Third Person's POV

Nandini looks around in awe as she enters the mall with Vikrant.

She has never been to such a place in her life.

When she was a child, her parents bought her clothes. They used to take Vivek with them for shopping, but never her.

And after she grew up, they gave her just enough allowance to buy the basics. So, she could only afford to buy things from the market, where everything was cheaper. She never came to such a fancy place because she never had the budget.

Vivek used to tell her he would take her shopping once he got the first salary from his first job after completing his MBA.

But before that could happen—

Nandini stops that thought, blinking back the tears that come unbidden to her eyes at her brother's memory.

"What do you want to buy? Let's get this over with so we can return home," Vikrant tells her rudely, and Nandini sighs.

"Umm, it's okay. We can return now. I have clothes that I can wear to go to the office. I don't need anything," she lies.

She doesn't have any formal clothes to wear, but she can buy them from the market at a lower price.

She sold the jewelry her parents gave her and got about three hundred thousand rupees from that. She left the major portion of that in her suitcase at Vikrant's house and brought only twenty thousand with her because she felt it would be enough for her to buy at least four formal dresses and two pairs of shoes.

But all the shops here look so expensive. I don't think I can even buy one dress with twenty thousand rupees, let alone four dresses and two pairs of shoes. She feels dismayed by that thought.

"Mom has specifically told me that you should have more shopping bags than we can carry when we return home. She would surely want to see what you bought. So, please, let's just go and do it soon. I don't have the whole day to roam around with you." Saying that, Vikrant turns and enters a shop, leaving no choice with Nandini other than to follow him.

Entering the shop, she gasps as she sees a vast collection of beautiful dresses hanging around.

She slowly walks inside and touches the dresses, feeling their softness under her hands. Just by touching them, she realizes they must be of the best quality—so much so that she is almost hesitant to keep touching them, not wanting to cause any creases on them.

Vikrant looks at Nandini, exploring the shop and touching the dresses with a slight smile on her face.

He knew she liked the dresses because he could see how she looked at them. And the gentle way she was touching them.

He feels a pinch in his heart when she suddenly wipes her hands with her shawl before touching a dress that the mannequin was wearing.

The soft, innocent smile and the awe on her face make her look adorable. It's as if she is seeing and doing all this for the first time.

He has a meeting in four hours, and he wants to reach home within the next three hours so he can prepare for it, but now, looking at her explore with such subtle excitement that she is trying to hide, he doesn't have the heart to tell her to stop.

Why the hell am I being thoughtful towards her? He wonders, and shaking off that thought, he is about to walk toward Nandini to tell her to hurry, but he stops when he sees a salesgirl approaching Nandini.

"Ma'am, I think you have come to the wrong place," the girl says, making him frown.

"What do you mean?" He hears Nandini ask.

"Umm, nothing. By the way, can you tell me your budget so I can get the dresses in that price range or show you the way to the cheaper place if your budget is low?" The girl replies.

Hearing the salesgirl, Nandini feels her face go warm. She indeed doesn't have the money to afford dresses from an expensive place like this.

Vikrant, however, gets furious when he hears the salesgirl. Angrily striding to where she is standing, he starts speaking.

"Bring all your expensive dresses right now. Mind you, they should all be her size," he says, pointing toward Nandini. "We'll take them all."

The salesgirl is shocked to see Vikrant Sisodiya in front of her. She has seen him on the cover of famous business magazines and in many interviews on prime channels.

"I'm sorry, Sir, Ma'am. I should not have said that. I'll bring the dresses right away." The girl is about to turn and bring the dresses, but Nandini stops her.

"Wait, please. And do tell me why you are sorry. Is it because you suddenly realized your mistake and felt remorseful, or is it because you saw I'm accompanied by a rich businessman and got scared about losing your job for your insolent behavior?" Nandini folds her hands over her chest, watching the salesgirl squirm at her spot.

"No, Ma'am, I... didn't... I mean..." the girl stammers and Nandini shakes her head.

"Let it be. I won't be buying anything from here. And you also don't need to worry about what happened here because I won't complain about it. I just hope you try to learn from your mistake and stop measuring people according to their financial status," Nandini tells the girl and walks out of the shop.

Vikrant glares at the salesgirl for a few seconds before following Nandini.

Once outside, Nandini turns to look at Vikrant. "Let's get out of here, please? I don't want to buy anything from this mall."

Vikrant frowns at her. "The way you were exploring the dresses inside the shop—I thought you liked them. Don't you want to buy those dresses?" He asks. "If you don't want to buy anything from this shop because of what happened here, we can look around more."

He has no idea why he is offering her more time to look around when he should be glad she wants to go home.

Well, whatever the reason is, he can't deny it anymore. He is impressed by her straightforward and calm approach.

After what happened back at the shop, she could have made a scene out of it. She could have announced she was a billionaire's wife and demanded that the salesgirl be thrown out of her job.

But the calm way she handled it. She slapped that girl right in the face without raising her hand.

Had it been Myra in her place—

Vikrant stops the thought right away.

What's wrong with me? Why the hell am I comparing Nandini with Myra? Before he can ponder on that thought, Nandini starts speaking.

"I want to go because that girl was not wrong," she tells him. "I can't afford to buy anything from this place. Yes, I was exploring those beautiful dresses in the shop, awed by each of them, wanting to find something that would fit my budget. But I guess I was just being whimsical." She sighs, shaking her head. "I can't buy anything from here without regretting spending so much later. At least not until I can become something and earn enough to afford some nice things. Until then, the cheaper markets are best for me."

Vikrant feels something stir within his chest. It was due to what Nandini said and how her voice was laced with explicit acceptance while she said those things.

"Dad had said I should buy anything you want. So, you don't need to worry about budget," he says, but somewhere, he already knew she would not accept it.

"No, I can't let you do that. Dad said that because he thinks we are like normal husbands and wives. He doesn't know ours is a marriage you never wanted in the first place," she says. "But I know it, so I would not want you to spend a penny on me. Because I would be obliged to return it later, and I don't have such a huge amount to pay for these expensive dresses."

Vikrant can only stare at her because he is at a loss for words as to what to say to her. She is shaping up to be a completely different person than he had thought she would be.

"And by the way, when I work in your office, can you deduct some money from my monthly salary?" Nandini asks.

He narrows his eyes at her. "Why would I deduct money from your salary?"

"It would be me paying the rent to stay at your house and eat your food. I feel awkward staying and eating there without contributing anything. It would have been different if ours had been a normal marriage, but since it isn't, I need to do it so it would be less awkward for me," Nandini answers him, and Vikrant is stunned, hearing her.

Speechless, he only nods at her.

"You can return home now," she continues. "I had heard you speak on the phone earlier, and I know you have a meeting after a few hours." She looks at her watch before glancing up at him. "I don't have formal clothes to wear to the office, but I'll buy them from the market I usually visit. They are cheaper than here and would perfectly fit into my budget. You can tell Mom and Dad that you returned because of your meeting."

"How will you return home?" Vikrant asks, having no idea why he cared about it.

"Don't worry about me. I have had the experience of being alone and independent all my life. I can manage."

Saying that, Nandini walks out of the mall, leaving a surprised and somewhat confused Vikrant behind.