Artful Deceit & Love

34. Lies we tell

Another chapter...

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Uday's POV

As the car pulled over through the gates of the palace, I knew something was odd. The guards were changed because the security changes after every six hours because I just can't endure tardiness from my guards.

I stepped in the living room and I knew saying yes to the party was a terrible idea. But I behave differently around her, lowering my inhibitions when I know I shouldn't!

Anger coursed through me. I shouldn't have appointed these guards but since I am away here, I had assigned my best trained bodyguards for Baba Sa and now, it seems like I should have kept them here.

With each step up the stairs to our floor, I felt a weird dread. What if she ran away?

No, she knows better not to do that...Besides, she never follows the conventional way!

Her room was empty...I swear if she is in Raghav's room, I am going to be true to my words and make sure she sees the flames destroying each and every part of that room.

I thought of checking my room and she wasn't there but the door to the closet was wide open.

And there she was...

Sitting on the carpeted floor of my closet with a shirt in one hand and a sewing needle in her right. There was a mountain of chaotically arranged shirts in front of her. She seemed so occupied with her needle work that she didn't notice me standing there.

I let my eyes take in every detail of hers. The orange and pink lehenga that she was wearing seemed to stand out amongst the white pale interior of my closet. Her hair flowed down adding more to her allure.

She threaded the needle through the shirt and then stopped as if she had finally noticed me!

She turned her face back to stare at me and a sly smile took over her expressions. This doesn't usually end well.

Her eyes looked tired as if she was working here for hours. She wasn't planning on running away.

"What are you doing here, Mridula?"

She looked back at my shirt and for once I felt slight jealousy for an inanimate object. She was holding it way close to her.

"I was getting bored..." She trailed as she got up and faced me while still holding my white shirt.

"So, I thought of doing something for you." I raised my brow as I inched closer. Her breathing seemed to slow down as she gulped once. I stared at the movement of her throat with fascination. Focus, Uday!

"See..." She handed me the shirt and her hands brushed against mine but she seemed unaffected or maybe she was acting to not be.

I looked at my shirt and then I took note of the mismatched buttons. All of them were different from one another and it looked horrible. I wanted to do nothing but to destroy this horrendous piece.

I shifted my attention to her smiling face. "First, I thought of using scissors on them...but that would have been unnecessary waste."

She pointed at the shirt in my hands. "But this, you can wear."

She didn't have an ounce of fear in her when she told me this. I don't know why but this just makes her more attractive...this defiance of hers!

"So, that's why you got everyone drunk...for this?" She looked away for a second before humming with a nod. I glanced at the heap of shirts and I didn't have to check them to know that they had suffered the same fate.