Chapter 18 - Warning
As they traversed through the hallway, the effect of intoxication kicked in. Although she scurried after Abhimanyu to match his pace, her brain seemed not to work on its own. It was becoming difficult for her to keep her eyes open while she was sweating profusely. Her heart was beating at an uneven rate and her legs felt like jelly. They stepped unevenly in front of one another, causing her to lose her balance each now and then.
She somehow made it, following Abhimanyu until they stopped. She gazed up and registered the surroundings quickly. It wasn't Dev's room. It was Abhimanyu's room.
Why did he bring her into his room?
Abhimanyu turned around and focused his undivided attention on her. The room was brightly lit. So, it was easier to notice, it was, in fact, his bedroom.
Shreya's head spun momentarily as she blinked several times to keep her from falling. However, she kept her eyes downcast for obvious reasons. She didn't know if it was the closed confinement of his room or his intimidating stare, for which she was feeling extremely nervous and hot. Her ears were burning, and her hands were sharing. She didn't understand how she was still standing without falling.
For a stretched moment, no one made a sound until Abhimanyu spoke in his monotonous voice. "I didn't expect this from you."
Her lashes swept up for a quick second and she looked down again. He was standing a few feet away from her, one of his hands was buried deep inside his pocket while the other one was simply dangling at his side.
"Do you have an explanation?" He asked quietly.
"I- I didn't mean to go. Gya- Abhigyan re-requested..." She trailed off.
He waited for a moment, perhaps waiting for her to say something more. But when she didn't, he walked over towards her making her panic. But instead of standing before her, he sat down on the ergonomic chair beside her. Only now she noticed the computer desk sitting there. He turned his chair and looked up at her.
"Of course. He might have. But you should have informed me beforehand that he's bothering you. I would've taken some action against him." He paused for a moment before adding, "This was unprofessional. Especially, when Devdoot is concerned here."
As Abhimanyu continued reprimanding her, another nausea swept over her. It was becoming difficult for her to keep her eyes open. Her vision was turning hazy and she felt too hot for some unknown reason.
"I understand that it was Gyan's fault. But to prevent something like that from happening again in future, I'll have to fire you."
What? Her eyes snapped up and saw him sitting there calmly folding one of his legs over the other.
Before she could say something he added, "But not before your contract ends."
But she couldn't hold it anymore. Her legs gave out all of a sudden. She lost her balance, and then she closed her eyes.
It went blank for a while.
What did she think? She could escape her misery? Turned out, all this while, her fate was working against her.
She felt thirsty.
What was happening? Was she lost? Somewhere outside... away from the familiar world. She wanted to run away to the mountains, and have a little cabin, and an easy job. Maybe a few sheeps or chickens. A dog, perhaps. If only she could find a lover. They'd have a peaceful life. So much love, so many dreams... so many disappointments.
Perhaps, she saw a dream bigger than her worth. It wasn't meant to happen. She'd probably end up in Guwahati and married off to some stranger or Naveen. Would he consider marrying her though? His family seemed to oppose the idea from the beginning. Was she expecting more than she deserved?
And why was her body burning?
She instinctively reached for her nightgown with her eyes still closed and pulled it over her head. However, someone's hold on her wrist caused extreme botheration that she had to unwillingly open her eyes. Her eyes met directly with a familiar set of eyes before her vision adjusted and recognised the owner.
AR. Abhimanyu Roy.
What was he doing here? Was he the lover she wanted to find? His facial features were gorgeous except that scar splitting his left eyebrow in two. She reached for it with her free hand. Touching it felt... intimate, special. As if there were some secrets surrounding it. She wanted to know the story behind his scar. She wanted to mend it to a good one. Could she do it though? Her eyes shifted from his scar to his rimless spectacles. Why was it in between them? It annoyed her. Her hand slid down and was about to hold the specs when he caught her this hand too.
They were in very close proximity. When she tried to lift her hands, she realised both of them were held down by him. She let out a complaining moan when she couldn't free her hands.
Why was he keeping her captive? She wanted to touch him desperately. But she didn't know why?
His mouth moved. "I hope you didn't drink too much."
She giggled then reached up, with an intention to touch him with her lips if not her fingers. He moved back. But she chased after him only to get pushed back down on the bed. He held her down, and she didn't have the strength to lose his grip on her.
She let out a whiny complaint. "It's too hot in here."
"I'll lower the AC temperature. But stay put. Don't try to sit up," he said in an authoritative tone making her nod in response.
He quietly withdrew his hands and stood up. But she caught a good hold of his hand and whined again. "Don't leave."
He held her hand and unwrapped it's hold from around his wrist just to toss it on the bed. He said nothing else, turned around and walked over to the computer table. Her eyes moved along with him. He picked up the remote control and turned down the AC temperature.
Another drowsiness hit her along with a need for being touched. She closed her eyes as one of her hands flew up and ran through her hair while the other touched her bare torso. Oh- where was her clothes? She tossed and turned on the bed until she felt a comforter covering her body.
Her eyes snapped open and saw Abhimanyu pulling up the comforter upto her chest. In a blink of an eye, she pulled out her hands and cupped his face. Confusion washed over her. Wasn't he her employer? Or was he her lover? Was it a dream? But before she could comprehend what was going on, her body acted on its own. She sat up abruptly and leaned closer to him only to get stopped by him. "Shreya!" He slapped her hands away from his cheeks. "Come to your senses! Are you doing this intentionally?"
His words made no sense. She lifted her hands again and clutched his t-shirt. "Kiss me!" The two words left her mouth before she could understand what they meant.
"What?" His eyebrows scrunched together as he wrapped his hands over hers and tried to free his t-shirt from her grip.
Another drowsiness hit her as she released his t-shirt and fell on her back. "I... want to go home."
~~~
4th October
It felt like a thousand hammers were hitting her head, and she felt like puking. She had never experienced such a terrible headache before. Her eyes were glued together. Oh God! Shreya held her head in her hands and slowly sat up. Her eyes were still closed but when she opened them they adjusted over an unfamiliar interior of sage and white. This wasn't Dev's room. Where the fuck was she? She took in her surroundings and noticed the picture frame hanging on the wall. Abhimanyu in a silver waistcoat and matching trousers with a white shirt underneath, completed with black shoes and sunglasses leaning on his BMW with one hand.
Th-this was Abhimanyu's room? She panicked and hurried out of the bed. Oh God! How did she end up in his room? She looked down on the unmade bed and her eyes widened from terror. She took a step back and broke in a cold sweat. Why couldn't she remember anything from last night? Her hands instinctively clutched the front of her nightgown and tugged on it. She- she was with Gyan and his friends. Then they were playing truth and dare and they... she kissed Gyan! Oh God! She covered her face in dread. No no no! That didn't happen! That couldn't happen! What had she done? She took another step back and hit something.
Jumping back in alarm she spun around quickly and noticed the empty ergonomic chair.
But how did she end up here? Something... Something happened at the party. But why couldn't she remember anything? She couldn't concentrate on anything except she was in Abhimanyu's room and the latter was nowhere to be seen.
She swiftly turned on her heels and rushed out his bedroom, then his front room. While almost running towards Dev's room, she halted abruptly in the middle of the hall. Tiyasha was there feeding Dev while Ritu was focusing on her tablet. Three of them turned their eyes simultaneously upon hearing her footsteps.
"Hey Shreya, how are you feeling now?" Tiyasha asked. "Mannyu told me you weren't feeling well last night after attending Gyan's party. Are you okay now?"
Ritu said, "I didn't even know Gyan was throwing a party. Did he and his friends force you in drinking? I'll have his head if that's the case!"
Shreya blinked then shook her head slowly. She had no words. No thoughts. She was entirely blank at this moment. She fell ill last night? Was that the case? Why couldn't she remember anything? What exactly happened? She needed to talk to Gyan. She had no memories after what happened with Gyan during the game.
Tiyasha said again, "And Subha Vijaya Dashami (happy tenth day of Devi Aradhana). Since I've returned today, you can take a few days leave if you want to. Thank you for taking care of Dev all too well. I'm grateful to you. I wouldn't have managed it without your help."
Shreya's face flushed. "Thank you. It's my job."
"Yeah. But still, thank you."
Shreya nodded at them. "Uhm- have you seen Gyan?"
"Nope," Ritu answered. "Haven't seen him since I returned in the morning. Must be in his room. He's mostly in his room, the first floor one." She shrugged.
"Okay." She nodded.
Both Ritu and Tiyasha acknowledged her with smiles before she left the hall and went to Dev's room to pack her things. She needed to talk to Gyan immediately. But before that she had to send Naveen the address of Isha mansion. He said he'd pick her up.
An hour later, she still couldn't contact Gyan. He had locked himself up in his room and never left, didn't allow anyone inside even. When Shreya herself went to his room and knocked on the door asking him to open it, he didn't bother answering her. So after a minute of waiting, she just left.
Some time later, Naveen reached and called her to come out. She took her bag and exited the main house while Tiyasha, Ritu and Dev saw her off. She strode towards the main gate and met Naveen at the gate. He came with his bike in traditional attire. A green kurta and jeans.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey." Shreya acknowledged and smiled.
"How are you?"
She nodded as a positive response. Naveen said nothing more and gestured for her to climb on. She was about to climb onto Naveen's bike, when she intuitively sensed being watched. And sure enough, as she turned around, her eyes flew towards the main house. A certain someone was intently watching them from the balcony of the first floor.
When their eyes met, he leaned onto the railing with his hands rested on top of it. They didn't break eye contact until his jaws ticked and he tilted his head slightly back.
Her face flushed and she broke the eye contact right away.
"Who's that? The little brother?"
She nodded and without another word, got onto the bike.
She could foresee her future, and it seemed messy.
~~~
Author's note: *laughs* Now tell me, who's your favorite character? And have you followed me yet? Don't I deserve it? :) Don't forget to vote and comment. Show me your reactions. :)
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