"So . . . Did you finally have sex?" Varsha asked, wiggling her eyebrows as she carried Naina's baggage in. Seeing Naina clutch her head like Psyduck from Pokemon, she teased, "Was he so big that he reached to your head?"

"My head is fucked, but not for the reasons you think," Naina said, collapsing on the bed. Varsha's smug face made her gloomier than before and for a thoughtless second, she regretted not jumping on the offer of Ahanay cancelling his meeting for them. But she knew that his manhood needed some rest after the colorful events of yesterday. "Now come on, act like my servant and bring me a drink. The missus of this house is tired."

"What would you like, missus? A Virgin Mojito, a Virgin Pinacolada or a Virgin Mary?"

"Anything that is not virgin."

"And to eat? Pizza with extra virgin olive oil?"

"You have acquired quite a vocabulary, Varsha," Naina said bitterly, dark thunderclouds looming over her demonic eyes. "One might forget that you're a servant."

"When people from my class can become missus of this grand house, I tend to forget too," Varsha said, mischievous stars twinkling in her eyes.

Naina's veins popped like thunderbolts, her words waiting to strike Varsha down. "I hope I don't forget about your Diwali bonus."

"I'm not forgetting your drink and food." Varsha turned around to leave when she suddenly stopped, stretching her hand out to Naina. "Before that, what did you get for me from Maldives?"

Naina sighed, opening her suitcase and digging up treasures from her duty-free shopping at the airport. "Start wearing this perfume from tomorrow, you smell when you sweat."

Smiling and kissing the expensive glass bottle, Varsha left, fluttering like an elated butterfly in a field full of flowers. The peaceful relief that would come after getting rid of a cockroach seeped into Naina's bones, making her drowsy as she lay on her bed. Even though they didn't have sex, she missed his large body wrapped around her as they cuddled into sleep. It had barely been a few hours yet she missed her cacoon, her safe haven, her Ahanay.

As she closed her eyes serenely to lull herself into sleep with sweet dreams of her husband, the jarring ringtone sent her straight awake.

"What now?" Naina snapped, picking up the call from an unknown number.

"You're in danger," a familiar voice spoke from the other side, a voice that sounded like little bells clinking softly at a monastery, the voice of an angel.

"Don't ruin my mood after my honeymoon, Priya."

"Oh, honeymoon," Priya said, dwelling on those words longer than what was appropriate. Naina hated how uncomfortable Priya could make her feel by simply existing. After all, she had been once the mother of the dead child of Ahanay who he had loved dearly. At that thought, jealousy kicked Naina in the gut and set her entire soul on fire.

"I don't see any point why you should be calling me. So if you're done, fuck off please."

"Well, I was calling to save your life. Do you know Ahanay wants you dead so he could be with me?"

Naina snorted. "Yeah, right. These cheap tactics will work only on naive women in soap operas."

Suddenly, there was a crackle from the other side and a recording of Ahanay's voice played, "I will kill Naina, I promise you.  Just give me a couple of more days. I need to earn her trust, buy her some flowers, show her some love."

"Show her some love," those words stung her ears more intensely than when she took off in flight for the Maldives, and her ears burst from the impact of the sudden height.

"You're lying," Naina said caustically, unable to believe her own words. "Are you bored of your princess life that you're sticking your nose in my life?"

"I don't have any interest in Ahanay now, so I thought I could tell you."

"If you have no interest, then fuck off for God's sake," she said, cutting the call before she could hear Priya's satisfaction at successfully ticking her off.

* * *

Priya kept away her phone and leaned against the chipped wall, sighing. This call ran in a different tangent than what she had expected, but she couldn't help herself when Naina insulted her. She had called that stupid girl to warn her of the skeleton man who was hellbent on killing her, but the acidic words rolling off her tongue repulsed Priya.

"People of her class never change," Priya thought, looking dully around her dimly lit apartment.

Just then, her eyes focused on the tall and muscular figure in a black t-shirt and worn-out jeans striding across the compound, lighting a cigarette that left puffs of smoke clouding him. His cat eyes suddenly flashed upwards, connecting with her through the window. Priya quickly stumbled back, hitting the wall. Why didn't Ohas tell her that he was coming?

She rushed towards her bedroom, rummaging through the heaps of makeup in her drawers. As she applied a red lipstick and judged her appearance in the mirror, her eyes widened in horror. She was still dressed in her blue flimsy nightgown without a bra. At that moment, the bell rang, sending her scurrying towards the door like a soldier hurrying towards his platoon at the supervisor's whistle.

"I didn't know you would come," Priya said as she opened the door, watching him walk towards her dining table without a word.

"I wanted to check if you kept my apartment well," he said, his eyes scanning the room, tactfully avoiding her. "That bulb is dim. I will replace it."

"No, I like it," she said, enjoying how his eyes shone in the darkness of the room. Anyone would find his eyes scary, but to her, they were strange. Strangely comforting. "Do you want tea?"

He nodded and she walked carefully to the kitchen, feeling his eyes on her body as she moved. Priya had never even boiled water in her entire life, but after moving into this apartment, she had learned to cook and clean. She didn't like how the sweat would make her hair stick to her neck when she stood by the stove, but she was in no position to demand or complain.

Suddenly, she felt the heat of a man behind her, and he stretched his arms upwards, gauging a hole in the ceiling. She could see the veins of his arms racing each other and she didn't dare move, knowing their bodies would touch otherwise. With her breath hitched and her heart pounding against her chest, she heard his heavy voice.

"I'll put a chimney here. Do you know what that is?" His voice was different as if he was drunk on sexiness. She shook her head slowly, afraid to speak and hear her voice, drunk on desire. He shuffled and tried to explain, "A ventilation for the kitchen."

She could feel droplets of sweat sliding down her neck and in between her breasts. She wanted to tell him that it wasn't the kitchen making her sweat, it was him, his closeness. When he finally stepped back, his hand accidentally brushing her waist, she switched off the stove.

"I forgot there's no milk," she said, her legs shaking as she went to the cabinets, pretending to look for sugar.

"I'll get it," he said and she breathed a sigh of relief when he started walking towards the door. What was happening to her? And him? Why was he being so... sweet?

"Wait!" She said, lightly pacing to him. Without another thought, she stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his. In an instant, he tore away, keeping her at an arm's distance.

"I didn't bring you here for this," he said, quickly stepping away as if she was a parasite, leeching off him. The parasite part was partly true, she was leeching off him. But his implications were crass, she didn't offer him a kiss in exchange for this apartment. She did it because... she wanted to.

"Then what did you bring me here for?" She asked bluntly, her voice shaking like a leaf in a gust of wind. "What do you want from me?"

"Nothing," he said, his jaw clenching as he shifted uncomfortably. "I'll be back."

"I don't care," she said, hurt for being taken as a prostitute. "If I had to offer my body, I would do that for a richer man." With that, she spun on her heel and escaped to the bedroom, slamming her door shut like the bratty princess that she once was.

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