Maryada: Vidya-Gaurav FF - Updates. p. 145 (6/29) - Page 18

Originally posted by: Apsara1

What did he mean when he said "At least now I know the answer to "what brought that on?"

I am sure I'm the only one who doesn't know. 😊

Originally posted by: Calliope

😲 Who who who???

I am glad that Devi is keeping this G or at the max PG (for the use of S word 😆) When she moves to NC 17, am sooooo skipping those chapters.... (Aah.... my poor innocent ears/eyes... 😆)

C

Originally posted by: Calliope

Lady, once up on a time when I wasn't Calliope and you were already Sridevi, I did read L&D where ratings from PG to NC17 shot up like - swimming in shallow waters to getting stuck in a whirlpool in 0 to 5 seconds.

😆

Originally posted by: Calliope

😊 Nice pics!

Originally posted by: shreya-

Nice!! 😊

I second Nanthini's question, have u done majors in Math? I'm just curious.😆

Chapter 20: The Liar Paradox

She stood there still for a moment after he left. When she was truly sure that he was gone, she brought her hand up to palm her cheek and she could feel the heat from the blood-rush there. She closed her eyes as the events of the last half hour ran in fast-forward through her head. None of it made any sense; why he came and grabbed her from downstairs, or why he dragged her up here, or why he… why he said what he said. What did that mean? She hadn't meant what he thought she meant the last time she said it… What did he think she meant that time? What did he think she meant this time? She massaged her temples as even her loop of what he meant and what she meant stopped making sense…

There was noise outside suddenly and she looked out through the window. A pick-up truck pulled in followed by another and her eyes widened as she saw her mother and several cousins, aunts, and uncles step out. She had not expected them for another few hours and rushed out of the room to welcome them. Just as she got downstairs, she saw her mother-in-law come out into the main room as well and she smiled. During the past two months, she had found out that she liked her mother-in-law immensely. However, she could not make sense of the dynamics between Devyani and Uttara – which was made even more impossible because Uttara had not come back for a month or so after the incident and after that she had only been to the house twice, both for short visits. Things were strained between Devyani and Uttara to say the least, although also on the mend now. Vidya found that she liked Devyani's sister; she was open-natured and gregarious and exuberant and a lot like Gaurav's brother. In fact, Aditya and Uttara seemed to be the best of friends and Vidya had found them fun to be around, as they always put everyone else in a good mood. Where Uttara and Adi were an open book, her mother-in-law was an enigma, although still warm and kind; it was a conundrum of traits that reminded her of her husband. Devyani grabbed her hands in hers with a smile and just as they turned, she bumped into the man who had just occupied her thoughts.

"They are just coming in." He said and she nodded with a smile, rushing along with Devyani to meet her parents.

And thus the earlier interaction was temporarily forgotten until later that night when she happened to hear a curious conversation between the women. She, her mother, Devyani, Uttara, her aunts, and Imli had been in a room downstairs and she had been returning from getting some sweets for everyone from the kitchen when she heard Imli exclaim, "It's only a matter of time." Something about her tone made Vidya pause in her tracks outside the door and she heard her continue even as Devyani tried to hush her.

"I saw the bed-sheets after their suhaag raat." Imli said in a loud whisper.

"What about the sheets?" One of her aunts asked and Vidya hid behind the door panel and leaned in further to hear this part.

"There was blood." Imli whispered again in what Vidya could only assume was the height of dramatics like only Imli could do.

"What?? Of all the preposterous things! If I bled that much the first time, then it would have been a monster rather than a human who took my virginity." She muttered to herself as she turned around and found that he was standing right behind her.

She startled and jerked back but he caught her before she bumped into the open door panel and gave herself away.

Her eyes widened now as she wondered how much he had heard.

"It would have been beastly indeed." He told her with a conspirational smile, thus removing all doubt.

She bit down on her lips without saying anything, finding this too awkward and embarrassing to be humorous.

"Oh come on! Imli has three kids. And if she thinks that all that blood on those sheets were from any process remotely relating to procreation, then I really should have a talk with Jaggi!"

She hadn't realized that she was clutching the plate that she had brought with her too close to herself until its edge dug into her waist and she mushed one of the sweets on its side.

"Vidya…"

She kept adjusting the sweets on the plate.

"Tell me a math puzzle."

"Hmm?" she looked up at him and he could see that she was still unsettled.

He took the plate of sweets from her hand and set it on the window ledge next to them and asked again. "Tell me a math puzzle."

"I can't think of any."

"I will wait here until you tell me one…"

"Oh…" she said, rather robotically.

He waited just as he promised, leaning against the window ledge and stealing a piece of the sweets from the plate for himself.

"One of them is going to come out and find you here." She said then, walking around him to take the plate of sweets.

He held onto the plate, preventing her from taking it.

"Tell me a puzzle. And then I'll let you have it."

She looked up at him and he saw vulnerability in her eyes for the first time. It made him straighten up from his leaning stance.

"Vidya…" he started, but she cut in suddenly as she asked,

"If a man says he is lying, is he telling the truth? Yes or no?"

He sighed in relief as he thought of what she asked. He was getting more practice with these and he realized its inherent fallacy right away, but decided to keep it going anyways… anything to make her relax.

"Yes." He answered.

"So he is lying."

"No, then. He is not telling the truth." He changed his response and smiled at her.

"So he is lying." She smiled too as she picked up her plate and turned.

"So then he is always lying, no matter what." He remarked as she neared the door.

She turned around, "He is always lying, no matter what."

She walked into the room afterwards and shut the door behind her as he turned around to walk away, more disturbed by the puzzle than he realized.

He was always lying, no matter what…

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