~Trespassers Prohibited 2 ~ Update 13,14: page 134 - Page 20

She had been trying to give solace to him but comprehended that it was she who needed it more.

She could never realize when her life, it's decisions, her happiness and her existence had become tagged with him playing as the main anchor………her emotions had become dependent on his moods, his behaviour and his feelings……….but this was a fact and there was nothing that could be done about it !!

He had been feeling low and she felt as if in all her preparations and excitement …………. maybe, she was not paying proper attention to the subtle signals that told of his dilemmas….………maybe he needed her presence more with him, not physically, but emotionally…………and he deserved every second of her time………..he was always by her side whenever she had needed him and even otherwise. She never had to tell him to be with her.

She had been very happy with this phase in their relationship and so engrossed she had been that she hardly noticed the quiet and subtle knock of unease and discomfort creeping slowly in his life………..or maybe she did……..…!!

She had been noticing these little changes in him and he being a calm cucumber in the strongest of storms never let anything surface above to cause turbulence in the tranquility of their seemingly peaceful life.

She moved her hands from his cheeks to his hair, running her fingers between the strands of the hair and pulled his face closer……..he drew her closer to him and embraced her so warmly that with just a touch, she immediately knew that something was troubling him in the deepest corners of his mind.

She traversed her lips from his lips to his cheeks and forehead, subtly conveying the trust she had on him and his decisions and how she relied on him, for everything and how she would always stand by him……

He hugged her firmly, securing her in his tender embrace and placed his chin between her neck and shoulder.

She wanted to ask a thousand questions, as always………….and wanted him to sit and talk to her but did not want to appear pestering or irritating to him. He needed her presence with him and not her nagging. So she decided to wait till he opened up himself……… she knew that he would take his own time and won't be able to stay relaxed unless he tells her…….he would come by himself and share everything with her but till then, she should be the one who should be behaving all mature and supporting.

She hugged him back responding to him and placed her hands on the back of his shoulders and stroked him in a way to soothe him.

After a few minutes, he slowly detached and removed the strands of her loose hair which had stuck to his cheek due to his stubble……... and looked at her with a relaxed smile filled with relief and comfort………she lowered her eyelids when she sensed the heat of his appreciative gaze……….. something deep within her wanted to curl up to him and something else wished to bury herself somewhere faraway !!!

She subtly moved her feet down to get up and go, slowly collecting her odhani and straightening the pleats of her lehenga……..while he stretched his hand and held her wrist in his strong grip…….she turned and smiled with a hint of coyness……. And he loved every bit of the glint in her eyes….

"Let me go…………..please……………I should go and change……." She requested.

"Don't you want to show me your jewellery?"

"I guess, I'll show it on the wedding night itself………I'll be wearing everything and you can see it then…….."

He chuckled, "Do you really trust that I will focus on watching your jewellery, then?"

She blushed and jerked her hand out of his hold to go to the washroom to change her lehenga that she had worn to show him…..

When she came out of the washroom, he wasn't there in her room. She had worn the same white lace sleeveless top and peach skirt………she came out, brushed her ruffled hair and stepped out of her room to look out for Shantanu.

He was in the kitchen preparing coffee for them. She went inside and lifted herself to sit on the slab and observed him……….he looked so calm and peaceful……..completely hiding the mayhem inside him.

He turned to her and smiled………..she smiled back.

'Should I ask him again………..No, I should wait for him to open up by himself !!'

Heart said to hold him tight and ask him to relieve his anxiety and give his stress to her…

Mind told her to wait for some time……….to let him deal with him by himself, he should feel relaxed and not suffocated in her company……… but she could not relax ……..she could never relax when things disturbed him, even when they were not seeing each other…… she had always believed that she had every right to know whatever troubled him, though he always tried hard enough to make her stay away but miserably failed everytime…….

She couldn't relax even now…………how could she when now she knew that he was a part of her……….

She felt restless and anxious.

He snapped his two fingers with his thumb in front of her eyes……….

"What are you thinking?"

She shrugged with a sheepish smile, "huh………..nothing……"

"Ma called………she said that they will have dinner with Ragini's parents and then come late……" he informed her while giving her a mug of coffee.

"Wow !! It seems they have started gelling more now……!!"

"Hmm………….she also told me to be here till they come back………I need to take care of their little girl…." He bent to touch her forehead with his own, with a warm smile, while he stood in front of her and she had been sitting on the slab.

"Ma bhi nah!!! She is too much………she just freaks out and Jai too………….I am a strong girl able to take care of myself, you know………..I have stayed alone in Mumbai."

"I know, but Delhi is not 'that' safe and they were worried about you being alone at home ……. I told them that I am with you and they were relaxed after that."

"Thanks Shaan, so sweet of you to cancel all your plans for me….." she spoke in an animated tone.

"Your welcome…….and you can pay me back later for this…….." he smiled.

"How?" she looked at his naughty face with a smile, for an apt reply.

"When I am alone at home, you can come and protect me……..." he winked with a smirk and she giggled uncontrollably at this sentence.

"Now that we have lots of time before your parents and Jai come back, you can show me your other stuff and the shopping." He spoke while having coffee…. sitting in the couch in the living room.

"No shopping display…….," she came and sat beside him, kicking off her slippers and sank in the couch …….placing her head on his shoulder, while holding his elbow, "We'll watch TV…….."

"You exactly know how to torture me……" he chuckled.

"Right !! ……….with a romantic movie !!" she laughed with a hand on her mouth…… making him snigger too.

"Khanak, please make a list of all the movies that you love and all the chicklits that you have been wanting to read and finish the course before the wedding………...I am not allowing this non-sense in 'our room'……" he looked at her with a warning gaze.

"As if, I am going to listen to you…….." she sniggered again and switched the TV on.

"You won't be listening to me???" he tried to snatch the remote control of the TV from her hand.

She nodded in a 'no' with a huge grin on her pretty face, winning clearly as she moved her hand away in the right time and he couldn't take the remote…….and she tried to get up.

Frustrated, he reached ahead, held her wrist and twisted it…..

"Ouch !!" she whined.

"Give me the remote……" he spoke victoriously, still holding her hand.

She gave it to him with her other hand and with an annoyed look on her face, "How mean !!"

He chuckled, "I think you seriously need classes and crash course on how to behave with your husband………" he teased her.

"Thanks, but I don't think so." She sat with an irritation and was back to her seat.

"Learn something from Ma…………I'll talk to Ma about it………"

"About what?"

"To train you like a typical wife in 2 months time………you are becoming junglee with every passing day……..…" he frowned at her.

"Hawww!!!!" she opened her mouth in a perfect boat shape," you called me junglee?? Do you know that I am the most sophisticated, sober, quiet, cute girl in the whole Delhi and NCR…………everybody knows it……" she spoke almost sitting on her knees, ready to fight.

He laughed loudly for a minute amusing her and then turned towards her to look at her eyes………..with an intense look…… to intimidate her……… and spoke slowly, one word at a time, in a very husky tone, "Really??!! But I thought that you are the naughtiest girl in Delhi………"

"So………did Shantanu Khandelwal fell for the naughtiness in me??" she smiled and asked raising her eyebrows.

He sighed, still looking into her deep, dark eyes, "I don't even know what I fell for…… but I remember Jai treating you like a kid and I always thought that I felt like protecting you too……taking care of you ……….loving you………"

He stopped from speaking more as he couldn't put his thoughts in words………they looked at each other quietly for a few seconds………and the silence spoke a million words……..

She broke the silence of those beautiful few seconds……

"Do you think that I am a kid?" she asked softly, almost with a whisper.

"Yes, You ARE !!!" he spoke huskily, bordering to whispering himself…….still looking at her………..his gaze shifting from her eyes to her nose and cheeks and back to her eyes …………..and she could see him part his lips in a deep sigh….

She became very serious and looking at his intense face, she asked, "Is this why you don't feel like sharing anything with me?"

He just kept looking at her face………blank………speechless………...at completely loss of words………..and pressed his lips……..

"Do you think that I won't be able to understand?" she questioned in a sad tone.

She was soft and slow but tried not to appear accusing or complaining………she didn't want to hurt him but at the same time, she wanted to tell what she felt…….. he removed his gaze from her face and looked down at the remote in his hands……….while she continued,"Or do you think that I am so weak that with each storm, I will crumble down like a hollow mud statuette?"

He left a deep breath and could almost hear his heart beat,"I have always felt that you are very strong…………I love the strength that I see in you………I have never considered you weak……."

"So what makes you become a recluse turtle who crawls back in his shell, the moment pain strikes him?" she asked hurt.

He gulped visibly and swept his tongue on his dry lips, "Sweetheart, I am fine….."

"I know you are………" she bent ahead in an impulse and slid her arms around his arm and hugged his arm, leaning on his shoulder, and spoke with affection oozing from her words, "You are a strong man…….. who never believes in accepting that he can be upset at things……….. who knows that he will take care of everything by himself …………. and who solves every issue calmly……… only that I am so silly that I keep trying to stand with you in every issue………and all you think of me is that I am some stupid, silly kid who is good only for loving and fun……….not for sharing pain….……"

He turned to look at her with an angry look, his eyes asking her to shut up……..

She stopped speaking……….and he turned his face away.

"I'm sorry………" she spoke with a low, sad tone and got up to go………but before she could get down from the couch, he held her elbow……….. his grip was strong and his hand warm as she felt his fingers curl around her elbow………. She looked at his grim face………taut muscles and clenched jaw………

"Sit back…….."

"Shaan………" she wanted to tell him so much.

"Don't speak Khanak………." He interrupted her from speaking more.

She kept quite and sat back. None of them spoke anything for a while. He looked down at his hand and remote in his hand and she looked at his face…..waiting for him to speak.

Finally, he spoke……

"You know it very well that I respect you for how strong you and your decisions are….. you have the rare strength of standing against everyone if you feel that you are right…… I could have never loved a weak woman so much………then why do you talk like that?"

"I just felt that you don't think of me as good enough to share your problems……"

"Do you trust me?"

"How can you ask this?"

"Answer me ………….please……" he spoke strongly.

"I do……."

"If I say that there are some small business related issues, nothing much significant… it is just a small phase and it will pass soon…………will you believe me?" he asked looking at her face.

She nodded in a 'yes' pressing her lips and almost choked, "I'm sorry……"

He pulled her in a hug, "Silly girl !!……..it is a very small issue at office……..didn't want you to fret over it so I didn't tell………..and you took it to such an extreme."

She responded to him warmly, hiding in his chest, "I just become anxious when I see you upset or worried……."

"Kha-naa-kk……..all these small issues…….ups and downs……….are part of business and its pressures……….it will happen everyday…….that doesn't mean that we have to fight over it….."

"I know………….I'll try to be more mature…….and I'll try to understand………."

"You don't try to do anything………….right now I have only one job for you……."

"What ?" she distanced her head to look at his face.

He smiled, "Shop, shop and just shop……….for both of us !! Coz I just hate shopping …….. you buy everything that you want to and after marriage I am not taking you to shopping for one year……"

"One year !!!! Are you crazy.?" She whacked him wiping an erratic tear with the other hand………..the tear that had escaped from her eye, while she lay hid in his chest.

He laughed teasing her and hugged her back, "Shall we watch the movie?"

"Which one?" she spoke on his shoulder, still in his hug…..

"KKHH…….."

She whacked him with a fist this time, "And you never fail to tease me……."

"And you never fail to amuse me……….." he laughed and kissed her hair.

……………………………………………………………..

They sat together watching the movie for another 3 hours………ate dinner that they cooked together, teasing each other………..talked endlessly and he actually sat and watched all her dresses that she bought for the wedding, jewellery, wedding gifts and card for Jai's wedding……..

But she knew……………..that he was hiding……….and was in a fix………..

And even he knew very well that behind all smiles………. she was just not convinced at his explanation……..

He left when Ma, papa and Jai came late at night and reached home late……..

She talked to Jai and Ma, papa for her while and retreated to her room………changed into her night wear and tucked herself in her duvet thinking about him and switched off the light…..

Her phone rang and she smiled, didn't switch on the light and answered it……

"I thought you will be too tired…….."

"I just called to say 'Good Night'………."

"You had already said that………..when you left……."

"I remember, but GN without a good night kiss is senseless…………so I don't count that……"

"Why didn't you kiss then?"

"Ma, papa would have been scandalized………….I am already still embarrassed at that washroom incident……."

She burst out laughing and sat back on the bed, "Gosh, I am embarrassed too…..."

"Ma is kind enough that she doesn't remind us of that……and doesn't start lecturing on how well brought up kids of good families should behave……."

"Yeah……………and don't you dare make fun of my Ma…." She warned him.

"I will…………go complain to her……"

"I will…………and she will not let you come to our house……."

"I won't go that house ever…………once I get you…….."

"Whattt !!!! What was that ???!!!"

"Obviously, why will I go to your parents place once you come to stay here……I come there for you…….." he chuckled.

"Wait……….let me tell Jai and Ma……." She threatened him.

"Okay, I am so scared now………" he chuckled again.

"Let me sleep now…………I am very busy tomorrow……."

"Aww, what are you doing tomorrow, by the way??"

"I am going to the Karol Bagh with Ma to buy some sarees for Ragini….."

"Ohh………..what a major pursuit to accomplish……"

"Humphhh…………do you even know how difficult it is choose even one saree……..it takes the whole day !!!

He laughed loudly…………..unble to control himself, he said, "I never knew that……… never bought sarees, thank God !!!"

"Good night !!!"

"Good night sweetheart !!" he was still laughing.

………………………………………………………………………….

"Good morning sweetheart !!" he spoke in his husky baritone.

"What is this?? Just now you said Good night and now you called again to say Good Morning???" she said in a sleepy voice, ducking herself deep inside the duvet.

He sniggered loudly, "My silly cat, that was 5 hours back……."

"Really??!!" she yawned placing her hand on the speaker of her phone, "are you working as an alarm clock too………why did you call so early in the morning?"

"I recently discovered a new fascination……"

"What is that?" she asked confused, trying to sit in bed rubbing her still closed eyes.

"Your sleepy voice when you just wake up……..your trying to make sense when you are still half asleep and your confused words………your yawn and your moan……….and to imagine you doing all that in bed, early in the morning…………."

"Nooo !!!! For this, you woke me up so early in the morning?? Not fair Shaan……"

He smirked, "Crazy female, I woke you up as I want to see you in my office before 10.00…"

"Why?"

"There is a surprise for you……"

"In office?"

"Yeppp……"

"Tell me…………..what it is !!!"

"No, you come n see for yourself……"

"Please tell me, you jerk……………..you know that I don't like surprises……" she whined again.

"Okay……………Samir is coming back from Calcutta and joining office from today….."

"Eeeksss !!!! are you serious?" she sprang to sit on bed, eyes wide open.

"You get excited at everybody's name, except me……"

"Awww………is he joining today itself?"

"Yes, you can meet him at the office and then in the evening, we can go out….."

"Fair enough………"

"See you at my office, then!!"

"Alright……..good that you woke me up……"

"Pleasure is all mine sweetheart……………you sound so tempting in the morning that I couldn't resist………."

"Sheeeshhh !!! you have become a seasoned flirt………"

"Thanks!!"

"Your welcome………..you deserve the title…….."

"Be on time…….."

"I will…….."

…………………………………………………………………………….

"Samir, I have told dad that you will work with me on this new textiles factory project…."

"Shaan, I think you got to guide me at that front as I have no experience in this sector…"

"Don't worry buddy………..I am taking care of initial settling down and operations…… and you will be taking care of finance department………..you have enough experience in finances management and I wanted someone very reliable there."

"I know you specially asked Sunil sir to transfer me from Calcutta division to here…….. I wanted to be here myself………..was missing Delhi………"

"I know that…………. dad wanted you to be in Calcutta for initial 2 months of joining as he wanted that wing to be in strict supervision. Once this project has started taking a concrete shape, I asked dad that I wanted you here……"

They were talking about the factory when Khanak entered like a tornado, "Samiirrr !!!!! heyyy………..!!!!!"

"Hi Khanak………" Samir was excited too.

Both Samir and Shaan stood up from their seats when she entered……… Samir placed a hand around her shoulders and hugged her for a second in a brotherly way, "I missed you guys so much….."

"We missed you too……."she stood near Shaan holding his elbow and spoke on behalf of both of them.

"I remember the days spent in Mumbai and feel so low……"

Shaan spoke this time, "Oye !! don't worry………………we'll rockkk the Delhi clubs more than Mumbai………" and both Shaan and Samir did a hi5.

Khanak looked at Shaan with hands folded across her chest and with a typical irritated frown, "Bars……….you mean…???"

"I didn't mean anything,……" he shrugged.

Akshay entered Shaan's cabin and everyone greeted him. He hugged samir and asked him about his general well being. Samir responded warmly to Akshay's quick greetings and exchange of information.

After the general quick talk, Akshay turned to Shaan, "Is Samir working with you on this project Shaan?"

"Yeah Bro, I am thinking that Samir could handle the Finances……… I have talked to dad about that………"

"Okay, then both of you come to the board room…………….we have an urgent meeting there regarding this project….."

"Any problems bro?" Shaan asked cautiously, with a frown on his face.

"Come there, we'll talk in detail……" spoke Akshay and before going out he turned to Khanak, "Hi Khanak……..sorry I didn't see you."

"It's okay Bhaiya, I saw that you are busy…." She smiled.

He stepped ahead and hugged her, "Come home someday, we'll sit and talk…….. mom was missing you too……"

"Sure bhaiya……….I'll come someday with Shaan……"she spoke with a lot of respect.

"Oaky then, I'll see you later and both of you guys, meet us in the boardroom in 10 minutes ?? Is it fine?"

"Yeppp……" they nodded.

"Shaan, I'll go to my cabin and fetch my laptop………see you in the boardroom directly."

"Yeah…………okay !!"

Neither Akshay, nor Samir noticed the change in expressions on Shaan's face………from a relaxed smile to a tensed frown……..a deep agony………and a subtle frustration…….

But one person noticed every single furrow on the face and every single change in the creases appearing on forehead, brows and jaw……….

She looked at him keenly and was worried. He turned to her and their eyes met…….

He turned away hiding his reaction and bent over the table to pick up his laptop and file folders.

She didn't speak anything for a moment……….the, she just turned to him and said slowly, "I am leaving for now……..call me when you are free….."

"Hmm !!" he nodded, still busy in his folders, pen and laptop, avoiding her.

"Bye !!" she spoke and turned to go away !!

"Khanak !!" he called her when she was about to open the door of his cabin to go out. She stood still and turned back, her heart wanted him to stop her and he did………she felt content and her confidence increased manifold…….

He came near her and stood facing her…………she looked at his face………. A smile swept on his face but not reaching his eyes…….and he held her shoulders as if to assure her, "Everything is fine……….there is no need to worry !!

She smiled too and stepped ahead to hug him, "I know that………..I am with you."

He hugged her back………

……………………………………………………………………………