Five Weeks by Shruti Omar (any book recommendations .txt) 📕

Yuvraaj chuckled throatily at the absurd way she had felicitated him and leaned forward. He composed himself, maintaining a heartwarming eye lock with her, certainly refraining from looking away or not even letting her blink. His lips tucked to the corner, wickedly. “Don't thank me. I never do favors; I took my part of pleasure being the selfish-self as you call me."

"What?" she manifested confusion, unable to comprehend what his words meant and Yuvraaj shook his head, “Nothing. You are not that smart to purport. Enjoy your sandwich." He resumed to his position, noticing the waiter approaching them.

Anahita didn't nag much, his words had always been cryptic and his actions enigmatic. Danger, that’s what she smelled whenever he was near her and to shield her from his leech behavior, there wasn’t anything she wouldn’t resort to with a view to get rid of. Finishing his breakfast, Yuvraaj filled her in about the further journey to Sardinia – an island in Mediterranean Sea with long stretch of coastline, sandy beaches and mountainous interior.

“Is this important to go there? I mean we can just stay here, obviously, it is not real honeymoon." She shrugged, broaching up the suggestion as if didn’t matter to her and it unintentionally hurt his emotions. He put his fork down and responded flatly, “This might not be a real honeymoon but since my family has invested so much money to make this trip memorable for us, we will go. You may not care about anyone but my family is what matters to me the most, so I will not hurt their emotions, not even unintentionally."

And, he paced away from there, leaving her dumbstruck. She didn’t mean to hurt anyone and she saddened. Yuvraaj was like an ocean that would remain calm, capable of containing tsunami and one high tide would unleash the monstrous display of disaster. He always bottled up his emotions like tsunami tide and it scared Anahita that he would mark her apocalypse. Many of time, his words had scratched her, wounded her, made her face the harsh reality that she was nothing but a selfish bitch. His unconditional love for his family and the sacrifice he was making being stick to her made her heart clench in guilt. She was doing injustice with everyone.

Slumping down her shoulders, she meandered to their suite and was greeted with an empty room. She panicked, thinking he left her to fend off alone but relaxed when she noticed a note kept under her phone.

Leaving to fill up some formalities, will be right back. Get ready with your luggage by then.

He had scrawled in his neat handwriting. Even his handwriting is sexy, she snorted, crumpling the paper and disposing it in waste bin. She switched on her phone and gasped to notice fifty missed calls from Mukund. She didn’t know why he was so impatient post her marriage that he wouldn’t stop with one or two dials. Nonetheless, she dialed his number.

“Why the hell was your phone switched off? What were you doing? Do you have any idea how tensed I was? I thought Yuvraaj caused you some harm. Couldn't you just call me back once, you fool?" Mukund barked at her, making her jump and distance the phone from her ear.

“Relax! I am perfectly fine. Yuvraaj is a dog but he wouldn't bite me of course because I can always complain to his mom. So, chill! He is not going to harm me but I am surprised. I thought you didn't care for Me." she sassed, irking him and he hissed out a retort. “Shut up!”

Anahita lazily smiled and crooned, “I'm sorry baby. I was exhausted last night. I didn't even know when my phone discharged. I am really sorry."

“Exhausted! Why?”

“Oh, didn’t I tell you?” she slapped her forehead, “I forgot to tell you that I’m in Italy. Well, heading to this island named, uh, Maforina….Adonia…no err, Sardinia. Yes, Sardinia that is.”

"What the hell are you doing there? I just left you for a week and you flew to Sardinia? Who is with you? Wait, let me guess, Yuvraaj?” he didn’t give her chance to explain and gave a lackluster laugh, “Right. Enjoying your honeymoon there, well, very well.”

“What? Will you just let me explain?”

“What’s there to explain now?” he snapped and she scratched her nose, "Trust Me Mukund, I didn’t come here on my wish. I never wanted to come here. I even got my leg sprained and what not but he just forced me here. He forced me to accompany him. What could I do?”

"So, you agreed? Ha! How convincing, Anahita. I never thought you were so easy to play with. He tricked you in and you followed him like a puppy wagging your tail." His harsh words made her clench his fist and she retaliated, “Watch your words, Mukund. You were not in my place, so you didn't —"

"Shut up! You have no spine to accept that you too wanted to go. Oh please, Anahita! There must've been several ways to avoid this situation but you didn’t try properly.” He rebuffed her and she fumed, “Yes, I did. I wanted to come here. So, what? Who the actual fuck are you tell me anything? If you had the spine, you shouldn’t have left me and run away like a coward!”

"Don't play this, alright. Don't foist your own incapability and weakness on me. Is this how you're going to handle things after our marriage?" he questioned, crossly, "Here, I am making future for both of us and you're enjoying with that sonovabitch whom you've always claimed to hate."

Anahita greeted his tongue, “Don’t disrespect him like that, Mukund, Yes, I hate him but at least he is a man who doesn't dump the people he love just because he has no balls to be with them like you."

"Anahita..."

"Zip up, you bastard! Not a word. I thought you would be missing me, I thought you cared for me. I thought, at least, you believed in me but I was wrong. You are selfish, Mukund. I hate you. I hate you more than I hate Yuvraaj." She breathed heavily, cursing him in row. There was silence on the other side but the call wasn’t disconnected.