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Insomnia
"You will regret this," she had said crisply, not betraying a hint of emotion when his fingers had branded themselves upon her otherwise untouched and flawless arms.
This could mean several things. It could mean trusting Maanyata, which was a thing he had regretted several times. It could mean manhandling J the way he did, which was something he was already regretting.
Indeed, as he splashed cold water on his face, he could feel a bright spot of shame coloring his cheeks, which were otherwise pale now that his rage had drained away. What the hell is wrong with you Uday? he thought. What if she tells Dadisa or Komal Aunty what you did? What will they think about you? That they have entrusted their elder daughter to a man who cannot keep his temper in check?
Uday sighed as he flopped down onto the bed, switching on his TV. A football match blared into life, and he stared at it dully without any emotion. It had been his favourite pastime in England, but now not even Liverpool or a glass of beer could raise his spirits. He wondered whether he had done the right thing by teaching J a lesson. Knowing her very well, she would stay in the shadows like a wounded cat licking her injuries before taking revenge.
He took out his Blackberry and began scrolling through the messages, even though he wasn't really in the frame of mind to tell Mr. Sharma whether the banquet hall was prepared for his business conference, or Mrs. Anjali that her socialite daughter's wedding had been scheduled for the 5th.
The doorbell rang and he jumped up, immediately forgetting his clients. He ran downstairs, and opened the door even before the poor butler had a chance. An unusually quiet Unnati entered, and Uday immediately motioned to the servant to bring a cup of hot cocoa.
"What happened?" he asked breathlessly. "Where were you? Did you know how worried I was?"
"Dada-" she began.
"No, don't you dare Dada-me," he said firmly. "Unnati, it's two in the night for goodness' sake. Even I don't stay out that long. "
"Of course," she quipped, unable to resist herself, "you're usually in bed by then."
Uday's cheeks turned crimson. "That's not what I mean," he said quickly. "What I mean is that a princess shouldn't stay out for so long. What were you doing?"
Unnati couldn't really tell her brother that she had spent the past one hour coordinating Maanyata's return to the palace. So she settled for, "Just hanging out with a few friends...lost track of time."
"Boyfriends?" he asked raising an eyebrow. "No!" she exclaimed, alarmed. He smiled, though he still had a feeling that his sister was lying. The butler arrived, bearing with him two cups of steaming hot chocolate. Unnati took hers and went away to her room, muttering something about how she needed to wake up early for a fundraiser.
Uday sighed as he sipped on his cup, looking at the clock. If he was going to behave like an insomniac, he might as well as do something productive. He sat down on the sofa and began to compose a message to Maanyata, thanking her for her company that night. It was a basic rule of etiquette his father had taught him to follow ever since his first birthday party.
Dear Maanyata,
Thanks 4 coming with me 2nite. U shouldn't have gone away so early, but next time I'll defo keep you with me for longer. An eternity if possible. ;)
Gn, Uday
He cringed as he re-read the message. He doubted whether Maanyata was capable of understanding any form of communication save for what she got from her Majnu. How gullible are you Uday? What if J was right? She'll probably gloat on reading your message.
With a sigh, he pressed 'Delete' and went back to checking his other messages. Whatever it is, tonight I'm not going to be able to sleep.
---
Maanyata tossed and turned around, wondering whether her lack of sleep was because she had somehow got used to her younger sister's snores. Considering that J was absent, that disturbance now seemed highly unlikely.
Where did she go? Maanyata wondered. Then sighed as she remembered J's unfortunate alcoholic tendencies. No wonder she falls ill so easily, she giggled. I'm sure her health would be much better only if she stopped drinking.
Maanyata yawned as she looked at the clock. It was two in the night, and it had been the best night ever. She had managed to outwit Uday, taken her enemy's help to escape, reached Aaakash's party just before it closed, and had the most wonderful time of her life. And on top of it, she had come back at the same time that Halkat Udayveer had!
You had a lovely time Monia, she thought, now go to sleep. But though her eyelids were heavy and her eyes bloodshot, she still couldn't snooze. She had wondered whether counting sheep would help, but for some reason she kept on seeing Vijay's face on their bodies, and that didn't really help her.
She decided to reminisce about the day that had passed in the hope that she would gradually doze off without realizing. Ignoring Akash-fun. Patching up with him-funner. Going with that Udayveer-nice. Cutting the cake-
She froze, rewinding her thoughts. Why did that stupid Uday always interfere in every memory of hers with Akash? Be it the night they confessed their love or the afternoon they ate panipuri, somewhere or the other Uday always landed up to play spoilsport. Except that this time, she had been the spoilsport in Uday's plans, and even then she couldn't be content.
The truth is, it's that Uday's fault you can't sleep...
----
"Are you sure she's inside?" Uday had growled.
"Of course Uday, I swear she's inside!" J had whined. Monia closed her eyes and pulled the blanket over herself, , laughing to herself as she thought of how easily she had fooled them. While coming back to the palace, she had noticed Uday's car at the front gates, and had made a mad dash to her bedroom through the back entrance. Of course, the security hadn't been to pleased, but for once she had been one step ahead.
The doors burst open, and though she wanted to laugh, Monia found herself shivering as a cold gust of air blew into the room. Uday stormed inside, a triumphant J behind him, and stopped. There, lying with the covers scrunched up, was Maanyata, his Maanyata. She was sleeping like an angel, so tired, that she had forgotten to wash her face or change her clothes. C'mon Uday, he chided himself, She's not yet a princess, so such things don't bother her. Indeed, the thing he liked the most about her was how unique she was.
Monia shut her eyes tightly, praying fervently that Uday wouldn't notice that she was awake. Her heart beat slowly came to a stop as he drew closer, and she could smell his perfume around him. It wasn't an irritating exotic fragrance like the one J used, but something musky and familiar, that made her want to hug him for some shameful reason. An immediate jolt of electricity streaked down her cheek as his fingers lightly caressed her face, stopping only for a minute moment to feel the outline of her lips. He leaned down, and she inhaled deeply.
"Sleep tight, princess," he whispered gently, before walking away.
The doors closed, and she could hear Uday and J having an acrimonious argument outside. Finally, when Uday seemed to have gone, J walked inside the room, bursting into tears. "You freak!" she shouted, and Maanyata felt a slight tinge of fear in her heart, even though she would ordinarily have been gleeful. The door slammed behind her, and it was a wonder that the whole palace didn't wake up.
But they didn't. Again there was silence; a calm, peaceful and content silence. The kind of silence Monia loved when she wanted to sleep. Except that she couldn't focus on anything now-not the joy of having defeated J, or of having tricked Uday, or of having spent a nice time with Aakash. Her entire being was now fixated on that one line.
Sleep tight princess.
---
Morning dawned, and Maanyata turned around, and recoiled in surprise. J was contently snoring with her arm lying across Maanyata's stomach, her hair splayed out over her pillow, and every pore of her moisturized skin smelling of alcohol.
"Sheesh," Maanyata thought, wrinkling her nose. She carefully removed her younger sister's arm, hoping that she would wake up after Maanyata had left the room, so as to avoid any confrontations about the night before. Maanyata had desperately wanted to do a victory dance about her master plan, but now that a massive headache was beginning to originate in her skull, she wasn't so sure.
She stretched her arms as she got up, and then gave a gasp as something went clattering to the floor. Her eyes swiftly zoomed to J, who thankfully, continued to be in Dreamland. Breathing an almost inaudible sigh of relief, she picked up the thing and turned it over. It was a photo frame, the one containing the photo of her and Uday when they were children. Her cheeks fired as she thought of the mad force that had possessed her to spend a better part of the night giving the poor photo frame the choiciest of abuses.
She carefully tiptoed to the cupboard and it kept it in its place. I wonder how I could have gone to sleep holding that.
----
"Dada, Dada, wake up!!" Unnati shouted, shaking her brother.
"Hmmm," Uday moaned, turning over. His back felt like someone had beaten it with sticks.
"My neck hurts," he groaned.
"Dada," Unnati said, rolling her eyes, "I've told you a thousand times not to sleep on the couch. Your neck always hurts."
"Sorry," he grumbled. Unnati laughed as she looked at her brother's expression. He looked like a little baby, with his hair falling over into his eyes and a massive pout sulking up his face.
"Get up," she said comfortingly, "And go back to sleep in your bedroom."
"No," he said, looking like a taller and better-looking version of Grumpy from Snow White. "Just get me a cup of coffee, and I'll be fine."
She sighed. "As you wish," she said. Uday rubbed his eyes, looking at his Blackberry blearily. He hoped he had not left out on any important messages in a half-conscious state.
He ran a hand through his hair and yawned, wondering what the servants had made of their master falling asleep in the living room. He took a deep breath as he saw his Blackberry and then frowned. It was a childhood picture of him and Maanyata that he had taken from one of Dadisa's albums.
How fitting, he thought, that the person who caused my sleeplessness should be the cure for it.
He yawned again, hoping Unnati would get the coffee fast or else he would end up falling asleep with Maanyata's picture again. Not that he minded.
----
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