Page 41 of Married in Vengeance

He reached over to press the buzzer by the bedside that was connected to the staff quarters. Minutes later, a helper arrived and was dispatched to fetch a thermometer and a strip of paracetamol. Another one rushed to bring a plate of fruit and toast.

“Aadhya,” Ram murmured. “You need to wake up.”

She mumbled something incomprehensible and turned over again, her robe riding up to reveal a smooth, toned leg. Ram yanked the comforter over her and tried again.

“I need you to wake up baby. You’ve got a fever.”

One eye opened, focusing blearily on him. “Baby?” she croaked.

Ram flushed. “It was a slip of the tongue. Open your mouth.”

She did to argue with him but before she could get anything out, he slipped the thermometer in, under her tongue. Aadhya’s single eye glared mutinously at him before she shut it again.

When the thermometer beeped, he pulled it out and checked the display. 102.4!

“Aadhya! Up!”

“Ram! No!” She grumbled as she pulled the comforter over her head. “Go away!”

The helper arrived with a bed tray of food and a strip of paracetamol. He placed it on a side table and nudged Aadhya again. She kicked him in the hip in reply.

“Get up.” He hauled her up with one hand into a sitting position even as she struggled to get out of his grip. Plonking the bed tray in front of her, he pointed at it. “Eat.”

Aadhya blew a curl of hair out of her face and glowered at him. “You have the nursing abilities of a troll living under a bridge.”

Ram glowered back at her. “And you are the troll living under the bridge. Now eat.”

She picked up a slice of toast and bit into it, spraying crumbs all over the bed. Apparently, she also had the manners of a troll. Ram popped a tablet out of the strip on the tray and dropped it on to her plate.

“What hurts?” he asked gruffly.

Aadhya swallowed her toast, wincing at the movement. “Everything.”

He watched her closely. Her throat for sure and probably her head from the way she kept touching it with one hand. He picked up the pill she was ignoring and held it out to her.

Aadhya eyed it balefully. “It’s too big. I can’t swallow that. I’ll choke.”

“No, you won’t. Don’t be a baby.”

“Yes, I will. I’ll choke and die. Make sure you bury me in my wedding saree. After all, I was dying on that day too.”

Ram wondered if it was possible to rupture a blood vessel from arguing with a person. “You’re not going to die. Take the damn tablet. And we won’t bury you. Cremation is more likely.”

“I’m telling you I’ll choke. I always choke on tablets. I can’t swallow the big ones. I have a small throat.”

A disbelieving snort escaped him. “A small throat?” he asked, even as he took the tablet between his fingers and snapped it in two.

“Yes,” she said defensively, eyeing the pieces he now held. “Smaller please,” she muttered.

Ram snapped the pieces again, now holding four small quarters. “Now?”

Aadhya nodded, taking the pieces from him and carefully swallowing each one.

“Eat your fruit,” he told her, watching her hand tremble as she put the glass back on the tray. What the fuck was wrong with her? Did the flu come on so quickly and so strongly?

“I can’t, Ram. I don’t feel good.” She pushed the tray away from her.

“You need to eat something Aadhya or the medicine is going to –“

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