Kaun Hain Tu Mera? - SidNaaz

~THIRTY~

That same Saturday evening, the housemates were required to send back some of their old luggage to take in the new clothes and accessories. Shehnaz spent an hour with Raani and Anita in the luggage are putting her clothes away, and then Sidharth's. She could tell that they wanted to ask her why she was doing it but stopped themselves when Sidharth came in and sat next to her. He didn't really help much, he sat there teasing her and making fun of her.

"Tere kapde hi kar rahi hoon. Thoda sa bhi sharam hain to help kardo. Aur nahi kar sakte toh chup chaap baithe rahi yah phir tareef karo. Bakwaas math kar." She said.

"Arey main toh tujhe itna attention de raha hoon. Aur kya chahiye tujhe?" He asked.

"Ehsaan kar raha hain mere upar, kutte?" She asked, throwing his jeans at his face.

"Yeh gandha toh nahi haina?" He grimaced.

"Nahi. Che." She giggled.

"Meko chai chahiye. Peene ke liye. Phek ne ke liye nahi." Sidharth said, eyeing Raani teasingly. She rolled her eyes, irritated but didn't respond.

"Tujhe pange lene mein mazaa aati haina?" Shehnaz laughed.

"Tere saath panga lene mein bohot aati hain." He smirked.

"Mujhe bhi. Bhool gaya kitna accha panga lesakti hoon?" She giggled.

"Maate aapse main dhoor jaate abse." He said as she opened the box of accessories.

"Jaate jaate bed ke storage mein woh brown color box hain. Leke aana please." She asked sweetly. He stared at her for a bit and then when he realised that she wasn't going to let him off, he got up and did as told and sat down again, adjacent to her and facing her.

"Ab yeh sab usmein daal." She said, handing hain the plastic box full of accessories. They were are contemporary and colorful. All except for one.

"Baby yeh dekh." Sidharth said, his voice full of nostalgia and wonder. He smiled widely at the transparent packet. Shehnaz looked at what he was showing her, and a grin took over her own face.

"Hayeee! Friday ko pehenungi!" She gasped. She was so sure that maa had sent them to her for their anniversary. Sidharth smiled sweetly at the grin on her face, they should've been home by now, but at least she had a piece of it with her.

Shehnaz sat on the couch in her room staring at the phone. It had been 5 months since the wedding, and she was still at home, she didn't feel suffocated, nor did she feel like she was wasting her life away. She felt like she was getting better, like life was finally building itself up again, and now marriage became the foundation for it. It seemed like a stronger one. But marriage was taxing, not in a bad way. She spent the past few months at home, all the offers she was getting were to fly out of the country and do miniscule shows, which she wasn't going to at any cost. She was still dealing with the loss of the aftermath of the controversy. But the family kept her busy, busy with their utmost love and care for her. Then they had an issue with the registration papers of the marriage last month, dealing with the name change on official documents, opening a joint account with Sidharth, he insisted on it, she didn't really understand why. They had been dealing with all this, and at the same time trying to keep the officials hidden away from the news of Sidharth Shukla's marriage by only meeting through their lawyer, not coming face to face with anyone except for one day when Shehnaz had to meet with a government official to give her thumb prints and sign on a few papers for her name change.

And of course, her developing relationship with Sidharth kept her going. It overwhelmed her. She was suddenly thrown into a world of affection and care. Something she hadn't seen before. She had boyfriends and flings before, she had done so much more with them than mere hugging. But somehow, the way Sidharth held her every night, and kissed her face softly, and the way he nestled himself against her in bed and constantly held her hand and hugged her throughout the day, it somehow made every act of intimacy in her previous relationships irrelevant. This was so much more. This was everything. This was the best of her life. She never felt so at peace with it. He was healing her. 5 months felt like too less of a time to fall into this sheltered and secure pattern with a man. But Sidharth and Shehnaz did. Like soulmates. Like it was meant to be. But they would never acknowledge that or admit it. They just went with it.