~•} C H A P T E R|10 {•~
Vardhaan ran a hand through his messy hair as he slowly stretched his body a little and sat on the bed yawning a little.
He frowned seeing Ishani laying on the bed with a blanket wrapped on herself like a cocoon.
Don't tell me she got rid of those uncomfortable clothes and now is sleeping naked!
He thought being horrified.
Ahh! Whatever. Why should I care?
With this, he jerked off the bed and moved towards the bathroom increasing Ishani's heartbeat.
Ishani peeked out of the blanket and cursed, "Shit! My clothes are still inside the bucket."
The next she saw was Vardhaan closing the door of the bathroom and she gulped to moisten her throat which dried due to dread.
The only sound echoing in the whole room was the tickling of the clock and her fast beating heart as the bathroom was soundproof.
Minutes later she heard the clinking of the bathroom door is unlocked and she closed her eyes hard anticipating the worst while clutching the quilt tight as if her life depended on it.
But she was surprised to her core when she heard him whistling softly to himself, she slowly opened her one eye to peek at him and there he was, moving towards the wardrobe with a towel wrapped around his waist.
This man didn't even notice his clothes in buckets and took a shower directly. Just greatest!
She thought and rolled her eyes.
A second later she heard his scream, "Ishani Vardhaan Rathore!"
Gulping thickly she poked her head out of the blanket and keeping the most innocent face asked, "What?"
"Where the fuck have you kept my clothes?" He gritted his teeth.
"...Which clothes?" She tried to keep a confused expression on her face.
"Are we playing the innocent-innocent game now? Just shut the hell up and tell me where are my clothes?" She flinched at his loud voice. The tension on his neck chords was visible, his posture stiff as he glared at her.
It was no use to lie more. He would find out either this or that way so inhaling a deep breath she murmured, "They are kept in the bucket."
The next moment she heard the door of the bathroom being opened harshly.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
She chanted in her mind to maintain her calm but this failed when she heard the two buckets being thrown hardly on the floor.
See. It's the bucket, not you. You are safe yay!
She chided in her mind and pulled her quilt above her head.
After a few moments of deadly silence, she felt her quilt being yanked off roughly from her.
Dread settled itself deep inside her as she gazed at the man in front of her who was giving her a death glare. His face had a murderous look. He looked no less than a serial killer.
His hands were balled into fists and he was even shaking slightly due to the anger he was feeling.
But the moment her eyes trailed down she wasn't able to control the laugh that threatened out of her lips.
He was standing there wearing a pink bathrobe but that wasn't the reason for her laugh as she wasn't a person who believed that a particular color represented a particular gender. The reason for her laugh was the red kisses printed on it.
But the moment his dark eyes punctured into hers furiously, she regretted it. She regretted not controlling that laugh.
"Enjoying much Mrs. Rathore?" His voice was dead with no humor in it as he smiled tilting his neck.
"N-no." Ishani stammered as she sat on the bed.
"No-no you are. Afterall you are in your husband's clothes." He pointed out climbing on the bed.
He noticed it. She thought and slid backward on the bed till her back collided with the bedpost.
Keeping his hands on both sides of her head, he caged her.
"You love to get yourself in trouble. Don't you?" His tone was low and harsh.
"It was you who started it!" Her tone matched with his.
Both of them locked their eyes with each other furiously.
"I want my clothes back!" With this Vardhaan clutched the hem of the t-shirt she was wearing.
Ishaani gripped his hands and screeched, "What are you doing!"
"Taking my t-shirt back." With this, he tried to pull it up and Ishani tried to push it down.
"See Vardhaan, I have nothing to wear other than this. Let me have it, please." She pleaded and spat out please keeping her pride at bay.
"You have many bikinis, Mrs. Rathore. Wear one of them." His lips curled up as he sassed.
Ishani could feel her insides burn with anger. She tried to converse like a mature and pleaded but this man!
"Mr. Rathore if you are so eager to have clothes that you are trying to pull the t-shirt your wife had worn..." she trailed off.
"Then I will let you borrow one of my bikinis." She completed with a mocking smile.
"Ishaniiiiii!" Vardhaan exclaimed with rage swirling in his eyes.
"Thank me later Mr. Rathore." She replied with sass.
Ishani could see the way his breathing was ragged, he was furious!
"Give me my t-shirt back right now or I am going to tear it." He dead-panned with a serious expression as he gripped the neckline of the t-shirt, ready to tear it.
Ishani gulped seeing the sternness in his voice.
"You are hot, Mr. Rathore." She confessed out of the blue trailing her finger on his face, catching him off guard.
"What?" Vardhaan questioned looking at her as if she was an alien.
She smiled whilst her one hand gripped the glass of water tightly which was kept on the bedside table.
"Yes!" She answered and splashed the water in a glass on his face.
"What the hell!" He cursed wiping the water from his face whilst she ran outside.
The only bathrobe they had was wet too now.
Vardhaan chased her as she ran outside the beach house.
The strange thing was that she didn't find anyone while she ran, not even a single person!
On reaching the ocean she stopped and huffed loudly taking deep breaths.
"Mrs. Rathore!" She heard the voice of Vardhaan which was dripping with anger.
"Stop!" Ishani shouted seeing him coming closer.
"I won't." He yelled.
"If you don't stop there then I will jump into the water and the last pair of cloth you have will also be gone!" She screamed with a slight victory smile whilst he gave her a sharp look.
"You aren't doing that!" He demanded.
"I will! And if you don't want me to then let's make a deal." Her voice was loud enough for him to hear.
"I will return you the half pant as you don't have any other but you will let me borrow your t-shirt then!" She continued.
Not hearing any response she yelled, "I am jumping-"
"No don't! Deal accepted." Vardhaan cut her off harshly.
"Say a little sweetly, Mr. Rathore." She smirked.
"Mrs. Rathoreeee!"
"Okay okay. But promise me you won't back out from your words."
"I won't back out from my words."
"Promise?"
"Ahhh! Promise. Fine. Now give me my pants back."
"Let me go inside." with this Ishani ran towards the beach house.
"I will take bath first." She thought as she went inside the bathroom letting Vardhaan wait.
After half an hour when she came out dressed in shorts and the new shirt which was his, she strode out.
Throwing the half-pants in his direction, she ignored the glare he gave her and laid down on the deck chair assembled there enjoying the beach.
"Close your eyes," Vardhaan ordered.
"What?" She asked aghast.
Rolling his eyes he told, "I am changing into these pants. Close your damn eyes."
Mumbling incoherent words under her breath, Ishani closed her eyes and cursed his laziness.
"Do you want a shirt too?" She asked yawning slightly.
"No need." He mumbled eating the grapes kept on the table.
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Ruhanika's phone buzzed as she arranged her clothes in the cupboard.
Glancing at the wall clock which was indicating 1:00 pm, she frowned and walked towards the bedside table where her phone was kept.
Gripping her phone in her hand, her frown deepened when she saw 'Yuvraj ji' flashing on it.
Why is he calling me right now? She questioned herself in mind before gulping thickly and pressing the green button.
Holding the phone closer to their ear, she mumbled, "Hello Yuvraj Ji?"
"Ruhanika get ready in ten minutes. I am coming to pick you up." with this, the call went dead.
Ruhanika sighed heavily at his nonchalant behavior.
"Ahnn! He didn't even tell me how I should be dressed, formally or informally!" Ruhanika muttered and puffed a deep breath.
Taking out a simple yet elegant plazo set, she got dressed in that fastly knowing how punctual her husband was!
Correct after ten minutes her phone buzzed again. Correcting the strap of her sandal, she ran fastly towards her phone knowing well who was calling.
Picking up the call she balanced the phone on her shoulder and walked towards the closet, picking up a matching purse.
"I am standing outside the palace. Come out right now!" His authoritative and dominating voice rang from the other side making her gulp as she mumbled a small yes and rushed out.
Opening the passenger seat she sat down quietly and as she expected Yuvraj was sitting in the driver's seat as usual. One thing she noticed every time was that Yuvraj never let the driver drive his car. He everything drove it wherever they go.
The car came to motion and she simply looked out of the window, passing her time in dead silence.
"We have been called to Yuvika's school." Yuvraj's rough voice broke the silence.
"What? Why? Is Yuvika fine? Did something happen to her?" Ruhanika blabbered in a panicked tone.
"Nah. Her class teacher said she wanted to talk with us." Yuvraj said coolly while focussing on the road.
The ride to Yuvika's school went silent after this.
Ruhanika stepped out of the car and Yuvraj went to park it.
Entering the school, they sat inside the room where peon directed them.
"Why would they have called us?" Ruhanika questioned being panicked and Yuvraj continued typing on his phone.
"Mr. and Mrs. Rathore." Yuvika's class teacher, Mitali greeted them as she sat opposite to them and Yuvraj nodded his head without looking up from the phone making Ruhanika smile apologetically.
Miss. Mitali cleared her throat and Yuvraj stuffed his phone in his pants pocket stretching his shoulders a little.
"Mr. and Mrs. Rathore I have called you here to discuss something." Mis. Mitali told.
"Well, we already know that," Yuvraj said in a flat tone.
"So the thing is that today we showed children an animated movie about a family where the couple loves each other, they love their children and treats their both child equally despite their gender." Mitali voiced out.
"So?" Yuvraj stuffed his hands inside his pocket.
"The discussion shifted towards the topic of how their parents love each other and children started telling about it. Some children said that their father helps their mother in the kitchen and shows his love, some said that their father gives a flower to their mother, some said their father took their mother out on a dinner or lunch and so on." Mitali explained.
"Do you know what Yuvika said?" Mitali questioned suddenly making Ruhanika sigh as she expected Yuvika to say something about how her parents don't love each other or how their family isn't normal.
But she wasn't able to believe what the teacher said next.
"She said that her father takes her mother in his arms and kisses her lips."
Ruhanika could feel the heat creep up to her neck as she looked down being embarrassed and Yuvraj too looked here and there awkwardly.
The teacher cleared her throat and continued, "I asked her what did the gesture mean and she replied it was a way of showing love to anyone. I don't have a problem with parents kissing infront of children but make sure to clarify that it's something only lovers do... She should be made aware that these gestures are only between lovers and she shouldn't think it's okay for any relative or stranger to showcase their love this way... I tried to explain her, the rest is you need to be more careful."
Ruhanika was sure that her cheeks were deep-tinted right now.
"...Yeah, we will take care of this next time." She heard her husband respond as he stood up from the chair. Ruhanika stared at him with wide eyes and mouth slightly open and he simply signaled her towards the door.
"Have a good day." They heard Mis. Mitali mumble.
They sat down inside the car waiting for Yuvika as awkward silence surrounded them.
Gosh, all that was so embarrassing.
Soon peon dropped Yuvika to their car and left.
"Ma! Papa!" Yuvika exclaimed with a toothy smile.
Ruhanika embraced her with a smile and made her sit on her lap as Yuvraj started the car.
But Yuvraj's expression didn't soften. Glancing towards Yuvika, he questioned sternly, "What did you say when your teacher asked you about your parents and why did you say that?"
Yuvika pouted looking at his expression and angrily folded her hands. Ruhanika kissed her forehead and Yuvika huffed in response before kissing her mother's cheek with a smile.
Yuvraj rolled his eyes at the duo and dead-panned, "I need an answer."
"Oho! Papa first of all don't talk to me in that way. Secondly, the teacher asked about how much your parents love each other. And as papa always scolds and orders Maa, I didn't have an answer because of Papa! But I needed to say something after all I am Yuvika Singh Rathore, I can't let my pride go so I simply said that Papa takes Maa in his arms and kisses her lips because that's what the prince did to cinderella in the end. Also, even the prince did this to wake up snow white! And you know what whole class clapped for me but the teacher didn't look happy. Jealous teacher huh." Yuvika explained innocently blinking and clapping her eyes in between.
"Damn! Why do you even watch those stupid movies!" Yuvraj asserted shaking his head.
"They are good!" Yuvika and Ruhanika argued in unison making Yuvraj groan annoyedly.
"Papa I am hungry. Take us to a restaurant because other time you are busy in that key notebook." Yuvika ordered and Yuvraj rolled his eyes, "That's a laptop." and drove towards a restaurant for lunch.
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A message popped out on Naina's phone.
Opening the message, she furrowed her brows.
Don't wait for me at dinner tonight. I will be very late.
She read the message again and again Aadarsh sent it.
She called him again and again but he never picked up the call
She gulped the lump formed in her throat.
He wasn't talking with her properly since their last argument.
And she was impatiently waiting for tonight to pacify his anger and again try to coax him for baby.
But he splashed cold water on her hopes.
She knew when he said very late, he would be very late and maybe she would have slept till then because how much we tried to keep sleep away, it always found our way.
Maybe the next time...
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Raina and Aakarsh landed at the Shimla Airport in the evening.
A car came to pick them up and both of them sat inside.
Aakarsh said something to the driver and they drove off.
Raina simply gazed at the greenery in front of her being amazed, no doubt Himachal is called the 'land of god'.
She smiled to herself as the cold breeze hit her face then glanced at her husband who sat there with a flat look.
Why can't he ever smile?
She thought as again she felt herself being dwelled towards him. Her soft orbs felt a pull towards those brown orbs.
"Will you just stop staring at me woman!" His harsh voice brought her back to their senses as she slowly looked down at her boots being embarrassed.
She heard him mutter something under his breath then he leaned back on the seat closing his eyes and massaging his temples.
She knew very well what this meant.
He was again getting angry.
Knowing very well the consequences of his anger, she remained quiet the whole ride till the car stopped in front of a restaurant?
She was surprised as she didn't expect him to care for her or the fact that she had missed her lunch.
Because he didn't like the thought of his private jet's seat getting dirty as Raina was a clumsy eater. No, he didn't stop her from eating but warned her not-so-softly that there would be consequences if he saw a crumb of food anywhere in his jet. And Raina skipped the lunch being terrified of his wrath. She could bear the hunger but not his rage.
He stepped out of the car and so did she. They started walking inside when he suddenly halted and questioned, "Where are you going?"
"Umm... Inside the restaurant?" She replied but it came more sort of a question.
"And who the hell said that you are allowed inside!" He yelled breaking the little hope inside her that he cared.
Though it wasn't the first time and probably wouldn't be the last.
"I am going inside for the meeting with that landowner. We have booked the whole restaurant and no one is allowed inside especially not you." He spat out each word harshly making her smile weakly in his direction.
"Where would I go then?" She questioned with her voice thick with emotions.
"Go sit inside the car or wherever the fuck you want, I don't care." He shouted before going inside the restaurant.
Raina gazed in the direction he went with moist eyes then took a deep breath.
You are the reason for all this.
She chided in her mind then turned ready to wander in this hill station.
Clutching the coat she wore closer to her, she strolled here and there staring at the different food, people, and trees.
She would smile to herself whenever she saw couples walking hand in hand or looking at each other with love-filled eyes.
She was happy that someone in this cruel world was happy unlike her.
All this felt great and new.
Maybe a me-time was she needed to make her mood better.
Suddenly her mouth watered looking at the street food.
She entered her hand in her pockets but found nothing inside.
Shit! I forgot my purse and mobile in the bag itself.
She hit her forehead lightly then glanced at the darkened sky. The cold breeze hit her making her shiver slightly.
Maybe it is time to go back.
She thought and walked back to the restaurant they had stopped but froze seeing that the car wasn't there anymore and the restaurant was close as well.
Running towards the small teashop in front of the restaurant, she asked with a shaky voice, "When did that car and people go?"
"Oh! they left half an hour ago." That shop owner replied. Her heart thundered in her chest.
"Where?" She questioned trying to keep her composure.
"To some hotel, that's what I heard sister." He answered and Raina felt the ground beneath her shook.
There were hundreds of hotels here.
Where would she search for him at night that too without money and phone?
But how can he leave without me?
I am his wife.
Wouldn't he even care if something happened to me?
She thought horrified as she walked in a direction she had no idea about.
She asked for a phone from a stranger but her fingers stopped at the dialer.
He never gave me his phone number so remembering a person's phone number you didn't even have is not possible!
She thought and called her sister but Naina's phone was switched off.
Handing back the phone to the stranger, she thanked him and left for the search of the hotel he was in.
Because she wouldn't risk taking help from a stranger because an alone girl was never safe even when the country was developing rapidly.
Her legs ached so did her heart when after walking for God knows how many hours and asking in several hotels she still didn't find him.
Today she felt the need for her real mother. Her heart yearned for her birth mother today as she sat on a bench shivering slightly.
..........
Here Aakarsh laid on his comfortable bed after having his dinner.
But something was off he felt.
He felt he was forgetting something.
Shrugging his thoughts, he buried his face into the fluffy pillow as sleep took over his senses.
Suddenly at midnight when the clock ringed making him get up with a jerk.
I forgot about my wife!
He thought as he sat up straight running a hand through his messy hairs as a horrified expression took over his face...
~~~~~~~
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