Prema (Pranushka)

Chapter 7

Anushka

I twist my head side to side as I continue to stir the curry in front of me, my energy wearing down as the stress from work and lack of sleep from the past few weeks catch up with me. After what feels like forever, the vegetables in the curry in front of me are fully cooked and now a darker color than when I bought them. I turn the light off over the stove and turn around to wash my hands in the sink. I stare down at the gray sink that the water is falling into after it runs over my hands.

"Hi Anu." I lift my shoulder up to cover my ear, as his breath tickles my ears, sending shivers through my body.

"Enduku intha late ayindi," I say to him, turning around so our eyes meet and my lips form a pout. I lift my wet hands up to his face laughing as his previously happy face becomes an annoyed one when I transfer the wetness on my hands to his cheeks. [Translation of Enduku intha late ayindi: Why did it get so late?]

"Sorry there was so much traffic when I was coming back," He tells me, kissing my forehead before moving his arms away from my waist, immediately making me frown at the loss of contact.

"Go shower and change then. My parents will be here soon." He nods at my words and kisses my cheek softly making me smile before he disappears into the room.

I finish cleaning the dish before walking into the room to finish getting ready. I take my hair out of the ponytail and brush it out slowly before putting a white clip with pearls on it in my hair making a half up half down style. I take a powder puff and lightly press some powder under my eyes and on my cheeks, making sure that my makeup will stay. I take a light pink lip gloss and rub it onto my lips before smacking them together and looking at myself in the mirror.

"Ok na?" I ask Prabhas as I turn around to face him. I bite my lip slightly as he sets his hair brush down and walks towards me, his eyes going up and down by body before they land on my lips for a second.

"Not just ok. More than ok."

"You look so beautiful," He says, resting his hand on my neck as he kisses me softly, making my nerves disappear for a second as I let my focus shift to him. I put my arm around his neck and slightly rub the hair on the back of his head.

"You look so handsome. And you smell so yummy too," I say with a giggle as I reach up to hug him, not realizing that my pink chunni [dupatta] falls off my shoulders and goes onto his body. I gasp when his fingers trace my collarbone softly as he kisses my neck that is no longer covered by my chunni [dupatta].

"Mmm, we have to go," I say, barely getting it out before a low gasp leaves my mouth as he kisses down till the top of my kurta. We stay frozen in that position for a few seconds more, his head down on my chest with his arms tightly around my hips and my arms around his neck holding him closer to me.

"Don't be stressed, ok, it'll be ok." I just sigh at his words, not saying anything, just looking down at my fingers and closing my eyes for a second.

"This is the first time my parents agreed to come for dinner after we got married. I know they are still mad about it all. I'm just worried they are going to find some fault and make a big deal or insult you, I really don't want that," I tell him, my lips forming a frown as my face molds into one full of worry and sadness. In my mind, I get an instant flashback of all the dreaded memories and a shudder goes through my body.

"It doesn't matter what they say about me, I don't care. Just be yourself ok, don't worry. At the end of the day, you are their daughter and I know they miss you just as much as you miss them," He whispers to me, cupping my face softly as he looks into my eyes. I slightly shake my head away from him and look at the mirror again, putting my chunni on properly before looking at him again. I frown, biting on my lip again and squinting my eyebrows as my mind continues to race a million miles as an hour