Chapter 4
The kitchen was filled with the sweet aroma of boiling milk as Naina stood lost in thought, her mind wandering back to the events of the afternoon.
The image of Ruhaan in the pool with Neil, teaching her son to swim, was etched firmly in her memory.
She knew how much Neil wanted to learn, but her own fear of water had always held her back from sending him to swimming classes.
The last person she expected to teach him was Ruhaan.
Her cheeks warmed as she recalled how she had slipped into the pool, how Ruhaan had saved her from drowning.
She remembered clinging to his body, feeling his hard muscles, the heat emanating from him, his intense gaze, and his strong grip as he helped her out of the water.
And those flirty dialogues of his, some things never changed.
“Where are you lost, Naina?” Suman’s voice broke through her thoughts. She blinked hard and realized the milk had reached its boiling point. Thankfully, Suman had turned off the gas just in time to prevent it from spilling over.
“Oh, I... I’m sorry. Thank you for catching that.”
Suman studied her friend’s face. “Are you okay? You seem distracted.”
“I’m fine,” Naina replied unconvincingly.
“Come on, Naina. I know you better than that. Who’s the reason for your worry? Neil?”
Naina sighed, relenting under Suman’s gentle prodding. “It’s Ruhaan.”
A knowing smile played at the corners of Suman’s lips as she urged Naina to continue. Naina recounted the swimming pool incident, carefully omitting the details of her own conflicted feelings.
“He’s getting on my nerves, Suman,” Naina confessed. “And the worst part is, Neil seems totally charmed by him.”
Suman laughed softly. “Neil is young, Naina. If he’s bonding with Ruhaan, why not let him? It might be good for him.”
Naina frowned, unconvinced. Suman continued, “What surprises me is that you and Ruhaan’s mother, Kaushalya Aunty, haven’t crossed paths yet. You’ve been under the same roof for three days now.”
“I’ve been purposely avoiding her,” she admitted.
“I didn’t know you were ignoring my mother on purpose,” Ruhaan intervened, causing both women to jump in surprise.
Naina whirled around, her eyes narrowing at Ruhaan’s unexpected presence. “It’s not cool to eavesdrop like this, Ruhaan.”
He leaned against the doorframe. “I wasn’t eavesdropping.
I just happened to walk in at the right moment.
Or the wrong one, depending on how you look at it.
And whatever you and Suman were discussing with open doors hardly had any spice to it.
I wouldn’t even count overhearing that as eavesdropping.
” He paused, his expression turning more serious.
“But coming back to the topic, so, you’ve been avoiding my mother, huh?
And here I thought it was just me you were trying to stay away from. ”
Sensing the tension, Suman quietly excused herself, leaving Naina and Ruhaan alone in the kitchen. Ruhaan stepped inside.
“And why are you avoiding my mother, if I may ask?” he continued.
Naina felt her cheeks flush with a mixture of anger and embarrassment as she responded, “That’s because I don’t need more drama in my life. I’ve had enough of that already.”
“Oh,” he replied, moving closer to her. “You see, I don’t know about my mother but there is definitely someone whose attention you have captured after all these years.”
“I haven’t captured anyone’s attention,” Naina retorted, trying to step around him.
Ruhaan blocked her path. “Haven’t you? Because I could have sworn I felt something in that pool today.”
Her breath caught in her throat, while her heart raced at his proximity. “You’re imagining things, Ruhaan.”
As she tried to move past him, Ruhaan gently caught her wrist.
“Naina,” he murmured. “You must agree there’s something between us which is why despite coming so close seven years ago we distanced and then met again now.”
For a moment, Naina felt her resolve waver.
But she steeled herself, pulling her hand away.
“There is nothing between us, Ruhaan. Nothing but the past. And for God’s sake, stop adding to my problems. I have enough things to worry about from something as silly as Neil not liking milk to holding myself up from meeting your mother again and having any kind of arguments with her. ”
With that, she busied herself with pouring milk into a glass. As soon as she filled the glass, Ruhaan snatched it from her hands and took a sip. Naina’s eyes widened in disbelief. “That milk was for Neil, not you!”
Ruhaan grinned, taking another sip. “But Neil doesn’t like milk. And I’m very hungry right now for some.”
Before Naina could scold him further, Neil ran into the kitchen, his eyes lighting up with amusement at the sight of Ruhaan drinking milk. “Ruhaan, you still drink milk?” he asked innocently.
Ruhaan winked at the boy, taking another dramatic gulp.
“I do, because milk gives you strength to fight against your enemies. You see these muscles?” He flexed playfully.
“It’s all because of milk. I never used to like it when I was young like you, but now I make it a point to drink one glass every day. Pity those who don’t drink milk.”
Naina watched the exchange, realizing it was Ruhaan’s strategy to encourage Neil to drink milk.
The boy’s eyes widened with interest. “Mom, I also want muscles like Ruhaan. Give me milk.”
Hiding a smile, Naina quickly poured milk into another glass and handed it to Neil. The boy started sipping it slowly, taking it with him as he left to join the other kids.
Once Neil was gone, Ruhaan turned to Naina with a smug grin. “See? I made your job easier.”
She looked away, unwilling to admit he’d helped. “You didn’t have to. I could still make him drink it.”
In a swift motion, Ruhaan turned her around, pinning her against the kitchen counter. “When people do something for you, you need to appreciate them, Naina.”
This time there was no playfulness in his expressions, just pure advice.
She frowned, “What if I don’t want to appreciate their help?”
“In that case,” he murmured, leaning closer, “you need to do something for them and return the favor.”
Naina sighed, exasperated. “Well, what do you want then in return?”
His gaze dropped to her lips. Though she knew he was teasing, the heat between them felt all too real. She pushed against his chest, breaking free from his hold and walking away.
“Naina,” he called after her. “I want you to make coffee for me. That’s all.”
Naina didn’t respond and continued to walk away.
“Naina, c’mon. One coffee is not going to change anything between us, will it?” Ruhaan followed her out. “Besides, I really missed that coffee of yours all these years.”
She kept walking away. He missed it? Huh! Who is he lying to? He must be saying that to every other woman who makes coffee for him. But in all this, she couldn’t deny the effect Ruhaan had on her, but she was determined not to fall back into old patterns.
****************
A while later
Naina had been avoiding Kaushalya ever since arriving at the Kundra household. But fate had its own plans. As she passed through the living room, she overheard Kaushalya muttering to herself, frantically searching for her spectacles.
“Where are they? I can’t see a thing without them,” Kaushalya grumbled, looking around in the wrong direction.
Naina noticed the spectacles lying on the single-seater couch nearby. She hesitated, not wanting to interact with the old woman. However, seeing no one else around, she sighed and made a decision. With a reluctant heart, she walked over, picked up the spectacles, and handed them to Kaushalya.
Kaushalya’s initial reaction was one of gratitude. “God bless you for...” Her words trailed off as she recognized the hand holding the spectacles. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw it was Naina.
An awkward silence filled the room. Naina’s mind raced back to a time when Kaushalya was on the verge of becoming her mother-in-law. But the memory was quickly overshadowed by the hurtful words Kaushalya had said when she called off her and Ruhaan’s engagement.
Before either woman could break the uncomfortable silence, Malti, Naina’s aunt entered the room. Sensing the tension, she quickly intervened. “Naina, dear, the saree you were looking for is in your room upstairs, in the closet.”
Grateful for the interruption, Naina nodded.
“Thank you, Aunty.” Without a backward glance, she hurried from the room, leaving Kaushalya and Malti alone.
As soon as Naina was out of earshot, Kaushalya frowned and turned to Malti. “She didn’t even say hello or ask how I am. How arrogant she has become. She wasn’t like this in the past.”
Malti’s eyes narrowed. “A lot has changed in Naina’s life in the last seven years, Kaushalya. And, sorry to say this, but one of those changes was brought upon by you. Isn’t it?”
Kaushalya’s frown deepened, but she couldn’t deny the truth in Malti’s words.
She shrugged. Perhaps it was because of Naina that Ruhaan was still single after all these years.
No matter how many suitable women Kaushalya had introduced to her son, nothing had ever worked out.
Could it be Naina’s silent curse for being rejected in the past?
If that was the case, Kaushalya was determined not to give up. She would find her son a beautiful partner as soon as possible and see him married. It was precisely why she had insisted Ruhaan attend this event, to mingle with women from their social circle who might catch his eye.
“You may be right, Malti,” Kaushalya conceded. “But what’s done is done. We must look to the future now.”
Malti studied her face, sensing there was more left unsaid. “What are you planning?”
“Nothing,” Kaushalya replied, a little too quickly. “I just want what’s best for my son. Surely you can understand that?”
Malti nodded slowly, unconvinced. “Of course. But remember, sometimes what we think is best isn’t always what’s right.”