Chapter 21

Aman woke to an empty bed.  Priya was no longer beside him.  He groggily stood up and walked over to the bathroom.  The door was closed.

“Priya?” He called through the door.

The door opened a minute later. Priya emerged, dressed in a long sleeve, long salwar kameez with a high neckline.  She was trying to hide her scratches and bruises.

“Can you tell?” she asked quickly.

“Tell what?” Aman asked.

“The bruises.  Can you tell they’re there?” Priya replied.

Aman closely examined her cheek, where the bruise was the day before.  He noticed she’d covered it up with makeup.   He noticed some discoloration, but only when he stared.

“No, they look fine. I’m sure Payal won’t notice.” Aman said.

Priya looked relieved.  She left and walked over to Payal’s room to see if she was awake.

“Didi! Are are you feeling okay?” Payal asked as soon as Priya stepped inside.  She didn’t even bother knocking. She knew Payal wouldn’t care.  Payal was sitting on her bed, flipping through a magazine when Priya entered.

“I’m fine. Sorry for leaving you last night.” said Priya.  She sat down next to Payal, waiting to see if she’d notice the bruises on her face.

“It’s okay! I had so much fun.  The boy I dance with, Rajiv, is so sweet. He’s quiet though.” Payal replied.  She was looking straight at Priya and said nothing about any bruises.

“It’s okay, Payal. I’m sure you talk enough for the both of you.” Priya smiled.

“Very funny.” Payal replied.

“Let’s go have some breakfast,” Priya said.

Payal jumped off the bed and followed her downstairs. The chef had prepared pancakes and waffles and a whole array of fruit.  There was also turkey sausage and eggs.  Payal nearly squealed with delight.  She had already eaten two platefuls of food by the time Aman joined them.

“Damn, Payal. Slow down. The food isn’t going anywhere.” Aman joked as he watched Payal stuff her face with waffles.

“Sorry Jija-ji, can’t. Neha is taking me to the cinema.  She promised last night.  It’s going to be so much fun.  She’ll be here any minute.” Payal said.

“You’re going to the movies?” Priya asked.  Payal hadn’t told her.

“Yep…Oh.” Payal realized she hadn’t even asked Priya.  “Didi please! You left early last night and I didn’t get a chance to ask you.”

“It’s okay. Go have fun.” Priya said.  As bad as it sounds, Priya wanted Payal out of the house.  The less she was around her, the less chance there would be of her noticing any bruises that might show.

“Yay! Thank you!” Payal hugged Priya quickly.  A honk sounded outside the mansion.

“That must be Neha.” Aman said.

“I should go!” Payal said, grabbing her coat and saying goodbye to Aman and Priya.  As soon as she opened the door, she was met with Rajiv, who stood awkwardly looking at the ground.

“Rajiv?!” Payal exclaimed, confused at his presence.

“Hi Payal, Neha-ji invited me to come along with you two to the movie, if you don’t mind.” Rajiv told her.

“I don’t mind. Why would I mind?” Payal replied, happily.

“May I come in?” Rajiv asked politely.

“Sure!” Payal answered.  She stepped aside, allowing him to enter.

“Good morning, sir.” Rajiv greeted Aman.

“Good morning, Rajiv.” Aman replied, not really paying attention to him.

“Sir, I wanted to ask your permission to take Payal out to the movies.” Rajiv said quietly.

Priya’s eyes widened. She nearly choked on her tea.

“I thought she was going with Neha.” Aman said defensively.

“Yes. Neha-ji will be there as well.  Our outing will be completely supervised.” Rajiv assured.

Aman looked at Priya. He didn’t really care if Payal went out on a date. In fact, he thought dating was a healthy thing for a teenager Payal’s age, but he knew Priya was conservative about such matters.  Payal looked on in shock.  She was beyond ecstatic.  She didn’t care that Rajiv arranged for someone to babysit them.  All she cared about was that he wanted to go on a date with her.

“Rajiv, I have no problem with you taking Payal out.” Aman said.  He noticed Priya’s furrowed brows, “but the decision isn’t mine to make.” he stated, looked at Priya.

Rajiv followed his gaze towards Priya.

“I…” Priya started. She noticed Payal start making a begging motion as she stood behind Rajiv and Aman. “I don’t mind. Payal, have fun.” Priya said with a smile.

Payal screamed in happiness. The quickly thanked Priya and grabbed Rajiv, rushing him out to Neha’s car before anyone could change their mind.

Aman turned his attention to Priya.  She seemed a lot sadder than usual.  Her smile disappeared as soon as Payal left.

“Priya, are you okay?” Aman asked.

“I’m fine,” Priya said, though she wasn’t sure if she really was.

“Will you be okay by yourself?” Aman asked, genuinely concerned.  Last night, she clung to him and refused to leave the safety of his arms.  Aman felt bad just abandoning Priya after such a traumatic event happened.

“I’ll be fine.” Priya said.  She sounded like she was convincing herself rather than answering Aman’s question.

“I can reschedule my meetings, and have the really important ones relocated to here if you don’t want to be left alone.”  Aman suggested.

“It’s okay, Aman. I’ll be fine. You don’t have to do that.” Priya said.

“I don’t mind, and it’s no trouble. I just need to know you’re okay.” Aman tried to convince her.

Priya thought about it.  In her heart, she wanted Aman to stay with her just for today, but she didn’t want to seem like one of those needy wives that required all of her husband’s attention.

“I...Honestly, I want you to stay.” Priya admitted quietly.

“Then I’ll stay.” Aman smiled.  He was more than happy to oblige.  He was worried about her and knew he’d feel more comfortable if he was around.

He told the maids to clear the table and make sure the conference room in his mansion was prepared for this afternoon.  He called his assistants, telling them to cancel all of his meetings except one that was too urgent to be postponed.  He would host it at his mansion, in his conference room.

Priya watched as he made all the preparations.  He busily talked on his phone to who she assumed to be one of his assistants.  A wave of guilt washed over her.  Aman had to make such a effort to rearrange his day just because she didn’t want to be alone.  Even with maids and butlers around, she only wanted Aman with her.  She only felt safe with Aman.

“My meeting is scheduled in 3:30 this afternoon.  Until then, I’m all yours.” Aman said to her.

Priya blushed.  She couldn’t believe what she thought he was insinuating. She looked down, trying to get those kinds of thoughts out of her head.

“Sorry you had to do all of this because of me.” Priya apologized.

“It’s no problem, really.  None of my meetings besides this one are really that important.” Aman said.  He meant it. He was happy to be with Priya when she really needed him.  His only regret was that he wasn’t able to beat the shit out of whoever did tried to do this to her.

“Sir, everything is prepared,” Kamla, Aman’s head maid, announced.

“Thanks, Kamla.” Aman said.  “Come with me.” he said to Priya.  He took her hand and took her upstairs.

“Aman,” Priya said unsurely.

Aman led her into his bedroom and closed the door.  He motioned for Priya to sit on the bed.

“Priya, I don’t want to upset you, but will you please tell me what happened?” Aman requested.

“We...already talked about this.” Priya said.

“Barely.  You know who tried to do this to you. I know you do.  You wouldn’t just follow a stranger somewhere.” Aman reasoned.

“I...I don’t know who it was.” lied Priya.

Aman walked closer to her.  He put his hands on her shoulders.  He lifted her chin, so that she was looking at him.

“Look at me, and tell me you don’t know the man who tried to rape you.” Aman demanded.

Hearing Aman say those words made Priya want to crawl into a corner and sob.  She was almost raped.  Rakesh wanted to rape her.

“Aman, please.” Priya didn’t want to talk to him anymore. She just wanted to be alone.  She moved his hand off her shoulders and left his room.

“We’re going to have to talk about this, Priya. You can’t keep running away from me.” Aman called as Priya walked down the hallway.

Priya stopped suddenly.  She turned around and walked back to Aman’s room.

“I would never run away from you, Aman,” she said, looking straight at him, “You’re the only one I feel safe around,” she added quietly.

“Then talk to me, please.” Aman said.

Priya thought about what Rakesh told her.  She needed to make sure there was no chance Rakesh and Payal would get married before she told Aman anything.

“I will...when I’m ready.” Priya answered.

“Fair enough.” Aman conceded.

He decided that he and Priya should sit down and watch a movie.  This way, time would pass quickly and there would be no chance of him asking Priya about the incident that happened last night and upsetting her.  Aman told Priya that she could pick the movie, but she insisted that she was okay with whatever he wanted to watch.  At first, Aman wanted to bother her and choose a steamy, romantic film, but he decided not to be cruel and chose a light-hearted comedy.

Aman watched Priya more than he watched the movie.  Everytime she laughed, he felt a little more at ease. He was afraid she’d fall into depression thinking about what happened last night.  Aman inadvertently moved closer to Priya.  She didn’t notice until he put his arm around her, or rather his arm lazily rested on the couch behind her head.  She felt the need to lean into him as they sat in silence watching the movie, but she was much too shy to actually do it.  Aman turned to Priya and noticed that she’d stopped watching the film and had her eyes on the ground.

“What’s wrong?” Aman asked.

“Nothing.” Priya said, blushing.  She was thinking about Aman, but of course, she couldn’t admit it.

Aman went back to watching the movie, but turned to glance at Priya every few minutes.  Priya, aware of Aman’s constant glances, kept her attention on the movie.

“Sir,” Kamla came into the living room, “some businessmen have started arriving early for your 3:30 meeting.” she announced.

“Dammit.” Aman cursed, irritated that people were arriving so early, “I guess we’re starting the meeting earlier.  Sorry Priya.”

“It’s okay,” Priya smiled.

Men started arriving.  They stood in the foyer, shaking Aman’s hand.  Aman didn’t bother introducing Priya to his colleagues.  He knew she wouldn’t appreciate the attention.  She’d even retreated into the kitchen as soon as the first few men started to arrive.   Aman led the group down to his conference room.  He went in the kitchen in search of Priya.

“This hopefully shouldn’t take too long, maybe for a few hours.  I can call Neha and Payal and tell them to come back if you need company.” Aman suggested.

“No it’s fine.  Let them have fun. I’ll just...be here.” Priya replied.

“Okay, I’ll try to wrap things up quickly.” Aman said before leaving and going to the conference room.

Priya started fiddling with some things to cook with.  Even though, Aman never wanted her to cook, she felt that she’d feel less anxious if she distracted herself.

Priya was engrossed in cooking.  She heard the doorbell ring.  She looked around for any maids or butlers that may be around. After seeing no one around, she decided that she would just answer the door.

Priya flung open the door.

“Well hello, Priya.” a devious voice said.

Priya looked up and saw Rakesh, standing in the doorway with a smug expression on his face.

Mmmkay short chapter, but a fast update. Next chapter will be longer and more action packed.  Haha there was a cliffhanger this time! Rakesh dares to show his face again! What will Priya do? Will she tell Aman the truth?

Next update will be up definitely in less than a week, probably much less than a week. Literally, all  I do is write wattpad chapters haha.

Priya’s outfit on the right :)

VOTE and COMMENT!!!!  It makes me really happy!