Chapter 62: chapter 62

SRUTHI“Have I sliced the onions in the correct shape?” Madhav asks. He has sliced exactly the way I didn’t want him to. I asked him to slice it into long strands but he had chopped them in round shapes. I rein in a sigh that is about to escape me. He looks so excited cooking for me that I don’t have the heart to discourage him. After the noodles fiasco that happened this morning, I told him that I would take care of the meals but he was adamant about not letting me cook. He wanted me to take a complete rest. After a small argument, he agreed to let me into the kitchen to supervise his cooking. I instructed him to make a simple breakfast and he was surprisingly obedient. In the end, the breakfast turned out good.Now, we both are again in the kitchen. We are in the process of making lunch and he has been following my instruction again.“I sliced it wrong, didn’t I?” Madhav asks in a nervous voice bringing me the wooden vegetable board with the sliced onions.I contemplate telling him a lie but then decide to go with the truth, “Yes, you did.”“This is hard,” he mutters and out aloud he asks, “Should I throw this away or is there any other dish for which we can use this?”“You don’t have to throw it away, Madhav. You didn’t make an irreversible mistake. You can slice the round one into thin pieces. You don’t have to get disheartened by this little thing. It is not like you are participating in a cooking competition and trying to win over a judge.”“No, this isn’t a cooking competition,” he says aloud and then mutters something under his breath that suspiciously sounds like, “But I am trying to win you over.”He walks back to the stove and returns to where I am sitting with the knife, “Tell me how to modify this?”“I will show you,” I answer.His answer is a vigorous head shake, “No. I am not going to make a patient work. If your brother comes to know that I made you cook, then I will be done for.”“Cutting onions is not cooking,” I reply.“It is, Sruthi. A very important and integral part of cooking is cutting. So, nope, I am not giving you the knife. Just tell me how.”I huff out a breath. Sometimes, he is stubborn as a mule and I know it is a waste of time to argue with him. I relent to his words cause he looks firm and determined about not letting me cook. He catches on quickly and modifies the onions. I use it as an opportunity to observe him. His eyes are intensely focused on the onions and there is a little frown on his forehead as he slices them with a gentleness. The scar on his brow catches my attention. That scar makes him more attractive but I wonder how he got that. The wound must have been very deep for it to scar. Where did he get himself hurt that badly?The sound of the pressure cook whistling startles him and he lets out a yelp, “God! That scared me. Should I turn off the stove now?”I shake my head. This man truly has no idea about cooking, “It is just the first whistle. You can turn off the cooker after three or four whistles. Only then the rice will be nicely cooked. Haven’t your mother ever asked you to keep count of the whistles and then turn it off?” Something changes in Madhav’s face at the mention of his mother. His face darkens and I realize how much out of line that question was. I remember my brother telling me that he had a shitty childhood but I don’t know any details. I only know that he killed his father and I have no idea if he had a mother or not. His mind is somewhere else in the past as he fastly chops the onion. I look at the cutting board to find—Freaking Hell!“MADHAV,” I call out to him and then jump off the island. “Godammit, snap of your trance. Look at your finger, you are bleeding.”It is only then, he looks down at his finger. I pull him toward the sink and turn on the tap. I grab his injured hand and put it under the water. I watch in worry as the water washes away the blood. God! It was so insensitive of me to bring up his mother when I didn’t know what horrors he faced in his childhood. I was callous and his happy mood was replaced with the darkness of his childhood.“Sruthi,” Madhav's voice makes me look at him. He is giving him a look filled with surprise and wonder. “Are you okay?”I frown at him, “Why wouldn’t I be okay? You were the one who cut his finger and bleeding—”I stop short as I realize what I just did. I didn’t flinch at the sight of the blood. Neither do I feel nauseous or dizzy after seeing the red liquid. Instead of running miles away after seeing him bleed, I was stable enough to pull him to the sink and watch the blood wash away with water.Freaking Hell!Holy GODS!What kind of miracle is this??I place a hand on my mouth as I watch Madhav’s finger bleed with no trouble. There is no shortness of breath and I don’t feel like the walls are closing in on me. I feel nothing except worry as I watch his finger bleed with the red liquid. He follows my line of sight and fists his hand to hide the wound from me.I shake my head, “Don’t do that. You will only bleed more. We need to bandage it before it can be infected.”“Sruthi, are you okay?” Madhav asks again. “Do you feel dizzy? Should we go to a doctor?”His eyes are concerned and worried. Something about the fact that he is worried and concerned for me makes me happy. “I am okay, Madhav. It is surprising why I feel like this. I should have fainted in shock by now but strangely enough, I don’t feel dizzy or anxious. I think I need to consult with my psychologist about this,” I answer.“Can I come with you?” he asks in a soft voice.I look at him with wide eyes because no one has ever bothered to accompany me to the psychologist. Not even my brother. Vikram was too busy with work to accompany me. I always went to that place alone and wished I had someone to take with me. It is not a great feeling to sit all alone in the psychologist's office waiting for my turn to consult them. “You can,” I answer. “I will make an appointment and let you know but before all that, let’s get you bandaged up. I think the cut is deep. The blood doesn’t seem to stop flowing.”Madhav glances at his finger and then at me with a smirk, “Are you worried for me?”I pause to think about his question and go with the honest answer, “Yes, I am worried for you.” All the amusement leaves his face at my answer. “I am worried that I have to take care of my caretaker if something happens to you.”For a moment he is silent and then laughs, “Makes sense. Alright then, let’s get this finger bandaged up, so, that you don’t have to worry about taking care of me.”He leaves the room in quick steps and I follow him behind. I take a deep breath and think about the conversation we just had. I am genuinely worried for him. But why the hell did I say that I am worried for him only because I don’t want to take care of him? That is a very shallow thing to say to someone who has been doing his all to give me a speedy recovery.GOD! What the hell is wrong with me?With a shake of my head, I take a seat on the couch. Madhav opens a cabinet on the shelf under the TV and retrieves the first kit. He puts it on the coffee table and takes the spot next to me. I am suddenly hyper-aware of our closeness. His thigh is touching mine and I can smell his cologne on him. I don’t know what type of cologne he uses but it smells heavenly. I want to help him to bandage the injured finger but for some reason, I feel apprehensive. I don’t understand this sudden nervousness. All of a sudden why do I feel like I am walking around eggshells with him? I want to say the correct thing to make him feel better. That was how I was with Praveen. Though I was in love with Praveen, I was always careful of my words and actions. Maybe that was why I was never comfortable talking about so many things with him. Honestly, I was flabbergasted when Praveen first approached me. He was the most sought-after bachelor in the country. I felt lucky to even go on that first date with him. So, I always said and did what would make him comfortable. A part of me was worried that I wasn’t deserving of his attention and time. I was afraid that he would leave me one day. That came to be true. He did leave me for his ex in the end. Sadly enough, I know that Madhav also has another woman in his heart. Maybe that is why I suddenly feel like this. “Can I help you with it?” I ask timidly clasping and unclasping my hands.“Don’t be like that with me, Sruthi,” Madhav snaps all of a sudden.❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥