Jiya cut the phone call. That 5 minute conversation with Rahul was enough to destroy her mood. She huffed and entered the room only to find Samarth preparing to sleep. She was still embarrassed from what had happened between them just a few minutes ago or rather what would have happened.
Samarth tossed and turned on the bed while Jiya lied down on the couch beside the bed. She was too scared to lie beside him because she didn't know what would happen while they were asleep. She closed her eyes hoping to get some sleep after a tiresome day but Samarth's constant uneasiness in his own bed was disturbing her.
"Kya hai?" Jiya was perplexed. "Kya hua?" Samarth made the most innocent face ever. "Maine kya kiya?" He added. "You are not letting me sleep. Aise karvatein badalna band karo." Jiya said, anger clearly visible from her face. Samarth got up and sat on his bed, facing Jiya. He started glaring at her.
"Karvatein badalne ko mana kiya hai, mujhe ghoorne ko nahi bola hai." Jiya yelled. "Arey bhai, insaan kare kya? Tum batao tumhe mujhse kya problem hai? Kyun itna chik chik karti ho? Main soun toh problem, jaagun toh problem, whatever I do bothers you." Samarth rolled his eyes. "Waise toh your whole existence bothers me but what can we do about that?" Jiya remarked savagely.
Samarth sighed and laid on his bed once again. He didn't know the cause of his restlessness. He was just confused if Rahul was Jiya's boyfriend. He was seeing her when she was talking to Rahul a few minutes ago. Her face expressions changed from smile to relief, all polite expressions. Little did Rahul know, that Jiya was faking those expressions because Rahul was her boss.
"Who is Rahul?" Samarth muttered but Jiya heard him. "What?" Jiya was confused. Why would Samarth be asking about Rahul? "I asked, who is Rahul?" Samarth repeated, this time clearly. "Uhmm, he is my boss." Jiya answered casually. "Do I know him?" Samarth questioned, this time looking at Jiya. "Do you know him? I don't know." Jiya was very confused on Samarth's questions. Why was he becoming so interested in her life?
"What is his full name?" Samarth enquired. "Why? You wanna marry him?" Jiya smiled. "What? No. I am not gay." Samarth answered. "How do I know?" Jiya smirked but widened her eyes as soon as she realized that this question of hers could be interpreted in a wrong way by her Sanki.
"I can show you that am not gay, right here, right now. But don't blame me if it pains." It was Samarth's time to smirk. Jiya's stomach clenched at his words. He had the power to make Jiya's mood change in a fraction of a second and make her feel all weird emotions that she had not felt in the past. "Whatever." She murmured and rolled her eyes before turning her back at Samarth but the eye roll didn't go unnoticed by him.
"Did you just roll your eyes at me?" Samarth stared at her back. His piercing gaze made Jiya turn around and face him. "I did. Now, what are you gonna do about that?" Jiya questioned. Samarth was furious. Jiya was behaving rudely from the time she came home. He was not someone who would take others' tantrums. He only gave orders and never accepted one.
Jiya was startled by what happened next. All she could see was Samarth's face on top of her while he hovered above her on the couch. He held both of her hands in his one hand on top of her head. Jiya started breathing erratically. Samarth did nothing but glare at her angrily. He was already annoyed thinking that Rahul could be her boyfriend and that she might be cheating on him.
"I dare you to say something like that again. Who is Rahul?" He roared at her face. Jiya was shocked at his sudden outburst for particularly no reason. "Why are you so interested in Rahul and my relationship with him?" Jiya was annoyed too. "Ohh so you are in a relationship with him now?" Samarth mocked. "Stop it Samarth. Tumhara naam sahi rakha hai maine, sanki. I already told you he is my boss."
"The way you talked to him few minutes ago shows that he is not 'only' your boss." Samarth said with a vinegar filled voice. Jiya couldn't help but eye him strangely. She was now really confused as to what had gotten into her husband. She tried to push him away but he had held her hands tightly.
Samarth, himself, didn't know what had gotten into him. Was he jealous? Jealous because Jiya was finding love even after being married to him? Was he angry? Angry that Jiya was cheating on him? Was he being insecure or scared? Scared that Jiya will leave him? Or was he just furious because if this news leaks out in the media, everyone including Pari will get to know of Jiya's infidelity and that people will talk that Samarth couldn't control his wife.
"Woh mere koi bhi ho, tumse matlab? Tum mere koi nahi ho na. Pari ke liye shaadi ki hai hamne, reality mein pati banne ki koshish mat karo." Jiya hissed, now equally angry as Samarth. Suddenly, it hit him. Why was he being so possessive about Jiya? He has worked hard enough and a girl's infidelity won't destroy him. He sighed and took in the position they were in. They were almost too close. He stepped back and left her hands. Jiya's eyes were still wide open in anger.
Samarth strolled back to his head without passing any other look to Jiya. He laid on his bed facing his back to Jiya. Jiya knew that in her anger she had spoken too much than she usually does. But she could care less. She turned to face Samarth but he was not in a mood to look at Jiya. Jiya also turned around, her back to Samarth and waited till sleep engulfed her.
***************
Jiya got up to see the bed empty. She looked around and saw that Samarth's phone and his laptop were missing. She got up and checked the bathroom. He wasn't there. She tied her hair and looked at the clock. It was 8:30. She gasped. Pari is going to be so late to school. She rushed to Pari's room.
She looked around the room but found no one. She was confused. Where did Pari go? Suddenly, Shipra entered the room. "Maa, Pari kahan hai?" Jiya asked. "Woh toh Sir ke saath kab ka school chali gayi." Shipra replied casually. "School chali gayi? Arey aaj uska project tha na, woh leke gayi?" Jiya spoke as soon as she remembered today Pari had to submit the project they had been working on from almost 1 week. "Haan. Bahut excited thi. Aapko jagane aayi thi, lekin Sir ne shayad mana kar diya ye kehke ki woh soo rahi hai, let's not disturb her." Shipra mentioned with a smile.
"Pari ne breakfast khaa liya? Lunch leke gayi?" Jiya bombarded Shipra with questions. Shipra chuckled at her concern and nodded her head. "Aur Samarth? Usne lunch liya?" She asked worriedly. Shipra's smile grew wider at Jiya's concern for her husband. "Uhmm, nahi. Sir ne na breakfast khaaya aur na hi lunch leke gaye." Shipra answered meekly. "Aapko usko lunch de dena chahiye tha na Maa. Ab woh baahar se kuch khareed ke khaayega ya kaam ke chalte khaana hi nahi khaayega." Jiya huffed in annoyance and went in her room.
Shipra was happy that her Sir had finally gotten someone who cared for him and wasn't only behind his money. Jiya had made this a routine. She would always cook breakfast and lunch for both Samarth and Pari on her own with little to no help from the professional cooks. She would always pack Samarth's and Pari's lunch and made sure they take it. Shipra had told her that before Jiya came, Samarth would never take breakfast and lunch seriously. Days would go by and he would not eat lunch at his office because he had no time. No body ever thought of packing lunch for Samarth before Jiya came.
Jiya came back to her room. "Sanki. Usko badi fiqr ho rahi hai meri. Soo hi toh rahi thi na, marr toh nahi gayi thi. Utha dena chahiye tha. Pari bachha ko bye bhi nahi bol paayi. Aur ab jaakar uss Rahul se bhi toh deal karna hai." She rolled her eyes and started to get ready for the hospital. She had her breakfast in a hurry because she was already late and didn't want to give Rahul another reason to taunt her.
"So, here you are Mrs. Jiya." Rahul leaned against the wall of Jiya's cabin with his hands folded as soon as Jiya entered her cabin. Jiya raised her head and saw Rahul. He had a smirk on his face. A smirk which didn't really give a good feeling to Jiya.
"Yes, Sir. Am here." Jiya smiled meekly. "So, you are some 30 minutes late. Explain yourself." Rahul said while looking at his watch. "Am sorry Sir. I got up late." Jiya spoke embarrassed of herself. "Ohh, got up late after a wild night with your hubby?" Rahul mocked her making Jiya angry. Of course she didn't do anything the night before and wouldn't do anything in the future as well with Samarth.
"Anyways, am no one to speak about your private life. You have to operate eight patients today. That should be your target and by the end of the day, I want you to present a report on how the patients are." Rahul was about to exit when Jiya gasped. "Itna saara kaam? Sir, everyone, even the senior doctors operate just 4 patients in one day. Why are you giving me double work?"
"Because I can. Now, get all this done, soon. And, oh, bring coffee to my cabin in fifteen minutes." Rahul exited with a smirk overloading Jiya with hell lot of work. Jiya let out a sigh of frustration. She sat straight, tied her hair in a bun and began working. Soon, she had a call to attend the first patient. By the time it was lunch hour, she was already done with 4 operations.
She looked at the clock. It was 12:20. She sighed washing her hands, sweat beads on her head. But she couldn't complain. She was never a cry baby. She suddenly remembered that Samarth would be hungry right from the morning. Her heart was telling her to go to his office with food. Her brain was ordering otherwise. Jiya was stuck between the instruction of the heart and the brain. She choose to go with her heart.
***************
The last time she was in this place came to her memory in an instant. She had come here previously to talk to Samarth about his request (more like an order) to marry her. She wanted to give him a clarity of his past. But times had changed now.
Earlier, as she entered the office, everyone was staring at her, at her odd dressing sense which didn't really fit the company's image. Now, as she stepped inside the huge building, no one seem to mind, instead they were respecting her all the more and she was being escorted into Samarth's office by his personal assistant. Perks of marrying a millionaire, she sighed. 'A rude millionaire', she unknowingly blushed.
"Ma'am, this is sir's office." The man showed her the way and she smiled awkwardly not knowing what to say in return. "Have a nice day ma'am." "You too." Jiya, after the formal salutations, stepped inside Samarth's office. She didn't need his or anyone's order to do that now. She was his wife after all.
She saw that the place still screamed wealth, discipline and positivity. The fragrance of the room had a slight change though. From lemon and lavender, it had changed to sandalwood. It still smelled wonderful. She looked around, but stopped and gasped a little when her eyes set on Samarth. He, unaware of her presence, was staring down at some files. With files in one hand, fingers frantically typing something on the keyboard, first two buttons of his shirt undone, his sleeves rolled up, he looked like a perfect, busy, business magnate and not to mention, sexy.
Jiya composed herself. Her feelings were all over the place right now. She walked up to the mahogany table. The nameplate, the photo frame of him with Pari all were still placed neatly on the table. Samarth, either was still oblivious to her presence ofrwas ignoring her with all his might. But why?
"Hey." Samarth looked up and saw Jiya with a wide smile plastered on her face. He gave her a small smile and returned to his laptop. Jiya frowned. "What happened?" She asked. "To whom?" Samarth asked stilled glued to his files an laptop. "To you, Sanki. Why are you giving me the silent treatment?" Jiya whispered the last part slowly. "What are you doing in my office." Samarth asked nonchalantly.
"You hadn't eaten your breakfast and came to the office without lunch. So, I decided to bring it for you." Samarth's fingers stopped typing, his face, now stern. He looked straight into Jiya's eyes. His piercing, stony gaze made Jiya's cheerful smile drop. Has she committed some crime by bringing lunch for her husband in his office?
"Come in." Samarth instructed as soon as he heard a knock on the bedroom door. "Samarth ji, aap apna tiffin ghar pe bhool gaye the." Mihika mumbled as soon as she entered the office, her eyes on the floor. An innocent but shy smile broke out on Samarth's face. This was the first time his wife had come into his office. He hadn't allowed any girl to enter this office before her. She was the first. Indeed.
"Ohh, pata nahi kaise bhool gaya. Aaj tak nahi bhoola." Samarth spoke blushing at the sight of his beautiful wife. "Sorry aapko disturb karne ke liye. But mujhe laga aapke paas agar tiffin hoga toh easy hoga. Warna aap khaane ke liye time nahi nikaaloge." Mihika spoke, this time looking at Samarth.
'You know me really well." Samarth spoke while getting up from his chair and making himself comfortable on the sofa. It was already lunch time. "Aapka kaam disturb toh nahi hoga na?" Mihika asked, looking at the pile of files on his table, and his laptop opened. "Arey nahi. You can never disturb me. Never." Samarth spoke confidently making Mihika feel special.
She opened the lunch box and set his food on a plate. They both had lunch together. He got to know that Mihika hadn't eaten till now. He scolded her a little but then fed her with his own hands making her blush crimson. She did the same too. They still hadn't confessed their love to each other through words but this moment was above any love confession for Samarth.
"Get out." Samarth spoke slowly not wanting to sound harsh in the first attempt. "Arey par main tumhare liye..." "I said, get the fu*k out of here." Samarth growled, this time not caring about his voice or the harshness of it. Jiya was hurt but she still didn't cry. She stood there gawking at him. How can a man change emotions so fast?
"You know what? Coming here was my choice, so going from here will also be my wish. And, nobody can move me from here, not you, not the security, because am your legally wedded wife now." Jiya spoke whatever came to her mind. Samarth rolled his eyes and huffed in annoyance.
"Eat." Jiya had already opened the box and placed the food on the plate. Samarth saw all this. It was happening, happening yet again. The only difference was he didn't feel a thing for this woman or did he?
Samarth didn't want to argue much. Jiya had spoilt him. Before she came, he had the ability to work for days without feeling hungry but after she came, she made sure he consumed breakfast as well as took lunch with him. She was already changing him but as of now he was starving.
He got up and came towards the sofa. Yes, the same sofa, in the same location, just the cover of it had changed. Everything that could remind him of Mihika was changed. But, Jiya was again and again reminding him of her. He looked at the food in the plate. There was extra of everything, actually, double of everything.
"Did you eat?" Samarth asked calmly, but still annoyed. "No." Jiya gave him a no nonsense look while pouring him a glass of water. "Why?" Jiya looked at Samarth when he asked this. "What do you mean by why? I just---I---" Jiya trailed off. She was at loss for words. "I didn't have lunch because--" "You wanted to have it with me?" Samarth, for the first time in the day, actually smirked.
"What? No. I just thought, you might be overworking yourself, so decided to bring lunch for you. Plus, I had had adequate amount of food for breakfast." Jiya lied, a lie that didn't feel like a lie to Samarth. He bought it. "Fine. Eat with me." Jiya knew it wasn't a request but an order. She was hungry and didn't want to argue further, so she made a plate for herself too.
"Tell me about your college days." Samarth started the conversation. Jiya nearly choked on her food. "Good." She couldn't manage to speak anything else. She had already told almost everything there was to know about her to Samarth. "What about your college days?" Jiya saw a shift in Samarth's mood as soon as she questioned him.
"Those were the days!" Samarth spoke, staring into space. Jiya smiled seeing he had a soft corner for his college friends or girlfriends maybe, she felt a tinge of jealousy. "Any girlfriend or crush?" "Wife." Came the answer almost immediately. Jiya was shocked. So, he had a love marriage and his wife was from the same college as him. She could infer all this.
"Tell me more about her." Jiya couldn't stop the excitement, the jealousy gone. "Will you be able to bear it? Won't you get jealous?" Samarth was back to his cheerful mood which Jiya loved, ok, appreciated. "There is no point of getting jealous. Anyways, I don't love you." "It's better if you don't."
"She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen in my life." Jiya smiled as Samarth started the story of his past. She could evidently see how much love he had for his ex wife from his eyes. She waited for Samarth to continue.
The part was becoming longer, so had to stop here. Stay tuned to know more about Mihika from Samarth's mouth and Jiya's reactions. Comment, upvote if you like the chapter and follow me if you find me worthy.