“Mj regular khaana chahie” she sulked, dragging the pink
velour hoodie tight around her
“Are you not feeling well beta?” Dadi worried…
“I don’t like her” she sulked, playing with her food…
Her husband walked over to he dining area, “Turkey HL” he
said…
Dadi shook her head disapprovingly…
“What now?” he sulked back… “I ate vegetarian Dadi, at
lunch”
He left her alone…. Ofcourse…
“WHAT happened” “Tum dono lar rahe he kya?” Dadi enquired…
“I don’t like her” Khanak whispered…
Dadi observed Khanak with shock…. Her head was bent…. She
smiled happily “there is a word in English called “ex” you could write it with
a X also, that’s what she is… not relevant”
The words were strangely soothing… but when she turned
around… the “x” didn’t mean a thing…Dadi squeezed her shoulder… “khaana kha
puttar”… she ate like she was starving, the soufflé was excellent……
Her stubbornness about accepting his wealth, her own
financial turmoils, the health of her Kaka, Sonali’s attention seeking juvenile
behavior, was a ticking time bomb psychologically…. She didn’t need Mahi to
bring woes, she had enough of her own… the fact that Mahi’s presence bothered
her was an awakending that she did indeed care for Shaan’s past…..
“Tum dono lade?” Dadi asked…
“Umm… mmm” she lied…
“Good you need to relax and have a good time… Pradyun, Chachi,
Ujju sab chal padenge Monday ko, phir lad lena apne miya se”
“Mahi? Mahi kab ja rahi hai?” she asked spontaneously…
“Beta?’ Dadi expressed shock…
Khanak tore up her food…”There is eggs in soufflé just an
FYI” Dadi giggled…
“I am not fasting anymore”..
“Fasting for who?” her husband asked… undoing her hair
upstairs in bed, as they tussled…
“Not for you” she said, just like she had on the day of her
wedding…his chuckle was angry now…
“Is boy toy fasting too?” he asked…
“He works too hard he needs to eat” she provoked him, as he
sealed her lips…….
She finished dinner, didn’t feel like going back to the
living area… pulled her velour fleece hoodie closer and snuggled, shivering… “AC
band karwaoon?”
“Jee nahi”.. she responded softly..
“Bai aada theek puttar?”
“Hmmm’
“Main” she began
Stopped as they approached the couches…
Madhavi was still drinking… “Woes of the wealthy” Khanak
concluded… “losing a few lakhs on some horse racing bet, losing to Mrs so and
so for a charity gala opening, not being able to lose that extra 200 gms of
weight despite being on a “salmon diet” or “paleo diet””
Her husband was on the phone… he turned to look at her…
“Dadi” she said to the woman walking by her…
“Baith puttar” Chachi made room..
She enquired her MIL about the fasting food Khanak ate… Dadi
winked and said “She ate regular food”
Chachi smiled knowingly…
Pradyun: Kanak, this is the coolest thing I told you about”
he turned his phone around…
Her eyes lit up, her husband noticed…
Pradyun scooted making room beside him, she slowly sat down….
Shaan’s eyes travelled down her bodice… noting the reddening of skin in places…
she hugged her hoodie, dragging it closer…
Mahi: are you two best friends?
Khanak smiled a half smile…
“That’s for girls, we are best buds” he said with a fake American
accent
“Khanak’s buds must
be in Ahmdbd” smiling coyly
“And London” she said firmly…
Her husband looked at her, as he grunted into the phone…
Chachi, Dadi and Madz were talking animatedly…
About wrapping up the shopping over the weekend… and packing…
she had shopped for hundreds of thousands of rupees… Khanak saw…
She smiled as Pradyun scrolled through a bunch of things he
wanted to “show her”
“Selfies?” mocked Mahi…
Khanak just looked at her and looked away…
Mahi’s phone rang, her hubby hung up the phone and began
advising Chachi on when to leave for the airport etc..
“I beter go” Mahi said half heartedly hanging up, but not
making any attempts to get up…
Madz pounced on her to stop her… verbally…….
“I have a 4 AM at the site I can drop you on my way” he said…
“SATURDAY KO?” Chachi asked horrified…
“How do you allow this?” She asked Khanak…
Shaan waited for her to say something…
“Ummm…” Khanak began and stopped
“Atleast that half a word came out of her” Madz mocked…
“She works in construction also” he smirked…
“She should have been a project head like you phir dekhti
main” Dadi scolded her grandson…
“I am home NOW” he argued…
“Ofcourse you are sugar… the ex is here, why wud you not be”
Khanak thought…
Mahi: “Boy! He still works too hard” glowingly.
“Stil?” her husband mocked… “Its not been 10 years or
anything”…
“It seems sooo long ago, I agree Mahi” Madz chimed in
remorsefully…
“She is welcome to have him back” “Since I will kill him,
she cant really enjoy it tho” Khanak talked to herself…. Found her heart racing
strangely at the thought of confronting her husband to ack that the ex was the
cause of his demise…
“He found Kanak” Pradyun pointed out, still grieving…
“Quiet, distant…like a still night” Dadi reminisced…softly…
Their eyes met, over Dadi’s words…. Nothing was said… but
she couldn’t hold his gaze for long… she looked away…
“I cant wake up so early” Mahi interrupted…
“Use an alarm” Pradyun said jokingly…
“I could” Chachi volunteered..
“No you cant… you are playing poker with me until the wee hours of the morning” said Khanak softly
Fire is still on !!!
ReplyDeletePradyun n mahi playing frm thr sides !!
Dadi alwys point out d best...
Shanak !!!!
love it
ReplyDeletedadi is sweetheart :)
love khanak's talk with herself hehhehee
both r jealous shan with prad and khanak with mahi
waiting for next
plz update soon :)
hehehehe! loved the cold stares and all this aloofness between them :D
ReplyDeletebth a such idiots! insecure over prad and mahi! bth are harmless who are stuck between the two but its so funny how they war starts on something else but altogether the blood sheding happens abt a different matter :P
dadi ko tho kaha diya khanak ne say it too shaan na am sure he be overjoyed to see this cold person is affected by mahi lol!
loved how his eyes are always parked on her like if doesnt look at her she will vanish any time :D
ermmm last line is sure to keep away from her husband to rile him up me sure dadi will coook something up to get them together for a while :)
thanks so much aditee enjoyed reading this one too :)
She doesn’t need to add Mahi to her priority list!
ReplyDeleteDadi needs to make them two sit and scratch it out…WHEN will they both talk,scream shout and vent out! Its good to let it out sometimes :P
Dadi is right! She’s a EX and her hubby is crazy enough to kill!
Sometimes I do wonder…from a middle class family a person like Khanak is so detached to the ‘wealth’ I mean literally some her psychological problems can be over with the help but she just admiringly so self-respecting and how much Shantanu hates her righteous behaviour or ‘principles’ but it keeps him endowed towards her
AND he needs to learn how to prioritize between work and personal life…I mean his SO preoccupied with work that there is no them time…he has his shortcomings and so does she but its like they are big headed to actually compromise it somewhere in the middle...
Oh! Last line…she’s definitely not giving him a chance again and his going to go to great attempts to fail her again :D
Thanks Aditee...I'm loving them as much as I get angry annoyed with them and I love them as much too! Probably thats the magic :P
Loved it so much!!! ♥♥♥ Khanak ate her regular food..Awww..Sulking over Mahi..And straightly said to Dadi she don't like Mahi..Dadi like always was graceful!!!
ReplyDeleteKhanak is highly affected by her..Cant even go with Dadi's words..Awww..She care for Shaan's past..What abt him? He too must be affected na..After all she was married to Sooraj..As Shaan is very possessive and jealous too..He couldn't tolerate Pradyun..But he don't need to deal with her past like she has to with Mahi..
She definitely not fasting for Pradyun..He knows..But insecurity and jealous take over him..
Pradyun too brings happiness in a friendly way..Awww..Best buds..I like Pradyun..He is too cute..♥
Why Mahi is still clinging? Is she hoping for something? o.O
Khanak's self talk are cute too..lol..:D So she is staying away from him again..Playing poker..
Looking forward and thank you for writing a fabulous update!!! ♥♥♥
Seriously what is Mahi doing here......she should leave now........and till the time Prad is here Khanak should make Shaan all the more jealous!! iam loving the way both of them are affected..........thanks for the update Aditee!!
ReplyDeleteaditee i read all of casa one in week and now just nearly upto finishing casa 2 all i have to say is you need to be applaud for such a magnificent story it is so beautiful and magical and makes me hooked to it everytime and ponder over shaan-khanak they are so real and they behaviour is so flawed that it makes it realistic i have never been so involved and thought about fiction as much as this story makes me just keep writing as you have special ability to write succinctly and with grace which many ppl dont have in their writing such power of such less words is a magnificent ability
ReplyDeletehoho.. the fight still on.. loved it.. best bud in London?? miya is going to show her soon..
ReplyDelete