His Angel, Her Treasure (UNEDITED)

Chapter 10

"Woah!" was the only expression that came out of Sharanya's mouth as she saw Aditya's house.

"Adi, this is beautiful! Is this..." Sharanya tried very hard to keep the tears from falling. She caressed the mug she had gifted him more than 5 years ago before she left. Suddenly, another mug came into her view. This time, it had her name instead of Aditya's, and a clapboard next to her name.

"I've been wanting to give you this ever since you gave me my lucky charm," Aditya whispered into her ears from behind her. Sharanya took a sharp breath as his breath fanned on her mostly bare shoulder, through the thin pullover.

Collecting her thoughts, Sharanya turned to Aditya and asked, "Lucky charm?"

"Yeah. Since the time you gave me this Ganesha on the mug, it became a ritual for me to drink tea in it before any important event. I must say, it really helped me a lot. Almost always, whether it was an exam or a Sangeeta (Carnatic music recital) event, this mug has been like my saviour.

"You won't believe it, but you remember the Sangeeta competition I was anxious about like around December the year you left?" Sharanya nodded and let Aditya continue. Aditya moved to a cabinet next to the table and rummaged through it while continuing, "I actually won that competition! Like, 1st prize!"

"I don't believe you." Sharanya said, in disbelief.

"Have a look for yourself," smirked Aditya as he confidently passed his certificate to her.

"OK, cool. Now, lunch," Sharanya commanded as she examined the certificate.

"Look around, I'll just get lunch." Aditya went to the kitchen as Sharanya looked at the other certificates.

A few minutes later, Sharanya went to the kitchen and stood by the doorway. She couldn't help but drool over the delicious thing near the cooktop. Well, Aditya cooking for her live was definitely delicious; but the smell of the dish he was conjuring up was heavenly.

"OK, Mr. Overachiever. What else don't I know about you? You are an almost astronomer, excellent singer, chef; you know how to make me laugh; you totally know how to irritate me and kill it. What don't I know about you?" Sharanya smirked.

"For starters, you don't know how terrible the coffee I make is," Aditya retorted with a smug face.

"Make it for me, and then I'll believe." Aditya shook his head at Sharanya's comment and moved from the kitchen to the dining table; Sharanya just behind him.

Sharanya sat on the chair Aditya had pulled for her, and waited patiently for Aditya to serve his delicacy. As soon as the lid was taken off the hotpot, Sharanya let out a gasp. Waiting no more, she served it herself and dug into the 'Aditya Mohan special,' fried rice!

Closing her eyes, Sharanya moaned with pleasure. "Oh, I love this! Adi, I absolutely love the fried rice you make," Sharanya blurted out as she shoved another spoonful into her mouth.

"Then why didn't you tell me before?" Aditya asked.

"Tell you what?" she asked, shoving yet another spoonful into her mouth.

"That you love the fried rice I make."

"Because... Because you would think that you–you are some master chef or something, when you are not." The sassy side of Sharanya made Aditya chuckle slightly.

"Then when are you making your specialty for me?" Aditya asked.

"Which one though?" Sharanya asked with a full mouth.

Moving in slightly, Aditya tucked a strand of hair behind Sharanya's ear and whispered, "My favourite noodles."

The moment Aditya said this, a morsel of fried rice got stuck in Sharanya's throat and she started coughing. In a reflex action, Aditya started rubbing her back and handed her a glass of water.