Part 37
Astha got up or rather tried to get up. Shlok had completely surrounded her in his sleep. He was practically twined with her, almost suffocating Astha. She noted that he had slept in the same position after she came back to him post their brief breakup. Astha immediately felt bad for her fifty. He had obviously been scared for her the previous night.
Distangling herself from him, Astha got out for her morning rituals. She also showered and came out in a blue suit. Her hair was held up with a clasp as she didn't want it to get wet in the shower. Shlok was lounging on the bed when Astha came out. He gave her a slow smile. "Good morning"
"Morning Shlok!" She replied back with a sweet smile.
Before she could say anything, Shlok butted in. "You are not going to office today Astha." He held up his arms. "No don't argue. I don't want you going out for a few days. At least for my peace of mind. If you want you can work from home. From my office here." His request seemed genuine and hence Astha agreed to work from home.
She went down while Shlok went to his room. Radha was as usual around. She wished Astha with a bright smile. Radha gave Astha a steaming cup of tea and they got talking about this and that. Astha then went to the garden to sit on the porche. She drank the remaining cup of tea in silence, contemplating the recent happenings.
Shlok came to her, his face grave with worry. "Astha, the locks have been changed in the house yesterday night. Lock up and be careful. Call me if there's anything. Immediately okay?" After she nodded he continued. "I need to leave now, have a meeting in thirty." Shlok gave her a distracted hug before hurrying out of the house. Astha heard the smooth purr of the car. She then went in to bring her laptop to the office room.
Radha was sweet enough to cook some lunch for Astha once she knew Astha was staying in. Astha could still not come to terms with all the hand holding and pampering that she was having after starting to live in with Shlok.
Astha started working on her new column and didn't realize the time. Her lunch was still sitting in the kitchen counter. Astha looked at the time and gaped to see it was already six. Where did all this time vanish exactly? She got up and stretched her arms above her head. After prolonged sitting, all her muscles were aching. Astha felt thirsty and hungry.
She went to the kitchen and stopped dead. There was that ghost girl Aditi, looking directly at Astha, with a knife in her hand. Obviously she had taken the sharp kitchen knife from the cutlery shelf. Astha was rooted to the spot. She looked at Aditi and spoke in a soft voice. "What do you want Aditi? How did you come in?"
"Don't come forward. I will stab you with this." Aditi sounded menacing and in the frame of mind she was, Astha did not want to take a chance. She stared at the pale girl with fear. Yet Astha didn't want to outwardly show the fear and provoke the girl even more.
Aditi spoke again, softly this time. "So you live in with Shlok all the time? He even lets you sleep in his room, in his bed. He never did that with me." Astha felt quite sick at what she heard. She didn't how to react. But Aditi was oblivious to her discomfort. Aditi continued in the same voice.
"I was so much in love with Shlok. I wanted him for myself. But he likes you. What do you have that he has fallen for you so much?" Aditi tilted her head to one side and looked at Astha, a sweeping stare.
Before Astha could react, she felt the presence of someone behind her. Both the girls looked at the interruption together. Shlok Agnihotri was standing behind Astha, horror written on every inch of his handsome face. He quickly composed his face before Aditi could react.
"Aditi?" He spoke softly.
"Yes Shlok; your Aditi." That girl replied in a plaintive, yearning voice. Astha felt insane jealousy, rage, and helplessness, all rolled into one. She didn't want to see the love and desire this woman had for her man. Astha wasn't strong enough for that. Yet she had no choice. Shlok slowly walked past Astha, ignoring her.
Astha's heart tore into pieces when he went past her without sparing her a glance. Shlok looked at Aditi directly. He softly crept up to that obviously sick girl. Shlok spoke in a soft voice, one he usually reserved for Astha in private. "Aditi, what happened?"
Astha's stomach lurched. She felt she was going to be sick, seeing the two ex lovers. "Shlok..." Aditi came forward to him, as if entranced by his invisible aura.
"Give the knife to me." He smiled his charismatic smile and his thumb lightly stroked her cheek before lightly rubbing her lower lip. Aditi's mouth parted helplessly, and she dropped the knife. Quite naturally, as if it was what she wanted to do, Aditi went into Shlok's arms. Astha closed her eyes, unable to withstand the pain anymore.
Did she have any more space in Shlok's life? What was happening? By then Arjun and Suresh had also trailed into the room. Shlok still held Aditi in his arms. He looked at Suresh and spoke "Take Ms Kirloskar to her room."
"But Shlok..." Astha began hesitantly.
"I said take her. Right now." He spoke through clenched teeth to Suresh. Astha didn't want to go, not when he was standing like this with his ex-lover.
"I don't want to go." Astha replied immediately.
"When I say go, just f**king go." He almost bellowed at her, his fury and concern very much evident on his face. Suresh led a flinching Astha to her room and stood outside the door after closing it with Astha inside.
Astha's tears fell one by one in the room. She held the mattress and sobbed to her heart's content. Astha didn't know how long later, the room opened and Suresh came in. "She has left ma'm, you can come down."
Astha didn't respond. She simply turned away. Astha wanted to pack and leave. She felt like howling loudly, to her heart's content. First that old crow, now this psycho girl friend. How much more did she have to endure to stay with the man she loved? Was he worth it? And more importantly, could she go through these stressful feelings again and again?
It was a few hours later before Shlok came in, still angry, fury written all over his face. Astha looked at him with her tear stricken face. She didn't say a word to him, just soundlessly staring at him, refusing to back down. Shlok took quick, long strides to where she stood. He cupped her cheek roughly and hissed at her.
"What the hell were you playing at down there? Why didn't you go when I said so? Don't you have any sense? Do you even know what I was going through? And why the hell did you leave the back door open?" His voice rose rapidly as he finished. His face still carried remaining traces of the horror he went through.
Astha felt the tears seep out of her beautiful eyes once again. Her lips trembled. "What you went through? Do you know what I had to endure looking at you and your lover getting cozy? I could have happily died instead of seeing that sight." The tears ran unchecked, down her cheeks.
"Don't; don't ever say that." Suddenly he lost his fight and he pulled her for a tight hug. "Thank God I decided to come early today. I wanted to check on you since you were at home. She had entered through the back door even as Arjun ran around after seeing the partially open door. My heart stopped when I saw her with the knife. I just can't face it if you're in danger Astha. Please don't do this." He closed his eyes and swallowed his rising emotion.
"I..I love you. I'd die if something happened to you." He looked into her eyes anxiously as those words were torn out of him anguish. Astha's heart stopped for a brief second before it tripled in speed. Her jaw hit the ground and she actually gaped at him. Did he say what he did? And did he mean it?
"What about Aditi?" She whispered at him.
"What about her?" Shlok frowned, not getting what Astha meant.
"You were hugging and holding her. You were..." She stopped, too choked to continue. Shlok cupped her cheek and looked at her in alarm.
"No, no no..don't tell me you thought I'd go with her. Please don't!" He closed his eyes for a moment and opened his eyes, directly looking into her light brown ones. "She is mentally unstable Astha. She is like a child, a sick one at that. That's all she is to me right now. You are the one for me. I want only you."
But Astha couldn't accept it. Not when the two of them had been lovers in the past. And she still had the image of Shlok smiling and stroking her cheek softly. Dear God, at that instant she'd wished the ground would swallow her.
"And she was once a very lively and chirpy girl. To think that I'd been responsible for her to become like this." He broke off and sighed. "Anyhow, all that doesn't matter now. Do you trust me?" He asked her directly.
"Where is she now? Where were you all this while?" Astha neatly side stepped his question, asking a few of her own.
"I went with her to safely hand her over to her parents. I have also given them the contact of one of the best psychologists in the country. They will take over from here. I don't need to worry."
Astha was flummoxed for a minute. So he was doing that? And that's why he had been missing? Yet Astha was too muddled up at that moment. She wanted some time and space to herself. When she started moving out of Shlok's arms, he tightened his hold. "Astha, please don't leave me. She will not interfere anymore."
"Oh for Godssake Shlok, just stop it. I am so fed up with you and your ex girl friends. One of them is a bloody cunning pedophile while another one is a f**king lunatic. I am just done with all of them for today. I need some time to think. Alone."
And with that, she went into the washroom and banged the door shut. Shlok looked at her retreating form with bleak eyes, before going out of her room in slow, measured strides.
Edited by DJakaDesiJames - 12 years ago
Cricket
Anupamaa
