Arakshi FF: Intezaar [Updt - pg 39, 20 March] - Page 21

"Sakshi chai?" Arjun asked as he went into the kitchen only to find her hands buried deep

in the dough she was kneading.

"Arjun mere haath abhi...mujhe do minute do main yeh khatam karke..."

"Nahi, it's okay, mein bana doonga...don't worry"

She smiled, moving to a side so that he could have access to the stove. He could feel her

eyes on him as he worked his way through the kitchen. But, he didn't say anything.

Turning around to get a cup from the shelf, he saw Sakshi puffing her cheeks and blowing

her hair away from her face. With an amused smile playing on his lips, he grabbed the cup

and waited for his tea to prepare. A few seconds later he heard the blowing sound again

and knew she was struggling with her hair.

"Mein help karoon?" There was a touch of hesitancy in his voice.

Sakshi stared at him for a moment, either in confusion or surprise he wasn't sure, then

slowly nodded. He reached up with his free hand to tuck the strand of hair behind her ear.

But, just as he started to drag the strand away from her face, her expression screwed up

and she started rubbing her cheek against her shoulder. Confused he retreated his hand.

"Kya hua?"

"Don't drag the hair across my cheek like that Arjun, it tickles!" She exclaimed, still rubbing

her cheek on her shoulder trying to get rid of the tingling feeling. A short chuckle burst out

of his chest. Nodding, he made sure the strand of hair touched no part of her cheek, as he

gently tucked it behind her ear. His fingers lightly grazed her cheeks and the back

of her ear.

It wasn't until he saw the soft pink colour on her cheeks that he realised, how intimate an

action like that could be. He awkwardly stepped back and ran a hand through his hair. As

he watched, Sakshi averted her eyes from his and lightly brushed her cheek against her

shoulder once again. Arjun couldn't help but smile at her antics.

She can be kinda cute sometimes. He thought, surprising himself.

~oOo~

Two weeks later (i.e. 4 months after their marriage)

"Kya ho raha hain yeha pe?" Arjun asked. He had been standing at Sameer's cabin door for

the last minute, watching his best friend and Ayesha just gazing at each other. Oblivious

to his presence, not a word was uttered since he arrived, they'd just look at each other and

smile. Amused, Arjun just stood watching them.

"Arjun! Andar aana..." Sameer said, giving him a sheepish grin at getting caught.

As he stepped into the room, Ayesha hastily gathered the files on the table and headed

towards the door.

"Morning, sir!" She greeted Arjun on her way out.

"Morning, Ayesha"

Once she left, Sameer turned to him, "Itna akdu kya ban raha hain? Dara diya na

bechari ko!"

Arjun's eyebrows shot up high on his forehead before he smiled, "Office mein koi bhi

mujhse dar sakta hain Sam...tere jhansi ki rani ke siva"

Sameer acted as if thinking about it for a second before he shrugged and nodded,

"Ya, that's true"

Arjun laughed, "Bahut nautanki kar raha hain tu aaj kal"

Sameer smiled, "Acha meri wali ko chod, tumhari sherni ne jo kiya...the whole office has

been talking about it and honestly I am amazed at how much detail..."

Arjun was super confused at what his friend was on about. His brows were furrowed and he

was waiting for Sameer to finish that sentence so he could make some sense of it, but

Sameer stopped mid-sentence.

"You have no idea what I am talking about do you?" He asked.

"No, no I don't"

"Arjun, didn't you read today's newspaper??" Sameer asked as he went around his desk

getting the newspaper.

"No, I didn't. Should I be scared?" He asked as he took the newspaper from Sameer and

waited for his response.

"Scared, surprised, shocked are a few emotions that spring to my mind...yeah..." His friend

simply shrugged.

Arjun rolled his eyes, "Meine kaha tha na...nautanki!!"

19 arrested, drugs and cash seized by Mumbai police, the headline on the main article read

in bold, huge font. Under the headline was the date and next to it, By Sakshi Rawte'.

Arjun sighed and sat down to read the whole article without another word.

By the end of it, he really was surprised and shocked. He inhaled and exhaled slowly and

looked up at his chief.

"This is part of the mafia drug trafficking ring we are trying to bust" He declared, as if

Sameer didn't already know.

"This was not supposed to come out...especially...with so much detail" Arjun growled, his

composer slipping. It shocked him, the amount of detail with which his wife wrote the

article was unbelievable.

"Don't worry about the article...it's controllable damage. Shree is already on it. But, what I

want to know is who Sakshi's sources are. You are going to talk to her, we need to get to

those sources"

Now, Arjun was getting annoyed. "Kyun? Uske sources pata karke kya..."

"Arjun, get me those sources!"

Sameer doesn't usually use his chief tone' with Arjun. But, when he does, Arjun knows he

cannot make him change his mind. Rolling his eyes once again, he got up and left

Sameer's office.

~oOo~

***

Sakshi was fuming when she made her way up to her house. She was surprised to see

Arjun earlier at her office around lunch time, ecstatic even, thinking they might end up

having lunch together. But, when he started talking business, her mood faltered within

seconds. A few seconds more, and her faltered spirits roared up to anger.

How dare he? She thought. How could he come to my office and demand I reveal my

sources to him? Who does he think he is?

As she went to open the front door of her house, Sakshi realised it was unlocked and in

fact partly open. She immediately knew, Arjun was home. Taking a deep breath, she tried

to calm herself before entering the house.

***

~oOo~

His mouth watered the moment the rich aroma of the food wafted down, beckoning him.

Arjun smiled lightly, hoping the delicious food would strengthen his chances of placating

his wife. He realised today that, like him, his wife does not do well with demands.

All he wanted to do was talk to her and get her resources. But, one thing led to another and

he unintentionally became aggressive with his approach. He could tell the moment he

crossed the line by the way Sakshi's eyes changed from kind and cheery to hard and cold.

He regretted it, but it was too late. The words were said, and he could do nothing.

As he waited for Sakshi, standing against the window frame in the living room - voices

from the past began to ring in his ears.

"Sorry, Priya!!"

"Kabse wait kar rahi thi Arjun! Tum do ghante late ho..."

"I know, I am so sorry! Tum jaanti ho na, I just got the promotion and responsibilities bhad

gaye..."

"Haan haan, jaanti hoon"

Arjun smiled, amused at the small pout of her lips. Slowly leaning in, he placed a soft kiss

on her cheek and started whispering sweet nothings in her ear. His actions awarded him

with a smile and forgiveness from Priya.

"You are lucky I give in easily to your sweet talk and gestures...agar koi aur ladki hoti

toh..."

"Nuh-uh, koi aur ladki ka sawaal hi nahi utt tha. Tumhe kaise manaa na hain yeh jaanta

hoon...kaafi hain!"

"Arjun?!" Sakshi's voice interrupted his reverie.

His mind still muddled in the past, he slowly turned around to face his wife. Studying the

indifferent expression on her face, he pondered, what could he possibly do to sooth her

apparent anger?

Twelve