[IshRa OS] Role Reversal

Raman looked up from the file he was reading when he heard the door open. Ishita had left immediately after dinner to attend to an emergency and naturally, he couldn't sleep until she returned home. After that stunt with the serial killer, despite being a hoax, he's still worried about her. With great difficulty, he managed to convince his naughty daughter, Ruhi, to sleep with her grandparents. He knew putting her to sleep was no easy task when his wife isn't around, so he took the easy way out and left her in his mother's capable hands.

He observed his wife as she walked in, set her bag down and locked the door. She was changing into her house slippers when she noticed he was still up. She smiled at him and Raman returned the smile. He didn't know why, but he felt like making small talk.

"How is the patient?"

Ishita was momentarily taken back. Raman had always taunted her profession and never paid the slightest attention to her work unless it involved Ruhi or their family members. "He is doing well now. Thank you for asking."

And with that, she walked past him and head to their room to shower and freshen up.

As she passed him, Raman continued staring at her retreating figure until he realized something.

Wait! Is that gent's cologne I smell on her? He asked himself. His senses perked up and his brows knitted naturally. Raman's brain was working full time now. She mentioned a "He" and she's smelling like Black!^[1] She did look happier than usual, he started to think. But then stopped himself from such unholy thoughts. No, Ishita is as pure as any woman can be. He can never suspect her. Yet, the husband in him slammed the laptop shut and threw the now useless file on the couch and rushed into their room behind him.

He casually turned on the cricket match, but his eyes were fixed on the bathroom door. His keen hearing informed him that she was out of the shower; so he engrossed himself in the match, rather convincingly. She walked out in her lilac nightwear and still, he got a whiff of the same scent.

The smell is still so strong after that shower? Did she bathe in the dratted cologne? Oh God! Why is the scent so strong?

Such thoughts or rather, questions flood his mind unknowingly. He wanted to question her, but he didn't. In fact, he had not a clue how to broach the topic. He might end up royally embarrassing himself in the process, so he thought better of it.

Unaware of the storm in her husband's heart and head, Ishita wished him good night and soon fell into a deep slumber. Emergency cases are no easy fete. Raman continued looking at the television as sleep evaded him. However, thirty minutes later, he wished he had taken some sleeping pills instead because then he wouldn't have witnessed what he did. Ishita's phone pinged and he realized she had left it on the night stand beside the bed. So he instinctively picked up the phone and saw the message, "Thank you so much Ishu! 😊" from a number stored only as S'.

Once again, his mind went into investigative mode. He gently rests the phone back in its place because he would never want to invade her privacy. He understands that she needs her personal space and freedom, as much as he requires his. And knowing that she was an independent woman before marriage, he didn't want to mess with her, lest she jumps into her Jhansi ki Rani avatar, something she loves doing.

Now feeling insomniac, he took two sleeping pills before the consequences of a sleepless night shows on his face the next day. He'll have a more difficult time explaining that to everyone, than asking Ishita who S' is.

Despite the sleeping pills, he woke up when Ishita's feet touch the ground of their room at 5:30 AM.

This woman wakes up at such an ungodly hour, he thought.

He pretended to be asleep and observed her feeling around on the couch for her phone. Finally glancing towards the bed, she located it and came closer to the bed. He watched as she picked up the device and a huge grin broke out on her beautiful face instantly. Suddenly, he was seething in anger thinking about all the dots he had connected. But he still didn't know what to think. So he scrapped the idea of bluntly asking questions; questions that only a possessive husband would dare ask. He watched as she hastily typed a reply and left to start her morning routine.

Whilst fixing his tie, he heard her phone pinged again. He craned his neck and noticed that S' had messaged her again! He totally lost his temper now. How dare S' steal his wife's attention? He couldn't see the message as she grabbed the phone and had a smile again on her face.

This is too much, he decided.

"Who is S'?" he asked as casually as he could, but his heart was beating faster; dreading her answer.

"Oh! My patient from last night," she answered coolly. She was about to leave the room when he grabbed her hand and spun her around.

"Is S' anyone's full name? Why haven't you stored the full name?" he was losing his patience and rationality with each ticking minute.

"What's the matter with you Raman?" she was shocked. "Leave my arm."

He realized what he just did and allowed his arms to drop limply to his sides, as he gave her a scowl. She had comprehended his thoughts the minute he voiced them and decided to play along.

"And to answer your question, no. S' isn't the full name." She left the answer as open as she possibly can and she was enjoying the inner battle Raman was having with himself.

But the man needed answers and he will get them, "So?" he countered.

"So what?" she retorted.

That's it. He lost his last logical thought and closed in on her. "I don't care about these childish games. So I will get to the point," he stated as he pushed her against the dresser.

He glared into her chocolate eyes, "I smelt male cologne on you last night. Explain that. And don't try to deny, I know what I am talking about. Next thing, why is S' thanking you? In fact, who is S'?"

She stared right back at him and understood that he won't relent and is acting like a wild tiger. She feared more for herself now that she will have to reveal the truth.

"Actually, it's Subbu," Ishita looked at the changing emotions in her husband's eyes - from surprise; to shock; to anger and finally, to defeat.

She hastily tried to assure him, "His son was ill! So he called me, as I was the only doctor he knew here. He and his family came up for a wedding and his son fell ill suddenly and so he called me. It's equal to an emergency case na? And it's stored as S' because that's his new number and I was in a rush, so I just typed S' quickly"

Raman grumbled. He knew she was trying to convince him of her innocence and he believed her but only one thing was left in his mind - the cologne.

"Explain the cologne madam."

Such a simple statement, but she understood how hard it must have been for him to voice it.

She laughed, "Actually, the cologne bottle was on the table and whilst attempting to calm the baby down, he kicked the bottle and it fell to the floor and broke. I was right there so the scent is strong on my skin."

He knew she wouldn't lie. She just explained every fine detail to him. His wife was so innocent, he regretted being suspicious of her. But he hadn't the time to feel embarrassed.

"My Ravaan Kumar was jealous eh?" his naughty wife teased.

"Jealous? Who was jealous?" he let out an uncomfortable laugh.

She pinched his nose and walked out the door saying, "It's okay. I won't tell anyone. But you're very cute in this avatar."

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^[1] Black is a cologne by Kenneth Cole. It smells absolutely divine. ☺️

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