Validation & Vaqeel
âDid u tell her u have a nut fetish? And love eating it off of womenâs bodiesâ she cracked herself up in irritation
âNo Just ONE womanâs in particularâ he muttered laughing under his breath
She turned the bowl upside down on his bed, scattering them all over
âOops?â she smiled sweetly looking at him
He began to laugh at her deliberate act of disobedience
âI told you what I said to herâ he tried to grab her hand
âRaanav door rahoâ she fought
He chased her around the large room finally pinning her to a chest of drawer
âI wanted to meet to talk about the prenup, instead, your mother walked in on usâ she covered her eyes with her free hand
âI asked her to knock next timeâ
She opened her eyes and clamped her mouth
âShe must think I am some 20 year oldâ
âWhy? Because you were making out with the man you are about to marry?â
âOne of your verbal traps againâ her shoulders slumped
He leaned toward her, gently stroking her cheek with the back of his fingers
âAt least we know you have a temperâ he goaded her
âTUMHARI wajah se haiâ she looked up at him pissed
âOh so its my fault you threw peanuts all over MY bed?â he taunted
âMain udkar waha jaakar nahi leti, samajh gaye na?â she accused âU carried me to your bedâ
âI did I hate the fact that she interrupted us, I wanted to grab every damn peanut of your skinâŚâŚ.âViveka, stop fightingâ he said viciously causing her to vibrate like a tuning fork
âI cannot walk out the door without having her give me a snarky lookâ
âShe will get over itâ he sighed
âI cant even imagine how it will be after we get married
âLets get married and figure that one outâ he pressed himself on her and felt her tremble
âYou can do nothing wrong according to your motherâ she said flatly
He wanted to ask âHow did you know that in meeting her only a handful of timesâ
Instead he said
âRakshit is close to my Dad, I hung out with her when they went off to do stuff with her when I was littleâ he said softly kissing her cheek as she dodged
âAnd she never let goâ
âYou didnât even open your eyes how do u know how she looked at youâ
âI didnât have to Raanav mujhe ehsaas hua unhoney meri taraf kaise dekha hogaâ
âI am not taking you home, I want us to go meet my friends, we have a dateâ
âHow can we make this work after we get married, I dread seeing your Momâ she groaned
âU donât have to, she is hardly homeâ
âThatâs not a clever answerâ she pushed him away
The help appeared wheeling a cart in after knocking the suite door first and then the bedroom door
âMaâam chai?â the guy asked pouring out the most aromatic tea in a cup
âThanksâ she smiled weakly
âSirâ
âUmm.. I donât want any, thanksâ he shrugged sitting down by her on the plush sofa
She had had coworkers or Research Advisors over the years with whom she had clashed, she would dread approaching them or bumping into them in the DU corridors
Now it was this guyâs mother
âQuit worrying about my motherâ âI doubt she thought anythingâ he lied
âOh please, she totally does, she has me slotted as a impoverished gold digger, having premarital sâwith you will not exactly reverse that opinionâ she said with a smile
âSo you are seeking validation?â he cackled
âWouldnât you? Lets switch our placesâ she asked calmly
âI would seek validationâ he said coolly
âOf course not⌠not as Raanav Parashar, but lets turn you into a JNU Lecturerâ she smiled
âI still wouldnâtâ he shrugged âThatâs just me I guessâ
âHow does that work Raanav, I act like she doesnât exist marry you with no prenup and waltz around this house and pretend like I am good?â she looked at him with fire in her eyes
âMy mother is not who you are marrying, if you live your life according to her expectations then there is no end to itâ
âEasy for you to sayâ
âWhat do u want me to say?â he asked leaning on the glass door
âpata nahiâŚ. It was not right, what she sawâ
âIf u are expecting an apology from me, you are not getting itâ he growled
âI donât expect an apology from YOU on her behalf Raanav I expected her to say âExcuse meâ âTheek hai, I will have my chai, mujhe ghar chhod do, or I can take an autoâ she mumbled sipping
âIs this how its going to be then?â
She sipped quietly checking her phone
âThis is not a battle of egos Raanav Parasharâ
âYou could have me fooled Viveka Mathurâ he responded exactly like her
âArguing about poverty is exciting, when it comes to our expectations its not so exciting is it?â she looked up at him with angst
âI am not arguing with youâ
âGood ideaâ she said quietly pulled out a journal and read a few pages sipping her tea
He went out to the verandah and took a call pacing
She packed up her stuff
The help returned to ask if she wanted more tea
âaapne kuch khaya nahiâ he smiled nervously trying to befriend her
âMain apne Mamaji, sorry Bua keg har lunch se aayi, kaafi kha liyaâ she said pleasantly
Not everyone around here has a massive ego she realized
âPhir aaogey madam?â he asked
âHmmâ she smiled and nodded
âSir to kam rehte hain India mein, Dilli mein, Aurangabad kabhi kabhi Yavatmal, Bade saab ki factory haiâ he explained
She nodded
âMaâam?â she whispered wanting the tea on Smritaâs modus operandi
âMaâam to bas yahi rehti hai, waha gaon unko pasand nahi, bas Sir ke saath bahar desh ghoomnbe jaati hainâ
âOhâ she sighed sadly
There we go⌠lady of the house hardly traveled
âAap kar rahe ho Sir se shaadi?â he asked with a smile
She smiled unable to arrest the blush
âSir vaqeel hainâ he laughed
âSuna haiâ she laughed as Raanav reentered
âWhere are you off toâ he growled
âGharâ she mumbled
âdateâs off tonight?â
âSomethin like thatâ she said
âDo u want to pick up the stuff you spilled on my bed?â he demanded with unconcealed wickedness
âI donât think soâ she said with conviction
The thought of spending a lifetime with her thrilled him that moment
âPrenup ke liye kab milogey batao mujheâ she said stuffing her things into her bag
âIf I want one right?â
âI want oneâ she said firmly
âTh..â
âThis has nothing to do with your mother or being judged by her, this is about me and youâ
She interrupted
âthe help is going to be upset you didnât eat muchâ he said
âI told him alreadyâ she mumbled
âI saw you chattingâ he said
âAh⌠I need an ally on the insideâ âRight?â she exclaimed
âOf course!â he muttered silkily
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