His words made me lunge forward; I yanked away the comforter and saw his soft curls tousled across his face.
“That was after what you did,” I vented out, moving my hands in the air dramatically, trying to sound confident.“Now I’ll have to hide from everyone I come across. And that’s because of you.”
He gave me an irresistible smile and patted the spot beside him.“You can come; hide here under my comforter.”
And that was it.
I couldn’t help but close my mouth in defeat. He was too stubborn to understand.
“You know what? Forget it,” I exclaimed.“You’ll not get this. Because you’re a prince, and you can act as you wish. You may go around, sleep with anyone you want, and let anyone bite your lips. But I’m not a prince; I’m not even a man. I’m not privileged.”
He inhaled deeply and sat up slightly.“So, we’re doing this now?” he muttered, raking his fingers through his hair.
I folded my arms and asked,“What do you mean by that?”
He bit his lips.“Ah, it hurts,” he groaned and then turned to me.“You’re acting like a mother, Suman,” he said, and I sighed in frustration.
He looked at me silently, saying,“Okay, we’ve got to do something about this.”
He stepped out of the bed, walked near me, and pulled me in, gazing intensely into my eyes. Since he was tall, I had to crane my neck back to look at him.
“What?” I asked.
“Agastya,”
Suddenly, Nandani’s voice echoed in the chamber, and we exchanged confused glances.
Fear coursed through my veins as he stepped toward me when the curtains of his bedroom parted.
A strange silence followed, and I felt my palms sweating with anxiety.
If Nandani found out, she would finish us.
“Agastya,” I heard Nandani let out a deep sigh, her anklet bells ringing in the bedroom, breaking through the tensing silence as she came closer.
“Ji, Bhabhi-sa,” his voice broke with fright.
“Who’s behind you?” she suddenly asked, and her words sent a chilling shiver down my spine, as if a mountain struck me.
He let out a small laugh.“No one, Bhabhi-sa, haha,”
I heard her bangles clatter as she crossed her arms over her chest.
“What? Hahaha! Who are you hiding?” she asked, and he laughed again.
“Hahaha, it’s early morning; you must be hallucinating. You know that darkness is the time for ghosts, and you s—”
“Just step aside,” she yelled, cutting him off mid-way, and I gasped when I saw Nandani standing before me, utterly stunned.
“Suman,” Her eyes widened in disbelief, and I could only cover my face with my palm and shake my head.
“No, I’m not Suman. I am Bala... Rekha... Raveena...”
“What on earth are you doing here?” She exclaimed, placing her hand on her forehead.
“Agastya?”
I glanced at him from the corner of my eye, his palm covering his mouth, and suddenly he said,“Um… nothing, she… she just… she just came to wake me up.”
