🥀
Best believe I'm still bejeweled

When I walk in the room

I can still make the whole place shimmer

And when I meet the band

They ask, "Do you have a man?"

I can still say, "I don't remember"

Familiarity breeds contempt

Don't put me in the basement

When I want the penthouse of your heart

Diamonds in my eyes

I polish up real, I polish up real nice

Nice
🥀

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The next morning, Raghbir woke up pretty late. Angana was absent but the fragrance of her perfume was lingering in the room. He yawned and got up from the bed. Walking into the bathroom, he had just picked his toothbrush when he saw a faint lipstick mark on his cheek. That made him smile. And suddenly he didn't feel grim or lazy anymore. The smile remained on his face as he brushed his teeth and then stepped into the shower panel. He was applying body wash on his body when he felt as if he was being watched. But he didn't give it much thought. It was either his mind tricking him or it was Angana watching him. Servants would never dare to enter the bedroom when he was inside. Angana had made it clear to them that if they enter the room when he is present inside, they will lose their jobs immediately. So he relaxed and took a long shower.

He dressed up in a navy blue suit and headed downstairs. The middle-aged maid set the breakfast for him.

“Where is Angana?” He asked while taking his seat.

“Sir, she left for Delhi in the morning.” That confused him. He did feel someone's presence when he was in shower.

“She left for Delhi? But I felt like she was in the bedroom earlier.” He spoke, confused.

“She left around six in the morning saying she has an urgent meeting. You must have mistaken.”  The maid told and poured him orange juice in a glass.

Raghbir couldn't help but feel alarmed. If it wasn't Angana, then who could it be? Or maybe he just imagined it?

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Angana entered her parents' residence in Delhi. Her mother was anxious to know that she has resigned from the party and told her to come to meet her immediately. Angana took the first flight and arrived in Delhi.

She was nervous, to say the least. Her parents were sitting in the living hall. Her mother, being the prime minister, had to live in the official residence of the prime minister. But she sometimes stayed at the house her father had bought when he permanently shifted to Delhi.

Angana greeted them, “Good morning, Mom and Dad.” And she took her seat on the couch.

“Angana, how are you doing?” Her father asked her softly.

“I'm doing good, Dad.” She smiled.

“How's Raghbir doing?” Her mother asked. The tone of her question told how unpleasant her mood was.

“He is doing good too.” Angana replied.

“I mean, how's he doing after your resignation from the party?” Chahana rephrased her words.

Angana bit the side of her cheek to control her irritation. Her mother has never tried to hide her dislike towards Raghbir. Yet it irked Angana whenever she said something against Raghbir.

“He is surprised, but that's it.” Angana replied as calmly as possible.

“So he didn't tell you to undo it?” Her mother asked again.

“No, he didn't.”  She shook her head.

After long moments of silence, Chahana asked, “Angana, why did you resign?”

“I... I want to start family planning.”  She gave a hesitant answer.

“So now you'll lie to me?” Chahana asked her sternly, seeing past her lie.

Angana sighed defeatedly, “Okay, I resigned because Raghbir wanted to use my position to get favorable business policies enforced in Awadh.”

“Hmm, I knew it.” Chahana mumbled.

“His family is doing it for decades now. Of course, he will be influenced to do the same.” Jashn tried to defend Raghbir.

“But he dragged Angana into all this.”  Chahana argued with her husband.

“Mom, don't assume things. Seven years of relationship is no joke. I doubt his intentions, but not his feelings.”  Angana stated firmly.

“How I wish you never broke up with Abhimanyu.”  Her mother spoke, letting out a sigh of disappointment.

“Mom, Raghbir has been a far better partner to me than Abhimanyu could ever be. Your grooming has made Abhimanyu a robot who always thinks about politics. At least, Raghbir knows how to balance between work and home.”

“Alright, alright, please don't start arguing.”  Jashn tried to calm down the mother and daughter.

“No, Dad, I'm tired of hearing comparisons between Raghbir and Abhimanyu.” She looked at her, “Mom, your problem is that you want Abhimanyu to be your successor but you also want to keep the power in family. That's why you want Abhimanyu to be your son-in-law. And I won't be surprised if you got Sahana married to him in the future.”

Before her parents could say anything, she stood up from her seat and left from there. Her mother only wanted to make her believe that she made a mistake by choosing Raghbir over Abhimanyu. But Angana knew better than getting manipulated. Now that was another reason why she never wanted to be a part of politics. It made you so hungry for power thar family and relationships began seeming worthless to you. Alliances become business deals and children become assets.

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Raghbir returned home at seven in the evening. He wasn't expecting Angana to be home but there she was preparing dinner in the kitchen. Servants were already gone, only security guards remained outside to do their night duty.

“Hey!” He entered the kitchen with a smile, trying to act like the romantic husband he used to be before he decided to mess things up between them.

Angana, much to his surprise, smiled back and hugged him. His lips were immediately captured in a hungry kiss and he couldn't ask for anything better. Raghbir, though confused, wrapped his arms around her waist and responded to the kiss with equal fervor.

Angana stilled for a moment, getting reminded of the food cooking on the stove. She pulled out from the kiss and turned off the stove before capturing his lips again. That was his cue to know that they weren't going to stop anytime soon. He removed his coat and threw it on the floor before pushing Angana against the countertop. He removed the pin keeping the saree on her shoulder and let it fall from her chest. Her collarbone was met by tender, wet kisses. Her hands wrapped around his neck, bringing him closer.

“Ragh, why don't we continue at night? The saree will trouble us a lot if we kept going on and I don't want strip naked in the kitchen.” Angana told him while pushing his hands off her body, all of a sudden.

“We can head to the bedroom right now.” He suggested while playing with the knot of her blouse.

“But I have to cook dinner. And I'm hungry too.” She pouted.

“One hour, that's it. I won't wait longer than that.” Saying so he stepped away from her and walked out of the kitchen.

Angana broke into smile. She turned on the stove again and picked the coat he threw on the floor recklessly.

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The Harissa Pasta was delicious. Raghbir was taking his second serving when the incident from morning crossed his mind.

“Anaa, something weird happened in the morning.”  He started.

“What?” She asked him while eating a spoonful of pasta.

“I was taking shower when I felt like I'm being watched. I thought it's you. But later the maid told me that you left early in the morning. Now I don't know if it was just a delusion. It just keeps coming back to my mind.”  His words made her worried.

“No servant would dare to enter the bedroom... unless he is or she is newly hired.” And that rang a bell, “I think I know who it was. I just need to confirm.” She stated calmly.

“Are you serious? Someone really saw me naked? Like I don't mind it. I have a good body that haunts girls in their dreams. ” He joked and ate the pasta.

“But I do mind it. Only I can watch you naked. A new maid had started working today. It must be her.”  The seriousness in her tone didn't go unnoticed by him.

He held her free hand, “Anaa, don't assume things. It was maybe me being delusional.”

“I'll find that out.”  She told with a knowing look and continued eating the pasta.

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“Ragh, you'll get late for the office if you kept going on.” Angana told him as he kept thrusting inside her. She couldn't remember the number of rounds they had at night. They would make love, nap, make love, nap and it just kept going on. Angana was exhausted but Raghbir felt more energetic after every round. She doubted if he took some sort of drugs to perform good at bed. Or maybe he is energetic because he had been into athletics since the age of five, making him physically fitter than an average person.

“I will gladly ditch office to fuck you.” He whispered into her ear and kissed her earlobe.

“Ah, you talk like a manwhore.” And she hit his shoulder, making him chuckle.

“This is the last round. I promise.” And he continued thrusting.

“You have been repeating this line the entire night. Get done quick or I will pull it out myself.”  She warned him sweetly.

Raghbir paused, getting intimidated by her warning. He gently pulled out of her and stood up from the bed, stretching his arms.

“Ah, good boy. Hand me my laptop please.” She covered herself with the duvet and leaned against the headrest. Tying her hair in a bun, she took the laptop Raghbir gave her.

Raghbir entered the bathroom and Angana began looking for the evidence of intrusion in their bedroom.

“I was right. It's the new maid.” She mumbled when she found the evidence.

The footage showed the young maid entering the bedroom. She was looking around the room in awe until her eyes fell on whatever was happening inside the bathroom. The bathroom door was clearly left ajar. And the way the maid put her hand on her mouth in surprise and kept looking inside the bathroom, told Angana what scene it might be.

Angana put the laptop away and left the bed. She quickly wore her night suit before heading downstairs. The soreness between her thighs for the first time didn't bother her.

Fifteen minutes later, the young maid was standing in their bedroom with her head hung low. Raghbir was standing in a corner. Whatever happened didn't bother him. But he could understand why Angana was furious. He would act murderous himself if something like that happened with Angana.

Angana turned the laptop screen towards the maid and played the footage. The girl was scared and embarrassed. She was in tears and on her knees, begging for forgiveness.

Raghbir, on the other hand, was furious. Some maid watching him shower didn't bother him. But the fact that his wife had installed cameras in their bedroom without his knowledge made him extremely angry.

Angana ignored the angry look he passed her and focused on the maid.

“Don't worry, I won't harm you. But you are fired. You can leave now.” She told the maid calmly. The maid didn't protest about getting fired. She knew Angana could ruin her life if she wanted. She just nodded and ran out of the room.

And now it was Angana's turn to confront Raghbir who didn't look as cheerful as he was earlier.

“You put cameras in our bedroom.” He said coldly.

“You... you had also mixed birth control pills in my food for six months. Now we are even.”  She told him, trying to hide her embarrassed condition.

“You must be worried. That I might end up fucking some other woman on this bed.”  He taunted her.

“Ragh, I was planning on removing them.” She tried to defend herself. But evidently it wasn't working.

“I thought I was the one creating problems in our relationship. You are no better, Angana Raghbir Ranavat.” Only he could make her full name sound like a curse to her.

“Ragh, it was my insecurity that made me do this. Your Dad had also...” She didn't complete her words. But he understood the meaning of her half said sentence.

He left the bedroom, shutting the door after him loudly.

•••

Oops, what will happen next?