SWIPE RIGHT • 𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐱 𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

TWENTY TWO.

final update before story hiatus. heated rivalry will be placed on hiatus while addiction will have slow updates ^^

comment!

PREVIOUSLY ON CHAPTER SIXTEEN (FOR CONTEXT)

Nadia shook her head, "but Aliya—that's Aruna's sister's name—she..."

Y/n took a sharp breath. "And the girl. Is she..."

"Now that's the issue. Aliya wanted to cover the whole thing up, saying it would be damaging to the company and everything, but the thing is, no matter how much money they pay the family, it won't ever fix the scars the victim will have. Aliya hates the fact that Aruna is the heir to the company, and she complained to their father."

The father, who was supposedly dead now.

"The father..." Aruna and his father had been relatively close. Miranda (Aruna's mother) had cherished her husband dearly, spiraling back into her bad habits of smoking and drinking after his father's death.

"They say they murdered him," Nadia said flatly. "They say Aliya killed her own father."

"What?"

"She's evil," Nadia shook her head. "She's...the only thing I fear is that Aruna might leave as a murderer. I'm worried he might kill her."

.

.

"Hey, you look really refreshed," Nadia looked at Y/n suspiciously, narrowing her eyes. "And I can..."

Y/n paused, letting the ice cream melt and dribble down his fingers. It had been about two—three? days ever since...that night, and so far this was his first interaction with someone who wasn't Aruna. In hindsight perhaps this wasn't the most healthy thing, and that Y/n was slowly growing more dependent on Aruna, but...

"What?" He furrowed his eyebrows, "you can what?"

"Well..." Nadia tossed her own ice cream wrapper to the bin. Then she reached out towards Y/n and grabbed his hand, examining it suspiciously. "Hold on. Is this a ring?"

"Well, uh..."

.

.

"It's a gift, darling," Aruna kissed the nape of his neck, his fingers lightly brushing against his skin. It felt comforting and sent heat down Y/n's spine, and he found himself holding his breath.

A...ring. Y/n didn't know how expensive it was, and he didn't dare to ask either. It was pretty, however—a thin, silver hand around his index finger, shining and glittering from the tiny jewels dotted on it.

Y/n sucked in a breath, blinking his eyes.

"Thank you," he said breathlessly, "it's so pretty. It's gorgeous."

It was true. Looking at it made his heart swell, actually. Made him so—

"It looks so beautiful on you." Aruna purred sweetly. His hair tickled Y/n's cheek when the naga leaned down, and interlaced his fingers with Y/n's own. "Promise to wear it, alright?"

"Promise."

.

.

"Aruna gifted it to me," Y/n chuckled, "I'm not sure how expensive it is, but isn't it so pretty?" He looked at his finger with satisfaction, humming.

"Dude, it's crazy expensive," Nadia said in awe, "like even for me. I can't believe he actually got you that."

Y/n had kinda expected it, but hearing that from Nadia herself probably meant the gift was extremely luxurious. That it probably cost an arm and leg, or was equivalent to the price of a car...or a house, or a...