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After about 1 hour, when Jaidev realised about Shruti's absence, he was shocked. He remembered how he behaved with her. He was angry and vented out all his anger on her.
So, he did not wait anymore and started looking for her in the whole house but failed. She was nowhere to be seen. Not even on the terrace.
Did she leave the house? It was possible but as much as he knows Shurti, she will not leave the things that are dearer to her than her life. Her jewellery, clothes, shoes - everything is very dear to her.
Then where did she go? Maybe she's roaming outside the house. With this thought, he went out of the house to find her.
" Fuck! Shruti, where did you go?"
He licked his lower lip and ran his fingers into his hair worriedly. She's not even anywhere near the house. The whole area is silent.
He decided to find her by car. Maybe she has gone somewhere far. He doesn't care about Aryan. He can't put a girl in trouble late at night.
He stopped on his track just outside the main door of his house and frowned, realising he did not check the garden.
He went there hurriedly but widened his eyes and halted on his steps as soon as his eyes landed on the tree in his garden.
His heart sank and fear rushed down his spine seeing a figure seated on the branch with back facing him. His eyes widened and he quivered as the only thought that crossed his mind was-
Ghost.
His soul left his body when the figure turned its head behind. He almost screamed when Shruti scoffed at him.
" Why did you come here now? Leave."
" Thank God," he took a breath of relief and put his hand on his left chest and found his heart pumping inside his chest.
This girl will take his life someday with her antics.
The above sentence was enough to convert his fear into anger.
" What the hell are you doing up there?"
She rolled her eyes and looked in front. He gritted his teeth and walked toward the tree. He stood before her and moved his head up to stare at her.
" You look like a witch. Come down now."
She glared at him, " are you going or not? I am not coming back."
" Shruti-"
" Why? Call me with weird names now."
" Okay, witch-"
" Shut up!"
He pinched the bridge of nose in frustration then said in a less anguish tone.
" Shruti, please come down."
" No," she answered without hesitating.
" Gosh! This girl," he muttered and sighed heavily.
" Okay okay, I apologise. Now come down. You will hurt yourself."
She crossed her hands around the chest, " apologise for what? Do you think a mere sorry will fix your mistakes? Absolutely no. You have caused me so much trouble, Mr. Chaudhary."
" Saara badla abhi logi? Neeche aao jaldi."
( Will you take all your revenge right now? Come down.)
She pointed her finger at him, " you again raised your voice."
He gritted his teeth, " you-"
" You can leave, Mr. Chaudhary. You didn't even want to see my face. I am just obeying you."
" God! Come down before I cut this damn tree."
She fake gasped and caressed the branch of tree and uttered dramatically,
" Is aadmi ke paas Dil nahi hai, ped ji."
( This man does not have a heart, Mr. Tree.)
" Ped ji? Pati hai tumhara ped?"
( Mr. Tree? Is the tree your husband?)
She threw a bored look at him, " at least the tree is not telling me to leave like you."
" God! You can stay in my room. You can do anything but come down first otherwise you'll harm yourself."
" No. Nope. Never."
" God!"
He sighed irritatedly and gulped before exhaling deeply and saying, " please, Shruti. You can fight with me later."
Shruti chewed the corner of her lower lip and looked away from his face. She could have come down but...
" Please come," he said and moved his hand up to her.
She cleared her throat and said without meeting his gaze, " I do not know how to climb the tree down."
Silence came from his side for almost a minute and a blank look appeared on his face.
" What do you mean? Come down the same way you climbed up."
" But I don't know how to," she snapped back.
" You are such a troublesome person," he commented.
She glared at him, " okay then you can go. Leave me. Why are you even here?"
He clenched his jaw and decided to deal with her once she came down.
" Okay I am sorry, now try to take the support of the tree and come down slowly. Grab my hand, see."
She blinked and made a movement. She held the tree and slowly started climbing down. Her heart skipped a beat in fear. She was certain that if she slipped from here, her back would break.
But she trusts him.
It's crazy but she does trust him.
" Yes yes, just like that. Grab my hand. Here."
He forwarded his hand up to her and she moved more down while taking support. She hissed when she accidentally scratched her back with a tree .
" Careful!"
He said worriedly.
" I am okay. I am okay."
She replied and held his hand.
" Thankyou-"
She gasped as he hurriedly pulled her down.
" Are you mad-"
She gasped one more time as he pinned her against the tree without letting her react anyhow.
" Are you mad? Why were you sitting here like a witch? What if something had happened to you?"
" You again called me a witch," she complained.
" Oh yeah, I did. Because you look like one."
She scoffed and pushed him back.
" So what if something had happened to me? You don't even care about anyone. It would have been easy for you to take revenge from my brother-"
" Shut up!"
She startled as his voice raised suddenly. He took steps closer to her and grabbed her wrist.
" Yes, you are right. I don't even care about you. It's just I don't want to ruin my plans because of your stupidity."
" Then freaking leave me!"
She pushed him away harshly and walked away from there, without sharing any conversation after that.
She entered the bedroom and closed the door with bang. She put the rest of her things aside and decided to take care of them tomorrow.
She, then, grabbed a separate blanket and lay down on the bed, covering her with it.
How can someone be so insensitive? He literally sounded so sweet while calling her down but when she came down, he changed his personality instantly as if the sweet Jaydev never existed.
She closed her eyes angrily and decided to sleep as soon as possible. She could hear sounds of the door opening and him entering. He locked the door and walked toward the dressing table.
She heard the shifting of things then the drawer closing sound. She pulled the duvet up to her face as he walked toward the bed and climbed up on it.
" Turn on your stomach," he said.
She knitted her eyebrows, " bade hi badtameez aadmi Hain aap to."
( You are such an insolent man.)
" Bistar ke andar se bolna band karo aur jo keh raha hun karo. Kamar pe chot lagi hai tumhare."
( Stop talking while being inside the duvet. Do what I am saying. You have hurt your back.)
Oh, she finally realised after being pointed out. She got a scratch from the tree when she was climbing the tree down.
" I won't," she replied.
" Don't irritate me, Shruti and do as I say."
" No," she replied stubbornly.
" You left no choice for me," he uttered and she pulled the duvet down from her face.
" What do you mean?"
He grabbed her shoulder and said, " this."
Before she could react, he flipped her on her stomach and grabbed her both wrists with one hand.
" Dare to make a move and I will put handcuffs on your wrist."
" Leave me!"
Shruti wiggled to free herself.
" Don't move. I am not doing anything, just applying ointment."
He said.
" I don't want to! Leave me, you stupid idiot silly clown officer."
She abused him in all the ways she felt were right at that time.
" That's what I expect from a girl whose brother is a lawyer. You two can only argue."
" Don't bring my brother in between," she said protectively.
He chuckled slightly, " I will."
She felt him sliding the blanket down from her body.
" Let me do it. I have no intention to touch you in that way."
She thought for a while and agreed. When he saw her making no movement, he left her hands then slid her T-shirt up at a point from where he could see her scratches.
" It's all because of you."
She put the blame on him.
" Who told you to climb the tree and sit there like a wi-"
" Dare to complete that, Mr. Chaudhary-"
" Witch," he interrupted her and completed his sentence.
She scoffed while he took the medicine on the tip of his finger. Shruti suddenly felt nervous, being in this position with him. She was not at all uncomfortable but the current moment did not seem good.
She has always seen him as her brother's best friend and never imagined marrying him, although it is only for 6 months.
She chewed her lower lip and felt the cold touch of medicine on her skin. It burned her scratches a little but it was tolerable.
He glanced at her then continued applying medicine around the area of scratches and as his work finished, he moved back.
She could finally take a breath of relief. She turned on her back and moved her T-shirt down.
He switched off the lights and got on bed then lay down beside her with a separate duvet.
" Ek baat kahun?"
( Can I say something?)
He closed his eyes and hummed. She pressed her lips together to suppress her laugh and felt her cheeks turning warm.
" Uhm, when you talked about putting handcuffs around my hands.."
" So?"
He uttered curiously, with eyes still closed. She cleared her throat then said,
" That sounded so vulgar and hot-"
" What the fuck?"
She burst into laughter hearing his instant reply. He looked at her strangely as if she had gone mad. Her laughter grew louder seeing his expression.
" Stop being idiotic delusional."
He turned his back to her.
" What? I said what I thought. You know I can't keep things inside my heart."
She said while laughing.
" Please! No need to tell me."
He replied, irritated by her laughter which did not stop soon but when it did, he could finally sleep.
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In the morning,
Aryan came to the kitchen while looking for Pakhi.
" What are you doing here?"
He asked her confusedly as he found her cooking in the kitchen.
" Maids can cook," he said, walking inside.
" I know they can but I want to. Remember, di is coming so I thought to make something for her. I was feeling bored too."
She explained her situation and he stood beside her, crossing his hands around chest and resting his butt against the edge of the counter.
No maids were in the kitchen.
" What are you making?"
" Maa said Di like kachori."
He nodded and glanced at the bowl in which she is mashing boiled potatoes.
" You know what I like?"
She glanced at him then back at the bowl and shook her head negatively.
" You!"
He clicked his tongue while she just gave a boring response to him.
" You know what I dislike?"
" Me?" he pointed at himself.
She shook her head, " brother of Shruti Di."
She smiled victoriously as if she said a very praise-worthy statement.
" Soon, you'll like me."
" I won't," she replied with full confidence.
" Can you help me?"
" I am always ready," Aryan replied and stood straight.
" What do I have to do?"
He asked and she told him to put all the spices in the mashed potatoes one by one as per her instructions.
" No no no no, that's too much salt."
He emptied half of the salt from the spoon then put it in the bowl.
" Thanks."
She said and mixed the spices with mashed potatoes. He looked at her face and found her strands of hair feathering on the side of her cheek. So, he slowly raised his hand to her face. She was taken back and looked at him with wide confused eyes.
" What?"
She blinked her eyes and he, without saying anything, tucked the strands of her hair behind the ear. She looked into his eyes which she always finds sparkling whenever he's present with her.
She cleared her throat slightly, " uhm, aren't you leaving now?"
" No. I'll stay until you are cooking."
" Oh," she replied in a tiny voice and diverted all her attention to the kachori she's making.
He watched her throughout the time and noticed every bit of her expression which she made while cooking.
" Careful," he reminded her to be careful of hot oil.
He glanced at her bare waist and felt his heart skipping a beat. His eyes turned dark as soon as he saw her navel. He gulped down his saliva and looked at her face which looked innocent as heaven.
And,
It was enough to ignite his desire.
" Fuck!"
He muttered and she looked at him confusedly.
" What happened?"
He shook his head and avoided her gaze, " n..nothing."
She frowned and he regretted glancing at her waist one more time. Imaginary sweat formed on his forehead and he felt his lower body reacting to his dark imaginations.
" Fuck fuck fuck. I'll be back."
She stared at him weirdly as he quickly escaped. She shook her head and focused on Kachori.
After completing her work, she washed her hands and went to her bedroom.
" Huh? Why did you take a bath again?"
She asked, seeing Aryan drying his hair with a towel. His upper body is drenched with water while he has worn pants on lower body.
" Uhm, I..was feeling hot."
He did not lie at all.
" Itni garmi lag rahi hai aapko?"
( Are you feeling so hot?)
She chuckled and walked toward almirah. He bit the corner of his lower lip and looked for a particular thing in the almirah.
Aryan threw the towel on bed and grabbed his shirt from it then started wearing it.
" Suniye-"
( Listen-)
" Hn?"
She closed the almirah and faced him. She glanced at his exposed chest before quickly looking up at his face.
" Uhm nothing," she said and decided to leave.
" Ruko Zara," he stopped her and sat on the bed.
( Stop.)
" Come here," he said while buttoning up his shirt. She walked toward him and sat down beside him as he patted on the bed beside himself.
" What?"
He buttoned up his shirt then looked at her.
" We are leaving for New York next week."
She frowned, " who said?"
" Me," he replied and got out of bed.
" I don't want to," she said.
" Too bad. I already booked our tickets."
" And you did not even take my permission?"
Her tone turned harsh. He grabbed his watch from the dressing table.
" I thought you would love to go there."
" No you did not. You again forced me to obey your orders."
He faced her and raised his eyebrows at her, " means you don't want to go?"
She shook her head negatively, " I don't want to go anywhere with you."
The last two words hit his ego more than anything else. Whenever he feels that their relationship is taking the right turn, she says something that changes his thinking and proves him wrong.
" Why not with me?"
" Because I don't want to," she replied without hesitating.
He chuckled slightly and locked his watch around his wrist before saying,
" First, I didn't give you a choice. It was indeed an order."
She fisted her hands, " I, too, gave my answer. I won't obey any of your orders and won't go with you."
" You have to," he said and walked toward her.
She walked backward and dropped on the bed as the back of her knees hit against the edge of bed. He leaned his body down to her and she turned her face to the side. He picked up his overcoat behind her and stood straight.
" We'll find out next week if you are going or not."
She stared at him with a disbelieving look.
" You can't always do this to me. I just don't want to go anywhere. I am already stuck with you."
Her tone raised at the last sentence and his eyes darkened and gaze stopped at her face. She quivered internally coming across to his scary side but maintained her posture and did not dare to break eye contact.
" Bad news. You'll be forever stuck with me. You'll go everywhere I want to take you."
He knew his language was rude and he was being extremely heartless but he couldn't hold himself after hearing a few hatred filled statements from her.
" So that's how you love?"
She mocked him and a small smirk spread on his lips.
" Yes, any doubt?"
She chuckled sarcastically, " it's just a stupid feeling of yours."
She stood up and thought to leave but he held her arms and pulled her to himself. This time, he took extra care not to grab her in a tight grip.
She widened her eyes a bit as he cupped her jaw and forced her head up to make her look into his eyes.
" Listen to me carefully, sweetheart. That's how I love it and you better get used to it."
" I won't," she replied without any fear and he brought his face close to her.
" I don't even care. Next week, we'll board off to New York and you are going be a good wife, am I clear?"
She clenched her jaw and pushed him away from her.
" No. When I said I won't go, then it means I won't. Dare to force me and-"
She stopped in the middle, feeling tongue tied. He grabbed the opportunity and took one step closer to her.
" And? And what? Will you tell your brother? Go on and I won't hesitate to expose him the next moment."
Like always, he threatened her. She felt her throat itching and she reached the edge of crying but controlled herself.
" Why are you cruel?"
" That's how I am," he accepted his flaw like it was a praise-worthy thing.
He stood in front of her and cupped her cheeks before pecking her forehead.
" You make me react like this. If you would have agreed at first, I would not have to behave this way."
She jerked his hands away from her face.
" By behaving this way, you are only making me hate you more."
He stayed silent, caught the sight of water in her eyes before she turned her back at him and left the room.
There's a little closeness between them which turns into huge distances the next day. Reason, him, his fatal obsession and controlling nature which may turn the relationship toxic soon.
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I have one last exam to cover and take care of my nephew for a few days so updates may get slow.
Let's see.
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