Chapter 31: chapter 31

MADHAV“Where are you?” Vikram asks on the phone.“I am at my house,” I reply just as a rumble of thunder sounds outside the window. It is raining heavily and I am grateful that I came home early.“How about you come and open your house gate for me?” says Vikram on the phone with a shiver. “Bring an umbrella with you.”“What are you doing outside my house at this time?” I ask grabbing an umbrella and walking out of my room.“I am hanging up now, since, it is not advisable to talk on the phone when there is thunder and lightning in the sky. Just come fast and rescue me. I will answer all your questions.“With that, he hangs up. The guest room door opens and Sruthi comes out in her usual baggy outfit. The hoodie she is wearing is one size larger and the track pants are longer too so she had folded the ends of them. She has a determined look on her face. Like she is on a mission to find out about something.“Are you going somewhere in this heavy rain?“ she asks eyeing the umbrella. Is it concern in her voice? I hope it is. “Yes, I am,” I reply expecting her to forbade me from going out. I need one sign from her. One clue. One small gesture that shows that she too cares about me.“Okay, then. Happy outing,” she says turning around and walking to her room. What the hell?Seriously? Happy outing? Not a 'Don't go outside in this rain. You may catch a cold or the thunder may attack you or something along the lines of return back safely to me?' Doesn't she have an ounce of concern for me? What else did I expect from her? I shouldn't be hurt by her aloofness but my heart aches nonetheless. “Your brother is outside the gate,” I say to her. She turns quickly and I am taken aback by the concern in her face. “I am going to pick him.““Gosh! Then go quickly. He may catch a cold or the thunder may attack him. It is raining very heavily. He should be feeling cold out there.“I turn away from her to mask the feeling of longing and bitterness in me. Why wouldn't care you about me like that? Is it always going to be like this? Will you never see the love I have for you?❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥“Do you want the thunder to strike you? Who would drive in this weather?” Sruthi scolds Vikram as he dries off his hair using a towel. I watch the siblings in amusement. It is always fascinating to watch Sruthi scold Vikram. The man may hold the power in the cabinet. He may silence a whole cabinet of ministers and capture terrorists but he keeps his mouth shut when his sister scolds him. He looks guilty and reprimanded. “Seriously? Why did you even start your car at this time? You have a flight the first thing tomorrow morning and you decided to explore the city now?”“I went to drop Nisha,” Vikram admits sheepishly. I turn to look at my friend who is deliberately looking at the white floor like it has something interesting on it. My eyes meet Sruthi’s and we share a knowing look. “I thought I could make it in this weather but the roads are so slippery and the rain was too heavy for me to see anything. So, I decided to make a pit stop here. I must leave as soon as the rain decreases.”“Why should you go drop her? You could have sent a security,” I say joining my friend on the couch. Vikram is always extra protective when it comes to Nisha. I don’t why he is obsessed with her safety. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought that Vikram loves Nisha. Something is going on between these two. There is no one else who could get under his skin like Nisha.“I just felt like I need to do that, okay,” Vikram snaps rubbing his wet hair with the towel and like a coward hiding his face. But since I am near to him, I don’t miss the redding of his ears. My suspicions are confirmed. Vikram has a soft spot for his feisty secretary. I grin at my friend. Even my all powerful friend is not immnue to somethings in life.“It was only drizzling when we left my house,” Vikram says and then flinches as Sruthi’s eyes widen in surprise.“The drizzling started two hours ago. If you started at that time then you should have been at home an hour ago. It only takes half an hour to reach Nisha’s house. The up and down would only take one hour,” Sruthi calculates.“What delayed you by another hour?” I ask the question that is on the tip of Sruthi’s tongue.Vikram puts his head into the towel to dry his already dry hair. “We need an answer,” I press on when he is still silent.“I was giving her instructions regarding what must be done when I am away,” he replies.“That took you an hour?” “Huh? What can I say? My secretary is a dim wit,” he says with a chuckle.“Make sure that she doesn’t hear it,” I comment with a grin. Sruthi walks to the kitchen to get the coffee she is making for Vikram. I lean closer to my friend and whisper, “Were you both only talking?”Vikram coughs and his whole face turns red, “We. Were. Only. Talking.”“Sure, I believe you,” I say with a smirk but before he can come up with a counter, Sruthi comes out of the kitchen with the coffee. She has two mugs of coffee in her hand. She passes one to her brother and to my surprise gives me the other. I raise my eyebrow at her for which she lifts her shoulder in a shrug. At least I get a coffee! For now, I am going to be content with it.“Did you ask Vinod regarding the gift?” Sruthi asks without beating around the bush.“I did ask him about it yesterday,” answers Vikram sipping the coffee. “He told me that the gift was lying around and he picked it up to deliver to the person responsible but since there was no label on it, he just put it along with other gifts.”“You believe that?” asks Sruthi in a sceptical tone.“Unfortunately, I do,” replies Vikram with a grimace. “Vinod’s left eye twitches when he lies. When he answered me I watched for any movement in his eyes but there were none.”“So, if it isn’t Vikram, then who else is planning to take me out?” Sruthi asks.“We will find out,” I promise her. ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥“Take good care of my sister and Sruthi you don’t create any trouble for him,” says Vikram. It is ten in the night and the rain has finally stopped. Since Vikram has to catch a flight tomorrow morning, he is returning to his house. “You too take care, brother,” Sruthi says hugging him. Their sibling affections make me wish I had a brother or sister of my own. Vikram pats her head affectionately and gives me a meaningful look.“Return before the jewellery expo of my shop. You are going to be this year’s chief guest,” I say moving near him to hug him.“I will only attend it if you give me the official invitation,” he says with a chuckle pulling me into a side hug. Before I could pull away, he whispers, “Make use of this opportunity and get close to Sruthi.”I give him a confused look. Sometimes, it isn't easy to decide if he is talking as Sruthi’s brother or as my best friend. Surely, now it is my best friend speaking. “We will see,” I say as he starts the car. Sruthi and I watch Vikram drive away in silence. Sruthi keeps looking at the road even after his car disappeared. She is wearing her usual ‘Everything is fine with me’ mask but I can see underneath it the sadness she keeps buried. She is worried about her brother. She always is but whenever he goes on a abroad trip she worries more. “Do you plan on coming inside or do you want to stay all night watching the empty road? That would be so boring. So, I suggest you come with me inside before you catch a cold,” I say to her to break the silence between us. I start walking to the house and with a shake of her head, she follows me. I am about to go to my room when her voice stops me in my tracks, “Who is the woman?”❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥