The shower debacle

They reached Raj's home within 15 minutes, the roads being practically empty. The drive was a quiet one as Priya had decided not to say anything because she was still mad at how he had lashed at her,but she could feel Raj's eyes on her intermittently throughout the drive.

As they reached home, Raj signalled her to get down from the car as he drove on to park his car in the garage. As she stood in the pathway, she looked up to see the house.

Raj's home was a luxurious family home with a spacious front yard which had a beautiful flower bed lining the pathway to the house. The two-storey house looked ultra modern with its ceiling to floor glass windows and doors. She quickly turned her gaze away as she saw Raj approaching the pathway and saying "Shall we?" as he showed her the path to the main door.

The main door had no traditional key but a swipe card with a fingerprint scanner. Priya wondered what would happen if they lost the swipe card or your fingers were bandaged!

Raj opened the door with the scanner and stood little aside for Priya to pass in. Suddenly Priya felt extremely shy to enter the house. She wondered if she was doing the right thing. It was 11 in the night and she had escaped one stalking stranger and was ready to stay home with another one? But he is not a stranger. He is your husband. A tiny voice inside her tried to convince her. Oh so you are ready to trust a man who married you for all reasons except love and even accused you of using him and his family! Well, he was totally aware of what he was getting into. Wasn't he?

"Hello!! Priya, are you planning to stand at the entrance all night? If you are then I better get you a bed here so that you can think all you like in bed at least." Raj spoke as he waved his hand in front of her eyes as if to take her out the trance she was in.

Priya quickly recovered and said "Sorry, I was lost somewhere"

"Ok, let us go in then. Are you hungry? I am sure you haven't eaten anything with the scare you got today. I have some leftover pulao. Would you like to eat some?" He asked her in a tone which seemed extremely energetic for the kind of evening they both had.

"No, I am not hungry. It is too late anyway. You must be tired of the fracas you faced today. You please go to bed. And R-Raj, thank you for everything you have done today. I am not sure if I could repay you in anyway" She spoke with gratitude because she was feeling it.

She felt Raj's eyes turn darker as she spoke and as he listened. He cleared his throat a little and said with a smile "Well I know in many ways you can repay me, but not today"

Priya instantly blushed at his words and quickly averted her eyes to look at the beautiful porcelain vase behind him. Was he insinuating something? Or am I imagining things? She wondered and began to survey the house.

It was a beautifully designed house which had a leading hallway. One side of it was the living area and the other side was the dining area overlooking the lawn. The dining area had a huge 8 seater white rectangular table with a pale blue runner on it. The dining area was adjacent to the spacious open kitchen with wooden flooring. There was one bedroom opposite to the living room with a staircase going right up to the first floor. She assumed the stairs led to another set of bedrooms. The whole house could be described as a minimalist house with white and pale blue colours being the dominating shade.

Raj took her backpack and moved towards the bedroom next to the living room. Priya followed him and entered the room . The room had a beautiful four poster bed with a pure white bedspread on it .

"So this is your room. Take lots of rest as you had a very harrowing experience today. OH and one more thing, if you want to take a shower there is a bath. The tap is a little tricky to use so if you need any help do let me know. Ok? If you feel hungry , you can look into the fridge. " Raj told her matter of factly.

"O-Ok, I think I will give the shower a pass today. Good night Raj.It is too late for you too, please go to bed"

Raj nodded and walked towards the door and suddenly turned back and said "Priya, turn your phone into silent mode. Do not pick up any call. We will deal with the stalker tomorrow, " Raj told her.

Priya widened her eyes with bewilderment as she heard the word "We" . What was his plan? But she was very tired right now to argue with him again so all she could tell him was "Ok"

"Good night then" Raj told her with a smile and closed the door behind as he left, leaving Priya utterly confused.

So here she was in Raj's home where Raj was planning to keep her for three months, the stalker problem was still there, she didn't have money to afford another house and her friends didn't know that she was a MARRIED woman! The more she thought about the mess she was in , the more she was dejected with her life. She was too tired to think about it right now, so she decided to get some sleep at least for now.

She quickly changed into her night cotton pyjamas and jumped into bed which could be described as the most comfy bed ever. She sighed deeply and tried to sleep but sleep eluded her . How could she sleep? She was sleeping in the bed of the man whom she had claimed, two years back, never to set eyes on! Tomorrow she had to go to college and ask her friends if they had a place for her in their apartments. She was ok to adjust for a few months but didn't want to stay here. She had tried her best to be polite and formal as he had helped her out in the time of need as it wouldn't be right otherwise. But tomorrow she had to make it clear that she couldn't stay here. But will her friends help her out? There was Sean who had been helpful since the beginning of the course. His mother was an American while his father was an Indian, which kind of helped him understand her a little better. Then there was Anita and Samaira as well. Priya hoped and prayed that they help her find a place to stay. Also, she couldn't stay with Raj in the same house. She couldn't. She decided fiercely. After an hour of tossing and turning she finally slept around midnight.

And she woke up only to the knocking sound of the door. For a moment she was confused as to where she was realizing soon that she was sleeping in Raj's home. She quickly rubbed her eyes and said "I am coming! Please give me ten minutes!" . She heard Raj reply with a "Ok, breakfast is ready." The time was eight'o o'clock! She had to be in college by nine thirty so she had to literally run, she realized.

Priya jumped out of the bed and finished her ablutions quickly and entered the bath in a hurry . She looked at the shower panel buttons and agreed silently that as Raj had told, that it was tricky indeed. She had wound a tiny towel around her petite frame, just in case the shower played a game with her. She saw a red button and a blue button on the panel with a small knob in the center. Well this couldn't be rocket science! So she went ahead and pressed the knob in the center and in that second the shower head splashed cold water onto her in a jet splash that she gave out a loud scream.The force of the jet and the cold water literally blew the lights out of her and she absolutely not able to see anything in front of her.

While she struggled with shower, she heard Raj knock the door of the bathroom asking her

"Priya, are you ok in there? What is wrong? Tell me", his voice a little shaky.

Priya had to scream over the noise of the jetsplash in reply

"I am not able to figure out how to operate this shower. I feel I have broken something…."

"Shall I come in?" He asked with little hesitancy.

Priya literally lost her mind when she heard this and screamed at top of her voice

"NOOOOOOOO, DON"T COME IN"

There was no man in this world who had seen her in this state and she wouldn't let Raj see her as well.

"OK,OK, then can you try pressing the knob on the right hand side corner? That is the one which can cut down the water supply to the shower"

"OOOOKKK" she screamed

The water was splashing all over face now and she could hardly see anything.She bent forward to feel the wall for any knobs and before she knew it, she had slipped and fell on the floor hard.

"AHHHH" she winced in pain.

She could hear Raj say something but she couldn't make out what it was. In another two minutes, she heard the key of the door turn in and Raj was WALKING into the bathroom.

Her heart skipped a beat and thumped rapidly at the horror of Raj watching her in this semi-naked state. She quickly tried to get up and before she knew Raj was helping her out . One hand was on her hip and the other one on her bare shoulder! Instinctively she tried to push him away but Raj held onto her with a "MCH" and put her out of the cubicle first with his firm hands. He turned his back and told her " You get into the room and change into your clothes.I will stop the shower and wait in the bathroom till you finish dressing. Now leave"

His voice sounded terse and stiff. She did not dwell on it much and literally ran out of the bathroom, locking the door from outside just in case.

She quickly dried herself and changed into a yellow T-shirt and navy blue jeans.

Presently she heard Raj knock from inside and say "Are you done?"

"Yes I am done," she replied.

As she watched the door knob, the prospect of seeing him again after the bathroom "incident" turned her red in colour. He came out and for a brief second their eyes met blushing her anew. She quickly turned around and he left the room mumbling something.He looked equally embarrassed. OH GOD!

She decided that if she were ever asked "What is your most embarrassing moment of your life" then this has to be it. By God's grace the fall was not that bad, she could feel little pain in her hip area but nowhere else. Her long hair was totally wet but she couldn't find any dryer in the room and she would not dare to ask Raj so she decided to leave her hair open. She dreaded leaving the room but she was running out of time for her college so she had no choice but face Raj one more time. With these thoughts she opened the door slowly to find Raj at the breakfast table, with his back facing her,, His hair was wet as all and he was in white collared T-shirt and grey pants. As soon as he heard the door he turned towards her and gestured to her to come to the dining table.

She walked to the table with an unsure gait and finally was standing opposite him.

His demeanour seemed to have forgotten all about the bathroom "scene" as he spoke to her in a very casual tone

"Come , have some breakfast. I am afraid, it is a plain affair with toast and jam"

"Thank you, I am getting late for college, I may have to leave now to catch the eight'o o'clock metro if I have to reach college by nine thirty. So I will skip breakfast. Sorry"

"No, don't worry about your college. I will drop you in my car. Now have some breakfast and coffee"

"I would prefer to go by metro. I do not want to trouble you. " She said in a apologetic tone.

He looked at her for some time and replied with a short "It is ok. We need to speak to your dean about the guy as well right? I will come along with you and we can sort things out"

"NOOO. I will sort this out. I will take help from my friends. Please do not come to my college", she replied quickly. She literally panicked at the thought of her friends finding out she was a married woman and this man was her husband and most importantly she was living in his house (at least temporarily).

"Well, I will come with you and that is something I do not want to negotiate about. If you have to report to the cops then you would definitely need some help in legal matters. I have already spoken to my lawyer and he will step in if required. Please do not take the matter lightly as many stalkers have criminal backgrounds and this one may be no different." He spoke with a firm tone which somehow did convince her.

What would she do if the stalker was a criminal ? Which friend of hers would help her out? Sean's father was a lawyer too but would it be right on her part to involve him in her matters?

With these confusing thoughts she decided it would be best to follow what Raj was suggesting her to do. She nodded and replied with a "Ok" but lots of questions popped up in her head. But isn't he getting too involved in your life? Was it right on her part to take help from a man who was equally responsible for destroying her life in the past? Why was he helping her anyway? What ulterior motive did he have?

Raj broke her chain of thoughts and told her "Then I will change and come. Let us leave ASAP and get this over with."

It was ten minutes later they were on their way to her college. Raj had changed into his business suit which made her guess that he was going to his office later. She looked at his side profile and couldn't help notice his sharp nose jutting out of his face. She quickly turned her face to the window in case he thought she was staring at him and that would add to the "embarrassing moments" list which was created after the infamous "bathroom horror" incident early on. The memories of it turned her red once more. She shook her head slightly as if to shake off the memory when Raj looked at her for a second and turned his attention to the road and said coolly "Don't worry. I did not see anything!"

She looked at him incredulously with her mouth wide open because Raj was reading her mind! She had to give him back.

She retorted with, "Did I ask you if you saw anything? Who asked for your opinion anyway? I didn't know how to operate the knob and you just helped me, that's it. And considering your rich lifestyle I am sure what you saw was not a novelty at all. I am sure many women have used the same bathroom and who knows maybe both of you have used it together as well! "

Raj chuckled at her words and said "I said I did not see anything, not sure how you came to the conclusion that I was talking about the bathroom."

This embarrassed her anew. She wanted to jump out of the car right now but decided against it for her own good. Instead she pushed her head out of the window and decided it would be best that way till they reached her college.

She could hear Raj's chuckle in the background as they drove on.