FIRE MEETS FATE

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"I only agreed because Dadi asked me to," he stated, his voice firm. "But I was going to say no to you today. I wanted to meet you, and ask you for coffee tomorrow."

Saanjh let out a laugh, a mix of disbelief and irony. "This makes perfect sense."

Siddharth sighed, his frustration giving way to a weary sincerity. "I mean, I was going to say no to Saanjh Mittal because I didn't want to marry her. I wanted to take Miss Mittal out on a date."

Saanjh crossed her arms. "Which personality should I drop for you, Your Royal Highness?" she taunted.

"Hey bhagwan, yeh ladki." (Oh god, this girl.) she heard him mumble under his breath. "I just want you to drop this act so that we can go back to how we knew each other."

"Siddharth, wake up." She snapped her fingers in front of him. "We are strangers to each other."

The way she said his name, it brought a smile on his lip, but he tried to hide it.

"I want that to change. I just want a coffee with you."

"Not me, Kasliwal, not me. You and your friends made it clear that Saanjh Mittal is a walking joke in her life. She has no idea what she is upto. You wouldn't want to be seen with her." she lashed out.

"Look, Saanjh," he tried to hold her arm, but she stepped back, her eyes flashing with anger. "Hear me out, all of this, is a big misunderstanding."

"This is clear, Siddharth. You don't want to get married. I too am not looking for a groom, especially not you." She scoffed. "Why don't we just make this easy? Go downstairs and just say no."

Siddharth sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "Fine, let's go downstairs. But can we at least talk? Clear the air?"

He was against marriage, but not against getting to know her.
Now that he knew she was Saanjh Mittal, the same girl he wanted to ask out for a date, he wasn't going to let that go.

Saanjh hesitated, her gaze meeting his briefly before she looked away. "Fine," she relented, her voice softer now, tinged with resignation. "But don't expect me to agree to that coffee date."

A smirk tugged at Siddharth's lips. "We'll see about that," he replied with a hint of challenge in his voice. "You can't say no to the guy with a cute butt."

His comment caught her off guard, and she shook her head with a groan.

"A guy with a douché personality."

"Whatever am I going to do with my personality, Mittal? I was banking on people knowing me for my cute butt."he teased, flashing her a mischievous grin.

She raised an eyebrow incredulously. "You don't even have a single picture of yourself on the internet, and you aim to please people with that?" she fired back, a smirk playing on her lips.

A mischievous smile played on Siddharth's lips.
He could tell she had done some research on him.

"Maybe I'll start selling butt pictures and make millions." he joked.

"Ugh, kya ho tum," Saanjh sighed, shaking her head. "Kasliwal parivar ke waris ho aur yeh sab karoge?" (You are the heir to Kasliwal fortune and you'll steep so low for money?)

"Extreme measures, baby. Extreme measures," he replied with a grin. "And I'm sure you'll find a way to get your hands on those pictures."

"You wish, Kasliwal," she retorted, crossing her arms. "One look was enough for me. I wouldn't want to relive that traumatic experience."