Page 21 of Twisted Deceit
To her surprise, as if he sensed other people’s presence, he turned, and what Aadhya didn’t expect was for him to turn and look straight at her.
Her heart made a somersault when their eyes met. She was thankful for the fabric that hid her face. He looked at her briefly and took a few steps toward her, before averting his eyes to look at the older woman who stood by the door obediently. “Hello, Meenabai.”
“NakulBaba, Aadhya is ready to have lunch with you. You should not have waited for her to finish the ceremony.” After finishing the ritual, Aadhya knew what the hurry was about. Meenabai walked back to where Aadhya stood and led her to the living area where Nakul stood wearing a white linen shirt and beige cotton pants. Even in her annoyance, she didn’t fail to notice how stunning he looked.
She looked away, not wanting to keep admiring his looks, not after how he fooled her into the marriage. As she approached him, one of the staff came to stand next to her with a small tray of flowers, some sweets, and a silver container of vermillion powder.
“Nakul baba, bless your wife to have a fulfilled life with lots of children.” With those words, Meenabai applied pressure on Aadhya’s shoulder, indicating that she kneel and touch her husband’s feet.
Aadhya had no idea how she fluidly went down on her knees, and at the same time, Nakul took a step back. She knew he was caught off guard and wasn’t used to such rituals. It gave her a slight kick to think he was taken aback.
Small wins, Aadhya. Take them!
Meenabai tsked in objection but spoke softly, “Nakul baba, please take this vermillion powder and bless your wife. We wish you consummate your marriage and give the land an heir very soon.”
Aadhya saw him hesitate for a moment before he stepped closer. She felt her veil lifted and his finger on her forehead as he applied the red powder at the partition on her scalp. “All the way, Nakul baba, apply the powder to the top of her head. When you touch the top of her head with the powder, it will make her fertile and also be aroused.”
What the heck was Nani talking about?
She would have killed to catch the expression on his face in response to the older lady’s comments but kept her eyes downcast until he placed his hands on his shoulders, helping her stand up. Her veil was up, and she didn’t want to look at him.
“Feed her the sweet,” Meenabai said, holding the plate to him. “Don’t be shy, Aadi, look at your husband.”
Aadhya wasn’t feeling shy; she didn’t want to look at him. If it weren’t for him, she could have slept in, eaten breakfast and skipped the whole ritual for his safe return. Her last semester was starting in a few days and classes would resume at seven in the morning. She was hoping to sleep in for a few days.
She saw him reach for the sweet and bring it to her lips. Annoyance combined with anger set off when she parted her lips as he offered her the piece of sweet. She was about to pull back and reject his offering, but instead, she thought of something else.
She heard his breath hiss as she bit down on his finger, but he didn’t pull back as she had expected. “Careful, Aadi.” Meenabai gave her a sweet to offer to your husband. “Save all your mischief for the bedroom tonight.” Meenabai laughed followed by the giggles from others.
Heat rose to her cheeks as she took the sweet to his lips. She was glad the rest of the mini-ritual was uneventful and that Meenabai was hurrying to get them seated for lunch.
“Aadi, your husband has been waiting for over an hour to eat lunch with you.” Meenabai served food for both of them and gave the staff a glance. “We will give you privacy. Just call out if you need anything.” With that, everyone left her alone with him, her eyes downcast.
“Aren’t you going to eat?” he asked between bites, and she was getting restless by the minute.
She needed to get the conversation in her mind out of the way. “Where did you go?” Why she needed to know, she wasn’t sure.
He remained silent for a long moment. “I don’t remember a clause that required me to always share my whereabouts with you.”
She rolled her eyes. “Well, you can go do whatever you want to do, I don’t give a damn. But I need to be able to tell people around me so I don’t have to perform a ritual for your safe return every day.”
He stopped mid-bite. “That’s what you were doing? Interesting.”
“So, where were you?” she insisted.
He shrugged. “What difference does it make? You’ve already done the ritual and for tomorrow, make up a story.”
She shook her head. “No. Just stay in the mansion. Or take me with you so I don’t have to make up stuff.”
Nakul leaned back, his eyes holding a challenge but not saying anything. “You want to go with me?”
“Yes.” She batted her eyelashes sarcastically, remembering that she could accompany him on his work trips if she chose to. “Only if the timings don’t clash with my classes.”
He hesitated but nodded and that gave her hope. If she accompanied him, she could find out what he was doing in Singoor and if she got the proof to show her aunt he was up to no good, her aunt would make him leave.
Perfect plan!
Chapter 10
