Bhumi's POV:

"Ms. Basu, how did you meet Mr. Mehrotra?"

"Ms. Basu, is it true that you are getting married to Mr. Mehrotra?"

"Ms. Basu, how did you manage to lock down the all-time playboy?"

You people might be wondering what is going on here.

After lunch with the Mehrotra family, Gaurav uploaded some photos of us on his social media page, and finally the paparazzi got to know who the 'mystery girl' is.

The mystery girl being me!

When I reached my apartment this morning from the foster home, I was swarmed by the paparazzi. And J isn't here to protect me. Now I understood why Aryamann was adamant about me having a personal protection officer..

If J were here, he wouldn't have let these people get to me. One look from him would have been enough to scare the daylights out of them.

J has become a good friend over the days. But I still remember the detached J I met on the first day.

The paparazzi wouldn't have stood a chance against Jai Kapoor.

I mean, when did these people even wake up?

It's just seven in the morning, for crying out loud.

Did they just sleep here last night? That is entirely possible.

I have no idea how people get up early in the morning. That too on Mondays. I hate Mondays.

If not for the kids waking me up to spend time with me before I left the foster home, I would still be under the duvet, hugging my pillow and dreaming about my very handsome, non-existent prince charming.

What??

A girl can only dream!!

I at least got a prince charming in my dreams.

Real life sucks.

All I got is Aryamann Mehrotra and his arrogant attitude.

"Hang on! Hang on. One question at a time please. And yeah, I am not used to this. So please be a bit gentle with me," I asked, showing them my puppy face.

"Ms. Basu, how did you meet Mr. Mehrotra?" Reporter No. 1 asked.

"Oh, please don't call me Ms. Basu. I feel like a grumpy old lady. I am Bhumi," I said, flicking my hair in my usual style, and they looked at me weirdly.

"Okay, okay. Maybe I am a little weird. Haa, who am I kidding? I am a crazy weirdo. I know. I have been told many times. But I can't help it, dude. It is in my blood. So please bear with me," I said, and they looked at each other in confusion.

Now they don't have anything to ask me.

Okay, fine. Let me start the conversation.

"Okay, please introduce yourself. What's your name?" I asked a man who was in his mid-thirties.

"Why?" He asked, and I rolled my eyes.

"What do you mean by why? Of course, I can't keep referring to you people as reporter no. 1, reporter no. 2. I need to know your names..." I said with a casual shrug.

"I am Kabir Basu," he said, and I smiled widely.

"You are a Basu. I am also a Basu. Same pinch," I said, pinching his arm, and he winced.

"As you are a Basu, I am adopting you as my brother," I said, and he looked at me in shock.

"Ah. How is Anjali bhabhi?" I asked, and his eyes widened in surprise.

"How do you know my wife??" He asked with wide eyes.

"That name is written on your ring. Of course, Anjali isn't your name. So I guessed it was your wife," I said with a cheeky smile.

"Oh! She is fine," he said, looking at me in confusion.

"And how is the little one?" I asked again.

"Little one??" He asked in wonder.

"There is a newborn baby at home, right?" I asked, and he looked at me in horror.

"How did you guess that? Are you psychic?" He asked.

"Ha ha. No. I am not psychic. You see, there are dark circles under your eyes, which means you have sleepless nights. But still, your eyes twinkle with happiness. Which could only mean one thing: that there is a little one who keeps you up all night," I said, and he laughed out loud.

"You know what? My wife would definitely love you," he said with a smile.

"Of course, she would. No one would dare to dislike me. I am such a sweet girl. How can someone not like me?" I asked with a mischievous smile.

"Ms. Basu, I mean Bhumi, aren't you praising yourself a little?" Reporter No. 2 asked.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Karan Jha," he said, "and no, I do not have a baby, nor a wife."

"That I can see. How boring your life is," I said, scrunching up my nose.

"What boring? It is awesome. I have the freedom to do whatever I want," he said.

"Of course, you might feel that. Because you don't have to explain anything to anyone and can do as you please," I said.

"Of course. That's the highlight," he said proudly.

"But how long? Just imagine having a person with whom you can share all your worries and have someone to take care of you when you are down. Someone to welcome you with open arms when you are back home after a hectic day at work. That would be heaven. Isn't it, Kabir bhaiyya?" I said, the last part looking at Kabir.

"Of course. That's the best feeling in the world. Anjali and Pari are my world," Kabir said, smiling widely.

"And about my self-praising. It is not self-praising, actually. It is called self-confidence. If I don't believe in myself, no one else would. And people would walk all over me. Am I right, Ms...?" I said the last part, pointing at reporter No. 3, who is a girl.

And she looked at me with wide eyes. Of course, she is having love problems.

I wasn't called Doctor Love at school for nothing.

"I am Emily John," she said.

"Ah, Emily. Am I right? We shouldn't let anyone walk over us?" I said, and she looked away.

Okay, I don't want to make her uncomfortable. So I am dropping the subject.

"Ms. Basu, you are interfering in our personal life," reporter No. 4 said, and I looked at him in disbelief.

Seriously? Personal life?

"Really? Funny you would say that! You are here to know about my personal life. You make a living out of knowing other people's private lives. But if I ask you anything in return, then it is breaching privacy. How is that fair?" I asked, feeling offended.

"Uh, I didn't mean it like that," reporter No. 4, whose name is Sathya, which I got to know from his identity card, said.

"Of course, that's what you meant. I just can't tell strangers about my personal life. If you need to know about me, you will have to tell me about you too," I said, and he raised his hands in defeat, and Karan looked at me in amusement.

"I am happy that I can entertain you," I said sarcastically, looking at Karan.

"I can't help it. You are interesting," he said, and I rolled my eyes at his flirty tone.

"Oh god! Oh God. I am getting late. I am so sorry. I need to get going. I am in a hurry," I said, looking at my watch.

"But you didn't tell us anything about you," Kabir said.

"Listen, let's make an arrangement. I will talk to you for fifteen minutes whenever you want to. But you shouldn't follow me after that. And I will share about my life during this agreed fifteen minutes. Deal?" I asked.

"Usually, people from your social circle hate us. But you are ready to spare time for us," Emily said in surprise.

"Oh come on. I love talking. Why would I miss a chance at that?" I said.

"Okay, people. See you later. Have a nice day. And Kabir bhaiyya, please give baby Pari hugs and kisses from her Aunt Bhumi," I said and ran to my apartment.

Now the biggest task of the day is ahead of me.

It's J's birthday, and I intend to get him out of that stupid uniform.

And then I have to meet Mr. Devil at his place to discuss the engagement party.

And we all will celebrate J's birthday together there.

Aryamann's POV:

"Aryamann, Bhumi isn't here yet?" Daksh asked.

"This girl! Doesn't know what punctuality means," I huffed in annoyance.

"Maybe they got stuck in traffic," Gaurav defended her.

Seriously?

Already best friends with his to-be sister-in-law.

"Good morning, everyone."

We turned to see Jai coming inside with a wide smile on his face.

Why is he smiling like an idiot?

I frowned, looking at his outfit.

"Where is Bhumi?" I asked.

"Out. On a call," he said.

"Where the hell is your uniform?" I asked.

"Relax Aryamann. I am off duty today," he said as he sat in front of me.

Of course, he calls me Aryamann when he is off duty. But how come he is off duty?

"What do you mean by off duty?" I asked.

"Bhumi gave me the day off. As she is gonna be here today, she said she doesn't need a bodyguard," he said.

Well, that makes sense.

"Then what the hell are you doing here?" I asked with a frown.

"Ah! Bhumi asked me to accompany her as a friend," he said, shrugging.

I am not liking this a single bit.

Friends! My foot.

We sat across from each other at the dining table.

"Bhumi must have given you an off this morning, right? How did you get out of that ridiculous uniform?" Gaurav asked.

"Well. She kind of forced me out of that uniform," Jai said.

"What?" I frowned.

"I don't know. She was acting weird since morning. Secretive and suspicious. When I got to her apartment, she locked me in her bedroom and blackmailed me saying that she won't open the door until I change into this," he said, pointing at the casuals he was wearing.

"Bhumi got you this dress?" I asked, and my lips were set in a straight line in irritation.

"Yes," he said, smiling widely.

"She is stubborn," he said, with a lazy smile on his face, as if remembering something.

Gaurav looked at me in horror and then turned again to Jai.

When I looked ahead, I saw Bhumi tiptoeing towards the kitchen with a box in her hands.

What? Is she planning to set a bomb here?

"You do remember she is Aryamann's fiancée, right?" Gaurav asked, looking at Jai.

Of course, he too felt it.

"I know," Jai said, his lips set into a thin line.

"Damn it, Jai!! What the hell is going on?" I yelled at him. This is getting out of hand.

Before he could respond, we heard Bhumi screaming from the kitchen.

We all rushed into the kitchen and stopped dead in our tracks as Bhumi burst the party popper, singing a birthday wish.

Whose birthday is it?

Jai froze.

"Happy birthday, J." She said, hugging him.

"How- how did you know??" Jai stammered.

"I saw it on your driving licence," she said, winking at him.

"You know, no one ever remembered my birthday after mom's death. Dad became a shell and the family got broken." He said, his eyes turning glassy with tears.

He pulled her into another hug, and I clenched my hands to stop myself from prying her out of his hold.

"Thank you. This means a lot, Bhumi," he said.

"Shut up, silly. It is not a big deal. From now on, I will be celebrating all your birthdays," she said, grinning up at him.

Oh God. He is already smitten by her. And that little fool is encouraging it.

Why is she so oblivious?

I need to do something. Quick!

We all celebrated Jai's birthday, and everyone enjoyed it.

But I couldn't.

I felt so restless.

My heart was pounding and my blood boiling seeing the way Bhumi smiles at Jai and the way Jai looks at Bhumi.

It's time to fire Jai.

Sorry, old friend. There is no way I am going to share my woman with you.

A/N

Here goes the next shot..

Sorry for the delay guys! Was busy the whole day...

Bhumi getting friendly with the reporters is something inspired from another novel named Mischievous Mrs Maxfield. 

Please do vote and comment...

Love.

SF❤️