Chai and Tea

18 - The Aftermath

Anokhi was in the bathroom changing her clothes. She was taking more time with her daily routine than normal because Shaurya was still not speaking with her. Throughout the ride back from the airport she had tried her best to start a conversation with him. All she received in return were one word answers so she stopped trying.

She knew why he was mad. It had to do with the Stupid fanfiction. She knew as soon as aunty had mentioned it that Shaurya hadn't liked that piece of information. Looking at herself in the mirror she face palmed herself.

Since she started writing her stories she revealed the secret to only one person - Ahir. Yet, during the girls night she voluntarily told both Aunty and Devi that she had been writing stories about her favorite shows. It was actually Aunty who had brought up the topics of story. She was a big fan of fanfictions and had a collection of her top favorite. She had mentioned a particular story - Destined to a Gangster and She choked on her wine. Of course her reaction didn't go unnoticed by those two. They kept badgering her until she spilled her secret.

Now she would need to deal with this mess because she couldn't keep her mouth shut. She wrapped up her routine and took a deep breath before heading out to the bedroom to face Shaurya. Surprisingly she found the room empty. Wondering where Shaurya could have gone she went looking for him.

She found him sitting in the balcony staring at the city lights. As she went to join him he stood frozen in his place. Even when she slid the door open and stepped out He didn't move a muscle. Realizing that he was lost in his thoughts she moved behind him and gave him a back hug. It was then she felt his muscles tighten as he finally became aware of her presence. She had hoped he would say something first so she waited. After a while it was clear that he would not say anything. So she asked her question knowing the answer.

"Are you mad at me?"

"Yes."

"I am sorry. I shouldn't have embarrassed you in front of Sai"

He dropped her hands and moved her away from himself.

"You think I am mad because I was embarrassed"

"Yes, aren't you?"

"No. Do you know how many times my mom has embarrassed me? I don't care about stuff like that."

"Then why are you so mad?" She paused as she thought of something. "You can't be jealous Shaurya!!"

He looked straight at her and folded his arms while leaning against the railing.

"Why are you so surprised?"

"Because it's stupid. Why would you be jealous of Sai?"

"So I shouldn't be jealous of my girlfriend drooling over another man?"

"I wasn't drooling"

He gave her a look.

"I was star struck. That's it. Not drooling. But why are you jealous?"

"How can you still ask me that?"

She took a step towards him and held his hands in hers.

"I love you Shaurya more than anything in the world. I have never loved anyone as I love you nor will I ever.  As for Sai - he is just a celebrity I like."

"Not long ago I was the celebrity you liked remember"

"How can you compare yourself to Sai. Yes I had a crush on you. But like Sai It was a celebrity crush. It was when I knew you personally that I fell in love with you. You - Shaurya -the person, not the actor."

He gave her a small pout. "Really, how many times did you write about your celebrity crush?"

She looked at him in surprise clearly this was the root of his anger.  She pulled him inside the living room and made him sit on the sofa. Then she grabbed two wine glasses and some wine and sat next to him. She poured the wine and handed him one cup and took a sip from the other.