In the late hours of evening, Naina woke up to the dim light surrounding the room. Opening her eyes completely, she turned to her right and saw Aditya and not only that, she then realised that she was held in his arms and her head resting in the crook of his neck which oddly felt comfortable.
She slowly raised her gaze to look at his sleeping face and kept staring at him. Without her realising, he hand raised to his touch his hairs that had fallen on his forehead. Just when she touched his hairs and was about to run her fingers through them, she felt him stir under her slight touch which was enough for her to realise what she was doing.
Gasping, she retreated her hand back to herself but her gaze still fixed on him, she continued to stare at him. She remembered how she fainted earlier and Aditya was quick enough to catch her before she could fall on the floor.
Suddenly, feeling the urge to pee, she removed Aditya's arms around her waist and quickly got out of the bed, looking at him every now and then with not wanting to wake him up. She then quickly marched towards the bathroom and closed the door behind her.
Though she had made sure to not make much noise to wake him up, he did wake up to all the shuffling and to the sound of running water. Rubbing his eyes, Aditya stretched his hand to feel the absence of Naina.
Fully awake now, Aditya sat up on the bed to see no one beside him and for a second, he had stopped breathing and then he heard the sound of running water which came from the bathroom. Turning in the direction of bathroom, he sighed in relief.
Waking up and getting out of the bed, he folded the bed sheet and kept it in the sofa. He then started changing the bed spread and pillow covers.
Inside the bathroom, once Naina was done with her business, she washed her hands and when she was just about to flash the water across her face, her gaze fell on the image in the mirror in front of her.
Letting the water flow into the basin, she touched her hairs which were loosely pleated and brought in front as she looked at them confusedly. When she had fainted, she clearly remembered that she had just came out of the bathroom with her hairs still wet. But here, her hairs were combed and pleated.
She wondered who must have done it. Thinking, she washed her face and came out to find Aditya pacing around room as if he was waiting for her to come out.
Hearing the sound of door opening, Aditya stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her standing.
Nearing her, he asked.
"Are you alright?"
"How are you feeling?"
"Should I call mom?"
He started asking so many questions without even allowing her to speak.
"Aditya?"
Naina placed her hand on his, which made him stop talking and still looking at her.
"I feeling great, actually"
Hearing her answer, he pulled her into his arms and hugged tightly.
"Don't you dare faint like that ever. I was scared and you make me worry so much"
Naina heard him whisper, which sent the chills down her spine. She stood still in his warm hug, but she didn't wound her arms around him.
Once she felt he was calm, she pulled away from his hug.
"I need to change"
"Yeah"
Aditya nodded his head and walked inside the bathroom to get freshen up.
Naina who had her face still heat and red, which she wasn't confirmed of whether it from the fever or because of Aditya and his words and the way he had been caring.
Shrugging her thoughts, she quickly changed into fresh clothes and just then her gaze fell on the bed. She saw that the bed spread and bed sheet along with the pillow covers were changed.
Sighing, she combed her hairs again and pleated properly. Then after applying a small bindi, she made her way out of the room.
Walking, she found Archana in the kitchen preparing dinner. Sensing her presence, Archana looked up at her.
"Naina? How are feeling now?"
"I am feeling fine, mom."
Archana smiled and gave her a glass of warm water, she Naina happily took and gulped down until the last drop.
"Thank you, mom"
"For what, Naina?"
"Mom, for this..."
Naina pulled her pleated hairs and showed her. Naina's first thought was that Archana had pleated her hairs.
"Oh, no dear! It's not me, and even if I had done, don't you ever thank me! Can't I do anything for my daughter, hmm?"
Smiling, Naina hugged Archana.
"Mom, where is Nia and dad?"
"They? In Nia's room, they are. She has been asking about you since morning. You go and see her"
Nodding her head, Naina made her way towards Nia's bedroom and while she walked towards the room, she only thought who pleated her hairs. As she reached, she saw her dad and daughter packing her school bag.
Yes, the vacations were over and from tomorrow the schools would start. Both her's and Nia's.
Standing at the doorstep, she saw how excited she was to go to school. Naina was sure that, no ever child would be this excited to go back to school. But then looking at her the way she was packing, made her smile.
Nia was asking her grandfather to keep all her favourite things inside the bag. Like, her favourite pencil which had unicorn on that. Her favourite eraser, which had Whinnie the Pooh. Her favourite pencil box which was colourful and butterflies on them. And the rest, her books according to the timetable.
Nia was yet to notice her mother's presence in the room, when Pratap already saw her and kept quite on her notion.
Naina neared to them slowly and hugged Nia from back making her to squeal happily, feeling her mother's grip on her.
"Mumma!"
Turning around, Nia hugged Naina throwing her arms around Naina's neck.
"How's my baby?"
Naina asked, tickling her sides and Nia giggled and tried to escape yet hugged Naina tightly.
"Naina?"
Naina heard Pratap calling her and she looked the worry in his eyes too.
"Dad, I am feeling much better"
She tried to assure him and said that she will be with Nia and pack rest of the things.
Nodding his head, he walked out of the room. Not before he turned back to look at Naina and Nia laughing and giggling, which made smile.
While Naina and Nia were talking and playing while keeping the things back in Nia's bag, Naina learnt that she was only excited to go to school because she wanted to tell everyone how she enjoyed her vacations.
Naina laughed at Nia's animated talks and kept looking at her adoringly.
By then, Aditya was too out of his room and was seated in the hall watching TV. When the time passed to eight thirty, they all started having dinner and Naina fed Nia while feeding herself.
All the while, she felt the strong gaze the pair of eyes of the person who was seated right opposite to her. Aditya's gaze was so strong that it made her raise her eyes and look at him every now then to see him eating calmly as if he was doing nothing wrong.
But that was far from truth. His mere gaze fixed on her, was enough more than to do anything. Everytime their eyes met, Naina remembered how he had fed her in the noon and not just that, the memories of previous night came like a flood in her mind that it was already making difficult for her to sit still.
She quickly finished eating and went to wash her hands. There she saw Archana pouring milk in four glasses. She wondered to whom the fourth glass is for.
Wondering, she came out of the kitchen and started wiping the dinner table as everyone had finished eating. Once she was done, she washed her hands and went to hall where everyone were seated.
Aditya, Pratap and Nia, all three were drinking milk and there was the fourth glass of milk on the table.
"Naina? What are you looking at? It's for you only?"
Archana said, forwarding the glass to her.
"M-me?"
"Yes. Common, drink it"
"But, mom?"
Naina started with her gaze still fixed on the White liquid in the glass, stressing on 'm' at the end.
"What I was thinking na, that you keep telling that you have leg pain. So, so I think, you should drink this"
Pushing the glass back to Archana, she looked at her nervously and slowly lifted Nia in her arms once she was done with drinking milk and made easy towards Nia's room.
She definitely won't be able to say no in front of Nia if she had stayed even for a minute! Otherwise, even Nia would stop drinking the milk.
Naina laid Nia on her bed and covered her from the duvet till her neck and sat beside her. She ran her hand on Nia's head, until Nia closed her eyes to sleep. Naina then placed a kiss on Nia's cheeks and switched off the light and when she walked out of the room, she found only Aditya standing in middle of the hall.
He was standing with his arms crossed and his gaze was strong enough for anyone to do anything he wanted, that was what she felt right now.
She looked at the glass of milk still placed on the table. Aditya tilted his head and motion her to drink the milk, but Naina shook her head and started to leave for her room to be only stopped by Aditya coming and standing right in front of her making her gasp for his sudden appearance.
He was so fast that she couldn't think of anything and neither what was happening. After a minute, she found herself seated on the sofa and he was seated on the table right in front of her, blocking her legs from escaping.
Naina could feel her knees touching his and gulped down her saliva, as she started feeling the temperature raise even when the night outside was freezing cold.
Aditya forwarded his hands towards her. One hand had glass of milk and another, her medicines.
"Common, you need to take these medicines."
He said, forwarding to her.
"But I don't want to drink milk, I will have them with water"
Saying, she tried to get up to be only sit back. As she felt her legs stuck in between his.
"Don't be childish now, Naina. Common drink it"
Naina scrunched her nose and eyes seeing the white liquid in the glass. She took the medicines from him but she was reluctant to drink milk.
Aditya glared at her like a father would do at his daughter. She silently took the glass and took only little sips needed to swallow the medicines and then she forwarded back to him.
"Drink this completely"
"I don't want to!"
"You are even more stubborn than, Nia! God!"
Naina glared at him and tried to get up and failing everytime she tried.
"Let me go!"
She whisper yelled at him not wanting to wake up her in-laws and Nia.
"Drink this, I will surely let you go anywhere you want"
"This bribing is not going to work, I am not Nia!"
"Yes, exactly you are not Nia! You are her mother! So drink this"
"But this smells!"
"Really? That day, you were telling so many things about how it is tasty and healthy and so many many things to Nia, Huh? What happened now?"
He asked with his eyebrows raised at her.
Blinking her eyes, she looked down and then at him, she stuttered.
"Th-that I had to, f-for Nia! That doesn't mean that I will have to drink milk!"
"Like daughter, like mother"
Hearing her, Aditya rolled his eyes at her and muttered for only for him to hear.
"Did you say something?"
When Naina asked him, he placed the glass on the table and glared at her.
"No! I am not saying anything at all, I have been talking to myself since then and there is no need to drink this milk at all. This is just kept here for show and I am a-"
Naina not wanting to hear him anymore, she did the only thing which was the last thing she wanted to do, just to silence him!
Naina picked up the glass from the table and started gulping it all in one go making Aditya to stare at her with his jaw hung down.
Once she was done drinking, she scrunched her face at the taste of milk and looked up at him.
"How much do you talk? I even finished drinking that bland milk!"
Naina glaring and pouting, tried to stand up to be only pulled back to sit down on the sofa.
"Now what?"
"There's still something"
Saying, he leaned towards her as his hand raised to her face too.
Naina gulped her saliva and eyed at his movements as his hands held her face and his thumb running over her upper lip slowly, making her to part her lips.
His face towering over her and she raised her head up to look into his eyes had were already staring at her's.
Then he brought his thumb in front of her face to see. Lowering her eyes, she saw drops of milk on his thumb. Averting her gaze, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
Naina looked anywhere but at him while he only looked at her flushed face. He then took her by surprise by lifting her in his arms fire which she yelped closing her mouth with both of her hands.
She could feel one of his arm around her waist and another under her calves. He switched off the light with his shoulder as he made his way towards their room with Naina in his arms.
He slowly laid on the bed and closed the door to their room and went back to his wardrobe. In the dark room where only the lights of Street flashed across the room, Naina could clearly see his movements.
Aditya changed his t-shirt which had half sleeves and made his way to her. Getting on her left side of the bed, he pulled her in his arms as he covered her and himself with the duvet.
As they were adjusting to sleep, Naina's hand touched his arm which she felt somewhat rough and she pressed slightly, she heard him hiss in pain.
Getting up, she switched on the lights and pulled his arm towards her to see a dry unattended wound. The blood which was oozing out, was now dried. The wound wasn't a big one, but just a scratch where his skin was peeled off.
"When did this happen?"
Aditya remained silent.
"Aditya, I am asking you something. Tell me, when did you get hurt?"
Aditya's thoughts ran to the time when they were still in police station and had asked Naina along with his family to wait outside, while he would sign the papers and come. Once he was done with signing the papers, just as he was about to leave, his gaze fell on the goons who were in lockup. Turning around, he smirked looking at the goons and then at the inspector.
Aditya placed two options in front of him. One, that Aditya would complain to his higher ups saying that he had arrested innocent people and kept here for the whole night, which would bring trouble for the inspector. Second, if he would let Aditya inside the lock up and whatever happens inside there, would be kept as a secret and not let anyone know about it, Aditya would not complain about the inspector.
Considering the facts, inspector Vijay let him inside the lock up and locked it from outside. Then for the whole ten minutes, they heard shouting and screaming for help. But the men over there behaved as if they were deaf to the voice that came from inside the lockup.
Aditya punched and kicked the men gruesomely, as he warned them to never ever misbehave with any girl or woman. And in that process, he was pushed and he got the scratch on his arm. After beating them black and blue, the inspector opened the lockup and let him go. Aditya had tied his kerchief around the wound so that his shirt would not get stained and he had folded his sleeves to hide the tare.
Naina looked at him sitting lost in his thoughts without answering. She went and brought the first aid kit and when she applied detol on the wound, Aditya hissed feeling the stinginess on the wound.
Naina purposely did it, to take the revenge for making her to drink milk. She then applied the ointment and placed a cotton on it and tied it with tourniquet so that it would heal properly.
Once she was done, she went to keep the first aid kit and washed her hands and returned to the bed.
All the while, she was only thinking of how he got the wound as he chose to sit quietly.
"Are you going to tell or not?"
She asked glaring at him.
"What do I have tell? It's just a wound!"
"Okay, then. I will wake up mom and dad and- ahhh"
Aditya pulled her along with him hovering over her. Naina was laid on her back, caged between the bed and Aditya. As their eyes met, they were lost in eachother.
The memories of being in the mansion of Heeraftpur, flashed across their mind. It was like, their memories too sinked which was very odd for them. Naina averted her gaze as she felt her cheeks heaten up at the memory where she was caged just like this but when she was rolled in only her bath towel.
"Trying to threaten me by using mom and dad, hmm? Very brave of you"
Naina closed her eyes as she felt his finger tracing over cheek. Clutching onto the bedspread, her chest heaved up and down.
"Then tell me, how did you hurt yourself?"
Naina asked, as she opened her eyes to look right into his. Aditya could see the nervousness clouding the care and concern in her eyes for him.
"While doing what was to be done"
He murmured, without averting his gaze from her face.
"What were you doing?"
"What am I supposed to do when someone doesn't know how to treat women, hmm?"
Aditya asked, as Naina gasped at the realisation. He had beaten the men for her and in process, he got hurt even if it was a simple scratch.
Tears rolled down from the side of her eyes, as her hands wound around Aditya and hugged him which came as surprise for both Naina and Aditya.
"You are crazy, you know that?"
"I can be anything you want me to be"
Aditya whispered in her ear.
"You could have just filed a complaint!"
"Naah, how would I get to be this close to if I had done that, mmm?"
Naina stilled as he nuzzled his head in her neck, feeling his breath and skin. Taking a sharp breath, she tried to push him but she just didn't had enough strength to even push him. It was like she was getting weaker and weaker by his ministrations.
"W-what if something had happened to you?"
On listening to her question, Aditya raised his head and looked at Naina.
"So you do care for me?"
"...."
Her reply was no less than a disappointment to him that made him nod his head and shift his body to her beside and switch off the light and laid back.
"Adi-"
"Common, let's sleep. You have work tomorrow and you need a good sleep"
Mumbling, he pulled her in his arms with her back facing him. She heard him speak softly in her hairs.
"How do you manage your hairs?"
This had her shiver, as she felt the hairs on her skin raising up. She then realised, it was Aditya who had pleated her hairs!
"Sleep..." Feeling her tensed, Aditya pulled her closer to him as he circled his arm on her stomach and his breath tickling the nape of her neck. But then, she had finally fallen asleep in his arms like she was used to it.
________
Dated - 13 September, 2020
Edited - 18 June 2021