A smile played on Nalani's face as she watched the city lights. Sitting beside her in the Uber was Hridyanshu. He has his gaze fixed on her. Nalani glanced at Hridyanshu, and he was already looking at her. 

"I tried renting a car but couldn't find any rental places nearby." Nalani placed her hand on his hand, which was resting on his thigh. "It's fine. . . I don't mind being in an Uber or a cab with you."

She gave his hand a gentle tap before removing hers. Hridyanshu quickly glanced at his hand as he felt the rush of happiness. Her hand was cold compared to his warm hand. But he liked the feel of her cold fingers on top of his. 

"Have you gone around the city?" Hridyanshu asked. Nalani shook her head. "Not really; we were busy with the classes and didn't have much time to explore the city."

"When does your visa end?" 

"I got an extra month. I don't know if I want to explore this country or return to India." Hridyanshu nodded his head. It took them some time before they reached the five-star hotel. 

Hridyanshu helped Nalani step out of the Uber. Nalani watched around while Hridyanshu paid the Uber driver. 

Hridyanshu held his hand out. "Shall we?" Nalani took his hand, and they started walking towards the entrance. He had made a reservation in the morning. They removed their coats and handed them to the coat checkers at the reception. 

The escort escorted them to their reserved table. Nalani couldn't stop looking around. She had heard about this restaurant. "Wow, I didn't expect you to bring me here."

Hridyanshu pulled the chair out for her. "Why? Are you not comfortable here? We can leave and go to another restaurant." 

Nalani chuckled. "No, I'm good. I heard about this place but wasn't expecting that I would dine in." 

"Oh." The escort handed them the menu. 

*

"Where did you check in?" Nalani asked. They have ordered wine and food. Hridyanshu munched on his food. "It's nearby. . . Takes around fifteen minutes by Uber." 

Nalani hummed. "Does Vedant or Vidha know about your travel?" Hridyanshu shook his head. "No, I haven't told anyone. It was a sudden decision." 

"I spoke with Vidha and Vedant last night. Got to know about your new case." Hridyanshu stopped eating and looked at her. "Do you have to take up? I know it's risky, and your family isn't happy with it."

"Yeah, they are worried and unhappy, but I cannot stop myself from taking up the case. No one is ready, and it's a serious issue. I don't want to sit back when riots are outside the main city. If our firm takes up the case— Things will be different." 

"Alright, is your Grandma okay with this?" 

"Not really. Her party members are involved, and it doesn't matter to me. Because families are getting affected, and it's regarding the college reservations as well. It's a big issue if they weren't stopped now." Hridyanshu breathed out heavily. "They would become unstoppable, and issues like this will rise yearly." 

"I understand. It would be best if you had a conversation with her. It wouldn't look good if you go against her party in the courtroom." 

"I'm not going against her party. I'm going against the party members. I'm not going to bring her party into the matters. It's the things they do outside the party house using the party's name and influence." 

Nalani took a minute to understand what he was saying. "So you are saying this case was regarding the college reservations?" 

"College seats. The reserved seats were bought for money, and the reserved candidates were removed from the list. It's a serious case. I will take up the case personally, and it doesn't matter if Dadi isn't happy with it."

"Okay."

"We have been working on gathering all the evidence. I planned to visit you last month but couldn't leave my office." Nalani gave an assured smile. "I understand."

"So you got all the evidence?" Hridyanshu nodded his head. "Dadu helped me out with some of the recorded conversations. They will be significant evidence in the courtroom. We got some of the CCTV footage. Let's see how it goes." 

"Let's forget about this and tell me about your work. What did they say? The group performed well." Nalani smiled, and the mood lightened up. The next hour passed with them talking about the performances. The wine bottle had finished, but the night just started.

*

Hridyanshu massaged his neck as he looked at Nalani, smiling up at him. She was a lighthead, and the wine was doing wonders on her mind. "So. . . I will see you in the morning?" 

Nalani shook her head. "Do you want to join me for another round of wine? I got wine bottles in my room." Hridyanshu chuckled but nodded his head. Nalani beamed before turning around to unlock her apartment's door.

It was past midnight. They went to the nearby park to pass the time. They had a good time together watching others.  Hridyanshu followed Nalani inside the apartment and closed the door behind them. 

"Can you turn on the lights while I use the restroom?" Nalani asked. "Sure." Nalani walked into the one bedroom. Hridyanshu turned on the lights and took his seat in the living room. After a few minutes, Nalani walked in with a bottle of wine and some crackers.

"Why do you always have wine and crackers in your bedroom, not the kitchen?" Nalani laughed. 

"I don't know. I have this habit of hiding them underneath my bed." 

"Why do you hide them?" Nalani placed them on the coffee table and went over to get the glasses. "Well, my parents didn't know that I used to drink when I was in college and whenever I was home. I used to invite my local girlfriends."

Nalani took her seat as she looked at him. "We used to get drunk in my room, and I had to sneak in the bottles without my parents knowing, nor did I want to get caught. My bed frame is low. You won't find anything underneath the bed unless you lay flat on the floor. So, I used to hide the bottles there."

"And now it just became a habit?" Nalani smiled. "Yeah. . . It reminds me of those days, and I feel happy smiling at the memories."  

"Nice. . . So, are Auntie and Uncle okay with your drinking?" Nalani laughed. "Achaan is fine, but Amma doesn't like it when I get drunk― Drunk and post videos on Instagram unknowingly."

Hridyanshu looked at her. "Wait a minute, does that mean you post drunk videos online?" 

"You don't know about my drunk videos? Ugh— Your siblings have a collection of videos saved on their phones." 

Hridyanshu hummed. "To think of this, we never actually followed each other on Instagram." 

"We haven't followed each other on Instagram?" Nalani questioned before picking up her phone. She opened Instagram and searched for Hridyanshu in her followers list. "Yes, we never followed each other."

"Wow. You are right." Nalani chuckled. "Are you going to follow me now?" She asked, sending him a follow-up request. Hridyanshu nodded his head. "Yes, but let's keep our phones away for now. Later, I will accept and follow you." 

"Sure." Hridyanshu took the bottle from the table and used the wine opener. Nalani turned sideways, facing Hridyanshu. She leaned her head on the face as she watched him. "Have I ever told you how hot and handsome you are?"

"You banged the perfect genes from your parents," Nalani added, and Hridyanshu chuckled. "I remember you telling Vedant, Atulya, and Vidha got all the perfect genes, and I got the worst." 

Nalani shook her head. She was feeling lightheaded. "Nope, I was clearly lying to your face. Maybe because I couldn't digest the fact that you are the most handsome Singh sibling while you were my enemy." 

Hridyanshu handed the glass to her and picked up his own. They clicked their glasses before taking a sip. "You agree that you saw me as your enemy when I did nothing."

Nalani raised her brow. "You did nothing?" 

An amused smile was on Hridyanshu's face as he watched her. "Tell me what I have done to you that made me the enemy?"

"For starters. . ."

*

The next chapter will be updated tomorrow!