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Agastya stops the car in front u of a cafe and Isha looks at him with questioning glance. "You didn't take my permission before getting off of my lap. So, as a punishment we are going for a cup of coffee."
That's a new way of saying he wants to go on a date with me. Isha thinks as she climbs down of the car after him.
She stares at the luxurious high class cafe with a feeling of little contempt for herself. She feels his eyes on her and when she looks at him, she sees that he isn't taking a step towards the cafe.
Her eyes look at him in confusion. He entwines his hand with her small one. She licks her lips and manages to whisper under his dark gaze, "what?"
He shakes his head and takes out his phone. With his eyes focused on the screen, he raises her hand along with his and then higher to twirl her around. She quietly follows his lead as he twirls her again with a smile.
A snap reaches her ears and she stops midway and looks over her shoulder, just to hear another snap of the camera.
"Perfect!" Agastya says as he observed his phone. His grip loses over her hand and she reluctantly pulls away and turns to face him in question.
He shows her the screen and she looks at the photo that he just clicked of hers. She looked relaxed and from a side profile, she seemed to be gracing a small smile on her face. The photo timing was impeccable as it snapped the side of her face with clarity.
"This is worth making my phone display." He presses the screen a few times and then mutters, "Done!"
Isha stares at him with disbelief. He ignores the face that she is making and pulls her in.
He could have just said that I look pretty or something! She thinks to herself as she follows him in.
She takes in the classy vibe around the place and when she looks across from her, she finds Agastya paying close attention to her. She fidgets in her place and nervously tugs a strand of hair behind her ear.
The server gets them the menu and she quickly picks it up and opens it wide while covering her face with it. She let out the breath that she didn't know she was holding behind the menu. If she keeps breathing like this around her husband, she will definitely faint one day.
"Lower the menu, Isha." He orders and she doesn't make a move to act on it. She will just pretend she didn't hear him.
"Isha," he calls her again with a brewing agitation in his tone.
She still ignores him and read the coffee names aloud in her mind.
Macchiato, espresso, latte, flat—
"Little wife," she hears his stern voice before the menu is yanked away from her.
"What, Agastya Ji?" She tries to act surprised and he just narrows his eyes at her. She mumbles a sorry and lowers her gaze.
"Have you decided?" Before she could answer him, another faint voice reaches her. A voice she has always heard in anger.
She follows the direction of that voice and it leads to the corner of the cafe. The man's back was towards her and he was busy talking to someone. She didn't need for him to turn around and look at her to know that it was her father.
"Look at me, Isha!" She snaps out of her numbness at Agastya's voice. He holds her gaze and commands her again, "Ignore,"
Her eyes shift and land on her father again. He can come to Meergarh for a meeting but not to see her. At least to check if she is alright or not.
Her eyes start to burn and she looks away to see Agastya's gaze turn even darker and dangerous. It felt like he would kill someone if she shed a single tear.
She pulls herself together and luckily, the server comes by to take their orders. Agastya purposely makes her choose for him as well to distract her. She gives the order with a shaky voice.
"This is a good opportunity to keep your word." Agastya tells her and she is not sure if she'll be able to pretend that her father is not sitting a few meters away. How does someone break ties that they have known throughout their existence?
"What will happen if I don't keep my promise, Agastya Ji?" He smirks. He was waiting for her to ask something like this. "I didn't know you enjoyed my punishments that much, Isha." His words were enough to bring her attention back to him. She shudders at the promise she sees in those eyes of his.
She lowers her head and runs her sweaty palms over her jeans that she had paired with a lime color kurta. She takes in rushed breaths to try to pull herself out of the situation.
She looks up when she hears hushed footsteps. Her father stares at her with contempt clear in his eyes before moving on to look at Agastya. "Hello, chote thakur." He greets her husband with deference and fear.
Agastya gives him a lift chin as a silent answer. "I was here on a meeting otherwise I would have come by to greet you earlier." Her father replies when he sees Agastya making no attempt to converse with him.
Agastya glances at Isha and then her father. "You are lucky you are related to Isha, otherwise I hate when people interrupt me when I am with my wife."
Fear looms over her father when he hears his words. He didn't know his good for nothing daughter could be so important for a man like Agastya.
He nods with a bowed head and speaks lowly, "I'll take your leave then, chote thakur."
He was about to sprint out of there when he heard Agastya's command, "wait!"
He faces Agastya with confusion and question.
"You didn't greet my wife." Agastya notices the flare of disdain in his eyes for Isha. "I kill for an offence like that, Kashyap."
Ajit Kashyap turns rigid at his words and faces her. "Hi, beta!" His words were right but his tone held hostility.
Isha's eyes widen and she is unable to form a reply. "You are addressing her incorrectly."
Her head snaps at him with creased brows.
"She is no longer your family or your daughter. She is my wife!"
She sees her father fist his hands in anger and he lets out an inaudible sigh. He bows his head slightly and greets her again. "Hello, thakurani."
She smiles at him, hoping he will feel a little better but he doesn't show gratitude as he looks at Agastya. "You can leave now." He dismisses him with a show of hand.
"Are you staying here for a few days?" The words flow out of her mouth in haste as she sees him about to turn away.
Ajit doesn't like the fact that his daughter dared to stop him but he wouldn't say that in front of Agastya.
Even Agastya looks at her in surprise. She went against him again.
"We will go back home by tomorrow morning." He tells her. "We?" She can't help but ask. Is her mother also here, she could go and meet her.
"My wife and I." He explains.
Isha feels the glowering eyes of her husband and she holds back with asking him anything else.
"Send her my regards, Mr. Kashyap." Two sets of shocked eyes stare at her. Her father nods and hurries out of there.
Her eyes land on Agastya and she notices a slight lift on the corner of his mouth.
"Good way to end the conversation, wife." He smirks fully and she eases a little.
"But not an excuse for showing even the slightest of concern for that family." Tension surges through her and she is clueless about the punishment he has in his mind.
****
Aditya was in Amara's room, kneeling down in front of her with one of her feet resting on his thigh.
She could only see shiny tresses of his dark hair as he concentrate on the work that he was doing.
"When is the next ceremony?" She asks and he lifts his head and mumbles "Two days later,"
Her eyes land on her toenails and she sees them paint to perfection. She had asked him to paint her nails as he has the most steady hands between the two.
Little did she know that his steadiness comes from years of shooting practice.
He takes her other feet and plant it on his thigh and she shifts thinking now is a good time to tell him what she wants to.
"I was thinking about looking for a job." His hands stop moving for a tensed second before he carries on as if telling her to explain her too.
"After the wedding, that is. I think I'll get bored if I don't and I also like having my own money."
He doesn't reply and continues his work. She feels like she has offended but she just spoke what she had in her heart.
She silently watches him finish colouring her nails light yellow for their haldi ceremony.
"Don't you consider my money as yours, Amara?" He stares at her while keeping the nail paint aside. She swallows and finally gathers the courage. "I feel like I am taking a lot from you." First, their wedding in the chapel and then this wedding that is going on, she has paid for nothing except for his engagement ring.
She takes his hand in hers, "I'll like to be independent. That's how I have always been."
"And besides I will get bored sitting idle at home."
He listens to her calmly even though he was seeing everything in fury. She still doesn't trust him enough to fully dependent on him.
"Hmm, what have you thought about doing?" Her eyes twinkle with gratitude as he squeezes her hand.
"I have no idea." She finishes with a small chuckle. She knows she lacks skills but she refuses to give up.
"What was your dream?" He asks her and she stares at him with confusion. "My dream?"
He locks their fingers together and stare deeply in her, wanting to catch a glimpse of her past. Past that she rarely talks about just like he never wishes to talk about their family business. "What did you want to become as a child, Amara?"
She pulls her hands away and a frown settles on Aditya's face. Without another word, she gets to her feet and walks away, robbing him to stare at her face to read her.
She gets to stay like this for a moment before she is spun around to face him. Her palms collide on his chest as she crashes into his arms. "Don't ever look away from me, Amara!" He affirms darkly. Fire slowly burns in her body at his commanding voice.
"Sorry." She mumbles as she lowers her gaze. "Tell me what you always wanted to become?"
She bites her lower lip as she tries to remember who she truly was before life threw a curveball at her.
She squeezes her eyes shut and opens them again with an embarrassing smile on her face. "I wasn't that good in studies."
"Okay," he says with a tone of encouragement and brushes his thumb over her cheek. "I definitely don't have the skills to be a CEO or something."
He huffs at her trying to undermine herself. "Do you want to be a CEO of a company?"
She looks at him with wide eyes. "No, not at all."
He shrugs his shoulders at her words and assures her, "Then you don't need to waste your time on skills you don't require."
She smiles at his words of confidence. She relaxes in his embrace. "I wanted to become a baker."
She waits for his comment and in the back of her head, she hears her stepmom's taunting voice that she is only good at one thing and that is definitely not baking.
"Hmm, we will work on that then," he speaks after pondering about it a little. He will just have to manage and assign better security for her when she starts working...or he can shadow her just like before.
"You can join a culinary school after we get back from our honeymoon." He whispers and the atmosphere changes from a gloomy one to a teasing one.
She pushes at his chest and distances herself from him. "Okay, you have overstayed your welcome!" Her eyes shine playfully and she winks at him.
"You do realise you cannot act like this after our wedding, Amara. I wouldn't ask before taking what's mine." He informs her with a low gravel in his words, leaving her hot and bothered.
****
Dhara was supervising the last of the decorations for the haldi ceremony. She had been managing a lot of things all at the same time. She felt herself luckily for Isha taking half the burden off of her.
The wedding planner and her team were efficient but she still felt the need to oversee everything on her own.
"Dhara?" She turns around to see Abhimanyu standing by the door of the hall room that the haldi was about to take place in the evening.
"Ji?" She sees him walk closer to her. She brushes off the dangerous aura that surrounds him. She keeps reminding herself that her husband's friends are just like him. They would become saints even if they wanted too.
"Is Vikram home?" He asks her as he looks at the file in his hand and then back at her.
"I don't know. I haven't seen him since morning." That was the truth. She had no idea where her distracted husband was in these past few days. He has been the same since the day he showed up at the store.
His phone rings and he excuses himself before answering it. She diverts her attention back to the decorations with half attention.
"Can you give this file to Vikram?" He hands her the documents. "I have to be somewhere otherwise I would have given him myself." He adds on.
Dhara nods with a smile and he was about to leave when she asked, "but you will be attending the haldi ceremony right?"
He thinks a moment at her words and then replies, "Yes, I'll be back by then."
Dhara sees him stride away from there before she heads towards Vikram's study.
She knocks and enters to find Vikram distracted with reading a file. She leans back against the door and clicks close. The sound gains his attention and he looks up. His stare doesn't falter as she walks more into the room. "Your friend Abhimanyu left you this." She keeps the file on the table.
He hums and gets back to reading the file. Dhara doesn't leave and calmly looks at him. "Okay, what's wrong, Vikram Ji?" She asks with a sigh as she folds her arms.
Vikram looks at her and then mumbles, "Nothing!"
She doesn't move but keeps on staring at him. "Dhara," he huffs as he gets up and walks across the table to stand in front of her. "Nothing is wrong,"
She lowers her arms to her sides and corrects him, "You are lying. Something is surely bothering you."
He runs a hand over his tired face and looks at her a little displeased. "It is just work, Dhara." She hums and he knew she wasn't buying it. She takes a step closer and he just stares at her lovely face. She clenches his shirt from both sides and tugs him close and he follows her silent command of bringing him closer to her.
She slants her head up to look at him. "There is a way to let go of this tension." She whispers as they stare at each other. His brows narrow in question.
But before he could ask, she starts to tickle him on the sides of his abdomen. He stumbles back a little as he tries not to laugh and maintain a straight face.
Dhara grins at him and moves towards him while continuing to tickle him.
"Dhara, stop it-" she ignores him as her fingers move up to his ribs. A deep laughter echoes through and she looks at him.
He was laughing and his face relaxed. She doesn't stop tickling him, enjoying both his laughter and his less stressed face. She feels his laughter soothing to her ears.
"Dhara,"
He opens his eyes and they seem brighter from all the laughing. Her fingers stop for a moment and that was all that he needed.
The very next second, he takes charge and pins her against the wall with her wrists caged over her head.
"Got you!" He murmurs against her ear and then lowers his head to breathe down her neck. He bites her neck gently and she moans as she tries to free her wrists from his grip. "Vikram," he licks that spot to subdue the surprise.
He looks up to her with a smile. "Hass ne ke liye tax nahi lagta, Vikram Ji." She whispers and they both smile at each other.
He leans down and holds her chin to angle her face upwards. He presses his lips to hers and she forgets to breathe. He pulls back the next second with a desire to look at her once.
A moment passes before he covers her mouth with his in a powerful kiss. Her surprised moan gets muffled as his tongue takes over with powerful drags overwhelming her with desire.
He lowers his hand from her chin to her neck with a gentle grip as he breaks the kiss. He presses his forehead with hers while they pant molten need.
"We have time till the ceremony?" He asks and she merely nods as she brushes her lips against his. He looks at door as he lets go of her wrists. She feels his attention back on her but this time on the left wrist on which she was wearing his gift. Something untamed crosses his eyes.
[This scene is on Inkitt]
He opens the door just a little to not let anyone peep in.
"What is it, Mihir?" Mihir looks at him curiously waiting for Vikram to open the door wider.
"You have a meeting over the call with Mehtas, Sarkar." He informs him.
"Cancel it!" He orders before slamming the door shut.
Vikram fills the distance between them and sits next to her before pulling her securely in his arms.
"Why did you cancel the meeting, Vikram Ji?" She asks as she rests her cheek over his chest.
"I had to take care of you." He says as he kisses her forehead, pressing her more into him.
****
Isha was about step out of her room to go to Amara's room with her outfit in one hand and jewellery in the other to get ready herself and help her two sisters-in-law.
But before she could step out of the room, she saw Agastya standing there as if he was waiting for her.
"Today, you will get ready in here." He informs as he pulls her in the room.
"But I—" she notices the serious stare of his and nods. She looks around the room to look anywhere but at her husband.
She places the lehenga on the bed along with her jewellery box with a huff and turns to find Agastya's eyes on her.
"But who will do my hair. I had thought that Dhara bhabhi will braid my hair or something." She explains with a little protest.
Agastya steps closer to her and runs his fingers over her long loose hair. "Are you asking me to do your hair, Isha?" He mutters slowly.
Isha glances up at him and his perplexed eyes. "No, I was just telling you."
He tips her chin up and speaks. "It is a plain excuse to get away from me, little wife."
She tries to deny it but he cuts her short.
"You just secured yourself another punishment." He states before stepping away from her.
Is he still mad about what happened at the cafe?
"What punishment?" She asks ignoring the shudder that goes down her spine.
Agastya smirks at her with a calmness that brings unrest to her mind.
"You will know soon!"
⤐
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