Chapter Two – Stop Fooling Around, Will You?
Apurva let her gaze drift around the club for a long minute after Shashank left. Caught in the dilemma of sticking around for the motive she was there for and her husband waiting outside–she ended up deciding to call it a day.
She made sure not to rush out after her husband though. Instead, she lingered around for a good while before she exited the club.
When she stepped out, Shashank was nowhere in sight. She took a good look around to see if she could spot him but it wasn’t until she walked further down the road for some five minutes or so that she saw him on his bike–helmet on, arms crossed.
A slow smile tugged at her lips as she picked up her pace. Standing beside the bike, she knocked on his helmet. “You really are smart, aren’t you? I already know it. You don’t have to remind me every day.”
There was no response from his end though. She quietly sat behind him, knowing she was in for a never-ending scolding.
“Explain yourself!” Unlike in the club, his voice was rather harsh and cold.
“Not like you’re going to let me off anyway,” she muttered while taking off her earrings as she sat in front of the dresser.
“Why are you mumbling now?” He pressed his hands on the dresser, one on each side of her, caging her in. “Weren’t you quite bold back in the club? What? Are you scared now?”
She didn’t even flinch. Her lips curled in a slow smirk as she opened the drawer. She lifted her eyes to meet his gaze through the mirror while dropping her earrings in the drawer. “Scared?” she echoed in amusement. “Apurva Shashank Kanitkar? Is that even possible?”
“Stop fooling around, will you?” All traces of patience were long gone as he spun the chair she was sitting in around, turning her toward himself. “What have you been up to? Why do you keep going to that club?” His frustration was simmering beneath the surface.
Despite being startled by how quickly it happened, she met his glare with an infuriatingly calm expression. “When did you find out?” she asked.
He leaned in, gripping the armrests. “Is that important?”
She tilted her head, observing him as if weighing her options. “How did you find out?” she asked again.
“Is that important?”
“I guess not!” She edged closer, wrapping her hands around his torso as she rested her head against him.
He stiffened, caught between the heat of his anger and the warmth of her touch. His hands, still gripping the armrests, debated whether to pull away and get his answers or pull her closer and let everything else wait.
He exhaled, choosing what he had always chosen. The latter. Temporarily keeping aside his questions, he placed his hand on the back of her head, his fingers threading through her hair, quietly giving her what she was seeking–some moments of comfort before the inevitable storm he had already seen coming.
“Spying on your wife doesn’t fall under good manners, you know that, right?” Apurva quipped, arching a brow as she tried to lighten the tense atmosphere.
Shashank adjusted the cuff of his sleeve before reaching out for his glasses. “The poor husbands whose wives have the habit of wandering into dangerous situations without confiding in their husbands have no choice. What else can they really do if not spy?” His counter was smooth as he slid his glasses on. “I don’t look like someone who believes in sit back and pray to you, do I?”
She couldn’t hold back her laughter as their playful banter lingered in the air. The weight of his suspicion, and the intensity of his questions momentarily took a backseat to the easy comfort of being with him like this. Marrying him was one of the best choices she had made in her life, she was assured by then.
“It’s not that I wasn’t going to tell you–” she began, only for Shashank to cut her off.
“You mean I wasn’t going to tell you unless you found out on your own!” he corrected her, making her laugh even harder. He knew her far too well for her own liking.
“Alright, alright,” she said, raising her hands in mock surrender, her laughter fading away as she collected her thoughts, “there is something I am curious about.” Her playful demeanor slipped a little.
His amusement dimmed as well, replaced by quiet attentiveness. “What is it about?”
“I am hoping I am wrong but my instinct tells me otherwise,” she hesitated before finally voicing out what had been weighing on her. “I think my friend is in trouble.”
To be continued…
So my guess yesterday was wrong that it is related to d Wada. Enjoyed reading n curious to know how d plot unfolds futher.