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Aryan watched her keenly as she stood in front of him and raised her hand to cup his cheek but he grasped her wrist.
" Apni had mein raho."
( Stay in your limits.)
He jerked her hand back to her. She chuckled and said, " you touched me anyway."
He irked and she tucked the strand of her hair behind her ear and parted her mouth to speak, " so, won't you ask the reason behind me calling you here?"
She walked back to her seat and sat there. He frowned and Jivika crossed her legs, exposing her smooth long legs. She grabbed her purse and started searching for something in it.
" Must be something useless-"
Aryan stopped in the middle when she took a picture from her purse. It was Pakhi's picture.
His expression stiffened and she rolled her tongue inside the mouth.
" Your wife is very beautiful, I must say but unfortunately, she is not perfect to walk by your side."
He fisted his hand. She put the picture on the table and grabbed the glass of wine.
" Don't worry, I do not want to marry you. I have no interest in marriage. I just want you."
She took a sip and let out a satisfied breath as she gulped the drink down.
" Let's make a deal?"
She turned her gaze at him and smirked, " Pakhi is young and I found out that she doesn't love you. Tsk tsk, what a stupid creature-"
He took a long stride to her and grabbed her neck. The mad woman smiled even in this condition. He leaned his body down to her and tightened the grip around her neck.
" Apni gandi zubaan se meri biwi ka naam ek baar aur liya to Zinda jala dunga."
( If my wife's name rolled out of your dirty tongue once again, I would burn you alive.)
She laughed while coughing in the middle. He left her neck and pushed her back. She cracked her neck and shook her head at him.
" You are a fool, Aryan. I am talking about your benefit and you are ready to kill me?"
He scoffed, " I have a very beautiful wife, for your goddamn information. Do not fucking compare yourself with her. Stupid little serpent."
He cursed then turned around to leave.
" So that's how a well known lawyer behaves with a woman?"
She mocked him. He faced her and nodded before saying, " you take what you give. What about the woman? Even the greatest man cannot talk nonsense about my wife."
" That much love for a young fragile woman? I wonder how it would feel to experience your love now. I am silly to desire your body only."
She raised her eyebrows. He chose not to answer and glanced at Pakhi's picture on the table. He walked toward it and grabbed it. He left the room and closed the door with a bang. Jivika smirked and turned her gaze at the vase. She stood up and went towards it.
She took out the camera she hid behind the leaves. Her smirk widened when she received desired scenes from the video.
" I wanna see how much your pathetic wife trusts you."
She chuckled sarcastically.
Aryan exhaled heavily and removed his jacket while entering the house. The living room was silent, meaning everyone went to sleep.
" Aryan?"
Well, not everybody. Ekta came to her son and asked, " why are you late? Are you okay? You seem worried."
He smiled reassuringly and patted her cheek, " I am all okay, maa."
She smiled slightly, " had dinner?"
He hummed and asked, " is Pakhi asleep?"
" Maybe. Today she and your father had a great competition in ludo."
" Really? Who won?" He asked interestingly.
" Pakhi," Ekta replied with a chuckle. Aryan smiled at her then went upstairs as she wished him night.
He opened the door of their bedroom and expected the darkness and her sleeping on the bed. Surprisingly, it was dark in the room but she was not sleeping but was staring at her phone without blinking. Her back was towards him.
" Again Hrithik Roshan?"
Pakhi blinked her eyes hearing his voice and clenched her jaw. He put his jacket on the couch and still did not notice her expression.
She turned her head to his side and he sat on the couch. He let out a relaxed breath and spread his legs wide. He raised his eyebrows at her and asked,
" Ye aise kya dekh rahi ho?"
( Why are you looking at me like that?)
Anger flickered in her eyes and she muttered under her breath, " biwi nahi to bahar wali dhoond li-"
( If not wife, he found someone else.)
" Aye, ye aise ilzaam na daalo mujh par," he snapped at her.
( Don't put such blame on me.)
She rolled her eyes and showed the mobile screen to him. He squeezed his eyes seeing his picture in the VIP room of the club. The picture is clicked of the time he grabbed Jivika's neck.
He chuckled sarcastically at her insensitive tricks.
" Hasi aa rahi hai gandi harkatein kar ke?"
( Are you laughing after doing dirty things?)
Pakhi snapped at him. He tilted his head slightly, not able to comprehend her behaviour. Is she jealous? If yes, then he'll be on the ninth cloud.
" What is dirty?"
She put the mobile harshly on the bed and stood up, " you are dirty, Mr. Chauhan."
She walked toward the dressing table angrily and grabbed body lotion. He clicked his tongue.
" Ahn? But I am innocent."
" The picture says otherwise," she replied while applying body lotion on her arms.
" No, trust me. It was that woman only who was trying to manipulate me?"
She stopped momentarily and turned around. She frowned, " manipulate you? Who has the audacity to manipulate you?"
He shrugged his shoulders, " according to her, my wife is young and is not enough for me-"
" Who is she to decide?"
He bit the corner of his lower lip to suppress his smile as she interrupted him.
" And what else?"
She took two steps ahead at him.
" That I should fool you and spend nights with her."
He did not lie though.
" Haw! Kya aurat hai baap re. Kaise dore daal Rahi hai. Aapne kya kaha fir?"
( Haw! What a woman she is, my God. How she is trying to woo you. What did you say then?)
She took more steps closer to him. He shook his head and made an innocent face, " what could I say? She's a woman. I cannot even talk rudely to her. If it had been a man, I would have definitely beat him."
She hurried her steps and sat down beside him. She put her hand on his thigh and trying to fix his mind,
" Listen, she was disrespecting your wife then you should have fought with her. If she tries to put blame on you, bhai will take care of everything. You know he's a police officer right?"
" Yes, I forgot. I will definitely do this if she repeats. But.. how will I prove that everything's good between us?"
She tilted her head confusedly, " why do you want to prove?"
He shrugged his shoulders, " when she mentioned that you hate me, I couldn't say anything because isn't that true?"
She rolled her eyes, " do not act. You lie in court. Here, you could not tell even one lie that I love you?"
Last three words skipped his heart beat even though it was not true, not yet at least.
" Pyar mohabbat mein jhooth nahi bolte hai," he replied.
( One does not lie in love.)
" Then sit there and get everyone to insult me and our relationship," she huffed and was about to stand up but he did not let her by placing his hand on her thigh and moving himself closer to her.
" You can fix this situation."
She fluttered her eyelashes down to stare at his lips then looked up to his eyes.
" How?"
He rolled his tongue on his lower lip and almost whispered near her lips,
" You can give marks to me to prove that everything's good between us."
She narrowed her eyes and waited for 10 seconds then nodded. Maybe she was thinking something.
" You are right."
He jumped from inside. She put her hand on his shoulder, " I should give you love bites, right?"
" Ahn," he replied restlessly.
" Okay," she answered timidly.
In the heat of the moment, he forgot that it was not really easy to fool her.
" Apni aankhein band kariye," she said shyly.
( Close your eyes.)
" Sure," he closed his eyes slowly and felt his heart beat increasing as she leaned her lips closer to his. Her breath feathered his lips but he did not feel her lips. His slow down excitement accelerated as soon as he felt her bringing her mouth closer to his cheek.
Maybe she wants to keep it slow.
It's okay. It's okay.
A smile formed on his lips when she put her lips on his cheek. His smile didn't last long and he ended up hissing in pain, " ahhh!"
He moved his face and rubbed his face back. Pakhi burst into laughter while he glared at her,
" Konsa toothpaste use karti ho? Bahut teekhe daant hai tumhare," he pointed out.
( Which toothpaste do you use? You have very sharp teeth.)
" Tsk tsk tsk. Mohabbat dard ke bina adhuri hai," she threw his lines at him.
( Love is incomplete without pain.)
He looked away from her face angrily and rested his back against the couch. Pakhi's eyes stayed on his cheek. Well, she really bit him hard. Her teeth marks are visible on his cheeks.
She sighed softly and shifted closer to him. He did not look at her even when she kissed his cheek, at the same place where she bit him.
" Okay, sorry."
He did not say anything. She kissed his cheek one more time. This time she kept her lips longer than 5 seconds on his cheek.
A smile finally broke on his lips. She smiled seeing him melting easily. She put her head on his shoulder and said,
" Aur mujhe budhu banaoge? Aapko kya lagta hai pagal hu main? ek police vale ki behan hu main."
( And you will fool me? Do you think I am crazy? I am the sister of a police officer.)
" Hn hn, biwi sahiba. Maan Gaya."
( Yes yes, wifey. I got it.)
She giggled and he joined his cheek with her head.
" But I did not lie about that woman?"
She made a face at her mention, " keede pade usko."
( May she infest with worms.)
He laughed at her curse.
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Jaydev took a deep breath, covering Shruti properly with a duvet then laying down beside her. He folded his arm under this head and turned his head to her side. She is sleeping soundlessly after going through so many emotions in less than 30 minutes.
He's being the reason for her and his own misery. He is not able to take himself to the right place and now he is dragging her into trouble as well. He knows her. This girl looks very carefree but she gets carried away by her emotions very quickly. She cannot take much pain. With this sense, how heartless he is to give her pain.
Firstly he married her, putting her on the threshold and made her choose between her own freedom and other's life. She sacrificed her freedom. What a great human she is. Only such methods could be used to weaken such a courageous girl.
Don't know why he pushed himself into such a life. Life was fine before, when he did not understand the sound of rain, he did not know sorrow or happiness. He did not even know the future whether he would be alive or not. There were nights somewhere and mornings somewhere else. He used to roam around like a vagabond with liquor and cigarettes in hands.
Suddenly, he met her.
Shruti Chauhan.
She chose to flip his life. She stopped him from wasting his life, made him laugh, awakened his soul and removed the darkness.
But, now he's becoming the reason for her darkness.
Jaydev came back to reality when he felt her arms wrapping around his torso. Shruti shifted closer to him in her sleep and his heart beat loudly.
He smiled and stared at the ceiling.
" Don't know what is happening to me but I am sure I am wandering. She doesn't deserve a broken, heartless and unlucky man like me."
He gulped down the lump forming in his throat.
" Everyone close to me died. I do want to ruin your life.."
He faced her and slowly placed his palm on her cheek.
He parted his mouth and whispered, " your heart is so big, sweetheart. You deserve a gentleman not a rude man like me. Someone should light up your life, not you should light up my life. These 2 months- almost, were so good with you. I got carried away by my emotions and maybe desires as well. I am afraid I will ruin your life as well."
She murmured something in her sleep and he chuckled.
" Still not agreeing with me?"
He whispered and put her head against his chest. He kissed the crown of her head,
" I'll free you soon, sweetheart. I'll free you soon.."
He closed his eyes and eventually drifted into his dreamland.
Next morning, when Jaydev came to the dining room he found disturbing silence between everyone.
" Morning," he sat down beside his grandmother.
" Morning," his grandmother replied.
Maid served him breakfast and he asked his family, " what happened?"
Shruti lifted her gaze and stared at him. Rohini chose to speak,
" Jay, when are you going to close the matter?"
" Which matters, Mami?"
Jaydev had a morsel of food.
" Your wife matters, of course? You married her to bring Pakhi but I don't think it's happening anymore. So, are you planning to keep her here forever?"
Jaydev stopped the spoon an inches from his mouth for a moment then put it inside his mouth. He nodded, " soon."
" When?"
Dravid asked restlessly.
" I have some work to handle. Maybe I'll think about it next week."
Shruti played with her food and listened to him silently. So, he's planning to leave her already.
" Should we start looking for a girl then? You should marry according to our choice," Rohini asked.
Shruti took a deep breath. She is feeling like putting tape on everyone's mouth. They are hurting her.
" Mami, please.. let's not talk about this right now-"
" Then when should we? You are not at home usually. When should we talk? Look at your age. You are turning 29 this month. Do you not want to settle your house? Do you not want a family of your own?"
Dravid said. Jaydev glanced at Shruti at the mention of family. How nice it would have been if he could have shouted that he wanted to start his family only with Shruti.
" Not now."
" God, Jay! Then when do you want? Please make everything clear. Have you..."
Rohini pointed at Shruti who too lifted her eyelashes, " have you fallen for her?"
Jaydev's movement stopped while Shruti's gaze landed on him. She expected a positive answer or similar answer but not a negative answer. She fisted her hand in anxiety while he maintained his silence.
Dravid sighed, " if yes then tell us. People question us about your and Shruti's relationship. Society matters to us, son. Your parents desired a grand wedding of yours. They did not want their son to live such a life. Why are you putting everyone on hold? Why can't you just come to a conclusion?"
Jaydev did not dare to look at Shruti. He cannot decide anything which is against her happiness. Only person who is being hurdle in her life is him.
" I..."
He took a deep breath, " wait till next week."
" We need answers before your birthday," Rohini made herself clear.
Shruti looked down to her plate filled with half eaten food.
There are 6 days left for his birthday, if we don't count today. What will he answer? Will he leave me? Is our relationship about to end?
Shruti thought and felt overwhelmed. She stood up and said to everyone, " uhm.. I am getting late."
" You should have eaten properly, beta," the grandmother said.
" It's okay. I'll eat at university," she smiled at her then went to her bedroom to pack some things in her handbag.
" Jay?"
Dravid called him.
" Hmm," he responded while uninterestingly eating the food.
" Do not be late to announce your answer."
Jaydev nodded and after that, no one tried to bring up that topic. Jaydev went to his bedroom after quickly eating his food. Just when he opened the door, he came across Shruti.
She is ready to leave.
" Uhm," he stepped forward and she moved backward.
" I wanted to apologise for yesterday," he said.
" It's alright. I hold no grudges," she reassured him.
Jaydev chewed the corner of his lower lip. Shruti was taken back when he suddenly hugged her. She loosened the grip on her bag and melted in his embrace. She refrained herself from hugging him back. He tightened his hold and dipped his face in the crook of her neck.
She gulped and called him, " Jay?"
He hummed against her neck.
" What happened?"
" Nothing," his voice came out as muffle and she felt a vibration on her neck as he uttered there.
" Aap .. thik hain?"
( Are..you okay?)
" Yep," Jaydev broke the hug and through his expression, it was hard to say he was not okay. He tucked the strands of her hair behind the ear and kissed her forehead.
" Let me drop you today."
Instead of arguing, she chose to agree. Jaydev grabbed his wallet from the dressing table and both left the mansion together. No one shared a conversation in the journey to university, loving the peace of silence more.
He dropped her at the University and drove away to his destination.
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