"navya, please relax. I'm not going to do anything to you, and I didn't see anything." Anant tried to comfort her. He didn't understand why she was so uncomfortable. He thought they'd made so much progress at the spa. And it's not like they hadn't lived together before. Of course, they'd never been in such a compromising situation before, but he hoped navya would trust him enough to at least acknowledge him. She was acting as if he was plotting to take advantage of her. Anant glanced over at navya, who was shivering profusely. 2
"Navya," Anant moved closer to her but didn't touch her, "You're cold. Come here." He held out a hand, placing it on her sheet covered shoulder.
navya flinched away from him.
"navya, what is it? Look at me." Anant gripped navya's shoulder and turned her around to face him.
"I don't like this." said navya quietly. 2
"I know you don't, but you need to trust me, okay? I'm not going to do anything. Come here. You're shivering." Anant held his arms out, and navya scooted closer to him. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. navya felt relieved as she felt the heat that radiated off of Anant's body.
"Anant, I do trust you." navya said as she nestled into his bare chest.
"Thanks," Anant said, smiling. He felt the urge to kiss her. He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. navya looked up at him in surprise. He place another soft kiss on her cheek.
"Anant," navya whispered. She felt herself succumbing to Anant's affection. Anant realized what was happening. He was taking advantage of their close proximity after he'd promised he wouldn't.
"I'm sorry, navya. I shouldn't have..."Anant started to apologize
Just then, navya reached up and kiss Anant. She pulled away and looked into his eyes. He looked at her, shocked by what she'd just done. She'd never been the one to initiate a kiss before. He could see traces of blush on her cheeks, and she no longer looked uncomfortable. navya waited for Anant to say something. When he didn't, she pulled away from him, embarrassed by what she'd just done.
"No, wait. Don't move away." Anant said as navya began to shift her position. She paused and remained in anant's arms.
"What do you want to happen tonight?" Anant asked bluntly.
"I...I don't know. Whatever happens though, happens." navya answered. 13
Anant looked at navya unsurely. She had no idea how much he wanted her right at this very moment. He wasn't sure what had gotten into her. She'd all of a sudden become so much more receptive towards his advances. It was so unlike her. Anant didn't want to think too much about it though. All he wanted to do was kiss navya. And so with that, Anant captured her' lips with his. He kissed her so passionately that navya couldn't think straight. navya froze before allowing herself to kiss back. Anant shifted positions so that he was hovering over navya, careful not to place his weight on her. His hands traveled down her body. He wanted desperately to unwrap the towel that covered her and run his hands all over her gorgeous body, but he knew navya would object.
navya shivered at anant's touch. She was afraid of what was going to happen tonight, but she knew she wanted it just as much as Anant did. Her body ached for him. She felt this intense longing inside of her that could only be satisfied through Anant's touch. The passion between the two had reached a new height. navya moaned in pleasure as Anant sprinkled kisses down her neck. He reached for the lights and turned them off, immersing the room in darkness. He began tugging at navya's towel, paying attention to her expression. She didn't seem to notice. She was too engrossed in the affection Anant was pouring over her.
He connect his lips with hers again. His trapped her arms against the the bed, pulling them over her head. His lips met her neck. He started nibbling on her ear, making her moan even more, as he pulled the towel off of her. navya clutched the sheets tightly around her body. She turned away, embarrassed to be so exposed. Anant's expression softened. He knew navya was shy, and he wanted to make her feel more comfortable. He kissed her shoulder and down her back. He felt navya stiffen, but she didn't object. He pulled the sheets lower and lower as he kissed downward. Soon, navya' entire back was exposed. Anant caught his breath. She was beautiful. He slowly turned her around. He saw that navya's eyes were closed and she was clutching the sheets to the front of her chest. Anant kissed her forehead, and then the bridge of her nose, and then her lips. navya's eyes fluttered open. She offered Anant a shy smile, encouraging him to continue. Anant furiously kissed her, ravaging every part of her mouth. 2
Suddenly, he went still. He pulled away from navya, breaking their kiss.
"No!" Anant cursed.
"What's wrong?" navya asked breathlessly.
"We can't do this." Anant said.
"But this is what you wanted." navya countered.
A wave of guilt hit Anant. He cheated on navya! She deserved so much better than him. He needed to tell her. He couldn't sleep with her knowing that she didn't know about his infidelity. He knew she'd be angry with him for cheating on her, but if he slept with her tonight, she would never ever forgive him. He couldn't afford to take that risk. navya was too important to him. 1
"I'm sorry, navya. Not tonight." Anant said. He turned away from navya, his back facing her.
Navya looked at him in disbelief. Anant had just rejected her. She couldn't believe that after all of that, he just stopped. navya pulled the discarded towel around herself again, and just laid there thinking about what could've happened but didn't happen. Why was Anant acting this way?
"Good morning, our clothes are dry for the most part. The storm passed last night. We need to get going." anant said. He sounded distracted. His mind was on the business conference events he has to attend. +
"Last night." navya piped in, after stirring awake.
"It's all forgotten. Don't worry. Now hurry up. I'm going to call a taxi." anant said quickly. He turned and walked out the door, closing it behind him.
Forgotten? How could Anant forget a night like that? navya sure couldn't. She sat idle for a few minutes trying to regain her composure. She wanted to cry but the tears wouldn't fall. She decided that now wasn't the time to be sad. She got out of bed and went into the bathroom to quickly get dressed before she met Anant in the lobby.
"Great, you're here. The taxi is waiting." Anant said upon seeing navya.
They stayed quiet through the entire ride back to their hotel. Anant was in business mode. Upon entering his suite, he jumped in the shower and put on one of his finest suits. He was going over some important documents when he heard a quiet knock on the glass door adjoining his and navya's rooms.
"Come in," Anant said carelessly.
navya, now dressed in a simple black sari, entered. She looked at Anant, who still focused his attention on his documents.
"Are you busy?" navya asked.
"Just give me a second." Anant was scanning over the last of the documents.
"Okay, did you need something?" Anant said, looking up at her.
"I can come back later if your busy." navya said, suddenly nervous
"No, it's okay. What is it?" Anant urged on.
"I wanted to talk about last night." navya said.
"What about it?" asked anant unsurely.
"We can't just forget about it." navya continued.
"navya, I think it's best that we do. I didn't mean for any of it to happen. It was just the moment, you know." Anant explained. His mind traveled to Tamana. He realized that he couldn't fall for navya. He wouldn't allow himself to before he confessed to her. She deserved better than him and his infidelity. 4
"But Anant, it was special. Didn't you think so? I actually think I might be..." navya said.
"No navya! It wasn't special. It just happened. We didn't even go all the way. We're married. These things happen. Just forget about it." Anant demanded angrily. He abruptly picked up his documents and left, slamming the door behind him. 6
Navya stood there completely dumbfounded. What had she done to make Anant so angry? Anant couldn't think straight at the business conference. He contributed little to the discussions and depended on Hiten to make any decisions that needed to be made.
"What the hell is going on with you? I actually had to give a shit in those meetings." Hiten chastised Anant as soon once they entered the cab. 2
"Sorry." Anant replied.
"Dude! What's going on?" Hiten prompted.
"After your spa present, we got caught in a storm last night." Anant told Hiten.
"Sucks for you." Hiten replied without even a hint of guilt.
"Thanks, Hiten. I can totally count on you to sympathize with me." Anant said sarcastically.
"What did you do in the storm?" Hiten asked.
"We found this shitty little motel and spent the night there." Anant answered.
"Good! At least you were safe." Hiten said happily.
"It's what happened at the motel, Hiten." anant said seriously.
"What happened?" Hiten asked, suddenly worried.
"Navya and I were about to have sex." Anant said, quietly so the cab driver wouldn't hear.
"Hell yes! Gettin' dirty in the motel." Hiten snickered.
"Hiten, be serious." Anant said.
"Okay. Serious Hiten." Hiten said in mock seriousness.
"I can't sleep with her before I tell her the truth." Anant revealed.
"The truth about...her?" Hiten asked.
"Yeah. It would kill her if she found out after the fact." Anant said. "I can't do that to her. I need to tell her."
"Anant, you're a good man. I think it's a good thing that you want to tell Bhabhi. Sure she'll be mad, but I hope she forgives you." Hiten said.
"Yeah I hope so too." Anant said, dismally.
Anant sulked all the way back to the hotel. Hiten tried desperately to lighten the mood, but he was unsuccessful. He hurried into his room, ready to call Aditi and drown out any potential yelling that is bound to result from Anant's confession.
Anant knew he had to confess sooner or later. The guilt was too much for him. He knew navya was falling in love with him, but he couldn't allow that to happen before everything was out in the open. He went inside his room. The glass door was open, so he went inside navya's room hoping to find her there.
"Navya," Anant called.
Navya walked into Anant's view.
"I'm sorry about this morning." He said quickly.
"It's alright." navya answered.
"I need to talk to you though." Anant replied.
"About what?"navya asked
"Last night was a mistake, a big mistake. I'm so sorry I got carried away." Anant said.
"A mistake? Was it really, Anant? I thought it was wonderful." Navya said.
"navya, I can't love you." Anant blurted out. 3
"What? Why not?" navya asked, surprised. Her heart was breaking. Why couldn't Anant love her?
"I...I just can't." Anant said. He didn't know how to tell her.
"What did I do? I don't understand." navya had tears in her eyes.
"You didn't do anything wrong, navya." Anant said. He wiped away a tear that had fallen onto her cheek.
"Then what is it?" navya asked.
"I did something I'm not proud of." anant said.
"What did you do?" navya asked unsurely.
"Navya, I'm so sorry." Anant replied. +
"What did you do, Anant?" navya asked.
"I cheated on you. I slept with another woman, Navya." Anant confessed. 22
"What?" The words were difficult fornavya to register. "What did you just say?"
"I cheated on-" Anant couldn't finished his sentence. navya slapped him with all the strength in her. How dare he betray her! Anant paused for a moment, trying to gather what had just happened. He looked at navya, hoping she was done slapping him. She was looking at her hand as if she couldn't believe what she had just done. 10
"navya, I'm so sorry." Anant said, his voice quivering.
Tears started flowing from navya's eyes. She didn't say anything.
"navya, please say something." Anant prompted.
"How could you? How could you betray me like this, Anant? I trusted you!" navya's voice was shaking and it rose in volume in as she spoke.
"I'm sorry, navya. I just...I wasn't thinking." Anant tried to explain. He didn't know what to say. He didn't want to cause navya any more pain.
"This isn't happening." navya said more to herself than to Anant. She turned away from him and took a few steps forward. She was shaking her head from side to side.
Anant watched her carefully.
"I needed to tell you." He began. "I didn't want to keep lying to you."
she didn't responded. She was still turned away from Anant, so he couldn't see her expression.
"Navya, please." Anant reached for her. His hands landed on her shoulders, but she quickly pushed them away.
"Don't touch me!" she nearly screamed. 2
Anant backed away from her, giving her some space.
"Navya, I know you're upset. You're angry. You deserve to be. What I did was horrible. I never wanted to hurt you, navya. Please, believe me. That's the last thing I'd ever want to do." Anant said.
"But you did hurt me." navya said quietly. "Anant, you're my husband...and you were with another woman. How wouldn't this hurt me?"
"I'm sorry, navya. I know it's going to take some time, but will you please forgive me?" Anant asked sadly.
"Anant, if I made the same mistake, would you be able to forgive me?" navya replied, tears falling down her cheeks. 17
Anant sighed. He knew the answer and so did navya. She walked away from him and stood at the glass door that joined their rooms, waiting for Anant to leave.
"Navya, I-" anant started.
"Get out." navya said angrily. 2
Anant stood still for a second. He accepted defeat, understanding that navya needed to be alone right now. He walked over to the glass door and stepping into his own room after giving navya one more pleading look. As soon as Anant was out of her room. navya closed the glass door, locked it, and pulled the curtains closed, obstructing Anant's view into her room. She couldn't bear to look at him right now.
Anant looked absently at the curtains. He knew navya wouldn't react well to his confession, but he expected her to break down in his arms. He wanted to comfort her until she forgave him. Of course, he knew that it would take some time for her to fully trust him again. However, he hadn't expected her to completely shut him out like she just did. 7
Navya wanted to stay strong, but she couldn't. Anant had broken her trust and her heart. She laid down in her bed and absorbed the entire situation. She couldn't believe what anant had done. She believed he was a good person. And now, she wasn't so sure. She curled into bed and broke down crying. She didn't even try to hold any of it in. Anant had broken her inside. +
The next day, Anant attended the last day of the business conference without her. Once again, Hiten who handled everything. Anant didn't even try to listen to what was happening. Hiten hadn't once asked about what had happened last night. He knew that now wasn't the time.
Rakesh sauntered into the room with a huge grin on his face. He dominated the meetings, showing his sharp business acumen. Anant didn't seem to care.
"Anant, what's with you? You seem to be out of it." Rakesh commented once he dismissed the last meeting.
"I'm fine." Anant replied.
"Here," Rakesh threw a document down on the table.
"What's this?" Anant asked, looking through the file.
"It transfers over three of your companies, and a third of your wealth over to me. Sign it...unless of course, you want your precious navya to find out about your affair." Rakesh said maliciously.
"What the hell? That's extortion!" Anant stood up angrily.
"Yeah I guess it is." Rakesh agreed.
"Are you telling me you're trying to force me to hand over three of my companies and millions of dollars to you so you won't rat me out to my wife?" Anant asked through gritted teeth.
"Are you deaf? Yeah that's what I'm saying. Now sign the damn papers!" Rakesh replied.
"You're an idiot!" Anant said to Rakesh.
"What did you just say?" Rakesh demanded.
"I said you're an idiot. And you're an asshole! I told navya already! You have nothing on me, but I'm giving this to the cops." Anant said. He held up his phone, which had Rakesh's voice confirming his intent to extort money and property from Anant.
Rakesh dove for the phone, but Anant moved out of the way just in time. Rakesh hit his head on the table and laid on the floor in pain. Anant hurried out and hailed a cab. There was no way Rakesh would find him now. He didn't know where his hotel was, and Anant intended to take his evidence to the police before reaching New York. He knew Rakesh would be arrested before coming back to New York.
"You did what?!" Hiten exclaimed.
"I got Rakesh arrested for extortion." Anant repeated to his best friend.2
"Damn! He had it coming! That bas***d! Tryin' to blackmail you like that!" Hiten said.
"Yeah, I can't believe he actually thought I'd be stupid enough to give him my companies." Anant agreed.
"So...how did last night go? Does Bhabhi hate you?" Hiten asked slowly.
"Yes, she won't even look at me. I haven't spoken to her since I told her." Anant revealed.
"She'll come around. Make sure you treat her well." Hiten offered.
"Yeah I will. I never wanted to hurt her." Anant said.
"I know you didn't." Hiten said.
"Navya" Anant knocked on the glass door that was still covered with curtains on navya's side. "I know you're still angry with me. I just wanted to let you know that Rakesh was arrested today."
Anant waited for a response from navya. Nothing happened.
"He was arrested for extortion. He tried to force me to sign over some of my companies and millions of dollars over to him. navya, I didn't add attempt to rape charges. Your reputation is safe. And he's still going to jail. He can never hurt you again." Anant said. He wasn't sure if navya was listening to him, but it was important that he told her about Rakesh's arrest.
navya listened carefully to Anant's words. She was elated that Rakesh had been arrested and thankful that Anant hadn't involved her in the police report. She couldn't find it in her to respond to him though. She was still too hurt. 3
Anant and navya were scheduled to fly back to New York tonight. Hiten, who was unable to make it on the same flight, booked a morning flight for the next day. They sat beside each other in awkward silence. Anant would often glance at navya, hoping for some sort of reciprocation, but nothing ever happened. She always seemed to be gazing out the window, lost in another world. A part of anant hoped navya would fall asleep as she often did on late night flights and would lean onto his shoulder for support. He was willing to take any bit of acknowledgement from her. She didn't seem angry or upset with him, just distant, and it was driving him insane. After their long and thoroughly silent limo ride back to the mansion, navya immediately retired to her bedroom without so much a glance at Anant. Anant decided that it was in his best interest to leave her alone right now. It was obvious she didn't want anything to do with him.
"He what?!" Neha nearly spat out her champagne in shock.
"He said he cheated on me." navya confirmed.
"That bas***d! I'm going to kick his ass! How dare he!" Neha exclaimed angrily. She began pacing the living room in anger, muttering to herself.
"Neha," navya said unsurely. navya had invited Neha over because she was in desperate need of some advice.
"You need to get revenge!" Neha declared, once again taking a seat on the couch.
"Revenge? How?" navya asked.
"Sleep with another man." Neha said casually. 4
"Neha!" navya nearly choked on her juice. "I can't do that."
"I would." Neha added nonchalantly. "Nikhil better not try anything."
"What do I do though?" navya asked.
"Show him you can be just as sexy as that bimbo he screwed. He'll pine for you, navya, and then you let him know that he can't have you. That will teach him a lesson." Neha said thoughtfully.
"I...don't know about this." navya said. She wasn't the bold type that Anant preferred and she knew she'd be inviting a whole lot of discomfort on her part if she decided to take on this endeavor.
"navya, you can't just cry about it, yell at him a little, and then ignore him for the rest of your life. You need to get even and then you can move on." Neha surmised.
"Will you help me?" navya asked, knowing she could never pull this off on her own.
"Of course!" Neha said excitedly. "Wait!"
"What happened?" asked navya, concerned.
"Did Anant have a relationship with this woman or did he sleep with her one time?" Neha asked.
"I don't know." she answered truthfully.
"Navya, if he had a relationship with another woman, there's no forgiving him." Neha declared gravely.
navya's heart lurched. What if Anant purposely forged a relationship with another woman? She knew she could never forgive him. If it was a mistake, that's another story. Everyone made mistakes. navya hadn't bothered to ask about the details of Anant's affair. She wasn't sure she could handle knowing such details, but she'd have to ask sooner or later.
"I have the perfect plan! Make sure you ask Anant. I'm gonna go spy on Nikhil and make sure he doesn't get into any mischief. See ya, girl!" Neha let herself out. 4
navya smiled. Neha always had the answers.
Later that night, navya waited for Anant to return home. She hid in her room until she heard his bedroom door close. She quietly walked through the hallway and stood outside of Anant's door, silently debating whether or not to knock. She knocked, hoping he'd already be asleep. This was one conversation she was dreading.
"Navya?" Anant said as soon as he opened his door. He moved aside, allowing her to enter.
"Are you okay?" He wasn't sure what to say to her. He didn't expect her to show up at his door in the middle of the night.
"I'm fine." replied navya.
"Is something wrong?" Anant asked, wondering why she was in his bedroom.
"I need to ask you something." navya said.
"Okay, ask away." Anant replied, preparing himself to answer some questions that were bound to be difficult.
"Your affair, was it a one time thing or a relationship?" asked navya, looking down.
"It happened once, navya. Only once, and it was a big mistake." Anant replied calmly.
"Okay," she said. She turned to leave.
"Wait," Anant stopped her. He grabbed her wrist and held her firmly in place. thatt's all you wanted to ask?"
"Yes." she said. She tried to pull away from his grasp.
Anant pulled her roughly so that she slammed into his body. He held her close, ignoring her efforts to put some distance between them.
"Navya, I'll tell you everything, anything you want to know if it will make you forgive me." Anant pleaded. 3
"I don't want to know anything else." Navya responded. She struggled to pull away from him, but he wouldn't let her go.
"I don't believe you." Anant said.
"Fine."navya stopped struggling in anant's grip. He let his hands fall to his side. navya sat down on his bed. Anant wasn't sure what was going on. Did she intend to discuss his affair? Was she planning on staying in his bedroom tonight? Anant wasn't even thinking about any romantic possibilities that could happen in his bed if navya spent the night with him. He just wished for her to stay near him, so he could convince her to forgive him.
"When did it happen?" navya asked. Her expression was blank. Anant couldn't tell what she must've been feeling.
"When Hiten, Rajiv, and I spent the night out clubbing in the city after moving Payal in." Anant answered. He took a seat beside navya on his bed, keeping some distance between them.
"Where did you take her?" navya asked, trying to hide her emotions. She thought back to how they'd almost consummated their marriage in a dingy motel room, and felt jealous that Anant must have taken the other woman to fancy five star hotel.
anant hesistated. navya was never going to forgive him when she found out he'd been an idiot and brought Tamana to his bedroom. He contemplated whether lying to navya would make things easier or cause more problems.
"Here." Anant opted for the truth. 3
navya abruptly stood up.
"navya I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking straight. I was drunk and acting stupid." Anant said quickly.
"You brought her here? I was home that night..." navya reasoned. "You kicked me out of your bedroom that morning."
"navya, I didn't kick you out because I was planning to cheat on you! It was a mistake!" Anant defended.
"It's your room, your house. I guess that means you can do whatever you want." navya turned to leave again.
"Wait, navya." Anant grabbed her arm. He pulled her towards him. He pulled her backwards until her back was against his chest.
"I had hoped you felt welcomed enough to consider this your home too. It's our home." Anant whispered into navya's ear.
navya felt uncomfortable being so close to Anant. She was supposed to be angry at him not melting in his arms.
"If this really was our home, Anant, you wouldn't have brought another woman here." navya shrugged out of Anant's arms and stomped out of his room.
Anant watched silently as she left. He had messed it all up. Anant went to bed completely frustrated.
The next day, anant wanted to inform navya that he needed her to accompany him to a formal event, but he was afraid she'd either ignore him or refuse to go. He desperately wanted her to accompany him. He knew she'd have to act cordial with him in public, and since it was a formal event, they would have to spend the entire night dancing in each other's arms.
"navya?" Anant knocked on navya's door.
No one answered. He tried again.
"navya? Are you in here?" Anant called. He knocked again.
He walked inside the room and starting looking for navya. She wasn't in the bathroom or the closet. He sat on the bed and pulled out his phone. When she didn't answer, Anant grew angry. There's no way she left the mansion without telling Anant! Even is she was angry with him, she would've informed him if she left.
"Dammit!" Anant cursed. He could feel his and navya's relationship taking a turn for the worse all because of his infidelity. He hated that she had distanced herself from him. He used to believe that she should be more independent and stop asking for his permission for every little thing. However, he missed navya's traditional ways. Hell, he missed navya! He needed to find out where she went.
"Anant?" navya peeked through the door to the balcony. She was out there having her morning tea.
"navya, what are you doing out there?" Anant asked.
"Having breakfast." navya answered before resuming her spot on the left side of the balcony. Anant went out and took a seat beside her. He wondered what had gotten into him. Of course, navya wouldn't leave without telling him. And why had he gotten so worked up about it? He hadn't even searched through the whole house but had gotten worried nonetheless.
"Is there something you wanted?" navya asked, not really wanting to be alone with Anant.
"Yeah, I wanted to ask you something. There's an event tonight, a formal event. I need you to come with me." Anant said unsurely.
"Okay." navya said.1
"Okay?" Anant sounded surprised.
"Okay." navya repeated.3
"I thought you'd refuse." Anant said.
"Well, you can't go by yourself." navya replied.
Anant frowned, but quickly recovered his expression. Did she mean he couldn't be trusted by himself?
"I mean if your wife doesn't go with you, what would people think?" navya clarified. 1
"Right." Anant agreed. "Be ready by 8?"
"Sure." navya replied.
An awkward silence fell between the two soon after. Anant actually felt out of place in his own house. He perpetually felt like he was bothering navya, in her way, making her uncomfortable. Of course, she was too nice to tell him to leave her alone, but he could take a hint. Anant stood to leave.
"I'll see you tonight. I'll have the limo take you straight to the venue." Anant said before leaving.
"This is perfect." Neha said on the phone.
"Why?" she asked.
"Navya navya you are so naive," was all Neha said.
navya didn't know what was cooking in Neha's mind and she wasn't sure she wanted to find out. 5
"navya! Stop fidgeting! This is great." Neha eyes her handiwork. 1
"I don't know about this..." navya said as she looked at her reflection in the mirror.
Neha had spent all afternoon primping and prepping navya. She decided that Anant needed to realize just how sexy his wife is, so that maybe he'd realize that looking elsewhere was first of all totally inappropriate and second of all not necessary. Neha had done navya's hair and makeup so she practically looked like a supermodel. She had dramatic, dark, smokey eyes and a perfectly contoured face. What was sure to surprise Anant most was navya's outfit. Gone were navya's traditional sarees. Instead she donned a sexy evening gown. It was a light tan color, made of a silky material. The neckline dipped slightly and provided an alluring lift to navya's chest. The gown was completely backless and showed off navyas wonderful figure. It was more than navya had ever dared to bare in her life, and she felt uneasy about it. 7
"Are you really going to back out after I put in all this hard work?" Neha pouted.
"No...I just...This all seems like too much." she said.
"No! navya, you need to get over there and flirt with other men. Show him that you aren't afraid to put yourself out there and get some attention! The jealousy alone will keep him from ever even thinking about cheating on you again." Neha explained.
"He might get mad." navya offered. 2
"Navya! YOU are the one who needs to be mad. If he gets mad, tell him it's all his fault. He started all of this." Neha countered. "He has absolutely no right to be angry with you for wanting to show off your sexy side. I mean it's what he's wanted all along."2
"I guess you have a point." navya replied.
"I know I do." Smiled Neha.
navya arrived at the venue as instructed by Anant. She walked into the room, and instantly all eyes were on her. She didn't like the attention at all. She saw Neha talking with Nikhil in one of the corners, but she didn't see Anant anywhere.
"Well, hello." A male voice said from behind her.
"Hi." navya said quietly, still searching around the room for Anant.
"I don't believe we've met. I'm Tom." The man politely extended his hand.
"Navya." said navya before walking a little further into the room. She pretended not to notice Tom's extended hand.
"Why don't you let me get you a drink?" Tom suggested.
navya's eyes met with Neha. Neha was giving her an enthusiastic thumbs up upon noticing Tom and the attention he was giving navya. navya furtively shook her head from side to side, indicating her reluctance, but Neha would have none of that.
"I don't dr-" navya started to say. She spotted Anant walking in with Hiten. "I mean, I'll have red wine."
"Classy." Tom commented.
"Always," navya offered him an inviting smile.
Tom sauntered to the bar to get navya a drink. navya kept her eyes on Anant, who was greeting a few businessmen. He hadn't noticed her yet. Tom swiftly came back with drinks in hand.
"So, navya, what brings you here?" He asked, taking a sip of some whiskey.
"Oh you know, business ventures." navya covered. She couldn't let Tom know she was married just yet. +
"Yeah, same here. It's so boring. You know what the worse thing about coming to these functions is?" Tom asked.
"What?"navya inquired.
"Not having any pretty women to dance with...until now." Tom said.
navya paused. Dancing with another man. She remembered how well that went the first time. She simply didn't feel comfortable in another man's arms.
"No thanks..." navya said unsurely.
"Come on, darling. The party hasn't started yet, but when it does, I would be honored to be your first dance of the evening." Tom persuaded.
anant looked around the room, searching for navya. Hopefully she still intended to come. His eyes landed on her figure, her very exposed figure. She stood near the bar, clad in a sexy backless gown, talking to another man. Anant's mouth fell open as his eyes wandered over navya's bare back and scrumptious curves. He felt jealousy rise in him as he watched navya talking with another man. He stomped over to her, not sure if he was angry or aroused by navya's change in behavior. 3
"I...just don't like to dance." navya said, taking a step back.
"With anyone besides her husband, she means." Anant interjected, placing a hand on the small of her back.
"Oh...you're married." Tom looked confused.
"Happily married." Anant replied, flashing a malicious smile.
Navya felt a charge of energy pass through her as Anant's hand met with her skin.
"Nice to have met you, navya. I hope you enjoy your evening." Tom said, before walking away disappointed.
"Wow, navya you look..." Anant was at a loss for words. "Damn sexy!" He said after thinking for a moment.
navya couldn't help herself from looking down. She was supposed to be exuding sensuality and confidence, but in reality, she was shy. Anant calling her sexy would obviously make her blush. She ignored his comment, however. Neha had instructed her to limit the attention she gave Anant that night. 4
"navya," Anant tried again. navya looked up at him but said nothing. Anant realized he was getting the silent treatment and sighed. This was going to be a long night.
"Bhabhi! Damn! If Anant wasn't my best friend, I'd whisk you away right now and..." Hiten exclaimed as he and Aditi walked up.
"Hiten," Anant warned. Hiten had no filter.
"But honestly Bhabhi, you look hot!" Hiten continued.
Aditi caught on to what was going on pretty quickly. Though she was unaware that Anant had cheated on navya, she knew that navya was angry with Anant and dressed this way to gain attention from other men to prove some sort of point. Maybe she should join navya in her little game just to see how Hiten handles it.
"navya, let's go the ladies room." Aditi said, not waiting for an answer. She grabbed navya's arm and pulled her towards the bathroom. "Okay, spill." she said once they were safely inside. 1
"What?" navya asked, confused.
"Why are you dressing like that? What did Anant do?" Aditi asked.
"He...cheated on me." she admitted.
"That bas***d!" Aditi began to stomp out of the bathroom, but navya stopped her.
"Don't do anything rash. I'm handling it...I think." she said.
"Okay, navya. Let me know if you need me to do something. I'd love to help you get back at Anant." Aditi said with a grin.
navya smiled, appreciating the help. She knew she wouldn't be able to handle this evening without Neha and Aditi.
"navya," Aditi said, "Who gave you this idea?"
"Neha did." Answered navya.1
"Neha would!" Aditi laughed.
They exited the bathroom and spotted Hiten and Anant chatting with each other in the corner. Aditi saw two pretty good-looking Indian men, who looked close to their age sitting down, having drinks. They would be perfect to make Anant and Hiten jealous. Aditi motioned for navya to follow her.
"Hey!" Aditi greeted the two strangers.
"Hi!" One of them spoke up. He seemed the more outgoing of the two.
"We need your help." Aditi said bluntly.
"Of course, I'm Abhay, by the way and this is my brother Akshay." Abhay explained. He was the older of the two and quickly took a liking to Aditi.
"Well, we're trying to make her husband and my boyfriend jealous and we'd like you two to play along." Aditi replied.
Abhay's grin fell once he found out that Aditi had a boyfriend. Akshay didn't seem to care.
"Sure thing," Abhay agreed. "Why are you girls trying to make your men jealous?"
"They're being jerks," Aditi answered casually. It wasn't true. She didn't feel the need to tell strangers about navya's personal matters. And she and Hiten were going strong. She just wanted to have a little fun and see how he'd react.
"What do we have to do?" Abhay asked. Akshay still hadn't said a word.
"Get us drinks, laugh with us, maybe a dance?" Aditi suggested.
"You got it." Abhay winked before going towards the bar to fetch Aditi and navya drinks.
"Hi! You're Akshay, right? I'm Aditi and this is my friend navya." Aditi said to Akshay once Abhay left.
"Hello." He said. His eyes were locked on navya. navya smiled back at him.
"navya sit down." Aditi said quickly.
"What?" navya asked,
"Sit down. Anant is watching." Aditi said.
"Is Anant your husband?" Akshay asked.
"Yeah, we're...not on the friendliest terms right now." navya replied as she took a seat beside Akshay.
"I can't imagine someone fighting with a woman as beautiful as you." Akshay smirked.
she blushed. Akshay seemed like a ladies man, but much shier than Anant. He was quite handsome, but not as handsome as Anant. She wondered if Akshay or Abhay were married or had girlfriends. If so, she would feel guilty about getting them involved in her and Anant's argument. Abhay returned with drinks, and Aditi and navya gratefully took them. navya set hers aside, noticing that it was alcoholic, but Aditi finished hers in a matter of minutes.
"Whoa! High tolerance!" Abhay commented as Aditi finished her drink. The couples began to laugh at whatever made them laugh. They ended up actually having a good time even though the whole setup was fake.
"Where did the girls go?" Hiten asked. Anant's eyes were fixed on the table that navya and Aditi were seated at with Abhay and Akshay.
"What the hell?" Hiten said as he saw the same table Anant was looking at.
"They've been over there for awhile, laughing away like we're not even here." Anant said sadly.
"Aditi..." Hiten pouted. "Do you think she likes that guy?"8
Anant looked at Hiten incredulously. Even he knew Aditi wouldn't leave Hiten for someone she met five minutes ago, and here he was already depressed.
"Hiten! Why don't you go over there and get her back before she actually does fall for that jerk!" Anant said to his best friend.
"Maybe she's trying to tell me something..." Hiten was in denial. "Maybe she wants to break up."
Hiten looked like he was about to cry any moment now. He genuinely looked sad. Anant couldn't bare to see his best friend this way, especially if it was because of a woman.
He looked at navya, laughing with some other man. He felt the jealousy rise in him. He felt like punching the guy who was talking to navya. His presence so close to his wife bothered him. Anant had no problem admitting that he was possessive of navya. Her talking to another man was enough to set him on edge. The fact that she was clad in nothing but that backless, sexy evening gown did nothing to help the situation either. He walked over to the table. He wouldn't even look in navya's direction. 2
"Aditi, Hiten wants to talk to you." Anant said, deciding that his friend's turmoil was more important that his own jealousy.
"If he wants me, he can come over here and talk to me." Aditi said, turning back to Abhay.
"He thinks you want to break up with him and is giving you space. If that's what you want, then fine. Go tell him, so he can go find himself another woman to spend the evening with. If that's not what you want, go tell him otherwise his heart will break for no reason. Either way, go tell him something." Anant said. He knew that Aditi had no intention of breaking up with Hiten. This was a game, a game that navya was playing to make him jealous. It was working. He was jealous. She was totally making her point, but it didn't have to mean that Hiten got hurt in the process.
Aditi looked a little confused for a moment. Abhay watched her carefully, secretly in turmoil himself. He wanted Aditi to choose him, but he would feel guilty if he was the cause of the failure of her and Hiten's relationship. 1
"Maybe you should go talk to your boyfriend." Abhay offered.
Anant immediately looked relieved. If Aditi had chosen to stay at the table, Hiten would've been crushed, and Anant wouldn't have known what to do. Aditi stood up, apologized to Abhay and made her way towards Hiten. Anant watched them. Hiten's face lit up as soon as Aditi came into his view. After talking for a moment, they shared a passionate but brief kiss. Anant smiled. Hiten was a goner for sure.
navya grew nervous without Aditi's presence to guide her. Anant stood there, watching Hiten and Aditi, his back towards navya. She wasn't sure whether doing this was going too far or how Anant would react once he was done focusing on Hiten and Aditi.
"Navya would you like to dance?" Akshay asked. By then, many couples had started dancing. Akshay knew that this was his only chance to ask navya to dance. she hesitated. Should she? How would Anant react? She looked at Anant, who still had his attention turned towards Hiten and Aditi.
"Of course, I would." navya said, taking Akshay's hand.
Anant's jaw clenched. He stalked away without giving navya a single look. He knew what he did was wrong, and navya deserved to get her revenge, but this was killing him. He walked over to where Hiten and Aditi were located and started watching navya and Akshay as they began to dance. The occasion was formal, so the dancing was formal as well. Only couples were on the dance floor, and the music was a tad too slow and romantic. Akshay's hands wrapped around navya's waist, while hers sat on his shoulders as they swayed their bodies to the music. Anant watched in pure rage as one of Akshay's hands began to caress navya's exposed back.
"I think your husband might kill me by the time the night ends." Akshay commented as he watched Anant's reaction out of the corner of his eye.
"He'll be fine." navya said nonchalantly. She felt more and more uncomfortable as she felt Akshay's hand explore her back. She began to regret wearing such a provocative gown.
"I know it's none of my business, but why are you two fighting?" Akshay asked. His eyes traveled down navya's body. "Because I can't find a single reason why anyone would ever be mad at you."
"He...well...I wouldn't..." navya did not know if it was appropriate to divulge intimate secrets about her life to a stranger. "He broke my trust."
"Never a bright thing to do." Akshay commented.
"Are you married?" navya asked, trying to keep up a conversation.
"navya, if I were married, I would never have you in my arms. My wife would kill me." Akshay replied with a smile.
navya thought back to what Anant had done. Here Akshay was saying that he'd feel guilty being a married man and simply dancing with another woman, and there Anant was sleeping with other women with no sense of remorse. navya moved her body closer to Akshay's. She had her eyes on anant, who was seething in anger. navya looked down unsurely. Anant had never looked this angry before. He was clutching the glass in his hand so tightly, it was sure to break any second now. navya jerked as she felt Akshay's back moving further down her back. She looked at him questioningly, but he simply smiled back at her. She dared to look back at Anant, who now had a hurt expression on his face.
"I'm sorry." navya said as she pried away from Akshay and walked towards the bar, where Anant was standing. She cautiously approached Anant, unsure why she felt the need to come back to him. Anant said nothing to her. He simply looked at her, a mix of anger and hurt apparent on his face. 2
"Anant, I..."navya began.
"Will you dance with me?" Anant asked her before she could finish.
"Sure," she said, relieved he wasn't mad at her. He grabbed her hand and led her back to the dance floor. She saw Akshay had taken a seat beside his brother. He watched closely as Anant and navya started to dance.
Anant placed his arms around navya's waist, revelling in the fact that he would have an opportunity to caress her back. navya's arms were securely around his neck. Her eyes were glued to the ground.
"Why are you suddenly so uncomfortable?"he asked.
"I'm not." she denied.
"You seemed pretty happy dancing with another man, and you seem like you're miserable with me." Anant said with spite.
"Anant, I'm never miserable with you." she said, looking up at him.
Anant said nothing. her's answer did little to calm him down. Anger still boiled inside of him. Images of Akshay's hands on navya crept into his mind.
"You know what kind of attention you're attracting by dressing like this, right?" Anant said angrily.
"But this is how you've always wanted me to dress. You like bold women." navya contested.
"And what opinion do you have of bold women, navya?" Anant asked.
navya hesitated. She thought ill of bold women, who used their bodies to attract men's attention. And she was doing just that. 2
"Every man here is thinking about taking you to their bedrooms and having their way with you tonight. I hope you know." Anant said a tad too maliciously.
"anant," navya said.
Anant spun her around before she could say anything further. The music go a little faster, and many of the couples broke out into a waltz type dance. Anant moved navya around the dance floor. His expression was blank. He wasn't enjoying himself but he was determined not to create a scene. The music slowed back down and everyone started to slow dance once again.
Anant started to caress navya's back as they danced. He ran his fingers down gently. she shivered. Anant ran his hand over her lower waist. He slipped his fingertips under the fabric of her gown and caressed her lower back even more. He brought his hand up and placed it on the middle of her back. He pulled her forward so that her body was against his. His hand moved over to the side, his arm extended over her back almost like he was hugging her. His fingers slipped under the fabric on the side of her dress, as he tried to caress the skin near her breasts. navya pulled away from him. She tried to walk off the dance floor, but Anant held her hand and pulled her back towards him resuming their dance.
"Anant," navya said. Her eyes wandered around the room, noticing all of the men hungrily watching them as she and Anant danced. "Can I have your jacket?" She said quietly.
"Why, navya? Regretting your outfit choice already?" Anant asked with a spiteful tone.
"Please, Anant." navyas voice quivered as she spoke. She looked like she wanted to cry.
Anant sighed. He led navya off the dance floor, over to the side. He took off his jacket and put it around her. she graciously took it and secured it around her. She immediately stalked off into the hallways.
"navya," Anant went after her. He grabbed her arm once they were in the hallway. "What's the matter?"
"It's all my fault," she started tearing up. 2
"What is?"he asked, gently.
"Your affair." she answered.
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