"What about Swati?" As she spoke her name she felt him shift beside her. Just then she felt a sheath of darkness veiling her eyes almost blinding her for few moments. In a state of mystification, she looked around. The next second the realisation hit her that the abrupt surge of darkness was the result of her pulsating headache and dizziness. Perhaps the emotional stress was finally starting to take a toll on her. Feeling slightly wobbly, she blinked a few times trying to clear both her head and vision. As she moved her hands to raise them towards her forehead, she realised with a jolt that her hand was still firmly secured into Shlok's tight grasp. It amazed her how oblivious both were about it, as if it was the most natural thing for them, as if their hands belonged in each other's hands, their rightful place. She gave a slight tug to release her hand from his firm grip, catching his attention. He looked at her and then at their hands. The look on his face indicated that he too was as taken aback by it as much she was. He reluctantly let go of her hand, his fingers still lingering over hers.
As he observed her, he realised there was something wrong. "Astha are you alright?", asked Shlok, his tone reflecting his concern for her as he watched her rubbing her fingertips along her temple. Astha's question about Swati was momentarily forgotten.
"Yes, I'm fine. Just a little tired I guess."
Shlok abruptly stood up. "Of course! Let's go to the room. We should already be in bed at this hour of the night. Besides, you have got to wake up early tomorrow for your training."
For a moment Astha was unable to comprehend. Which training was he talking about? Her head was still full of their recent conversation. It took her nearly half a minute before she remembered the motive behind their visit to Goa. In her appointment letter in which she was offered a job, she was invited to attend a 5-day introductory training course in Goa. It was compulsory so she had no choice of backing out from it if she was to accept this offer. However, as keen as she was for a job, at this very moment it was the last thing on her mind.
Seeing her lost, Shlok approached her and grabbed her hand once again to pull her up.
"Come on, let's go!"
"No!" said Astha, pulling her hand away from his. Stunned, Shlok stared at her. "You answer my question first." she demanded, her tone firm.
He sighed, "we can always talk later. Right now you need to rest and get some sleep". He held out his hand to her and waited for her to initiate the move this time. She intended to pursue with the topic but another pang of pain in her head compelled her to drop the idea. Hesitantly, she placed her hand in his and got up to go. She was still wearing the same sandals which she had worn on their way to Goa.
Walking with Shlok side by side, She had just taken a few steps when she suddenly stumbled. She automatically held on to his sleeve to regain her lost balance. The next moment she realised that this stumble was the result of her broken heel. Exclaiming with dismay, she took it off and observed it closely.
"Why the hell would you come here in these heeled shoes?" Shlok asked her incredulously, standing there with his arms folded across his chest.
She didn't answer and simply took off her other sandal and started walking barefoot towards the hotel. Before she had taken more than two steps, Shlok grabbed her hand.
"You are not thinking of walking barefoot, are you?"
"So what?" Astha said, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly.
"There's a rocky path ahead. You might hurt your feet. If you want I can carry you inside." he said with a naughty glint in his eyes.
She stared at him in bewilderment. His words had her jaw hanging open and her eyes almost bulging out. "You are joking, right?"
He chuckled inwardly at her reaction to his suggestion. Even he wasn't sure what made him say that. Taking a step closer to her and holding her gaze, he answered, "nope."
Unconsciously, she took a few steps back, her heart racing. Just the prospect of being carried into his arms, that too in front of so many strangers lurking about in the hotel...scared her and made her tremendously nervous.
"Don't be ridiculous!" she snapped and hastily started towards the hotel.
"Ok ok wait!" she heard him behind her and turned to see him taking his slippers off.
"Here at least wear my slippers just to be safe. It wouldn't do you good to hurt yourself esp. when tomorrow is an important day for you."
She was left speechless. This was not the same man who behaved so ruthlessly with her before and on their wedding night. This man was a lot more caring, warm and tender. He was turning into her old Shlok again. Feeling uncertain, she asked him, "But what about you?"
"I will be fine. I don't know if you noticed but I'm a lot tougher than you." he said with one of his charming smiles. "Now don't argue further. Just put them on."
Still hesitant, she took the slippers from him and wore them. She could feel the warmth of his feet still radiating from those slippers.
Walking behind Shlok with her sandals in her hand, she couldn't help glancing towards his bare feet every so often. Tonight he was being uncharacteristically kind towards her as if she was the most precious thing to her. Still dazed from his latest act of kindness, they reached their hotel room where another surprise waited for her. Shlok insisted for her to sleep on the bed while he would sleep on the recliner chair. She argued otherwise but he dismissed it by saying that she needed a sound sleep for her day tomorrow.
As she laid there on the bed with a million thoughts in her head, she looked across the room towards Shlok who was half-lying on the recliner with his eyes closed and wondered about the subtle but significant changes in him she witnessed in the past few weeks. And tonight...tonight he appeared a different man altogether; caring, affectionate and most of all attentive towards her as if she was the most precious being. She was unable to comprehend what brought on this sudden change in him but to her utter exasperation she was starting to fall for him again and even though she knew she was treading on a perilous path, she found herself totally helpless in this regards. 'And you said you hated him' she heard a tiny voice mocking her. If only Swati didn't exist between them, she thought with a wistful longing.
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She woke up at sunrise the next morning. Stifling a yawn, her eyes swept across the room seeking another figure. She spotted him lying on his back with one arm rested above his head and other dangling straight down. She noticed his mouth was slightly open causing an affectionate smile to spread across her face. His posture was indicative of his discomfort and troubled slumber. A sense of guilt instantly took over her. She got up and walked towards him, her hands holding her quilt and gently draped his sleeping form with the quilt. She stood there gazing at him for a while, longing to touch his face. It was when he stirred did she look away.
Walking over to the window, she witnessed the breathtaking display of radiant colours of sunrise. Bright streaks of red and orange slowly overcame the dark blue and purple of the twilight sky. The sky resembled a prism; all the colours blended perfectly into each other. The sun itself was just peeking out of the horizon. She marvelled at the glistening reflection of the sun on the ocean and a thrilling feeling of awe swept over her.
As she came out of the washroom after taking a shower, she saw him open his eyes and peer at her.
"Good morning!" she murmured with a hint of a smile.
As he stretched his arms he noticed the quilt covering his frame. He was momentarily surprised but the next moment he felt his lips form a soft smile as he glanced at her. But his mere glance soon turned into an intense gaze as he watched her running her fingers through her dark, long, wet hair. She caught him staring at her, their eyes locked. She wanted to look away but something about it captivated her entire being in its hold. She stood motionless feeling highly nervous. She saw him getting up and advancing towards her with deliberately small steps, still holding her gaze. She still found herself unable to move as he closed the distance between them and came to halt mere inches away from her. The intensity of his gaze along with his proximity was doing strange things to her heart. She forced her gaze away in an attempt to break the spell. Her body tensed up when she saw him raising his hand.
"Sh..Shlok" Astha whispered and saw him react instantly. For a fleeting second she saw his raised hand form into a fist as he looked away before he extended his hand towards the towel lying beside him on the bed. Without throwing another glance towards her he strode towards the washroom.
What was that? Astha thought mystified as she saw his retreating form.
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Shlok drove Astha to her training centre. Both were silent the entire way and both were avoiding making any eye contact with each other. There was an air of awkwardness between them. What came over him? Astha thought some umpteenth time. Is it possible he was falling for...? she wondered but the next moment she rebuked herself for even remotely hoping so by reminding that Shlok loves another girl.
"I will come to pick you up at 3", he informed her as he parked his car on the side of the road, still looking anywhere but her. She simply nodded and got down from the car, unaware that his eyes followed her till she vanished from his sight.
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In the evening both were on their way to the beach near hotel. Astha's excitement was increasing by every step that took her closer to the beach. Within minutes they arrived at the beach and Astha couldn't help letting out a soft gasp. She was struck by the stunning view of the ocean. It was beyond anything she had seen or experienced. It was the first time she was laying her eyes on the endless waters. Before that she had only seen it in tv, videos, books and pictures, but not in reality like this. In reality it was much more mesmerising than anything else she had laid her eyes on in her entire life. Beaming with exhilaration, she inhaled deeply as if drawing the scent of salty water and wet sand into her very soul.
In the evening's fading light, the sea was looking serene and calm. It was partly cloudy with the cool breeze wafting through the sandy beach. For her it was a sight to behold. She was completely lost in its charm when she heard a movement close behind. Still smiling, she turned to find Shlok watching her closely. She remembered the morning's incident, causing her smile to falter at the thought. She returned her eyes back to the sea. Shlok's recent behaviour was adding to her confusion so she decided to clarify all the matters here and now. She chose a clean spot, took off her shoes and sat down on the wet sand. Shlok followed suit.
"It's nice!" Shlok uttered.
Astha looked at him incredulously. "Nice? That's all you can say about such a beautiful manifestation of nature?"
Amused at her response, Shlok chuckled. "So what would you say?"
"Well, certainly not nice." she too chuckled. Then losing herself in the surrounding panorama, the vastness of the deep waters, the threads of orange and red lights swirling together in the muddled mass across the sky along with rolling clouds and the radiant light of the sky casted over the moving sea, she said, "It's ineffable...beyond anything the words can describe. Watching this beautiful scenery makes me feel like I can forget all my worries and troubles...like there is nothing more blissful than this moment. It makes me want to stay here forever, never to leave this place." she finished with a contented smile.
Then after a brief pause she said somewhat soberly, "you still haven't answered me."
From the change in her tone, he could guess what she was talking about. Feigning ignorance, he asked, "You haven't asked me any question."
"I am talking about last night."
"What about last night?" he replied, while refusing to meet her gaze.
"Don't play innocent Shlok! I know you are well aware of what I'm talking about. I want to know where exactly do I stand in your life, that is, compared to Swati." she decided to come straight out with it.
Shlok sighed. He knew he couldn't escape this question for long. The truth was even he wasn't sure. He had mixed feelings for Swati now. He wasn't nearly as sure about her anymore as he was before marriage. He vaguely registered the fact that he has never missed her presence in Astha's company. He connected with Astha on a higher plane than Swati. And he wasn't oblivious to his feelings for Astha either which were growing with each passing day. He recalled various events in the last few weeks when he had felt intense emotions for her: the night he saw her crying on the terrace, the kitchen incident, his possessiveness when he saw her with her old class fellow, and most importantly the last night and this morning's incident. Is it remotely possible to fall in love with two women at the same time, he wondered at one point.
After a long silence he finally said, "There is no question of comparison. Each of you hold a unique place in my life. But the most crucial fact at this very moment is that YOU are my wife. I got married to you, not her. Regardless of the circumstances we got married in, we have no choice but to compromise and make it work. Besides, the bond we share I can not hope to share with anyone else. She might be my love but you will always remain my best friend."
Astha felt a strange sense of tranquillity and contentment overcome her as she listened to him. "So you've finally accepted me as your wife?"
Shlok smiled looking at her, "I thought it was established last night when I apologised to you."
"Still it's nice to hear it." Astha grinned and lost herself in her surroundings once more with a new hope.
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Really sorry for the delay! 😳
Nothing much happened here in terms of events but next chapter will be better..promise! 😉
And lastly thanks everyone for your delightful comments and for bearing with my delayed updates
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Cricket
CID
