Third person’s pov!

“Oh you clearly do, love.” Dhruv whispered huskily, as he snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her against him.

“Dhruv..” Shraddha shrieked in shock.

“Tell me you don’t feel anything, Shraddha..” Dhruv demanded, his eyes locked onto hers.

Shraddha felt her heart pounding in her chest as Dhruv’s intense gaze bore into hers. His arm was still firmly around her waist, holding her close to him, and the proximity was making her dizzy with confusion and something she didn’t want to name — attraction. She swallowed hard, trying to steady her breath.

“Dhruv, this is… this is too much,” she stammered, her voice barely a whisper. “I hardly know you… We hardly know each other.”

“Is that so?” Dhruv’s voice was low and filled with a quiet intensity. He didn’t let go of her, instead pulling her a fraction closer. “But we both know that there’s something between us, Shraddha. You feel it, don’t you?”

Shraddha’s mind was spinning. What was he talking about? Yes, she felt an attraction to him — how could she not? He was magnetic, charming, and had a way of looking at her that made her feel like the only woman in the world. But that was just a crush, wasn’t it? Something fleeting and silly, not something real, not something that could lead anywhere.

“I don’t… I don’t know what you mean,” she replied, her voice trembling. “This is all happening so fast. You are Diya Ma’am’s brother, and I… I am just the nanny. This isn’t—”

“Stop that,” Dhruv interrupted, his tone firm but not unkind. “Stop putting yourself down. You are not ‘just’ anything. You are Shraddha. A woman who’s smart, standing on her own feet, and… damn it, beautiful. You are driving me crazy, and I know I am not the only one feeling this.” 

Shraddha’s eyes widened. 

“Dhruv, you can’t just say things like that,” she said, her voice barely more than a breath. “This is… This is so confusing. I am not used to this kind of attention. I don’t even know what to do with it.”

Dhruv’s eyes darkened hearing those words. Not used to this kind of attention? What else was Sid showering over her?

Dhruv’s grip on her waist tightened slightly, his eyes darkening with a mix of emotions she couldn’t fully decipher. 

“Then let me make it simple for you,” he said, his voice roughened by the rawness of his emotions. “I am not going to pretend that I don’t want you, Shraddha. I do. I want you in my life, and I am not going to shy away from that.”

Shraddha shook her head, trying to pull away, but Dhruv held her fast. 

“But why?” She asked, her voice cracking with emotion. “Why me? I am… nothing. We are from completely different worlds. How can this even work?”

“Why you?” Dhruv echoed, his expression softening for a moment as he looked at her. “There’s something about you that I can’t ignore, something that’s pulling me towards you, and I know you feel it too. There are no more explanations for it.”

Shraddha felt tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. How had things escalated so quickly? She hadn’t even imagined a scenario like this when she first met Dhruv. All she wanted was to do her job, look after herself, and maybe… maybe nurse a small, harmless crush in her heart. But this? This was overwhelming.

“Dhruv, this isn’t right,” she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. “You are confusing me so much. I don’t even know what to say or do. I am just trying to do my job, and now you are… you are saying all these things, and it’s messing with my head. I can’t think straight.”

“Then don’t think,” Dhruv murmured, leaning in closer, his breath warm against her skin. “Just feel. You are not the only one who is confused, Shraddha. I have never been this torn, never wanted something— or someone —so badly that I am willing to throw caution to the wind. But here I am, and here you are, and I am telling you that this is real. Whatever this is between us, it’s real, and I am not going to let it go.”

Dhruv froze for a moment, because just as those words got out of his mouth, he realised it was all true. He was having a strange kind of feeling towards her. Something he has never felt before. And he couldn’t understand it. But that can wait. The priority right now is saving Diya’s marriage. Once he takes Shraddha out of here, he has all the time in the world to figure out what was messing with his head.

Shraddha’s heart raced as his words sank in. She was torn between the undeniable pull she felt towards Dhruv and the fear of where this could lead. This was not what she had planned, not what she had ever expected. But here he was, saying all the things she had never even dared to dream someone would say to her.

“But… what about…?” She couldn’t even finish the sentence, couldn’t voice the myriad of concerns swirling in her mind— about Diya Ma’am, about Siddhant ji, about Ansh, about everything that could go wrong. She was an orphan. His family wouldn’t be happy with this.

“What about everything?” Dhruv finished for her, his voice softening. “We’ll figure it out. One step at a time. I am not asking for a decision right now, Shraddha. I am just asking you to acknowledge that there is something here, something worth exploring. Don’t shut me out. Don’t shut us out.”

Shraddha looked into his eyes, searching for answers she wasn’t sure she wanted to find. But she couldn’t read anything from his eyes. As his words were open, his eyes were shuttered. Guarded.

Could she do this? Could she let herself fall for someone like Dhruv, despite everything telling her it was a bad idea? The fear of the unknown gnawed at her, but so did the warmth of his touch and the depth of his gaze.

“But… I am scared, Dhruv.” She whispered finally, barely audible. 

Dhruv’s expression softened, and for the first time since this conversation began, he smiled— a small, tender smile that made her heart skip a beat. 

“I am too, Shraddha. But sometimes, the best things in life are the ones that scare us the most.”