The Substitute Bride

CHAPTER 24

Dedicated to @Darshana18062005 and @taejit. Thank you guys for all the support. 

Kriti's POV

I looked at him in anger, pretty sure that there was smoke coming out of my ears. He looked at me sheepishly for a second before he swiftly got up and ran away from the dining room. I followed him, chasing him all around the house, if someone saw us right now, they probably would have thought that we belonged in some mental hospital. Just then his phone rang and he shouted time out before picking up the call.

 I walked closer as he moved back, and ended up against a wall just as I had earlier. I got closer to him and could hear his heartbeats that were just as fast as mine. I placed my hands on his shoulders and stood very close to him. He looked at me questioningly with his eyebrows raised. I motioned to the cellphone and the fact that I was just standing close to listen to the conversation. He rolled his eyes and then started to pay attention to the caller, which I realized was bhai. 

I used this opportunity and gave him a punch on his shoulder. 

'Ouch, crazy woman, I am on a call' he said. I stomped his foot at his words. 

'Ouch, bhai this girl is assaulting me, please do something' he said with all the drama. He put the phone on speaker. 

'Bhai you're on speaker, tell her something please' he said. 

'Good job Kriti, you're the only person who has ever stood up to him. You're perfect for him, I am pretty sure he did something stupid for you to retaliate this way' bhai said and I grinned at his words. 

'Anything to say Mr. Idiot' I asked sarcastically. 

'Bhai you also take her side, bhabhi also takes her side, mom and dad also take her side. I should start complaining to your maa only now, she's the only person who will support me' he whined. 

'Fine whatever, ask aunty to support you later, and do all your bickering later. The two of you have to leave soon, have your meal quickly and head out immediately after. Finish all the work and then enjoy yourselves. See you'll tomorrow evening' bhai said ending the call. 

'See crazy woman, because of you we forgot about our meal and about our trip' he said. 

'First thing, stop calling me that. Second thing, I didn't know you find me so mesmerizing that you forget about everything else around me. And last thing, had you not been a creepy stalker, we would not be running around the house like crazy animals who have run away from a zoo' I said. 

'Okay then, I won't call you crazy woman, I'll call you princess. Second, I don't find you so mesmerizing, I think you attract trouble like a moth drawn to a flame. And I believe in the ideology of precaution being better then cure, so I make sure I am always around you to avoid the trouble. So I forget everything else. I am seriously telling you, if you want your husband to have hair when you're 50, please please stop getting into so much trouble. Last, I would not have run like that, had you been a calm and non-violent person' he replied. I huffed at him and pointed my index finger at him. 

'This conversation is not over but for now, let's have lunch and leave. Only, and only because bhai said' I told him. We had a quiet meal after that with me occasionally, well that means frequently yapping and him quietly sitting and listening to my rambles.   

'Taken everything?' he asked as we stood at the door. 

'Yes, let's go' I said with a lot of enthusiasm. He merely nodded, rolling his eyes at my over-excitement. 

We got in his Mercedes-Benz, which was his favourite car for long drives. Apparently it was the most comfortable to sit in without your but hurting after an hour. His words not mine, obviously this was when I asked him why he didn't take any of the other sport cars. We were playing music, and obviously like everything else, we didn't agree, even after 2 hours of driving. 

'Just because you are an old uncle and love the same songs as my grandpa doesn't mean you get to talk badly about the new songs. They are so good' I said. He looked at me and grinned as he noticed my face red with anger. This man really enjoys annoying me.  Well, I enjoy annoying him. Just as I was thinking I noticed a street vendor selling ice gola's (kinda like popsicles) and immediately my mouth watered. 

'STOP THE CAR' I yelled and he stopped the car with a jerk. 

'What happened? Are you okay? Is your head hurting? Do you want to puke or something?' he asked looking concerned. 

'I want to have a gola' I said to him. He looked at me as though I was some creature that had landed here from mars. 

'Princess, first thing, I would have listened even if you hadn't shouted. Second thing, we are not having gola here, it is unhygienic and overly crowded' he said firmly. 

'I will not shout next time onwards. It is not unhygienic, if it had been it would not be so crowded' I replied smartly. 

'We are not having it here. You can have it once we go back to Mumbai. We can call that caterer that bhabhi always calls for functions and get him to make it for you' he said. 

'NO' I replied crossing my arms. 

'Fine then, you can sit that way, we are not stopping here to eat' he said. 

'I have a solution' I said as the wheels in my head turned. 

'Tell me' he said in a resigned tone. 

'You think it's overly crowded here and unhygienic too. We can get the man to wash the ice with bisleri water and wash his hands thoroughly with soap before making it. Then we can sit in the car, go a little away from the crowd, stop the car and then eat there' I said. 

'You're not going to listen to me, are you' he asked. 

'Nope, never' I replied with a grin. 

'So can we go now' I said. We parked the car and got out. I got a gola for myself and Mr. Idiot refused to have anything. So we just got mine and sat in the car again. He drove for about 5 minutes after warning me to hold it carefully and not spoil his dear car. He stopped the car in the middle of nowhere. We were surrounded by trees and an empty road. 

'Get out, or do I have to read out some special invitation to you' he asked sarcastically. 

'Ughh, why are you so irritating and mean' I said before getting out and sitting on the hood of the car. He sat beside me and listened to me as I spoke about my memories with dad of going out to have gola's after mom used to sleep. I forced myself not to mention Krishi di and spoil the mood. But he seemed to realize and his smile faded slightly, I could see that it was fake. Times like this made me wonder, what if di comes back? Does he still love her? Will we get a divorce if she ever comes back? 

And as selfish as this sounds, I don't want her to come back. 

Hey guys, I hope you liked the update. It has a lot of emotions all in 1 chapter. Tell me what you think. It is longer then the length of my usual chapters since I have not updated for 2 days now. 

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Love you guys!!!