“Gosh! What the hell I did? I slapped him because of that disgusting memory. Oh, God! What is happening to me? Neither I can tell him the truth nor I can handle the situation. Aditya must have been hurt. Otherwise, he would have reacted or behaved the way he used to. Instead, he just left without even confronting me. Strange! I know how impulsive and intimidating he can be when he gets hurt by his close ones. And here he doesn’t even know why I am behaving like this. He must have thought that I did it because of yesternight’s fight. He must have assumed that I truly believe that his love for me is only limited to physical. Shit! I messed up everything. Now, he is hurt and mad. And I know how much it will be difficult to assure him.”

Nandana’s train of thought comes to a halt when her phone abruptly rings. She wipes her wet hands in her kurti and picks up the call.

“Hello...!”

She speaks. From the other side, a sharp sound of inhaling is heard followed by a raspy voice.

“Hello, Nandana. Missing me? Oops! My mistake. Fearing me…ha..ha…(Giggles) Okay, let me lessen your fear a bit. Yesterday at the marketplace you were looking hot and pretty at the same time. In fact, I thought to come in front of you and compliment you. But…but the next moment I thought let’s continue this hide-and-seek game. Let me give you a chance to find out your secret admirer. Come on, Baby…work hard. I am around you.”

“Who…who are you? Why are you disturbing me? Listen, I know you are known to Aditya. That night you misbehaved with me at the party. If I tell this to Aditya, he will find you out and make your life hell.”

Nandana hisses in a low voice. The person on the other side laughs in a husky voice and continues,

“Ohhh…so you haven’t told him yet. Why? Oh yes! Maybe you liked me and you want to find me out by yourself. Got it! Who doesn’t want to be admired? Especially from a secret one. And yes! Aditya knows me and now it’s your time to know me. Closely…ha…ha…”

He giggles again. Nandana cuts the call and blocks the number. Her limbs are shaking. A teardrop trickles down her cheek.

“I have to tell Aditya. Enough is enough.”

Nandana thinks and bails out of the room to head to Aditya’s study.

“Aditya…”

Her impatient call gets a jostle when she finds the room empty after barging in. She remembers the incident that just happened in the bathroom some minutes ago. Nandana bites her lower lips. Suddenly she feels lonely. A bout of cry escapes her mouth.

“Aditya…I need you.”

She mumbles.

................................

“Have you talked to them? What did they say?”

Aabir asks eagerly. Navya stares up from the file and meets his eyes.

“Yes, I did but they didn’t show any interest. Maybe they are aware of Dhawan Industry’s market value and don’t want to risk their money.”

Navya sounds blunt. Since morning, she is feeling nauseatic. Early pregnancy sign. She was not feeling to come to the office but as usual, Aabir insisted and she had to.

“What do you mean by market value? We are not finished yet. Yes, we are struggling and we will bounce back. You only couldn’t convince them. Ahhhh…it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have relied on you so much. You just let me down.”

Aabir mouths in frustration and leaps up from his chair. Something is torn in Navya’s head. She lets him down. She? All of a sudden, she chides,

“Don’t put the burden of your incapabilities on me, Mr Dhawan. Till now, whatever deals the Dhawan industry cracked, it cracked because of me. Because of my hard work. But I am not any bait that you can use to lure your clients. If you are a man enough then get the deal by your ability. Don’t hide behind me like a…”

Navya’s words ignite the fire inside Aabir’s head. He almost jumps in front of her and yanks her by her forearm. Navya feels cramps in her lower belly. She cries,

“Ahhhhh….”

“What did you just say? I am incapable of handling this business? I am not a man enough to crack a deal and it’s you who are doing a favour for us. Yeahh…is this Ms Navya Mehta? I use you as bait to lure my clients. Because I don’t have my capability.”

Aabir grits out and tightens his grip on Navya more. Now, their faces are so close that his hot and aggressive breath hits her skin. Navya tries to free herself. She is feeling giddy.

“You are the only girl I let enter my life. I let you touch me, feel me. You know I don’t believe in relationships but still, I got bound with you. Because I trust you, I consider you mine who will never betray me. And you are saying I used you to hide my incapabilities? Really?”

Aabir’s voice is laced with pain and distrust. Navya tries to say something but suddenly everything becomes black in front of her eyes. She collapses on Aabir’s chest. Aabir shouts in fear,

“Navya…Navya…”

.................................

Aryan rests his hand on Aditya’s glass that he raised to reach his lips.

“Stop! You have already had a lot. What happened? Why are you behaving so restless?”

Aryan asks concernedly. His ardent eyes are placed on Aditya’s drowsy ones. Some moments of silence engulf the room. Suddenly Aditya mouths in a broken voice,

“Why love hurts so much? Why this world thinks that a devil can never be a true lover? Why do people think we don’t have hearts? Why she doesn’t trust my love?”

.................................

A sudden jerk breaks Nandana’s sleep. She roams her sleepy eyes everywhere in the room and tries to sink into the moment. Mini stirs amidst her sleep and nestles more to her mother. The familiar touch helps Nandana to break her drowsy state. She remembers everything. After getting that call from an unknown number, she couldn’t find Aditya anywhere in the house. She called him a zillion times but got only a switched-off reply. She even called Ayan but he also doesn’t know where Aditya is. Being helpless and frustrated, she came to Mini’s room and started playing with her daughter to distract herself from this suffocating situation. She doesn’t know when she fell asleep. All of a sudden, that similar footstep sound grabs her attention. This sound only broke her sleep. It is coming from her and Aditya’s bedroom. Nandana carefully frees herself from Mini’s embrace and gets down off the bed. She quietly comes out of the baby’s room and approaches her bedroom. The door is closed but still, some low noises are coming from inside. Must be Aditya. She assumes and tightens the night dress buckle before entering. The sight startles her for a moment. Aryan is supporting Aditya to reach the bed. It seems that Aditya is not well or maybe not in his full sense. Nandana immediately rushes toward them. A yell comes out of her mouth,

“What happened? Where was he? What happened to him? Aditya!”

She tries to hold Aditya when Aryan stops her and carefully lays Aditya down on the bed. Aditya rolls on the mattress and mumbles in his half-conscious state,

“She doesn’t believe me…”

Nandana leans and reaches Aditya’s face to hear the words. Simultaneously calls him in a worried voice,

“Aditya….Aditya…”

“Let him sleep. He needs rest. You can interrogate him later. Maybe in the morning.”

Aryan’s tone is laced with taunts. Nandana turns to him and replies sternly,

“I am not interrogating. I am concerned about him. He is my husband. I think you haven’t forgotten it.”

“Husband! Maybe that’s why he came to me to seek peace. Mrs Oberoi, it’s easy to tag a relationship but difficult to maintain the responsibility. The irony is you are concerned about him but you actually don’t know what the reason behind this situation.”

Aryan looks into Nandana’s eyes and says in a sarcastic tone. Nandana’s jaws harden. She asks determinedly,

“He never gets so drunk? You must be the reason behind this.
”
“Uhu…you are the reason behind this. Mrs Nandana Oberoi.”

This time Aryan’s voice is acidic. Fire is spiting from his eyes.