" YOU DID WHAT?" Riyan's yell was nearly glass shattering as Dhruv flinched, wincing.

Yashasvi sighed.

Contrast to Riyan's shock, Dhruv was absolutely calm, as if he'd told him something he saw coming.

" You won't say anything?" He asked Dhruv who merely shrugged.

" I mean, anyone would've seen that coming if they're not as oblivious as Riyan."

" Hey shut up I'm not oblivious!"

Yashasvi and Dhruv ignored him.

" You're not surprised at all?"

" Yasha...you telling us you're dating Eshanya Singhania, even if it's fake, is something as predictable and understandable as Shubman falling head over heels for Sara Bhabhi, and accepting that he loves her."

" Shut it, it's not! Shubi has been in love with her from the very beginning! Anyone would see that coming! No matter how hard he denied and said he hated her, everyone could see how down bad he was for her!"

" And...are you not?" Riyan arched a brow.

" I, absolutely, vehemently, loathe Eshanya!"

Dhruv and Riyan clicked their tongues in denial, but said nothing to retort their best-friend's claim.

" She is absolutely annoying! Ek baar chalu ho gayi toh chup hone ka naam hi nahi leti!"

" Acchi baat hai na, tumhari dull aur boring life koi toh happening bana raha hai. You should be grateful."

" The two of you are more than enough to make it happening, I don't need another addition." He rolled his eyes.

" Oh you so do! By the end of this one year contract, you'd taking all that back! Let's place a bet on it. If I win, You give me and Riyan and a treat."

" And If I win?" Yashasvi arched a brow and Riyan sniggered.

" You aren't winning this bet against Dhruv." Riyan shook his head with a sigh.

" I will!"

Riyan shook his head again.

Yashasvi sighed.

Silence lingered in the room for quite a while till the doorbell rang and Dhruv opened it, revealing Shubman, Ishan, Abhay and Tilak.

" Shub? Since when are you in Bombay?" Yashasvi's eyes popped out of his sockets.

" Uh...since Thursday." He said letting out an awkward chuckle.

" YOU'VE BEEN IN BOMBAY FOR LIKE...THREE DAYS AND I DIDN'T KNOW?" Ishan and Yashasvi screamed in sync causing Shubman to wince.

" Maine bataya toh tha tujhe!" He hissed at Ishan.

" Par mujhe nahi bataya? Kis khushi mein chali Mumbai ki savari?"

" I uh...came to meet Sara?"

" Of-course." Everyone apart from Abhishek sighed.

" What? Can y'all stop looking at me like that? Especially you, Kishan? You're literally committed as well!"

" Yeah yeah, but I don't take Aditi to trips on London at every other opportunity I get."

" You're just jealous I get to spend more time with Sara than you do with Aditi."

" If you are done making us feel single, let's begin with why I called you here?"

" Us Yashu? Us? You got a girlfriend now." Dhruv pointed out.

" What? You're committed? Since when? Who are you dating? Why don't we know about her? Do we know her?" Ishan, Shubman and Abhay began in sync and Yashasvi smacked his forehead, and dragged a hand down his face with a sigh as they quietened down.

" Eshanya Singhania."

" WHAT?"

Yashasvi spent the next thirty minutes trying to explain everything to the three.

While Abhay and Ishan tried comprehending the information, Shubman appeared dazed.

" Shubi? Are you okay?"

" Huh? Yes, yes I'm fine. It amuses me how we both are dating girls we claimed to hate."

" Firstly, you were always in love with Bhabhi, just too Secondly, I do not claim to hate Eshanya Singhania, I hate Eshanya Singhania. She's the literal bane of my existence. Thirdly, we're fake dating. It's all pretense."

" You forgot to add object of all my desires." Shubman, Ishan and Dhruv echoed in synchrony and he rolled his eyes.

" Stop binging Bridgerton so much."

" I didn't! Sara made me watch it and then we ended up binge watching it."

" Exactly what happened with me." Ishan nodded.

" Yasha, if I could mistake my feelings for her and twist them as hatred, what makes you think, you aren't misunderstanding your feelings?"

" There is a big difference between Sara Bhabhi and Eshanya, Shubman. Bhabhi has always been sweet, humble, and well mannered. Eshanya, on the other hand, is too proud and loud."

Shubman sighed, with the shake of his head.

" She's nice too. Simply with selective people."

" Whatever, that doesn't concern me."

" Well it should. You're dating her."

" Fake!"

" God, why are you like this? Hold up, how did you even come up with this? And how did she agree for this without a word against it? The first time, I had rumours with Sara, I'd suggested fake dating too, my first and last time suggesting it, for the Ted-Talk I got after that is something I'm never forgetting for the rest of my life." He shook his head with a sigh.

" She's the one who suggested it."

" Woah! Bhabhi badi smart hai!" Riyan's brows raised, impressed by the suggestion.

" Not your Bhabhi."

" For the timebeing, she is."

Yashasvi sighed at the stubborn insistance.

Only for the timebeing.

Never again after a year.

Because Yashasvi Jaiswal, was never falling for Eshanya Singhania.

•••°°°•••

" Di..." Eshanya's gaze momentarily flickered towards her younger brother as she looked up from her laptop.

She hummed.
" Yes Eeshan?"

" What do you have to do with this Yashasvi Jaiswal?" He asked with a frown on his face and she froze.

" He's my boyfriend."

" Him? You used to say you hate him."

Eshanya hated how smart her brother was.

" Feelings change Shaan."

" Is such a drastic change possible in such a short span?"

She sighed.
" Yes darling."

" How long have you loved him?"

" For quite a while now. I realised recently."

Eeshan hummed.

" Mom Dad are okay with it?"

" How do you know Mom and Dad know?"

" I overheard you tell them that."

Eshanya nodded.

" So are they okay with it?"

" They barely care Shaan, as long as either of us don't do anything that puts their reputation at stake, they don't care about anything."

Eeshan hummed again.
" He's good for you y'know?"

" Who? Yashasvi?"

" Yeah, him."

" Yeah? Why do you think so?"

" Your eyes light up differently when you're talking about him, or talking to him. You're also happier around him. He's nice. He'll keep you happy."

Eshanya chuckled, not only because she found whatever he said laughable, but also because of how adorable her brother was.

" Yeah? You think so?"

He nodded.

" And If he fails to keep me happy?"

" Then I'll ruin his happiness. My sister deserves the world. And if any man cannot do anything as simple as keeping her happy, then he doesn't deserve to be at peace."

She chuckled again.
" That's sweet of you to say sweetheart, but don't do that okay? If you think he'll keep me happy, then I'm sure he will."

" He'll love you right." He told her and she laughed sardonically, something which her brother could not make out.

Because Yashasvi Jaiswal was never falling for her in an eternity.

And neither was she.

And there were absolutely no doubts the two of them had about that.