chapter 6: The chaos after kiss

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A Moment That Shouldn't Have Happened

Kyara blinked, breathless, as Niki's grip on her wrist steadied her.

The restaurant buzzed with distant murmurs, but to her, everything had gone silent. The world around them seemed to fade, leaving only the intensity of Niki's dark gaze locked onto hers.

For a fleeting second, neither of them moved.

Then, just as Niki was about to let go, Kyara lost her footing again.

"Yeah, bitch—"

Her words cut off as she grabbed the first thing she could for balance—Niki's tie.

A sharp tug. A misstep.

And then—

They crashed down together.

The impact sent a hush through the restaurant. Kyara landed hard against Niki's chest, her palms pressed against him for support. The warmth of his skin beneath his shirt, the faint scent of cologne—everything hit her senses at once.

But before she could even process it—

Her lips met his.

Time Stopped.

Kyara's heart pounded in her ears. The distant clatter of dishes and gasps from onlookers barely registered.

Her fingers twitched against his chest as her brain struggled to catch up with what had just happened.

Niki's hands had instinctively gripped her waist to steady her, but the moment his mind processed the situation, his fingers tensed.

They were kissing.

Right there, in the middle of a packed restaurant.

Kyara's eyes went wide. Holy. Shit.

Within seconds, she shoved herself off him, scrambling to her feet so fast she nearly stumbled again.

Niki sat up hurriedly, brushing imaginary dust off his shirt, avoiding eye contact like his life depended on it.

They both busied themselves fixing their clothes as if that would somehow erase the past ten seconds.

The silence between them was deafening.

Then—

"MISS! WHAT KIND OF BEHAVIOR IS THIS?!"

The furious voice of the hotel manager shattered the moment. Kyara barely had time to regain her composure before he stormed toward them, face red with anger.

"This is a reputed restaurant, not some street-side drama!" he bellowed.

Kyara, still processing the fact that she had just kissed Niki, narrowed her eyes. "Excuse me?"

"You have disrupted the peace of this establishment!"

She crossed her arms. "Oh, I disrupted the peace? Sir, I was attacked by a flying cake! If anything, your staff should be apologizing to me."

The manager looked personally offended. "Our staff is highly trained!"

Kyara scoffed. "Yeah? Well, highly trained people don't trip and nearly turn me into a human dessert."

The manager clenched his fists. "You could have gotten someone injured!"

Kyara rolled her eyes. "Oh, I could have? And what about the cake murderer back there?" She gestured at the trembling waiter still gripping the nearly toppled cake.

The poor guy gulped.

The manager huffed. "This kind of behavior is unacceptable. You should be thrown out—"

"Then do it! I was leaving anyway, genius."

Niki, watching the argument unfold, let out an exhausted sigh. Without a word, he turned his back to them, casually walking over to a nearby table and grabbing a glass of water.

He took a slow sip.

Nope. Not his problem.

Kyara and the manager were still at it.

"You have no manners—"

"Oh, you wanna talk about manners? You're the one yelling in a public place, sir."

Niki smirked to himself.

Damn. She's fun to mess with.

Without warning, he walked up behind her, leaning in close, his breath warm against her ear.

"Should I just reserve this whole restaurant for you? K-drama style?"

Kyara froze.

Niki smirked. "Or should I just tell them you're my fiancée?"

Her eyes widened.

Oh, hell no.

Without thinking, she grabbed his wrist.

Niki blinked. Huh?

Then—

"THREE!"

"What?"

Before he could react, Kyara bolted—dragging him along.

"What the fu—?!"

The entire restaurant turned to watch as she yanked Niki toward the exit. His mind barely had time to catch up when they burst through the doors and onto the street.

Still running, he shouted, "WHY ARE WE RUNNING?!"

Kyara, barely holding back laughter, grinned. "Because I won! Now keep up, slowpoke!"

Niki groaned but picked up his pace, muttering curses under his breath.

This girl was insane.

And he kinda liked it.

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A Deal Sealed with Silence

They finally stopped at a park nearby, collapsing onto a bench. Their breaths were heavy, shoulders rising and falling with exhaustion.

For a moment, neither spoke. The adrenaline started to wear off, and reality slowly crept in.

The kiss.

It happened.

Kyara swallowed, staring ahead, refusing to acknowledge the memory that had lodged itself in her brain.

Niki ran a hand through his hair before absentmindedly touching his lips.

My first kiss…

Meanwhile, Kyara's fingers twitched in her lap.

My virgin lips…

They both shook their heads at the same time, as if physically rejecting the thought.

Nope. Didn't happen.

If we don't talk about it, it never happened. Right? Right.

The silence stretched between them, thick and suffocating.

Finally, Kyara spoke. "So, what plan did you think of?"

Niki turned to her, raising an eyebrow. "Plan? First, tell me—who the hell runs after shouting three? You could have just said one, two, three like a normal person."

Kyara smirked. "I ate one and two and just spit out three. Got a problem?"

Niki rolled his eyes. "Oh, very funny. But, you know, if you had just let me throw my card on that manager's face, he would've forgotten his own existence the moment he saw the name Agnihotri."

He didn't realize it, but frustration laced his words. A part of him hated that he hadn't put that man in his place.

Kyara turned to him, unimpressed. "And why would you do that? It was my problem. I know how this works. You would've done me a favor, and then—bam!—you'd have your own conditions ready. Everyone has their own greed."

Niki went silent, clicking his tongue. He didn't agree, but arguing with Kyara right now felt like a waste of energy.

Instead, he leaned back on the bench, stretching his arms. "So, what do you think about the marriage?"

At the same time, Kyara opened her mouth and said, "What do you think about the marriage?"

They both stopped. Blinked. Then turned to look at each other.

A pause.

Then—

"Contract marriage."

They had spoken in unison again.

Silence.

And then, as if the ridiculousness of it all finally hit them, they both burst into laughter.

It wasn't forced or awkward—it was genuine.

And just like that, the deal was sealed.

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