My lips were pressed against hers.
The sweet scent of her perfume was driving me crazy. Her lips felt incredibly soft and surprisingly sweet. A strange, electric sensation was running through my entire body. I could feel Nishtha's heartbeat — it was pounding so violently that it felt like her heart would burst out of her chest any second.
Our eyes were locked. For those few seconds, it felt like we were melting into each other. Ten long seconds passed, and this time… she didn't push me away.
Why the hell am I thinking so much about Nishtha? She's just a side character. In the original story, she dies because of some stupid reason anyway.
Just as we were getting lost in the moment, the sound of the door opening snapped us back to reality.
Nishtha immediately pulled away and gave me a light push. Her eyes widened in pure horror as she looked toward the door.
I turned my head, still leaning against the railing, and my gaze met the hot MILF standing there. Honestly, I had never given her a proper name in my story. Why would I? She was just a background character. No author wastes time naming every side character… right?
I flashed a small, casual smile and looked at both of them. Nishtha was avoiding eye contact like a guilty child, staring at the floor.
The woman — whose name, I later learned, was Aaru Tiwari — stared at us for a moment. When she saw Nishtha's flushed face and guilty expression, she instantly understood what had just happened.
I offered her a sweet smile and started walking toward the door, ready to leave.
But Nishtha was completely lost in her own thoughts.
In her mind, only one thing was repeating: She had never even held hands with her boyfriend… and this guy just stole her first kiss.
She genuinely loved her boyfriend and never wanted to betray him. This marriage meeting was supposed to be just a formality. She had every right to reject the proposal. But what just happened… she couldn't process it. On one side was the boy she loved, and on the other was Arisudan — who had only come here to "see" her.
Aaru Tiwari stepped closer to Nishtha and whispered softly in her ear, "So… since when have you two been having this little affair?"
The moment those words reached her ears, Nishtha snapped out of her daze. The realization hit her like a truck — she had just cheated on her boyfriend. And it was irreversible.
Tears welled up in her eyes. She looked at Aaru with trembling lips.
This was the first time Aaru had seen Nishtha cry since that terrible accident — the one in which Nishtha's parents had died when she was only thirteen. Since then, her uncle, Sehdev Tiwari, had raised her with more love than his own children. He fulfilled every wish of hers, which made the rest of the family secretly resent her.
But when Aaru saw those tears today, all her hidden hatred vanished in an instant. Without thinking, she pulled Nishtha into a tight hug.
"Nishtha! What happened? Tell me, what's wrong?"
Even though Aaru had always hated Nishtha on the surface, they had grown up together. Years of cold distance couldn't completely erase the bond they once shared.
The moment Aaru spoke those caring words, Nishtha broke down completely. She started sobbing harder.
This wasn't just because she had cheated on her boyfriend.
It was also because, after so many years of barely speaking to each other, her elder sister was finally hugging her again.
Just as I stepped out of the room, another notification rang in my head.
[Ding! Host has received +600 Nio Points Reason: Made Nishtha feel intense guilt]
A small, satisfied smirk appeared on my lips. Of course I knew exactly how to farm points from the system — after all, I was the one who wrote this damn story.
I calmly walked down the stairs. When I reached the living room, my parents were still sitting on the sofa. Dad's secretary stood quietly behind them. I gave them a cold glance, then turned toward the girl's family members and relatives who were chatting happily.
In a calm but ice-cold voice, I declared,
"I don't like the girl."
The entire hall fell silent in an instant. All the smiling faces froze. Every pair of eyes turned toward me.
I was about to say more when Nishtha's aunt, Vansikha Tiwari, asked with a surprised expression, "Son, what happened? Weren't you the one who chose Nishtha?"
I looked straight at her and replied in the same cold tone, "Yes, I chose Nishtha. But she already has a boyfriend."
The moment those words left my mouth, I signaled my parents that we were leaving. They had just started to stand up when Sehdev Tiwari shot up from his seat and pointed a finger at me.
"Arisudan! You are making a very serious accusation against my daughter!" His voice boomed across the hall. "Do you have any proof? My Nishtha would never do something like that. I have complete faith in her!"
The entire room went dead silent again. Sehdev's loud voice had echoed all the way upstairs.
Up in the room, both sisters were sitting on the edge of the bed. Aaru was gently rubbing Nishtha's back like a mother comforting her child. The moment they heard Sehdev's angry shout, both of them exchanged a startled look and quickly rushed toward the hall.
Downstairs, after Sehdev's outburst, the hall remained eerily quiet. Everyone stood up. All eyes were now fixed on me.
My gaze searched for Nishtha. She was coming down the stairs with Aaru. The moment our eyes met again, I didn't hesitate. I walked straight toward her in front of everyone.
Now all attention was on the three of us — Nishtha, Aaru, and me.
I stopped right in front of Nishtha and asked loudly, loud enough for everyone to hear:
"Nishtha, tell me… who is Ajay?"
The moment the name "Ajay" reached her ears, Nishtha froze in complete shock. Even her best friend didn't know about Ajay. So how the hell did I know?
She was internally panicking. Every single person in the hall was staring at her now. She had to make a choice — either deny everything or accept it.
What would she do?
Would she deny it and force me to take it further? Or would she stay silent and let the bomb explode?
To be continued…