19. OS 18. Too tempting to Resist (Part 19)

Part 19

Khushi heard the repeated bangs on the door and frowned in annoyance.

Kamla chachi had to come now to borrow sugar or milk or the hundred things she needed to borrow on a daily basis?

She looked longingly at the screen. She and Tom and Jerry had been having so much fun. And now Kamla chachi had to come and spoil it?

Her eyes flew open.

What if Kamla chachi decided to stay and talk?

No way. No way was she missing the cartoon for anyone!

Khushi leaped off the chair and ran to the kitchen. She filled a katori with sugar and another with milk and ran to the door.

As she neared the door, there was a series of loud bangs from the other side.

“Hum aawat he, chachiji,” she called, trying to balance the two katoris in her hand and open the door at the same time.

The latch fell open, luckily for her, or she thought.

“Leejiye, chachiji,” she said, holding out the two katoris and blocking the doorway so that chachiji didn’t enter her house to murder her with gossip for the next two hours.

The tall man standing there had nothing in similar with the short, plump, elderly lady from her neighbourhood.

Khushi’s eyes looked into furious, molten chocolate orbs. Her hold on the katoris slipped as her hands trembled like a tuning fork struck against  a surface.

Sugar and milk fell on polished, black, hand-crafted designer shoes.

“What the!” came the familiar expletive.

“S—sugar and m—milk,” she whispered.

ASR didn’t bother to reply to that. He pushed his way into the house like a bulldozer, making Khushi scamper back to avoid being flattened by him.

Wind shut the door behind him, trapping them in the cosy living room.

“You lied to your family,” he fumed.

Khushi swallowed. It was her family. She had every right to lie to them. It was none of his business.

“You missed Payal’s mehendi ,” he accused.

Payal was her jiji. If she wanted to miss her mehendi, she would. How was it his problem? No sooner did the thought enter her head, she blurted it out.

Right before her eyes, his anger reached saatve aasman.

He caught hold of her arm and twisting it behind her back, pulled her close.

“You are a coward, Khushi Kumari Gupta,” he slammed her. “You lied to your family and stayed back home to avoid me.”

Khushi swallowed. How did he know that?

He pulled her closer still, anger radiating from him in heat waves and singeing her skin.

“Nahi,” she cried at the late date. “I am not a coward and I don’t do things to avoid you!”

His lips twisted in a smirk even as his eyes heaped burning coals on her head. Without wasting time, he began to tug her towards the door.

“Kya kar rahe ho aap?” she asked.

“Taking you home,” he grunted.

“I don’t want to go with you,” she protested.

He didn’t bother replying. He pulled open the door.

Khushi twisted her arm out of his hold and ran back into the house.

He followed, his eyes lit with a fire from within.

Tom and Jerry chased each other on the TV screen.