Beyond the Beats

Chapter 113. Safest cocoon

⚠️ Very long chapter ahead ⚠️

1 year later

"These mangoes are so sweet," I said and took one more from the basket. "Our tree has the best mangoes in the universe."

Tejas grabbed my wrist. "Hamster, that's enough. You said you will stop after the last one."

I shot him my puppy eyes. "Just one more, please. You yourself said last night that I could eat anything."

He narrowed his gaze. "That's because you vomitted after eating three plates of momos. Even Rehman was shocked. And this is your thirteenth mango; you will not be able to leave the washroom if you continue like this."

I imagined what he said and put the mango down. He hid the basket from my sight and poked my stomach.

"You feeling good now?" he asked me, nodding as he didn't feel or hear any growling in my stomach.

"I got better in the morning only," I replied. "Now I am hungry. Let's have lunch."

He stared at me in silence for a few minutes before he grabbed the picnic basket and took out our lunchboxes. We were having a small picnic in our home's backyard, enjoying the cool shade of our mango tree.

The moment Tejas opened the tiffin's lid, I rolled two rotis and gobbled them down.

He shot me a hurtful look, and I cursed myself.

"Sorry, I couldn't control myself," I apologized.

I got so blinded by my hunger that I sabotaged our ritual of Tejas feeding me the first morsel.

"Are you really okay?" he asked me seriously. "You have been acting like you were starved since last week. Should I ask Dad to check you?"

I shook my head. "No. We had a health checkup last month, remember? It is because I threw up everything last night."

He wasn't convinced. "Hamster, don't lie. You wake up in the middle of the night to finish your choreographies, and if I hadn't asked the producers myself, you wouldn't have even taken this break. You have become an extreme workaholic."

I pointed at him in accusation. "Should you be the one talking, Mr. Devil?"

He put a strawberry in my mouth. "You are outshining me, Mrs. Devil."

"Kids, do you need anything else?" his mother yelled from the window of her room.

Tejas waved his hand at her. "No, Maa, we are good."

I shot her a signal. "I want to eat dal bhaat (dal rice)."

Tejas noticed that and scolded me. "I have already brought it, so why are you asking Maa? Are you using your code language again to order fast food?"

Mom-in-law closed her window when Tejas glanced at her in suspicion. I took that chance and stole a mango and dropped it inside my tshirt through the backside.

"Tejas, I am sleepy now," I lied and inched closer to him.

He moved away. "You have become a skillful liar. You don't listen to me at all now."

I kept shifting towards him and grabbed his knee with my left hand.

"You haven't eaten anything," I said. "I will feed you."

I took a morsel, but he turned his head away. I tried to feed him, but he didn't even look at me. So, I climbed into his lap and held his chin with my left hand. The tips of his ears started transforming into rose buds.