Star-crossed

Chapter 38

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*
Vedika’s expression was passive when she walked down after half an hour. Anirudh watched her as she crossed the road, searching her face and body for any sign of pain or distress, but to his relief, she seemed absolutely fine. He was also amused to see her return empty handed, so much for the excuse of ‘important documents and stuff’.
“You know, if you want to lie, you should at least do it properly and play along with it, at least for a while.” He said as she sat in the car and buckled her seatbelt. Vedika froze when she realized what he meant.
Fuck. She kicked herself mentally and turned towards him to give him a sheepish smile.
“I… err… realized that I had packed them in the bag… that got burnt.” She blurted out and winced at the lie. She knew this was going to make him feel guilty, but she had no other option. She felt extremely bad when he bought her lie and he looked at her apologetically.
“Were they very important? I mean… can they be remade or something?” He asked and Vedika sensed that he was going to try and help her. She shook her head.
“Hey don’t worry, it’s fine. I already had them digitized, I can print out a copy anytime.” She told him and he sighed.
“You are very organized and mature when it comes to such things.” He observed and she nodded.
“Being an orphan with no one to take care of you can make anyone more responsible and mature.” She replied, making Anirudh look at her sharply. She kept her gaze straight ahead and refused to let tears fall from her eyes.
*
Vedika was working on her laptop when Anirudh entered the room after his daily night run. Vedika sucked in a breath and her eyes widened when she saw his sweaty body with messy hair. That look was...hot and… sexy. Her breathing hitched when he lifted his arm, biceps flexing as he pushed back the strands of hair from his forehead. The action was so…
Vedika shook her head at her highly inappropriate thoughts and looked away, not wanting to be caught staring at him.
She kept working, trying hard not to get distracted with thoughts of his body as he entered the washroom and shower was turned on. She took in a deep breath when the door of the washroom opened and a waft of Anirudh’s showergel, mixed with his aftershave entered the room along with Anirudh. The smell was intoxicating.
Anirudh threw the towel on the couch and sat down, fidgeting with his phone and contemplating whether he should talk to Vedika or not. He was curious or rather, concerned about her. He wanted to know what had happened to her parents, wanted to know her pain, wanted to know everything about her.
“Vedika?” He called out, finally mustering courage.
“Hmm?” Vedika responded instinctively.
“I… did you get what you really wanted at the hostel?” Anirudh winced as he chickened out at the last moment and blurted out the first question that came to his mind.
Vedika frowned at that, but nodded realizing that maybe she wasn’t as good a liar as she had thought.
"Yes, it was quite tricky, but I got what I wanted," She said, deciding to go with vague truth, "but that's not what you wanted to ask."
Anirudh's lips quirked up in a smile and he looked away to hide it from Vedika.
"Yes, I… err, can I ask you a personal question?" He hesitated as Vedika chuckled.
"Anirudh, we are having a baby, I think we can ask each other personal questions without getting awkward."
“How did…. What happened to.. your parents?” Anirudh asked and Vedika froze.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I was just curious.” He quickly spoke up. Vedika sighed.
“No, it’s okay. They died in an accident 3 years ago.” Anirudh sucked in a breath, his heart clenching with just the thought of 19 years old Vedika dealing with such a loss.
Wordlessly, he got up and went to her, knowing what she wanted at that moment.
Vedika was surprised when he hugged her silently, offering her wordless comfort. Many people just faked sympathy and pitied her and she hated it. Anirudh seemed to know exactly what she wanted or needed.
*24th march
“Vedika?” Sameer asked her as she started walking towards the parking lot instead of the canteen at lunch time.
She turned around and frowned when she noticed that he and Meher weren’t following her.
“Come on, what are you waiting for?” She asked as she grabbed their hands and started dragging them towards the parking lot.
“But why are we going to the parking lot instead of the canteen?” Meher asked, completely baffled.
“Anirudh is giving us a treat. I was craving some italian, maxican tangy food. So he is taking us to a restaurant which has the best foot in his opinion.”
“But what about our next lecture?” Meher protested.
“Oh come on. We have attended the college regularly this semester. We can afford to bunk one lecture. Besides, I am pregnant. I need a break.” Meher’s protests died down after that. Vedika dragged them towards Anirudh’s car, who glared at Sameer for a moment, but stayed silent as Vedika sat beside him.
“Why aren’t you wearing a seatbelt?” Sameer asked when he saw Vedika sitting without one.
“I can’t, it’s uncomfortable and the doctor has advised me to avoid it.” Vedika replied while noticing how Anirudh’s hand had turned white from clutching the steering wheel too hard.
Half an hour later, they were sitting at a restaurant waiting for the food. Vedika joked along with Sameer and Meher so happily that Anirudh wondered if this was the same Vedika he saw everyday at home. She always seemed under pressure and depressed around him, as if something was bothering her all the time. He clenched his jaw and fisted his hands when he saw Vedika giving all her attention to Sameer and laughing at a lame joke he had cracked. Was that joke even funny? He wondered as he watched her crack up and laugh until she was almost out of breath.
He knew he shouldn’t be jealous as he knew neither Vedika nor Sameer had any romantic feelings for each other. He had realized it last night when Vedika had told him about what she was going to do and asked a favour from him.
Still, he couldn’t control his possessive side as he watched the girl he loved flirt with another guy. He was giving them a treat, just like he had promised to Vedika, but it didn’t necessarily mean that he liked it.
*
Sameer was laughing at Vedika’s lame attempts at jokes when he noticed someone behind her and his grin faded. Vedika turned around when she saw him looking behind her with a frown. It was Devanshi, standing there with an extremely guilty expression on her face and a look of longing in her eyes.
“What is she doing here?” Meher asked with a cold tone, glaring daggers at Devanshi and Sameer looked away, not wanting to even look at the girl he once had a crush on. But he was shocked when Vedika answered.
“I called her here. I wanted her… us to sort out our friendship.”
Sameer and Meher stared at her astonished.
“But why? Did you forget what she called you?” Sameer asked and Vedika sighed.
“No, I didn’t, but I know she didn’t mean it and I have decided to forgive her. I won’t expect you guys to do the same, but at least listen to her. If I can forgive her, I think you can too.” Vedika pleaded, making the best puppy eyes she could.
Anirudh, who was listening to the conversation with a frown, wondered what Devanshi had said to Vedika that had broken the bond of what he assumed was a close friendship between them. Vedika gestured Devanshi to take a seat and start speaking.
“Guys, I don’t expect you to forgive me. I know I don’t deserve it. I have come here to just apologize to Vedika for the words I shouldn’t have. I don’t know what came over me, but trust me I didn’t mean them at all. I love her like a sister and I wouldn’t ever think of her in that way. I think I was too possessive towards her and in the heat of the moment… but there is no excuse for what I did. So I am really sorry. I shouldn’t have done that and I am very guilty about it. Please forgive me if you can.” Tears were falling down Devanshi’s face as she finished and there was a stunned silence for a moment.
“I don’t think I could forget this anytime soon, but because Vedika has forgiven you, I think I can give you a second chance.” Meher said finally and Devanshi looked at her with teary eyes, unable to believe it.
“Ohh, come on now. I have known you for years and I don’t think you really meant those words. I know you love and respect Vedika. You have seen the kind of person she is up close, all her talent and hardwork, I know you won’t disrespect her. Though this kind of mistake is not okay and I fully expect you to not repeat anything of this kind again, I think I can forgive you.” Meher said and got up to hug Devanshi who had burst out in fresh tears. Anirudh watched Vedika getting happy for her friends with a smile on his face. At this point, he wasn’t even surprised at her selflessness.
Vedika’s smile faded when she saw Sameer still refusing to look at Devanshi, sitting with a hard expression on his face. He was the main reason she had planned this all along and if he didn’t forgive Devanshi, everything would go in vain. She looked at him anxiously, waiting for him to react or say something, but he ignored everything.
“Sameer?” Vedika called him and he clenched his jaw.
“I have to attend the next practical lecture.” He gritted out, picked his bag and rushed out of the hotel. Vedika sighed sadly and Devanshi looked very hurt.
“I will try to talk to him. I’ll co…” Vedika spoke up, but Devanshi cut her off.
“No, don't. This is all my fault and I should be the one to sort this out. Don’t force him to do anything. I don’t want you to ruin your friendship because of me. You have already forgiven me and helped me even though I didn’t deserve it. This is on me now, just let me handle it.”
Vedika nodded, it wasn’t wise to interfere, especially since she knew they both liked each other. It was better to let them sort their issues themselves.
*
Vedika was silent after they dropped off Meher and Devanshi at the college campus. Anirudh wanted to talk to her, to know what was going on in that pretty head of hers but he didn’t know how or what he should ask. It was Vedika who finally spoke up.
“Do you think what I did was wrong? I mean, calling Devanshi to that hotel?” She asked, her tone full of guilt and doubt. Anirudh looked at her sideways and found her staring ahead with a blank expression on her face.
“No, in fact you did the right thing. You gave her the opportunity to apologize and now it’s on them to forgive her or not. I think Sameer has some other issue with her. If it was only her saying something bad to you, he would have forgiven her just like Meher did because you forgave her. I think it’s something else. Love can be a very complicated thing.” Anirudh replied and Vedika fell silent again.
Vedika noticed Amaira watching them from her bedroom window as they pulled into the driveway of the Malhotra Mansion.
Vedika felt a cold shiver going up her spine because of the creepy way Amaira was staring and she looked away. Anirudh was about to step in with Vedika when he received a call.
“Go inside and rest, I have to take this call.” He told Vedika and she nodded before turning away and walking inside the house.
Maybe I should go and stay with Devanshi for a few days. I have to tell her so much. Vedika thought as she walked towards Anirudh’s room and was thinking of ways to tell this to Anirudh when suddenly she slipped and lost her balance.
She almost fell on her stomach but caught the door at the last moment and steadied herself. Her heart was hammering inside her chest as she took deep breaths and cradled her stomach. It was in this panicked and frozen state Anirudh found her when he walked into the house.
“Vedika? What happened?” He asked, taking in her frightened expression.
“I….I almost slipped here, Anirudh. And I...I swear... it wasn’t my fault. S-something is on the floor. Something like oil, I stepped in the liquid and lost my balance. But… but I didn’t fall.” she told him and Anirudh kneeled down, almost slipping himself when he too stepped on the slippery surface. It was indeed some kind of oil, but how had it spilled there, right in front of his bedroom?
Anirudh received a call from his manager that evening. The PR team had arranged a few more promotion activities since the film was releasing next week and he was supposed to travel to a few cities for the next 10 days. He didn’t want to leave Vedika alone, but he had no choice.
He looked up at her, sitting on his bed with the books spread around her and studying for her upcoming final exams. He was reluctant to leave her, especially since Amaira was in a very bad mood since Dadi’s death and only his mother would be a civil one to Vedika.
Also the afternoon event had shaken him up. It might have been an accident, but there was definitely something creepy about that. He had asked all the servants and his mother about the oil. Everyone swore that they hadn’t been in that part of the house at all. So when Vedika told him that she might go and stay at her hostel for a few days, he simply nodded. Though it pained him to think of the next few days without her, he had to go as it was his job.