focusing on my work.

I sat a patterned massage on his back, targeting each area in each session. That sure was working on him.

'Okay...whatever..' he said, resting his head back on the table, face first.

I traced the pattern till his arms and slightly touched upon his neck.

'Woah!' Hardik chuckled. 'That tickles! What are you doing?'

'Stay still..' I warned. 'That's where the muscle of this part ends.' I explained.

Hardik turned his head towards me and chuckled.

'What now?' I asked, getting annoyed.

'Nothing.' he said, looking away.

Crazy guy! I really don't know why I'm investing my time and skills on him.

'You must be thinking why you're doing all these for me, don't you?' he said, all of a sudden.

'What?' I replied, closing up the therapy for today.

I patted his arm and helped him turn sideways, while he maintain the usual procedure to sit up.

'Tell the truth, tweety! Aren't you thinking something like that?' he asked sitting up.

'I'm a physio and I'm doing my best for a person who needs my help. That's all.' I rolled my eyes, passing him his T-shirt.

Hardik smiled, putting his T-shirt on.

'Well...that's pretty nice of you but...as a responsible patient, I too have to repay you with something, don't I?' he asked getting down.

I didn't reply and started sorting things in its places.

'Tell me... did Shreyas respond after that day?' Hardik asked walking towards me.

Oh no! Why did he have to bring my weakness up?

'Hardik...' I gritted my teeth, looking at him.

'What did he say?' Hardik asked, raising his eyebrows and crossing his arms on his chest. 'Come on! I know you want him and as much as you hate showing it, you too, are bored of your singular life.' he said, almost arguing.

I sighed. 'Your therapy is over for the day. Thank you.' I said with a fake smile, pointing towards the door.

'..but, I'm a man of my words. We made a deal, remember. So, it's my duty and responsibility to help you with the Shreyas situation.' he said.

As much as I wanted to slsp his head for poking me with this topic, at some corner of my mind, I really wished someone could actually help me out with this situation.

In fact, I saw the match yesterday. Shreyas scored an unbeaten 48 off 21. What an innings! I only wish...

A snap of fingers and I got back to earth. 'What the..?'

'Lost in his, thoughts..baby girl?' Hardik leaned closer faking a husky voice.

'No...No...Nothing like that. And I don't need your help, thank you.' I said, looking away.

Harfik was silent for a while as I fought myself to cool down my wak cheeks.

'Okay..fine, then get ready to suddenly get married to a stranger chosen by your family one fine morning. The cat that never cries, never gets the milk.' he shrugged.

What?

Stranger! Marriage! Family..

As I tried to respond, doing a little introspection, I didn't realize when Hardik left.

^^^^

Sleeping around 2 hours im the afternoon, I felt bored. Honestly, being a physio feels the worst when no player needs you. I, lazily, went through few pages of a new book I took for Hardik's treatment. The match was scheduled day after tomorrow and tomorrow would indeed be an important day. But, my energy seemed so faded.

I walked down the hallway to see if anyone was there. May be Ishan or Krunal bhaiya could be a good company. But, no...nobody was there.

I sighed turning away from Ishan's room, when I saw the housekeeping staff making his way.

'Excuse me, did you see the players?' I asked.

'Oh..yes. I guess they are watching a match at the 7th floor lobby.' the guy said.

'Oh..thank you.' I said, walking off. According to Rahul, always be with the majority while traveling.

So...

^^

I got out as the elevator reached the 7th floor.

There were mild clapping sounds coming from the right.

The lights emitting said, the lobby definitely had the setting of a home theatre. Wow! The guys must be having fun.

I made my way towards the direction.

'As much as I like it, I must admit that Delhi could be a potential threat for us.' I heard a voice.

'The little Shaw is too scary for his age.' someone else said.

I reached the place and saw the beautiful arrangement for watching a match for more than 50 people.

I slowly slided between the seats to reach Ishan.

'Damn! Shreyas is definitely more responsible than we thought!' Rohit said, gaining my attention. My heart jumped and ...

'Shreyas!' I blurted out my exclamation looking at the screen.

$hit!

'Eshaanvi!' Jassi was the first to acknowledge my presence. 'When did you come?'

'Uh..I..'

'I guess she tried to surprise us but Shreyas ruined her plans.' Ishan said, chuckling and more people joined him.

I blushed in embarrassment. 'Uh..nothing as such. Just..'

'We understand..' Jassi scoffed. 'Come. Sit. The match is on Delhi's side right now. You'll love it.' he said, motioning me to take the seat next to him.

I nodded with a smile and took the seat.

'And yet another maximum!' I heard Danny Morrison scream as the ball went over the boundary.

'Way to go, Shreyas!' Pollard said, now. The West Indian was definitely enjoying the game.

The camera zoomed on Shreyas' face as he, held his bat reaching 52 with the six.

He seemed tired. Yes, he was but his eyes had a strange energy that refused to back down.

He walked mid crease to talk to his partner. There was a smile on his face and Harsha, too, was pointing that out.

I didn't know when, a smile formed on my face too.

There were three more balls left.

Four..two...six...

'And young Iyer playing the captain's innings for the Delhi Capitals. Amazing show of spirit!' Morrison commented as the innings ended at 212 and Shreyas walked to his camp alongside his partner.

He seemed lost at times. Who knows what he is talking about?

'Rohit bhai, we got to watch ourselves now.' Ishan said, chuckled.

Rohit chuckled. 'I guess so..'

I smiled too. Soon, it was a lady presenter taking Shreyas' mini interview. I didn't even listen to what she asked because I couldn't take my eyes away from Sheyas' glowing smile.

'Thank you. All I could say is, we needed someone to play this crucial innings after the dismissal of Prithwi and Shikhar. So, we were going 7 per over and then I said, let's just try giving it a lift and Rishabh agreed. So, that was it.' he said.

The lady seemed mesmerized as well. 'Well, thank you Shreyas. Wish you good luck with the defense.' she said.

'Thank you.' Shreyas said, and walked away.

My eyes were almost glued to the screen when I felt a sudden tap on my shoulder. I gasped and turned around to see Krunal Bhaiya.

'Esh...you're there?' he asked scoffing.

$hit!

'Yeah...uh..I mean..' I turned to the screen that now showed commercial ads. '...loved the innings.' I said.

Krunal bhaiya smiled. 'True. I loved Shreyas in particular.' he said.

Me too.

'Yeaah..' I said, trying to seem indifferent.

'By the way, where's Hardik? Did you ask him to take rest post the therapy?' Krunal bhaiya asked.

Oh..right! Where is he?

'Hardik...?!' I looked around.

'Wasn't he in the therapy with you?' Krunal bhaiya frowned.

'Uh..yes, in the morning.' I said.

'Morning? You mean, he didn't have session with you now?' jmhe asked with a frown.

I shook my head, confused.

'Ugh! This boy! He lied to me that he was having a therapy session with you and that's the reason he couldn't come.' Krunal bhaiya said, annoyed.

'What?' I exclaimed. Hardik lied!

'Yes...' he sighed. 'And now that I know my brother is lying, I also know he's upto something definitely crazy!' Krunal bhaiya sighed.

Oh dear!

I sighed as well.

This guy was being a headache to all!

During the break, the hotel served us all with the beverages and snacks. MI was in full spirit.

But, my mind was set on someone very specific!

No. I have to control it. I can't be those girls who... lay on the feet of guys for attention. I immediately recalled few statements made by my friends during my college days.

'The day Eshaanvi manages to get a boyfriend, I'm gonna make tea for whole of India.' Sheena said.

'Esh, you wore this dress at least two other times in previous seminars. Do you think boys would be interested in such stereotypes?' Jia said.

'Don't worry guys! We can be as late as you want this Valentines night. Eshaanvi is there to manage the warden.'

'The way your family calls you in every two hours, no boy can ever tolerate you.'

'At least try smiling at a guy. That might help.'

'Sometimes I feel, you are gonna die a virgin.'

'Eshaanvi is already married to her books. All boys, stay aside.'

Yes, those were all mockeries that zi never realized. In fact, I always cherished my singularity, thinking it as a trait of a typical Indian good girl. Teachers loved me. I had the grades. My family loved me. What else did I need?

But, why am I feeling like a lover today?

I remembered what Bhavna once said, when a deep conversation broke put between the sisters regarding marriage and relationship.

'Esh, you don't have to look for anyone at any time. The one who is meant to be will automatically find you and you two are gonna fit like the missing pieces of a zigzag puzzle.'

And whenever I read those books of Durjoy Dutta and Ravinder Singh, I kept thinking the same. But, can we actually attain anything without giving an effort?

I looked at the picture of Shreyas representing his team, at the IPL studio.

Is he meant for me? Will he find me?

I sighed calculating the chances and I knew not to build hopes.

'I...I kinda need to check on the therapy room.' I said to Krunal bhaiya, making an excuse to leave the uncomfortable screen in front me.

'Oh..sure. But, didn't stay for long. Join us towards the ending if this match.' he said. I nodded with a smile.

I waved at others and made my way towards the elevator.

Well, that was an excuse to get put of the scene. But, am I really gonna visit the physio therapy room now?

Well...may be reading a few pages from the books over there may distract my mind.

For some reason, my last encounter with Hardik flashed in my mind.

Instagram!

I can't explain how bad I'm in dealing with social media. I barely open my accounts unless Facebook reminds me of a birthday.

As the elevator started, I opened my instagram account. There were lots of notifications and follows, thanks to  Hardik who made my profile public. Ugh! This guy!

There were several messages and...

My eyes widened as I clicked on the notification that lead to the thread of comments posted a couple of weeks ago.

'Same here 😪' I commented on Shreyas' post.

'Oh ☹' was Shreyas' reply.

My heart thumped. He replied. He replied.

And then, the unexpected met my eyes.

Message from Shreyas.

S: How are you doing Eshaanvi? Enjoying the travel?

Oh! My! God!

The message was received 5 days ago. Does that mean, he remembers me enough to type a message for me? Does that mean, I have chances...

Oh God! Please, show me a way!

The elevator signalled and I realized I was in the ground floor.

Oh yeah...Physio therapy room.

As I got out and marched my way towards the physiotherapy room, I felt it...an uncanny aura.

Some giggle, some laughter, some whimper, some moan.

Who's there at the room?

I reached im front of the room and the volume rose. The door wasn't locked from inside.

'I'll never forget what you said...' a lady laughed.
'Mind it the next time, babe.' A quite familiar voice said and..I heard a phone ring.

Wait a second!

'Ssshh..' the familiar voice signaled. 'Hello!..' he seemed to have received the call.

Hardik freaking Pandya!

I pushed the door open and there was the jerk with his trousers hanging low on his waist as he stood holding his phone near the physiotherapy bed.

What fumed me was the half naked girl laying on MY physiotherapy table.

Both of them froze watching me.

This guy lied to his brother that he was in a therapy with me and meanwhile, all he did was this $hit and that too in the physio's room.

'You freaking...' I muttered gritting my teeth.

'Shit!' Hardik muttered. 'Uh...I'll call you later.' he said to the person on phone but before he could speak further...

'Uhhhhh...'  I speared with all my force, taking him down.

'Uh...Eshaanvi...stop!' he begged.

'Nah...it's payback time!' I said, trying to choke him as I sat on him.

'Uhh...it hurts. My back, Eshaanvi! You are being too hard now.'

'Hard! You've seen nothing of the hardness yet, Pandya.' I shouted.

'Okay...sshhh...they are gonna listen..please slow down.' Hardik said bring image conscious.

'Oh my God! Who is this?' the b!tch on the table, in a fearful voice.

'Who am I?' I stood up angrily. 'I'm your mommy, you little peeled potato.' I tried to jump on her.

'Aahhhh..' she screamed.

'Eshaanvi, stop.' Hardik held me from behind. 'Lily, please leave..' Hardik instructed.

The b!tch on the table quickly put on her dress and walked out carrying her heels in hand.

'How could you Pandya?' I pushed him hard. 'I always knew you are an a-hole but I didn't knew you're such a big one.' I shouted.

'Eshaanvi...relax! It's over and I promise, I'll  clean the table up in case there's a proof in it.' he said shamelessly.

I shook my head. 'So, you all do all these things when you are traveling, huh? Gone are those days when cricketers are treated as God's by us.' I said, fuming in anger.

Hardik caught hold of my arms. 'No...trust me, Lily came to me first. She's also a guest in this hotel and..'

'...and that gives you the license to do whatever you like! Does Rohit know? Does Mahela know? Does Robin...Oh! What if Krunal bhaiya knows...?' I said shoving his hands away.

'They won't.' Hardik said, now looking for his shirt. 'You won't tell them.' he said, surprising me.

^^

Natasha has been calling Hardik for 10 minutes now. She wanted to remind him that she was going to meet him in Delhi and expected Hardik to make plans.

But, Hardik has been really distant to her ever since the IPL started. She must've called 8 times but he didn't receive. She even called Ishan for checking but he said Hardik wasn't with the team. So, where was she? What is he doing at this time?

Finally, her call was answered.

'Hello!' a visibly exhausted Hardik responded.

'Hello Harry! You're okay?' he asked suspiciously.

But, her skin crawled when she heard a faint female voice at the background.

Is her 'boyfriend' with another girl? Is that why he was neglecting her calls?

'Harry, who's with you?' she asked, sharply.

'$hit! I'll call you later..' Hardik said, making Natasha more confused.

'What? Why? Who's with you?' Natasha shouted.

'Uhhhhh...' she heard a loud female voice, making her eyes widen.

What's going on?

'Uh...Eshaanvi...stop.' she heard Hardik's moanibg voice.

Natasha's fist clenched, guessing what was going on.

Eshaanvi! It was the same girl she saw his picture with during the car incident. He told her she was Rahul's sister and was the physio traveling with the team.

Oh! So, that's why he's so preoccupied.

'Nah! It's payback time!' she heard the voice of Eshaanvi now.

Her teeth gritted. Of course, she knew what that meant.

'Uhh..it hurts. My back, Eshaanvi..You're being too hard now.' She heard Hardik's voice.

Eshaanvi was definitely topping him. Natasha remembered when she wanted to ride Hardik from top and he declined. Then, how could he allow this girl to...Ugh!

'Hard! You've seen nothing of the hardness, yet, Pandya!' The lady shouted.

Natasha couldn't take it anymore and disconnected the call.

Eshaanvi! She is the root of every problem between her and Hardik.

Natasha screamed and threw her phone away in disgust.

^^^^^^

'What the hell do you mean?' I asked, bursting on Hardik.

'Come on Eshaanvi! It's a deal! You got my back, literally and metaphorically and I got yours.' Hardik said.

'Enough!' I held my hands up. 'You broke a big team rule and I'm not gonna help you escape.' I stated.

'... even if I help you with the Shreyas thing?' Hardik asked, pretending an innocent battering of eyelashes.

'No. That's all in your head. I don't have anything to do with Shreyas and I definitely don't need your help.' I stated bluntly.

I looked away and focused on the room. 'Look what you did to this room. The hotel authorities are definitely gonna misunderstand me for the mess.' I said shaking my head helplessly.

'Well...did you see today's match? Shreyas was really good, you know..' the shameless creature said scrolling through his phone.

I didn't reply and started getting things at places.

'What the..' Hardik chuckled all of a sudden. 'You really opened his message!'

My heart thumped and I turned towards him. 'What are you...'

'I...kinda logged into your Instagram account, remember...' he showed me his phone.

My jaw hung and my fists clenched. How could I forget this cheapness?

'And I guess I suggested already that I didn't like you logging in! I mean, how dare you...?' I said walking to him furiously. '..gimme the phone..'

Hardik pulled the phone away.

'No way! Eshaanvi, I already checked the notification of his message but I thought pretending a little ignorant would be better. But, no...you are over too curious, isn't it?' he said shaking his head.

'What? You saw..?' I was startled. 'Ugh! This is complete breaching of privacy, Pandya.' I said with disgust.

'Woah! You should actually thank me for getting you this message from Shreyas and here you are...blaming me for breaching your so called privacy! By the way, what was that when you walked on us in compromising situations without a knock? Talking about privacy, huh?' Hardik lectured.

'I recalled the time I commented on Shreyas' pic and how Hardik changed it to something else. But...

'Mark my words. If you would have commented with your own load of big paragraphs, my boy would have fallen asleep for six months and never give a second thought about you.' Hardik said.

I frowned, throwing him a dirty look.

'So, you mean to say I passed all these years, communicating trash with people?' I asked raising my eyebrows.

'And how many times, have you tried flirting?' Hardik asked, crossing his arms on his chest.

I couldn't say a word. Well...that's..

'Lemme guess, thrice...twice...once or...yes, NEVER.' Hardik spoke, hitting me heart. 'You, Miss Eshaanvi, have no idea about the correspondence in the word of flirting and dating. Man has zero interest in woman who throws themselves on their feet or them who blushes in silence.' Hardik explained.

What?

'Look Hardik, I...I don't want to...or don't have to learn anything of that sort. I'm happy in the life I am and I'm proud of it.' I said, trying to turn away but stopped on my tracks as I heard Hardik scoff.

'Oh! So, you're telling me that a girl who reads Durjoy Dutta and Ravinder Singh is actually happy being in the routine work of a Physiotherapist? Guess..You'll be pretty happy with your over protective brother and your family getting you married to a 35 years old gentleman with bank balances reserved for seven generations. Classic! Whatever helps you sleep at night...' he shrugged walking away.

My heart sank a little. Is he right? Am I actually happy in my 'perfect life'?

No. This jerk is just trying to deviate my attention from what he has done today.

I shook my head, trying to focus.

'But, remember Tweety! Opportunities do hit you when you least expect and only the smartest could make use of it.' Hardik said, leaving the room.

Ugggghhhh!

^^^

That Night

I closed The Girl He Never Noticed. Why am I reading this? I'm an independent modern day woman. I cannot fit myself to the shoes of that unnoticed girl in the book.

I don't need any attention. I'm happy. I have a beautiful family, amazing friends, various will wishes who..

would get you married to a 35 years old gentleman with bank balances reserved for seven generations...

I sat up on my bed as Hardik's voice echoed in my ears.

I looked for the water bottle on my bedstand and gulped some to hydrate my dry throat.

No. No. No. No. That can't be.

I'm an independent woman and I too have my dreams.

Gaining some inner strength, I switched on the light and opened my Instagram account from my phone. I opened Shreyas' message. I will reply him. I may be bad at it but what's the harm in trying.

Sorry that I didn't see this before. I'm pretty busy, you know. How are you?

Nah....

Yes, I'm doing good. What about you? Saw you in today's match. You were spectacular!

No. Let's not talk about matches and all.

I'm well, Shreyas. How are you, Mr. Captain?

Nah...seems so lame..

Man has zero interest in woman who throws themselves on his feet or crawls to them who blushes in silence..

Hardik's words echoed in my ears.

What if Shreyas feels the same about me? Am I crawling to him too fast?

No. No. I can't be that.

But, then what should I do with the message...

Ugh!

'Hardiiiiikkkkkk...!'

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