Jiya got inside the house. Samarth sighed and went to his room. He opened his laptop and began checking the presentation that his employee had sent him. Suddenly Pari barged inside the room. "Papa, Mamma aagayi kya?" Pari asked curiously. Before Samarth could reply, the door to the room opened and Jiya came in.
"Pari, bachha, it's 10:30. You didn't sleep yet?" She sat down to Pari's level and kissed her cheek while caressing her face. Pari smacked her head before responding, "Offo Jiya Mamma, tomorrow is a holiday!" Jiya passed her and Samarth a confused smile. "Holiday? On what account?"
Samarth took another sip of his coffee, his eyes fixated on the laptop screen. "Few people get so engrossed in their professional life, that they forget an important festival altogether." Jiya looks at Samarth who was looking clearly disappointed or angry, she couldn't understand why. "Mamma, tomorrow is Holi." Saying this, Pari jumped on Samarth's bed. She started hopping joyfully while Jiya cursed herself for forgetting the festival.
She smiled on seeing Pari hopping and clapping her hands. She stood up and went to Pari. She could see the little version of herself in Pari's eyes. Jiya was the same when she was a child. She used to get very excited one day before a festival. She used to help her parents in preparing for the festival and would get up before everyone on the eventful day.
But, now everything had changed. The eagerness, the happiness had gotten lost somewhere. Everyone grows up. Adults don't remain excited for their birthdays as well whereas children frolic and dance months before their birthdays. Everyone grows up and things become less important. The talent of finding joy in small things is lost. Jiya hugged Pari, knowing that she too will grow up, will struggle, will not remain so tension free always. She had gotten too attached to this little human being within a very short span of time. Surely, Jiya had not given birth to Pari but the amount of love and affection she had for Pari, no one could tell, she wasn't her birth mother.
Samarth saw Jiya hugging Pari. He smiled but quickly hid it after remembering what had happened just a few minutes ago. Who was that man? She had surely come with a man, for his eyes couldn't betray him. And, not to forget, she was smiling while entering the house. Was she on a date with him? Is she cheating on him? A lot of these unwanted thoughts did a whirlwind in his mind. He was brought to the reality by Jiya's voice.
"Toh, rang aur pichkaari ready hain?" Jiya asked Pari. "Mamma, woh toh Papa, 2 din pehle hi mangwa dete hain." Pari replied. Jiya looked at Samarth. "Haan, ab kisi ko toh festival yaad rakhke bachhe ke mann layak kaam karna padega na." Jiya didn't like Samarth's reply and the tone he was responding in. She was sensing something totally different in him.
"Ok bachha. Ab aap jaakar soo jaao. Tomorrow you have to get up early to play Holi na!" Jiya lifted Pari up in her arms and planted a kiss on her forehead. "I am so excited. This will be my first Holi with my Mamma." Pari wrapped her little hands around Jiya's neck. "Me too. Bachha, me too."
Jiya helped Pari sleep after telling about Holi, how she celebrated it when she was small, the significance of Holi and the story behind it. Pari had successfully drifted off to sleep. "Ab aap bhi soo jaaiye, thak gayi hongi." Shipra told Jiya. Jiya smiled at Shipra's concern. She gave a forehead kiss to Pari and left the room.
She came back to her room to see Samarth shirtless. He was lying on his bed and scrolling his mobile phone while drinking coffee. "Coffee khatm nahi hui abhi tak tumhari? Ye kaisa coffee mug hai jismein se unlimited coffee nikalti hai?" Jiya chuckled while opening the cupboard to choose her night dress. "Ha ha ha, very funny." Samarth mocked, his eyes still fixated on the phone.
To say Jiya wasn't feeling anything on seeing Samarth shirtless would be wrong. She was not able to take his eyes off of him but to hide that embarrassment she had turned around pretending to choose a night dress from the cupboard. "AC ka temperature kam karke, shirtless hone ka matlab samjhi nahi main? Sardi lag gayi toh?"
Samarth, lifted his eyes from the phone and looked at her. She was also looking right at him. He kept the phone aside, got down from the bed and started coming near her. The way he was staring at her was too much for Jiya to handle. She diverted her gaze elsewhere but stayed rooted to her place. "Bass do reasons honge tumhare ye sardi waali baat kehne ke. Reason no. 1, you care about me and don't want me to fall sick and reason no. 2," He started taking steps towards Jiya making her step back until her back hit the cupboard.
"Reason no. 2 kya hai?" Jiya asked with quivering lips. Samarth kept a hand on the cupboard, coming too near her. "That you are feeling aroused seeing me like this so you want me to cover up. Tell me, tumhara mood ban raha hai na mujhe aise dekh ke?" Samarth smirked. Jiya knew he wasn't totally wrong but wouldn't it be a little too shameless to admit it?
Samarth started coming near her. His lips were too close to her cheek. He went near her ears. Jiya felt his hot breath fanning her face. He was very close for his own good. Jiya closed her eyes. She already anticipated him to kiss her. But then he did something unexpected. He whispered in her ears. "Aaj jiske saath tum ghar aayi woh Rahul tha na?"
Jiya's eyes opened suddenly. She pushed Samarth away. Samarth lost his balance but somehow saved himself from falling. "Tum meri jaasoosi kar rahe the?" Jiya almost yelled. "If am not raising my voice, you too are not supposed to do that." Samarth was still calm. "I will raise my voice. Tell me, were you spying on me?" Jiya repeated her question only to earn a sharp scrutinizing look from Samarth.
"Bass apni balcony pe khade hokar tumhe call lagane ka soch kar raha tha. I wanted to know how are you going to come home especially because vehicles ki strike chal rahi thi. Just when I was wondering about all this, I saw a black car pull over in front of the house and you came out of it, all smiling and happy. Well, how was the date with...Rahul?" Samarth told everything that had been bothering him for so long. He knew he had gone a little too overboard but he couldn't help it.
"Kya?" Jiya eyed him with a very confused expression. "Why do you even care if I make it to home safely or not?" Jiya shouted. "Aeeee!!" Samarth too lost his temper by then. "I wasn't worried about my wife, I was worried about Pari's Mamma. That's it. Zyada udo mat. Aur, ye jo tumne nayi nayi aadat pakdi hai na mere upar chillane ki woh band karo, jis din main sach mein apne pe utar aaya na toh you won't stop screaming." Samarth turned back to go to bed but Jiya caught his hands.
"What do you think? I am scared of you? For your kind information, I am not! And kya kar loge tum? Tum kuch nahi kar sakte, siwaaye mujhe daraane dhamkaane ke." Jiya was about to go when Samarth pulled her to his body. "Ohh, I can fuck you so hard that you don't stop screaming my name. How is that?" Jiya's stomach clenched. How does he always manage to do that? Making her feel weird even without touching her sensually?
She went to the washroom to get changed without uttering any other word. "Shit! What the hell did I just say?" Samarth regretted his words. He didn't know what was happening to him. Even if Jiya was on a date with someone else, why was he getting so jealous and insecure? Is it because he is starting to care for her or is it just that he is afraid he will lose his manly control over her?
Jiya came out after few minutes and moved to the couch. There was complete silence in the room. Samarth was nervous. He was pretending to sleep but was expecting Jiya to say something, to fight with him. But she wasn't saying anything. It was like she had gone completely speechless. He turned around and looked at her only to find her looking straight at him from the couch.
"Samarth, what is your problem? Why are you so moody? Office mein achhe se baat kar rahe the tum phir achanak se tumhara mood badla aur tum waapas se khadoos ban gaye. What is your problem?" Jiya spoke softly as if talking to a child. Samarth glared at her. He was dumbfounded. He wasn't going to confide in her about his feelings, at least not so soon.
"Just mind your own business." Samarth turned over on the bed, his back facing Jiya. "Well then, why can't you mind your own business? And, for your kind information, I was not on a 'date' with Rahul because he is just my boss and nothing else. He just offered to drop me because I had no other option. And, why are you actually behaving like my husband?" What Jiya received was total silence. She assumed he might have slept but what she didn't know was that Samarth was wide awake and sleep was apparently a thing of the past for him now.
***************
"Yeah!!! Jiya Mamma, Papa, it's Holi!!!" Pari screeched as soon as the three of them entered the garden which was decorated beautifully for Holi celebration. There were food counters, bhaang, different herbal colors kept on ancient looking classy big plates, the whole atmosphere was full of happiness and joy making Jiya and Samarth smile for once.
Samarth went and as usual sat on the couch that was reserved just for him every Holi. Jiya lifted Pari in her arms and went to the color stall. Pari lifted some colored powder in her hand and applied it on Jiya's face making Jiya smile cutely. Samarth was seeing this. "Happy Holi Jiya Mamma." Jiya laughed and applied some color on Pari's cheek as well wishing her the same. Samarth couldn't help but smile wide on the mother daughter exchange.
"Happy Holi Samarth!" Samarth's friend Aakash shook hands with him and gave him a hug. "Tum toh gayab hi ho gaye ho, dikhte hi nahi aaj kal." Another friend Sameer said. "Saal mein ek baar milta hoon na wahi bahut hai." Samarth said this which might have appeared rude to others but his college friends knew his attitude so they didn't pick up on him. "Haan, bade log ho gayein hain." Sameer said, taunting him.
"Mehnat karke hue hain bade log tumhari tarah exams mein chits banakar nahi jaate the." Samarth spoke. "Just because you were the only one who didn't cheat in exam hall doesn't mean tu hamein aise treat karega." Aakash made a fake pained expression and the others laughed. Jiya saw Samarth laughing heartily after a long time. "Aur nayi bhabhi kaisi hain?" Aakash finally brought the topic that Samarth hated. "Insaan hai! Shayad." His eyes automatically went in Jiya's direction and his heart skipped a beat unknowingly when he saw Jiya looking at him. Jiya quickly diverted her gaze.
"Arey yaar, I meant, how do you feel about her?" Aakash rephrased his question. "Kisi bhi topic pe mazaak kar le, it's ok. But, not on this topic." Samarth didn't want to talk about Jiya. Then Sameer messed up. "Hamein toh laga tha ki tu Mihika se pyaar karta hai. Bass itna hi pyaar tha ki kuch saalon mein doosri dhoondh li?" Sameer laughed at the end of his statement trying to lighten the situation but he realized he had messed up with the lion really bad when he saw Samarth's clenched fist and his flared nostrils.
"Hahaha!" Aakash let out a nervous laughter. "Chal ham chalke bhaang taste karte hain. The taste of it keeps getting better every year. Chall!" He literally dragged Sameer with him to save him from Samarth's rage. On the other side, an idea popped up in Jiya's head. She smiled mischievously as she ambitioned on trying it with her Sanki.
After a few minutes, Samarth was sitting away from everyone on the couch, his kurta still white because everyone, even his friends knew Samarth didn't like to play Holi. Surprisingly, Pari too wasn't insisting this time. But, Jiya was new to the household so didn't know about this. She had wondered why Samarth was not playing Holi. She took some color and applied color on his face, standing at the back of the couch.
Samarth quickly got up with a jerk, disgusted. He saw Jiya laughing wholeheartedly. "Arey waah bhai, hamse toh kabhi rang nahi lagwaaya, nayi bhabhi ko permission de di?" Sameer yet again messed up. Samarth was very angry and Sameer's comment just made him furious. However, he didn't want to scold Jiya in front of everyone because Pari was there too. He held Jiya's hand and took her to a secluded area, away from the hustle bustle.
"What the hell? Who gave you the permission to apply color on my face?" Samarth roared. Jiya made up a serious expression but quickly burst off, not able to control on seeing Samarth's face full of color. "Holi permission lekar nahi manayi jaati. Kal bada shauk chadh raha tha na mere pati banne ka? Toh, suno, Mr. Sanki, patniyan aisi hi hoti hain." Saying this, she again started laughing.
"Ohh Madam, pehli baar shaadi nahi ki hai maine. Patniyan kaisi hoti hain, I know. Aisi toh bilkul bhi nahi hoti." Samarth said, eyeing Jiya from top to bottom. Jiya's smile immediately dropped after realizing that he was talking about Mihika. She was still curious about Mihika. She surely would have been a great soul from what Samarth told her that day in the office otherwise why would he love her so much still now?
"Uhmm, haan theek hai. Lekin main thodi different type ki patni hoon. Playful type ki. Holi ke din holi nahi khele toh kya jiye, Devdas babu?" Jiya's dramatic expression made Samarth cringe. "Waise tum Holi kyun nahi khelte?" Jiya put up a serious demeanor as soon as she enquired him. "Kyunki mujhe pasand nahi." Samarth casually answered and starting walking away from there. "Pasand toh mujhe bhi nahi hai tumhare aas paas hamesha rehna, tumhari daant sunna, lekin main sunti hoon na? Taaki tumhe achha lage!" Jiya smiles innocently making Samarth smirk.
"Tumhe lagta hai mujhe tumhe daantkar khushi milti hai?" Jiya pretended to think about it and nodded her head in positive which made Samarth smack her head and then laugh. Jiya was mesmerized by his laughter. She always liked a laughing Samarth more than the one she saw yesterday night. "Sanki," Jiya trailed off. Samarth looked at her. "Don't call me that Mrs. Jhagdalu!"
"I wanna make a proposition on this auspicious day of Holi." This piqued Samarth's interest. He told her to proceed with his eyes. "Can we become friends?" Jiya asked slowly and quickly added, "Only for two months!" Samarth looked at her confusedly. "Just two months? Kyun? Uske baad divorce le rahi ho kya?" Samarth joked. "Agar tum lucky rahe toh woh bhi ho jaayega." Jiya's answer came quickly. "Jiya!!" Samarth didn't know why he shouted that way. Instantly, although, just for a fraction of second but Jiya noticed some fear in his eyes which he was quick enough to conceal.
"Dekho, tum 2 months tak mere friend bane rehna. Banke dekhna, agar tumhe friendship achhi nahi lagi toh....well, tab ka tab dekhenge. Abhi you can not deny one thing that hain toh ham pati patni, we have to be together with each other for quite a long time now. We can't just be fighting and getting angry and ignoring each other. I thought a lot about this. Ab jab ek hi talaab mein rehna hai toh dost banke rahein yahi achha hai, rather than dushman." Jiya suggested.
"Kya talaab? Kya dushman? Bhaang peeli hai kya?" Samarth scrunched his nose. "No. I am just stating a possibility of..." "Probability and possibility aisa chapter tha jismein I always failed." Samarth interrupted her. "Kya? How can you fail in probability? That's like the most scoring, easiest and shortest subject in Math." Jiya looked at him in total astonishment. "Mrs. Jhagdalu, why the hell did you become a doctor? Tum Mathematician kyun nahi bani? Lady Aryabhatta."
"Shakuntala Devi Part 2 bhi toh bol sakte the." She rebuked. "Nahi, woh toh tareef ho jaati na, main aise taana maarta hoon ki pata na chale. No offence to Aryabhatta though, agar usne 0 ki khoj nahi ki hoti toh ham tumhe define kaise karte?" Jiya folded her hands and looked the other way, indicating that she was angry. "Kya?" Samarth looked at her. "I am angry." Jiya replied, still not looking at him.
"Sachhi? Matlab ab tum mujhse baat nahi karogi? Haash! Shaanti mili." Samarth sighed and went out. "Friend toh tumhe main apna bana ke hi rahoogi Mr. Sanki. Tumhe bhi toh pata chale ki aakhir kis cheez se paala pada hai." Jiya smiled, determined to make a new start and give a new name to their relationship, 'friendship'.
***************