I am going on a blind date.

A BLIND DATE.

Arranged by my mother, who, at this point, I am convinced wants to ruin my life.

The same woman who raised me, fed me, and now wants to sell me off like some old furniture.

"Mummy, mujhe abhi shaadi nahi karni!" [Mom, I don't want to get married right now!]

"Beta, ek baar mil toh lo. Bahut accha ladka hai, ye Suresh ji ka beta." [Just meet him once, beta. He's a very nice boy, Suresh ji's son.]

Suresh? Suresh ka beta? Matlab Junior Suresh? [Suresh's son]

I groaned, but obviously, my mother ignored me like an unwanted WhatsApp forward.

And now, here I am, forced into a blind date with Ramesh Choudhary.

Who even names their kid Ramesh these days? What was I, his government job?

But the best part?

He was five years younger than me.

Did my mother want me to adopt him?

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

3:42pm,

The moment I stepped inside the café, I spotted him.

Slicked-back hair, a floral shirt unbuttoned just a little too much, and sunglasses-indoors.

He was sitting there, legs crossed, chewing gum like he was in some Bollywood movie no one wanted to watch.

And when he saw me?

He smirked.

I already knew I hated him.

"Hey, beautiful," he said, leaning forward like he was in a shampoo commercial. "I've been waiting for you."

My soul left my body.

This was going to be painful.

I forced a polite smile and sat down.

"So, Ramesh-" I started.

He held up a hand. "Call me Romi."

I blinked.

Romi Choudhary?

Sirf naam change karne se personality change nahi hoti. [Changing your name doesn't change your personality.]

"Oh... okay. So, Romi, what do you do?" I asked, still trying to be nice.

He leaned back, adjusting his aviators. Yes, the aviators were still on.

"I run my own business," he said casually.

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What kind of business?"

"Crypto trading," he said, flipping his hair. "Main ek din billionaire banunga." [One day, I'll be a billionaire.]

I took a deep breath. "Wow. That's... impressive. How long have you been doing it?"

"Just started last week."

I choked on air.

Did this man just say last week?

"So basically," I said slowly, "you're unemployed?"

His smirk faltered for a second. But then he recovered.

"Acha chhodo, let's talk about you, baby." [Forget that, let's talk about you, baby.]

BABY? WHO IS WHOSE BABY?

I suddenly felt violently ill.

"Are you single?" he asked, smiling like he was the hottest man in the room.

I was about to reply when the waiter arrived.

And this cheapster started flirting with her.

"Madam, aapka haath bahut soft lagta hai." [Madam, your hands feel very soft.]

The poor girl looked horrified.

I was mentally setting him on fire.

She quickly took our order and ran away.

Ramesh-sorry, Romi-turned back to me with a smug look.

"Jealous toh nahi ho gayi na, Kavya ji?" he winked. [You didn't get jealous, right, Kavya?]

Jealous?

Yeah, I was jealous of the waiter because she could leave, and I couldn't.

I needed to leave.

but then he asked further about my phone number to call me at night?-

Oh god, give me the strength to not puke here at his face.

So, I sneakily switched off my phone and said,

"Oh no! I don't remember my number, and my phone is switched off!"

Genius, right?

I grabbed my purse, paid for my own food, and RAN FOR MY LIFE.

────୨ৎ────

4:40pm,

The moment I entered the house, my mother ambushed me.

"So?" she asked eagerly. "How was the date?"

I sighed dramatically. "Mummy, wo ladka waiter ke saath flirt kar raha tha!" [Mom, that guy was flirting with the waiter!]

My mother sighed.

"Ye mard jaat na, aise hi hote hain. Chhodo." [Men are like this. Forget it.]

And then-

"Koi baat nahi, main aur ladke dhundti hoon blind date ke liye." [No worries, I'll find more guys for blind dates.]

MUMMY, NO.

I yelled, "I DON'T WANT TO MARRY RIGHT NOW!"

She folded her arms. "Toh kab shaadi karni hai?" [Then when will you marry?]

"28 or 30... or maybe never."

She sighed and waved me off. "Jaake so jao." [Go and sleep.]

I sighed and went to my room and take a relaxing shower to calm my mind and to distract my mind from that romi or whatever his name is.

My phone ringed and Lawyer sahiba, flashed in it.

Oh Arohi,

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

5:33pm

"Bitch, tell me everything, I heard you went on a blind date?" Arohi demanded as soon as I picked up.

I groaned. "Arohi, my mother forced me to go on a blind date, which proves that my mother was really blind because it was a disaster. His real name was Ramesh, but he called himself Romi, and he was flirting with the waiter!"

Silence.

And then-

Arohi burst out laughing.

She couldn't stop laughing.

She had been laughing since the last ten minutes, and at this point, she was probably going to get abs.

Kavya, on the other hand, was dying inside.

"I hate you," Kavya muttered, flopping onto her bed.

Arohi gasped dramatically. "Excuse me? I was not the one who went on a date with Romi Choudhary, the crypto trader of the last week."

Kavya groaned. "I want to erase my memory."

Arohi smirked. "Nah, babe, this is legendary. Tera first blind date tha, aur usne waiter ke haath ko flirt kar liya." [This was your first blind date, and he flirted with the waiter's hand.]

Kavya covered her face with a pillow. "I AM NEVER GOING ON A BLIND DATE AGAIN."

Arohi wasn't done. Not even close.

Then suddenly, she got serious.

"So, should I hire some kidnappers to torture him to death? Don't worry, I have a secret basement in my house to hide the body."

What is this girl? "Arohi, are you perhaps a criminal hiding from the police by being a lawyer?"

"For you, both." She laughed

I chuckled. And that's why she is my best friend.

Until she decided to ruin the silence by ruining my already ruined mood,

"Babe, can we just take a moment to appreciate the pure confidence of this man?" she said, pretending to wipe a tear.

I peeked at her phone. "Confidence? That man wore sunglasses indoors like he was a Bollywood villain from 2005."

Arohi clapped. "And that, my dear, is why he is a legend."

I threw my pillow at the screen. "SHUT UP."

Arohi giggled. "Oh, c'mon, Kavya. Imagine your future kids asking, 'Mumma, how did you meet Papa?' and you'd have to say, 'Well, beta, he was flirting with a waiter, and I knew he was the one.'"

“GET OUT.”

More laughter.

I pouted. "I'm traumatized because of him, and you're laughing."

Arohi wiped a fake tear. "Sorry, babe. Truly. I feel so bad for you."

Then she laughed again.

I picked up her phone. "You know what? I hope your next client is a cheating husband with a bad hairline."

Arohi gasped. "HOW DARE YOU CURSE ME LIKE THAT?"

"That's what you deserve."

We both giggled, the teasing finally calming down.

And then-

Arohi got serious.

"You unemployed bitch, what are you doing these days?" Arohi's voice rang through the phone, dripping with her signature sarcasm.

I bits my lip, already used to my best friend's colorful vocabulary. "You know I just completed my MBA a month ago. Now, I want to work in a company to gain knowledge about the corporate world and business. I want to establish my own makeup brand, and for that, I need experience, money, and ideas."

Arohi snorted. "Haan toh, interview de de behen!" [Yeah, then give an interview, sister!]

"Where?" I asked, already regretting it.

Arohi took a deep breath and deadpanned, "Mere ghar ke paas ek baigan bechne wale uncle hai, usko interview de." [There's an eggplant seller near my house, go give an interview to him.]

I groaned. "Arohi, yaar..."

But Arohi wasn't done. "Jahil gawar, behn ki pakodi, MBA ki degree tujhe kisne di? Of course, give an interview in a company!" [Uneducated fool, sister's fried piece, who gave you an MBA degree?]

I rolled her eyes. "Baat-baat pe gaali mat diya kar. You do know you can talk without cursing, right?" [Don't abuse me at every little thing.]

"For God's sake, my dear Kavya-OH HOLY SHIT, I JUST REMEMBERED SOMETHING!" Arohi suddenly gasped dramatically.

I raised a brow. "What? Your client forgot to pay you extra for arguing in court?"

"Shut up," Arohi grumbled before adding, "You know my brother, Zayn Malhotra?"

I frowned. "Huh? But I thought you were an only child?"

"Arey, cousin brother," [Oh, cousin brother,] Arohi clarified. "My mami's son." [My maternal aunt's son.]

"Okay... so?"

"He's the CEO of Malhotra Enterprises." Arohi's voice carried a hint of pride. "After his father passed away, he worked his ass off to carry on his father's legacy. And by God's grace, today, he's one of the top 10 billionaires in the world."

I cleared her throat, feeling a twinge of sympathy. "Damn. Growing up without his father must've been tough."

"Yeah, yeah, emotional ho ja baith ke," [Yeah, yeah, go ahead and get emotional,] Arohi scoffed. "Anyway, I was telling you this because you're a jobless loser, and he owns a company. See where I'm going with this?"

I sighed. "And sometimes I wonder why we're friends."

"Because I'm fabulous, and you have no other option," Arohi smirked. "Now, back to the point-you're going to work in his company."

I blinked. "Wait, what? He'd actually hire me? You know I have zero experience in the business world."

Arohi smirked at her off through screen. "Woh sab mujhpe chhod de." [Leave all that to me.]

I hesitated before casually asking, "Can I get his Instagram handle?"

Arohi groaned. "Curious, are we?"

"Just wanna see if he looks like a typical arrogant CEO or if he actually has some personality," I defended.

"Sure, sure," Arohi chuckled. "His username is @zaynmalhotra."

As I quickly opened Instagram, Arohi suddenly added, "By the way, he's cold, you know?"

I smirked. "That's fine. I'm hot. We'll balance each other out."

Arohi burst into laughter. "Oh, I swear, I live for your delusions."

I grinned, then hesitated before asking, "Is he... handsome?"

"See he is my brother, I would be damned if I praise my own Antarctica brother but Very handsome."

"Respects women?"

"Of course."

"Sexy? Fine abs? Good body?"

Arohi groaned. "Kavya, he's my brother."

"Still, you must've seen him shirtless, right?" I teased.

Arohi sighed in defeat. "Fine. Yeah, he's sexy, handsome, and cold. Happy now? God is going to curse me for saying all this about my own brother."

I chuckled. "Perfect. I'm in."

"Good. I'll let you know when to come for the interview. For now, I gotta go-got a case where some idiot mashed insects into a momo and fed it to his friend. Now, his friend is in the hospital."

I gagged. "Arohi, STOP. I do not need to be traumatized right before starting my career."

Arohi laughed. "Alright, alright. Now, check Zayn's account. I wanna hear your reaction before I cut the call."

Taking a deep breath, I stared down at her phone, already bracing myself for the visual impact.

And the second I clicked on ny profile, I forgot how to breathe.

@zaymalhotra - CEO, Malhotra Enterprises.

1.2M followers.

And the first post?

A candid shot of him at a business event, wearing a black suit, fixing his cuffs.

I froze.

DIMPLES.

The man had dimples.

"Holy-" she whispered.

Arohi snickered. "Told you. He's hot."

I gulped. "Why didn't you tell me he has dimples?"

Arohi smirked. "Because I wanted to hear your reaction live."

I wanted to scream.

My greatest weakness in a man? DIMPLES.

I quickly scrolled through his posts.

Professional. Clean. A little too clean.

Suit. Suit. Suit. Business deal. Newspaper article.

No casual pictures. No selfies. Not even a dog.

"Does this man even have a personality?" I muttered.

Arohi giggled. "Oh, he does. It's just locked away with his emotions."

I sighed. "So, he's one of those serious, broody types?"

Arohi hummed. "He's a workaholic, perfectionist, and dangerously intelligent. Also, zero tolerance for stupidity."

I froze. "Wait. Are you saying... he's strict?"

Arohi grinned. "Oh, babe, he's beyond strict."

I gulped.

"Okay," I said, scrolling faster. "There has to be at least one casual post."

Arohi thought for a second. "Oh, check the tagged photos."

I clicked on the tagged tab.

And-

BINGO.

A group picture.

It looked like a wedding.

Zayn Malhotra, looking unfairly attractive in a black sherwani, standing with Arohi, Rayaan, and some other cousins.

And-

I zoomed in.

"Wait... is he smiling?"

Arohi snorted. "Yeah, but don't get excited. That's only because Rayaan was making stupid jokes."

I asked "Ehh, who is Rayaan now?"

"The complete opposite of Zayn, Zayn's younger brother, My both brother are quite opposite of each other" she replied, laughing.

"Elaborate."

"Rayaan is a playboy and flirty, but that's only what the world assumes, I know his real self. He never touched a girl..let alone think of any girl in a dirty way, but to cope up with his depression he chose to be playful and fun typa and Zayn choses the cold and introvert line for him"

"Wait...you mean they both have depression? about what?"

"Uhh.. told you their father's accident traumatized them and unfortunately..they both fear blood"

"Oh my god, Arohi, How they are handling this?" This is seriously so sad but I know this isn't the whole story I want to know the full story but not now but surely someday, hopefully from Zayn himself and then I will comfort him by hugging him, uff my expensive dream.

I sighed

She replied "I don't know but they are fine as of now"

I hummed, trying to distract us from this topic.

"So, he does smile. Just not in public."

"Exactly."

I leaned back.

Okay. This was interesting.

A strict, serious, broody CEO, who smiles in private but not in public?

Oh, I was intrigued now.

And a little scared.

"Okay," I said. "Send my resume."

Arohi grinned. "Done. But Kavya..."

Kavya blinked. "Yeah?"

Arohi smirked. "You better tell me every single detail of this rom-com kdrama."

Kavya rolled her eyes. "Fine."

Arohi giggled. "Good. Now get some sleep. You're gonna need it."