Chapter 20: chapter 20

MADHAVI watch Sruthi look at my house in awe and wonder. The house I am currently residing in belonged to my adopted father Gajendran. The house is the family’s heirloom. The only condition my adopted put forward to me was that no matter how big of a difficult situation I faced, I must never sell this house to anyone. Sruthi is still gawking at the house like watching something wonderful. People usually have that kind of look when they first see it. Heck! Even I was awestruck the first time I saw it. But when you start living here, you get used to it and soon realise that the house is just a building like all other houses. “Glad to know that you at least like the house,” I say taking her bags in my hand. She has packed two bags. “I will take them,” she says stretching her hand to me. With a shake of my head, I walk into my property.“What the hell?” she mutters in frustration but follows me closely because the grounds around the house are huge and the whole place is plunged into darkness.I stop before the door and put her luggage down. She waits for me expectantly to take the keys of the house to unlock the house. That is where the surprise is for her. I put my thumb on a section of the wall and watch her closely for her reaction as the door to my house swings open. As I expected, her eyes widened in surprise. She looks impressed and curious. I know she has a thing for the cool tech things. “This building looks old but how is there a biometric present?” she asks me. “I upgraded this place’s security after I inherited it, Sruthi,” I explain with a chuckle. I take out my phone open the security app and click on the settings. I click the add person and turn to her, “Give me your hand.”“Huh? What? Why?” “Since you will be living here from now on, your fingerprint must be added to the authorized list.”“Oh!” she says looking at my outstretched hand in hesitation. I hate the look of fear on her face. A wary sigh escapes me, “I won’t harm you, Sruthi.”“I know,” she mutters. “Just tell me where I have to place my finger.”Of Course! She wouldn’t want me to touch her. With a shake of my head, I circle the section on the wall with my finger. The biometric pad is made like the surface of the wall to confuse the intruders. So, it is not visible to the naked eye. She places her thumb on that section and looks at me with a question, “I can feel that difference but how is this possible?”“It is an advanced technology that involves a lot of engineering. I have no idea about it but if you want to know more about it, I will let you get in touch with the person who made it,” I reply looking at my phone to see if the app technology can detect her fingerprint. I see a warning message. “Press harder, Sruthi. It is not detecting.”She increases the pressure and presses harder but the app won’t still detect her fingerprint. Frowning, I shift closer to her put my palm gently on her thumb and apply a little pressure on it. A mistake! I shouldn't have come closer to her because she smells of a sweet lavender and that is messing with my head. My eyes search for the mole on her neck but since her hair down, I can't see it.  Her shoulders are tense . Get it together man! She hates you. Don't make it even worse.I hear her sharp intake of breath and at the same time, the app shows that it has detected a new fingerprint. “Ah! Yes,” I say removing my palm and moving away from her. “You can remove your hand. We will check it once and then get inside.”“Okay,” she says as I close the door again. I look at her expectantly. She places her thumb on the section of the wall and voila! The door opens. A slow grin spreads on her face. She looks excited and curious, “What happens when someone who is not authorized tries to access the house?”“Place your index finger there,” I say closing the door. She does as I told and when her finger makes contact with the surface, a red light flashes and at the same time, a loud beep goes off in my phone. I show my phone to her where there is a notification saying that there is an intruder in front of the house. It also gives some basic details about the intruder like age, gender, height, weight and appearance.“How does the system know that I am twenty-four years old?” she asks in wonder.“There is a camera installed along with the security pad that it captures your face and gathers details from it. The age was a lucky guess. This was developed by the best in the industry. You are in the second safest place in the country,” I say piquing her curiosity.“What is the first?” she asks.“That is a top-secret,” I answer with a smirk.“Whatever,” she mutters.I open the door again using my thumb. I know there are some rituals about welcoming the bride to the groom’s house but I am skipping all that. I don’t want to put her through another series of torture. Besides, there is no elder in my family to welcome her. The house is flooded in darkness and I turn on the lights.  Sruthi glances around the house. Her eyes take in the expensive furniture and I want to know very badly what she thinks of me. I still feel like I am living in a dream. Sruthi standing in my house? I can’t believe it is happening. The house is quiet and I am reminded of the fact that we are alone and married.But she hates you.That thought sobers me up from all my dreams and I take her luggage to the guest room.“I don’t want to share a bed with you,” her guarded and scared voice stops me in my tracks.I turn to meet her anxious eyes and give her a knowing smile, “Don’t worry. This is the guest bedroom. I am not the womanizer that the media portrays me to be. I won't even touch a strand of you hair without your consent. That is a promise. Stay in this room for the time being. I will get you a room ready in a week. A room exclusively for you and I would never enter it.”She nods her head as I put the luggage in front of the room and move aside. Her eyes narrow in suspicion as she walks to the door. She opens the door and drags her bag into her room. I watch everything in silence. “My room is next to yours. You can knock on it anytime if you need something,” I say. She nods hurriedly before slamming the door in my face.A very good start to my married life!❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥