Hello all! 🤧🖐️🖐️❤️❤️
As promised, I'm back here after the break🥹💖 Thank you so much for the love, for the patience, and for waiting for me.
Here's the 97th chapter.
Enjoy reading.
Sunlight broke through the clouds, ushering in a new day. Another new day began with the onset of people's daily routines.
Kitty was combing her hair as she stood in front of the mirror, but her thoughts were elsewhere. Lost in some thoughts. Some contemplations. The comb in her hand roamed randomly through her hair as she concentrated on those thoughts.
"Oye!..." A nudge from Bebo startled Kitty out of her fantastical land.
"Kha khoyi hui hain?..." Bebo asked amusingly. She was surprised to see her sister so immersed in thought.
Bebo was ready and looking for Kitty when she found the latter staring blankly into the mirror with her hair still undone.
"Bebo..." Kitty spoke up.
"Yaar kal jo kuch bhi hua naa... Main abhi bhi usse ubhar nhi paayi hoon..." She spoke with a tone of incredulity.
Listening to it, realization dawned upon Bebo about all the events of the previous day. She perfectly knew of what Kitty was trying to bring her attention to. She was indeed on the same page as Kitty regarding it.
"Tu... Shaurya Bhaiya ke baare mein soch rhi hai?..." Bebo asked though, to confirm her doubts.
"Aur nhi toh kya..." Kitty said the obvious.
"Mujhe naa... Abhi bhi yakeen sa nhi aa rha ki kal jo kuch bhi hua... Vo sab sach mein hua..."
"Matlab agar hua bhi... Toh mujhe samajh nhi aa rha ki kyun hua-..."
"Lekin mujhe toh bade achche se samajh aa chuka hai ki kya hua... Aur kyun hua..." Kanchan's words cut into Kitty's as she walked into the room with a witty smile on her face.
"Bhabhi aap..." Bebo turned to face her.
"Tum dono kya baatein kar rhe ho itni der se??... Neeche sabhi bas tum dono ka hi intezaar kar rhe hain..." Gayatri said as she emerged from behind Kanchan. Her daughters were taking so long getting ready that she had to come up and call them to save them from Bade Papa's scolding for being late at the breakfast table.
"Mom... Vo hum bas abhi aane hi vaale the..." Kitty hurriedly began styling her hair.
"Naha to kab ka liya... Itni der se kya kar rhi hai tu? ... Aur kya baatein chal rhi thi tum dono mein abhi haan?... Kya samajh nhi aa rha?..." Gayatri asked Kitty. She wanted to know what discussion was going on between her daughters.
Both twins exchanged looks as they listened to Gayatri. Kanchan resisted the urge to smile, knowing very well what the matter was.
Kitty fidgeted but did respond, though ambiguously, "Voh Mom... Asal mein..."
"Hum kal ke baare mein soch rhe the..."
"Yaani kal jo kuch bhi hua... Anokhi ke saath..."
"Aurrrrr..." she held off for a second.
"Aur?..." Gayatri waited.
"Aur... Shaurya Bhaiya ne jo kiya..."
"I mean jis tarah se Anokhi ki help ki..." Kitty carefully selected which words to emphasize while speaking. The purpose was for everyone in the room to grasp the underlying meaning she was aiming to convey. She even shifted her gaze to meet her mother's. She was curious if her mother felt the same way she did about it. But there was only puzzlement visible on Gayatri's face. Kitty became a bit upset that her Mom happened to miss all of the hints she was dropping by bringing up the incident from yesterday.
However, Kanchan and Bebo were different. The three were interacting silently through their eyes.
As the trio kept looking at each other to find answers on each other's faces, an unavoidable impish smile curled up on their faces. They were all wearing a sly grin at this point. Although no one had mentioned anything other than Kitty's wise choice of words, their whimsical expressions on their faces were enough for them to deduce what each of them was thinking.
"Bhabhi..."
"Kya aap bhi vhi soch rhe ho jo hum soch rhe hain?..." Bebo finally spoke up because she could take no more of the suspense. She was aware of what her twin sister, Kitty, was thinking. So she just wanted to know if Kanchan Bhabhi was thinking the same thing. And if she was, it meant that what they were thinking stood a good chance of turning out to be true.
The smile on Kanchan's face grew even wider upon being asked by Bebo. Her face was lit up with excitement. The sisters had recounted the entire incident to her and Gayatri the previous night, from how Anokhi burned her hand to how Shaurya Bhaiya ended up tending to her wounds. She was conscious of what was going on in the minds of both of her sisters-in-law. And hence was the blooming happiness in her heart.
"Ekdum sahi pakda Bebo!..." With a goofy grin, Kanchan gave Betty their much-needed confirmation.
"Tum log aise has kyun rhe ho?!..." Gayatri was an exception. She was in a bewildered state as to why they were all smiling like idiots about the serious accident.
"Anokhi ka haath jal gaya... Voh to achcha hua ke Shaurya ne sahi samay par marham lga diya tha..."
"Ek bada accident hote-hote bacha tha kal... Aur tum sab ho ke has rhe ho..." she chided them. Perplexed she was as to how could they smile after such a terrible event that occurred just yesterday. What surprised her the most was that, despite her reprimand, the trio continued to smile like fools while exchanging glances.
She had had enough of their absurd behavior and was reminded that she needed to get them downstairs immediately.
"Dekho tum teeno naa apni ye baatein baad mein kar lena..."
"Abhi jaldi neeche chalo... Bohot late ho rha hai..."
"Agar Bade Papa ne daanta toh fir mooh fulaakar mere paas mat aana baad mein..." she forewarned them.
With tiny hops, Bebo moved closer to her mom and said, lovingly pulling her cheeks, "Oh my Momma..."
"Hum bas abhi aaye Mom... Bas paanch minute mein..." she continued to squeeze her mother's cheek tenderly. She wanted to calm down her mom, who was more terrified than they were of receiving a scold from Bade Papa. They were so thrilled in their hearts by the possibility of their doubts becoming reality that they didn't give a damn about Bade Papa's punctuality rule.
"Jo karna hai karo..."
"Main jaa rhi hoon neeche..."
"Jab aana hoga tab aa jaana..." Gayatri took off Bebo's hands from her cheeks, who was acting like a toddler. Right now, she was least concerned about paying attention to their nonsensical behavior. Giving them a discontented glance, she turned only to walk away.
As soon as she left the room, the three people turned to each other with puckish looks and that smile they were trying so hard to bite back all the time eventually took its place fully fledged on their faces.
No words were exchanged about what was actually being referred to or what exactly was brewing in each of their heads. But whatever expression they all had on their faces, it was evident that their crazy minds were all thinking the same thing.
The trio couldn't stop themselves from getting excited at the prospect of their assumption coming true.
Little did they know that it was only the beginning. Because of what is to come and what they will see more of in the future will serve only to solidify their assumption over time...
"Your mid-semester exams are approaching..."
"Hope you all are preparing accordingly..."
"Do ask me if you have any sort of doubts or queries... I'm always there to help..." said Shaurya politely.
"And one thing about the research paper..."
"Whoever is working on the thesis paper, do consult your research mentors today... They will notify you about the latest guidelines..." he said, casting a glance at her.
As soon as Anokhi saw him looking at her, she immediately looked down and pretended to write something on her notebook, though she didn't know why she was trying to dodge his gaze.
Shaurya kept looking at her for a while. He knew that she was one of them who was involved in academic research paper writing, so his eyes naturally gravitated towards her. Only her. Even though there were other students involved as well.
Soon he composed himself and walked back towards the podium, where he had his laptop. The students became engrossed in revising the topic that he had just discussed.
"Anokhi... Maine naa vo case study vaala part complete kar liya tha..."
"Hume aage kaise karna hai ek baar Anupama Mam se guidance le lenge..." Reema said.
"Haan Reema... Maine dekh liya tha tune mujhe jo pdf send ki thi... Lekin mujhe usme thode doubts aa rhe the... Ek baar vo software implementation vaala part thoda detail mein explain kar degi mujhe..." said Anokhi.
Their research topic was embedded system product development. Bebo and Kitty were also part of their group, and everyone would assist each other with topics they had doubts about.
Reema explained in depth to Anokhi the section she was having trouble understanding.
"Ab samajh gyi naa?..." asked Reema.
Anokhi smiled, having gained clarity on the subject after Reema thoroughly explained everything to her. She was jotting down the important information when she was startled by a sudden call for him.
"Sir!... I have a query..."
Shaurya, who was working on his laptop, looked up, only to find Reema standing at her place.
"Go ahead, Reema..." he said, not before taking a quick look at the person sitting beside Reema.
"Sir... Actually mujhe technical paper ke baare mein poochhna tha..."
As Reema spoke, Anokhi's eyes were drawn to him. His gaze also travelled from Reema to her in the meantime.
"Uska format kab tak mil jaayega Sir?..."
Reema's words fell on deaf ears as he continued to stare at her, forgetting that he was in a classroom full of students.
"Sirr?..." The silence had reduced Reema to awkwardness. She was shocked later when she noticed where Shaurya Sir's eyes were actually fixed. Nervously, she craned her neck to her right and found her friend Anokhi absorbed in looking at him.
Both of them were lost in their mutual gazes while the class as a whole was watching them. The students were surprised by their professor's unusual behavior.
"Shaurya Sir... Format??..." Reema said in a relatively loud voice this time.
"Huhh?..." Shaurya was snapped out of his reverie just then.
"Format?... Format... Haan format!..." he uttered on regaining consciousness.
"Voh toh... Vo aap logo ko jald hi mil jaayega..." stutteringly he said, becoming aware that only a short while earlier, he had been the focus of the entire class for losing his senses in a certain someone's eyes.
"O... kay Sir..." Reema sat down with trepidation after receiving the long-awaited response.
Anokhi fluttered her eyes and involuntarily swung her head around, only to discover some students peering into her. Embarrassed, she returned her focus to her copy and resumed her work, the organ hidden beneath her chest beating frantically as she realized what had just happened.
Shaurya was astounded at himself. He had no idea what was going on with him. Some students were still staring at him as if he were a ghost, and all he wanted to do was escape their intense stares. To avoid those curious looks and further embarrassment, he indulged himself again on the screen.
Slowly, with some tittle-tattle and whispers, students redirected their attention back to their work. What they witnessed today was undoubtedly going to stick in their minds and serve as fodder for gossip.
Anokhi, who was now fully focused on her copy, felt the urge to look at him one more time. One final time.
Out of the corner of her eyes, she realized no one was watching her right now. She raised her eyes towards him, making the most of this brief window of chance. She was blissfully unaware of her own actions. They were happening on their own.
Shaurya looked up, sensing a strong gaze on him.
Their eyes collided, and Anokhi hurriedly looked away. She began scribbling on her copy once more, mortified at being caught.
Shaurya looked around when he noticed her looking away, making sure no one else saw them in that state again. And his heart felt relieved when he saw the students engrossed. He gave her a long look before returning his focus to the screen.
Following that, the two people did their best not to look at each other again. Nonetheless, despite their best efforts, they failed. Since their hearts were vehemently rebelling against it, they were unable to keep their eyes apart. An unknown urge in their hearts kept compelling them to look at each other.
Without realizing they were being watched, their game of eyes continued.
Kitty nudged Bebo, who nudged Reema, and they at last exchanged looks while sporting their same dopey grin.
"Yaar mujhe itni khushi kyun ho rhi hai??... Jabki mujhe samajh bhi nhi aa rha ki khushi kis baat ki hai..." Bebo whispered in a slow, giggling voice.
"Bebo!... Shhh!..." Reema, while struggling to control her smile, shushed her immediately by gesturing towards Anokhi, who was seated just next to her.
The trio then attempted to hide the smile that was tugging at their lips, not wanting their inner craziness to come out at the wrong time.
The lecture came to an end just like this.
Shaurya prepared to leave by grabbing the laptop, but not before one more round of the game. As he turned to leave the classroom, he did give her one last look, but this time she didn't look up. Thereby, his overall score in the game surpassed hers.
He won!
He won the game of eyes.
He won the "game of stealing glances".
Who knows—one day he will lose the game. The game, however, will then be "The Game of Stealing Hearts."
And the one whom he defeated today will win the game by SECRETLY STEALING HIS HEART...
•◆•
Kabhi nazrein milaayegi
Kabhi nazrein churaayegi...
Tu anjaan bna reh jaayega
Vo tera dil chura le jaayegi...
•◆•
How was it?
Do tell me in comments 😊