Madhav drives into the RK mansion as the sun starts to set. He parks his Audi in the garage and walks to the massive double door entrance. He looks around the house and nods approvingly noticing how security has doubled. He rings the bell and a bulky man in a worn-out banyan and a dark pair of shorts opens the door.

"How was your day, sir?" he asks as Madhav walks in.

"Good." Madhav says and comes closer and whispers. "What's the update on the security around the mansion?"

"Sir, we have doubled the security. There are totally 12 new guards. Just five of them are positioned around the house. The other seven, me included are disguised as domestic workers. I am disguised as the assistant to the chef, two more are pool boys, one is a driver, there's two more as gardeners and the last one is a maid."

"Good. Has anyone got suspicious yet?"

"No sir." He says, "But Miss has been looking out at the garden and I think she has noticed the increase in the number of securities guards."

"There's a possibility she might have. We used to have just two and now it's increased to seven." Madhav says scratching his beard. "I'll deal with that. Just ask your team to be extra vigilant especially in the night."

"Also, Ma'am and Sir have organized a grand dinner party in the garden tonight. Sir has invited a few business partners and a few close friends too. They wanted to celebrate your appointment as the CEO and Chairperson of the company.""

"Do you have the guest list?"

"Yes sir. I'll mail it to you shortly." He nods to Madhav.

"Where's Shree?" Madhav asks.

"She's been in Ma'am's room ever since she came. She's in the drawing room with Miss."

* * * * *

"Ma. I need to talk to you!" Madhav announces as he walks into the drawing room. Shree and Yashoda were seated on the marron couch looking at Yashodha's collection of seashells. Shree was wearing a blue kurta with beige leggings and her hair was braided. Yashoda was wearing a green sari and her hair was tied into a messy bun.

"Yeah sure. Come in!" Yashoda says and nods at Shree. Shree stands up and walks out of the room. She doesn't look at him, her eyes remain fixated to the floor.

Madhav walks in and sits on the sofa beside Yashoda.

"I want to tell you something." He started.

"Shree told me that you forced her to resign." Yashoda says crossing her arms. "I am not happy you made her do that."

"I had to. It's not safe to have her outdoors with Shiv Sharma out-"

"Is it the same man who- you know to misbehave with her?" Yashoda asks and Madhav nods. "You're father told me."

" I had him sent to prison and got him a life sentence. I thought that'd be the end of him, until I got a call from the police saying he had escaped. I'm doing all I can to protect Shree from him. Is that wrong?"

"Madhav, you should tell Shree about Shiv." Yashoda says. "You shouldn't let Shree believe that you have something against her working after marriage. You need to tell her why you are doing all this. She's going to misinterpret your actions and develop grudges against you! I believe she has started to misconceive your actions!"

"I can't." He adds. "She'd be too worried, panicked and scared. I don't want that."

"But she needs to know that someone is trying to harm her." Yashoda insists. "So she can be alert and perhaps protect-"

"I can protect her and I can do it without telling her about him!" Madhav exclaims.

"It's your decision, after all." Yashoda shrugs. "All I can do is advice you. Listening to it and taking due actions is up to you. I'd tell her if I were you."

"Good for you!" Madhav adds getting off the sofa.

* * * * *

"Beautiful!" Madhav exclaims as he walks into Shree's walk-in-closet, closing the door behind his back. Shree was dressed in a sleeveless black backless gown made of satin. Her hair was messy, and she was yet to do her makeup.

"I think I looked better in that lehenga, Madhav." Shree comments as she turns around and frowns at slit on her right side till her mid-thigh and how the gown left her entire back exposed. Madhav had coerced her to change from the brilliant off-white lehenga with the gold embroidery into the black backless gown she was wearing.

"Nonsense!" Madhav comments wrapping his arms around her waist. He buries her nose in the crook of her neck and places soft kisses up to her ear. "You look like an ethereal Greek Goddess in this outfit, and above all, you look like the wife of a CEO who earns so many billions a year!"

"I felt comfortable in the lehenga, though." Shree softly says as she feels his hand caress the sides of her thighs. "And I'd still be the wife of a CEO who earns so many billions a year!"

"Shree, my baby." Madhav croons as he runs his hand on the swell of her breast. "I know what's best for you. You look so irresistible. Trust me, I've never seen you look better than this."

"I disagree." She murmurs and he looks at her.

"I'll call the beautician to do your makeup." He says as he picks the discarded off-white lehenga and walks out.

Shree's hair got twisted and turned into an elaborate bun, much to her dismay as she wanted to leave her hair loose and flowing. Madhav had instructed the beautician to have her hair made into a low and messy bun. She was given a mild touch of makeup to go with her outfit and hair.

Shree got up as the beautician packed her things and walked out after preparing her for the evening. She huffed in annoyance as she looked at herself in the mirror.

"My God, you look ravishing!" Madhav exclaims as he walks in. He was wearing a black suit with neatly ironed pants and had his hair combed neatly. Shree noticed he was wearing the cufflinks she gifted to him on their wedding night and he paired it with a crimson tie. He had a bright smile on his face and it was more evident with his beard being trimmed by a quarter inch.

"Do I?" Shree asks as she checks her hair bun again.

"Yes, chellam." He whispers as he stands beside her. Shree could smell his aftershave and his cologne. "Seriously, you look so amazing. It amazes me how I am resisting the urge to snog you."

He notices Shree's annoyance and holds her hand. "This is a small gift from your husband for his promotion." He says and clips on a beautiful watch on her wrist. She admires the simple elegant watch with the silver metal strap and the dial with diamonds surrounding it.

"Aren't I the one who's supposed to give you a-"

"Make me an ice-cream sundae and feed it to me." He says wrapping his arms around her waist. "In our bathtub."

"We'll see." Shree says rolling her eyes, pushing away from him to strap on the Jimmy Choo stiletto heals which Madhav asked her to wear for the party.

She wobbles in it as she stands up after getting into them. Madhav holds her arm and pulls her close to him, until she was leaning against his chest. She could feel her soft bosom against his rock-hard chest. She looks up at him, realizing that she was now somewhat his height. "I can stand on my own feet. I don't need your support, Madhav."

"Then why are you holding onto me and my coat so tightly?" He whispers as he caresses her cheek. Shree fumbles and moves away from him. He asks teasingly, smiling to himself. "And why did your heartbeat that way. It seemed to be as if you were frightened, weren't you? Answer me, Mrs. Shree Ramakrishna."

"I-I-I am not obliged t-t-to answer you, M-M-Mr. Madhav Ramakrishna." She adds boldly.

He smiles and holds her hand. "Very well then! Let's go downstairs! I believe the guests are waiting for us."

* * * * *

"Shree, for the last god fucking time, can you please smile?" Madhav hoarsely whispers into her ears after she had an expressionless face as they met the Banerjee family. He holds her arm tightly and she looks at him with a cross look on her face.

"Smiling isn't something y-y-you can force me to d-d-do. You can force me t-t-to resign or-or t-t-to stay at home like a caged animal, b-b-but not this. It comes naturally and you need to be happy to smile."

"Look, we have to see a lot of important people who can impact the company. There are a few ministers, a few acquaintances, Mr. Sabyasachi Mukherjee and so many celebrities." Madhav stops for a second and smiles at a few of the models who walked pass, greeting him. He turned back to Shree. "Listen. Drop that bloody attitude and behave yourself! I don't want to meet them with you looking like you don't give a literal bloody fuck."

"Then don't take me with you." Shree exclaims loud and looks at him. She pulls her arm from his and moves away. "For the last fucking time, I don't want to be here in this party."

He grabs her right hand. "Come with me." He drags her to a lonely corner of the garden. He forces Shree to sit on the wooden patio swing. Shree gasps as he holds her wrist in a vice-like grip and leans down.

"Shree Madhav Ramakrishna!" He says sneering, forcing her to look at his face. She could feel his hot breath on her neck. "Behave yourself! I don't care whether you want to come with me or not. This is an important gathering for me. Stop acting like a stubborn selfish child and try not to fuck it up!"

"Excuse me, I am not doing anything to ruin your night. Can't you see I am doing every little thing out of my comfort zone to please you?" Shree exclaims looking at him audaciously, keeping her tone and temper in par. Anger stirred within her but she tried to stop herself from having an outburst. She winced as she noticed his grip on her wrist become stronger.

"Mr. Madhav Ganapathi GODDAMNED Ramakrishna, for your fucking retarded information, I am wearing a very slutty showy dress, my hair is so ugly and I feel like I am standing on daggers with these stilettos that are high enough so I can meet your fricking height! I am supposed to be at Ahaana's haldi ceremony right now, I cancelled on her just to be with you, because you matter more to me!" She adds, not realizing the tears welling in her eyes and looks at him. "I changed a lot for you, how I dress, what I eat, my daily routine, adapted to your schedule and what-not. I have sacrificed so much to be with you AND YOU CALL ME STUBBORN AND SELFISH! I FUCKING HATE YOU."

He lets go of her wrist and she rubbed her fingers against her bruised wrist, not realizing her tears were falling hard and fast past her cheeks. She could no longer stop the flood of tears that threatened to overflow.

She pushes him away with all her force. "I thought you could never hurt me. I was wrong. Leave me alone for God's sake!"

Madhav watches her run into the mansion.

* * * * *

The clock strikes twelve, as Madhav walks into his room. He notices the room dark and Shree was sleeping on their bed. He walked to the bed and sat on the edge, watching her sleep.

He watched how her eyes and her eyelashes were moist with her tears. She was wearing a white pajama with red roses, instead of shorts and his big tee-shirts. He held her bruised wrist, and slowly traced his thumb against the red welts.

He stood up and walked to the balcony as he dialed a number on his phone. "Anu. Are you awake?" He asked as he opened the door to the balcony. Anu, or rather Anushya Chithambaram was one of Madhav's best friends in University of Madras along with Sivaji. Anushya married Sivaji after dating him since the beginning of their second academic year. Together they had five children, they're most youngest being born a week before Madhav's marriage to Shree.

"This better be urgent, Maddy." Anu groaned from the other end.

"It is urgent." Madhav confessed. "I fucked up, big time! I need your help."

To be continued. . . .

Keep the votes and the comments flowing!

Also let me know what you think of the following through your comments

What will happen next?

Do you agree with Yashoda's advice? 

What names do you think Shree and Madhav would have finalized for their baby? (I am looking for suggestions. Hence please drop in suggestions!)

Announcement!

It's Dedication Time! As a way of returning your unwavering love and support to the story, I have decided to dedicate ALL the chapters of this book to each reader.

1: A question will be asked at the end of each chapter, regarding the story and/or the characters.

2: One person will be selected from all those who have provide the correct answer.

3: The lucky winner gets one chapter of this book dedicated to him/her. This process will happen repeatedly until all/most of the readers, active and silent, have chapters dedicated to them.

PREVIOUS WEEK'S QUESTION: Who is Shiv Sharma?

Answer: A previous employee at RKGOC, who attempted to molest Shree. Madhav had him sent to jail for it and now he's on the loose. 

Winner (picking one since I can't dedicate to all those who answered correctly) Congratulations to @SanDhu_aka_SanDhiya

This week's question: Name 2 others apart from Madhav and Sivaji who studied at University of Madras.

Submit your answers with inline comments. May the correct and most accurate answer win!