2 DAYS LATER

Aarchi was once again at the Malhotra Mansion upon Vihaan's persistent request to spend the night watching movies as his brother elaborately asked him to do.

"Arush..." Aarchi glared at him.

"What? I need those tears out dear, I can't spend all my time thinking when those big fat tears will down your cheeks and you'll blast like a volcano on me"

"Are you saying that you are making your brother a victim of my volcanic eruption?" Aarchi questioned him.

"Ohh no... She knows the plan" Arush said with sarcasm lacing his voice.

"Very funny" Aarchi rolled her eyes and looked away from the camera.

"Stop sulking and enjoy with bhai, I'm sure he's fun to be around with" Arush said looking up from the screen.

"Fineee" Aarchi replied looking at the screen sadly.

"I need to go so be good to my brother okay?" Arush asked as he stood up, taking his stethoscope and coat with him.

"I'm not a child" Aarchi said angrily but nonetheless agreed to him. 

"Oh by the way I forgot to say something...." Arush stopped remembering something. She looked at the phone with anticipation.

"I hate you" Before she could give him a befitting reply he cut the call. Aarchi huffed hiding her smile and shook her head.

"Hi Aru" Ridhima said as she walked out of the mansion dressed in a heavy saree.

"Vihaan is in the kitchen, am so sorry bacha but we have to go to this party or else I'd be home with you" Ridhima said kissing Aarchi's forehead lightly.

"Its okay, enjoy with uncle and don't do any hanky-panky" Aarchi joked earning Ridhima's glare who lightly slapped her.

"Badtameez" Ridhima laughed and rushed out. Aarchi streched her neck and left her purse in the living room and walked into the kitchen to see Vihaan moving in the kitchen effortlessly as he danced to a song playing from his air pods. Aarchi took slow, soft steps and walked behind him to surprise him. 

"Bho" She screamed happily thinking he'd be scared of her but instead he turned around with a smile and shook his head.

"Wassup kiddo" Vihaan asked removing his air pods and placing them in their case.

"You were supposed to be scared" Aarchi made a face at the lack of reaction from his side.

"Scared of your 'bho'? I already knew you were behind me" Vihaan said smiling.

"And I knew you were infuriating as always, how lovely" She said sarcastically.

"Is this how its going to be if I don't react your way to your 'bho'?" He asked huffing. Aarchi nodded her head looking at him.

"Do again" He said moving his hand so she could recreate that again.

"Okay!" She jumped to her initial position happily as Vihaan pretended to do work. Aarchi crept behind him and screamed again with a smile.

"Oh my fucking lord, I almost got a heart attack. You little troublemaker, you want me to die young?" Vihaan pretended to be scared from her action making her smile.

"See it wasn't that hard and it was fun, wasn't it?" Aarchi asked clapping her hands.

"Sure" Vihaan said nodding his head.

"What are you making?" She asked looking around.

"Tomato basil soup with Cheesy Garlic bread" He replied proud of his choice for dinner.

"Sounds fun" Aarchi started salivating at the thought of it when Vihaan placed a knife and a tomato in her hands.

"Chop them so I can blend them for soup" He said going to the other side of the kitchen to get the onions. Aarchi looked down at her hands and then at him in shock and started laughing.

"You mean, mein yeh karu?" She asked Vihaan shocked holding the knife in one hand and tomato in the other. Vihaan nodded his head as he removed cheese from the fridge.

"Wait wait wait, I think there's some misunderstanding here" She placed the knife and tomato down and walked to him. Vihaan looked at her confused.

"Mujhe khana banana nahi aata" She said with an awkward smile refusing him that she can't help him.

"Huh?" Vihaan looked at her surprised.

"Yeah. Mai khana nahi bana sakti.Mai logo ko bana sakti hoon though." She said smiling widely taking small steps back.

"The daughter of one of the best chefs of the country can't cook, is that what you are saying or I am hearing things wrong?" Vihaan asked dropping the cheese on the kitchen slab. Aarchi nodded her head.

"Yupp. The max I can do is place the microwavable popcorn in the microwave"

"How did you eat at home?"

"Mumma or one of the bhaiyus make food for me and if no one is there, papa and I order it" She said shrugging her shoulders as if it was a common thing.

"So you know nothing about survival?"

"Means?" She looked at him confused.

"Food... One of the necessities of human beings. How do you plan to survive when you have no one to cook for you or when you can't order something?" Vihaan asked peeling the wrapper of cheese.

"Why would I be in that situation? I'm a princess so that situation doesn't really match my status" She said rolling her eyes. Vihaan smiled seeing the arrogance in her eyes.

"Is that what you plan to tell your mother-in law on your pehli rasoi?" He asked taking the tomatoes in a basket and placed them under the tap to wash them.

"Well its just not me who got married yeah? Her son got married too so it should technically be his and mine pehli rasoi. He can cook and I'll help in tasting. Plus there's no way I am interested in getting married" She said pulling her hair into a bun and securing them with a spoon.

"Why?" Vihaan asked turning around to look at her.

"Mere nakhre na kisike bas ke. Only my dad can handle my nakhre, kisiki itni hasiyat hi kaha jo mere nakhre utha le" She said sitting on the kitchen counter watching him wash the tomatoes.

"Uff yeh nakhre" He said smiling widely.

"Ek baat kahu?" Aarchi asked suddenly turning sad. Vihaan hummed picking the basket out to dry the tomatoes.

"I did wish to get married, have a family, have those special moments with my someone special but now even the thought of it scares me" She said turning her head towards the kitchen window from where she could see the kitchen garden. Vihaan wiped his hands on the kitchen towel and walked to her.

"You are still young to think of life so harshly. There's so much more to life than being with an undeserving boy. Dating and falling in love shouldn't be done as a task, let it be natural, let it come knocking on your heart's door" He said with a soft smile standing in front of her.

"I'll not open those doors for anyone anymore. It's a sailed ship and its never returning" She said angrily.

"Then we shall look for someone who finds a window to your heart and enters in" He said laughing seeing her puffed face. Aarchi looked at him angrily.

"I'll close them too" 

"Arey... aab woh bichara dil mein utrega kaise bhala? Thoda toh cooperate kar uske saath" Vihaan said laughing hearing her words.

"Nahi karna. They don't deserve my heart" She crossed her hands at her chest and replied.

"Hayee bechara woh ladka toh phir kaise tere dil mein jagah banayega?" Vihaan asked crossing his hands at his chest.

"Na banaye toh phir. Its not a must to have a space you know" She replied angrily.

"Tu aise toh nahi manegi, tere liye na koi aise dhundenge so bulldozer leke aaye aur yeh saari diwar or darwaze tod de aur tere dil mein forcefully apna kabza karle" Vihaan said pulling her down from the kitchen counter.

"Aake toh dikhaye, haath pair tod ke uske haath mein de dungi usse" She said angrily. Vihaan looked at her with a look telling that her words didn't make sense.

"Words ko chodo emotions ko samjho" She said qouting Balli from Main Tera Hero.

"May god save that man" Vihaan laughed and removed the chopping board from the cabinet.

"Let's teach you basic human survival action" He said removing another apron for Aarchi and asked her to put it on.

"You really want to go down that lane? I can assure you that I have 0 knowledge in this and the outcome from where I am looking isn't looking too good either" She said trying to slip away from the cooking class.

"We shall assess that later, for now. Welcome to Chef Vihaan Malhotra's cooking class" He said with a huge smile. He showed Aarchi how to chop the tomatoes. 

"How are they?" Aarchi asked as she finished chopping one half of the tomato. Vihaan looked at the chopped tomatoes with a scrutinizing gaze and gave her a nod of appreciation earning a wide smile from Aarchi who picked the other half and chopped it. Vihaan walked away from her for a few minutes and returned with a radio and increased the volume.

"Never a dull moment in Chef Vihaan's kitchen" She laughed as she added the chopped tomatoes to the blender with the rest. Ridhima peeped into the kitchen and took a picture of them and sent it to Kaira with a smile. She had forgotten her clutch so had returned to get it when she heard laughters from the kitchen and went to check on it.

"Silly girl" Vihaan hit Aarchi's head who pouted sadly.

"Close the lid before you switch it on" He said closing the lid of the blender before turning it on. Aarchi looked at the blender in fascination seeing her hard work was in the right direction. Vihaan looked at her excitement with amusement at how small tasks got her smiling like that. Once the tomatoes were blended, he poured them into the pan and closed the lid to allow it to boil.

"Now?" She asked curiously.

"Now we make the spread for the garlic bread" He said laughing as he removed butter and other ingredients and placed them in front of her.

"You want to do?" He asked noticing her look at things intriguingly. Aarchi nodded her head and stood in front of the ingredients as Vihaan explained her how to do everything.

"Well done Assistant Aarchi, you make a good partner in kitchen" He patted her shoulder as they checked upon the tomato soup. Aarchi followed him around with child-like curiosity to know every step of what he was doing. Vihaan added the herbs and spices and added corn flour with butter in a smaller pan and cooked the flour well.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Making sure that the soup is thick and shiny" He added it to the soup and brought the baguette and spread closer to the cooking stove.

"Help me spread it on the bread" He handed her a spoon and showed her how to do it. She immediately got to work and prepared the garlic bread.

______

Few Minutes Later

"It looks so good" Aarchi said as she placed the bread on the dining table and Vihaan came with their soup bowls.

"Of course it is after all you were my assistant so it had to be good" He said appreciating her efforts. 

"I'll send a picture of it to papa, he's going to be so shocked" Aarchi said removing her phone from her jeans pocket to take a picture.

"I have a better plan, you can surprise him by cooking this for him" Vihaan said pulling a chair out for her and sitting beside her.

"I can't cook as good as you so no" She said shaking her head and taking a picture for herself.

"Its all in the mind" He said making his voice deep before they both started laughing.

"By the way, I have a list of women who you might potentially be interested in, so after dinner we can discuss that, don't forget" Aarchi said picking the fork and knife to tear the garlic bread. Vihaan looked at her in horror and then at the cutlery in her hands. Aarchi felt slightly uncomfortable and looked at him questioningly.

"You aren't at a restaurant dear, eat with your hands" Vihaan said tearing a morsel of the garlic bread and eating it. She looked at him unsurely.

"Uff aapke yeh ettiquetes" He shook his head and tore another piece of the bread and fed it to her.

"It tastes better this way" He said taking a huge sip of his soup as Aarchi gracefully finished the piece of food in her mouth. With unsteady hands she too tore a piece of bread and ate it as Vihaan looked at her curiously for an answer. She nodded her head agreeing with him.

"I'm always right" He said with a smirk as they both ate talking about the women Aarchi had selected as his potential 'dates'.