EP 4

What was I doing last night? Talking to myself. Even now, my thoughts are focused on him. I know he is handsome but still I’m sure he is a narrow-minded control freak.

As I remain lost in my own thoughts, my foot suddenly slams against a heavy stone. I

stumble into a slushy part of the path. Apart from landing like a fool into the slush, I realize I have hurt my foot.

‘Need any help, Miss?’

Oh, it is him! What is he doing here? Why is he always there to rescue me from my own

disasters? Oh!

I clear my throat. ‘I can manage …’ I say, trying not to look at his face.

‘You are very stubborn, Krishna. Just give me your hand.’

I offer my hand hesitantly. He clutches it tightly to help me get up; again I can feel the cold even more …

I stand up, stumbling, holding on to his shoulder for support.

As we enter the house, everybody is surprised to see both of us.

‘Hey, what happened?’ asked Mom.

‘Nothing, Mom. Your dear princess fell again,’ he says, grinning. Everybody laughs at

this.

Huh! How dare he? And why is he calling my mother ‘Mom’?

Oh, my suspicion was right!

Or maybe not?

I must know for certain. So the next time I find him alone, I confront him. He is sitting at a desk, doing some accounting work.

‘I want to talk to you,’ I say.

‘Krishna, I am busy right now. Can we talk later?’

My big negative point is my egoistic attitude.

‘Why did you call my mother “Mom”?’ I ask.

He looks up. ‘Is that a problem?’ he asks, keeping his accounting book aside. Standing up, he then comes close to me.

‘Yes,’ I said, stuttering. ‘She is my mom, so you cannot call her that.’

‘Oh, really?’

He walks a little closer. Crap! I cannot move … I want to step back but I find myself

simply unable to move. I need water; it is getting too hot here.

Suddenly he pulls me into his arms. My mouth is so close to his. He is looking into my eyes. I am trying to look down, afraid that he can read my eyes and can see into my soul. He lifts up my chin and gently runs his thumb over my lips. For that moment I forget everything around us. All I can focus on, apart from the sensation of being held by him, are his dark brown eyes. Oh boy, he is the only man around whom I can feel mushy without even watching a romantic movie.

‘Krishna …’ a voice comes suddenly from another room.

I push him away and manage to calm myself.

It was Anoop asking me to come to the hall. ‘Mom is calling you.’

In that moment, my heartbeat thuds very rapidly. I rush to attend to my mother.

Later in the evening, we all make a plan to go to a famous restaurant in the city. As we get

ready for the outing, I consciously try to ignore what happened with Mr Perfect that

afternoon. But still I ensure to put on my best dress—and I realize how very pleased I am to

have taken the pains of bringing so many dresses with me on this trip.

Am I trying to impress him? No way! Everybody is trying to look their best, so why

shouldn’t I?

But I find that I’m more nervous than usual.

Soon, everyone is ready and it’s time to leave.