AllFreeNovel
Share Us
13
Thirty minutes remained, and then she’d meet Rohan again. The spark firing inside her shot up with every second that ticked by. She scanned the crowd for him and couldn’t find him again. This whole place was so huge that she’d barely glimpsed him throughout the night. The only time she’d managed to lay eyes on him was a while back. She’d turned, and there he was, looking so handsome. His mother had been on his arm, but Jiya’s eyes had only been on Rohan. She’d seen him in a suit plenty of times, but tonight, dressed in a full black suit, with a black open-collared shirt, his hair spiked, and his jaw clean shaven, he was spectacular. He’d stared at her for a short moment, too, before sending her a quick text to meet him in an hour.
After that, he headed straight to where his dad was waiting for them with none other than the Home Minister of the country. Rohan hadn’t had a moment alone since then. He’d been with the man constantly, talking to him and introducing him to the various guests. After that, they’d moved inside the ballroom, and she hadn’t seen Rohan since.
The event tonight was filled with an eclectic mix of people from various walks of life, and she’d enjoyed interacting with a few of them. She sipped her mimosa, standing at the side, taking everything in and waiting for the time to move faster. Her text conversations with Rohan had reinforced the fact that he did want her. They were also evidence that he was as eager for the night to unfold as she was. Yet, her doubt remained. Why her? This afternoon, at the stables, she’d told him that she wouldn’t do a one-night stand. That she wanted more. And he’d agreed. Now, she needed to know why he’d made that exception for her when more than one person had told her he didn’t do long-term relationships.
Her heart flipped, reminding her that perhaps Rohan could be the one for her. Yes, it was too soon to think in that direction. Yes, she hardly knew him. But each time she was with him, her heart screamed that he was the one. And now, she was finally getting a chance to explore what she felt for him. But first, she had to find Akash and tell him that she was going to meet Rohan privately for a while. She didn’t want her friend to worry about her if he found her suddenly missing…again.
She scanned the crowd for Akash. Through the evening, Akash, too, barely had a free moment. The only time she’d met him was in passing when he’d checked on her a few times. Akash had been meeting and greeting various people, including some well-known businessmen, talking to them as if he were one of them. It was a side of him that she hadn’t witnessed until now—powerful, confident, successful. It was impressive to see him like that.
And now, to her utter shock, she found him engaged in an animated conversation with none other than the Home Minister himself. And the politician was listening to Akash as if he were an important person when he was anything but. Strange! Akash was quite tight-lipped when it came to his work, and no matter how many times she probed, and she’d tried several times, he didn’t give her more than a few generic replies. She was certain that he was hiding something. But since it was clear that he didn’t wish to talk about it, she’d decided to let him be.
Finishing her mimosa, she texted Akash about her whereabouts and wandered off in the direction of the house. She was wondering what she’d tell the security to gain entrance to the house, but apparently, Rohan had already cleared the way for her. The two men at the back entrance didn’t even question her as one of them simply opened the glass door for her to enter.
The inside of the house was, of course, even more striking. She passed by a living room tastefully done in neutral tones of off-white, golds, and beiges. Bright modern paintings on the walls added the required dash of colors—stunning reds, greens, and blues. It was all spectacular. She admired everything she passed until she reached the foot of the staircase. She checked her watch. She was early by ten minutes. A corridor veering to the left caught her attention. She stepped into it and smiled. It was a picture gallery.
She passed by pictures of Rohan’s grandparents and old family photographs of the elderly couple with their sons. She recognized Varun Bali immediately. He was standing next to a younger man—his brother, Vaibhav, she assumed. There was a photo of a younger-looking Tara and Varun Bali with Vaibhav and his wife, Diksha. This other couple was in a few pictures with a teenage boy—Rohan—and then there were a few pictures of Tara and Varun with another teenage boy—Rithwik. Now that she’d been in close contact with the brothers, she could easily differentiate between them. They did look similar, but not so much that you’d mistake one for the other. She came across a photo of Rohan and Rithwik with Tara and Varun, followed by more recent pictures of Aisha and Rithwik alone, and with their parents and Rohan. There was a picture of Aisha and Rithwik with their son, and finally, right at the end was a picture of the twins together. Rithwik had his arm wrapped across his brother’s shoulder, and both of them were smiling as they looked at one another. It was a fabulous picture. She smiled as she studied the photo.
She returned to the pictures of Rohan with his birth parents. He must have been not more than fifteen or sixteen then, and his smile wasn’t as lively as it was in the more recent photos.
“I thought I’d find you here…” Rohan’s voice made her turn. He was standing at the entrance of the corridor, arms crossed behind him, watching her.
She took a moment to study him, the handsome man that he was now, compared to the sullen-looking teen in the pictures she’d been observing.
“Why do you look sad in these pictures?” she asked.
His smile vanished, and a shutter fell over his face. She shut her eyes, shaking her head. “Sorry, you don’t need to answer that. I tend to not think before I speak.”
She wanted to bang her head for asking such an insensitive question.
“Come with me,” he said a long moment later. “I’ve got something to show you.”
She went to him, and he took her up the stairs and into a room on the right. She stood at the threshold in awe. The large room was lit only by the silver moonlight filtering inside from the overhead glass roof. The entire ceiling was glass, and was double-height. So amazing.
“This is my den,” Rohan said. “It’s my most special place in my home.”
The room was spectacular. A huge leather day bed was set in the centre, with cushions spread on it. A large lamp was placed near it. Across it was a fireplace, above which was a large, sleek TV, and in one corner of the room was a wooden desk with a laptop on it. On the other corner was a leather-finish bar. The whole setting was cozy and warm. What made it even more appealing were the book racks lining two of the walls.
Dozens of books were stacked in neat little rows, one below the other on the shelves. It was fascinating for an avid reader like her.
She spun in a slow circle, breathing in the scent of old books, burnt wood, and expensive whiskey, taking everything in. This was a perfect room to lounge in or to work from.
“This is lovely.” She went from shelf to shelf, gliding her fingers over the titles, while Rohan watched her from his corner. “Do you also work from here?”
“I do. Although, on many nights, I simply like to read with only the lamp on, and the moonlight shimmering overhead. It’s utterly enchanting and so peaceful.”
She could picture him like that, reclining on the day bed, a book in hand, the moonlight filtering on him. So sexy. She shook her head to clear her mind from those tantalizing images of him.
“What sort of books do you like to read?” she asked.
“I read a lot of philosophy—Dostoevsky, Plato, Socrates, Kant...”
“That’s…deep,” she said, still skimming over the shelves.
“I also read thrillers. Dan Brown, Lee Child, and Matthew Reilly.”
“I haven’t seen so many books in anyone’s house since a long time now,” she said, enchanted by the room. “Most people read on the Kindle.”
