Chapter IV
Varad accompanied Shlok to the nearest empty room and closed the door "Shlok, are you ok? What happened?" Shlok was looking at him blinking absentmindedly "I don't know. I... saw her on the staircase and then... you took me away".
"Shlok, you stood there like a statue and exactly as talkative as the one. Did she remind you of something?" Varad knew Shlok too well to understand he was not himself. "No, it was not that. I was so... I don't know... she's like... a drug injection" Shlok looked really scared and lost. He came up to the window and crossed his arms over his chest "I didn't recognize her at first but then... she looked at me and... Varad, what was that?"
Shlok used to feel confident about his thoughts; he could afford himself to rely on his head as it has never failed him. No matter what mess he stuck into he could get out of it due to his common sense and the power for forecasting the future. He closed his eyes and tried to evoke his senses but... failed. He could not predict anything except one single thing - he wanted her. She looked at him with polite modesty in her eyes and that drove him mad. She paid no attention towards his appearance and he found it challenging and provoking. The only woman he was interested in was not interested in him. He should make everything to intrigue her, to surprise otherwise she would forget his face tomorrow. He should act but act wisely. Should he address her openly? Confess? Was he capable of that? He was capable of anything if he believed in it; Shlok Agnihotri believed in her and him together.
Shlok spent the rest of the day observing Miss Astha Kirloskar like a hawk from his strategic position. Observing her that day his sixth sense suggested him she was not a cold woman, she was able to fall in love and she was able to love but she preferred to stay distant from the joy and did not want to be touched. He feared Astha Kirloskar was hurt... badly; that was the only reasonable explanation to that restraint, aloofness and dull eyes. She smiled rarely but when she did he felt a flutter in his heart.
He was unable to take his eyes of her. He has lived many years having no idea she was already there, grown up and educated... his woman, the woman he was born for. When Shlok was looking at her he was desperately eager to know what it felt like to touch her. The feeling was very real, nearly palpable. At first it was like an avalanche, then this avalanche "swallowed" you, consumed you, you felt your lungs aching because of oxygen lack. Due to supernatural efforts you dived out only to feel you fall down again hit by the unknown object from the sky.
If you met the love of your life time stopped at first... but when time started again it moved superfast when she was nearby and slowing down when she was away. Shlok felt he has known her, met somewhere, maybe in a previous life, many many times before, so he had no illusion of a choice; all has been decided for him. She was not his type if he ever had any before... but the moment he saw her he suddenly realized he had. Astha Kirloskar was the only type of woman he could think of.
God has not spared him, gave him no time to contemplate, to prepare, he only could say he was preparing for that his entire life but appeared to be not ready. In one minute it was all over. He fulfilled his destiny.
He has never felt himself alone, he was a member of a strong family; they sustained and strengthen his "roots" giving him all the opportunities to develop his "branches" that grew stronger with years. He used to think his tree would manage alone in the field surviving the storms and thunders, scorching sun and drought but then... he saw a lonely woman who came up to his tree and he has lost all his concepts except one... he should protect that human from all the miseries to cover her with his crown and keep her safe. He could be her roof, her support, her shelter if only she agreed.
He lived alone in Mumbai but he was connected to the family not only through blood but through respect and ultimate confidence the happiness of each member was the concern of everybody. He left parental nest more than a decade ago, at first for studying, then for starting his career which appeared to be really successful due to his persistence, intellect and sense. Once or twice a year he visited Pune to get his portion of mother's adoration and father's pride. He knew he was the feather in his father's cap. Niranjan Agnihotri in his turn was the backbone in Shlok's spine; Anjuli was the heart in his chest. He was far from being a perfect son, he knew what they lived through bringing him up: once he nearly drowned, twice was in a car accident and three times Niranjan traveled to Mumbai during the student years when Mr. Shlok Agnihotri took part in illegal activities like crack smoking or fights. The poor father performed his duties with utmost serenity trying to bring sense into his son's head and life rewarded his efforts with his son's achievements. Eleven years later after Shlok's departure he became one of the top managers in multinational company in Mumbai with a paycheck about ten million a year which made Niranjan realize he was right when he taught his son to contemplate, to question...or better say to think, instead of the common fatherly mistake to teach children what to think. He trusted him enough to understand Shlok could handle everything in his life himself, even the way he pronounced the simple phrase "I am" was an extra proof for everybody that children did not belong to the parents but were designed to create their own destiny; the parents could only choose whether to help them or not.
Shlok stood by the window engrossed in his thoughts remembering his talk with his brother "Varad, when you married Sojal... what did you feel?" During his entire adult life Varad had relied almost as much on his intuition as on his intellect, and at that moment he didn't want to believe they discussed Sojal "You know damn well, what I felt..." Varad was not sure about the incident; he would have never believed if hadn't seen it with his own eyes. He understood Shlok was up to something "What do you want to do? This is the main question now" Varad was still bemused Shlok Agnihotri became speechless before a girl. Shlok was a desperate flirt no matter how beautiful girls were he was sharing his inner harmony and confidence without hesitation. Charm and wit were inseparable part of his nature; there was some lightness about him which attracted people and mostly women.
"Shlok, she may look beautiful but not necessarily she is beautiful. You know what I mean" Varad didn't like her; of course, he was a man enough to appreciate her but there were too many "excesses" about that icy beauty - too beautiful, too sophisticated, too silent, too aloof... Women like her could crumble man's heart in one second with their tenacious claws. What happened today was not matching the notion of common sense, Shlok could see it too and Varad felt his subconscious fear. There was actually no sense in all that unhappy coincidences.
"I don't care how she looks. I can't stay away from her..." It was all mixed up in one complex knot in one minute thanks to that stunning siren. Varad was puzzled at the fact she did not try to flirt or to attract Shlok in any possible way and he could guess only two possible reasons: she was indifferent towards her countenance or it was a cunning trick to make his brother "die" for her. If first, it was next to impossible as she was not a young child to judge the reality so incorrectly but if the second... Shlok was even in a greater danger he thought.
Varad heard of such notion as a vamp or as the French said femme fatal... Each man could get into that trap. Some were lucky to live their life avoiding that experience but Varad was afraid his brother has met the one and jumped into the abyss headlong having no vertigo. That particular abyss did not pardon those who made false steps and never let anyone return alive after they met the rocky bottom. Varad was "sober" enough to comprehend all that could not end well: it looked too acute, too fast, and too unpredictable but what was the worst... it was too deep and too strong.
again an amazing update
but i hope Aastha will open up to him
and Varad won't think about Aastha that bad for ever :D
you described their emotions, their thoughts so clearly as if you could read through them
REALLY AMAZING
But pls a few spoilers for the upcoming chapter 😳😳
