Yakshagni - An odyssey of unbroken devotion - II

8) Manipulator

Once the words were out, Dharma realized that she had gone too far. Maurya's icy disdain gave rise to butterflies in her stomach. Should she shake off her anxiety and confront him or bolt before he lost his temper? Slowly, she turned towards the door but Maurya was swifter. He grasped her upper arm and swung her around, "You can't slip away after accusing me of something like that."

"I didn't accuse you of anything," Dharma muttered, noticing the faint scar above his right eye.

"Oh, so what did you mean by manipulate?" he questioned.

Sighing, she said, "I meant you do things to suit your own purpose."

Maurya's eyes inspected her, and crossing his arms across his chest, he asked, "I suppose you don't?"

She tore her eyes away from his face and he continued, "Everyone does things to suit one's own purpose. That is not manipulation."

"You said you had an important dinner. I don't think it includes taking me out for dinner."

"So, you were eavesdropping!"

"You were loud enough," Dharma shot back. His nearness and the earthy scent of his cologne were assaulting her senses and clouding her thoughts.

"So, you came up with a half-baked theory about how I manipulate. My dinner got cancelled so I was free to take you out," although she was right in her assumption, Maurya didn't know why he was giving her an explanation. And yet, he pursued with his taunts, "Next time, I talk to my fiancée, don't make inane conclusions."

"I have no interest in listening to your conversations but when you use me to avoid her, well, it becomes my business," Dharma rasped, forgetting her manners.

With his eyebrows raised, he chaffed, "Use you to avoid my fiancée? Don't you think you are giving yourself too much importance? I suppose it comes with such an elevated sense of oneself." His eyes wandered over her face.

"You can think whatever you want. If you want to see my designs now, I can show you," she responded.

"Or?" he asked, surprising himself with his mulishness. She wasn't far from the truth. He was using her for his own means but he hadn't expected her to grasp it. She was smarter than he thought. There was something about her that challenged him, goaded him to have the last word.

"I am leaving," she replied, realizing that she wouldn't win the battle of wits with him. He was much cleverer than her, however, she was certain that he came up with dinner plans for some underlying reason of his own.

Maurya's phone rang and he glanced at it. She too glanced at it, catching sight of Rashika's image. Her eyes clashed with Maurya's. Well, if he had expected her to dart away, he was going to be disappointed because she had every intention of listening to him now. She crossed her arms and looked at him fixedly.

The phone kept ringing but their eyes were locked on one another, trying to prove a point. He cut the call and now it was her turn to raise her eyebrows.

"I was right! You are using me to get back at her," she alleged, hating the feeling.

"Think what you like. I was only trying to be decent. It is late and it is not advisable for pretty women like you to be alone on the road," he turned around to get hold of his laptop bag.

Dharma's face turned crimson. She should be miffed at him for calling her pretty without context, or was he trying to coax her to go with him? She couldn't really understand him. He was so complex.

"Shall we go?" he asked as he waited, holding the door open.

She studied him thoughtfully, did his fiancée comply with his wishes whenever he flattered her? Was that how their relationship worked? His enigmatic eyes did not reveal much. They would suddenly turn icy; sometimes warm with humour; and at other times like now, mysterious. She wondered how they would look at Rashika during their intimate moments. Oh damn! Her thoughts about him were getting absurd, she realized.