After coming out, Anahita was certain that the door which separated their bedroom and bathroom of the suite Yuvraaj had booked, transported her into another world altogether. In the mirror world actually where everything was same yet completely opposite at the sometime.
Wearied, she considered that it could've probably happened when she entered the bathroom because when she came out, Yuvraaj was a whole different person. And now, when she recalled what happened, she was sure that her notions were perfectly correct. Gawking at his sinfully handsome face, Anahita contemplated on shaking him up from his slumber but could she be that cruel? Her fingers touched her lips as if they were trying to believe that whatever happened a few minutes back was real. The moment Anahita came out of the bathroom, Yuvraaj served dinner for both of them.
"You took long time. Anyway, come fast and have your dinner. I am really tired." Yuvraaj cracked his knuckles occupying the sofa and dug into his food. Anahita silently sat beside him and started having dinner. Since she had already eaten much in a day, she wasn't hungry.
"I am sleeping now." Yuvraaj declared once he had his fill and got up, stretching his limbs. "Do me a favour and don't mourn because I haven't slept a wink and I expect silence okay?"
A reprimand about his stretching after having dinner was on her tip of tongue but she looked over and nodded, taking over the charge to call room service, handling the plate and switch off the light, "Okay!"
After some time, she noticed that Yuvraaj was fast asleep. Even though she was tired, her mind was restless. Having so much in her head, she knew it would be hard to sleep.
Strolling near the parapet, Anahita leaned against the glass wall that separated her bedroom and deck. This was the best place she found in the entire suite. Ocean before her eyes was silent and surroundings too. Maybe they were sleeping peacefully unlike her who had so much to categorise, flush and reconsider.
She slid the glass door a little to have the direct contact of chilling breeze. Her fringes were all over her face, her hair fell off the makeshift bun she'd made and goosebumps erupting in her hands prodded her to hug herself. Instinctively, her eyes closed. Her mind was clearing off gradually and it was focusing on the warmth that engulfed her in embrace. Anahita leaned on to it. In a blink, beefy arms tightened around her waist and a five o clock shadow clung chin tickled her neck. Her eyes snapped open, she frowned and craned her neck to see the person.
"Yuvraaj!" She exclaimed. Wasn't he sleeping?
"Sshh...it's a dream. You're dreaming now." Yuvraaj rubbed his nose in her shoulder and kissed her neck.
"I am not." She shook her head, nudging him. Her hands rose to unlock his hands but Yuvraaj turned her around and pulled her in him.
"Yes, you are." He tipped her chin, looking straight in her eyes.
"You know I won't do that. Will I? I'm actually not your dream man, am I?" He sucked her chin and scooped her up. Anahita was in trance. He padded to their bed and ferried her on the mattress.
"You hate me, right?" He came beside her and kissed the throbbing nerve below her collarbone.
"Yes!" Anahita swallowed, closing her eyes.
"And, I think you know how much I hate you!" He caressed her hands and kissed her palms.
Anahita looked at him in trance. "Undoubtedly!"
Yuvraaj peered at her and smiled. "Perfect!" He crawl above her a little and pecked her lips. "Then it's a dream. A peaceful, soothing ointment for your scorching wounds."
"But, um, Yuvraaj, I am not dreaming." Anahita grabbed his face and looked into his eyes. She tried to neglect the feeling empowering in her on his moves.
"It's a dream, Mou." Yuvraaj kissed her nose, tucked her hair aside her forehead. "A beautiful dream without any betrayal, without any pain. This is only yours. No one will question you why you do this. No one will judge you if you enjoy this. Only you have to feel what it is." He hushed and kissed her cheek, venturing his lips down to her jaw and neck after a while.
Anahita licked her lips, tugging on them and rubbed her hands over his arm. She knew that it wasn't a dream but her mind wasn't ready to accept that it was reality. Especially their reality.
"Do you feel this peace?" Yuvraaj paused his lips on her forehead. Anahita nodded slowly and clutched his T-shirt, "But I still feel it's not a dream."
"It is."
She brought her wrist closer and pinched herself. The stinging came. She looked up at Yuvraaj again. "I am not dreaming."
"Yes you are!" Yuvraaj kissed her wrist and pecked her lips once again. "It is a dream seen with open eyes. You know that I will never kiss you. You know that you will never allow me this close. Then how can it not be a dream!"
"It is a dream!" Anahita closed her eyes, finally conceding.
"I'm happiest person today on the earth." She felt Yuvraaj hugging him tightly.
"Yuvraaj!" She stammered.
"Keep your eyes close, Anahita!" He spoke in her hair. "You don't want to wake up from this dream." He snuggled closer, "It is because you are happy and you should know that when I am near you, no one can ever hamper your happiness."
Anahita's heart thumped closer in her rib cage. She let loose herself and hugged him. Everything was disappearing from her head slowly. She was living the moment, without any guilt this time.
"It is a beautiful dream." She whispered, clinging to him and sudden happiness rushed inside her. Moments passed by, Anahita slept cuddling closer to Yuvraaj and when her sleep broke after a while, she was astonished to see him sleeping peacefully beside her in his previous posture when she entered the bedroom.
This made Anahita think that she was in a mirror world where everything was same yet completely opposite at the same time. She realised that she had sunk into another world. She turned her back to him and closed her eyes, blocking all the thoughts. She never knew that even trying to conceive positive opinion would lead to a steamy dream.
***
"Staring is rude, Anahita." Yuvraaj reminded her calmly not averting his eyes from her plate and sliced the omelette.
Anahita widened her eyes as her brain proceeded over the gained info. She hastily bit on to her Italian herb sandwich and gulped down the coffee in large swig.
"Are you really that hungry?" Yuvraaj cocked his eyebrow, pausing the fork pricked with pasta roll in mid air.
"No." Anahita grabbed the tissue and wiped the corner of her lips. Yuvraaj shot a quizzical look at her and nodded anyway.
Anahita chewed the insides of her mouth tapping her fingers on the table and stared at Yuvraaj surreptitiously when he was busy feeding himself.
"I just reminded you, sweetheart." He sneered, sipping his black coffee when she didn't look away. "It's a bad thing to stare at some one who is not aware of it."
Embarrassed, Anahita glanced back at her sandwich and put it on the plate.
"Yuvraaj!" She hesitated. "I wish to ask you something!"
"Go on!" Yuvraaj nodded his chin.
Anahita wet her dry lips before weaving her fingers together. "Um. That... What happened last night wasn't a dream right?"
"What?" Yuvraaj furrowed his eyebrows.
"I mean, it was not a dream right? How can a dream be so vivid? I have all the scenes rolling before my eyes like a movie."
"What are you talking about?"
"What happened last night!" She exclaimed.
"What happened last night?" He questioned.
Anahita rubbed her neck, contemplating how to explain. Yuvraaj was making it difficult for her. There were no traces of teasing and recognition on his face. Judging from his expression, Anahita was really persuaded to believe that she dreamt last night but this was a first for her.
"I am waiting!" He brought her attention back on him. Anahita glanced at him and sighed, "You don't remember anything?"
"I do remember everything. You were crying like a maniac when I brought you to villa. We had a little chat over our issues. You told me how much you hate me. I ordered dinner while you changed and after dinner, I hit the bed. Correct me if I missed anything."
"That's all?" Anahita's eyebrows almost touched heaven.
"I guess, yes."
"You mean you don't remember what followed?"
"I don't know about that but right now, I don't follow." Yuvraaj sighed. "Will you please elaborate?"
Anahita popped her knuckles, "I think I saw a dream last night but that didn't feel like a dream. It seems like it was all real. I have no idea what was that and..."
"Did you have a nightmare?" Yuvraaj interrupted her.
"Huh! No. It wasn't a nightmare exactly. That was kind of...." Erotic! She chewed down the rest of sentence.
Yuvraaj leaned over the table, reaching his hand out and touched her forehead. "Are you fine? Do you feel any uneasiness?"
"Yes. I am completely fine." Anahita covered his hand.
"Then why are you blabbering?" Yuvraaj asked. "I think you've not slept properly."
Anahita kept silent. She was still unconvinced. For starters, Yuvraaj wasn't behaving regular. He was a bit soft towards her. He didn't jibe her when she mistakenly left the floor wet in bathroom. He didn't question her habit of leaving her hair to dry in air. At the very least, he came out of the bathroom completely dressed and even asked her out for breakfast whereas she was well settled for a less noisy breakfast in the suite itself.
"Are you sure?" Anahita murmured. "You even said it was the best day of your life."
Yuvraaj choked. "Best?" He recovered and sipped water. "Yesterday was best day of my life?"
"Don't even look at me like that. You said that yourself." Anahita twitched her lips.
"You seriously have seen a terrible dream. Never in my life I would accept that yesterday was best day in my life." He muttered, shaking his head. "Now that we are discussing it, I really want to know what else have I said or done?"
His voice was sardonic. Anahita rolled her eyes. "That was all."
"Fine. Thanks a ton to Almighty that you didn't say I console you about Mukund. It will be the last thing I would do." Yuvraaj shrugged.
Anahita opened her mouth but closed it immediately.
"So, have you ever tried horse riding, Anu?" Yuvraaj enquired, making her sputter juice at sudden and she coughed, fervently. Wide-eyed, she stared Yuvraaj in disbelief as he had called her 'Anu' for the first time.
"Are you alright?" He came next to her and rubbed her back, passing her napkin. "What's wrong with you today, Anahita?"
"I am completely fine, Yuvraaj!"
"Yeah, I can see that." He stared at her long and plopped back on his seat, resuming his breakfast.
"Um...Yuvraaj!" She set off, compelling him to draw his attention at her and he smiled, emboldening her. She pursed her lips and licked them nervously, "I don't mean it. I mean as I thought last night about it, I came up to this conclusion that I don't think like that."
"About what?"
"I do not hate you...um...that much." She measured her words and scrutinized his expression. Sitting as calm as breeze, Mr. Yuvraaj Prakash devoted to his breakfast as if it was the last plate of pesto cheese pasta roll and heaven would fall apart if he didn't give his sheer dedication to it.
"I know. I told you the same. However, I understand the pressure you have undergone which was probably you thought you hate me but you didn't, actually." He explained, supporting his statement with reasons. For her, this sensibility was never expected from him as well this lookout had never fascinated her enough to allure her attention.
"Yuvraaj... Have you by chance had fever?" She slowly uplifted her hand to touch his forehead but Yuvraaj ceased her hand and rubbed her knuckles tenderly, "Don't worry. I am completely fine and this Royal treatment is to make up for my blunder. Vexed or not, I do not have any right to defame you and same goes for others."
Gazing between her eyes, he proceeded. "Hence, it is my way to apologize. I want to earn your apology and I assure you that it won't happen again."
"Will you go back to your arrogant cocky self once I forgive you?" She tested the waters.
"Absolutely not. Did I or didn't I tell you that I have my wife only for five weeks and I intend to live with her?"
"You did."
"Good then, finish it. I'll pay off the bills." He nodded his chin to her plate and sauntered to the billing counter, leaving a dumbfounded Anahita behind.
"Was that really a dream?" She muttered, getting up and walked next to him.