Posted:
Omg. I love anant. No hating. I wanna see Anya in deep in love. Pls continue today if possible
Anant woke up to an empty bed and a steaming bowl full of guilt. Tamana had left soon after he'd fallen asleep. She was smart girl and knew exactly when to make herself scarce. Anant wondered whether she'd done this before, whether or not enticing men in night clubs and spending an eventful night with them was something she did often. Soft sounds of bangles clinking together drifted into his bedroom. Anant's heart clenched with guilt. He didn't evn remember clearly what happened last night...he thought about navya. How could he have done something so malicious to her?7
"I cheated on navya." the word felt bitter as they left Anant's mouth.
Hiten's mouth hung open in shock. He couldn't even fathom what was happening.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Hiten said with a hint of anger.
"I cheated on navya last night. When you left to go off and flirt, I wanted to dance so I found someone." Anant admitted.
Hiten's boisterous laughter that followed Anant's explanation confused Anant. He was feeling so guilty that he couldn't even be near navya, and here his best friend was laughing at him.
"Dancing with another woman isn't considered cheating. You scared me for a second." Hiten said. 2
"I didn't only dance with her.i bought her home I kiss her after that I don't remember what happened but I guess We had sex." Anant continued. 1
Hiten's laughter faded fast. He looked at Anant in disbelief.
"What the hell is the matter with you? Just because bhabhi is a little reluctant doesn't mean you go off and screw some damn hussy you met at a club!" Hiten exploded.12
"I know! I regret doing it." Anant said, guiltily.
"Did Bhabhi find out? Are you going to tell her?" Hiten asked.
"She doesn't know. I've been avoiding her. I can't tell her, Hiten. She'll hate me." Anant said. He'd left early and went straight to Hiten's house so he wouldn't have to face navya. He felt like such a coward.
"She'll divorce you." Hiten replied seriously.
"There's a clause in our contract that says in the event of a divorce, our merger will be partially dissolved. The losses will be monumental. Her father would never forgive her. She's not going to divorce me." Anant explained. He remembered when how she'd cried when he told her father he'd divorce her if he made Payal marry Rakesh even though he never intended on going through with it.
"She's stuck." Hiten blurted.
"What do you mean?" Anant asked.
"She can't even leave you! If she finds out and she hates you, she'll have to spend the rest of her life with a man she hates!" Hiten said.
"Shit!"Anant replied. There Hiten goes again, making sense when you least expected it. He was absolutely right. There was no way Anant could let navya find out about this.
"What are you going to do? Are you going to see her again?" Hiten asked, not really wanting to know that answer.
"No. The guilt is already killing me. I'm never seeing her again. I hope navya doesn't find out." Anant replied. +
"Who's going to tell her? There are only three people on this earth that know about your affair. Me, you, and her. I'm not telling Bhabhi. You aren't telling Bhabhi. She and Bhabhi don't know each other. I mean you're safe, right?" Hiten reasoned.
"You aren't going to tell her?" Anant asked, knowing even before he'd revealed his secret that Hiten would keep it.
"No. You're my best friend. Why the hell would I snitch on you? Didn't do it in school, won't do it now." Hiten said with a smile. 2
"Thanks, Hiten. How'd it go last night with..." Anant trailed off.
"Aditi. She's amazing. I think I might be in love." Hiten said dreamily. 1
Anant rolled his eyes. Hiten was so dramatic sometimes.
"Did she come here?" Anant asked.
"Yeah she did." Hiten said with a smirk. "and boy was she wild."
"Oh my god shut up!" Anant exclaimed.
"Hey are you going to the business thing tonight?" Hiten asked.
"Business thing? It's a dinner, Hiten." Anant corrected, "Yeah I'm going. I don't know if I'm up to facing navya though."
"She had to go with you. What will people think if you show up alone?" Hiten said.
"Damn, I'm going to have to take her." Anant replied.
"Just stay here and have her meet you there." Hiten suggested.
"Good idea." Anant agreed.
He sent navya text message, telling her about the event tonight and that he'd meet her there. He then called his secretary and told her he wouldn't be in today.
"So tell me about this chick." Hiten said.
"Her name is Tamana." Anant said.
"And?" Hiten prompted.
"She's very modern, very forward, and quite bold. Anant said.
You cheated on Bhabhi with her." Hiten replied.
"She's married." Anant admitted.
"What the hell?" Hiten questioned in confusion.
"She was unhappy." Anant tried to say.
"That doesn't mean you just go around cheating on your spouse! This is beyond messed up!" Hiten exploded again.
"Hiten, I'm sorry. I...don't know what to do." Anant apologized.
"Don't see her again." Hiten demanded.
"I won't." Anant promised.
Navya looked at her phone and saw that Anant sent her a message telling her to meet him somewhere for a business dinner. She felt sad that she hadn't seen him in so long and wondered how angry he was with her. She tried calling him, but his phone was off. She then tried his office only to be told by his secretary that he called and said he wouldn't be in today. navya was so confused. Where could Anant be? Was he avoiding her?2
She absent mindedly looked through her closet, searching for something fancy but not too fancy for a business dinner. She didn't know how people dressed at a business dinner. Anant had always taken her to parties, where polite mingling was encouraged. She wasn't sure what she would talk about at a business dinner. navya dreaded going. She wanted Anant to answer all of her questions and to mitigate her uncertainties, but he was nowhere to be found.
Finally, navya settled on a multi-colored sari whose white skirt was slightly flared at the bottom. The black drape of the sari contrasted sharply with the white skirt part. The green and blue patterned blouse added a splash of color to the outfit. She wrapped the drape around herself just as anant had done when she wore that slightly over exposing sari to Nikhil and Neha's anniversary party. navya felt so sophisticated in sari of that caliber. She was sure Anant would approve. Even though the dinner wasn't for a few more hours, navya finished getting ready and perched herself on the sofa in the living room. She tried calling Anant a few more times, but his phone remained off. 3
Later that night, Anant and Hiten arrived at the hotel where the business dinner was being hosted. All of the biggest businessmen and women from New York City, Boston, Philadelphia and the surrounding areas had been invited to attend. It was a prime opportunity to create new business contacts. Hiten had invited Aditi to be his date, so Anant and Hiten had picked her up on the way. She was dressed in a long, one shouldered white dress that showed off her back. Hiten could hardly keep his eyes off her. navya still hadn't arrived. Anant sent his drivers almost an hours ago. He was nervous about seeing her after they'd had an argument and after he'd done the unthinkable to her. 2
"Bhabhi! You look great!" Hiten exclaimed once he sighted navya.
"Thanks." navya said quietly.
She and Anant locked eyes. For the first time, Anant was the first to look away. He couldn't bear looking navya in the eyes. She walked up to him, but didn't say anything.
"You look beautiful." Anant blurted, saying the first thing that came to mind.
"Thank you." Navya said. She was relieved that Anant was actually talking to her.
"Bhabhi," Hiten said, sensing the tension between anant and navya, "This is Aditi. I met her last night."
"Hi navya! It's so nice to meet you." Aditi greeted. 1
Navya greeted her back. Hiten watched the two ladies closely, hoping that they would be good friends. He knew he could never date a woman that Anant's wife didn't get along with, and he really liked Aditi. Anant noticed Hiten's intense concentration on navya and Aditi and normally would've pointed it out to embarrass him, but he couldn't bring himself to speak around navya.
"Well, let's get going, girls. We've got some mingling to do before dinner." Hiten announced.
Aditi linked arms with Hiten as they entered the parlor room where the pre-dinner mingling was to take place. Anant followed behind them without so much as looking at navya. Confused and a little saddened by Anant's behavior, navya silently followed behind him. Throughout the first bout of mingling, Hiten and Anant stayed together as they were business partners. navya was relieved that Aditi seemed to know less about business matters than she did. They would sometimes start their own little conversation on the side, leaving the men to deal with the business talk. Later, Anant and Hiten split up much to Navya's dismay. She'd lost her newly found friend and had no one to talk to.
Out of the corner of her eye, navya thought she saw Rakesh mingling with some other businessmen in the corner. She turned around to get a better look. Lo and behold, it was Rakesh! navya, who was walking a little behind Anant, rushed up to him and clutched his arm. Anant stopped abruptly.
"What's the matter?" he asked, confused.
Navya didn't answer right away. Her grip on Anant's arm tightened. He removed her hands from his arms.
"Navya," he prompted.
"Rakesh." navya whispered, looking down.
Anant looked around. When his eyes landed on Rakesh, his fists clenched together and his jaw tightened. Rakesh caught anant's eye and quickly looked away.
"navya, he won't bother you tonight." Anant said.
Navya looked uncertain. She looked over at Rakesh and back to Anant unsurely.
"I promise. He won't touch you." Anant said.
"Just don't leave me alone tonight, please." navya pleaded.
Anant hesitated before finally agreeing. That last he wanted to do was be with navya throughout the whole event. He was still trying to keep a fair distance from her.
"Anant, I can't even deal this intense boredom!" Hiten exclaimed as he and Aditi joined Anya.
"Stop complaining. Do you have any idea what kind of progress we're making by meeting all these people. I already have a dozen meetings set up to discuss major expansions. This is going to bring in incredible profits." Anant replied.
"This is why we're partners. You handle all the profit junk, and I just tag along and nod like I know what the hell is going on." Hiten said with a hint of sarcasm.
Aditi giggled, and Anant and navya smiled. Hiten was such a character!
Navya's eyes landed on another woman who was wearing a sari. They were the only two in the entire parlor room wearing sarees. Her sari was a plain dark blue color, and the drape was worn so that it covered her head. navya watched as her husband engaged in a discussion, while the woman in the sari stood by looking thoroughly bored. Hiten and Anant went to join the group that the woman in the sari was in. 7
"Hi. I'm Satish. I've heard alot about your work here in New York City." the only Indian man in the crowd greeted Anant and Hiten.
"This is my wife, Tamana." He continued.15
Anant looked like he'd just seen a ghost. His face paled and he looked extremely disturbed. Taman looked at Anant and briefly smiled before maintaining her always solemn demeanor. Anant looked at her husband as Hiten introduced them. The first word that came to his mind was old. Tamana's husband had to be in his forties. He was a little overweight and clean shaven. He was tall and wore glasses. Anant glanced at navya, thinking how fortunate he was to have to have his marriage arranged with someone so beautiful.
Anant needed to leave. He needed some air. He never wanted to see Tamana again and here she was standing in the same room as navya
"Excuse me." Anant said, quickly backing away from the crowd. He left the parlor and went through the lobby. He made his way out to the very secluded terrace area on the second floor. As soon as he stepped outside, he felt someone grab his arm. Thinking it wasn navya, he turned around with a fake smile plastered on his face. It wasn't navya who'd grabbed his arm, it was Tamana.
Anant's smile faded immediately. He pulled his arm away and tried to make an escape.
"Anant, wait!" Tamana cried.
Anant stopped, but didn't turn around to face her.
"I need you." Tamana whispered.
She walked around to face him. She tried kiss him unexpectedly. Anant roughly pushed her away.
"We can't!" He nearly scream at her.
"Why not? Come with me." Tamana took his hand and led him back inside the hotel. She found a coat closet in the lobby and pulled him inside.
"Why the hell are we in here?" Anant asked, frustrated at the whole situation.
"Anant, I need you right now just like you needed me last night." Tamana said. She nuzzled his ear ... 2
"Tamana, wait." Anant said, pulling away from him. "My wife is..."
"She won't find out. Please, Anant." Tamana begged. 4
She pushed Anant against the wall and pulled off the jacket of his suit. buttons on his shirt. She threw the drape of her sari off, exposing the low cut blouse underneath. Anant pulled away from her.
"Stop it Tamana!" Anant shouted. He knew he couldn't bear the guilt of making this mistake again. Anant could already feel a wave of guilt washing over him as he surveyed their undone clothes. Tamana looked like she was going to cry. Gone was the confident and bold woman he'd met last night. Standing before him was someone a lot more vulnerable.
"Did I do something?" she asked suddenly.
"No, it's not you. I just can't do this. I can't betray my wife." Anant replied.
"You've already betrayed her! You don't even love her. Why does it matter?" Tamana said spitefully.
"It matters because I care about her. I never want to hurt her." Anant replied.
Before Tamana could say anything further, they heard the door knob jiggle. Someone was about to open the door!8
Anant jolted away from Tamana, while she hastily threw the drape of her sari back over her torso. Anant tried to rebutton his shirt and make himself look more presentable. His heartbeat quickened as thoughts of finding navya on the other side of the door flooded his mind. The door flung open. Standing there was a hotel employee with a coat in his hand, looking wide-eyed at the scene before him. A sly grin spread across his face. 2
"Today's generation is something else." He commented before handing Anant the coat he was holding and walking away, his grin still firmly in place.
Anant let out a sigh of relief. He was about to leave, when he saw Hiten. Immediately, Anant turned to go back into the closet, hoping that Hiten wouldn't see him but it was too late.
"Anant!" Hiten called as he hurried over to the closet. "What are you..." Hiten paused as his eyes landed on a thoroughly disheveled Tamana inside the closet. A disgusted expression flashed across his face. Hiten turned and started to talk away. Anant followed him, trying to keep up with his quickened pace.
"Hiten! Stop! Would you wait a second?" Anant called after Hiten.
Hiten stopped abruptly but didn't turn to face anant.
"It's not what it looks like." Anant said.
"Bhabhi sent me to find you," Hiten said, ignoring Anant's comment. "She's freaking out about something. Aditi is with her." Hiten finally turned around to face Anant. "She needs you and you're here in the coat closet with another woman." The disgust was apparent in his voice.
Anant entered the parlor area, where everyone was still gathered. He saw navya and Aditi sitting in a corner together. Aditi was saying something to navya, who looked very distraught.
"navya are you okay?" Anant asked.
Navya looked up at him, still looking worried.
"You left." she said.
Anant remembered that he had promised to stay with her at all times tonight so Rakesh wouldn't have another chance to harm her.
"I'm sorry. I just needed some air. I won't leave you again." Anant apologized. He relieved Aditi of her duties and told her she could go and join Hiten. He took the seat beside navya and took her hand in his.
"It's okay, navya. I'm here now." Anant tried to calm navya down.
Anant saw Tamana stealthily enter the room again. She quickly took her place beside her husband, who hadn't seem to have noticed his wife was even missing. She looked at Anant and tried to hold his gaze, but he quickly looked away trying to focus his attention on navya.
The dinner was about to commence. Anant took a seat between Hiten and navya, silently hoping that Tamana and her husband wouldn't be seated at the same table as them. Rakesh sauntered over to their table. He took one look at Anant and navya and turned around and walked away. Rakesh didn't feel like dealing with Anant right at this moment. He looked around for someone he could switch seats with that would also make Anant uncomfortable, and he knew just the person, or people rather.
The dinner portion of the evening finally came. Most of the people were famished and were looking forward to to the five course meal that awaited them. Anant couldn't think about food right now. All he could think about was how in the world Tamana and her husband ended up at his table. To make matters worse, Tamana was seated right across from him. Hiten handled most of the conversation because Anant couldn't focus. He hoped that navya and Tamana would refrain from talking to each other. +
"Anant," Hiten whispered to Anant as the second course was being served.
Anant looked over at Hiten, who seemed to have forgotten about the whole coat closet incident. Hiten nodded his head slightly over at Tamana.
"Isn't that...?" Hiten asked.
Anant nodded sadly. Hiten sighed and looked at navya and back to Tamana. He was about to dig into the second course.
"Orecchiette with veal," the waiter said.
Hiten's hand whacked the bowl of pasta that went flying across the table. It was his first instinct. He was about to eat a baby cow! The Orecchiette landed on the other side of the table, some of it spilling on Tamana's husband, who didn't react so well to having pasta spilled on his trousers. Everyone stared in amazement wondering what had gotten into Hiten. Anant stifled a laugh. Hiten was always on to reach over the top to any situation. Aditi couldn't hold herself back and started to giggle. navya, confused at what just happened, could only focus on the food in front of her. She was starving. She was about to eat some of the Orecchiette when anant's hand suddenly enveloped hers, causing her to drop her fork on the table.
Tamana's husband started making a scene, chastising Hiten for ruining his expensive suit. Tamana hadn't even noticed the bit of food that had gotten on her sari. Her eyes were locked on Anant and navya's intertwined hands. Her gaze intensely focused on Anant.
"Veal is cow, navya." Anant whispered to his wife.
navya looked down at the Orecchiette uneasily. Anant instructed the waiter to take his, navya's, and Aditi's plates away. Tamana looked on in jealousy. Her traditional husband was adverse to eating beef as well, for cows are sacred to Hindus. However, he had told her to suck it up and just eat it so they wouldn't create a scene, yet here he was creating a huge scene himself. It irked her how much anant seemed to care for the wife he claims he doesn't love.
Tamana's husband stomped off to the bathroom to try to salvage was he could of his suit. Hiten sat back down, exhausted by the constant apologising he was just subjected to.
"Damn! He was a hard ass. I even offered to buy the guy another suit, and he still got angry." Hiten said.
"Well, you did throw pasta at him." Anant pointed out.
"Veal, Anant. Who the hell eats veal?" Hiten answered. He then inquired about the rest of the menu. There would be a choice of steak or fish for the main course, but Hiten would obviously choose the fish so there were no further problems. Aditi couldn't stop from laughing. Hiten was so entertaining!
"Okay, well the veal is gone, Hiten. Don't worry." Anant laughed. He looked over at navya, who seemed amused by Hiten's actions. Anant's eyes wandered over to Tamana. She was still staring at him. Anant became uncomfortable under her gaze. The next course was served, and she kept glancing up at him. It was too much to take. navya didn't seem to notice Tamana's behavior, and Anant was a little more relieved. Hiten noticed but couldn't point it out because navya would hear.
Finally, the dinner came to an end. The main course was served. Hiten double checked to make sure fish was in front of him, and not steak. After dessert, the men and the women began to separate. The men were off to smoke some cigars, while the women were planning to engage in some riveting gossip.
"Let's leave. I don't really feel like mingling some more." Anant suggested.
"Yeah let's go." Hiten quickly agreed, understanding why Anant was in a hurry to leave.
The girls agreed and they left. Hiten and Aditi hailed a cab, while Anant and navya took Anant's limo. navya was exhausted even though all she had done was stand beside Anant for a couple hours and ate dinner. anant was being normal around her again, but she noticed he wasn't being as sweet as he was when Payal was around. She thought back to the date he'd taken her on and wished she could go back to that moment.
They arrived at Anant's mansion, and navya went upstairs right away. She wanted to take a long, hot shower and go straight to bed. She stepped into her bedroom and turned on the lights. An involuntary gasp escaped her mouth as she laid eyes on the the candles and flowers that adorned her room. She noticed a fancy box of chocolate sitting on her bed. It was a wonderful surprise! Just when she thought Anant was becoming distant, he gives her a sweet surprise.
"Anant," she said when she saw him in hallway on his way to his bedroom. He walked to her.
"Thank you for this." She said pointing into her room.
Anant looked inside and was surprised himself. He had forgotten he'd made all of these arrangements soon after he'd cheated on navya. Hiten told him he needed to treat navya in the best way possible. Anant intended to treat navya like a queen.
"You deserve it." Anant said. He walked in to inspect the work his staff had done, quite impressed.
navya's face beamed with a smile. She silently wished that Anant would spend the night in this beautifully decorated room with her, but she knew that it would lead to a frustrating situation for both of them.
"Goodnight, navya." Anant said. He walked toward the door but stopped before leaving. He turned back around and placed a gentle kiss on navya's cheek. navya held his hand and tugged him toward her. She hesitated before wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him into a brief hug. anant was surprised by her sudden affection. He hugged her back warmly, fighting the urge to kiss her. He placed another kiss on her forehead and walked out of her room.
The next day, Anant woke up early and instructed the chef to prepare Indian food for breakfast. As much as he hated it, he knew navya loved Indian food for breakfast. navya dressed in a purple, long sleeved sari came downstairs a few minutes after the food was ready. 5
"Surprise!" Anant exclaimed upon spotting her.
"Indian food...for breakfast? But you don't like..." navya said.
"I know, but you do." Anant said, taking her hand and leading her to the dining table. Maids began to serve them. navya was elated. The chef had made all of navya's favorites. She couldn't believe how extremely sweet Anant had been ever since their argument.
"Thank you." navya said after they were finished.
"You have to stop thanking me for every little thing." anant replied.
"But this was really sweet of you. I know you don't like Indian food for breakfast, but you still had it just for me." navya said.
"It was nothing, navya. There's a whole hell of a lot more I'd do for you." Anant smiled. "Anyways, I need to get going. I'll see you tonight." Anant said. He thought about giving navya a goodbye kiss, but decided against it upon seeing all the maids and chefs lurking around. He quickly pecked her the cheek and left.
navya felt elated by Anant's attention. He was being too nice, and she rather enjoyed it. She'd received a call from Neha informing her that she was in the area and wanted to stop by. navya was more than happy to have her.
"Hey,navya! How are you?" Neha asked as she entered the mansion. She plopped down on the large sofa in the living room.
"I'm fine, and you?" navya replied.
"I'm doing great! I rocked Nikhil's world a few nights ago, and the presents have been non stop." Neha laughed.
"Ababr has been really nice too. Maybe there's something in the air that's making husbands want to spoil their wives." navya replied.
"navya let's be real. We all know that we keep them happy, they'll keep us happy." Neha said.
navya blushed, knowing that she and Anant don't have that kind of relationship.
"Well,...I don't think that's why Anant is being so sweet. We've never actually..." navya trailed off.
Neha's eyes widened in shock.
"navya You're married and you haven't satisfied your man yet?" Neha asked incredulously. "And he's being really nice...something is fishy." Neha said.
"What do you mean?" navya asked.
"He's done something wrong. That's why he's being so nice." Neha explained. "Men aren't nice for no reason. Either they're trying to get some or they're making up for a mistake."
"We had an argument. Maybe that's why." navya reasoned.
"Maybe. What you need to do is keep him on his toes otherwise he'll start looking elsewhere." Neha said.
navya looked at her with uncertainty.
"Obviously you two had an arranged marriage. And you aren't ready to take it further. That's okay. A little foreplay and some lingerie won't hurt, you know." Neha said bluntly.
navya looked at Neha, surprised by her bluntness. She looked down unsurely, not wishing to continue with this kind of conversation.
"Let's see your lingerie stash, and we can plan a romantic night for Anant as a payment for acting so nice." Neha suggested.
"I don't have any..."navya replied.
Again, Neha looked at her wide eyed and in shock.
"And Anant is okay with that?" Neha asked. "So not the Anant I know. Every married woman needs some sexy lingerie, navya. It's like a crime not to have any! We're going shopping right now!" Neha decided. 8
"No! I-I can't." navya said.
"It won't hurt just to look around. Tell Anant you went lingerie shopping. It should be enough to get him a little excited." Neha suggested.
"But...I can't wear things like that." navya countered.
"You think you can't, but one day you're going to want to get sexy for your husband, or he may want you to get sexy for him.You aren't going to lose anything by just looking around. I'll ask Payal to tag along if you're so uncomfortable." Neha replied.
"No! Payal can't come. She's not even married." navya exclaimed, remembering how excited Payal had been about sun dresses and jeans. If she liked something in a lingerie store, then navya wouldn't know what to do.
"Okay," Neha giggled. "I won't call Payal. This is a shopping trip only for married women."
"Okay," navya said unsurely. "I'll just go and change and we'll leave." She said, rushing upstairs.
"No no no. I can't wear something like that." navya said as Neha held up a transparent red teddy that only hid what needed to be hidden.
"What about this? It's lacey." Neha said, moving onto something different.
"I don't know." navya said.
"Maybe I'll just get this for myself. I know Nikhil will love it." Neha's face lit up at the thought of showing off for her husband.
"A corset is perfect! It provides some coverage, so you won't be as uncomfortable." Neha suggested.
"They're restricting, aren't they?"navya asked.
"navya, what do you plan on doing that you're so worried about restrictions?" Neha asked suspiciously.
navya blushed and looked down.
"Nothing." she said quietly.
"Just kidding! A silk chemise is as modest as you're going to get." Neha said.
Neha and navya spent another hour or so shopping. navya agreed to get a silk chemise but wasn't sure if she'd wear it. Neha also bought a few more things for navya when she wasn't looking. She knew that navya would thank her one day. She just hoped everything fit right. 3
"So when is Anant going see you in this?" Neha asked once they got back to Anant's mansion.
"I don't know." navya replied.
"Navya, stop being so reluctant. You're a married woman." Neha said.
Navya didn't have an answer. She knew Neha was right. Anant had told her time and again that eventually she'd have to fulfill her duties as his wife. He'd even directly expressed his desires to consummate their marriage. navya just couldn't, not yet.
"Anant was so sweet this morning." navya said absent mindedly.
"Idea! Go have lunch with him at his office! He'd be glad that you thought of him." Neha suggested.
"That's actually a really good idea! Do you think he'd like that?" navya replied.
"Of course! Go, go! I'll see you later." Neha stood to leave.
Navya bid Neha goodbye and called the limo driver to take her to Anant's office. She decided that she wouldn't call to tell him she was coming down. She wanted to surprise him and hope it would be a pleasant surprise. +
"Sir, there is a woman downstairs waiting to meet you. She won't give her name, but said it's urgent and you'll want to see her." Anant's secretary announced.
"Okay, send her in." Anant said, wondering who it could be.
"Anant?" A woman, clad in a red sari entered Anant's office. She walked inside quietly and closed and locked the door behind her.
"What are you doing here?" Anant asked. He swiftly stood up from his his chair.
"I needed to see you." She replied.
"You need to leave, Tamana. I don't want to see you." Anant said sternly. 10
"You don't want to see me? Did your wife find out?" Tamana asked.
"No, I just can't do this anymore." Anant said, frustrated.
"So you just used me for one night? What about my needs?" Tamana spat angrily.
"Used you? You wanted it just as much as I did." Anant countered.
Tamana start pushing him up against the wall. She could feel Anant trying to push her away but she tightened her grip on him. Anant roughly pushed her away. She quickly pulled off the drape of her sari and began to undo her blouse.
"What the hell are you doing?" Anant shouted angrily.
"Showing you how much you want me." replied Tamana breathlessly.
"Stop it, Tamana. Get out!" Anant said.
Tamana stomped over to Anant's desk and ran her hands over it, making sure everything spilled off the desk. Anant's brows furrowed. She was making a mess.
"Didn't you ever want to do it on your desk, in your office?" Tamana asked seductively. She let her blouse drop to the floor. Anant averted his eyes. He turned away before speaking to her again. 4
"No and you need to leave." he answered. His father had always taught him to never mix business with pleasure. Anant had never brought any of the past women in his life to his office. If any of them came to see him, they never made it passed the lobby. navya was the first one he ever allowed to enter his office.
"You know you've always wanted to. Every man wants this." Tamana said. She sounded closer like she was standing right behind him. Anant felt her arms circle his waist from behind. He turned around and easily unclenched himself from her grasp. Tamana was ready for him though4
"Tamana," he said, pulling away from her. "We can't."
"Why can't we? Who's going to stop us?" replied Tamana.
The phone that was on Anant's desk before Tamana cleared it began to ring. Anant didn't make a move to answer it, fearing that Tamana would cause a scene and his secretary would hear it over the phone.
"No, this is wrong." Anant replied, determined to stand his ground. He knew he couldn't cheat on navya again. She didn't deserve this, and he couldn't handle the guilt.
Tamana grabbed Anant's hand and pressed it to her chest.
"See how fast my heart is beating? See what you're doing to me?" Tamana said.
There was a knock on the door. In one swift movement, Anant took Tamana's discarded blouse, shoved it in her hand, and pushed her into the closet in his office.
"Don't say a word." he warned before slamming the door closed.
His office door opened.
"navya? What are you doing here?" Anant was surprised to see his wife arrive unannounced at his office.
"Surprise..." navya said unsurely. Anant moves aside so she could come inside.
"Come in," he told her.
"What happened here?" navya said, eyeing the mess around anant's desk. All the contents that were once on it were spilled all over the floor.
"I...um...A deal didn't work out, and I...uh...couldn't control my temper." Anant lied.
navya looked at him concerned. She didn't think that Anant's temper was this bad.
"It's fine though. I have bigger things planned." Anant covered. "So what brings you here?"
"I thought maybe we could go out to lunch."navya admitted quietly.
Anant smiled, but it quickly disappeared when he remembered Tamana hiding in the closet.
"I can't. I'm swamped with work." Anant said even though he knew he had plenty of time.
navya looked visibly disappointed. She tried covering it up with a smile, but Anant could tell she wasn't happy.
"Okay, it's fine. I'll just see you at home then." navya turned to leave.
"navya," Anant stopped her. There was a light thud that came from the closet. Anant automatically turned towards the closet door. Another thud, this time louder, came from the closet.
"What was that?" navya asked.
"Probably just somethings falling over." Anant said quickly. He knew he needed to get navya out of his office. Tamana was making too much noise. He was afraid navya would grow suspicious. Plus he needed to discuss something with her that he didn't want Tamana to eavesdrop in on. "Come with me." he said, leading her out the door.
"Hiten? Are you in here?" Anant walked into Hiten's office without knocking. Once he was sure no one was there, he pulled navya inside and closed the door.
"Thank you for making the effort to come all the down here. I'd love to have lunch with you." Anant said.
"But you said you have too much work." navya pointed out.
"Not enough to keep me away from you." anant smirked.
navya couldn't help but blush. Anant remembered how he'd vowed to himself to treat navya like a queen. If she wanted to have lunch with him, then he would make it happen. He just needed to get Tamana the hell out of his office closet.
"I just need an hour." Anant said. It wasn't true. He only needed a few minutes to kick Tamana out of his office, but he needed to make sure navya wouldn't want to hang around and wait for him.
"An hour? Where should I wait?" navya asked.
"Go out and do something. We're basically downtown. You can go shopping. There are tons of boutiques in walking distance." Anant suggested, silently hoping navya agrees to leave.
navya wasn't too keen on the idea going shopping again but it beat just waiting around doing nothing in Anant's office.
"Okay, I'll find something to do." navya said.
"I'm sorry for making you wait." Anant said.
"It's okay. I guess next time, I'll know to call first." navya replied.
"No, I loved the surprise. You should do it more often." anant smiled. He appreciated the gesture and wouldn't mind going out with navya more often, just as long as Tamana wasn't around.
Navya thought back to what Neha had said and now realized the she knew what she was talking about. She was ecstatic that Anant was happy that she'd surprised him.
"Anant, I..." navya began.
"What is it, navya?" Anant asked.
"I just like the way we are right now." navya admitted.
"I'm glad, really I am." Anant said. He couldn't agree with her. He knew that he wanted to be more intimate with her, but he was happy that she liked where they were in their relationship.
Once navya left, and Anant made sure she had completely left the premises, Anant stalked back to his office to find Tamana sitting in his chair behind his desk.
"Did you have fun with your wife?" she asked spitefully as he entered.
"It's none of your business what I do with my wife." Anant replied.
Tamana stood up and walked closer to him. She was dangerously close.
"We both know that she won't let you do much." she hissed into his ear.
"Get out!" Anant exploded.
"Anant, I was going over...what the hell?" Hiten opened the door and had walk into Anant's office. Hiten and Anant never thought it necessary to knock when entering each other's offices. Hiten also followed the whole don't mix business with pleasure' rule, so there was never any threat of walking in on an awkward situation...until now.
"I..." Anant was a loss for words.
"Is this the girl from..." Hiten trailed off.
"Hiten, I didn't..." Anant started. Hiten didn't wait to hear the rest. He walked out of Anant's office.
"You need to leave now or I'll call security." Anant said to Tamana.
"You're going to regret this!" Tamana shouted before stomping out the door and towards the elevators.
Anant rushed to Hiten's office.
"Hiten, it's not what you think. She just showed up. I didn't call her here, and I sure as hell didn't let anything happen." Anant tried to explain.
"You're an idiot." Hiten stated.1
"Hiten, I..." Anant tried to reply.
"No! Listen, this is too much! You need to either stop having an affair or come clean. Bhabhi doesn't deserve this and you know it." Hiten said seriously.
"It's not an affair. It was one time, and it will never happen again." anant replied. "When navya came by, I almost lost it."
"Bhabhi was here?" Hiten asked, incredulously.
"Yeah. She stopped by to surprise me." Anant said.
"Damn! I bet you were surprised!" Hiten commented.
"Yeah but it was a nice surprise. We're having lunch in about half an hour." Anant told him.
"Bhabhi is so sweet. She cares about you so much, and what you're doing to her isn't cool." Hiten said.5
"I know, and I'm trying to make up for it." Anant said.
"You can try, but if she ever finds out, all hell will break loose." Hiten warned.
Anant knew Hiten was right. He needed to try his best to keep navya happy no matter what.
Anant ended up calling navya earlier than expected. He had his chauffeur bring navya to a posh, restaurant near his office.
"So what did you do all day?" Anant asked, trying to make some conversation after they had order.
"I went shopping with Neha," navya replied.
"Damn!All you women ever do is go shopping." Anant commented jokingly, "What did you buy?" He casually took a sip of wine.
navya blushed.2
"Lingerie." She admitted quietly.
Anant almost choked on his wine. Did she just say lingerie?
"You mean you bought lingerie? You?" Anant couldn't believe this.
navya nodded.
"What kind?" Anant was genuinely curious.
"A silk, um, chemise, I think Neha called it." navya answered.
Anant just stared at her.
"What?" navya asked, looking down.
"I just can't imagine you in lingerie." Anant said navya blushed at the thought of Anant trying to imagine her wearing sexy lingerie.
"So," anant said. "when can I see you in it?"
It was navya's turn to choke on her drink. There was no way she was going to wear any type of lingerie in front of Anant!2
Damn Tamana! Always showing up! Hiten always seems to catch them in action...
Navya in lingerie? Will it happen? Anant sure hopes so! Hahahaa tell me what you thought of the chapter.and yaa once again m saying dont hate anant ;) +
COMMENT AND LIKEEE!
lets see😛What I got is..that night also anant didn't did anything with tamanna she is just going mad...now I can't wait for navya in lingerie in front of anant ;))
"Never!" Navya blurted out almost instantly.
"Never? What was the point of buying it, if you're never going to wear it for me?" Anant pouted.
navya stifled a laugh. Anant was being so childish. She'd only bought it because Neha said that every married woman was basically required to own something sexy.
"Neha told me to." navya admitted.
"Thank God for Neha." Anant commented. "Did she also suggest that you come meet me for lunch?" Anant caught on.
"Yes actually." navya said guiltily. 2
Anant was a little disappointed that the idea hadn't been navya's, but he was glad she'd stopped by regardless. The waiter came by and took their orders. Their food was served almost immediately. navya had ordered a chicken wrap, while Anant ordered lemon chicken. They both decided to pass on dessert. The service was a little too quick to either of their tastes. navya wanted to spend time with Anant just as badly as Anant wanted to spend time with her. Their lunch date came to an end all too quickly. Since the restaurant was so close to Anant's office, they walked back. Anant resisted the urge to hold navya's hand as they walked, certain that she wouldn't appreciate such a public display of affection. Once they reached anant's office, navya headed towards the limo. anant grabbed her arm.
"Come back up to my office, so I can kiss you without an audience." Anant said quietly in navya's ear. 3
She looked up at him wide eyed, not expecting him to say something like that. navya blushed, but followed silently behind Anant towards the elevators. Once they were inside the elevator, Anant pulled navya close with the intention of kissing her, but navya was reluctant. She was afraid the doors would open on some random floor and someone would catch them in a compromising position. Suddenly the doors opened four floors below where Anant's office was. navya practically sprung away from anant. Hiten stood outside, grinning like a madman as soon as he laid eyes on navya.
"So, what's going on here?" Hiten teased as he stepped into the elevator.
"Nothing." Anant answered casually.
"Then why is Bhabhi blushing?" Hiten pointed out.
Anant swatted Hiten's arm. They reached the top floor. The only two things on the top floor were Hiten's office and Anant's office. No one else was ever up there. They had clandestinely converted one of the four conference rooms into a game room and another into an entertainment space. Anant thought Hiten was on his way to one of these rooms when he turned left instead of right when he left the elevator. He kept following them until Anant stopped in front of his office door.
"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Anant turned around to ask Hiten.
"To talk with Bhabhi in your office." Hiten answered innocently.
"Hiten, I need some alone time with my wife." Anant tried to explain.
"You're thinking about gettin' down and dirty in your office when there's an important meeting in less than half an hour?" Hiten accused with a grin. It was so out of character for Hiten to be concerned with business matters.
navya's mouth dropped open in shock.
"Shut up." Anant said. He turned to open the door and ushered navya inside. Hiten tried to enter but Anant blocked his way.+
"Bye Bhabhi." Hiten said defeatedly as he walked away.
navya giggled. Anant walked inside his office and closed and locked the door.
"All this trouble just for a kiss." He commented. "Come here."
Navya hadn't stopped blushing since she arrived at Anant's office, and she wasn't about to stop now. She slowly walked to Anant. When she was arm's length away, Anant reach out and pulled her towards him. He looked at her for a moment before placing a soft kiss on her lips. He pulled away, seeing if she wanted more. He found a warm smile that had appeared on her face. She looked up at him expectantly, wanting him to kiss her again. Anant more than happy to oblige. He kissed her again a lot more passionately and needily. His hands moved down to navya's waist, pulling her as closely as possible. navya's hands wrapped around his neck. Anant moved forward, their lips still connected. navya moved back as Anant pushed forward.. They moved together until navya collided with Anant's desk. She pulled away, breaking the kiss and looked down at what she had just hit.
"navya," Anant said, eyeing his desk.
navya looked at him suspiciously. Anant didn't say anything else. He kissed her again roughly, so roughly that she had her brace herself against his desk to keep herself from falling backwards. She was nearly sitting on top of his desk. Anant kept leaning forward, pushing navya onto the desk. Her feet were midair, the bulk of her weight situated on top the desk, while Anant hovered over her.
"Anant, wait." navya broke the kiss.
"What's the matter?" Anant asked quietly.
"I'm on your desk." navya said breathlessly.
"Yeah, so?" Anant asked, not seeing any problem with it.
"So, I don't want you to get carried away." navya answered, looking down.
"navya, if I intended to get carried away, I'd make sure it was somewhere much more romantic than my office desk." Anant smirked.
navya didn't know what had gotten into Anant. He'd been acting a lot more flirtatious with her than usual, and he's always doing nice things for her. She felt special. Her heart ached for him. She didn't know whether she was in love with him or not, but she knew what she was feeling was pretty close.
"I should go." navya said, remembering the meeting that Hiten had mentioned.
"So soon?" Anant asked, hoping she'd stay just a little longer.
"Anant." navya chastised playfully. "You have a meeting, remember?"
"Fine, I'll see you at home." Anant pouted a little. He leaned in and kissed her goodbye. 2
Navya had just set foot out of anant's door when Hiten came bursting in.
"It's time for that meeting!" He announced.
"Great." Anant said, irritated.
Hiten turned to leave. He went to the elevators.
"Where are you going?" Anant asked.
"The guy wants to meet with you alone." Hiten answered. "I don't know why. We both know that I'm more of a people person than you are."
"Alone? Why?" Anant asked.
"The hell should I know. I'm going to call Aditi." Hiten said as he stepped into the elevator.
Anant shrugged and went to one of the conference rooms. There, he found an old man that looked like he could croak any minute.
"Good Afternoon." Anant greeted.
"Hello sir, my boss will be here any minute." The old man said.
"Is he the one I'm dealing with?" Anant asked.
"Yes sir." The old man answered.
"Why all the secrecy?" Anant asked,
"He's a secretive man." the old man countered.
The door flung open.
"Hello, Anant." Rakesh stood with a smug expression on his face.
"What the hell?" Anant blurted.
The old man quickly scurried out the room and closed the door behind him.
"What do you want, Rakesh?" Anant asked angrily.
"Now, Anant you can try to be a little more civil." Rakesh answered calmly.
"Just tell me why the hell you're here?" Anant said.
"There's a conference in Detroit. You have to attend." Rakesh said.
"What the hell gives you the right to tell me what to do?" Anant questioned.
"This." Rakesh held his phone up. There was a picture of Anant and Tamana hugging on the terrace of the hotel, where they had had that business dinner. Anant remembered how Tamana had forced herself on him. He pushed her away, but the picture showed a whole different story. 2
"It would be unfortunate if navya saw this, wouldn't it?" Rakesh asked. 4
"Fine, I'll go. Just don't show that to her." Anant said quickly.
"Good boy." Rakesh said. "Oh and Anant, bring navya too. I'm dying to see her again."
anant's fists clenched. If he punched Rakesh, then he would surely show that picture to navya.
"Why do you want me to go to Detroit so badly?" Anant asked, curious about Rakesh's motives.
"I just want to see navya again and..." Rakesh trailed off.
"And..." anant prompted.
"It's a surprise." Rakesh said before exiting the conference room. Anant felt like punching the wall. What the hell is happening? First he cheats on navya, next he's so ridden with guilt that he can't think straight, and now Rakesh is trying to blackmail him.
"He what?" Hiten said when Anant told him about Rakesh blackmailing him.
"He has pictures, too." anant explained further.
"I knew it! This would come back to bite you! I told you so!" Hiten was rubbing it in.
"I know, now stop reminding me. What am I supposed to tell navya?" Anant said.
"Tell her it's a romantic getaway slash business trip." Hiten suggested.
"Like that's going to work." Anant replied.
"Maybe she won't question it." Hiten said, hopefully.
"I have to tell her tonight. The conference is this weekend." Anant said.
"What I don't understand is why he wants you there so bad..." Hiten pondered.
"He said it was a surprise." Anant answered.
"A surprise? It's going to be a crappy surprise." Hiten replied.
"Yeah I figured." Anant said, helplessly.
"Navya!" Anant called as he entered his mansion later that night. He went up to navya's room. Without thinking, he opened the door and walking without even knocking. He heard the shower running, and groaned. He desperately needed to talk to her, and here she was taking her time in the shower.
Anant sat down on the bed. After a few minutes, he laid down. He was tired, and it was his house. He was sure navya wouldn't care. He thought maybe he should knock and tell her he has something important to discuss, but he was too comfortable to get up.
"Anant," navya's voice reached Anant's ears. He had dozed off.
Anant's eyes fluttered open. He took in the scene before him. He was laying on the bed in navya's bedroom, and she was sitting on the edge of the bed, hovering over him. He noticed beads of water still on her cheeks from her shower. His hand automatically reached out to wipe them away, lingering for a moment to caress her cheek. navya's eyes floated between his hand and his face. She wasn't sure why anant was in her room, on her bed.
"We need to go to Detroit this weekend," Anant announced, sitting up.
"Why?" navya asked.
"Business trip." Anant said simply, carefully assessing her reaction.
navya didn't really react. She simply nodded. She knew business was a big part of Anant's life, and was happy that he was kind enough to take her along instead of leaving her all by herself.
"Okay then," Anant said, happy that navya didn't raise any questions. "Have the maids help you pack. We're leaving the day after tomorrow, and we'll be there for about a week."
"Alright." navya said. She wasn't giving much of a reaction.
"navya, are you alright?" Anant asked.
"It's just that...what if Payal wanted to visit this weekend?" navya asked.
"Did she say she was coming?" Anant answered.
"She's never been one to plan too far ahead of time. She'd probably just come over without informing anyone." navya said, thinking about Payal's unpredictability.
"Call her and tell her we won't be here. I'd invite her to come with us, but she'd miss class." Anant said.
Anant had a point. It's not like navya could ask Payal to come along. Class was too important. It saddened her that she no longer saw Payal often.
"Yeah I'll call her." she said quietly.
"Is there anything else wrong?" Anant asked, believing that Payal wasn't the only thing on navya's mind.
"No." she said bluntly.
"But you would tell me if there was, right?" Anant asked, hoping that she would be able to tell him anything.
"Of course." navya answered.
Something about her demeanor was off. She was acting different than when she came to meet him at his office. Anant worried that she'd become suspicious of his infidelity, but he knew he couldn't just come out and ask her. Then he thought maybe Rakesh had said something to her, but he knew better than to go near navya. Maybe anant had done something wrong this afternoon. Maybe he'd taken things a little too far with his outward flirting and the passionate makeup session they had on top of his desk. He thought it best just to leave it alone.
The trip to Detroit had come all too quickly. Anant and navya waited at the airport for their flight to be called. Being at the airport reminded navya of when she'd first arrived in America as a newly wedded bride. When they landed in Detroit, navya felt uneasy, not because of the plane ride but because something didn't seem right to her. She didn't feel the need to express her concern with anant, fearing that he'd start to worry about her and wouldn't be able to concentrate on his work.
"anant, glad you could make it." Rakesh stood, waiting to receive them as soon as they exited the airport. +
navya's body stiffened as she laid eyes on Rakesh, and a cold wave of fear consumed her.
navya crept behind Anant, and he could feel her fear at once. Rakesh stepped forward and continued to talk.
"Welcome to Detroit. Can I offer you a ride?" Rakesh said. A sense of dread came over navya. She did not want to be in a car with Rakesh.
"No thanks." Anant said curtly.
"Why not, Anant? I'm trying to be hospitable here." Rakesh replied.
"We're capable of finding our own way, but thanks for the concern." Anant said, walking away.
"Don't worry, navya. I had a hotel booked out of the city. He won't know where to find us." Anant reassured navya as a taxi pulled up.
navya was grateful that Anant was so clever. She had no idea that Rakesh was going to be attending this business conference in Detroit, otherwise she would've refused to come. After nearly an hour of driving, they finally pulled up to their hotel. It was a fancy, five star hotel, probably the most luxurious in the whole state. Anant had booked two enormous suites for them. The suites were adjacent to each other and even had a connecting glass sliding door.
"Take your pick." Anant said once they entered one of the suites. They looked identical, except the one next door had the bed positioned so that the person could look through the glass double doors when they laid down. navya decided to go for that one for no particular reason.
They arrived a day ahead of the start of the conference but Anant didn't feel like touring the city, instead he wanted to relax at the hotel. navya heard the sliding glass door slam as Anant slid it open and entered her room.
"I wonder why this is here." He was thinking aloud.
"Probably for married couples who don't stay in the same bedroom." navya replied sarcastically. 1
Anant let out a laugh. It was the first time he'd ever heard navya speak with a sarcastic tone. He liked this side of her.
"But actually though. There's no privacy." Anant pointed out.
"There's a curtain that can be drawn." said navya as she noticed the fabric on either side of the double doors.
"There's no need for that. It's not like we're strangers." Anant said, pulling navya closer to him.
"anant, what are you doing?" navya asked.
"What do you think I'm doing?" Anant replied. He didn't give navya a chance to reply. He gently placed a kiss on her lips. His phone rang, interrupting their kiss. Anant sighed as he answered it.
"Hello?" Anant said into his phone.
"Anant...where are you staying?" Hiten's voice asked through the phone.
"Hiten? Are you in Detroit?" Anant asked.
"Duh! Did you think I wouldn't find out where you went?" Hiten replied dramatically.
"Oh my god, such a drama queen," Anant laughed.
"Tell me where you are!" Hiten whined.
Anant told Hiten where the hotel was located. Hiten agreed to come to the same hotel after some complaining about its far proximity from Detroit and after a little convincing from Anant. +
"Hiten found us." Anant told navya, who smiled back in response.
"When does the conference start?" navya asked.
"This evening. Let's hope Hiten doesn't get lost otherwise we won't make it in time." Anant replied.
Hiten bribed the cab driver to drive particularly fast so that he could reach the hotel as soon as possible.
"Bhabhi!" Hiten engulfed navya in a hug when she answered the door.
"Hiten," Anant said in a serious voice.
Hiten looked up at Anant.
"Anant!" He exclaimed, releasing Priya and engulfing Anant in an even bigger hug without missing a beat.
Anant shrugged out of Hiten's hug.
"Took you long enough." He commented. Hiten pouted.
"Bhabhi, do you see how this guy treats me?" Hiten turned tonavyaa for support. 1
"Where's your room?" Anant asked.
"Right next door, of course." replied Hiten. "Whoa! What's this?" Hiten walked into the room and went to take a closer look at the sliding glass doors that separated Anant's rooms from navya's.
"It's a door." said Anant.
"What's it doing here? This should count as two rooms! This isn't fair!" Hiten said.
navya stifled a laugh. Hiten whined over the most menial things.
"Um...we need to get going." Anant said, changing the topic.
"Fine, let's go." Hiten said defeatedly.
The three left to go into the city. During the ride, Hiten kept on complaining about their hotel's distance away from Detroit. He didn't understand that navya needed to stay away from Rakesh.
"It's only the opening remarks and a bunch of other boring things. We don't actually do anything tonight." Anant explained to navya.
"And they talk at us...forever." Hiten added.
Navyaa took in all the information. Business conferences did not sound like fun. 1
When they arrived at the venue, they didn't see Rakesh anywhere. Anant thought this was weird. It was Rakesh that had forced him to attending this boring business conference, and yet he himself didn't bother to show up. The conference was being held in order to convince large, multinational companies to go green. Going green was an initiative that Anant and Hiten had started in their companies years ago. They didn't need to be here.
"Can he be any more boring?" Hiten commented under his breath.
"Hiten, don't be rude." Anant reprimanded.
"But he's right." navya agreed with Hiten.
Hiten let out a loud laugh, which attracted some unwanted attention. Hiten tried to cover it up by faking a cough. It didn't work. Anant Hiten, and navya left before they could get kicked out.
"What the hell happened to you?" Anant said, trying to stifle a laugh.
"Bhabhi is so funny!" Hiten answered. 2
Navya gave Anant an innocent look.
"This is bullshit! We're already using sustainable energy. Why the hell are we here?" Hiten said. As soon as he said it, he wish he hadn't. They were here because of Anant's mistake. Rakesh was blackmailing him. 1
Navya looked slightly confused, but didn't comment.
"Um let's hit the city tonight!" Hiten quickly changed the subject. "I bet Detroit has all kinds of nightclubs."1
"Hiten." Anant said in a warning voice. Anant was never going to set foot in a club again. Last time he did, he cheated on Navya. 2
"Well, we might as well have a good time." Hiten defended, not realizing the problem with his suggestion.
"What about Aditi?" Navya chimed in.
"Yeah, Hiten. I bet Aditi wouldn't be too happy after she hears about your late night excursions." anant teased.
Hiten paused. Damn! They had him. He was seriously considering being in a relationship with Aditi. He liked her too much, and he wasn't sure how jealous she was.
"Dammit. That's a good point." Hiten conceded. "So what do we do?"
Anant began to think. The obvious answer was go have dinner. After that, they'd have to scour the city, looking for something to pass their time.
"Oh. My. God." Hiten suddenly said dramatically.
"What's wrong?" Anant asked.
"I'm a third wheel." Hiten said sadly. "That's why you didn't tell me where the conference was. It's because you wanted to get all romantic with Bhabhi, and here I am, being a damn third wheel."2
"What the hell are you talking about?" Anant asked
"Anant, you're a good friend for trying to make me think that all of this is okay. I don't know what possessed me to come out here. I'm just in the way. It's obvious that you planned this whole thing as a romantic getaway for you and Bhabhi." Hiten went on.
Anant understood. Hiten had suggested that Anant tell navya that this conference was just an excuse to take her out when he'd first told him about Rakesh's blackmailing. What he didn't understand was where Hiten was going with all of this drama. He couldn't focus all of this attention on navya. He needed to figure out why Rakesh had blackmailed him into attending this pointless business conference.
"I should leave now." Hiten dramatically turned away and walked off before Anant could say anything.
Anant looked down at his phone that had just beeped. It was a message from Hiten, giving him directions to some place. When Anant asked him what this place was, Hiten replied saying it was a secret but to go for navya's sake.
"Navya, let's go." Anant said.
"Where?" navya asked.
"It's a surprise." Anant said, knowing full well that he didn't know either.
Anant hailed a cab and gave the driver step-by-step directions exactly as Hiten has sent them to him. They pulled to what looked like a spa resort. Anant hesitantly stepped out of the taxi and walked around to open the door for navya. He cautiously glanced around, wondering if this was the right place.
"Hi sir, how may I help you?" a young woman at the front desk greeted. navya was busy observing the lobby area.
"Um, my friend sent us here." Anant explained in a hushed tone.
"Your name please?" The woman replied.
"Anant Bajpai." Anant replied unsurely. navya had wandered to his side.
"Ah yes Mr. Bajpai. You're booked for the Sweethearts' Getaway Package." the woman said.
"The what?" Anant asked.
"It includes a eucalyptus steam with complimentary champagne as well as side-by-side aromatherapy massages followed by spa facials and a candlelight dinner to top it all off." The woman explained. 1
Anant glanced at navya who looked hesitant.
"Can you give us a moment?" Anant said to the woman. He took navya aside.
"Don't you like the surprise?" Anant asked, though he wasn't too keen on it himself. Hiten meant well but clearly this wasn't the thing for him and navya.
"It sounds lovely." navya answered.
"But..." Anant prompted.
"It seems really...intimate." navya's voice lowered.
Those were Anant's thoughts exactly. He wasn't the type to just sit back and be doted on my strangers, and watch other strangers dote on his wife. He was a man of action. If he wanted to ignite some romance between, he'd make it happen just like he did when he took navya out on their first date. Also, he knew navya would not appreciate being unclothed during the steam session and the massage. Since this was a couples package, he would also be in the room, which he knew wouldn't sit well with navya.
"We can cancel. It's not a problem." Anant suggested.
"No, we should...um but I..."navya tried to say. She felt bad that Anant had made all these plans and she was being reluctant again. "We shouldn't cancel. It's a great surprise."+
Anant didn't believe navya, but he didn't question her. He was surprised that she'd agreed to do such an intimate thing with him. Maybe she was changing after all.
Anant and navya stood awkwardly in the changing room. They were told to get ready for their steam.
"Do you want me to leave while you get ready?" Anant asked. navya shook her head.
"Are you okay?" Anant continued. navya nodded, offering a small smile.
"We don't have to do this." Anant said, sensing Priya's discomfort.
"No, I want to." navya replied.
"It doesn't seem like it." Anant pointed out.
"Anant, I'm trying. I...I want to be your wife." navya reasoned.
"navya, you're already my wife." Anant chuckled.
"You know what I mean." navya replied.
"I know, and I appreciate the effort. I don't want you to be uncomfortable. Let's just skip the steam. There's no need for us to be almost naked in a hot room together...well not now at least." Anant smirked.
navya blushed at the thought. She didn't protest. She was actually relieved. Anant talked to the woman at the front desk, informing her of certain changes he wanted to make to the package. Next were the spa facials.
"navya, I'm not doing this." Anant said. Looks like navya wasn't the only one who was reluctant to try some of these spa treatments.
"Why not?" navya giggled.
"Facials are for girls. I'm a man." anant replied in all seriousness.
navya couldn't control herself, she started laughing so hard. Anant watched her with an offended expression, trying desperately to hide his amusement.
"I'd still consider you a man if you got a facial." navya reassured Anant.
"Thanks, navya, but I'm still not doing this." Anant replied.
"May I make a suggestion?" The woman at the counter turned to the couple. "Why don't you take a steam, while she gets a spa facial? That way, you'll both be done in time for your massage."
"That's...actually a great idea!" Anant replied.
After Anant had a steam, and navya finished her facial, they met in a private room for their couples massage. The room was dimly lit with bowls of rose petal placed throughout in an effort to make the ambience more romantic. Two massage tables were sitting beside each other, close enough for both people laying on them to be able to hold hands during their massage. Anant entered to find navya already waiting in the massage room. He was wearing a long robe, but navya was still in the gold sari she'd arrived in.
"I'll leave while you change." Anant said, backing out of the room.
"Anant," navya stopped him, "I can't...wear this."
"Wear a towel?" Anant asked, "Yeah I figured you wouldn't. Didn't you get a massage done when I sent you to a spa?" he asked.
"No not a massage." navya said.
"Looks like we have a problem ." Anant said.
navya looked down. Anant walked over to her and turned her around so that her back was facing him. He started pulling at the strings that fastened her blouse. She quickly spun around and pushed Anant's hands away. +
"What are you doing?" navya asked.
"Just trust me on this." Anant replied.
"But.." navya protested.
"navya, you said you wanted to try to open up to me more. You're going to have to trust me." Anant said.
navya nodded. She turned back around. Anant started untying navya's blouse again. He was impressed with how well she was taking it. She obviously seemed apprehensive, but she didn't resist. Anant's eyes wandered over navya's back. He looked away, knowing that he was bound to get carried away if he kept staring at her. He walked around to face her. navya looked up at him, still nervous and unsure about his intentions. Anant took the drape of navya's sari off of her shoulder. navya's gaze followed his hands.
"Hold this." He instructed her. She took ahold of the drape and held it to her chest.
Anant peeled navya's blouse off her shoulders. He noticed navya constantly biting her lip and smiled.
"navya, it's okay. I'm just getting you ready for a nice, relaxing massage." Anant reassured her.
He pulled her blouse down a little further. She clutched the drape tightly against her front torso. Anant took her hand and pulled her to the massage table. He told her to lay down on the table. navya did as she was told. Anant walked to the other massage table and untied his robe. navya turned her face away. anant laid down on the table and turned to look at navya.
"navya, it's okay. I'm decent." He chuckeled.
navya blushed. Anant laid on the table without a shirt. The lower half of his body was concealed under the blanket that was on the massage table. navya felt a lot better that she didn't have to lay on the table topless. Only her back upper back and shoulders were exposed. She felt a little uncomfortable, but she trusted Anant. The masseuses had magical hands. They were both women who knew what they were doing. Neither of them commented on navya's reluctance to undress. navya had never felt so relaxed before. Anant resisted the urge to succumb to the relaxation. He worried that navya wasn't enjoying herself. He glanced over at navya, who looked calm and tranquil. Anant reached out and placed a hand on her arm. Her eyes fluttered open. She looked at him with a curious expression. His hand traveled down her arm and grasped her hand. navya linked her fingers with Anant's, and their hands stayed connected throughout their massage.
"That felt amazing." navya commented afterwards. They were waiting for their after spa dinner that was part of the package.
"Yeah, it was better than I expected." Anant admitted.
"Right this way, sir." A waiter appeared out of nowhere and led Anant and navya to their table. There a restaurant near the spa, and that was where the after spa dinners were held. Anant was impressed with the setup. He'd never heard of a spa and restaurant teaming up to offer such a unique spa experience.
"I'm starving!" Anant said, eyeing the menu.
Their dinner was hardly as romantic as Anant had hoped. The restaurant was a little crowded and didn't have the right ambience. navya wasn't complaining, so Anant said nothing about his dissatisfaction. Anant and navya had made the most of their experience though. They sat for hours after their meal, just talking to each other and enjoying each other's company.
The restaurant was about to close. Anant and navya were the only ones left in the restaurant. Thunder crashed outside as rain began to pour down.
"Shit! It's going to be impossible to find a cab in this weather." Anant said angrily.
"What about that one?" navya spotted an empty cab, near the parking lot of the spa.
Anant ran through the rain and began conversing with the cab driver. He seemed reluctant at first but eventually agreed to drive them after Anant had greased his palm a little. Anant motioned for navya to come to the cab. Anant told the man where their hotel was located.
"That's mighty far out of the city." The driver commented.
"Drive as much as you can. I know the storm is bad." Anant said.
The driver agreed and began to head out of Detroit. The rain got heavier as time passed. The strong Midwestern winds combined with the heavy rain made driving conditions deplorable. They were on a long stretch of road and no one else was anywhere to be seen.
"This is as far as I'll go." The driver said once they entered another town.
Anant tried to convince the man to drive further, but the driver wouldn't agreeing, saying it was too dangerous. Anant and navya got out of the cab and took shelter under an overhang of a close by building.
"Great! What the hell are we supposed to do now?" Anant said, frustrated.
"Maybe we should find a nearby hotel. There's no way we'll make it back to ours in this weather." navya suggested. 1
"I guess we have no choice." Anant relented.
The weather had gotten so bad that Anant and navya were forced to stop at the first hotel they came across. It was a small, modest hotel, unlike the five star resorts Anant was used to. The couple had no choice, however. They desperately needed shelter.
"Two rooms, please." Anant told the scruffy man at the front desk. The man peered from behind the magazine he was intensely focused on and gave Anant a disgusted look.
"We only have one room available," He announced in a snarky tone.1
"We'll take that one." Anant replied, irritated by the man's tone.
"Fine. Credit card only." The man demanded.
Anant handed him his platinum credit card. The man's eyes traveled to navya's dripping wet body, stopping on her chest. Aman took a step to the side, obstructing the man's view of navya. The man handed Anant they key to the room. Anant scowled at him. After getting the key, Anant navya quickly went in search for their room.1
"There was only one room left, but I'm sure we can make it work." Anant said as he led navya down a hallway. navya, who was following behind, said nothing. At this point, she really didn't mind sharing a room with anant. They had done it for so long when Payal was visiting that the thought no longer seemed daunting. She'd even been disappointed when Anant moved her belongings out of his bedroom.
"This is it." Anant said, stopping in front of the last room in the hallway. He unlocked and opened the door.
They looked around the room. It was sparsely furnished and not very clean. There was grungy carpeting throughout, no television, no mini fridge, and a single queen-sized bed that looked a little small.
"Damn." Anant commented.
"It's..." Navya offered
"Disgusting." Finished Anant. "But it's all that's around. The weather is terrible. It's a good thing we found even this. We need to get out of these wet clothes."
"We don't have any more clothes." navya replied, concerned.
She started feeling cold. She wrapped her arms around her torso in an effort to get warmer. She eyed the bed, wishing she could be under the covers.
"I know, but we don't have a choice. We're going to get sick if we keep these on." Anant said.
"But what do we wear?" asked navya.
"Um...nothing." Anant replied quietly.
"Anant!" she said in disbelif.
"No! Not like that. We just don't have anything to change into. Look, we'll stay under the covers all night. I won't see anything you don't want me to." Anant explained.
"We can't do that!" navya said. She felt the heat rising to her cheeks as she contemplated a night with Anant without any clothes on. 1
"Then what do we do?" Anant asked, frustrated that navyawas being difficult again.
navya was quiet. She couldn't come up with an alternative solution.
"You undress here. Get under the covers. I'll take the bathroom." Anant said. He walked over to the bathroom, took one of the large bath towels and handed it to navya.
"Here, wrap this around yourself. It's better than nothing. We'll hang your sari in the bathroom to dry." Anant didn't wait for a reply. He walked off to the bathroom again and slammed the door shut.
Navya stood in the room completely perplexed. She really had no other choice. She already felt cold and she didn't want to risk getting sick and ruining their trip. She sighed and began fiddling with her sari. She untied her blouse and let it fall to the floor. She bag unwrapping her sari. She felt colder and colder as she undressed. navya reached for the towel and wrapped it tightly around her body. She felt naked even with the towel around her. It showed her shoulders and fell right above her knees. She gathered all of her clothes and walked to the bathroom. With a slight hesitation, she knocked on the door. Anant cracked the door open, but navya stopped it before he could open it wide enough to see her.
"I need to go in." She said quietly.
Anant nodded. navya stepped aside, so Anant could open it all the way. Anant flung the door open and stepped out. He was wearing nothing but a towel that was wrapped securely around his waist. navya hid behind the open door as she watched Anant. Her gazed traveled up his muscular back. A blush crept up her neck. She made no effort to move from behind the door.
"Don't worry, navya." Anant said, still facing away from her. "I won't turn around. Go inside."2
navya quickly emerged from behind the door and shut it behind her. She took a deep breath once she was safety inside the bathroom. She wrung out her sari in the sink before hanging it over the shower door next to Anant's clothes. She looked around the bathroom. Her eyes fell on the towel rack. She and Anant had already taken the bath towels. navya took one of the smaller towels and started drying her hair. She dried off the rest of her body as best as she could. She cracked open the bathroom door ever so slightly. She peeked through to see Anant ravaging through the closet.
"Dammit!" Anant cursed, "No robes. If this was a five star hotel, there would be some damn robes!" He said to himself.
"Anant," navya called.
Anant looked over at the bathroom. navya quickly slammed the door closed. She looked down at the towel that barely covered anything, feeling embarrassed. There was a quiet knock on the door.
"navya, it's okay." Anant's voice said soothingly.
Navya cracked open the door and positioned her body so that it couldn't be seen through the crack.
"Come on out." Anant said. "I won't look." He turned his back to navya and stepped away from the door. navya came out, keeping her eyes on Anant who was facing away from her. She quickly made it to the bed and ducked below the warm covers.
"You can turn around now." navya said, clutching the sheets to her torso.
Anant slowly turned around. He saw navya completely swathed in the sheets. He walked over to the bed and carefully lifted the covers just enough to squeeze under them. Anant hadn't realized how cold he felt until after he was enveloped in warmth of the covers.
"Are you okay?" He asked navya, who looked visibly uncomfortable. She nodded but didn't say anything. She wouldn't even look at him.
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