Author's POV
Preeti was still in Ansh's arms.
Her crying had slowly stopped, and after a few quiet moments, she lifted her face to look at him.
Ansh gently cupped her cheeks.
"Princess... I have a surprise for you."
She blinked. "What surprise?"
Ansh didn't answer. He simply came behind her and softly placed his palms over her eyes.
"Come," he whispered.
He guided her out of the room, one slow step at a time.
They walked until they reached the hall.
Ansh finally removed his hands from her eyes.
Preeti opened her eyes and her breath caught.
The entire hall was glowing with ribbons, flowers, soft lights, and pink balloons.
In the center, a small table held a beautiful cream cake.
A little fondant girl wearing pink was made on top of it.
And written on the cake was:
"Happy 18th Birthday, Princess."
Before she could react, Ansh said softly,
"Happy birthday, my Princess."
It was exactly 12:00 AM.
Preeti's eyes immediately filled with tears.
"Thank you..." she whispered in a trembling voice.
"Don't cry, Princess," Ansh said tenderly, wiping her tears with his thumb.
He picked up a small knife decorated with a pink bow and placed it into her hands.
"Now cut the cake."
Preeti smiled and cut the cake while Ansh sang:
"Happy birthday to you...
Happy birthday to you...
Happy birthday dear Princess...
Happy birthday to you..."
She blushed as she fed him the first bite.
Ansh leaned forward and took a gentle bite.
Then, with a mischievous smile, he took the small remaining piece from her hand and fed her but also tapped a little bit of cream on her nose.
"You..." she gasped and then softly smeared some cream on his nose too.
"Ohh Princess," Ansh whispered in a serious tone, "now you're challenging me..."
Preeti swallowed hard.
He was standing so close...
too close.
"I—I didn't mean to... it was just..." she stammered.
"Oh really?" Ansh tilted his head, his voice low and playful.
"You looked very confident a minute ago."
Her heart thumped loudly in her chest.
"S-Sorry... I just... I was joking..." she whispered, stepping back a little.
Ansh took one small step forward.
"But I didn't mind," he murmured with a mischievous smile. "In fact... it was cute."
Preeti's cheeks turned pink instantly.
Why was he saying such things?
Why was her breathing so fast?
She thought...
"A-Actually... I have to sleep..." she blurted out suddenly.
She took a step back quickly, almost tripping over her own feet in her nervousness.
Ansh chuckled softly, enjoying her flustered reaction.
"Goodnight, Princess," he said, his eyes still holding that playful glimmer.
Preeti hurried into her room and shut the door,, her heart racing.
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The Next Morning Preeti went to the study and knocked.
"Come in," Ansh said.
"You don't need to knock, Princess," he added, looking up from his laptop. "You can come directly."
"Oh... okay." She fiddled with her fingers.
"Actually, Alia called. They are celebrating my birthday at a café today. I will be back by evening. Can I go?"
Ansh nodded.
"Alright. You will go with the driver and come back with him."
Preeti smiled brightly.
"Okay. Thank you!"
------------------------
All her classmates shouted, "Happy Birthday, Preeti!" as she entered.
They cut the cake, laughed, took pictures, and talked about college.
Then Alia suddenly got a call.
"Yes, come. We are at ROM Café," she said.
Preeti looked at her. "Who is coming?"
"Oh, my cousin," Alia replied. "He came to Mumbai for studies. He took admission in our university too."
A few minutes later, a cheerful boy entered.
"Hi Rocky! How are you, boyyy?" Alia said, giving him a high-five.
"I'm good! Party going on?" Rocky grinned.
Alia nodded. "Yes. Rocky, meet Preeti. It's her birthday today."
Rocky smiled politely.
"Hi Preeti. Happy birthday! I'm Rocky Alia's cousin."
"Thank you," Preeti said with a small smile.
Rocky looked at Alia and whispered loudly enough,
"By the way, your friend is beautiful."
Preeti looked down shyly.
"Yes, she is," Alia said proudly, putting an arm around Preeti.
Rocky winked lightly. "So Miss Beautiful, we'll be in the same class. That's great!"
"Yes... we will," Preeti said politely.
They talked for a while.
Suddenly Preeti's phone vibrated.
Ansh's message: I'm coming to pick you up. We'll eat dinner together.
She smiled and typed: Okay.
They all came out of the café.
Rocky was telling a joke and Preeti laughed with Alia.
Ansh... was already waiting outside.
He saw Preeti laughing and the boy standing beside her.
His jaw tightened instantly.
A sharp, unspoken jealousy burned inside him.
Preeti waved goodbye to Alia and Rocky, then walked to the car.
Ansh opened the door for her.
His face was cold.
"Who was he?" he asked, expressionless.
"Rocky. Alia's cousin," Preeti said politely. "He took admission in our university."
"Hm."
That was all he said.
They reached the restaurant within minutes.
The waiter served dinner, and everything was calm...
A tiny bit of sauce stayed on the corner of Preeti's lips.
Ansh noticed.
He lifted a hand and gestured,
"Wipe here."
Preeti rubbed the other side instead.
"No... here," he whispered.
She still didn't get it.
Ansh put down his fork.
He stood up slowly, leaned toward her across the table...
and suddenly, their faces were only inches apart.
Preeti froze.
His warm breath touched her cheek.
Her heartbeat doubled.
Ansh's eyes locked into hers for a long moment...
then he lifted his thumb and gently wiped the sauce from the corner of her lips.
Her breath trembled.
And then he brought his thumb to his own mouth
and tasted it.
Preeti's eyes widened.
Her entire face turned hot.
Ansh smirked slightly and went back to his seat as if nothing happened.
They continued their dinner in silence but her heart was no longer silent.
—————-
Preeti's POV
Today felt different.
Ansh hugged me so tightly last night...
And today at dinner...
when he came close...
so close I could feel his breath...
For the first time ever, something strange happened inside me.
My stomach felt warm, my heart beat fast, and my cheeks grew hot.
Why?
Why does it happen only with him?
When he wiped my lips...
When he looked into my eyes...
When he held my waist last night...
I don't know what these feelings are.
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