The Bias

Chapter 56

It was early morning and the constant buzz of people talking from the other room kept growing louder. Shehnaaz loved calm and quiet mornings.

"Hmm.." she stirred in sleep. Her arm extended to the side that Siddharth had been sleeping on. She moved it looking for him.

" Siddharth?", she spoke softly getting out of the bed. She was dressed in a loose spaghetti top and shorts. Her eyes were puffed and groogy, her face swollen, perhaps a little drool sticking to the side of her right cheek.

"Siddharth?" She called a liitle louder, walking to the sitting area, her eyes barely open and legs barely balancing herself.

"Hey!" He spoke looking up from the tab. She looked like a bunny, walking upto him. Her long hair were a mess, falling around her face. Her cheeks swollen. "Idr aaja." He spoke looking at her, extending his arm for her to grab as she pouted with her eyes almost closed, while one hand rubbed one of the eyes.

"You woke me up!" She spoke placing his arm over her shoulder and hiding her face in his chest.

"I am working, Sanu.!" He spoke combing her hair with his fingers as Arushi looked at the couple. He was a grown up man, and he was very practical. Arushi had never seen Sidharth the way he was right now. Shehnaaz was beautiful, more beautiful than anyone Arushi could recall, no wonder Sidharth was over heels in love with her. She looked young, way younger than what Arushi had anticipated and the way she behaved with Sidharth was a manifestation of that. Only, Shehnaaz could behave like that with Sidharth, only she could act like a little girl with him and only with her could the strong protective instincts of his be at home. Sidharth was a different man. He was practical and ambitious at his core. But with Shehnaaz he wasn't any of those, he wanted to see her happy and content. He wanted her to come to him for comfort and protection at the same time he wanted her to grow at her pace, succeed and do wonders. It was as if she were more a child that he wanted to achieve all the best while he would be her cheerleader. With Shehnaaz he was ready to set her dress correct while she recited him the chorus for the day, or tie her hair as she sat sipping tea. Just like he would do to his child. And thats what marked the difference, with them their age difference wasn't a problem, but the thing that made them Sidnaaz, letting them express their core behaviors while being competitive and àmbitious without clashing with each other.

Shehnaaz sat back on the sofa as both Sidharth and Arushi juggled through the paperwork. She picked up her phone and scrolled through Instagram, screening through the updates by the people she followed. Slowly she sank into the sofa lying with her legs close to the body, feet on the sofa, making herself more and more comfortable. Miraal had sent her a few reels and she scrolled through them, reacting with laughter emojis.

Having been there like that for sometime, she felt her eyes grow heavy again. She looked up from the phone and spoke, "Are you guys free later in morning? I was thinking that we could have a joint breakfast if I call Sahib?"

Sidharth heard the name and turned his head to her. " Free toh nahi hai, but I guess i can make time. What about you Arushi?"

"Yeah I am free, I will join you guys for the breakfast. Who is he ? " she spoke looking at Sidharth and then Shehnaaz, " if you don't mind me asking!" She added after a brief pause.

"Oh, no absolutely. Sahib and I are childhood friends, he's a surgeon and we came here to attend the conference!" She smiled and then looked at Siddharth, gauging his reaction.

"Nahi Amma. Kha leya si. Soi aa pura time, ki hogya?" ( No mom, I had eaten, I had slept the whole time, what happened?") She spoke snuggled into the quilt covering her. She lay covered in the warmth that the fabric provided in the chill of air conditioner. " Dr Dalilah Hoffman was there. I saw him and I talked to him, for like 7 minutes. He's so much. He wa..." she was speaking when she fell Sidharth dip into the bed.