Krishna was restless! He was looking for her everywhere! He could not stay calm. As soon as he reached his office, he went into a meeting, and that took him almost two hours to finish. When he came back, he checked his phone and saw three missed calls from the tutorial center. With a shrunk eyebrow, he called them back. After three rings, a man attended the call.
“Hello, Best tutorial, how may I help you?”
“I am Krishnan. I received a call an hour ago from there. I have a student there. Damayanthi.”
“Oh, hold on a minute, sir.” He put him on hold, and after two minutes, he heard another man.
“Hello, Mr.Krishnan.”
“Yes!”
“I am Rangachari.”
“Oh, is everything alright?” Something felt off in his voice, and Krishna knew there was a problem.
“Nope, your ‘wife’ went out. We are not going to take her back. I just wanted to inform you.” He spoke in anger.
“May I know what happened?” Krishna is angry also. No one has ever talked to him disrespectfully, and now this man was speaking in anger to him because of that stupid girl.
“She insulted me in front of my class. You can come and collect the money you paid for her.”
“Where is she?”
“She left a long time ago. I tried to tell you that, but you didn't pick up the call.”
“What?”
“You can come anytime to collect your money back.” He said and hung up the phone. Krishna was in fury, and he called Dammu’s number. Even after so many times, she didn't pick up the phone, and Krishna was all worked up. He ran out of his office to his car.
“Hey, Krishna, where are you going? We still have a meeting at noon.” Mithu came to him as he saw him tense.
“Maya is not attending the call, Mithu. She is not in the tutorial center. I don't know where she is!”
“Calm down. If she is not in the tutorial center, then she must be at home. Call Aunty and ask.” Mithu said, but he didn't fail to notice the name he gave to his wife.
“Oh right!” Krishna hit his head and called his mom. Mithu was looking at his worried friend. This tension is making him happy for Krishna.
“Ma, is she home?”
“Who, Krishna?”
“Um… your daughter-in-law!”
“You took her to her class, right? How will she be here now?” She asked him back, and that was it.
“Dei, Mithu, she has not gone home.”
“Relax, she must be somewhere near our home or the tutorial center. You go and search for her, I will take care of the meeting.” Mithu sent him off happily.
Krishna drove his car straight to the tutorial center and made a huge ruckus there. He fought with them, saying that she is new to this place, and it was irresponsible of them to send her out.
“Hello, sir, calm down. I have to shout now, not you. Do you know what she said? She called me ‘sotta thalaya’ (bald head) in front of my students. She degraded me. I can promise you that no matter where you tutor her, she will never pass her tenth grade.” Rangachari raised his voice, and oddly, Krishna struggled hard to keep that smile inside his mouth. But then he ran out to search for her.
He looked for her everywhere! On the roads, in the park, in the restaurants, in the shops! She was nowhere to be found. He didn't even have her photo to show someone. As time ticked, his fear grew exponentially. He felt anxious and hurt in his soul! He never paid attention to why his heart beat so fast for her. He skipped his lunch and kept searching for her on all the roads in and around that tutorial.
When his legs hurt, he came back to his car and leaned on it. He tried her number again. Nope! No response. He called his friend in the police department to lodge an unofficial complaint to search for her. Just when he hung up the call after making a complaint, he heard her! Just behind him on the ground.
“Dei Harish! Catch it!” He heard her well. His eyes turned red out of anger, and he walked towards her without any hesitation. He was trying hard to control his anger but lost it when she got in the car.
“I … I am sorry!” She said in a little voice.
“Idiot!” He drove the car as his anger was reaching its ceiling. He literally wanted to choke her to death. She made him run around the streets like a madman in search of her when, all the while, she was playing cricket with unknown boys.
‘How dare she!?’ He punched his steering wheel, and Dammu pasted herself on the seat and leaned on the window away from him. She was shivering inside, looking at his anger. No one has ever been this mad at her, not even her mother.
As soon as he stopped the car at the gates, Dammu jumped down from the car and ran in before Krishna could say anything. She ran to Kowsalya and stood behind her hiding from the raging Krishna.
“What happened, dear? How was your first day of class?” Kowsalya asked her daughter-in-law, not knowing anything that she had pulled off.
“Hey, come here,” Krishna called her with a snap of his finger.
“Mhum, athai, I won't go. Save me.” Dammu refused to leave her mother-in-law’s side.
“What happened, Krishna? Why are you so angry? Look at her, how scared she is!” Kowsalya asked her son.
“Amma, you don't know what she has done. She insulted the teacher at the center and went out. She didn't call me or you but instead she went to the ground and was playing cricket with some random boys. I kept calling her, and she didn't even pick up the call.” Krishna ranted to his mother.
“What is this, Damayanthi? This is very irresponsible of you. I won't condone this kind of behavior. Look at Krishna. He is so worried for you. This is not right, and I am not going to support you in this. Go with your husband and sort it out.” Kowsalya told Dammu and went in with a satisfied smile. She clearly understood her son’s state. He knew that her son was worried sick for his wife and that his life was on the right path. Slowly, but surely, she knew that her son would fall in love with this girl.
“Hey, inga va de! (Hey, come here!)” He called her with controlled anger. Dammu was standing with her head hung low in front of her husband like a lost child. Dammu was shocked to hear him call her ‘de’. She looked up at her husband, but her feet refused to leave, and Krishna’s patience flew through the window. He grabbed her hand and dragged her to their room.
“Aiyo, please! Valikuthu. Inimey sathiyama unga kita sollama velayada poga maten. (ah, please, it hurts. I promise I will not go to play without informing you.)” Dammu kept pleading with him all the way.
“Shut up!” he growled and pushed her into the room. He closed his fist and eyes tight to calm himself before talking to her.
When he opened his eyes, he saw her! A painting! A beautiful one at that. Her eyes showed literal fear. She had bit her lower lips in anxiety. She was breathing hard, distracting his eyes to her heaving bosoms. Her dupatta is not in place! That is when he remembered that she didn't have her dupatta on even when she was playing. He looked at her backpack behind her, and he saw her dupatta rolled up and stuffed in.
“What did I tell you about putting your dupatta in place?” He asked her, spitting the words between his gritted teeth. She gulped down that ball of fear in her throat.
“Sorry!” She said, trying to get it out of her bag. He pulled her bag out of her hands and threw it away.
“Huh!” She gasped.
“How dare you disregard what I told you in the morning? You have been playing with strangers without your dupatta! Are you even a grown-up? Don't you have common sense? Or are you trying to attract men to your big beauty?” He spilled his words!
“I … I … you are so bad.” Dammu let her tears roll out of her eyes. Krishna stood there unwavering. His anger knew no bounds.
“Yes! I am! I am bad! I don't like anyone else seeing what is mine!” He said, nearing her.
Even in that situation, Dammu could not stop her blood from rushing to her face, making her red. She could not face him, and to avoid his eyes, she hugged him tight, burying her face in his chest.
Krishna was shocked to the core at what he had actually said. He had let his emotion control him. He spoke what his heart told him to, and the truth slapped hard on his face. Has he fallen for this girl in just a matter of weeks? Does he think she is his? Was he that desperate? He didn't want to turn his anger on himself to her. She looked like a vulnerable little girl, and he could not bring himself to hurt her. He was already feeling guilty to have slapped her, and now that he had spoken words that would give hope to her, which is not going to happen. He wanted to distract her from this without hurting her, and he had made a promise to himself that he would not speak anything that would lead this girl on because that would only end up hurting her more.
“What did you say to that teacher?” He asked her. A small smile touched his eyes and lips when he asked her that.
“Hmmm! I said nothing.” She said, and he pulled her away from him.
“I don't like liars.” He said with a hard facade.
“I didn't do it purposely. He was the one who asked for it.”
“Why? What did he do?”
“He said that you are my brother! How dare he think like that? That was why I corrected him.”
“What did you say to him?”
“I said you are not my brother but my husband.” She said, looking down.
“And?”
“Avlotha! (that's all)” Her voice went in. She thought that the teacher wouldn't have said everything to him.
‘Sotta ellathayum sollitan pola. Manangettavan! ( It looks like the bald head had said everything to him. shameless!)’ she thought to herself.
“Is that it?” He asked her authoritatively, and that was it.
“I called him bald head. And said I will break his head for thinking that you are my brother.” She said, closing her eyes tight.
“Hahaha!” He laughed, and Dammu opened her eyes in shock. This is the first time she has heard her husband laugh heartily. His laughs sound so sexy to her. She even forgot to blink.
“I will arrange for someone to come home and teach you.” He said to her, caressing his fingers that were imprinted on her cheek.
“Sss!” She hissed in pain. It was still burning, and her jaws threatened her to drop all her teeth.
“Sorry!” He said and dashed out of the room. Dammu stood there for god knows how long before she came to her senses, and it was already dinner time.
“Innum evlo neram ipdiye nikkalam nu mudivu panniruka? (How long have you decided to stand like this?)” She came to her senses only after hearing her husband again.
“Nijamave ninga sirichingala? (did you really laugh?)” She asked him a very important question.
He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Her astonishment was intriguing to him.
“Ninga sriracha sema alaga irukinga! (you look super handsome when you laugh)”
“So I don't look good if I don’t laugh?” He asked her, moving towards her. He doesn't know why, but whenever she is near him, his legs never listen to him. He wants to be close to her.
“No! You look super handsome and sexy all the time!” She said hurriedly to deny his statement but later realized what she actually said to him. Before she could realize it, he grabbed her shoulders and made her face him. His hands crushed her arms, and she felt like he had metal for hands.
“I am truly sorry! I am not a man who lays his hand on a vulnerable girl. I got so angry that you behaved so irresponsibly. I left my office works and meetings and searched for you in all the possible places for three hours. I even made a police complaint.” He said to her, placing his eyes on her bruised cheek. The skin on her cheek was thick wherever his hand made contact. It was dark red now and was very visible.
“I am sorry too! I didn't know I gave you so much trouble. I thought of returning home right at the time when the class would be over! I never thought you would come looking for me.”
“Are you really an idiot? Didn't you know that I will get a call from the center if you go out making a ruckus?”
“I thought he would not tell anyone that I called him a baldhead!” She said meekly.
“Hahaha!” He laughed, and this time, his grip on her arms got tighter.
“Amma!” She wriggled to go out of his grip.
“What happened?”
“Nothing!” She came out of his hands. She touched his biceps and pressed them with wide eyes. “What is in there?” She asked him, and all he wanted to do was to pull her into him for eternity. Her eyes were turning into a maze in which he wished to be lost forever.
“What do you think is in there?” He asked her. He was really curious to know her thought process.
“Um… you have something in there. Did you put silicone implants? But they must be soft. This is so hard. Is it some men's implants?” she asked him very seriously.
“Implants ah? Kolupu than de unaku. Daily usura koduthu workout panren, implants vechu irukiya na kekura!? (the audacity you have. I have been working out every day putting in so much effort, and you are asking me if I have implants!)”
“But you don't look like you're eating diet food like cinema heroes who have six packs. But you have six packs! How?” She was determined to get answers from him that she forgot that she is outing herself.
“I do have a six-pack! But how do you know that?” He asked her with a raised eyebrow, and she felt like she should dig her own grave.
“Hehe, I just guessed seeing your biceps.” She said with an awkward smile.
“Oh really? I know how you look at me. I saw how you looked at me on your wedding day.”
“Pch, on our wedding day.”
“You were about to marry someone else, and yet you were staring at me.”
“Anga vanthathu laye ninga tha semma ya irunthinga. Athan pathen. (You were the only one who looked handsome in the whole hall. that was why I kept seeing you.)” she stated it like a fact, making him blush. Her words were giving him happiness, pride, and whatnot!