One with Maan | On Pause

2.1 |We Meet Again|

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I did say that I wanted to change something with the way the story goes, but umm I am too lazy for that, so I am posting it again as it was. 

——

Two weeks later,

Anupama had been trying to avoid Anuj seeing the day after her birthday. The more she thought about her birthday the more she felt guilty about breaking Shruti's trust and not being able to control herself. But now, he was walking towards her with Aadya.

"You are going to spend the day with your mother and enjoy it," Anuj says. "I am just being forced to do this," Aadya says. "You will enjoy it forcefully," Anuj says and smiles at Anupama. "Choti, I am glad that we will be spending the day together," Anupama says. "Well, I am not," Aadya says.

"I will bring her back to your house on time," Anupama says. "I know," Anuj says. Aadya goes outside to the taxi. "Have you heard from Shruti?" Anupama asks. "No, of course, she is mad about what we did," Anuj says. "What did we do?" Anupama asks. "You were very loud that night. I am sure you haven't forgotten," Anuj says.

"I have to go," She walks out on him. Anupama entered the car with Aadya and took her to the Italian cooking lesson. Anu was trying to learn new dishes to incorporate into the restaurant. She wanted her daughter to come with her. "How is school?" Anupama asks. "Should I add the powder now?" Aadya asks the chef. "Yes," the Chef says.

Aadya tried her best to ignore Anupama for as long as possible. After they finished cooking and ate, Anupama took her to the library. "I saw some nice books here that you could borrow. Reading is good for the mind," Anupama says. "I listen to audiobooks," Aadya says. Then they went to the gaming arcade and that's when the girl lightened up a bit.

Aadya didn't engage in full conversations like Anupama would have wanted, but they played games together. "I wanted to check something out in the shopping mall," Aadya says. "Let's go," Anupama says. They entered a store and then Aadya ran to hug Shruti.

Anupama wanted the group to open and swallow her. The younger woman saw Anupama and gave an awkward smile. "I miss you in the house. You should come back," Aadya says. "Your dad and I need a break for now," Shruti says. Aadya went to try out some dresses, and Shruti walked up to Anupama.

"Hey," She says. "Hey," Anupama replied awkwardly. "Happy Birthday in arrears. I heard that it was a memorable one," Shruti says. "Voh. It was an ordinary day," Anupama says. "Why? Do you have sex with my fiance..." Shruti says. "Please this is not the place for this," Anupama says.

"Who do you think you are to decide when we will have this conversation?" Shruti asks. "I didn't want to hurt you on purpose. At that moment, I forgot that he wasn't mine anymore and I gave in to my physical desires," Anupama says. "You knew how much I love him. But I should have been smart, I knew that he didn't have closure with his ex-wife. I am just sad that you didn't remember our friendship and resist yourself," Shruti says.

"See there is nothing between Anuj and I. It was a mistake that will never happen again," Anupama says. "He hasn't forgotten you. But you had told me that you didn't have feelings for him anymore and so I was relaxed. But then you had sex with him," Shruti says.

Aadya comes back with a shopping bag. Both women stopped talking. "I will see you later," Shruti says. Anupama takes Aadya home and is silent throughout. This surprised Aadya also because she was used to her mom trying to talk to her all the time. Anupama knocked on Anuj's door and he opened it.

Aadya walked in and he invited Anupama into his home. "I have to go," She says. "Wait are you okay?" Anuj asks. "No, I am not," Anupama says, and he sees tears in her eyes. Anuj pulled her into his house and closed the door. "What happened?" Anuj asks. "I saw Shruti today and I just feel so bad. I shouldn't have slept with you," Anupama says.