Bhabra

12. status

"This is pretty neat, especially for a village."

Madhu eyed the way Roshan was looking around the seldom used living room, scanning the old-fashioned frames that displayed her family laughing at the camera in colourless photographs. He picked up a picture of hers as a toddler, studying it with a small smile on his face.

"Why're you here?"

He sighed, gingerly placing the picture back on the side table. "You've been asking that lot lately have you noticed?"

"You've been imposing your unwanted presence on me a lot lately have you noticed?"

Had he been anyone else, Madhu would have missed the way his body stiffened at her tone. But she caught it, and it made her feel strange. One part of her revelled in seeing him hurt, the other wanted to hug him close to her, apologise over and over again.

She didn't know which part she hated more.

"Don't worry, I'll be out of your hair soon." He sat down on the single seater sofa next to her dadu's old rocking chair. Opening his faux leather briefcase, he pulled out a plastic folder and handed it to Madhu. "Your father likes this proposal, he wanted you to see it too, said it's your decision."

Sinking down on the larger sofa next to his, Madhulika flipped through the file, skimming through its contents. It was an offer to collaborate in making Jasm Inn at Bhabra, something about her brand still being too new to stand on its own in a remote location. It would be renamed and everything. She didn't bother reading the entire thing.

"You know," she started, slamming the file on the centre table. "When I asked you to get out of my life, I meant both personally and professionally. So, no thanks, I don't want to dilute my brand."

He snorted humourlessly, running his hand through his neatly gelled hair. Roshan had always been handsome in a classy way, like a perfectly groomed model, completely different from the carelessly rough appearance of Nakul. Maybe it was this perfection which had made him irresistible to her, before and even after he married Shikha.

But that wasn't the case anymore.

"I should've expected that," he said finally. "It's because of your new man isn't it?"

"Excuse me?"

"I saw you guys holding hands and shit." Staring unfocused at his knees, he said the next words almost accusingly, "Before coming here, I still had some hope of convincing you to give us another shot, but you've moved on quickly."

Madhulika reeled, blood rushing to her head at what he was implying. She had to take deep breaths to calm herself before replying, "That's really none of your business, but just to be clear, no we're not together."

Roshan shook his head in disbelief and ignored her silent message to quit pursuing the topic. "What's his name?"

"Nakul."