ᴍʏ ɴᴀᴍᴇ ɪꜱ ᴡʜᴀᴛᴇᴠᴇʀ ʏᴏᴜ ᴅᴇᴄɪᴅᴇ ᴀɴᴅ, ɪ'ᴍ ᴊᴜꜱᴛ ɢᴏɴɴᴀ ᴄᴀʟʟ ʏᴏᴜ ᴍɪɴᴇ
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In a world where emotions are a luxury neither can afford, two souls find themselves bound by a contract they never wanted.
One, a rising actress who hides her pain behind a bright...
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I was mid-way through my skincare routine, which, to be honest, wasn’t exactly a daily ritual.
But tonight I figured, why not? As I dabbed some moisturizer onto my face, Aarav barged in without so much as a knock.
“Can’t you knock before entering?” I snapped, already regretting the minimal effort I was putting into this routine.
“No,” he replied flatly, as if the concept of knocking was some alien custom he couldn’t possibly adopt.
He settled onto the bed behind me, his eyes sweeping over my sweatpants and oversized T-shirt. “You don’t look ready for the party.”
I gave him a sarcastic look through the mirror. “Don’t worry, I’ll just do a magical transformation there.”
His eyes narrowed, probably noting that my outfit choice looked like I was ready for a night in with Netflix rather than a celebration.
Just then, Chickoo dashed in, tail wagging and mouth suspiciously full.
“What’s in your mouth, Chickoo?” Aarav asked, eyebrows furrowing. I shrugged, returning to my skincare. Whatever Chickoo had, Aarav could handle it himself.
I glanced at the clock. Still an hour until 7.
“Look, if you’ve changed your mind and actually want to come-” I began, but froze mid-sentence, catching a horrifying sight in the mirror.
There was a lizard. On my shoulder. Just… sitting there.
The next thing I knew, I was screaming, but it was muffled almost immediately as Aarav clamped his hand over my mouth. His eyes were wide, clearly alarmed.
“What happened?” he asked urgently.
Nobody ever taught me how to speak with a man’s hand covering my face.
I stared at him with equal parts horror and frustration, pointing desperately at my shoulder.
His eyes followed mine, landing on the small, unwelcome creature clinging to me.
He let out an exaggerated sigh, casually reaching over to remove it like it was no big deal.
My heart was still pounding, though. I mean, it’s not that I’m scared of lizards, but when they’re on your body... they’re a whole new level of disgusting.
“It’s fake,” he said, holding up the slimy creature in front of me with the most unimpressed expression ever.
“What?” I reached for the lizard, turning it in my hands. Sure enough, the thing was plastic.
Realistically slimy-looking, yes, but just a prop. I was tempted to chuck it across the room.
