Dare Trilogy | Book 3 Editing | ✓

2.24 | Midnight Wishes + Lillies

Posted on June 24th, 2017 | Edited on December 1st, 2018

| . . . C H A P T E R - 2.24.1 : M I D N I G H T - W I S H E S . . . |

"Are we getting her a cake?"

He looked up from the file he was reading when I asked him the question, leaning against the frame of the door of his room. It was Anjali's birthday tomorrow, and it was about an hour before midnight. He was sticking to his decision of avoiding me unless necessary, but that didn't mean I stopped trying to get him to talk to me. He questioned, "What?"

"Anjali di. Her birthday." I went on to fill in the gaps and catch him up to speed, "Are we getting her a cake? Or have you already taken care of that?"

He shook his head, returning his attention to the file. "She doesn't eat cake."

The surprise was evident in my tone, "Why the heck not?"

He closed his eyes as if reeling in some control, before he reopened them and went on to explain, "I had juvenile diabetics when I was young. I couldn't eat cake, so she never did either."

I do notice the past tense he used, telling me he didn't have it anymore but he still controlled his sweet intake. I understood this was just like pizza. He didn't eat it for her, and she did this for him. This sibling pair was really out to give Armaan and me some tough competition. I used to think no one could come close to the sibling bong I shared with Armaan. I was starting to learn how wrong I was.

"Be right back." I said, getting an idea.

Entering the kitchen, I tried to find the things I would need. He must have gotten curious, as he followed just as I started chopping fruits. "What are you doing? If you're hungry, there's food in the fridge."

I remained silent, going on to cut strawberries, grapes and bananas in pieces. Only, one of the grapes slipped from my grasp, slicing my index finger. Why are they such slippery beings? I instantly bit my tongue to hold back a curse, dropping the knife on the counter and swaying my hand.

"Khushi!" He exclaimed on seeing blood and rushed to my side. Knowing he would hold my hand, I tried to inch away. It wasn't that I minded him holding my hand. It just pained as blood continued to ooze.

Without warning, he put my finger in his mouth, sucking to stop the blood. I couldn't tell if it was my heart or my stomach that flipped, but something did feeling his lips around my finger. I dared to look into his eyes filled with concern for me.

And he says he doesn't love me.

I blinked, recovering from the shock of his actions. "Arnav?"

Hearing his name, he snapped out of it as well. He let go of my hand and didn't meet my eyes. "When you know things always happen to you in the kitchen, why do you try?" He snapped at me.

It only brought a smile on my face. Ofcourse, he cares. I hadn't done any of this intentionally, but it felt good to see this side of him. I knew he couldn't hold himself back no matter how much he tried. "I'm okay, Arnav." I told him before turning on the tap and washing the cut away and drying it with a paper towel.

When I went to pick up the knife again, he warned. "Don't even think about it." I glanced up, and he walked closer to reach for the knife and cutter. Moving it from front of me to his side, he took over. "What do you even need this for?"

I reached for a plate from the drawers and placed it on the counter. I started arranging the fruits in a circle, making layers. "It's not sweet, but she can't say no to this." I used graham crackers for base and made do with cucumbers, banana in the middle, and strawberry on top with a halved grape acting as cherry on top.