Earlier, seeing Namrata cling so naturally to Rohit’s arm had left an unpleasant feeling in Riya’s chest.
Especially when Rohit made no effort to pull away.
For so reason, that irritated her far more than it should have.
"Rohit..." Riya said calmly, though her tone carried a clear chill. "I believe I deserve an explanation."
Despite the composed smile on her face and her folded arms, the faint pink on her cheeks hinted that sothing beneath her calm exterior had clearly been stirred.
Rohit raised both hands in a calming gesture. "Riya di, relax. There’s nothing much to explain. This is Namrata, one of my good friends. We—"
"From where?" Riya cut in. "School? Private classes?"
"Sothing like private classes." Rohit kept his expression carefully neutral. "Is there a problem?"
Riya’s gaze shifted slowly to Namrata.
Artwork.
The girl stood with her head slightly lowered, cap pulled forward, nervously fidgeting with her fingers. Her slim-fit crop top and tight pants accentuated her figure, but her obvious discomfort made her look vulnerable. The combination seed to confirm whatever suspicion Riya was already harboring.
Riya looked at her the way one examines a problem — deciding whether to address it directly... or simply remove it.
She stepped closer and lifted Namrata’s chin with her index finger, firm and unyielding, forcing their eyes to et.
"Are you interested in my brother?" Riya asked, her voice cold and authoritative. "Be honest."
Artwork.
Namrata panicked instantly and stepped back. "N-no! It’s not like that! We’re just friends! Good friends!"
Rohit’s expression darkened.
He didn’t like the way Riya was treating Namrata — like she was sothing to be crushed if necessary.
While he didn’t care much about friendship on a personal level, Namrata was valuable as her potential connections to Korea could prove useful as a potential gold handler in the future. He couldn’t afford to let Riya break her.
He stepped between them, his voice low and firm. "Riya, this is getting out of hand."
For a few tense seconds, Riya stared at both of them with an unreadable, intense glare. The silence was suffocating.
Then, suddenly, her expression cracked.
She burst into laughter, covering her mouth as she leaned against Rohit’s shoulder for support.
"Hahaha! Look at both of your faces!" she laughed, barely able to speak. "Oh God, Rohit... I’ve waited so long for this day."
Both Rohit and Namrata stood frozen, confused by the sudden shift.
Riya straightened, wiping the corner of her eye. "You have no idea how closed-off he used to be. Especially around girls. Completely timid." She shook her head with genuine warmth. "I’m actually happy. He’s finally making friends and coming out of his shell."
Namrata slowly exhaled. Sothing about the description matched what Arya had said when they first t. She found herself nodding.
Rohit let out a long breath and smiled despite himself. "Seriously, di..."
Now that he thought about it calmly, this kind of prank did suit Riya. She had always loved teasing people whenever she got the chance. After all, what could you expect from a girl who once drew a moustache on a defenseless five-year-old while he was sleeping, fully trusting her?
Still...
For a brief mont earlier, even he had sensed sothing unusually sharp hidden beneath her smile. A cold edge that felt different from the playful Riya in his mories.
But he couldn’t let his growing paranoia damage their relationship — not when he still needed to dig out so much about his past, especially regarding Ragini’s accident. So he decided to play along... for now.
Namrata suddenly blinked.
"Wait... di?" she asked hesitantly. "Are you that elder sister whose red dress Arya gave before?"
Riya’s eyebrow went up in imdiate mock offense.
"Don’t tell it was Arya who stole that red dress..." She looked at Namrata’s generous bust, reaching almost her size and continued, "and then lent it to you."
Namrata imdiately looked guilty enough to answer the question for her.
That reaction alone made both Rohit and Riya chuckle softly.
"So she approved of you enough to bring you ho already," Riya said knowingly. That tone alone made Rohit raise an eyebrow as well, but he kept his smile in place.
Namrata’s face beca even redder.
Before she could respond, Riya suddenly pulled out her phone.
"You don’t mind taking a selfie together, right?"
Namrata quickly shook her head.
Then she glanced toward Rohit expectantly.
Rohit rolled his eyes but stepped beside them anyway.
A mont later, Riya happily snapped a few selfies of the three together before nodding in satisfaction.
"Okay, Rohit," Riya said, still smiling. "You talk with your friend. I’ll go et Pradhan Ji in his office." She pointed toward a nearby building. "You can find there if you need ."
Rohit nodded with a smile, but sothing in Riya’s tone left him slightly uneasy. He couldn’t quite place the feeling — a faint sharpness hidden behind her sisterly warmth.
The mont Riya walked away, Namrata let out a long, relieved breath and stared at her retreating figure with open admiration.
"I must say, your elder sister is really nice," she said sheepishly. "At first, I thought she was genuinely angry at . But she handled everything so naturally afterward that all the awkwardness just disappeared. Never upset her, okay?"
Rohit gave a small nod, though he found Namrata’s impression quietly amusing. Riya had clearly toyed with both of them like puppets with her little prank, yet here Namrata was praising her like she was so kind of angel.
Won... he thought dryly.
Then another thought struck him.
During all the earlier chaos with the foreigners, he had completely forgotten to ask where Riya had disappeared to in the first place. The event was supposed to be under her responsibility, after all.
Still, now that everything had settled peacefully, he pushed the suspicion to the back of his mind.
"That’s good to know," he said casually. "But first, tell — what are you doing here? I don’t think your house is anywhere near this area, based on the location you shared earlier."
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