Kiara was in her office, sleeves slightly rolled up, flipping through the new designs. Her tone was steady, focused, until her phone kept buzzing against the table.

Once. Twice. Again. She ignored it. The fifth time, she sighed, muting the call for a second and glancing down.

Messages. Too many. Her brows furrowed. She picked up her phone.

Dev: What the hell is this???

Arjun: Tell me it’s fake. U w/ him?

HR Department Head: Ma’am, media is requesting a statement regarding—

Tanya: What's going on Kia?? You guys hate e/o now what's this? Tell it's a scandal!

A link. Kiara tapped it. The page loaded. And then, she stilled.

It was the parking lot. That moment. Aarav’s hand around her wrist. Her standing close. The angle too intimate. Too deliberate. The headline made it worse.

“Fashion Industry Heirs Caught in Private Moment – Secret Relationship?”

For a second, there was nothing. Then a short, humorless laugh escaped her.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

She scrolled, eyes moving faster now.

“Sources hint at closeness since childhood…”

“Tension at press meet may not have been professional…”

“Insiders suggest more than just collaboration…”

Her grip on the phone tightened.

“Closeness?” she muttered. “They’re insane.”

Her phone rang.

Dad.

Of course. She answered immediately.

“Yes?”

“Have you seen it?”

“I just did. It’s complete nonsense. I’ll have legal take it down.”

“That won’t be enough.”

Kiara pushed her chair back, standing up. “It’s a false narrative. We deny it, it ends.”

“No,” he said calmly. “It doesn’t.”

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Denial draws more attention. They’ll dig deeper. Twist more.”

Her jaw clenched. “So what, we just let them say whatever they want?”

“We address it.”

Her grip tightened further. “We are addressing it. With a statement.”

“We’ll discuss it this evening,” he said, voice final. “With Aarav’s family.”

The call ended before she could respond. Kiara stared at her phone, irritation building fast.

“This is ridiculous.”

Across the city, Aarav had already read the article. He didn’t react at first.

Just stood by his desk, phone in hand, eyes scanning the same lines again as if they might change. They didn’t.

His cousin Anika, leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching him. “You’ve been staring at that for a while.”

Aarav locked his phone and placed it on the table. “It needs to be shut down.”

Anika walked over, picking up the phone and scrolling. A low whistle escaped her. “They’ve really outdone themselves this time.”

“It’s baseless.”

“Doesn’t matter,”she said casually. “Looks convincing enough.”

Aarav’s jaw tightened slightly. “A statement will fix it.”

“Maybe. Maybe not.”

A pause.

“Chacha called?” she asked.

Aarav nodded once. “Meeting tonight.”

Anika smirked faintly. “With her family too?”

“Yes.”

“That should be interesting.”

Aarav didn’t respond.

He already knew exactly how it would go.

The evening felt heavier than usual. Kiara stepped into the large living room of Aarav’s house, her expression composed, though irritation still simmered beneath the surface. The entire family was there. Not just the elders. Everyone.

Grandparents seated at the center. Parents on either side. Uncles, aunts. Cousins scattered around. And Aarav. He stood near the window, hands in his pockets, looking just as calm as he had that morning.

Their eyes met briefly.The same spark of irritation passed between them. Nothing had changed.

—

“Let’s begin,” Aarav’s grandfather said, his voice carrying quiet authority.

The room settled.

Kiara’s father spoke next. “You’ve all seen the article.”

Murmurs spread across the room.

“It’s absurd,” Kiara said immediately. “There’s nothing to it.”

Aarav’s voice came at the same time. “We’ll deny it.”

Their words overlapped. They both paused. Then looked at each other. Annoyed.

Kiara turned back to the elders. “A formal clarification should be enough. This can be handled.”

Aarav nodded once. “Agreed.”

For a moment, it seemed simple. Logical. Then,

“And what happens when they don’t believe it?” Aarav’s uncle asked.

Silence.

Kiara frowned. “Why wouldn’t they?”

“Because,” one of the aunts said gently, “people believe what they want to believe.”

“This will pass,” Kiara insisted. “It’s just noise.”

“Reputation isn’t noise,” her father replied calmly.

Another voice joined in, one of Aarav’s cousins, Rohan. “If we deny it too strongly, it might look like we’re hiding something.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Kiara said, frustration rising. “We’re not hiding anything.”

“I agree with her,” Aarav’s younger brother spoke up, pushing himself off the armrest. “This is being blown out of proportion. Why complicate it?”

“Exactly,” one of Kiara’s cousins, Dev added. “It’ll die down in a few days.”

A brief wave of agreement passed through a few of the younger ones. Kiara felt a small sense of relief. Finally, someone with sense. But the elders remained unconvinced.

“This isn’t just about a few days,” Kiara's uncle said. “It’s about how this reflects on both families long-term.”

“Investors are already asking questions,” Aarav’s father added.

“We don’t control this now, we lose more than just image.”

Kiara exhaled sharply. “So what? We let a false story dictate our decisions?”

“No,” her grandfather said quietly. “We control the story.”

Something about the way he said it made her stomach tighten.

Aarav’s gaze shifted slightly, sharper now. “How?”

There was a pause. A deliberate one.

“We formalize it.”

The words settled heavily in the room. Kiara blinked.

“No,” she said instantly. “No, that’s not happening.”

Aarav’s expression hardened. “That’s unnecessary.”

For the first time, they were completely on the same side.

“This is a misunderstanding,” Kiara continued, voice firm. “We’re not going to turn it into something real.”

“It won’t be real,” one of the elders replied. “It will be strategic.”

“That’s worse,” she shot back.

Aarav stepped forward slightly now. “A denial is sufficient. There’s no need to escalate this.”

“And if it backfires?” his father asked.

“It won’t.”

“You can’t guarantee that.”

Silence.

Kiara looked between them, disbelief clear on her face. “So your solution is to trap us in an engagement over a rumor?”

“It’s not just a rumor anymore,” her father said. “It’s public perception.”

“I don’t care about public perception enough to—”

“This isn’t just about you,” he cut in.

The words hit. Harder than expected. Her expression faltered for a second. Aarav noticed. And something in his gaze shifted, but only slightly.

“I’m not agreeing to this,” Kiara said again, more controlled now.

“Neither am I,” Aarav added.

A brief pause.

Then one of Kiara's cousin, Arjun spoke. “There has to be another way. This feels… extreme.”

“I agree,” one of the aunts said softly. “They clearly don’t want this.”

“They don’t have to live with the consequences we do,” another elder replied.

The room grew quieter. Heavier. The grandparents exchanged a glance. A long one.Years of friendship, understanding, and silent conversations passing between them.

Then Aarav’s grandfather spoke.

“We’ve known each other for decades,” he said, looking at Kiara’s grandfather. “We’ve built trust, families, and legacies together.”

A pause.

“This alliance was always a possibility.”

Kiara’s chest tightened.

“This is not the way to make it happen,” she said.

“No,” her grandfather agreed gently. “But sometimes circumstances force decisions.”

Aarav exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair. For the first time, irritation showed clearly. “Forcing this won’t fix anything.”

“It will stabilize everything,” his father said.

“And what about us?” Kiara demanded.

No one answered immediately. That silence said enough. Her hands clenched at her sides.

“This is unbelievable.”

“Engagement in one week,” Aarav’s grandfather said finally.

The finality in his tone left no room for argument.

“Wedding two weeks after.”

Kiara shook her head, a quiet, disbelieving laugh escaping her. “You’re actually serious.”

No one contradicted it. Across the room, Aarav stood still, jaw tight, eyes unreadable. He didn’t agree. But he wasn’t stopping it either. Their eyes met again.

This time, there was no just irritation. There was something sharper. Something heavier.

And one clear, mutual understanding, that they were both being pushed into something they didn’t want.  And neither of them was going to make it easy for the other. If they were being forced into this, then they would make sure it felt exactly like what it was. A mistake.