You and I - a pranushka tale

chapter twenty-five

audio for the chapter: konji pesida venam bgm from sethupathi

play on a loop when you see the * sign                                             

~

As promised Mithrah took twice as long to get ready. She walked downstairs, her usually fast paced steps slower than usual to annoy him. Prabhas was waiting by the staircase, his face settled on a blank expression before he finally caught sight of her nearing him.

"You took your time..." He trailed off, his annoyance almost immediately fading as he saw her walking towards him in a summer dress. "You look..."

"Nice I know," Mithrah replied offhandedly before brushing past him. She definitely dressed to impress, but she tried to act as nonchalant as possible as if she didn't spend a while trying to figure out what to wear that will tease him.

"Well," He began in a tone that she knew would annoy her. "I was going to say you look like you walked straight out of a flower store but yeah sure you look nice."

She glanced back at him with a glare but chose not to reply to his comment. Rather, she walked outside and looked around. "Where are the guards?" She asked. Usually, they would have been waiting at the front with a car ready. But instead, it was just Prabhas' Audi that stared back at her.

She looked at it with distaste not forgetting how it almost ran her over. Prabhas tried not to laugh at her expression and gave the bonnet of his car an affectionate pat. "It's just us and my baby. I managed to convince your parents to not have the guards with us."

Mithrah looked at him surprised, her attention completely passing over the fact that he called his car his baby. "How did you manage to convince them? I have tried for years and they never listened."

He shrugged before opening the passenger door for her casually. "They trust me."

Mithrah narrowed her eyes at how nonchalant he was trying to be as he opened the door for her. He was being a gentleman. For once, without being difficult she sat down with a small smile before he went to the other side and got in. "Are you trying to say they don't trust me?" She asked.

"Yes." He replied immediately before starting the car.

She looked offended before going to punch his arm which he dodged skilfully as if he was waiting for her to attack. "I'm joking!" He said laughing, loving her childlike glare as he drove out of the high gates surrounding the villa. "You keep forgetting I am a police officer."

"Nobody is forgetting," Mithrah muttered, leaning back in her seat.

Prabhas noticed her change in expression and realised she was thinking about something that was distressing her. He poked her cheek with one hand as the other stayed on the steering wheel. "You okay?" He asked.

She nodded with a pout. "Yeah, I am fine." She replied but her tone said anything but that.

"Okay good," Prabhas replied casually as he glanced at her before pretending to focus on the road. He could tell she was a few seconds away from cracking and voicing her thoughts. It was the way her brows were furrowed and her lower lip was caught between her teeth.

A moment later she jumped around in her seat to face him. "You haven't even told me where you've been appointed!" She complained, her eyes settled into a glare.

Prabhas raised his eyebrow. "I thought you didn't care."

She went to punch him but stopped herself and turned back around to face the front with a glare. "You're right. Go wherever you want. Work wherever you want. Meet whoever you want. I don't care."