Sonakshi's mind was preoccupied during the whole shoot. She had sent her art director to Sippy Mansion for the decorations and had done everything to make sure everything went well. Still, something felt amiss. She could feel the sense of restlessness all day foreshadowing something bad. She wrapped the shoot and sat down to remove her make up, trying to calm down her racing mind.
She had ordered a yellow gown from a newbie designer to wear for Sippy's Janmashtami celebration. Sunitha had neatly placed it on the couch. Sonakshi eyed it once again to make sure that it is nothing gaudy which would irritate Dr. Khadoos.
I love Sonakshi, not Parvathi. His dialogue echoed in her ears.
Sonakshi's heart tightened for a minute, thinking the impossibility of such a thing. She was surprised at the yearning she has for such a thing. She always thought herself as a mature and understanding person. How can she agree to do such a thing for Rohit, she wondered.
She wiped off the last bit of makeup from her face and leaned back in her relaxing chair looking at her reflection in the mirror. The dark circle under her eye is clearly visible now. The years of hard work, the years of toiling, it reminded her of all that she had done over the years and in fact, Sonakshi was proud of her dark circles. If she was in any other profession, she would have never hidden her dark circles using make-up. Sonakshi closed her eyes for a while to rest and even before she knew it she was fast asleep because of exhaustion.
In her dream, she saw a 12-year-old little Sonakshi and she was falling. She felt the panic of falling down and heard a distant voice calling for her "Sonakshi..."
"Mumma..."
She opened her face looking for her Mumma, but she found Rohit's concerned face looking at her. A disoriented Sonakshi took a few seconds to come back to her senses.
"Sonakshi, are you ok?" Rohit's hand automatically went to her wrist to check her pulse.
"I have been calling you for a while. You never picked up the call and Shankar told me he is on leave today. So thought I will come and pick you up for the Janmashtami Celebration."
Sonakshi nodded as she grabbed the glass of water on the make-up table and gulped it down. She smiled at Rohit.
"Oh ho... I will not miss the function Rohit. Don't worry. You didn't have to pick me up. I can drive. Also, Shankar needed a break, he wanted to go to his village and meet his son for Janmashtami."
"So you gave him a day off? You take care of you first, then take care of others."
Rohit chided her as he sat down near her chair. He held her hand and nuzzled it softly. Sonakshi felt a warm and fuzzy feeling sneaking up her spine. She let her indulge in that temporal feeling for a minute and pulled her hand back slowly so that Rohit does not notice it.
"Sonakshi, let's go in my car. I will drop you back home after the function. Let Ravi drive, you can take a nap in the car."
As he said this, Rohit leaned in to check her eyes. His smell, Sonakshi recently started noticing it, it reminded her of something powerful and engulfing. Rohit gently stroked it to check the color of her skin and patted it gently.
"Sonakshi, are you on diet? Are you sleeping enough?"
"eh?" Rattled by the sudden closeness of Rohit, Sonakshi mumbled.
"Sonakshi, You have anemic. Look at the color of your eyes. Let me get you some vitamin tablets."
He sat back on his chair, probing for his phone. As he dialed Dr. Dimpy's number, Rohit abstractedly took Sonakshi's hand and held it in his hand gently. By the time, Rohit was off from the phone, Sonakshi had composed herself.
"I will get someone to drop the medicine on the set tomorrow. And don't worry madam this medicine does not have side effects. its just vitamin tablets".
Sonakshi giggled "Let me ask my doctor, Mr. Google, first."
Rohit rolled his eyes in mock anger and shot back. "Are you my girlfriend or his?"
"Acha baba, I will not consult any other doctor ever. Is that ok Dr. Khadoos? Now help me carry my stuff to the car!"
Sonakshi once again pulled back her hand from his light grip and handed him her duffel bag.
"What! Me?" Rohit snorted in displeasure but pulled it over his shoulder in one swift move.
"Now let's go?" Rohit reached out his hand to her. Sonakshi grabbed her gown and bag, Switched off the make-up room light and slipped her hand into his.
