10:00 am, 25th February, Galaxy Villa, Madh Island, Mumbai.

I mentally prepared myself for an hour of useless, idle chitchat as I stood in front of the pottery wheel that the set decorators had possibly fished out from some cheap flea market. I looked at the contraption apprehensively, as I tried to figure out the basics of its mechanism.

"Manik, you ready?" Raghav called out from afar, as he readied himself to face the camera again.

The production team's fifteen minute break had turned into an hour long one, but unfortunately it was now coming to an end. The first person whose companion I had to interact with was Riddhima's. The rest of the contestants as well as their guests had been asked to wait in the massive drawing room of the villa.

From what I'd noticed in the last few minutes, it was pretty obvious that Riddhima's sister Neha had egged her on to take part in the show. Maybe, she'd even put her name in the lucky draw ballot, for she was far more excited to be on set than Riddhima'd ever been.

"Yes." I said, my voice laced with fake enthusiasm.

"Alright then. Come ahead!" The director yelled, as he asked me as well as the girls to move a bit forward so that the camera could capture us better.

I walked a few steps in front and stood next to the girls. Neha seemed ecstatic to be in the very same frame as me. However, her admiration for me was partly endearing, unlike Soha's obsession, which was just scary.

"And three, two, one, action!" The director yelled as the cameras finally started to roll.

"And we're back after a short break on yet another episode of 'The Bachelor'-powered by Veet! We've an interesting line-up of activities today! Lots of bonds to make and lots of secrets to share! So, without further ado, let's start off with our first event! Now, my sources tell me that our beautiful contestant Riddhima is a marvellous artist and sculptor! Is that right, Riddhima?" Raghav asked cheekily, eyeing her.

Riddhima grew slightly bashful at the attention and said. "Um...I'm hardly a 'marvellous' artist. But I am a fine arts student at a college here in Mumbai."

I smiled slightly at her inability to accept the praises she received wholeheartedly. I was sure her works would reveal that she was just being modest.

"She's just being humble, Raghav. Ever since she picked up a brush as child, there's been no stopping her when it comes to painting. She's very gifted. I wish I had half as much talent as her..." Neha spoke up for Riddhima instead.

I was happy to see Neha's pride in Riddhima's skills. There was no hint of jealousy in her voice, which explained why their sisterly bond was so strong.

"Well then Riddhima, is that why you've chosen pottery today? Why don't you explain exactly why, so that our beloved viewers may understand?" Raghav asked, cheerfully.

"Um, actually, pottery for me is a great stress buster! And it's really fun and easy as well. Neha and I have indulged in it quite a few times, and I thought that this would be the best activity for all of us to bond." Riddhima clarified, with a slight smile.

"That's great! Well, I won't be sticking around like an uninvited guest for a moment longer. You kids have fun!" Raghav exclaimed, as he bid adieu to the camera and walked away.

I was hoping for the director to yell 'Cut!' once again, but it looked like he wanted a continuous shot of the event, which would be edited later. As if the shoot wasn't inconvenient enough already, the director now seemed obsessed with one take sequences.

"So, Neha...Before we start, how about you tell me a little about yourself? The purpose of this session is obviously to get to know Riddima's family and friends as well as I possibly can!" I said, breaking the silence. "Oh and since we haven't been formally introduced...Hi. I'm Manik Malhotra."

"Oh...um...Hi." Neha giggled shyly, as she shook my hand.

"Well there's nothing much to say about me, I guess. Riddhima and I have always been the best of friends despite the six year age gap between us. And more often than not, it's Riddhima who has taken care of me rather than the other way round. I've always been the immature troublemaker! Riddhi on the other hand, has always known exactly what she wants. And even though I'm married now, and live in a different city, the bond between us remains just as strong as before!" Neha said, getting slightly emotional.

"Wow, I guess we're more alike in that respect. I'm quite the troublemaker myself." I replied with a wink.

Riddhima laughed softly at my statement and said. "Why don't we get started? Here Manik, let me show you how to operate the wheel."

"Sure." I said as I bent down to sit on the stool next to the machine.

Riddhima knelt down onto the tiled floor that opened out into the lawn and said. "So, you push the pedal with your foot once you want to get started."

I applied a slight pressure on the pedal only to observe the beginnings of its rotations.

"Yes. That's it. Regulate the force depending upon how fast you want it to spin. Now we take some clay..."She said as she picked some up and placed it rather harshly on the spinning plate of the wheel.

"Now we place our hands around the clay and mould it to whatever shape we like!" She chirped as she manoeuvred her hands over the clay in a rather slick manner.

"Would you like to try?" She asked sheepishly, as she lifted her face to meet my gaze.

"Well, I doubt I have much of a choice." I said jovially, despite the fact that my words were far from humorous.

I had no wish to dirty my hands with clay at the moment, but I had to play along for the sake of the stupid show.

I placed my hands on the clay and tried to press it so that it attained a vase-like shape. However, I was largely unsuccessful in my efforts.

"Um...you mind if I show you the technique?" She said hesitantly, as her fingers remained an inch away from my hand.

"Yes! Or else we'll be here all day...I suck at this!" I laughed.

She placed her palms on top of mine and guided them over the clay. "The trick is to push from one side and pull from another...and voila! There we have it the beginnings of a pot-like shape!"

"Neha was right about your talent." I said, watching her face grow red from the blush on her cheeks.

She retracted her hands and said. "Anyone can do this! You'll get the hang of it soon enough..."

She stood up from her place, and went back to her own wheel. Neha started to work hers at the same time as well.

There was one thing I really liked about Riddhima. She was just so free of any sort of drama that it was almost a relief to spend time with her rather than any of the other girls.

"So, Neha...why don't you tell me a little more about your family? Are you guys from Mumbai itself?" I asked casually as I continued to struggle with the clay.

"Oh yes. But after I got married, I shifted to Pune. Our family actually has a pretty well-established textile business...but unfortunately for our parents, neither of us is truly interested in it. Riddhima is very obviously into arts and me...well, let's just say that I have no head for business. It'll be our cousins taking over the business in the next generation. Our parents are pretty considerate when it comes to respecting our wishes..." Neha said as she continued to shape the clay.

"That's great. You're lucky. Parents are hardly so flexible when it comes to their child's ambitions..." I trailed off.

My parents truly did find new ways to torment me every single day. 'Respecting my wishes' was something they'd never considered.

"So, Riddhima, I feel like we haven't spoken much since you arrived here either! And that's truly a shame. Why don't you tell me a little more about your studies as an art student? I find such topics very interesting." I smiled, despite the fact that the clay on my plate looked like a limp phallus.

"Oh, I'm just a second year student at Sophia College in Mumbai. I've chosen arts as my major which includes painting, craftwork, sculpting and so on. Truth be told, oil painting techniques are my favourite despite them being old school. Besides that, I've chosen to minor in English as well as German." Riddhima said, rather proudly.

"Wow. A foreign language! I can never pick up new languages. Hats off!" I exclaimed, giving her a mini salute.

"And she's a straight A student too! Always a teachers' pet! Unlike me!" Neha giggled.

All of a sudden, Riddhima's expression became rather stiff. The smile vanished from her face and frown lines appeared on her forehead.

"Can we not talk about teachers, Di? Please." Riddhima whispered softly, such that her collar mike barely caught wind of it.

"Why? You're such a goody-two-shoes! Who was that favourite teacher of yours? What was his name? Jeez...my memory is getting worse by the day! Some long, complicated name he had..." Neha said, settling for rubbing her chin with the back of her palm in order to prevent any clay from spoiling her makeup.

Riddhima grew even more off-colour as Neha continued to speak, puzzling me slightly. Considering that she was a teachers' pet, she was supposed to enjoy talking about the faculty. Instead, the topic seemed to have made her acutely uncomfortable.

"Ah yes! Pandit Trilok Chaurasia! That's his name! Riddhima admires him the most!" Neha exclaimed, without sparing Riddhima a second glance.

She had no idea that Riddhima looked as queasy as was humanly possible. I looked around and expected the director to stop the shot, but he seemed to be waiting for something salacious to be revealed from the conversation we were having.

I controlled my rising anger and said. "Riddhima, are you alright? You don't look very well..."

Neha snapped out of her frivolous rant and looked at Riddima, an expression of worry overtaking her features.

"Riddhi, what's wrong?" She asked, as she placed her hand on Riddima's shoulder, forgetting that there was clay on it.

Riddhima remained frozen and I prepared myself because I was nearly certain that she'd vomit out her breakfast then and there.

"Stop the shot guys! She's unwell! Can't you see?" I screamed.

"Riddhi?" Neha tapped her on the back harder this time, making her snap out of her paralysis.

Riddhima's shock made her stand up in a hurry, and knock over the wheel in the process, breaking her partially carved pot into a dozen gooey pieces.

"Um...I'm sorry...I'm sorry...excuse me..."Riddhima muttered as she ran away at jet speed.

"Wait, Riddhima...wait...what's wrong?!" Neha screamed, as she followed her, forgetting that the cameras were still filming us.

"Okay guys, that was great! Cut!" The director yelled.

"Great! Now you fucking yell 'Cut'! A second longer and I would've 'cut' you up in pieces." I gritted my teeth, as I yelled at the director from afar.

I was about to follow Neha and inquire about Riddima's condition, when I heard Amir call out to me. Quite frankly, I hadn't even noticed the little donkey up until this moment.

"Manik, we need a wardrobe change for your next activity! We have to move fast!" He yelled.

"Fuck that. I'm going inside to make sure she's alright." I screamed.

"Manik, we have a lot to shoot! We just have a day to make the contents for three episodes!" The director said as he walked up to me. "You can check on her later. Her sister's with her after all."

I sighed and stormed off towards my dressing room, as the members of the stylist's team followed me.

I couldn't shake the incident with Riddhima off so easily, however. Maybe she wasn't as much of a teacher's pet as Neha had imagined.

*****

10:30 am, 25th February, Galaxy Villa.

I stifled a yawn as I slumped down on the couch and rubbed my slightly runny nose. Annoyingly enough, all contestants and their guests had to wait their turn to spend time with this year's frequently audacious suitor, Manik Malhotra. Consequently, we'd all been asked to wait inside the drawing room of the villa while he shot with different contestants at different time slots. Inaaya seemed like she was planning to snooze for a short while. Tina and Soha were chattering away to glory and Alya and Varun were yet to arrive.

A few minutes ago, I was happy to have a break from the shoot. After all, I was really keen on catching up with Aryaman and making things between us as smooth as possible. We'd decided not to speak of the 'kiss incident' again in order to avoid more conflict, of course. But honestly, I was getting slightly bored of listening to Aryaman's drunken escapades in Goa.

"You should have seen Abhi's face when he threw up! The puke came out in projectile motion, I swear!" Aryaman said, laughing.

I was pretty sure that there were hidden cameras filming us, just as the arrangement was when Soha insulted me in front of everyone after the ball. I wasn't sure if they could hear what Aryaman was saying too clearly, but if they decided to use the footage, Abhi would most likely be labelled a drunkard by the audience of the show.

Well, at least that was better than slut shaming, which was exactly what the public would do once the footage of Soha aired. Chachi hadn't said anything about it, so it definitely hadn't aired yet.

Or could it be that the makers had had a change of heart and decided not to use it?

That definitely seemed unlikely.

"Hey! Nandini...You still listening?" Aryaman questioned, snapping his fingers in front of me.

"Huh?" I asked, regaining my attention span.

"Did you hear what I said about Abhi?" Aryaman asked, fairly vexed that I'd been distracted.

"Yes, yes...projectile puke. Gotcha. I'm happy I wasn't around to see it..." I said, scrunching up my face in disgust.

"But Nandini, I really missed you on the trip! And trust me, if you had come, we'd have been on our best behaviour!" Aryaman winked.

I giggled slightly as I said. "Sure. I believe you."

"So...let me get this straight. You poured chilli sauce on Manik's shoes in the first episode to piss him off?" Aryaman asked with a smirk.

"Ugh!I already told you this. I did...and I thought he'd be angry enough to eliminate me, but that didn't work out...that's when I told him about you..." I muttered.

"And the jerk still didn't eliminate you..." Aryaman said, through gritted teeth.

I wondered how things would be if Manik had actually listened to me and eliminated me on that day. I'd be back home with Chacha-Chachi and Aryaman, just like I'd wanted.

I wasn't sure if that's what I wanted anymore, however. I still wished to give Aryaman a chance, for he'd shown a surprising degree of maturity ever since he'd arrived, but I couldn't ignore the itsy-bitsy butterflies that manifested in my stomach every time Manik touched me, either.

"No, he didn't...he certainly likes to drive me insane!" I said, as I covered my face with a cushion in frustration.

"Well then, I say that the time has come for more extreme measures. Perhaps a punch to his jaw or a black eye will remind him that you're already taken." Aryaman spat.

"What the fuck? That would be assault, Aryaman! You could land up in prison. There's no way you're doing anything like that." I exclaimed. "And for God's sake...stop being so archaic, and referring to me as 'taken'."

Aryaman looked slightly hurt at my statement, and I immediately wished to recant it.

I swallowed as I took his hand. "Aryaman, I didn't mean it like that. I'm just worried you'll get yourself in trouble is all. Look...the best course of action right now, is to just let things play out. I'm sure as hell that I'll be eliminated before the finale...so it's just a matter of a few days..."

"How are you so sure?" Aryaman asked, passive aggressively.

"Well, Soha's father has too much influence, Manik keeps flirting with Inaaya, and Alya...well..." I trailed off as I began to wonder how much to reveal to Aryaman.

"What about Alya?" Aryaman asked curiously.

"Um...Alya and Manik...they used to date..." I whispered so that the other contestants wouldn't be privy to my speech.

"She's his ex?! Why'd they break up?!" He exclaimed as covertly as possible.

I wiped my nose with a tissue and lied. "I don't know the specifics...Just that they broke up a while ago."

I wasn't about to divulge details about Manik's former romantic life to Aryaman. Frankly, it was neither my business nor his. But I couldn't help but wonder if Varun was the man Alya had left Manik for...

Just as the thought popped into my mind, I noticed Alya and Varun entering the drawing room, the two engaged in an intense conversation. When they were about to pass the couch where Aryaman and I were seated, I called out to her.

"Hey Alya." I said.

She turned to the side to meet my gaze and smiled politely. "Hey Nandini."

"When's your slot?" I asked, in order to indulge in some small talk before getting to the point.

"Oh...our slot is mostly in the evening I guess. We'll be going last. What about you?" She asked.

"Oh, our slot is post lunch I guess...that's what the A.D told me at least." I answered. "Um...you haven't introduced me to your friend here..."

I made the statement in as smooth a manner as possible, but it was bound to come out slightly awkward.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. This is Varun Sharma. My close friend and business partner. We started a fashion line about a year ago, and he's been equally, if not more instrumental in making sure that it's a roaring success." Alya smiled as she introduced Varun.

"Hi." Varun smiled, as he shook my hand.

"Hi, I'm Nandini." I said.

Aryaman stood up from the couch and that's when I realised that I'd forgotten to introduce him to Alya, as common courtesy dictated.

"Oh and guys, meet Aryaman...my...um...friend." I said uncomfortably.

Aryaman looked like he was about to have an outburst but he controlled himself at the last moment, possibly coming to terms with the fact that I couldn't just reveal that I had a boyfriend so plainly to the other contestants.

"Hello Aryaman." Alya said, jovially.

"Alya...a lovely name for a truly lovely lady..." Aryaman said, as he took Alya's hand in a rather gentlemanly fashion.

"Eeks. You're so cheesy!" She exclaimed, giggling.

I was about to continue our conversation when an A.D walked through the door and yelled. "Listen up guys!"

All the contestants and the guests shifted their attention to the new occupant of the room, except Inaaya who merely turned on her side and curled up in a more comfortable sleeping position.

"Soha and Tina, you guys need to come with me. As you both know, you'll need a wardrobe change for the next activity. Make it quick so that you get ready on time." The man said, much to the explosive excitement of Soha and her minion.

"There's a few more things. He looked into his notepad and said. Right, Alya...and Nandini, you guys have to come with me too." He said waving his hands to us.

I was surprised to hear my name so soon.

"Isn't my slot in the afternoon?" I asked, puzzled.

"No, it's not for that. It's for something else...I'll explain on the way, you girls just come with me. The director has asked for it." He said, flustered that I was arguing with him.

"Um...okay." I said hesitantly as I moved away from the couch and towards him.

"Also, we need a male volunteer for the task...so if any of you guests want to, please speak now! Or else we'll have to ask someone from the crew..." The man said, rolling his eyes.

"I'll do it!" Aryaman said in a split second, rising from his seat.

"Splendid! Come on over! The rest of you, wait here until you've been summoned again." He said.

I wasn't sure if Aryaman had done the right thing by volunteering. I could never predict what the showrunners had planned for us, and he might have just got himself into a big soup. His intention of course, was to spend more time with me which was quite sweet of him.

Aryaman attempted to follow Alya and me along with the A.D, but after a few steps, the man said. "Only the girls come with me from here on...a spot boy should attend to you in a few minutes and brief you on what you are to do."

"But..." Aryaman was about to speak, but the man cut him off.

"No time for any arguments! Come girls." He said as patted us on the back to rush us along.

I gave a slight wave to Aryaman, as the man directed us towards a dressing room for no apparent reason.

The confused expression on his face made it abundantly clear that he regretted his decision to volunteer.

*****

11:00 am, 25th February, Galaxy Villa.

"Somebody, please kill me now, please kill me now, fucking kill me now..." I muttered under my breath as I fixed my shirt as best as I could while walking to the marquee that the production team had set up for the next activity.

It was bad enough that I'd had to get my hands dirty with clay in the morning, but now I was being forced to take dance lessons from Soha and her annoying friend.

Couldn't she find a more neutral activity that required me to see less of her face? Of course not! On top of it all, she'd chosen tango as the dance form which was just another desperate attempt to get physically close to me.

"Looking good, Manik." Raghav chuckled slightly, as he looked at me.

I was already annoyed with the activity, but the wardrobe they'd chosen for me made it even worse. They'd chosen a puffy, silky black shirt for me, and I felt as if I was a part of a professional cabaret team.

"Shut up, Raghav." I frowned at him, as he finished another touch up.

"What? Just paying you a compliment..." Raghav smirked as he went ahead and took his position.

"Soha, Tina, take your places." The director screamed through his megaphone.

The girls were only too happy to oblige. I shook my head in annoyance as I saw them giggle.

"And three, two, one...action!" He yelled.

"So guys, welcome back to 'The Bachelor'-powered by Veet! Next up is our second activity and boy, is it interesting! Soha, would you please shed some light on what you've chosen?" Raghav asked.

"Oh yes, Raghav! Tina and I have always loved dancing. We took lessons when we were teenagers. Our favourite's the tango, and we'll be teaching Manik a few steps as well." Soha said, chirpily.

She sounded surprisingly sane when she spoke about her teen years. Adulthood had caused the delusions in her head, perhaps.

"Alright. Since the tango's a couple dance, we have another guest who's volunteered to help us out in the activity. Everybody, please welcome...Aryaman!" Raghav clapped.

I watched as Aryaman walked in wearing a shirt identical to mine, with a look of staunch bewilderment on his face. It was as if he was a vegetarian in a meat market! He looked confused out of his wits, giving me a perverse pleasure of sorts.

"Hello, Aryaman. Thanks for helping out! Do you know why you're here, then?" Raghav asked.

"Um...to act as a dance partner for one of the girls. I apologise prematurely for my poor dancing skills." He said, with an awkward laugh.

He gave me a dirty look as soon as our eyes met but I merely smirked in response. The situation was much too comedic to ignore.

"Okay then guys...Choose your partners, I'll take your leave now! Break a leg!" Raghav said as he exited and picked up his glass of juice from the table outside the camera frame, and walked off, liberated.

"Okay, now that we get to choose, I pick Tina!" I said, as quickly as humanly possible.

"What? No! It's not fair. Tina and I were supposed to teach you the steps together...there's no need for this guy!" Soha hissed, pointing at Aryaman.

"Yeah...I'm happy to bow out actually..." Aryaman said rather shiftily, as he prepared to leave us.

I wasn't going to let him off so easy. I had a challenge to win after all.

"No, Aryaman. Please stay. The show runners have invited you to dance, and we must follow their rules, mustn't we?" I said in a sickly sweet voice, earning a look full of hatred from him in return.

"And Soha, please understand. You partner up with Aryaman ,na? The whole point of this activity is that I get to know Tina better by the end of it." I gave her a giant plastic smile, knowing that she'd cave since I was speaking to her politely for the first time.

"But our dance was pending since..." Soha continued, but I cut her off in the middle.

"Alright then Tina, shall we start?" I said, taking her hand.

"OMG, I would love to dance with you!" Tina said quickly, turning Soha red with anger.

"Fine!" She huffed as she took Aryaman's hand.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I told myself that I wouldn't have to deal with the nutcase during the course of the activity. That was Aryaman's job now.

I only hoped that her friend wouldn't irritate or enrage me as much as Soha usually did.

"OMG, your biceps are so rock-hard." Tina said, as she rubbed her hands on it.

Unfortunately, I stood corrected. She was just as irritating as Soha.

*****

11: 30 am, 25th February, Galaxy Villa.

Tina! I never thought that she'd so readily agree to dance with Manik!

How dare she?!

I decided that I'd definitely give her a piece of my mind about her bitchy behaviour once the dance activity was finished! Our friendship was definitely at its end!

As if Tina's behaviour wasn't infuriating enough, for she was sticking to Manik like a leech, I'd been assigned to dance with an imbecile who stepped on my feet every two seconds.

"Ow!" I exclaimed as he stepped on my toe for the nth time.

"Sorry! Sorry! I told you I'm no good at this." He said apologetically as he continued to dance.

"Well, you should be sorry! Why don't you just do us all a favour and take your stupid girlfriend away from this show?!" I hissed under my breath, making sure that Manik couldn't hear what I was saying.

"What? Um...what are you talking about?" Aryaman asked, an expression of awkward surprise on his face.

"Oh come on! How stupid do you think I am? It's obvious that you're Nandini's boyfriend. What's less obvious is why you've let her come on this show!" I whispered through gritted teeth.

"Hey! It wasn't my decision, okay? It was her aunt and uncle's stupid idea. They don't like me very much, you see?" He said, with a fake smile.

"Well then, what's she still doing here?! She should've tried to get herself kicked out ages ago! She's been trying to seduce Manik since day one instead! Kissing him, dancing with him and what not..." I shook my head in disgust.

"That's not how it happened, okay? Nandini told me that it was Manik who kissed her out of the blue..." Aryaman said, hesitantly.

"Wow! The little slut's got you wrapped around her finger too! I pity you, honestly! Can't you see how two-faced she is?" I asked, smirking.

"Hey Soha, don't call her a slut, okay? She's..." Aryaman was about to respond when I cut him off midway.

"Oh, save it, prince charming. I only voiced the same doubts you have in your head. If I were you, I'd try to get her out of this show by hook or by crook. That way you guys still have a shot...And since you're here, this is your chance! Do something to get her eliminated!" I hissed.

"I guess...you're right. I'll have to think of something..." He said, with a slightly befuddled expression.

"Good." I said, as I spun around and showed him a new step.

Nandini Murthy had been an obstacle between Manik and me since the first day! I wanted to get back at her in any way I could! Poisoning Aryaman's mind against her was only the beginning.

*****

12: 00 pm, 25th February, Galaxy Villa.

"Shit. Alya, I can't go out like this!" I squeaked as I looked at myself in the mirror.

Honestly, I could no longer recognise myself. The stylist had picked a red silky flamenco-like gown for me that was extremely short and exposed my thighs almost entirely. Since the dorsal portion of the dress was covered in frills, I felt less exposed from the back.

I couldn't believe that the show runners were forcing me as well as Alya to dance with Manik just to please fans! Especially, when only Soha and Tina were supposed to dance initially! Apparently, after the few episodes that'd been aired, fan reception towards my pairing with Manik, as well as Alya's had been the best!

They'd even come up with hashtags to post stuff about us on social media. #Manan and #Malya- what sort of weird 'ship' names were these?

I was getting a headache just thinking about it!

A person came and taught us a few preliminary tango moves, which I was able to learn after a prolonged duration.

Alya was a natural. She'd just picked it up in a few minutes.

"Of course you can, Nandini! You look great! Now, I know you've got a cold, so just wrap this around yourself and take it off when needed, okay?" Alya said, as she picked up a glittery shawl from the clothing rack and wound it around me.

"Um...okay." I said, barely convinced.

"Come on, girls. It's show time. Remember what we rehearsed!" The instructor said as he rushed us out the dressing room and towards the marquee.

As soon as we entered the marquee, my worst fear was confirmed. Aryaman had been roped in for the dance activity too, for he was standing right in the tent, fairly frustrated. I'd prayed hard that he'd be elsewhere because I didn't want to dance with Manik right in front of him! That would just be too awkward!

It appeared as if they'd just finished shooting their dance, since Soha and Tina were heading out. Thankfully, Soha didn't notice me for she would have certainly kicked up a fuss about it.

"Nandini, what are you doing here?" Aryaman came up and asked as soon as he spotted me.

"Um...Alya and I have to shoot for a dance sequence too...with Manik..." I added the last phrase just so that he understood clearly.

"What the fuck?! There's no need to do all this. Just tell them you've caught a cold and are too sick." He said.

"Well, then they would just cancel our activity too...and I don't want that." I said with a slight cough.

"Girls, which one of you is going first? We have no time to waste!" A spot boy came and asked.

"I don't mind. Is that okay, Nandini?" Alya asked.

"Sure!" I said.

"Right! Manik, where are you? Where is he?" The director yelled.

"Jesus, you don't even let a man take a leak in peace!" Manik scowled as he entered the premises.

As soon as he saw Alya and me in the exuberant dresses, a smirk spread across his face making me roll my eyes in response. I guess he'd been briefed well enough about the shoot, and he was all too satisfied to get on with it. Creating more trouble between Aryaman and me would give him a kick for sure!

"Alya and Manik. Take your positions. Now remember...this isn't a one take sequence. We can cut in the middle if you make mistakes but I want it to look good overall." The director said.

"Um...Manik, instead of the steps we've been taught, can we do something else?" Alya asked, right before the cameras started rolling.

I could hear her since Aryaman and I were standing just a few feet away.

"What do you mean?" Manik asked as they took their positions.

"Um...what we did in college, for the fest?" Alya asked sheepishly.

For a split second, I thought Manik would lose his temper once again, but he eventually shrugged slightly and said with a smile. "Okay."

It was still pretty strange to see Manik and Alya on such friendly terms. I was too used to him trying all kinds of tricks to be as nasty as possible when it came to interacting with her.

"And action!" The director yelled.

The music started to play and Manik and Alya matched their steps to it perfectly. At first, the steps were simple, along the lines of what I'd learned. Just step, and step and turn. Around four counts, tops. But they became progressively complicated as the song sped up. I was awestruck when Manik lifted Alya by her waist and spun her around as if she weighed nothing.

Their moves were perfectly sychronous and as much as I didn't want to admit it, they looked really beautiful together. A perfect couple with perfect dance skills.

What was I doing in the middle of all this?!

Manik and Alya bowed upon completing their performance and earned a thunderous applause from the crew. I found myself clapping as well, for it was truly an amazing act.

"Great! Now it's Nandini's chance! Take your position next to Manik, please." The director yelled.

I took the shawl off and placed it on a chair. I turned around to see Aryaman staring at me, dumbfounded.

"Aryaman, I think you should leave. I know this'll be difficult for you to watch...It won't be for long...I promise." I said, taking his arm.

"Are you crazy? There's no way in hell I'm leaving you here with him. Especially when you look like that!" Aryaman hissed.

"What's all the commotion? Aryaman, don't you want your friend's dance to proceed without interruptions?" The director asked.

Aryaman remained tongue-tied at the question when Manik cut in only to worsen things.

"Of course he does, director sahib! He's one of Nandini's closest buddies after all!" Manik said with a wink.

Aryaman gave Manik a nasty look while the director seemed surprised that Manik had addressed him with respect for the first time in the last five days.

I swallowed and moved towards Manik rather nervously, with Aryaman fuming behind.

"Stunning." Manik declared as soon as he placed his hand on my waist and got into position.

"Huh? Who?" I asked, looking up at him, confused.

"You." He whispered into my ear, causing my cheeks to colour up against my will.

Despite the ridiculous selection of wardrobe, Manik looked pretty suave too.

"Stop being a dick to Aryaman." I whispered back, determined to maintain a neutral expression due to Aryaman's presence.

"One must indulge in dickishness whilst dealing with dicks." Manik said with a smirk, angering me greatly.

"You did not..." I was about to burst out, when the director started yelling at us.

"Less chatting, more dancing guys! And, action!" He screeched.

Once the cameras started rolling, my anger was all but forgotten. Instead, I'd developed a stage fright of sorts and seemed to have forgotten the steps altogether.

Manik cupped my face with one hand and forced me to meet his gaze.

"I know you have two left feet. So just follow my lead, okay?" Manik asked.

I nodded in response and he sprang into action immediately. He started to perform the steps I'd rehearsed and a few seconds later, I finally started to get the hang of it.

"Just step, step and turn..." I chanted as I danced with him.

"This isn't so bad, is it?" He asked.

"Um...no." I shook my head.

"Good. Because it's about to get better..." He smirked.

Before I could digest his words, I was being spun around rather vigorously. The tempo of the music quickened, and so did our dance moves.

He placed his hands on my bare back instead of my waist and pulled me closer to tighten his grip around me. I could feel his fingers wandering around lazily on my spine, making me shiver slightly.

Next, he proceeded to turn me around with my back faced to him. I could feel him pushing all my hair to the side, as he bent his head down to take a whiff of my scent. His nose brushed along the nape of my neck, making me gasp in response.

And that's when I felt it...an ephemeral peck on my neck that made me give in to him almost entirely, forgetting that we were being watched and filmed.

I met his gaze once again, only to realise that it was as fiery as ever. He lifted me up, placing one hand under one of my calves and another under my thigh. I remained transfixed as I lifted my palm from his shoulder to caress his stubble slightly.

When he dismounted me, I slid down slowly, and our noses grazed against each other's. We remained like that for a few seconds, when the director's voice brought me to my senses.

"Spectacular! Not technically sound, but what chemistry! With a little editing, this is going to fetch chart topping TRPs!" He said.

I moved away from Manik as my heavy breathing began to return to normal.

"This is the first time I don't regret violating my 'one foot distance' rule!" Manik whispered before walking away, leaving me utterly confused, but ecstatic at the same time.

"Nandini, you can now go and change..." One of the spot boys said.

Barely having recovered from the dance, I was about to go to the dressing room when Aryaman came up to me and said. "Come with me. I want to talk to you..."

He dragged me away from the marquee pretty firmly and started walking towards the villa.

As soon as we entered the villa from the back entrance, I finally decided to open my mouth. "Aryaman, I'm sorry you had to see that...I was trying to keep him at a distance, I swear! I'm sorry!"

He walked up the stairs without releasing my hand.

"Aryaman, please don't be mad! Where are we going? My room is that way." I said.

"Where's Manik's room?" He asked, gruffly.

"Um...To the left?" I stated, puzzled.

We walked side by side as his grip loosened slightly, until we were standing in front of Manik's room.

Aryaman walked inside rather casually and began to examine its interiors.

"Aryaman, what's happening? What are we doing in Manik's room?" I asked.

Aryaman merely turned around and gave me an amused smile, shocking me a great deal. I'd expected that he'd be angry, but it seemed as if I'd misjudged his temper entirely.

He walked towards me, cupped my face and placed his lips on mine, further adding to my shock.

When he pulled away a few seconds later, I said. "Wait. You're not mad at me?"

"No! Of course not! You just look so hot in this dress that I knew I needed some alone time with you." He smiled, as he kissed me again.

His lovely compliment was enough motivation for me to return the soft kiss.

However, a few pecks later, his kisses became a tad aggressive. When I felt him slipping his hand under my dress, I pulled away.

"What are you doing, Aryaman?" I asked, trying to contain my discomfort.

"Come on, Nandini. We haven't done it in so long! I have protection if that's what you're worried about." He said, as he started to place kisses on my neck.

"Aryaman, come on. This is Manik's room. Let's shift elsewhere if you want a quickie." I said, pulling away from him once more.

"Come on, Nandini. This is the best way to teach that bastard a lesson! Let's have sex in this very room and leave the condom behind!" Aryaman growled as he placed sloppy kisses over my neck once again.

"Aryaman, have you lost it? Please let's just go to my room." I said in a rather calm voice.

I was trying to handle him as gently as possible for I knew he was hurt. However, he seemed to be ignoring me altogether.

He pulled my hair to the side and attempted to kiss me in the same place Manik had, right on my nape. The memory of the kiss was too fresh, my skin still stinging from the touch of his lips.

All of a sudden, I felt acutely disgusted by Aryaman's touch. A queasy feeling set in, and I wound up pushing him away with all the might I could muster.

Aryaman fell to the ground, hitting his head on the floor. Tears began to prick my eyes a few seconds later.

"What the hell?!" He exclaimed as he looked up at me.

I backed away from him slightly and stammered. "I'm sorry...I didn't...I didn't mean to push you so hard...I'm sorry...I...I..."

He stood up from his place with a gentler expression and said. "Woah...Nandini...wait I didn't mean to..."

However, before he'd said another word, I turned on my heels and ran out of the room as the tears flowed freely from my eyes, and a horrible sinking feeling engulfed my belly.

I'd been intimate with Aryaman a few times in the past five weeks. I'd never felt uncomfortable when he touched me...until today.

I couldn't let him kiss me at the same spot Manik had. I couldn't have sex with him in the very room that Manik had carried me to, just so that I'd have an undisturbed sleep. I couldn't have sex with him on the very same bed that I'd slept on with Manik, so that we'd have no nightmares. I couldn't have sex with him, barely six feet away from the balcony where I'd confided in Manik about Rishabh's delicate condition.

I just couldn't.

*****