Vikrant's residence: Study:
He woke up with a start, to find himself on the sofa in his
study. He was a surprised to find himself covered with a blanket and his diary
and spectacles lying on the table. He wondered who came by the study to do
that.
He sat up to think if it was Sarita who did that. If it
indeed was her, did she read his diary? He wondered. He was irritated to be
bombarded with all these questions so early in the morning. He looked up to
check the time. It was only 6 AM in the morning, but he felt like he slept for
a long duration. He went towards the table, picked the diary and put it in the
draw. He folded the comforter and started walking towards his bedroom, all the
while wondering how he would react when he saw his wife.
Meanwhile in Vikrant-Sarita Bedroom:
Sarita was fast asleep until a rustling sound disturbed her
beautiful slumber. She sneaked a peek at what or rather who was causing the
noise. She saw her darling prince sifting through the trash can. Yeah right,
trash can. She bolted upright and went towards him calmly so as to not startle
him. He was holding a few pieces of paper in his hand and digging through the
dust bin. She sat beside him on her knees, and gently said, "Good morning, my
prince charming!"
He turned around and with a wonderful smile on his face
wished her, "A very good morning to you too, mama!" And he immediately hid his
hands behind his back.
"What is it in your hands, Abhi?" asked Sarita out of
curiosity. She gently brought his hands forward to find a few bits of papers in
it.
She looked at him questioningly and he answered her saying,
"Mamma, yesterday our teacher gave us a project; to make some item using waste
paper. I could not find a single waste paper in my room and I cannot tear
papers off my book, right mamma?"
She nodded her head and prompted him to continue. He said,
"So I thought I will look for it in the dustbins in your bedroom and papa's
study room. I knew that you will scold me if you find me digging through the
dirt. That is why I wanted to look for it when you were asleep. Sorry mama!"
She smiled at him tenderly and said, "I am sorry, Abhi; for
placing that fear in you. I only scold you because you will get your hands
dirty. But please do not be afraid to share your troubles with me or papa, okay
my dear boy?"
"Sure mama! I will not do this again, I swear! And I promise
that I will share all my secrets with you and papa!" he said and placed a kiss
on her cheek.
"So when should you submit the project, Abhi?" asked Sarita.
"Next week, mama!"
said Abhi excitedly.
"Did you brush your teeth?" She asked him. He shook his head
sideways. Sarita gave him a mock glare and then gradually pouted at him. This
made Abhi smile and giggle.
They were unaware that Vikrant was observing their exchange
from the doorway. Their conversation brought a pleasant smile to his tense face.
"Now please give me those papers and go brush your teeth.
You need to have milk and get ready soon." He heard Sarita tell Abhiman. His
little boy slowly placed all the papers in her hand. Sarita was unaware that
the note she wrote the previous night was one among them.
"Where are we going, mama?" Abhiman asked her innocently.
"We have to attend Raj uncle and Divya auntie's wedding. So
go brush your teeth and I will get your milk ready, okay? And we will start
your project tomorrow, deal?" She said.
"Deal!" he said. "Yay, we are going to attend a wedding! Is
papa coming with us as well, mama?" he enquired.
"Of course he will, beta" she assured him. He hugged her
once again and whispered in her ear,"It is going to be so much fun, mama!"
before running away from the room excitedly only to bump into his dad. He gave
his dad a quick hug and a peck on his cheek and fled away like a rocket.
In the meantime, Sarita turned around and went towards the
common chest where the towels were normally kept, when she realized that she
held papers in her hand. She smiled to herself thinking that these papers might
not be important for her, but held a lot of value for Abhi, as he took the
effort to gather them for his project. She needed to keep them safe for his
sake. So thinking, she placed them inside the chest where Vikrantji normally
would place his important documents. She closed it and grabbed a towel for
herself.
Vikrant was eyeing his wife as he entered their room. The
pleasure he experienced when he saw his son chatter away with Sarita was cut
short the moment he heard Raj's name on her lips. His demeanor changed
immediately. He wondered how she could act so easily with Abhi. Of course, Abhi
was a small boy who would not understand what was happening around him. But he
did; he knew that she was ready to leave them for Raj last night. But somehow
things did not go as they planned. And now Raj was ready to marry Divya, all of
a sudden? Something was fishy and he wondered what their next move would be;
and for that sake, he would attend the damn wedding, he thought to himself.
He was in no mood to converse with her and went towards the
bathroom to freshen up. What he did not realize was that Sarita turned around
to enter the bathroom, the same time as he did and they both ended up bumping
into each other. She lost her balance and grabbed onto his shirt to keep from
falling. His hands automatically went towards her bare waist to hold her
upright.
They immediately felt a jolt of electricity pass through
them. She instantly looked up to find him look intently at her. She realized
that she was not the only one affected by his touch. That brought a pleasing
smile to her face. He was mesmerized by her looks and could not help himself
but gaze at her. He knew that he was digging himself a deeper hole by getting physically
attracted to her besides falling in love with her. At this thought, he removed
his hands from her waist, as if her skin burnt them.
Why did he abruptly remove his hands from her waist? Sarita
thought. She wondered what was going through his mind. He looked troubled and
in pain.
"Are you alright, Mr.Suryavanshi?" She immediately asked.
"I am fine" he grumbled irritatingly.
That was when it struck her that he must have waited up all
night to have the most important discussion with her; only for her to turn up
late. And he was probably angry with her about it, she thought. She did not
waste a single minute to begin the conversation; and started to say, "Mr.Suryavanshi,
there is something that..." Her sentence was cut in the middle when Abhi hollered
from the hall to say that he was ready to have his milk. She tilted her head a
little and hollered back saying,"I'll be there in a minute, dear!"
She turned around to initiate the conversation again, only
to find Vikrant entering the bathroom and locking it behind him. She was a
little dismayed to find he did not wait for her to complete the sentence.
She would
pacify her husband alright; that too very sweetly, once they were back from attending
the wedding, she resolved. And left the bedroom to attend to Abhi; blissfully
unaware that her husband had the worst opinion about her. And discovering what
he thought of her was going to cause so much devastation, that she might be unable to overcome it anytime soon!
To be continued...
