Conditions Of Shashank | 18+

Chapter 19: Stretch marks

"Can I sleep like this for a while?" Ujjwal asks.

"Yes," Ishika replies.

Ujjwal rests his head on Ishika's belly under her kurti and falls asleep. Her belly feels warm, soft, and comforting to him, which helps him sleep.

Ishika smiles at Ujjwal's gesture.

Although Ujjwal isn't doing anything, Ishika still gets goosebumps from time to time.

She notices Ujjwal's shirt has ridden up, exposing his stomach, so she adjusts it for him.

Half an hour later, Ujjwal wakes up.

"Let's eat," Ishika softly says.

"Yes."

Ishika heads to the washroom. Once inside, she lifts her kurti in front of the mirror and sees numerous love bites, all over her belly. Her cheeks start to turn red.

But then her attention shifts to the stretch marks on her belly, which she has had for a few years now. She wonders how Ujjwal will react when he realizes that the area where he kissed has stretch marks.

She thinks that he had felt her belly but hadn't seen it, as the room was dark and he was under her kurti.

Ishika comes out of the washroom and, upon seeing mirror in the bedroom, feels compelled to take another look at Ujjwal's love bites. She lifts her kurti again.

Meanwhile, Ujjwal enters the bedroom to call her for lunch. As soon as Ishika sees him, she quickly pulls her kurti down and lowers her head in embarrassment.

"What were you looking at, Ishika?"

"N-nothing."

"My love bites?"

Ishika gulps but doesn't respond.

"Show me the love bites, Ishika."

Hearing this, Ishika's heart races. She starts to worry because if Ujjwal sees her dark skin, stretch marks, and her not-so-slim waist, how will he react?

The thought of Ujjwal's reaction makes her heartbeat even faster.

"Ishika."

Ishika slowly lifts her kurti and squeezes her eyes shut.

For the first time, Ujjwal sees Ishika's belly in full light.

Ujjwal smiles, looking at the love bites on her belly. His gaze even lands on one love bite that is right on her stretch mark, yet his smile remains unchanged.

"This is my way of showing affection." Ujjwal says playfully.

Ishika flinches slightly, thinking Ujjwal is about to scold her.

Ujjwal can't see her face because Ishika has her kurti lifted between them.

"Did my affection fall short? Tell me, Ishika."

Ishika had been expecting him to scold her, which is why she couldn't answer.

Ujjwal assumes Ishika is just shy, so he doesn't ask her second time for an answer.

Seeing Ishika standing there with her kurti lifted, Ujjwal feels an urge to hug her. When he does, her kurti falls over his face.

Ishika gasps. She's about to pull her kurti off his face when Ujjwal says, "Leave it, Ishika."

Through the fabric of the kurti, Ujjwal gives her a kiss on the forehead.

Ishika feels butterflies in her stomach.

"Okay, Ishika, let's go eat." With that, Ujjwal leaves the bedroom.

Ishika is shocked. She wonders why Ujjwal didn't say anything about her chubby belly, stretch marks, or her waist that isn't slim.

Tears of happiness well up in her eyes, making her vision blurry.

She thinks about how good Ujjwal is to her.

She remembers how her relatives had taunted her, saying her future husband wouldn't love her because of her appearance.

But here Ujjwal had never commented on her looks, never scolded her for her looks, nor treated her like a burden.

And today, he saw her belly, full of stretch marks, yet he said nothing. Why?

Didn't he feel disgusted when he saw the stretch marks?

She's lost in thought when Ujjwal calls from the dining table, "Ishika."

Ishika quickly wipes her tears, washes her face, and heads to the dining table for lunch.

Ishika keeps glancing at him to read his expressions because ujjwal had seen her belly for the first time today.

Ujjwal eats quietly, making Ishika worry again. She wonders if he's mad and considers starting a conversation to gauge his feelings.

"Listen..." Her voice is barely a whisper.

"Hmm?"

Ishika shakes her head, gulps, and says nothing.

"Tell me, Ishika, what do you want?"

"Water."

Ujjwal hands her a glass of water.

Ishika thinks to herself that Ujjwal is talking to her normally.

She can't understand why his expression is so normal.

Ishika wonders, does this mean Ujjwal doesn't care about the flaws in her body?

Ishika has been taunted so much by others that she now sees her own body as flawed.

---

"I told you not to talk to customers, didn't I?"

"It was a mistake," Mitali says.

"Yes or no?" Shashank asks sternly.

"Yes."

"If I catch you talking to a customer again, then-" He stops mid-sentence, leaving Mitali to wonder what he'll do to her.

"I-I won't talk. Please forgive me," her voice trembles with fear.

Shashank hangs up the call.

Mitali wipes her tears quickly before the other employees in the store notice her crying.

It's Sunday, and the store is full of customers, but she can't talk to any of them because Shashank has forbidden her.

Shashank saw Mitali talking to Ujjwal on the store's CCTV.

Shashank doesn't allow Mitali to talk to customers because he thinks she might tell them about their divorce.

He cuts the call and refocuses on his laptop. Ujjwal, holding a navy-blue shirt and smiling, appears on the screen. He wonders why Ujjwal looks so happy.

Then, Shashank turns back to the live CCTV footage, checking to see if Mitali is still crying. He watches her sobbing softly, his face expressionless.

He was about to close the laptop when his eyes caught sight of a woman, none other than Ishika.

Shashank raises his eyebrows.

He smiles because the reason he bought this store was to keep an eye on Ujjwal, Mayank, and their families, and his plan is working.

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