-M A D H A V      R A M A K R I S H N A-

I wake in an empty bed. I look at her side of the bed and see her missing. Shit! Where is she? It's 6 20 AM and she's usually asleep at this time, if she was staying at home.

I get off the bed and open the washroom. Empty! So is her walk-in-closet, and the balcony too.

Chellam, where are you? I pick up my phone and decide to check her location using the tracker chip I installed in the watch I gifted last night. The door of our room opens, and she walks in.

She was wearing a pastel pink knee length frock with small floral patterns. Her hair was wet, and she was holding a hair drier in her hand.

"WHERE DID YOU GO?" I yell in relief.

"I didn't go out. I went downstairs to Yashoda Ma's room to get her-" she says, rolling her eyes as she walks to the dresser.

"You should have told-!" I say crossing my arms.

"Be practical, Madhav. You were asleep!" She exclaims as she plugs the hair drier to the power socket. I watch her as she gets her hair dry. She looks at the mirror and catches me stealing glances at her. She turns the switch off and pulls the plug out. "Shouldn't you get ready for work? It's almost 6 30 AM."

"I'm not going today." I say and she turns to me. "I thought of taking a day off to spend time with the woman I love so much. I'm all yours for the next 24 hours."

"Take me out, for fuck's sake." She mutters, thinking I can't hear her. You naïve little doll!

I wrap my arms around her waist and press a kiss to her neck. "Let's stay at home and do some really fun and exciting things. We can cook together, chill around in the pool, watch a few movies or that show about that weird guy you drool over- what's his name? Shikhander? Sholay?"

"Shivaay Singh Oberoi." She says. Yeah him, that one. "But Madhav, we could go out on a long drive, to the beach or to the theatre or a good roadside stall and have some chaat- or a fancy ass restaurant of your choice since you are too pompous."

"I don't think so. Indoors is always better baby." I reply grabbing her bruised wrist. "We can be our own selves and have a lot of fun."

"Says the man who has also been ruining my mood for two straight days." She murmurs.

"Before that I need to talk to you." I say and drag her to sit on the Barcalounger. I make her sit on it comfortably and she pulls me to sit beside her. Surprisingly there's enough room for both of us. I put one arm around her shoulders and with the other I take her bruised wrist. She watches intently as I rub my thumb over the faint swollen lines.

I scarred this delicate flower, I hate myself.

"You still love me, right?" I quickly ask her, and she looks at me. She keeps on looking at my face as if trying to read me or as if trying to memorize the minute details of my face. I sigh in relief when she nods.

As I place a lingering kiss to her wrist, she holds my arm.

"Do you love-"

"Yes. Very much." I say as I look at her long slender fingers. "Chellam, I know you are mad at me for-you know what. Just remember one thing, I have nothing with you working but, darling we live in a society where women are not safe at all. You see the news, everyday right? All those rapes, murders, assaults- my aim is to keep you safe from all that- because my life finally has a permanent source of happiness and I am madly in love with. MADLY."

I'm not telling her the entire truth, it's just a broader perspective.

"Women aren't safe in their own homes, Madhav." Shree adds.

"Yes, but you are safe in your home- this home. You are safe when I am with you." I say pressing a kiss to her fingers.

"Does that mean I am to stay at home forever?" She asks looking at me.

"Uhm-uhm-no." I reply caressing her wrist again. "Just tolerate all this for a few weeks- a month or two maybe. I'm on the process of making a special arrangement for you. After that you can go out- but take me with you."

There's no special arrangement or anything. It's just that the police are working on tracing Shiv's location, and they are very close to catching him. It's only a matter of a few weeks till that bastard is caught. He'd be thrown back to rot in this cell at the Bihar Jail forever.

"You mean I can go wherever I want after your done with those 'special arrangements'? Really?"

"Yes, chellam."

She smiles and presses a kiss to my cheek.

"So, what's the agenda for the day, Teddy?" Shree asks as she starts to caress my arm. The feeling of her soft palm caressing my arm sends faint waves of pleasure coursing through my veins and arteries.

"I want to play on Shyaam's PS4- I have never played them and I'm kinda looking forward to that-, we can have a nice swim, after that maybe Netflix and Chill?"

"Or we can have a nice swim and then stay in our room chilling the whole day." I say as my fingers glide up her smooth arm. She blushes. I drag her to sit across my lap. Her fingers lose themselves in my hair. "Screw that, let's chill in our room the whole day."

"Actually, I am fixated on the idea of playing on that PS4." She says as she caresses my beard. "Let's postpone 'chilling together' for the night?"

"Mrs. Shree Ramakrishna, I have you scheduled for 'chilling together' at 2130h in our chambers." I whisper and press a quick kiss to her nose.

"Dress code ought to be cultural." She teases. "This naive Pallava Princess needs to spend time with her husband who is also the devilishly handsome dictator king of Mahishmati. I hear that she wants to consummate their marriage."

Damn you, Prasad, you got some wild imagination.

* * * * *

Shyaam had already left for college.

I take a quick shower and grab a white tee-shirt with a pair of khaki shorts.

We walk into his room, which is almost similar to mine. The only difference between his room and mine, would be the big 64-inch TV opposite his bed. He has no proper furniture in his room, just a few bean bags and fold-able chairs. I don't have TVs in my room- lesser disturbances.

Shree looks around the room and picks up a yellow earring on his bedside table.

"This looks so familiar." She says.

"Even I had the same feeling when I saw it. Probably belongs to the girl he has a crush on." I say as I on the TV and switch on the PS4. "Can you open the curtains to let some light in and open the balcony as well."

"Madhav, look at this." She calls and I go to the balcony. She's pointing to a wind chime. "He has made using paper cups. Look at how he has spray painted these inside and out, also-"

"That's odd. These are used paper cups." I say in disgust.

"I know. He's not a hoarder to make a wind chime with all the paper cups he has used."

"Probably used by someone who is very special to him." I say and look closer at the cup. I try to read the printed letters through the faint shade of the spray paint has. 'For Sale Only At The Mumbai Faculty of-'

I can't figure out the last word.

* * * * *

Shree and I go on for several hours playing Knack ɪ on his PS4. We laughed, fought and argued as we played together.

"I'm hungry." Shree announces, at around 11, and looks at me with her adorable baby eyes. We skipped breakfast, despite Yashoda Ma asking us to come down for breakfast. We were so engrossed with the game, we both said we weren't hungry. "Madhav, baby, feed me."

"What does the chellam want for brunch?" I ask as I drag her to the kitchen. Yashoda Ma looks at us adoringly as she walks out of the kitchen.

"Make me a masala dhosai." Shree says smiling.

"Coming right up, chellam." I say pulling her cheeks. "Can you chop the vegetables for me?"

She shakes her head. "I'm going to hold onto you until my dhosai is done."

Shree has her arms wrapped around my torso and her face against my back as I make her my signature masala dhosai. I smile feeling her soft body and her heartbeat against my back.

We head out to the veranda when I'm done making two crisp masala dhosais.

 I got a small bowl of the sambhar the cook had made for lunch. Shree sits on the patio chair and I lay down the food on the patio table, sitting beside her.

She smiles and starts to eat it, sighing with excitement. "Oh My Mata, this is so delicious. A thousand times better than the one I ate in that South Indian restaurant in Chembur." She's bouncing with excitement. "It's so tasty. I love this- I love you. OMG you should eat the other one."

"I'll let you have it." I say and look at her glowing face.

"Shree, I need to tell you something." I say as she finishes eating.

She looks at me and I start telling her everything about Shiv Sharma. Her face becomes ashen and she's clearly upset. This is what I feared.

"But don't worry. He'd be caught in a few days and everything will go back to normal."

"W-W-W-W-What if he isn't caught? Madhav, w-w-w-w-what if he does something t-t-t-to-"

"Do you think I'd let him harm you?" I say leaning towards her, holding her face with my hands. "I made so many arrangements to keep you safe in this house. He won't be able to touch your shadow, because I'm here for you, chellam."

She looks into my eyes and I inch towards her. She's breathing laboriously, shaking and panicking.

"Really?" She asks. I nod and confirm her queries with a kiss. She sighs and I notice her calm down as she starts to breathe normally.

"Yes." I breathe.

* * * * *

Throughout the day I had Shree in my arms, as we lay on our bed. She snuggles into my chest, with moist eyes. I had just finished narrating about Devakshi and her death. I had finally decided to give into her persistent pleas to learn about Akka's death. As I narrated, Shree was struck with horror and pondering over it made her break into an endless flow of tears.

To be continued....

Glossary

Akka- Sister

Ma- Mother

Chaat- Snacks, especially served at road-side tracks from stalls or food carts in India and some parts of Pakistan.

Masala Dhosai- Dhosai is a thin crispy crepe made using fermented rice and lentil batter. Masala Dhosai is one that has potato or spiced and seasoned potatoes stuffed in it. 

Sambhar- Sambhar is a vegetable stew and has pumpkin as the primarily vegetable along with green beans, brinjal and drumsticks.

Keep the votes and the comments flowing!

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

-What will happen next? 

-Are you glad he told her everything?

-What do you think about Anu and Sivaji? Would you be interested to read more about their university life with Madhav?

-Are you a fan of dhosai? What is your favourite South Indian food item?

-Do you agree that staying indoors can be fun?

-What do you think of Shree (as the Pallava Princess) and Madhav (as the tyrant king of Mahishmati, in other words Bhallaladeva of Baahubali)? 

-Who do you think Shyaam is in love with?

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.

I will no longer be asking questions, instead the person who will be submits the most number of inline comments for a featured chapter.

This week's featured chapter is 29 | The One with The Flashback 2/2. (Since we didn't get to a winner for the last task yet.)

The person who submits most inline comments will be getting a dedication.

This week's featured chapter is 29 | The One with The Flashback 2/2.

The person who submits most inline comments will be getting a dedication.