Mature content ahead! You are being warned.
PS: I did not rob you of some steamy moments from Uttara and Vidyut.
There wasn't hardly anything changed in her surroundings yet she could feel the changes in her bones. The months that had passed by with them being together, each day she had woken up to the same sun peeking inside their rooms through the grey linen curtains, yet these days they looked soothing. A different kind of amber could be felt on her skin as she stretched, lazing around their bed for the past 5 minutes that she opened her eyes.
It could be because it had been weeks that she had woken up without him. It was always her who would wake clinging to him like a koala, not that Vidyut ever protested or he would. He would sleep in until she had her fill of watching him sleep in the mornings and at night he would watch her.
He may have been doing it for a while but she had come to know just recently.
He had seemed to yearn more for her than they had shared before. The day they had landed back to their old lives, she feared him to act distant again but he had been the same. Reaching her before she could. Their fingers pulled and laced together, they had conjured a mind of their own and stayed with his.
While she would get done with her dose of a morning workout, he would be up and about to his gym and check on their breakfast. By the time she was ready for the day, he would pull her in for a long kiss and get inside the shower. Their day ended with him reaching home late and his cuddle apologies in the kitchen while she cooked.
They had entered into a routine that was hard to skip, now that he had given her his control of life, he had turned to be less of the uptight doctor inside the four walls of their home, yet the rule of no third person allowed in their home was intact.
Truth be told, his affection was spoiling her to the extent she may never overcome.
It has been 5 weeks since the Annual Gala and he seemed to relax around his family with each passing day. His birth was a forgotten topic between them, and so was the woman. She had not tried disrupting their lives and Uttara was glad that she had left him alone.
The elder Chauhans have been a little annoyed for the last week that followed because of Rakshit and Shreya postponing their wedding, their compensation came in terms of Anirudh and Dhwani's decision of not moving out of the family home now that the wedding was scheduled after 8 months. The two seemed to have worked upon their differences, that now none feels a strangling tension between them.
If it wasn't proof enough, Dhwani's smile and never-ending energy these days would suffice.
It was only true, that a little love around changes a person fully.
Not wanting to spend her entire day in bed, she searched for her cell phone and found it under his pillow. Checking, she rolled her eyes with a playful smile seeing all her alarms stopped.
Clutching the comforter closer, she sniffed it to smell him and smiled. Stepping out, she shivered feeling the morning chilly air as the November started. It was weird for Mumbai to face winters this early but with changing the climate conditions around the globe, she shrugged it and wrapped her shawl closer.
It was the second time of the week that she skipped her exercise, if Nitya got a whiff, she could only pray for her ear's wellbeing. Scrolling through her schedule, she grimaced reading about the Movie premier around the corner along with the final script reading session for the next movie scheduled at the end of her week. The Diwali was in two weeks and she would have to attend several of Diwali parties along with a date.
She needs to ask Vidyut about his schedule and get him to attend any two of the parties so the media to not bite her off.
Today was a lighter day, she was attending her song launch and later a talk show with a fellow actress, after which she was free for the entire day.
Stripping inside the washroom, she adjusted the water temperature and let the water wash away the chills that the wind brought. Gently squirting some body wash, she was lathering her arms when she heard the door click open.
Twirling at once, she almost slipped but held the shower glass and cleared a small area of the fogged glass to peak at the figure that made the bathroom space cower in his presence.
Leaning against the door, stood her husband with a smirk on his face and a tilt to his face as his eyes met hers. His vest stuck to his upper body like a second skin while his lowers hung low on his waist. Walking a few steps inside like a predator he made her swallow.
"I am in here, Vidyut." She voiced, wiping some more fog, and making her face visible for him.
"I can see." He murmured in his deliberately low voice that he knew did things to her. "Mind if I join? I am getting late, Tara."
If only that excuse didn't come with an attached rumble that buzzed in her senses making her core vibrate with the timber in his tone.
"I am waiting for an answer, Baby?"
This endearment and the way it rolled out of his tongue was her salvation.
She didn't realize when she agreed but the next she saw him stripping out of his vest, followed by his joggers and boxers which made her turn her back to him. She may have seen him in his birth suit for a lot many times than she could count, but each time it left her cheeks burning to a darker shade of crimson.
With uneven moments, she concentrated on searching for the shampoo that seemed to play hide and seek with her.
"May I?" The whisper made her lean backward automatically as his arm settled on her waist. He raised a hand above hers to pick her shampoo and squirted a good amount. He spun her to make her face him, with eyes clutched she felt him tipping her chin up. "Look at me, wife."
Her eyes drifted up to his, and it was over.
His lips caught hers in a hard kiss, driving them apart with the force of it. There was nothing gentle about it. She felt the cold glass against her back as he shifted, pressing her against it, cupping her face between his hands. Every thought in her head exploded to a pure, pounding white, and a dark curl of desire began to twist inside her, drenching her core as his hands glided down her waist to her hips and up to her breasts that lay for his ministrations.
"Vidyut, please." A deep moan passed her and she clutched on his hair, pulling him up from her neck and back to her lips. The hot water stream washed any hesitance or worry she held with lack of time. All that mattered was him, his lips on her, and those artistic fingers that could paint her in colors of desire.
"Tara." A low groan at the back of his throat reached her, a small, pleading noise that set every inch of her skin on fire.
She felt his other hand smoothing down her back and passed her ass cheeks as he raised her and she took the cue to wrap her legs around his waist. His hardness rubbed against her core and she clutched on his shoulders at the friction, her core burned with each passing second that he kissed her kiss and teased her bosoms, pinching the hardened areola between his thumb and index finger while his other hand pushed her core to brush his cock, never entering her.
"Vidyut." She whimpered at the contact, whining at his teasing. She felt him smile through the open mouth kiss he placed on her shoulders while he groped her breasts, the globes fitting his palm perfectly.
"You are so soft. This is fucking ridiculous." He murmured, raising his head, and meeting her eyes. "Everywhere my hands slide, you fit me. You feel so right, baby. I can touch you the whole day and never get my fill."
These words were her undoing, the deep rumble brought her closer to her release. He hadn't touched her yet but she could hardly take anymore as she clung to him, creating friction between them to find a cure for her molten insides.
"Patience, my little star." He chuckled at her attempt and pinched her waist as his hand slithered between her legs and he made her lean against the cold tiled wall. "Tell me what you want, me or my fingers that made you cum last night? Tell me, wife. I am waiting."
"Vidyut!" She cradled his face and leaned to his kiss lips but he averted and her lips landed on his cheeks that supported a five o'clock shadow, prickling her swollen lips. She whimpered at the sudden rejection.
"Answer me and I shall give you what you want, my wife." He asked. His finger brushed against her clit and she shivered in anticipation. The lavender smell from her body wash mixed with arousal and teased her senses. He hummed waiting for her answer, his thump swirling the nub.
"Your fingers." she moaned, clutching his head. "Then you. I need both."
"You get what you want." His lips closed on her nipples and she convulsed from his touch. His teeth grazed her sensitive skin while his finger entered her making her gasp with suddenness. He added another digit and she clenched her walls against his fingers. "Shit, Uttara. Cum for me."
And she came.
Letting her back arch and pressing her other breasts in his mouth he excitedly welcomed her, his bite on her skin then sucked the place as if it was his favorite candy, leaving a mark she knew would take another month to fade.
He loved marking her. He did it every chance he got, leaving dark red hickeys on her inner thighs and breasts that were not hard to cover. He never left one on her neck or shoulder seeing the life she lived.
Her thoughts broke as she felt him riding her orgasm out of her as he aligned his manhood against her entrance.
"Are you sure?" He asked, waiting for her permission.
She snaked her arms around his neck, pulling him in a kiss and answering him. He entered her in the split second that his tongue entered her mouth, exploring and pumping the pleasure in her bones while he fused into her. With each thrust turning sloppier, he neared his release and her core builds its second, she sucked on his neck and marked him hers, giving him a taste of his medicine as he winced and filled her balls deep. Groaning, he cuddled her closer and gave a harsh tug on her hair as he pumped into her again.
"Are you close?" He groaned in her ears. "Because I won't last longer, Baby."
"I am." She nodded fervently and he rammed into her making her cry with electrified intensity.
"Fuck." He followed, riding her climax, and filling her hole with his cum he eased into her. "You feel amazing, Tara."
She breathed into his shoulder, not feeling her muscles as she clung to him catching her breath and he hugged her closer, holding her as if she was his life. The need to blurt her affirmations of death as his horrible memory connected with those words came back to her. She let her lips linger on his heart, letting the emotions of the unsaid words reach him.
"I can't breathe without you." He couldn't say the 'L' word but that did not mean he did not remind her how much he wanted her. Pressing a lingering kiss on her forehead, he eased her into standing back on tingling legs, holding her straight, he adjusted the knobs to let the water fall again on them with intensity. "We should wash you, no, Tara? Or you will be late."
She chuckled at his words and nodded letting him help her wash what was left.
The shower was a quick affair, followed by breakfast where his phone kept ringing continuously, so much that he picked a toast, collected his things, and kissed her lips before he was out of the door in seconds.
She shook her head and completed her bowl of fruit salad while scrolling through Instagram. Stopping at a post from the gossip site that reported her upcoming movie announcement that she was yet to make. Her project was supposedly with Rocky still in talks, where Nitya was still protruding around in order to get out of this contract with her unscathed. Working with him could prove fatal to her in more than one way.
Vidyut's outright statement on how he wanted nothing to do with that man had left her thinking too. He had never kept a say in her career choices even when she looked at him for his approval but he never once ordered her around.
One such evening when they lay watching her last movie, she confronted him.
"Do you ever check my texts? I feel like I am talking to a wall when I ask you if my work will hamper you in anyway." She looked up at him, watching him sitting with his eyes stuck to the screen. "Vidyut?"
He glanced down at her. "Do I ask you before I enter the surgery room?"
"No." The understanding dawned on her and she averted her gaze bashfully.
"It is your work and your decisions to make. I do not want a say in it, nor you should let me have it, Tara." He explained ruffling her hair and peppering a small kiss on her ring finger. "I trust you and what you do. I don't mind your career choices."
"What if I do something you do not like?" She questioned to tame her insecurity.
"Then I will suck it up and forget it like a grown-up." He shrugged making her grin. "You do you, Mrs. Uttara Chauhan. Let the aftermath be handled by those who care."
The man never failed to give her reasons to stay and wait for him at the end of her days.
Her thinking spree was broken by her ringing cell of, she checked the time and the caller ID. Her fingers hesitated before she received the phone call.
"Hello."
"Good morning, Mumma." She greeted the caller feeling a rush of excitement pass her system hearing her mother's voice after months.
"Good morning, My child." Her ever-so-sophisticated mother replied she could hear the composed emotions of the lady who stood as a retired high-court judge and current jurist's wife in her social circle.
Uttara's parents were from the posh colonies of Delhi and were intricately woven into the administration for generations. Her great-grandfather served as a magistrate in the British colonial period, her grandfather was a renowned member of the Bar Council and then her father, who was a retired Kanpur high-court judge who was close to being appointed in the Supreme Court but his deteriorating heart condition made him opt out. Now he was a jurist who assisted in affluential cases, lived in a Golf line, and was a talk among the diplomats and businessmen who wanted them around the law.
Her elder brother was pursuing his ambition towards civil service and her younger brother was walking in her father's footsteps. Uttara was the black sheep in this family.
Her mother was the one and only support she had received, her brothers were least interested in her life, but her father was at the cross.
The day some 9 years back when her younger version announced her passion for acting, he had politely asked her to leave home and never come back. Yet, he diligently paid for her tuition and hostel fees until she completed her engineering degree.
"How are you, Mumma?" She asked fisting her palm to stop her eyes from tearing up as the memories came crashing back. "I have been trying to reach you for a while."
"I am sorry, Uttu." How normal this nickname sounded after months of not talking. "Your father and I were busy shifting with your brother. He has been posted in Pune 6 months back. Utkarsh and Sarita are expecting a baby and it was impossible for her to handle everything."
"You are in Pune for 6 months?" The words slashed harshly through her heart. "And, bhai is going to be a father. I am so happy for them."
"I knew you would be ecstatic. You can expect a baby shower invite anytime now." She filled in and the venom of alienation travelled in her blood. She had received the invite for their wedding laced with a prenote for not showing up from her brother. It could be the same this time. "Today I called you because we are in Mumbai. We came here last weekend. It was your father's book launch event. We would be leaving tomorrow so I thought we could meet. It's been a while."
"Yes, it has." She mumbled, not wanting to show the hurt she felt. "When do you wish to meet?"
"How does dinner sound?" She asked thoughtfully. "We also have some guests coming over. You can join us. I will make sure your father doesn't make a fuss about it. Also, it would be good if you did not bring your husband. You know it will be very awkward to introduce our son-in-law we are yet to meet. I hope you understand?"
"I understand." She mumbled distastefully. "Let me check and see if I can make it." She smiled mirthlessly at her not so thoughtful invite.
"Great. I will text you the details, Uttu. I will see you then."
"See you, Mumma." The call dropped, and so as her mask.
Robotically she stood up for washing the dishes. Once done, she checked the time and dropped a text to her manager enquiring about the stylist and outfit she was to wear today.
Her text was answered by her doorbell and she yanked the door open, letting Nitya and two of the girls with her Stylist enter.
"We are going for a chic look for you today to match your upcoming movie character, Uttara. Spunky with a touch of elegance." The stylist informed her.
She nodded wordlessly and changed into a bathrobe for her start on her makeup.
Soon she was changing into a white crop top with long bell sleeves with lace borders multi-color asymmetric printed palazzo pants and a brown leather belt. Her hair was straightened and fell in a voluminous ponytail reaching her lower back.
"This looks like it was made for you." The girls gushed and painted her nails. Blow-drying them, they helped her with white Louboutin block heels.
"You are all ready to rock, Superstar."
She thanked the ladies and Nitya led her towards the waiting XUV that would be taking her to the event. Luckily, the road trip ended in mere 20 minutes and she was already facing the media jungle.
Smiling and waving, she followed her director and took her place near her fellow actors.
"You look beautiful, Uttara mam." One of the reporter started. "The pictures of you and your husband from your last trip were adorable."
"Thank you for all your love to us," She said with a smile. "Let's keep today only for our movie. We have all worked really hard to reach this day."
Ever so politely she diverted the questions and the reporters took the hint to ask them about their movie â Rehmat. Today, it was the release of their title song and the media went crazy when the lead singer took up the stage and sang a verse.
The event passed smoothly and soon she was completing the talk show with a lot more games than she had anticipated.
The last one was to call a person in their list and see who would get their call answered first.
"Are you going to call, Mr. Chauhan?" The host asked laughing and her smile faltered yet she maintained her grin.
"My husband is a busy surgeon. No chance I win if I select him." She answered well measuredly. Her options were so limited and it ached for her to take so much time in selecting one person.
"Remember, it should be close family."
She nodded, her thumb hovering over her mother's name. She shook her head and swapped the contact with her mother-in-law. She was already losing.
"Hurry up, guys. We need a winner. Who did you decide to call, Uttara?"
"My mother-in-law."
"And, you Alisha?"
"My brother." Answered her fellow actress whose brother was also a celebrity.
The call connected and rang twice.
"Hello."
"Mom." She whispered in relief. "Hi, I need your help."
"Yes, tell me."
"I love your mother-in-law, superstar!" The host chimed quashing at their bond while Alisha glared at her phone. "Tell her to say hello and her name."
"Mom, I am on a talk show named 'The Farhan Khan Show' I need you to say hello to him and your name for me to win."
"Hey, Farhan." Rashi's voice boomed. "I am Rashi Chauhan. Uttara's mom."
"We have a winner, people!"
â â â â
When she was younger, she heard the whispers of an ancient legend from Chinese tales that gods tied an invisible red string around the pinky fingers of two people who were destined to meet. Her innocent self would sit up in her bed at night when it rained and thundered, wondering who her strings were connected to. If she had already crossed paths and irritated him to the extent of pushing him away if he was who she thought he was. The only name in her mind that kept popping up was him. It comforted her, knowing that she would end up exactly where she was meant to be, beside him.
Call it her naivety that she believed the old proverb she had heard a thousand times over the years: the string can tangle and stretch but it will never come undone or break; place and circumstance don't even come into play.
She believed her string may entangle, stretch, or loosen but it would never break. He would never let it break. The same way he never left her alone.
Now he was the one who kept pushing her away.
If someday he would break that string, she wouldn't be surprised.
It has been weeks that he had faced her. He had dropped her back from the hospital, took her cell phone, and never returned back to her. Within 3 hours of his leave, a parcel was dropped for her that carried her new mobile phone and number. She had brought it to life and checked the wallpaper to see a message from him.
'Your contact details have been shared with all those who are important. No more required. Keep the cell and rejoin the office in three days, your empty chair irks me, Meri jaan.'
The days that passed after her rejoining the office, she had never caught hold of her. This time, she was paid as per her job description and not the irrational amount he had proposed to her. The postponement of their marriage date was dropped in the form of an email on her desktop that was to be published in the media.
A total of 33 days, 15 hours, and 26 minutes had passed that she last saw him and wondered if there was any string left between them or not.
"Shreya!"
She looked up towards the voice that called her. He was the PR coordinator who arranged the conferences and news distribution when needed. "Yes, Shikhar."
"Why no one is able to connect with you?" He glanced at her line that she had disconnected feeling irritated because of all the nonsensical enquiries and she apologized bashfully.
"Sorry about this." She mumbled and reconnected the line.
"No problem. Senior Mr. Chauhan seems to be calling you. He expects you in Mr. Chauhan's office in 15." The information was passed and she nodded at once.
Harshvardhan Chauhan was hardly in office, but when he was, the matter was almost important.
She quickly locked her screen and hurriedly stood. Smoothing any invisible crease on her crimson blouse and white pants, she sneaked a look in the mirror and stepped out.
The ride to elevator was quick and she hurried towards the executive floor, only stopping when her eyes met Dhwani's who seemed to be explaining things to the interns. She passed her a nod and smiled which was returned almost instantly.
She had apologized to Dhwani and the kind woman that she is, hugged and waved her apology at once. Though she didn't why Rakshit's name still dimmed her smile.
The bits and pieces she received from Shreshth were on how Rakshit being the idiot he is had a fallout with Anirudh and said things that broke her heart. This was the first time that Rakshit had gone against his favorite family and had still not found the courage to ask for forgiveness.
She knocked on Anirudh's cabin that Harshvardhan used whenever he was around, leaving Anirudh to utilize the adjoined conference room to work.
"Come in." The crisp voice made her straighten her spine and enter.
"Good morning, Sir." She refrained from addressing him as Uncle.
"Good morning, Baccha." He smiled widely. His smiles often reminded her of Rakshit's grins. "Come sit. I have something very important to talk to you."
She was halfway taking her seat when the door was knocked again. With him permitting, the door opened and Dhwani peaked inside with a confused smile but nonetheless came and sat.
"You called me, Papa?"
Shreya saw her addressing the man so informally and settle without waiting for his queue. He nodded like a proud father.
"Now, I need to know what do you have planned for this coming Thursday," Harshvardhan asked with no one particular, making Shreya frown.
"Thursday? Is there something special?" She asked glancing at Dhwani who was nodding her head sheepishly.
"Anirudh's 31st Birthday." She answered.
"Yes. Dhwani, I need you to oversee the arrangements for the dinner party." He instructed. "And, Shreya, I have called you hear because you have to do a very important task."
"Sure, Sir." She licked her gums in anticipation.
"On Thursday, I will be officially stepping down from the company as the Chairman and will be handing over my position to my son. This will make Anirudh as the chairman and Rakshit will be promoted to the CEO office."
"Papa, this..." Dhwani trailed.
"This is well thought, Baccha. I think it is time." He smiled in assurance.
"If that is what you want." Dhwani agreed. "Tell me what you want."
"Yes." He smiled looking at his daughters. "I want a press release and Shreya, you will have to take care of it. There should be no leak of information until then. This needs to be in wrap until Thursday, that is 8 days from now."
"Consider it done." She stated with confidence.
"We will be holding a press release along with a board of directors meet where I will announce my retirement."
"Does Anirudh know?" Dhwani glanced at the door that connected to the conference room.
"Not from me. It was decided just last night between your Mom, my parents, and me. There is no way he would know. I want it to be a surprise." The underlying hint made Dhwani grin and she nodded.
"He would never know. I too need to see him surprised for a change."
Harshvardhan cackled at her mischievous smirk. "He won't know what hit him."
Shreya smiled seeing these two interact. Harshvardhan was an uptight businessman, even for his sons but with Dhwani he was her friend, a father who would never let her smile drop. If something to go by, he had scolded Anirudh straight for an hour and did not talk to him for a stretch of 72 hours the day he learned about her getting insulted in the office.
If not Anirudh planning to file a lawsuit against Arushi Bajaj, Harshvardhan Chauhan would have dragged Bajaj down to dust.
"I hope my soldiers understand the tasks allocated to them." He looked at two.
"Aye! Aye, Captain." Dhwani shot him a grin and mock salute.
Shreya chuckled and nodded in response.
"Good. Now off you go. I have so much work to do." He waved the two, turning to the lack of files on his desk and picking one of the few, all making a show of it.
"Really? Then what is this?" Dhwani leaned and found a chocolate bar hidden behind his file.
The flip from smiles and grins to stern face was too quick and Harshvardhan averted his eyes like a caught suspect.
"It is not mine." He made an excuse.
"Very well, then. I am taking it with me." She made a show of waving the bar and exited the cabin, not before throwing a warning look at him. "Doctor said no sweets, Papa. Don't you try otherwise or I will snitch you to Mom."
"Fine, Hitler." He grumbled behind the shut door and Shreya muffled her laughter.
"I will also take your leave, sir." She bid farewell and turned towards the door.
"Shreya."
She halted and glanced at the elderly man.
"You need to start calling me Dad or Papa, whatever you like. I want my daughters to not act formally with me. Not in the office and never at home."
"I understand, Papa." She smiled at the warmth. "See you."
"Wait." He called her again. "You would like to go visit our new construction site in Panvel. You might find my idiot son there."
Let's see how many of you can guess Dhwani's birthday gift for Anirudh.