The King's Woman

Chapter 28

*Ab sharafat nahi... ye rivayat nahi baaqi...

Ho kisi ki kadar... aisi aadat nahi baaqi...

15 years old Khushi was unpacking their stuff in their new little home they have rented in this new city they have migrated.

He was right beside her helping her but since the day they moved he was unusually quiet. And even looked aghast. He was like an open book for her. He never hid his emotions from her. Nor did she.

She did not probe the reason out of him the last few days because she knew he would come around and tell it all to her eventually by himself. But now it was making her worried as he refused to break his silence.

She doesn't like this gloomy and quiet side of her bestfriend. It was quite opposite of his nature and she knew he didn't like it either.

"Okay, out with it." She dropped herself on the floor cross legged and pulled him to sit across her. He twitched his mouth and looked away making a face. She couldn't help but smile as she saw him behaving like a kid throwing a tantrum.

"Dev!" She warned. "What is it?"

"I am sorry." He said silently.

"What for?" Her gaze softened. She cupped his chin with her three fingers to make him look at her. His eyes met hers and she was surprised to see the moisture gathering in there.

She cupped his cheeks tenderly to caress his face. He chuckled mirthfully and wiped the corner of his eyes.

"Just a stupid thought. Don't worry. I will be okay in a bit." He gave her his best smile with dimples prominent on his cheeks.

Her heart clenched at that knowing he was hiding something behind that smile.

"However stupid you think it is. Still I want to know. Tell me."

"I know right now I can't but I want to give you a house. A permanent one where you'd be the landlord yourself. Every time we move it tires you out. Doesn't it?" He cupped her face just like she was holding his.

She removed her hands from his face and dropped them on her lap. She swatted his arm.

"For a moment there you scared me. I thought it was something serious." She shook her head heaving a sigh of relief and made to get up but he held her arm to keep her sitting before him.

"It is serious Khush." He scowled. "And I have made a promise to myself today." He said stubbornly.

"And what is that?" She said softly.

"That I would make a home for us from where nobody would dare kick us out." He gritted out.

She swallowed hard. "Dev, she didn't kick us out. She politely asked us to move out because her son was coming back to live with them." She realized from where the problem was stemming from.

"Whatever!" He said nonchalantly but she can see that the anger was still sitting on his nose.

So in order to lighten his mood she joked.

"By the way, Mr. Dev Agarwal. What if I did not want to live in the place you made for me?"

She wiggled her eyebrows mischievously at him but gulped as she saw that he looked nowhere pleased neither did his anger subside at her attempt to humor him.

Instead not only did his rage increase manifold but his dark black eyes turned a darker shade of red with black tinge in them.

He held her elbow to tug her closer.