9/11/2019 - Saturday - At Chennai, T nagar.

Aparna's P. O. V:

Shiva looked at the bracelets even more puzzled.

He thought for a moment and then pushed the middle one towards me.

" Good choice! " I said to him and asked the shop keeper to pack the three of the bracelets separately.

Rajiv came in, my sister had called him and he didn't look well.

He patted Shiva and stood near him.

" Shall we leave? " Rajiv asked.

" Yes" His mom said and we walked to the counter.

I paid for the three bracelets and that stranger uncle paid for their rings.

Anjali was staring at me as I took out my card and paid. She murmured something to Rajiv's mom and she was staring at me too.

As I walked from the bill counter, Anjali smiled at me.

" Anjali, look there are people like this too, who themselves didn't bring any gold, but nicely eating up my son's salary! " Rajiv's mom said.

I turned back to give them a nice reply, but Rajiv took a stand.

" Yes, they don't bring any gold from their family. They earn themselves and buy whatever they want. Unlike some who sit and eat nicely under their family income" Rajiv said and Anjali was looking at him open mouthed.

I smiled back at Anjali.

" Rajiv, this is none of your business! " His mom scolded him.

" Amma, Prerna has her own bank account. In fact, she earns more than me. Even now, she has bought the bracelet only for Shiva, that too from her account.And you blame her blindly. " Rajiv said and his mom's nose was magically broken down.

Rajiv walked out of the shop to the auto, and I walked behind him.

We sat on the auto with Shiva and we started to home before them.

"That was a good one! " Shiva said laughing to Rajiv.

" There is a limit for everything. They are living in a small world. I don't know when Amma will understand this. The real world is going somewhere. And they are still stuck with dowry and gold" Rajiv said sadly.

" For how many days Anjali is going to stay in Chennai? " Shiva asked with pain in his voice.

" One more week I guess, it seems she is staying with her dad in Jeya aunty's house. She would be coming with us to Theni in our bus " Rajiv said.

" Great! She would bug me off for the next seven days " Shiva said.

" Give her a chance maybe " I said.

" Really? " Shiva asked me.

" She was so into marrying you. She even waited till now. Get to know her. " I said.

" You started talking like my mother! " Shiva said.

" Prerna, I forgot to tell you something. My boss wants me to come to office by day after tomorrow. I would be leaving tomorrow morning " Rajiv said.

" What? " I asked.

" Yeah, I even booked the tickets" Rajiv said, signalling that he would talk to me later. But this was not a part of the agreement. He looked frustrated.

" But, I can't stay here alone! " I said nervously. He knows what he was trying to throw me into.

" We are not going to eat you up Anni. Anyway Rajiv would be back in four days. " Shiva said.

Oh boy, that's my real fear.

We ate out in a Hotel on our way. Rajiv's parents sat with Anjali while we three sat together.

Rajiv paid the bill for everyone and we got in an auto.

As we reached Rajiv's home, both of Rajiv's parents remained silent.

I walked to Rajiv's room, he came behind me and locked the door.

" What happened? Why are you leaving?" I asked.

" Prerna got into a car accident! " He said and was pulling his hair with his hands.

" Is she okay? " I asked.

" She is alright. But she hit a boy on the road! " He said and sat on the bed.

" What? Is that boy okay?" I asked.

" He seems to have escaped with just a small bruise in his hand. But his parents have filed a police case against Prerna. "He said.

" I am coming with you. Prerna would be terrified. I need to be with her. " I said.

" Your sister asked you to stay here yaar! " He said.

I sat on a chair near the bed and looked at him.

" Why? " I asked.

" She knows how much important it is for me to be here. But still I can't. Atleast you can. If we both leave now, I don't know what else my Amma and Appa would start saying." He said.

" What happened to the case? " I asked.

" It's only a minor accident. The police have asked Prerna to not leave the town till the end of their investigation. " He said.

" You need to tell this to your Amma. And you would be back within two days right? " I asked scared.

" Yeah, I will tell them tonight. I will sleep with my brother. You take rest. " He said.

I sat silently as Rajiv took out his night dress and walked out.

I took my phone and called my sister with shaking hands.

" Prerna, are you okay? " I asked as soon  as she picked up.

" Yeah! " She said snoring. She had been crying.

" What happened? " I asked.

" It was the Malhotra boy. He saw me taking out the car. He still fell on it himself and started crying. " She said.

" Wait? The accident happened in your car parking? " I asked.

" Yes!  I hated that boy. He cried so loud that the entire apartment came down. Last diwali, I took away his crackers remember. He has taken his revenge for that " She said and I started laughing.

" Don't laugh Aparna! Can you believe that my neighbors have complained on me? " She asked.

" But Rajiv was saying as if it was a real accident. I was scared to hell. Wait, I'll come there and we'll beat that Malhotra boy together " I said and she laughed too.

" Sorry that I got you into our mess! " Prerna said.

" It's okay! " I said.

" Will talk to you tomorrow. Good night. " She said.

" Good night! Take the tablets properly! " I said and cut the call.

I was so tired from the travel that I didn't know how I slept.

The next day, a call from an unknown number woke me up.

" Hello" I said.

" Hello, my sugar plum! " The voice said. I instantly knew who it was.

I remained silent. I pressed the record option and waited.

" You know, I missed you so much. I heard that you are jobless now. Such a pity. "Michael said.

I was stern enough to not speak a word.

" You got rejected from 10 offices? So bad, so bad " He said.

It was all because of him. But I knew how to play his game too.

" You should have accepted my offer. We both would have been happy now. " He said.

" It's so odd of you to keep quiet. Come on! Where was the Jhansi rani inside you? Fight back! " He said.

" Fuck off! " I said and cut the call. I had the record of his voice.

Let's see when this would save me.