Chapter 34: chapter 34

SRUTHI“Yes, I do love her,” Madhav answers to my surprise. Idiot! He is playing a role for the media. Don’t be fooled. But his eyes are so sincere and genuine that I would have believed his words if I didn’t know the truth. I am sure if Madhav had gone into the film industry then he would have made a lot of money.Neetu says through sobs, “He is here to pick you up because he loves you. If my parents loved me they too would be here. If you go home, then I have to wait here all alone. I am afraid of being alone here.”Understanding clicks in. I realize why she is crying. She is afraid that I would go home with Madhav abandoning her. She has no idea I don’t plan to leave until I see her safe in her parents’ hands. Before I could reply, Madhav says, “Yellow, we are not leaving this place until you leave.”Neetu turns to look at him, “Really?”“Yes, really,” Madhav answers motioning for me to hand over the child to him. I pass Neetu to him and he holds her gently in his hands with a soft smile. My stomach dips low and I feel warm all of a sudden. Madhav looks so different from the one I know. There is no trace of coldness on his face. His eyes have a soft look that does something funny to my heart. He interacts and converses easily with the kid. Not everyone can have the talent to make a kid like them. My brother Vikram sucks at it. He has no idea how to talk to a kid. But, Madhav has hooked Neetu in an interesting conversation about her favourite cartoon. Most of what Neetu is saying is gibberish but Madhav listens to it like it is something very life-dependent. I am staring at him like a lovesick fool. I can't seem to take my gaze away from his face as he plays with Neetu. I see a different side to him and for some reason I can't look away from him.“I am sorry, we are late again,” a male voice makes me turn around. Neetu’s father and mother stand with an apologetic look on their face.I am about to say it is not a problem but I don’t get the chance to as Madhav says, “She isn’t the one to whom you must apologize. You have to apologize to your daughter.”The husband and wife share a look between them. I don’t know what passes between them but the man steps forward with an apologetic look. In an earnest voice, he says, “I am sorry, Neetu. We are late again. I promise you that we will come early tomorrow.”Neetu looks at them with a frown before saying in a serious tone, “You are forgiven only if you buy me a chocolate.”“Okay, we will buy you one on the way home. Now, be a good girl and come with us,” the woman says extending her hands. Madhav hands over the kid to her. Recognition lights her eyes and she takes a double look at Madhav and then at me again.“Oh my, why didn’t I recognize you both at first sight? You are the trending couple now, aren’t you?” she asks.“We are a couple,” Madhav answers coming near to me. “But I am not sure about the trending thing.”“I do recognize you both now from the news.  I had no idea that you worked here,” says the man looking at me in wonder. Madhav moves closer to me and drapes one of his arms over my shoulder in a protective stance. “Glad, that you recognized us but we have somewhere to go and thanks to you, we are already delayed. Next time, make sure you keep your promise. Don’t make empty promises to kids because they have a habit of believing it. It would hurt like hell when she realizes that you didn’t keep the promise. Now, if you will excuse us, we will be on our way.”The man and woman stare at Madhav in shock and I have no idea what to say to his not-so-polite speech. Before I could do any damage control, Madhav’s hand find mine. He intertwines his fingers with mine and walks to the door. Since we are holding hands, I have no choice but to follow him out. His hands are big and calloused. They swallow mine wholly. For a few seconds, I can't concentrate on anything else other than the fact that my hands fit perfectly in his hand or how natural it feels to hold his hand. I don't feel weird or awkward to hold his hand.“BYE, MAM,” Neetu shouts making me come back to reality.“Yeah, bye, Neetu. See you tomorrow,” I say still in a daze about what is happening around me.❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥“Okay, what the hell was that, Madhav?” I snap once we both are inside his old convertible. Now that we aren't holding hands, I can think clearly and I am angry at him for behaving like a rude prick to my student's parents.“You have to be specific,” Madhav says pressing a button on the dashboard. The top of the convertible comes up and covers the car giving us privacy from any prying ears in the parking lot.“Why were you rude to Neetu’s parents?” I ask.“Because they deserved it,” he answers. “They can’t simply make promises to her that they can’t keep. They must tell her the truth instead of sugarcoated lies.”“Do you think she will be happy if knows that her parents will be late to pick her up?”“No, she wouldn’t be. But, at least, she would stop expecting them to be early and wouldn’t feel like she is not loved.”I open my mouth to counter but no words come out of my mouth. Because he does have a point. Rather than lying to her about coming late to pick her up, they can be honest about it. She may not understand the reasons for it but at least she wouldn’t expect them to be on time.“What? Did I render you speechless?” Madhav asks starting the car.“Yes, you did,” I agree. “I didn’t think that way.”“Of course, you wouldn’t because you have no idea what is the pain of waiting for your parent for hours, when all your friend go home happily, with their parents,” he says in a wistful tone. “Do you know how painful it is?” I ask watching him. His grip on the steering wheel tightens and his knuckles turn white. “Yes, I do know,” is the only answer he gives me. His voice has a hard edge to it.I want him to expand more. It is on the tip of my tongue to ask him what it means but I shut my mouth at the last minute. I am still not ready to cross the line between us. I am not yet ready to get personal with him. “Any clues about the prep?” I ask changing the topic. “I did find the man who tried to make a hit-and-run on you,” he answers.“And?” I ask curiosity kicking in.“Don’t get too excited. It is also a dead end. He only told me info that I already knew. Someone whose dark net ID is ‘Octopus’ paid him to carry the hit and run on you.”“Octopus?” I say with a frown. That sea creature’s name does ring a bell somewhere. Something nags at me in the back of my mind.“Do you know something?” Madhav asks glancing at me.I shake my head. It is probably nothing, “Nope. Octopus is a weird name to use as a pseudo-name. Can’t the techs of our country trace the person?”“Darknet doesn’t work like that,” Madhav answers slowly. “We will find the prep. I am looking for clues at the hotel.” I gasp as  I remember the hotel incident, “Don’t you think it could be the perverted man who tried to put his hands on me?”“No, he isn’t. I enquired about him and he is clean. It was a chance encounter.”“Oh! So, we are back again to the starting point,” I say with a sigh.“Don’t lose hope. Things will reveal itself as time passes. The truth has a way of coming out.”❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥