Chapter 86: chapter 86

MADHAVI stare in shock as Sruthi walks quickly to the exit. Did I just get a kiss on the cheek and at the same time was friend-zoned?She can't walk away like that after pecking me on the cheek. This makes me want to confess to her sooner because friends don't kiss on the cheeks. The hug and hold hands but not kiss. The phone in my pant pocket vibrates. I pick up the phone I usually use for missions to find a message from the techie who is supposed to monitor Gokul's digital footprints and report any suspicious activities.His one line text is all in caps and sounds urgent.‘BILLIONS TRANSFERRED TO BLUE FOX TODAY. STOP IT ASAP!!’What the...?Can't I have one peaceful day with my wife? Just a moment ago, I was feeling happy and all but now this mission feels like an unwanted burden. I want to quit it and just spend some time with my wife. But I gave my promise to Vikram besides there are lives at stake here, so, I better carry this burden.With a sigh, 𝖨 𝗐𝖺𝗅𝗄 𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗈𝖿 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗉𝖺𝗋𝗄 𝗍𝗈 𝖿𝗂𝗇𝖽 𝖲𝗋𝗎𝗍𝗁𝗂 𝗁𝗎𝗇𝖼𝗁𝖾𝖽 𝗇𝖾𝖺𝗋 𝖺 𝖼𝖺𝗋 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝖿𝖺𝖼𝖾 𝗂𝗇 𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝗁𝖺𝗇𝖽𝗌. A smile tugs at my lips. 𝖲𝗁𝖾 𝗁𝖺𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖺𝗎𝖽𝖺𝖼𝗂𝗍𝗒 𝗍𝗈 𝗄𝗂𝗌𝗌 𝗆𝖾 𝗈𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖼𝗁𝖾𝖾𝗄 but 𝗇𝗈𝗐 𝗅𝗈𝗈𝗄s 𝖾𝗆𝖻𝗋𝖺𝗌𝗌𝖾𝖽 𝖺𝖻𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗂𝗍. 𝖨 want to tease her about it but I refrain from it.“What is on our next list?” I ask going near her. I need to get back to the hotel. She looks at her phone and says, “It is half past twelve in the afternoon. How about we eat lunch first?”“That sounds good. What is after that?”“We will visit the mountains and then do some shopping and then return to the hotel room by nine or ten. Is that okay with you?”Nope! It isn't. I have toto  go the hotel as soon as possible to check on the movements of Gokul but at the sa,me time I want to spend time with Sruthi. I don't have a valid excuse for going back to the hotel. I don't want to tell Sruthi about this mission. It is not that I don't trust her. I don't want to her feel stressed. It is already enough that I am stressed out. Besides, this is classified intel that I can't share with anyone. Not even with someone who is blood related to the man who assigned me the task.I wish we could spend our time without me worrying about human traffickers. I am going to confess soon and then I am definitely taking Sruthi on another honeymoon trip without any other commitments. A trip solely meant for us and not for some stupid mission. “Okay,” I agree half heartedly thinking of ways to return to the hotel as soon as possible without Sruthi getting suspicious.“Where shall we eat?” she asks looking around for a hotel. I scan our surroundings . We are in a busy street packed with small shops. Since the park is a the great tourist spot, a lot of shops are around here to attract tourists. My eyes snag on one particular hotel and I am hit with a idea on how to return to hotel back without Sruthi getting suspicious.“There,” I say pointing to the hotel specialising in mushroom delicacies. “Okay,” Sruthi agrees oblivious to my plans.❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥I try not to stare hard at Sruthi as she licks her fingers. She looks gorgeous today in the violet flowy skirt and white top. Her hair is in a loose braid. How I wish I had come here for a real honeymoon. Just the thought of it makes my heart races of faster.“God! This is heaven,” sighs Sruthi with a content look on her face. I am not even halfway through my food but I feel full looking at a stomach full Sruthi. “I wish I could have this mushroom gravy daily.”“I don't think it is that good,” I say with a smile.“Oh! Come on, how do you even know that when you haven't even tried it?”“I just know,” I answer with a shrug hoping this conversation would go in the direction I want it to.“Don't be judgy. At least try it once before criticizing it.”I frown  in disgust and Sruthi looks offended by it as I expected. Come on, ask me, challenge me, Sruthi. “Just try one before making that expression,” says Sruthi.I feel guilty for manipulating her but I am left with no choice. I have to return back to the hotel to monitor Gokul's movements. The message from the techie weighs heavily on my mind. The fact that billions of cash is transferred to a proxy account of Gokul speaks louder. Things are moving faster than I expected. What if Gokul has moved the shipping dates? I need to act quickly before things could go wrong.“I will try one,” I say picking the gravy in a spoon and putting it in my mouth. Sruthi's eyes never leave my face as I chew the food and swallow it.“How is it?” Sruthi asks with hope in her voice. I try not to show how much I enjoyed the gravy but from the smirk on Sruthi's face I can tell that I failed to hide the emotions.Honestly, the gravy is good. Very good. Wonderfully good. Mouth-watering good. The reason why I choose this restaurant was because of mushrooms. There were a can ouple of times in my childhood where I had allergic reactions to the vegetable (or should I say fungus?). So, I started avoiding it. I am not sure if I would have allergic reaction now but I have no other way.“DAMN IT,” I say. “This is heavenly.”Sruthi grins, “That is what I said. Why don't we order another one and share?”“I didn't know my wife was such a glutton,” I tease as I wave for the waiter.Sruthi shakes her head, “Usually I am not but when it comes to food I like, then I am.”❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥Half an hour later, with our stomachwith s full, we leave the hotel. We ended up ordering  another plate. I enjoyed the dish so much that I pray that I don't get any allergy reaction. Screw the mission and all. The dish was wonderful that I could die this moment with no regrets. I don't want my body to show allegric reactions to it. That would spoil this beautiful memory.Why did I even come up this plan? It seemed like a perfect one when I saw the hotel but now I don't think so. We both had such a good time in there that I am regretting this idea of mine. I feel nauseous at the thought of what I had done. Stupid me? I should have just told Sruthi that I am not feeling well and we would have returned back to the hotel. She would have agreed to go back to the hotel. But, I had to hatch a elaborate plan to make things look natural.Natural! My foot!Of course things never go the way we want in life. They happen the exact way you don't want them to. So, my body that hasn't had mushroom for years, starts to show the wretched signs of the allergy. I try to tell myself that I am alright but as we keep walking, my skin prickles. I try to ignore it but the prickling becomes too much to bear and I scrath my arms. I pause in my tracks on the middle of road. We still have to walk a few metres to reach out rented car. But, I can't bear ot anymore. My eyes water and I feel dizzy.The worst of all this is seeing Sruthi panic with genuine concern and worry on her eyes. No, I don't deserve that. No, I don't deserve that. I am a freaking liar who is manipulating you.❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥A/N: Just a word of caution people! Food allergies are to be taken seriously. Please don't try what our lovesick Madhav tried at your home or anywhere for the record if you have a food allergy. They are dangerous and it should be taken very seriously.