Set in the pre-wedding phase. The wedding gets postponed for six months here and thus, everything that we saw Netra doing after Shashank and Apurva’s marriage in the show – she does it here before that. You’ll know the rest as you read.  

| Part 15 (a) |

“Bara aik, mala jaau de aata,” Apurva said, looking at the door, “koni baghitla tar-”

“Tar?” Shashank raised a brow at the sudden urgency in her tone. “I hope you remember that we’re engaged.” 

Her eyes landed back on him. “So?”

And that was when he realized what all that he had stupidly let escape his lips. They were engaged but so what? He didn’t get to keep her to himself with his entire family being around. That just did not suit his image as someone who verbally claimed time and again that the mere sight of this girl annoyed and her voice irritated him.

How was he supposed to explain to them that things had changed? 

“Uhm-” he stuttered, trying to find a logical response and the very sight of her trapped fiance made her chuckle. 

“Chala!” She got up, taking the empty glass with her. “Mi aahe baher.”

His heart fell, knowing there was no excuse with which he could ask her to stay for a while more. He hummed anyway and let her go.

“Bara aahes na?” Suvarna asked Shashank after she stepped inside the room with his dinner plate. She kept it near him on the bed and sat beside him, caressing his hair. “Hmm?”

He gave her a nod, snuggling closer. He had terribly missed that motherly warmth so when her hand reached his back, occasionally patting him, he couldn’t help but let himself take refuge in his very own safe cocoon.

“Sorry… mazyamule tumha-saglyanna parat-” He had just begun to apologize when his mother’s smack hit his back – a silent reminder for him to shut up. His family members lived for each other way more than they lived for themselves. The apology wasn’t accepted in the Kanitkar household for being there for each other. 

“Appu la kay hava nako te baghitlas na tu?” Suvarna asked. 

He laughed. “Tinech mala kay hava nako te jasta baghitla!” 

Suvarna shifted his hair from his forehead, making him look at her as she gently took his head out of his lap and adjusted it back on the pillow. “Hmm?” 

“Apurva watla hota titki balish nahiye, Aai,” he elaborated. 

“Balish ti tulach watli hoti, mala nahi!” Suvarna said, helping him straighten up to eat. “Pan tuza khambeer mat asa achanak badalnyacha kahi vishesh karan?”

Shashank tried to hold the plate but his mother’s gesture to sit still had him cross his hands to his chest. “Vishesh karan…” he said, asking his mother to feed him with his eyes, “hmm… Apurva sobat ghalavlele 24 taas!”

His mother gave him a did I hear that right look, making him fake a cough right away. 

“I mean Apurva itki waait nahi aahe!”

His lame attempt at covering up earned him another instance of raised eyebrows from his mother, making him quickly add, “Mhanje… chaangli aahe Apurva!” Kay boltoy mi! He scratched his forehead, smiling awkwardly at his mother who just shook her head and focused on making him eat. 

When he was done and his mother was leaving the room, he couldn’t hold his tongue. “Aai, Apurva jevli?” 

His mother turned to him, darting a teasing glare at him which just made him correct his choice of words. 

“I mean sagle jevle?”

“Sagle jevle aani aata sagle zopnar aahe tar tu hi zop. Thik aahe?” His mother bit back a chuckle. “Kahi laagla tar aawaz de!”

He whispered ho before slapping his palms on his face at the sheer embarrassment that he had been in front of his mother. Kay murkhapana hota ha? You are to be blamed for this, Apurva Vartak. His eyes went to the closed door, wishing he could complain directly to her but it was of no use. It was weird how his room suddenly felt so empty. Something was missing and it was unsettling. Despite everything being in its place, something was missing. 

Eka divsaat tuzya asnyachi itki savay laagel kadhi vicharahi kela navta! He admitted with a sigh before grabbing his phone to check for work-related emails. 

When did I become an insomniac? He slammed a pillow on his face. It was 1.30 a.m. He did not even remember how long he had been desperately trying to sleep. It was unreal how his mind kept finding its way to think about his fiancee every ten minutes. Ugh. He groaned in frustration, pulling the pillow down from his face and hurled it at the door only to have it caught by a pair of hands. 

He looked up to see the familiar hands that were holding the pillow. He knew whom that silver bracelet clasped around the right wrist belonged to. His gaze quickly traveled upward and his eyes sparkled with joy at the unexpected visitor.

“Tu ithe?” He initiated the conversation just to hear her voice and be sure that he was actually awake and that his fiancee standing in front of him in the middle of the night was no dream. 

Apurva brought his pillow with her as she walked to his bed. “Somebody has been typing a message for the past hour which he still hasn’t finished.” She taunted, placing the pillow beside his head. “So I thought… mi ithe yeunach vicharun ghete nemka asa kay message type kelya jaatoy jyala itka vel laagtoy!”

No way! Horror flashed in his eyes. She was online and watching him type, erase and retype? He needed to dig a pool of shame and jump into it. “You were awake?” he asked. “I didn’t see you online.”

“Don’t tell me that my intelligent scientist husband does not know that you can turn off the activity status?” Yet another taunt made its way out of her lips as she pulled a chair near his bed for herself. 

“Husband?” He shot her an amused glance. “Did I hear that right, Miss Vartak? How do you have a husband when you’re still a Miss unless you have married someone in your imagination? What is it called? Madness of love?”

She rolled her eyes. “It is called a slip of the tongue, Mr. Kanitkar!”

“Will I always be outsmarted?” he asked, feigning disappointment, straightening himself up. 

“As long as you try to be over smart… yes!” She bent forward to sympathetically pat on his back. 

“I wasn’t trying to be over smart though,” he added, a glint of mischief still visible in his eyes, “kalpanet already lagna kela ki kay mazyashi?”

“Tula he asach sagla bolaycha asel tar tu swatashi bol. Mi jaate!” Saying so, she rose to her feet only to be held back by him. 

“Okay! Okay!” He held his hands up in surrender. “I’m sorry!” 

Visibly not convinced, she stood in her place until he stretched out his hand to pull her to sit back in the chair. “Never thought I’d say this but…wife material tar aahes tu! Satat dhamkya det astes!” 

Her glare returned the moment those words found his voice and she slapped her hands on the bed.

He stopped laughing, sensing the danger that he had invited for himself. “Maskari kartoy!” 

Irritation remained in her eyes while she folded her hands across her chest. 

“Aata kay paya padu?” he asked when her anger did not dissipate for another minute. “Ye ikde, padto…” He leaned toward her, trying to touch her legs. 

“Kahi garaj nahiye!” She slapped his hand away, fighting hard not to smile. “Ajun jaga ka aahes?”

He let out a sigh, shrugging his shoulders. “I don’t know. Zop nahi yet aahe. Tu ka nahi zopli ajun?”

“Tu type karat hota. Mala watla-” she halted, contemplating if that would sound right.

“Tula watla mala bolaycha aahe aani mhanun tu itka vel waat paahat hotis?” He sat, letting that sink in. He hadn’t even considered that she could be online and watching him play the never-ending game of type and delete. The only button his fingers had strictly stayed away from was the ‘send’ button. 

“Samja tu mhantoy tasa aselahi tar kay problem aahe?” she asked, pulling her chair closer to his bed. “Sod te sagla. What were you typing? Kay bolaycha hota?”

“Tu udya parat janaar aahe na?” He didn’t take a moment to throw his question at her. 

“Ka? Eka divsaat savay zali mazi?” She chuckled, not realizing that he wasn’t in the mood to take her joke lightly. It was when he stared at her for a good thirty seconds that she sensed his displeasure. “Tu itka serious ka hotoy? Mala mazya ghari tar jaylach lagnaar aahe n?”

The separation anxiety that was hitting him was beyond her understanding. He hummed anyway but avoided eye contact.

Why is Khadoos acting like a clingy boyfriend? She wondered. But isn’t the more important question – why am I liking it? I have always wanted a clingy boyfriend though. She laughed, remembering how it used to be the first point in her checklist of her ideal boyfriend. 

Wah. Hi udyapasun ithe nasnar aahe yacha mala traas hotoy aani hila hasyala yetay! Annoyance flared in his eyes as he snapped his fingers in front of her. “Far aanad zalela distoy!”

Momentarily speechless by his taunt, she slapped her forehead upon realizing that he had taken her smile out of context. “Mala tula kahitari dakhwaycha hota…” she said, knowing there was no point in explaining. Diverting his attention seemed like a much better choice. 

Curiosity was quick to appear in his eyes when he saw her going through her phone. It wasn’t like every other day that she got something to show him. It got his mind completely away from the stinging fact that she was leaving the next day. 

She turned the phone’s screen toward him when she found what she was searching for. 

His lips broke into a smile at the picture from their engagement day where her hands were around his neck as if strangling him. He took the phone from her hand to take a better look at it. “Ha photo koni kadhla?” he asked, going back to the moment when they were doing what they were best at – arguing and fighting over some silly reason that he did not even remember now. 

“Nikhil Dada ne kadhla hota. Kukki Gang aapla bhandan baghat hoti! Tyanni mala nantar sangitla.” she said. 

“Tyaat navin kay? Te na nemlele paharekari aahe aaple,” he muttered with a frown. 

“Aho… Aho, utha na…”

Amey jolted awake from sleep and his drowsy eyes stared at his wife who was still shaking him by his shoulders. “Kay zala? Zopu de na!”

Manasi pulled him up again when he tried to lie down. “Aho, zoptaay kay tumhi! Appu tichya kholit nahiye!”

Amey rubbed his eyes. “Kitchen madhe asel. Pani ghyayla geli asel,” he said. 

“Nahiye ti kitchen madhe. Baghitla mi,” Manasi said, pushing the blanket off Amey, “Mi baghayla geli hoti ki tila vyavasthit zop laagli ki nahi pan ti kholitach nahiye. Kadachit baher tar geli nasel navin thikani zop laagat nasel mhanun? Aapan shodhayla hava tila. Aapan shodhu aani tichya sobat maja-masti karu thoda vel. Tasahi ti udya janarach aahe.”

Amey nodded and pushed his feet to the floor. “Nikhil aani Kukki la pan bolavun gheu. Thaamb mi message karto,” he said. 

Manasi waited outside the room, fidgeting with her Saaree. Once the Kukki Gang was complete, they roamed in the Wada in search of their beloved Apurva who was nowhere to be found. 

Nikhil – Arey hi Appu geli tari kuthe?

Sumi – Mala watata aapan saglyanna uthvayla hava. 

Amey darted a glare at Nikhil before pulling him close by grabbing his arm. “Hila aanaychi kay garaj hoti?” 

“Tumchi bahin jagi hoti. Kay sangun baher padnar hoto ardhya ratri? Mala maza vaivahik jeevan tikvaycha aahe,” said Nikhil with an expression of helplessness. 

Sumi looked at him, hearing the hushed voices. “Kahi mhanalat tumhi?” 

Nikhil instantly stepped away from Amey, shaking his head. “Kahi nahi. Bas Appu baddal bolat hoto. Ho na, Amey?”

Amey gave him a yeah, right look before Kukki shushed them all. “Arey halu bola re tumhi. Sagle uthatil nahi tar!” 

Manasi who was leading the way suddenly stopped and turned to them, keeping her index finger on her lips as she asked them to not make any noise. “Tumhi kahi aikla?” she asked in a hushed tone. 

“Kay?” everyone asked in unison.

“Appu cha aawaaz BhaauJi chya kholitna yetoy!” 

“KAY?” Everyone screamed in unison.

“SHH!” Manasi slapped Amey’s arm, shushing everyone immediately before their noise could reach Shashank’s room.

Everyone pressed their palms against their respective mouths, quietening themselves while still struggling to absorb the shocking news. 

“Appu itkya ratri Shashank Dada chya kholit kay kartey?” asked Sumi, earning a hopeless sigh from Amey. “Te parat bhaandat tar nastil? Mi Aai la bolavun aanu ka?”

“Hila kahich kasa kalat nahi,” Amey muttered, shaking his head as he looked at Nikhil who took the hint and pulled Sumi closer, saying, “thaamb na zara. Aata mahit padel.” He patted her head, asking her to hold her horses. 

“Gap basa sagle! Ajibaat awaaz karaycha nahi,” Kukki warned and stepped toward Manasi. “Tula pakka mahiti aahe tu Appu chach awaaz aikla ”

Manasi nodded, signaling everyone to follow her as she began walking toward Shashank’s room. Light on their footsteps, everyone was being more careful than they had been in a long while.

Apurva being in Shashank’s room at that hour was not just beyond their expectations but also no less than the news of the day or rather the news of the night. 

“Paha what?” Apurva asked, narrowing her eyes at the word she didn’t recall being familiar with. Why did he have to use the toughest words in existence with her? She was sure that he had no idea that she wasn’t proud of her limited knowledge when it came to her mother tongue. 

She had always wished that she was better at Marathi, especially after meeting him. Embarrassing herself in front of him had started bothering her. Hiding it behind the mask of arrogance was a much safer option than admitting her disappointment with her own self. 

“Nothing!” He dismissed her, not wanting to get into the topic of the Kukki Gang. He didn’t want to take a chance with talk of the devil and the devil is here. The Kukki Gang seemed to have come into existence only to seek fun at his expense. The way his own family roasted him got on his nerves almost every single time especially when that roasting involved his fiancee. 

“Saang na,” she insisted, not willing to give up on the chance to add a new word to her dictionary. 

“Jaaun zop bara, Apurva! Far ushir zaalay!” 

“If you say so,” she said, moving her head to nod, “who cares if I won’t be here tomorrow!” 

The addition of the last statement earned her exactly what she wanted – his attention. She continued, “Who cares if this is my last night here!”

He scratched his neck, looking aside. 

She climbed another ladder of drama, adding, ” Who cares that I came here because someone couldn’t sleep! Who cares!” Feigning dejection, she started to slowly get up.

“FINE!” He held his hand in the air to stop her. “Fine.”

She turned her face to hide her laugh after succeeding in her plan. “So what are we doing?”

“I don’t know. You decide,” he said, giving the control in her hands. 

“I don’t know either,” she said, holding her chin in her hand, “hmm… let’s see. Do you have any newspapers here?”

“Newspaper?” he reconfirmed if he heard her right. “Why do you need one?”

“Aahe ka saang na! 50 prashna vicharu nako!” 

He sighed and pointed toward the table in his room. She beamed and rushed to find what she needed. 

She was back to her place right after she got her hand on a newspaper. Just as she sat down, she realized that it wasn’t enough. She traveled her gaze around and it stopped beside him. She kept the newspaper on the bed and pressed her knee on the bed as she leaned over him.

“Ka-kay kartey?” he fumbled, caught off-guard by the sudden proximity. 

Her eyes narrowed in response as she looked at him. Realizing what had just crossed his mind made her roll her eyes as she climbed a little more and pulled the pen from the side table.

“This!” She flashed him a smile, holding the pen in front of him as she returned to her place. “I was doing THIS. What did you think I was doing?”

Flustered, he was quick to look away. “Nothing!”

“C’mon, Khadoos,” she said, flipping the pages of the newspaper, “you definitely thought that I was up to something. I just want to know how creative your mind can be. Tell me which castles it had built that just came crashing down.” She chuckled as he stubbornly refused to look at her. 

She turned the newspaper toward him when he chose silence. 

“Shabdakode?” he asked out of surprise. “Tula aata shabdakode sodvayeche aahe?”

She vigorously moved her head upside down. “I am so bad at it. Mala kahi answers yetaat pan bakichi yet nahi mhanun kadhi solve hotach nahi mazyakadun!”

“Just to let you know, Apurva… I am not great at it either,” he confessed. “Tyaat kay ti chitrapatanchi nava vagere astaat. Mala… nahi yet te sagla!”

“Pan mala yeta na!” she said, opening the cap of the pen. “Tula je answers yetaat te tu saang, mala je yetil te mi saangte! Who knows we might just end up solving this together?”

He gave it a second thought, still not very sure about it. Reluctant, he was about to say no but the strange excitement on her face made him hold himself back and he ended up agreeing to give it a try. 

“Okay, so the first word is – jeshtha sahityik Ram Ganesh Gadkari yanche kavi mhanun prasiddha aslele topannaav!” She read aloud the first clue. 

The answer seemed to be on his lips from the way his eyes twinkled after he heard the hint but he didn’t reveal it. As he watched her scratching her forehead while tucking the pen behind her ear, he could tell that she had no idea about what was asked.

Failing to make even a wild guess, she looked at him, dejected. 

“Govindagraj!” he said before she could say anything. 

“Khadoos, what does sahitya mean?” she asked.

“Literature!” He suppressed the urge to taunt her as he realized that she knew nothing about Marathi literature. What right did he have anyway to mock her? He didn’t get to tell anybody which interests they should keep. 

“And kavi?”

“Poet!” He leaned toward her to take the pen. His hand brushed against her ear in the process, freezing them for a moment. “You don’t read Marathi literature, do you?”

“I don’t,” she admitted truthfully, giving him the pen, “even the songs you sing… they are not of the kind I usually listen to but…”

“But?”

“I like them.” She purposely kept it at like, not willing to let him know her obsession with them yet. 

“Okay! Give me the newspaper. I’ll fill up the boxes!”

Just as he tried to take the newspaper from her hand, she held it aside and took the pen from his hand instead. “Don’t strain your hand. Mi lihite!”

“So the second one is – Shrikrushnane gopalanchya shidorya ekatra karun kelela kala, dahihandhicha utsav!” She thought for a second after reading. “Gopalkala! Am I right?” She looked at him for confirmation and he nodded. “See, we can do this!” She grinned as she wrote the answer. 

Meanwhile, the Kukki Gang stopped outside Shashank’s room, placing their ears to the door. 

As Shashank and Apurva continued to solve the crossword, their laughs echoed in the room and eventually reached the ears of the Kukki Gang, leaving each one of them stunned. 

“He hya velela nemka karat kay aahe?” asked Amey, making the rest roll their eyes. 

“Kalat nahi aahe, shabdakode sodvat aahe! Aikla nahi ka, Appu aaatach tar mhnali? Laksha kuthey tumcha?” scolded Manasi.

Kukkii shushed them again, growing annoyed by how they kept forgetting to keep their pitch down. 

“Jyanchi bhandna aaplyala sodvayla lagaychi te shabdakoda sodvat aahe? Te hi ekatra? Baat kuch hazam nahi hui,” said Nikhil.

“Aaplyapaiki ghari konihi nastana Apurva ne ithe rahnach mazyasathi vichitra hota,” said Kukki, revealing what he had kept in his heart. 

“Vichitra tar mala hi waatla hota,” Manasi confessed, nodding at Kukki. 

“Hyancha nakki-”

“Shh…” Amey interrupted Sumi, signaling her to pause to hear what was happening in Shashank’s room. 

“Apurva, aik… mala zop yetey! Tu hi jaaun zop. He aapan udya sodvu!”

Apurva narrowed her eyes at his sudden change of mood. They weren’t even halfway through the crossword yet. “Are you sure you are sleepy? I mean, your eyes don’t look sleepy to me.”

But yours do! He smiled to himself, almost shaking his head after watching how she was struggling to stay awake when her eyes weren’t ready to stay open for even a minute more. Knowing she wouldn’t back off on her own, he knew he had to be the one doing that. 

“I’m very sure that I would like you to go back to your room!” And sleep. 

She nodded, getting up while folding the newspaper. “Alright then. Good night,” she said, keeping the newspaper back in its place. And as she returned to him, she bent to place her hand on his for a moment. “Jasta vichar karu nako, hmm?” 

“Nahi karnaar!” he assured, acknowledging her worry. “Aani tu hi karu nako. Mala ajun kahi laagnar nahiye.”

Amey hastily pushed everyone away, sensing that Apurva would be coming out at any moment. As the Kukki Gang dragged themselves away from Shashank’s room, they found themselves safe places to hide behind pillars. 

“Apurva,” Shashank called when Apurva reached the door. “Thanks for coming!”

She opened the door, not turning back, keeping her smile to herself. I will always come when I feel you need me regardless of whether you call me or not, Khadoos.

The Kukki Gang watched Apurva exit Shashank’s room and once they were sure that she was back in her room, they came out. 

“He kay hota?” Amey was the one to break the silence after the bizarre sight that had left them taken aback. 

“Enemies to lovers…” Kukki added his two cents. 

“Mhanje?” asked Sumi. 

Manasi grinned, wrapping her hand around Sumi’s shoulder. “Mhanje shatrunmadhe mitrata wadhtey!” 

Sumi shook her head, still clueless. “Mhanje?” 

It was Nikhil’s turn to knock some sense into his wife’s head. He held Sumi’s hand, leaning toward her. “Dhukyaat jase chaandne, mukyane tase bolne, sutatil kevha ukhanee… natyala kahi naav nasave…”

“Mhanje Appu Shashank Dada chya premaat padliye?” Sumi almost yelled as the realization hit her only to have Nikhil place his hand on her mouth. “Halu,” he said, shaking his head. 

“Aani Shashank tichya,” Kukki added. “At least, that’s what it seems like!”

“He sagla far achanak nahi zalay?” Amey let his curiosity find his voice. 

“Ye to pata lagana padega!” Nikhil looked at Amey who moved his head in a nod. 

“Mi tar Appu la dharevar dharnaar aahe,” Manasi declared, earning everyone’s attention, “aapan itke dhakke maarat aalo hyanchya premachya gaadi la aani aata jevha ti gaadi susaat dhaavat sutli tar he loka visarle aaplyala! Appu eka shabdane bolali nahi aaplyala!”

“Te sagla baghu nantar! Aata chala zopayla!” said Kukki!

Next Morning, 9 a.m.

“Thoda vel ajun thaamb na,” Mai insisted Apurva when she dragged her bag out.

Apurva let out a dejected sigh, hating having to turn her down. She put her bag on the floor and walked up to Mai. Wrapping her hands around Mai, Apurva tried to comfort her. “College nasta tar nakki thambli asti pan mi yeil na parat! Ithe Nashik madhech tar aahe mi. U.S. la thodich jaatey!”

Mai hummed, not wanting to persuade her after hearing about her college. “Man laavun abhyaas kar. Tu nakki pass hoshil ya veles!”

“Fakta pass kashala, Mai, tu bagh ya velela Appu first class milavte ki nahi!” Manasi said, coming out of the kitchen with a tiffin box. “Aata Bhaau Ji saarkhe tuition teacher aslyavar first class baddal shankach nako”

“Tuition teacher?” Apurva repeated Manasi’s words, acting confused. Manasi’s teasing tone was too blunt to not notice. Is she suspecting? Hiding her nervousness, Apurva cleared her throat as she let go of Mai and approached Manasi. “Aga, Manasi Vahini… kahihi kay bolteyes tu! College che classes kay kami aahe je mi tuitions lavayala jaau aani samja lavaychi zaalich tar mi Khadoos kade ka laavel? Don’t you think I would search for a patient teacher and not a khadoos teacher?” She chuckled, mimicking Shashank’s signature specs-adjusting move. 

Shashank hid behind the pillar upstairs, frowning at the comments that his fiancee was making. 

“How sure are you about that?”

Apurva turned around to find Amey and Nikhil walking into the scene. She forced a laugh, rubbing her eyebrow. “10000%!”

Nikhil looked toward Amey. “Are you convinced?”

“I am not!”Amey shook his head, making Apurva cough hard. What were these guys up to? 

Mai went to the kitchen, leaving Apurva with her Kukki Gang. 

“Kay aaj saglyancha mazi maja ghyaycha plan aahe ki kay?” Apurva asked, sitting on the sofa. “I can’t believe you guys betrayed me. You ditched me and joined Khadoos’s team, huh?”

Amey sat on the chair near the sofa. “We feel that you’ve joined your Khadoos’s team and ditched us!”

Dumbfounded, Apurva needed a minute to find an escape. “Khadoos’s team? I’d prefer playing alone than joining his team!” She desperately hoped for it to be convincing. 

“We must have misunderstood then,” Manasi said, placing her hand on Amey’s shoulder when he opened his mouth to retort. One glance at Manasi and Amey played along. “You came to Shashank for help. Why we thought you guys are on good terms now!”

So it was that! Apurva heaved a sigh of relief. “Nah! I didn’t have an option. I had to submit the assignment and couldn’t do it by myself and like you all know… I have no intelligent friends. Who else could I ask for help from?”

“Why do I remember you saying you’d rather drown in an ocean than be pulled out by Saale Sahab?” Nikhil asked. 

Apurva paled, blinking as heard the statement. “Did I… say that?” How awful if I actually did! She hated the kind of things she had recklessly said. How would Khadoos feel if he knew I said that? Her eyes quickly scanned around, hoping he wasn’t around. 

Manasi nodded, confirming that Apurva had indeed said that. 

Apurva stepped down from the sofa. As she stood in front of Nikhil for a second, the trio almost thought that they were close to victory only to have been proven otherwise. 

Apurva bent and held Nikhil’s legs, causing him to frantically struggle to step away. 

“Kay karteyes tu?”Nikhil asked, trying to make Apurva leave his legs but she only clutched them tighter. 

“Adla Hari,” Apurva said, raising her head to look at Nikhil, “gaadhwache paay dhari!” 

Amey and Manasi looked at each other before shifting their gaze to Apurva and Nikhil for a brief moment before they burst out laughing. “Tu Nikhil-ravanna gaadhav mhanalis?” Amey thought he would die laughing. “Bara zala gharaat koni aikla nahi! Javayacha asa apmaan karaycha nasto, Appu!”

Nikhil was still flabbergasted, unable to register what had just happened. 

“Nahi re, Amey Dada.” Apurva let go of Nikhil’s legs, straightening herself up. “Nikhil Dada la ka gaadhav mhanel mi!”

“Mag?” asked Nikhil.

“Khadoos re, Nikhil Dada. I said it for Khadoos and my situation. I had no option but to take his help,” Apurva explained, making everyone slap their foreheads. 

She grabbed her phone from the sofa. Everyone curiously waited as they watched her busy with her phone.

 “Adla Hari,” she said, pointing toward herself before turning her phone toward them as she pressed her finger on the picture of Shashank on her screen, “gaadhvache paay dhari!”

Manasi, Amey and Nikhil looked at each other only to burst out laughing. 

“Shashank ne aikla na tu tyala gaadhav mhanalis tar tisra vishva-yuddha suru vhaycha ithe!” said Amey. 

Thank God, they didn’t ask why I have Khadoos’s picture on my phone. Apurva sighed, turning around to take a moment to breathe after the rigorous confrontation. She pressed the back of her hand on her eyes, trying to relax her worked-up self when her empty wrist came to her notice. “I think I forgot my bracelet in Babi Aatya’s room. I’ll just get it.”

Manasi nodded. 

Apurva pushed her phone into the pocket of her shrug as she started climbing the stairs, still thinking about the way her Kukki Gang had put her in a tough spot. Ah, how exhausting! 

She brought her feet to a halt when she realized that she had taken the wrong turn and stood in front of her fiance’s room instead of Babi Aatya’s. I have lost it. She concluded, slapping her forehead and turned to make her way to the intended destination only to be pulled inside her fiance’s room. 

Stunned, she looked at him as he closed the door before pinning her against the wall. What just happened? Could he give me some time to process it? She dropped her head on his chest for a moment before throwing her annoyed gaze at him. “You scared me. Did you think that I wouldn’t get in had you normally asked me to?”

He tucked her hair strands behind her ear with his finger, ignoring her question. “So you want a patient teacher?” 

“Huh?” What was he talking about? Who had time to wonder? The Kukki Gang seemed to be on the mission of unraveling her sweet secret. She couldn’t let them find out. She pressed her hand on his arm that was blocking her, trying to push him away. “Someone might come. Let me go.” 

She had just gotten out of his hold and reached the door when he held her wrist. 

With a soft gasp, she felt herself being gently pushed back against the wall again. “So you would rather play alone than join my team?” Leaning forward, he whispered into her ear. “Why? Do you think I am a bad player?” 

Stunned and amused, she stared at him, realizing that he had not just heard her conversation with the Kukki Gang but also had taken offense at her comments. “I-uh-”

His fingers trailed along the curve of her jaw before cupping her cheek in his palm. “Do you think I will make you lose, hmm?”

Her eyes fluttered close as his sweet torture continued. 

“I am fine with most of what you said down there except-”

She forced her eyes open upon hearing him. Except? Had she really upset him? She wondered when she came across the firm seriousness in his eyes. 

Leaning in closer, he pressed his forehead against hers. “Except that… you would rather drown in an ocean than be pulled out by me. What have I done for you to snatch the right to protect you from me?”

“I don’t remember when and why I said that,” she muttered, not making any attempt to push him away. “I don’t mean that,” she said, her voice laced with regret. “Forget you heard that.”

He pulled himself back, just enough to be able to meet her gaze. “Make me.”

His lingering gaze on her lips had her brows up for a moment before she looked away while trying to avoid a smile. Slowly circling her hands around his neck, she waited for him to back off on his own only to realize that he was very serious about his compensation. She sighed, accepting what needed to be done.

“Provided that you will keep your mouth shut about this,” she warned.

“I am not you!” he said, making her want to slam his head against the wall.

“You know what? Forget it,” she said, taking her hands off his neck as she tried to push him away. “A man as arrogant as you… deserves nothing!”

Locking her hands behind her back, he got her back against the wall. “You claim to like me and then say all those things about me behind my back to your gang and dare to call me arrogant?”

 “I do like you,” she corrected.

“Why am I supposed to believe that after hearing you speak so highly of me?” 

She stared at him for a good thirty seconds before setting her hands free from his grip in a jerk and wrapping them around his neck as she rose on her tiptoes to let him taste the love he had just questioned. His smile barely lasted a moment against her lips as she pulled apart. 

“Do not doubt my feelings for you again,” her warning followed. 

“Seems like doing that does more good than harm!” he said, shrugging his shoulders as he walked to his bed. 

“Scientist of the Year? No, Shameless of the Year,” she yelled, stomping her foot down. 

Thank you for patiently waiting. 🙂 Seems like I made you wait for a bit too long this time. I wish I could have updated sooner but it’s hard to find time and zeal to write these days. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading. Do let me know your views in the comment section.

The last part will be divided into three subparts. 15(a), 15(b) and 15(c)

I N D E X

Part One

Part Two  

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

Part Six

Part Seven

Part Eight

Part Nine

Part Ten

Part Eleven

Part Twelve

Part Thirteen