HER SAFE PLACE

Shopping

"Why the hell did you stop the car here?" I asked, looking outside the window. It was a small café, and I didn’t understand why he stopped the car here since we were already late for shopping and I still had to pack my things. I looked at him frustratedly, silently asking for an explanation, but he ignored me.

Instead, he called the waiter over from the car and asked me what I wanted to eat. I ignored him, just like he did to me. He looked at me for a while, but I kept my gaze fixed outside. I heard him sigh, then he said something to the waiter in a voice too low for me to hear.

After two minutes, the waiter came back with some neatly wrapped food items and a choco lust chocolate shake. I glanced at the shake, feeling hungry, but then averted my gaze and looked outside again.

I felt something in my lap, so I looked down and saw the food items. I looked at him confusingly, and he said, more like ordered, "Eat."

"Excuse me, do you think you can order me?" I asked irritably.

"No, Shivangi, how can I order you, baby? I am requesting you," he said. This made me angrier. Was he mocking me?

"Are you mocking me?" I asked.

"Aree, why would I mock you?" he said.

I just turned towards the window, folding my arms across my chest. After a few minutes, I heard him sigh. He stopped the car, but I still didn’t turn around. He called my name, but I kept facing the window and didn’t respond. He called me again, but this time with a softer tone. "Shivangi, please look at me, baby."

I turned around and asked, "Am I looking like a baby to you?"

"No," he said.

"Then don't call me that," I said, and was about to turn to the window again when he said, "Acha baba, I am sorry. It’s my fault. Please don’t be angry. I knew you didn’t have breakfast, so I thought you could eat on the way. I didn’t mean to offend or ignore you. I am sorry," he said, his tone softer than before.

I looked at him and saw the most innocent eyes, and I melted. I sighed. "It's fine now. Continue driving," I said. He breathed a sigh of relief and continued driving. I took the sandwich from my lap, unwrapped it, and brought it towards his mouth. He looked at me and then at the sandwich.

"I’ve already had my break..." he started to say when I cut him off.

"Just eat," I said.

"Are you ordering me?" he asked.

"Yes, I am ordering you, and you will have to obey. Just eat, otherwise, I won’t eat either," I said. He looked at me and took a bite without any objection. Then I brought the sandwich to myself and ate. In the middle, I made him have some. Though I don't usually share my shakes or chocolates with anyone, I did with Rocky. Soon, I finished the whole breakfast. There were some boiled eggs and something sweet too.

Soon, we reached the market, and he parked the car in the parking lot. He wore a mask on his face, and I looked at him confusingly.

"In case you forgot, I am a businessman with millions of followers on Instagram. Since we are in a market, there is a possibility that some people might recognize me," he said, and I nodded in understanding.

We went to some stalls, and I bought a few things while Rocky did the same. We were heading to another stall when I saw a jhumka stall. I instinctively touched my ears and realized I wasn't wearing any earrings, so I went over to check out the stall, with Rocky following me. There were so many beautiful earrings, and I wanted them all. I picked several, but none matched my outfit. Even though I wanted to buy them all, I couldn’t because I’m not financially independent yet. I promised myself that when I am, the first thing I'll do is buy all the earrings I want.