Chapter-12

Friday is the last day of the midterm exam. Navya came out of the exam room with a bright face while chatting with Sanjana. After seeing the car driven by her driver who came to pick her up, she separated from Sanjana and got into the car.

Navya was sitting in the middle seat of the car, looking out of the window, when suddenly her cell phone rang. Suraj made the call. She answered the call.

"Hi, Navya! How are you?" Suraj said on the call. "Guess what? Tomorrow I will be back to Delhi!" Suraj sounded very happy when he said this.

On the other hand, Navya felt awkward. "How do I tell Suraj about my situation?" Navya said to herself.

"Tomorrow is Saturday, I know you won't go to college. I'll pick you up from your house, okay?" Suraj asked to Navya.

"Don't come tomorrow" Navya spontaneously reacted.

Suraj paused for a moment. He was surprised at her response.

"Uh, sorry, Suraj..." Navya stuttered. "I mean, I can't come with you tomorrow... I-I have a, uh, family event... Sorry, Suraj I can't see you tomorrow." Navya bite her lower lip because she wasn't very good at lying.

Suraj's voice sounded disappointed, but he probably already guessed the reason why Navya turned him down again, after they had been little intimate at Sonia's birthday party. After apologizing again for her rude behaviour, Navya ended their conversation.

Navya took a deep breath. She rejected Suraj because she wasn't ready for a new relationship. "Yes, that must be the only reason" Navya tried to convince herself.

Suddenly, her cell phone rang again. "Who else?" Navya thought in her mind. Navya looked at her phone screen. Rishabh's name flashed on the screen. Navya hastily answered the call.

"Hii bro" Navya half shouted with joy. She missed her brother very much. From the beginning, they were close. Rishabh is only two years older than Navya.

"Navya, how are you?" Rishabh's voice sounded cheerful. "How is Mohit?" Rishabh asked Navya.

Rishabh definitely knew about their marriage, even though Rishabh didn't come to Delhi at that time. But Navya and his brother have talked a few times out after the wedding.

Rishabh was actually in shock when he first found out about his dad's decision, but he couldn't do anything about it either. In the end, Rishabh just said that Mohit is a good man, and hoped that Mohit could take care of Navya.

"I'm fine and Mohit is also good, how are you doing? Are you busy?" Navya asked Rishabh.

"Well, it's like that. Navya.... do you know? I'm coming to Delhi!" Rishabh said to Navya.

"Huh? Really?" Navya squealed happily. "We will do so much of fun...!! Coincidentally, my mid term exam just finished, it feels good. When will you come here?" Navya asked him.

"Tomorrow morning. But.... Navya I'm not coming alone. There's aunt Sangeeta, who forced me to accompany her to Delhi. She said she have to meet you anyway." Rishabh said to Navya.

Suddenly, Navya froze. "Aunt Sangeeta? Oh no!" Navya thought in her mind due to fear. Aunt Sangeeta is her dad's younger sister and only sister. She lives in Nagpur all this time. She was not married even at the age of forty-three years.

Navya is not afraid of Aunt Sangeeta because she is evil. That's not the problem. She is indeed disciplined and firm like her dad, but sometimes she can be fierce. But she always loved her nephews, especially Navya. She always boasted that Navya was very smart, like herself.

The problem is that she is very careful, talkative, and considerate. She can't be easily deceived. Her dad may be able to believe that Mohit and Navya are actual couple, but is it that easy to lie to aunt Sangeeta? What if their drama will discovered by Aunt Sangeeta? That's the reason why Navya was in fear.

"Ohhh...aunt Sangeeta.... How long she will live in Delhi ?" Navya asked Rishabh . "Why suddenly?" Navya continued her question.

"We only live two days in Delhi, on Sunday afternoon we will back again. I was suddenly asked by her so I couldn't said no to her. She said she wanted to meet you with Mohit" Rishabh said to Navya. "Well, just ask Miss Padma to prepare a room for the two of us. Dad  can't come this time." Rishabh continued to Navya.

Navya closed her eyes in fear. "Yes, bro. I will tell her to prepare rooms." Navya said to Rishabh and after talking for sometime she ended the conversation.

(In the evening)

Mohit came home around five  o'clock. Navya deliberately waited for Mohit to have dinner together. When Mohit came out of the room after taking a bath, he looked at Navya who was just sitting on the dining chair, but had not yet started eating.

"Navya? What are you doing? Why you haven't started eating yet?" Mohit asked to Navya surprisingly. He wore a white t-shirt and blue training shorts.

As Mohit approached towards her, Navya could smell the soap used by him. The scent is very comfortable on the nose, but still looks masculine. "Ah...., since when did I started paying attention to the scent of his soap?" Navya asked to herself. "Umm..., I was  waiting for you so that we can eat together," Navya said to Mohit.

Mohit stared inquisitively, his thick black eyebrows raised. He sat on the chair opposite to Navya. "Is there something you want to say?" Mohit asked to Navya.

Navya suspected that Mohit seemed to be able to read her mind. "How could he immediately guess like that?" Navya thought in her mind.

"Mmm... you're right, actually Mohit... Tomorrow, Rishabh and Aunt Sangeeta will come home." Navya said to Mohit.

"Oh yeah I know that, I've been told this by Rishabh. He called me too. I've asked Miss Padma to prepare everything. Tomorrow we will pick them up at the airport, okay?" Mohit replied casually, while spooning the side dishes onto his plate.

It turned out that Rishabh had also contacted Mohit. Maybe Rishabh also meant to warn Mohit because he already understood the chatty nature of Aunt Sangeeta.

"Mmm..., the thing is..." Hesitating, Navya lowered her voice. "Mohit....you don't know about Aunt Sangeeta. She's a very intelligent person, thorough, and fussy too. I'm afraid that... our play will be discovered." Navya said the last sentence in a whisper.

Mohit stared back, but he still looked normal. "Why should we be afraid? Is there anything suspicious about us?" Mohit asked Navya, then he started shoving food into his mouth.

Navya was confused how Mohit can be so calm. "Did Mohit really don't feel that there was clearly something unusual about us as 'husband and wife'?" Navya asked to herself. They don't really know each other. They don't date or go anywhere together. They're also not being affectionate towards each other, let alone sleeping in the same bed! But Navya didn't know how to express it to Mohit.

"B-but... Aunt Sangeeta is not like dad" Navya was still trying to explain him. "We don't really know each other yet. What if Aunt Sangeeta asks all kinds of questions about each other?" Navya said to Mohit.

Mohit looked at Navya with a furrowed eyebrow. "Well, didn't Aunt Sangeeta know that we got married suddenly? If there's something you don't know, just say we're still learning to get to know each other right?" Mohit asked to Navya.

Navya was stunned. His words are true. "But can Aunt Sangeeta easily accept our excuses? Ah.... I hope I'm just worrying too much!" Navya thought in her mind.

Mohit's face suddenly became serious. "Navya, I told you before, if you can't stand playing this drama, just say so. We can still end all of this," he said to Navya in a half-whisper. He thought that Navya is just making an excuse to end this marriage.

"No, don't think like this!" Navya interrupted quickly, to the point of being surprised at her own reaction. Mohit also did not seem to suspect, his eyes opened wide looking at Navya.

"Ummm.... I'm sorry Mohit... I-I mean, I still want to live in Delhi" Navya  stuttered, trying to explain herself for her recent reaction.

Mohit was silent for a moment, then suddenly he smiled. "Well then, don't think about it like that, Navya. The more you will afraid, the more you'll be nervous infront of her. I promised to help you. So, let's just do it tomorrow, okay?" Mohit's voice is soft and soothing.

Navya did not argue anymore. For some reason, her eyes were fixed on the ring finger of Mohit's right hand. He still wears their wedding ring. Navya never saw the ring removed from Mohit's finger.