Chapter 80: chapter 80

Imara stood in the doorway, her eyes widening as she took in the sight of the delivery boy holding a parcel that looked like a packed meal. As she looked at the note attached to it, she accepted it without hesitation, not even bothering to ask if it was paid for, and stepped back inside, shutting the door quitely.Rushing back to the kitchen, she placed the parcel onto the countertop and unwrapped it. The delightful scent of Kathal Biryani wafted through her apartment, and a smile blossomed on her face like a flower in spring.Her fingers brushed over the note, which read, “With love, for my love!”That smile? It was glued to her face as she grabbed her other phone and noticed a message pop up: “I wish I could see that smile now, like right now!”“Dream on!” she texted back.“I have this itch to poke that cute little dimple on your left cheek when you smile,” came the playful reply.She scrunched her nose at the thought and typed, “I hate someone doing that.”“I’m not just anyone, Little Tyke!” he texted back, making her blush like a ripe tomato. She decided to stop the banter and settled into a wooden chair in her living room, ready to savour her favourite dish. She needed to ask him, though, how he knew her favourites.—————Just then, her old phone rang, prompting her to clear her throat like a seasoned actress before responding, “Hello Mummy,” her tone suddenly took a dip into the meek pool.“Imu, did you eat?” Suvika’s worried voice crackled through the phone.“Yes, rice! I am eating rice,” she replied, a wave of guilt crashing over her for the lie. But it was all for their good.“How long do you plan to stay away from us?” Suvika pressed.“Mummy…please,” Imara whispered, squeezing her eyes shut as if that would block out the reality.“Okay,” Suvika sighed, her breath heavy with concern.Imara ended the call, her gaze drifting to the bowl of biryani. It was oh-so-tempting, but the weight of her lie to the ones she loved, made her set the bowl back down and hold her head in defeat.Her other phone rang almost instantly, and she picked it up without a glance, fully aware of who was on the line.“You ate?” she inquired.“Why aren’t you eating?” he countered.She shot a scathing look at the security camera fixed above the main door of her apartment and replied, “You assured me you wouldn’t watch me like a hawk!”“That was for something else, Little Tyke. Like I would turn a blind eye if you do anything that might push me to come there right away and kiss you senseless,” he murmured, his voice rich and sultry. Imara’s face flushed with a rosy hue as she recalled the sensation of his lips on hers, her very first kiss, and that too with him, and how passionately he had ravished her lips.“Can you stop that?” she replied, clearing her throat.“Why Imara?” he asked, his voice low and dripping with amusement.“Enough Raj!” she snapped back. “I don’t feel like eating because Mummy called. I feel…”“Guilty because we are telling a lie,” he finished for her. “That’s exactly why I told you to go back home. But who can argue with you and Dadu?”Imara pursed her lips, and he replied, “Stop doing that!”With a squint at the camera, she turned her chair to give it the cold shoulder, and he protested, “That’s just not fair!”“You started it,” she shot back.“Come on now, Imara…. I want to see you, please!” his pleading voice squirmed her insides in the most delightful way possible, causing her to blush.“Papa and Mummy came to the factory,” she said, changing the topic.“I know,” he replied. “Nasir let me in on it.”“They told me what happened at home.”“Don’t worry about it. Dadu is handling Dad well.”“How is Mom?” Imara inquired, her voice trembling slightly as she said the word ‘Mom’ for the first time in reference to Vandana.Adhiraj felt a warmth spread through him and replied softly, “I will make sure she knows by tomorrow otherwise she will just keep worrying herself.”“I hope everything gets sorted sooner,” Imara whispered, nervously nibbling on her lip. “I am getting everyone worried.”“It’s not your fault. We’ll get through this together, I promise. Now, turn around so I can ogle you,” he whispered tenderly, causing Imara to blush and giggle.With a playful shake of her head, she replied, “Not a chance, Mr. Shekhawat…”“You’re making a big mistake, Little Tyke!” he shot back with a grin.“Buzz off,” she laughed, her spirits lifting.“Alright! But eat first. And just so you know, I’m keeping tabs on this. I’ll settle the score in my own way. No alternatives allowed,” he countered.“And what exactly do you mean by ‘settling the score’?” she asked with a playful smirk, diving back into her dinner.“Picture this: your legs shaking and you screaming my name, Mrs. Adhiraj Singh Shekhawat,” he replied with a cheeky grin.Imara coughed, shoved the bowl of rice aside, and strutted into the kitchen for a glass of water. Once she was done, she could hear Adhiraj’s laughter echoing, and she shot back, “Pervert!”With that, she ended the call, shot a look at the camera that Adhiraj could spy on through his phone, and clicked her tongue in annoyance.It wasn’t until she was snuggled in bed that her phone buzzed with a message from that same unknown number. It read, “Quotes or photos?”Imara sat up straight, eyebrow arched, and typed back, “I told you I am no longer related to Shekhawats. I can’t give you the quotes. But I can give you money in return for those photos. More than you can imagine.”“Look at the wealthy brat. Money can’t buy everything. I want quotes.”“I can’t give you quotes. I have no access to anything related to those projects. You can take as much money as you want and let’s settle this matter for good. For god’s sake, I don’t even know who you are?”And just like that, the conversation hit a brick wall. Right on cue, her other phone buzzed, and she answered immediately. Adhiraj said, “He has got his eyes on you. Nasir is in the apartment next door. But call me if you feel something is fishy, I am awake. Alright?”Imara heaved a sigh, muttering, “I am going to cripple him once I get my hands on him.”Adhiraj chuckled, “My hellfire! I will make sure you don’t send him to the hospital afterwards.”“Who told you?” Imara’s eyes widened as she remembered beating up a man who tried to kidnap her and later she took him to the hospital.“Shaurya told me when you went to meet Isha on the next day of our wedding. He warned me that you beat shit out of the people.”“I am yet to get my hands on you.”“In what way?”“Not in the least that you are thinking. I really want to beat you for threatening time again and holding me hostage.”The sound of his laughter echoed in her ears, sending a delightful tingle through her body and causing her to close her eyes. It was then that he replied, “You left me with no option, Little Tyke.”“What did you expect?” Imara shot back.“You are far more from what I could have ever expected, Imara. And I want this mess to end sooner so that I can bring you back home. And then I have something more to tell you, something which you might have never known, and I forgot.”“What is that?”“Patience, my hellfire. Patience!”“Raj!”“Good night, Imara. Sleep. Call me if you sense something strange. Love you.”And with that, he hung up, leaving Imara to smack her forehead in amusement.