They had barely reached the start of the long buffet table when a man in his sixties walked up to them.

"Aadarsh, my boy!"

Aadarsh immediately put up his formal smile. "Mr. Goenka! What a pleasure to see you here." Ruhaani pressed her lips to keep herself from laughing. Aadarsh as a social butterfly was amusing.

The man smiled, "likewise Aadarsh. Come on over, for a drink, there's someone I would like you to meet."

Aadarsh glanced at Ruhaani who already had a plate in her hand and had scooped some of the fritters and salad onto it.

"If you don't mind, Beta, can I steal your husband away for a few minutes?" The man asked immediately noticing Ruhaani.

"Sure, uncle." She smiled turning to Aadarsh wondering if he wanted to go or stay. He gave her a brief nod and walked away with the man. It was surprising to witness Aadarsh's 'networking' side. He was remarkably very good at his social skills. She had heard quite a few compliments about him from people through the evening. Why did he have to be a wuss when it came to her?

She filled her plate as per her choice and decided to take an empty table instead of joining someone she didn't know.

The last thing she wanted was to fake smile and make polite conversations while eating. She settled on a round table that had been covered by a white cloth elegantly. Her eyes went around wondering where Mr. Goenka had taken away Aadarsh.

Finally her eyes spotted him, by the bar with a group of five other men. They all had crystal glasses in their hand filled with golden liquid. She popped one of the fritters in her mouth observing him. The tux flattered his physique, making him look dapper.

He was smiling and making conversation, even laughing occasionally. Such a double faced man. He never laughed so openly on her jokes, instead just gave dead stares.

Bored, she let her gaze go around. Social events like a wedding reception were so pointless. It was like people coming to show off. Some their material wealth, some their fake happiness. Inside, each person was fighting a battle. They all camouflaged the ugliness inside with a pretty outfit.

Her gaze went back to her husband. He was also a part of that crowd. Smiling, talking, drinking, looking dashing as ever. The expensive suit on his frame, the watch of a luxury brand on his wrist and a pricey drink in his glass. It was all for show. Deep inside, he was worrying about a court case, fussing to make an impression on the right people to gain contracts and deals. The smile he wore was merely a result of training his muscles to be in a certain way.

Why were people so hollow?

How did they deal with that hollowness?

Didn't it suck them in that ugly hollowness?

She'd rather be at home, playing chess with Nirvan or snuggling up with Mukti or hearing Pari's dramatic stories while untangling her hair or helping DJ in the kitchen listening to her stories from when she was younger. To think people wasted days on events such as this, when life was so short. When every moment was rapidly becoming a memory.

Well she wasn't living her life to a full too. She also wasted good many hours reading fiction, reading something that was someone else's imagination. It was her escape from reality too.

Perhaps that was what life was supposed to be. Making choices on how you spend every moment. Perhaps she was misjudging the people around. Maybe dressing up, looking their best, making conversations with strangers, spending time with their social circle, maybe it brought them the satisfaction. The same satisfaction she got watching rain through a window, or spending time with people she loved.

The food was delicious. While she was eating she called Abhi to check on him. Abhi might be a great man but she didn't trust him a bit when it came to kids. He almost always became one of them. The other afternoon when he was back home early from office he had literally been playing soccer indoors with the kids.

Aadarsh glanced at his watch, discreetly, it had been over fifteen minutes. As Pawan—an architect Aadarsh had worked with on few projects—was sharing the highlights of the recent deal he had closed in Dubai, Aadarsh let his gaze go around the lawn. His eyes searching for her.

It wasn't hard to spot her. She was directly across the lawn from the bar, beyond the buffet table. She had her phone pressed to her ear and was talking to the person on the other side of the line with animated expressions. Stupid of him to think she'd be out of place without him.

Very few people had the courage to eat alone in a crowd. She was one of them.

He sipped from the glass of scotch, the Senior Goenka had shoved into his hand. His attention going back to the conversation.

Ruhaani ended the call with Abhi and looked up towards where Aadarsh had been. She had noticed two women join the group of men. The one in the shimmery golden ready-made saree was clearly only there to gawk at Aadarsh.

Not that Ruhaani gave a damn, she was used to women paying devoted attention to Aadarsh. Somehow they missed the small wedding ring on his finger. Or perhaps they didn't. She had once read that women in general found taken men more attractive. Something she could barely digest.

Surprisingly, tonight Aadarsh seemed to be returning the attention. To anyone who was observing them, he would come off as a charming admirer. Not that it bothered her. Still she found her gaze flitting back towards them once in a while.

Minutes later she decided to play that stupid game Mukti played on her phone once in a while. She'd be better off crushing some coloured bubbles instead of noticing every action of her husband from afar. Minutes ticked away comfortably. After she had finished five levels she looked up, to where Aadarsh was.

"Ready for the second round?"

A voice from behind her startled her as she ran her gaze around trying to find where Aadarsh and the woman had disappeared. She turned to find his face floating over her shoulder.

"Got scared?" Aadarsh grinned, placing his hand on the chair she sat on.

"No." She answered, looking ahead, he reeked of the typical alcohol smell.

"So, second round?" He asked, looking at her almost empty plate.

"Nope. I am ready for the first round of Dessert!" She announced getting up from her chair.

They walked over to the variety of delicious dishes presented in a line. Ruhaani held his arm and led him ahead to the middle of the line as soon as he had taken the plate in his hands.

"Wait, the starters," he said perplexed.

"You won't like them. Just take the sweet corn salad."

"I haven't even tried them," he protested.

"They are spicy, Aadarsh. Especially for you."

Aadarsh stared at her as she started listing the items he could take instead. Ruhaani's thoughtfulness had always impressed him. But tonight it made him feel oddly warm in the chest.

He quietly followed her advice. They both returned to the table her plate filled with tiny portions of a variety of desserts and his filled with portions of food she recommended.

"Isn't eating a combination of those desserts and insult to them?" He asked eyeing the piece of cheesecake placed in between the small bowl of gulab jamun and piece of kunafa.

"I am just sampling them. That's what one should do in functions like these. Take tiny portions of everything."

He listened as he took a piece of the roti with the paneer gravy. Almost everything on his plate was the usual. He hadn't realized how hungry he was until the first morsel. The food was tasty. Not too spicy. He was surprised she knew what he liked, what he wouldn't.

"Who were you talking to?" Aadarsh initiated the conversation.

"Abhi. He was in the kitchen making Maggi for all of them. And Ashvi ordered food from outside." She sighed.

"Not surprised," Aadarsh mumbled chewing. Ruhaani had cooked the dinner for them without Dai Jaan's supervision. Only an idiot would want to test his luck with that.

"I made rajma gravy for them. It took me a full two hours." She muttered a bit annoyed.

Aadarsh smiled. Her annoyance was so damn entertaining.

"Why are you smiling?" She said, looking up at him with a look of disbelief.

"This food is good." He said instead of answering her question.

"Aren't you suddenly in a very good mood?" She muttered, irked. Remembering how he was smiling, chuckling and talking to the other woman. Had they been flirting?

"Yeah, I might have had some good conversations."

"Of course!" She muttered, her thoughts going back to the model like lady who had been conversing with. "Perhaps a drink or two as well." She added.

"I.."

"Don't deny. I saw the glass in your hand. I am driving on the way back."

Aadarsh's eyes brightened up with amusement. "So you had your eyes on me."

Ruhaani blinked. She didn't want to say anything to that. It was neither a question nor an assertion. "The brownie sucks." She said something totally irrelevant to current topic.

Aadarsh turned to her, thoroughly entertained. She picked up the piece of kunafa and bit into it, instead of using a fork to break a piece and enjoy it. She picked up her tissue but it fell onto the ground before she could press it against her mouth. He picked up his tissue and passed it to her.

"Thanks," she said quickly. To his astonishment, instead of cleaning her mouth, she took out the morsel from her mouth on to the tissue.

"what are you doing!" He exclaimed repulsed.

"It's horrible!" She crunched up her face in disgust and quickly picked up the dessert spoon and ate a little of the cheese cake to change the taste of her mouth. Her fingers folding the tissue.

Aadarsh shook his head and watched her for a few seconds more, before turning his gaze to look around. Making sure no one was watching them.

"I thought five star hotels means five star food. I can make a better kunafa than this!" She claimed.

"Can you?" He asked.

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"...make kunafa I mean. Do you know how to make kunafa?" He rephrased.

"No. I can learn it watching YouTube."

"Of course, you can!" He muttered. "Have you had a kunafa before?"

"No."

He blinked at her. He picked up a piece of the remaining kunafa on her plate and put it into his mouth.

She looked at him in disbelief, like he had done the most ridiculous thing ever. Despite her disapproval he was eating it. She didn't know he could go that far to prove her wrong.

"It's splendid." He spoke. "I haven't eaten a better one before. People have been praising it. Apparently, a chef from the Gulf had specially been appointed for making these."

"Oh. Then kunafa sucks. I would prefer kheer any day."

Aadarsh shook his head slightly and turned to her. "Some things are an acquired taste. You don't necessarily like them at first but over time ..." She turned to look at him. He blinked as his gaze met hers. "they become ..."

"Tolerable?" She prompted as his voice trailed off, looking at him with a quirked brow.

"Likeable." He corrected.

"Well, I don't do acquired taste. If I like it at first go, I like it. If not, then, I move on to better things. Like..." she stretched the word and picked up the bowl, "gulab jamun."

Aadarsh returned his gaze to his plate with a smile. It must be the drink. It had to be that. Drinking on an empty stomach was a bad idea. Perhaps scotch over namesake champagne was a still worse idea. He hadn't been talking about kunafa, he was talking about her.

Ruhaani looked around. She wanted to ask him about the court case, about his uncle, about what the other Sehgal meant when he spoke of his reputation. But he was in a much better mood now and she didn't want to deal with a pissed Aadarsh again.

Over half an hour later they were making their way across the huge lawn towards the exit after paying their parting compliments the groom's family. His hand had been holding hers. Ruhaani had an inkling that Aadarsh's good mood was a testament that his drink was getting to his head. They ran into the same woman from earlier who had been chatting with Aadarsh earlier.

"Leaving already, Aadarsh?" She said with a smile.

"Yes," he said with a smile. He turned to Ruhaani as he noticed the woman turn her gaze to her.

"Oh, let me introduce you to my wife, Ruhaani." He turned to Ruhaani, "This is Sarah Malik, wife of Aadil Malik, we met him earlier."

"Aha, nice to meet you Ruhaani." The woman said stepping forward to give her a formal hug. Aadarsh's hand finally left hers.

Ruhaani wore a smile. "Nice to meet you too." She couldn't believe the woman was married to Aadil Malik. He might have been over twenty years older to her.

"I was telling your husband earlier, that how I regret to have missed your wedding. If it wasn't for a fashion show in Paris I would have definitely attended it." Ruhaani noticed, how the woman's hand touched Aadarsh's other arm.

"Oh, Paris. That's wonderful." Ruhaani remarked.

"Most definitely. Modelling for a Paris designer was like a dream come true." Sarah smiled.

"I can only imagine!" Ruhaani plastered a smile to her face. Now that she stood before her, so close, she realized how much of her skin was exposed. Her blouse was one without sleeves, a tube blouse. It hugged her so tight that it pushed up her breasts giving more than a modest glimpse to viewers.

"We should hang out sometime. I have invited Aadarsh so many times for a meal. But him and Aadil, they just know how to do work. Now that we've met, I extend the invitation to you as well. We should definitely plan something because these men never will. Let's hang out sometime."

"Sure," Ruhaani said with a tight smile turning to Aadarsh. Her quota of small talk had exhausted. This woman was too sweet, too over-charming, too sugar coated for her liking.

"Will see you around then, Sarah. We should really get going. It was a pleasure seeing you after so long." Aadarsh said cordially.

"Oh the pleasure was mine. Good night!" She gave a quick formal hug to Ruhaani and then her hands flew to Aadarsh's shoulders. Ruhaani looked away, her fingers tucking her hair behind the ear. The woman had been dying to do that. She noticed Aadarsh's hand rest on her waist out of the corner of her eye.

They ambled ahead quietly, as soon as Sarah walked away.

"So you've been friends with her for long?" She asked despite her brain telling her that it wasn't her business to know.

"No. Just a few functions like these. Why?" He asked turning to her. He had been thinking and rethinking if he should hold her hand again. He wanted to.

"Just like that. Seemed like a good friend." Ruhaani remarked, using her hand to hold her pleats.

"You're jealous." He said with a grin.

She turned to him sharply, "No. Why would I be?"

"Why would you not?" He argued as they walked through the archway that was relatively empty now.

"Why should I?" She shrugged. "It's not like we..." she shut her mouth midway realizing she was not thinking but reacting. She should think before speaking.

"...Not like we?" He asked, his hand moving towards hers. Their fingers brushing against each others as he slowly fitted his between hers. Their steps halting.

Ruhaani gulped. "Jealousy is immature. I am not dumb. And why would I be jealous of her?" She meant those words. She had a better husband, a better family and she would go so far as to say a better brain and personality.

"Maybe because she was a showstopper of a Paris fashion show?" He suggested, his eyes fixated on hers. It was rare to see conflict in Ruhaani's eyes. She was always the one who was sorted, who knew exactly what she wanted and what she felt.

Ruhaani scoffed and then smiled. "I would kill to not be in her place." She placed more weight on the word 'not'. "Wearing something that someone else chooses for you, even if you don't like it, even if you're not comfortable and walking a ramp with a hundred eyes watching you is a nightmare. Not a dream. At least for me it's undoubtedly a nightmare."

Aadarsh was surprised. She meant those words. Suddenly the usual confidence was back in her demeanour. He had only known women who wanted to look better, who were crazy for fashion, for Paris. Even his sisters were crazy for stylish clothing, make up and everything else that made them look beautiful.

"Come on let's go," she tugged at his hand. He hadn't even realized they had stopped walking. He nodded resuming his steps, his gaze falling on their hands holding each other.

Ruhaani, time and again, proved that she was different from usual women. He could bet she was counting minutes until she could get home and change into her extra comfy night clothes.

Aadarsh left her hand and walked to the valet desk and handed the token for their car to the man standing behind it. He returned and stood on the side beside her.

"You seemed quite impressed by her," Ruhaani remarked after careful thinking. Ideally, the smarter thing would be to not talk about it at all. But something told her that the woman they met was interested in Aadarsh, despite the fact that he was married. It was not like they had anything better to speak about while waiting for the valet to bring their car from the parking any way.

"She's quite successful. Of course, it's impressive." He answered, an amusement brewing inside him. "I think you're in denial." He said shifting his blazer from his left arm to his right. He turned to his left where she stood beside him. His hand missing the warmth of hers. "You're jealous."

"Because...?" She prompted folding her arms turning to him.

"She impressed me." He guessed, shrugging. He shouldn't be stretching this conversation. But he knew she was jealous and he wanted to get her to admit it.

"Trust me, Mister Sehgal. Even in my dreams I do not want to impress you."

His smile faded. That hurt. Why not? He fell into a thoughtful silence. He was being plain stupid. He didn't care about what she wanted or she didn't.

Ruhaani wondered why he was suddenly so quiet. She expected a retort. A tit for tat kind of reply. Not silence.

Their car appeared. Ruhaani took the keys from the valet and walked to the driver's seat. Aadarsh looked at her. He could drive. But it was probably better if she drove. He did feel a bit loose after the second drink. There was no other reason why he would engage in stupid talk with her.

He got into the car, observing her as she first adjusted the seat, then tied her hair into a ponytail and finally fastened her seatbelt. The gold oval shaped earring now clearly in his line of sight, just as the column of her neck.

She increased the volume as she pulled the car onto the main road. A music filled the silence they were surrounded by.

His hand reached to the button to lower the AC temperature.

"Please don't, I will freeze," she said.

He pulled his hand back not changing the temperature. He unbuttoned his waistcoat and flung it on the backseat. His fingers undid the cufflinks at the end of his full sleeves and rolled up the sleeves till his elbow. Ruhaani placed both her hands on the steering, aware of all his little actions.

At first, it was only music and then slowly the lyrics of the old Bollywood number floated over the music.

"Aap ki aakhon mein kuch, mehke huye se raaz hain,"

She couldn't help but notice his arms as he rolled up his shirt's sleeve taking his own sweet time. It was a sight to behold, the prominent vein, the light dust of fine hair on his taut muscled arm. She shifted her focus back to the road as the signal went green.

Aadarsh rested his head back, slightly tilting back the seat. Old songs almost always bought back memories of his parents. This one was no difference. His father used to play this on the piano and sing it along with his mother.

"Papa sings horribly, Maa," he had once said, he might have been about ten. "Why doe she have to sing, he can just play the piano?"

"He's my partner Aadi. Who will I sing with if not him? And who said you had to be good at singing to sing? Music is about the feelings, about the enjoyment of a moment. The more memories you can make in a moment you should."

Aadarsh blinked out of the memory as he heard Ruhaani softly humming and at some points, singing along. He tilted his head watching her. Her eyes were on the road, her arms relaxed but hand holding the steering. She was just enjoying the song, the drive, the moment.

"What?" She asked, when his gaze didn't move away from her. "I don't sing that bad, do I?" She enquired.

"No. No." He shook his head. "Just surprised you know the lyrics. It's a pretty old song." He covered up for himself.

"I used to hear the radio at night, as a kid. And the night show always played old songs." She smiled, glancing at him. Nights when she couldn't sleep because the silence of the night reminded her how alone she was in the world. The loneliness didn't let her sleep. Music was her comfort bringer.

He wordlessly nodded looking ahead and slowly she began humming along again. Aadarsh blinked occasionally, looking out of the window. The traffic was quite less.

He could get used to this.

He could get used to her.

But you don't want to, a voice in his head reminded him.

"Even in my dreams I do not want to impress you."

"Why should I? It's not like we..."

Aadarsh got off the car as soon as Ruhaani had parked it alongside the other car outside their house. His mind was in a mess. Thoughts were scattered all over. He didn't want to get any more closer to Ruhaani in any way. Yet, her words bothered him. The fact that she didn't want anything with him troubled him. It was crazy, really, because that's what he had always wanted.

Ruhaani blinked frowning as Aadarsh briskly walked away instead of waiting for her. She took his blazer and waistcoat from the back seat and locked the car.

He was waiting at the door by the time she got there. Once she stepped in, he locked the door. They silently walked towards the lift. There was pin drop silence in the house.

He extended his hand towards her not meeting her eyes. She handed his garments to him, when she saw his gaze fall on them.

"I will check on.."

"Hmm," he said before she could complete and walked away towards their room.

Ruhaani watched his retreating figure and sighed. This was typical Aadarsh. In one minute, he would make her feel like she was a part of his world and then in other he would leave her leave her out to dry.

Aadarsh dumped the garments on to bed with an aggressive swing of his arm. He settled on the bed. His elbows on mounted on his thighs, his body drooped forward, he buried his face in his palms. He had never felt so helpless, so confused, so tangled in his thoughts.

A few minutes later, he heard distinct click-clack sounds in the silence of the house. The sound of her heels against the floor, as she approached the room. He stood up and walked to the wardrobe to change.

Ruhaani noticed a glimpse of him as he disappeared into the walk-in-wardrobe as she entered their room. She quietly got rid of her heels, freeing her feet. Then walked up to the wall unit and placed her purse there. Moving slowly she stood in front of the dressing table. Damn, she did look very plain for the evening. Her fingers reached her hair tie pulling at it to leave her hair loose. Nope, even with her hair open she didn't look good enough. She would practically be invisible if she stood beside Sarah.

There was no point thinking about it now. The night was over. One by one she removed the extra rings on her fingers, leaving just one, her wedding ring on.

So you had your eyes on me.

You're jealous.

His words didn't leave her. She was lost in her thoughts reflecting on the evening, to the extent that she did not notice when Aadarsh was beside her. He had changed into black sweatpants and black tee. He kneeled beside her opening the draw. "Did you see my charger?" He didn't even look at her.

"Nightstand," she answered, her hands going to the back of her neck to remove the necklace.

He stood up, his gaze finally landing on her as he turned to move away. Something invisible, inexplicable stopped him. "Need help?"

Her gaze darted up to his face. Their eyes meeting instantly. She nodded. He placed the phone that had been in his hand on the dressing table and moved to stand behind her.

Ruhaani dropped her hands to her side. She felt his fingertips on the nape of her neck as he brushed her hair to the side. She squeezed her eyes shut at the intense wave of awakening that ran down her spine.

She didn't need help. She could manage just fine. Yet she had given in to his offer. She slowly opened her eyes to look at the mirror to find his dark gaze already looking at her. Her lips parted very slightly at the surprise, at the sheer intensity of his gaze.

Aadarsh let his fingertips brush every strand away from the necklace. One swipe. Another. One more. His gaze flitting between her reflection in the mirror and the skin at her nape. Her hair was a cascade of silk strands. So soft, so cold.

He shifted closer to her. The forefinger and thumb of each of his hand at the hook of the chain she wore around her neck. As delicately as he could, he undid the lock of the chain. Once the task was accomplished, his hands moved to her front to collect the chain into a single hand. His arms looping around her but not touching her a bit.

"earlier, what did you want to say...it's not like we...?" He asked his voice low and faintly raspy. He collected both the ends of the chain in his left hand, withdrawing his arms from around her.

Ruhaani blinked. His hands weren't even touching her, yet her skin felt the heat of his touch. He was nothing if not gentle. She processed his words trying to ignore how delightful it was to hear that low, intimidating yet warm voice. That voice that made her want to melt but also made her brain bring up her defences.

"What do you mean?" She asked, steadily turning around to look at him. They were so close that her shoulder very lightly brushed his chest with her movement.

Aadarsh fixated his gaze at her. He inched closer. "You said you wouldn't be jealous because it not like we...what? Complete that. We what?"

Ruhaani gulped as his dark eyes pinned hers. Warning her to not look away. Quietly demanding her to answer.

"We what Ruhaani?" He emphasized his question when she said nothing. His hand reaching to the right side of her face and tucking her hair behind her ear.

Ruhaani had never found it so hard to resist something. She wanted to lean into that touch. She wanted more of that promising heat. The light graze of his fingers was a tease.

"I need an answer," he demanded, looking squarely at her, pulling back his hand. Ruhaani found herself gazing at his lips. The faint scent of alcohol blended with that of his face wash was stirring.

"Jealousy comes in when something belongs to you, when someone belongs with you..." she spoke up not looking away from him. Her eyes looked into his midnight dark orbs, challenging him as always. "There's no room for jealously here."

He stared down at her wordlessly.

"It's not like we ...are romantically involved." She further added. Her heart squeezing as those words spilled out of her mouth.

Aadarsh blinked. His right hand held hers. Her gaze darted down, as though to be ascertain she wasn't being delusional. She looked up at him her face inching closer to his.

Aadarsh parted his lips, his eyes cascading down to her lips— full and inviting. His grip on her fingers moved up to her wrist. His mind in deep deliberation.

He had never wanted to be intimate with a woman so bad as he wanted to be with her. Her fearless eyes, her voice of defiance and her daring attitude promised a night that would be hard to forget. An intimacy that would be rare to find. Something that would bring alive the night . He wondered if she'd be bold when it came down to evoking lust and serving seduction.

Would she kiss back with the same intensity, battle his tongue for dominance or surrender to his prowess? How would her skin feel against his? Would she chant his name letting him drag her to the skies or dirty talk driving him to the edge?

"Aadarsh," she said, it was nearly a whimper. His grip on her wrist had tightened to the extent that she was sure they would leave a red imprint. "My hand..." she whispered, when there was a hint of bafflement in his eyes which were pools of desire.

Aadarsh met her eyes. She was his wife. He didn't have to think much. They could practically do anything they both wanted, they both desired. One look at her and he knew what she desired.

Him.

His grip on her hand eased. He backed off, creating distance between their faces. His gaze longingly paid heed to her neck. He stepped back before his desires got the best of him, before he lost control over his lust.

His fingers slowly uncurled around her wrist. His fingertips brushing the length of her hand from her wrist to the very tip of her finger as he pulled back. He looked away momentarily.

He stepped aside, placed the necklace on the dressing table, picked up his phone from there as quickly as he could and walked away from her. Out of the room.

Ruhaani took a deep breath parting her lips. Her eyelashes fluttering. She staggered back, the back of her legs hitting the table. She swallowed the lump in her throat.

The warmth was gone, replaced by cold. The flames on her skin now ashes. He had walked away leaving confusion and coldness in his wake.

• — • — •

I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter, as much as I enjoyed writing it. Would love to read your thoughts on it 

Next : Sunday

Don't forget to vote ☆ on the chapters.

—Anami!♡