My Vulnerary Husband- our journey towards love - Chapter 241

|Innaya|

Soon the approaching footsteps were heard. The strides of Arjun were reluctant as if he was dragging his feet. His steps were measured, slow, and languid.

His hands held a white tray.

Thud!

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six.

I counted those six glasses filled with green juice on the tray as he placed the tray on the coffee table. Well, he almost slammed it that caused glasses to shake, and some of the juice spilled.

My nose scrunched up at the disgusting smell and sight.

“Be careful, you brat. Don’t think you can get away if you spill the juice. Even if you were to throw this up, there is enough in the kitchen to make up for it,” Eshan’s father sternly said.

“What is it?” I could not help but ask at the fallen expression on the faces of three people. Eshan’s father seemed to be enjoying the whole situation.

His lips curled up in a mocking smile. Arjun silently picked up tissues, cleaned the glasses wiping the liquid. Picking up two glasses, he handed one to Eshan and one to Eshan’s mother.

Next, he picked up one for himself, leaving three on the tray and sat beside me. On my left side sat Eshan, and Arjun sat on the right- sandwiching me in-between.

“What is happening here? Can anyone please explain to me?” I asked, feeling puzzled. The smell coming from the juice from both sides made me want to cover my nose. If the smell was so bad, how bad would the taste be?

“Nothing. Now, you continue with your biryani. Thankfully I have served it piping hot so it should be warm now. Go on, tell me how it tastes,” Eshan’s father said.

Eshan picked up the plate from the coffee table and handed it to me. “Innaya, eat.”

I could not voice any objection to him. Little reluctantly, I took the plate from Eshan. The initial temptation of having the delicious biryani and those round golden brown balls filled with juicy sugar syrup evaporated into thin air.

And, the glasses filled with that green juice made me wonder what was going on. If this was some sort of punishment, then why were these three receiving it? Why was I spared?

“Arjun, stop looking at her plate. You brought this upon yourself. Quick, finish the one in your hand. The second glass is waiting for you. I want all the glasses finished.” Eshan’s father picked up his plate as well.

“I like gulab jamun. I hate bitter gourds. How could you not even let me take a look? You’re heartless,” Arjun muttered little sullenly, his ocean blue eyes fixed at the bowl on my plate. He licked his lips. His eyes swayed between gulab jamun and the glass in his hand.

‘Bitter gourd? Uncle, aren’t you too much? Two glasses of bitter gourd juice! I would be puking my guts out at the smell of it. How can you bear to watch others drink it while you have sweet delicacies? Your stomach will hurt.’ I turned my eyes away from the tray of glasses on the coffee table.

“Yes, I’m. Do you want to see the more heartless side of me? Tomorrow I’ll prepare fresh juice of leaves of Azadirachta indica.”

‘Azadirachta indica?’ It took me some time to understand that he was talking about neem leaves. There were a couple of neem trees in our garden. From the balcony of the guest room, we could even pluck out leaves if wanted as the branches of one tree were accessible by stretching a hand from the balcony. Would he really give the juice of neem leaves to them?

At this point, I thought he would. Arjun’s scream proved my speculations.

“NOOOOOOOOO!” Arjun stood up with a jerk. His eyes went wide, and he almost dropped the glass in his hands on the ground.

Eshan’s father raised his eyebrow at Arjun’s reaction. Without any more words, Arjun breathed deeply, holding his breath, he drowned the whole juice in a single breath.

He did not stop at that. He picked a second glass from the tray and did the same before dropping on the sofa lifelessly. My heart ached for him. Drinking two glasses of bitter gourd juice was not an easy feat.

There were two spoons on my plate- one for biryani and other in the bowl of gulab jamun. “Here. Have this…” I scooped one gulab jamun with the spoon and forwarded it to Arjun first. His bitter expressions softened, and without a delay, he bent down and swallowed the medium size round ball.

Once he took the gulab jamun in his mouth, I turned my gaze away from him.

Just then, my attention turned to Eshan, for he was doing the same. Not only him, but his mother did the same. Three people finished those six glasses as if they were drinking water.

‘What? Are these people even human? But then again, if there was a choice between bitter gourd and neem, any sane person would know what to choose.’

I felt awful on their behalf. I used another spoon for picking up another gulab jamun.

I silently put it before Eshan’s lips. Eshan’s eyes flashed for a moment, and there was a thin layer of moisture in them. Was the juice that bad? It caused tears to appear in his eyes.

Those slightly pinkish lips parted slowly, and I recalled how they were on mine approximately half an hour ago. They teased me, played around… I fought the blush rising on my face and immediately pushed the spoon in his mouth before looking down at my plate.

There were two gulab jamuns left in my bowl. Through the corner of my eyes, I saw the scrunched up face of Eshan’s mother. I thought she drank her glass, but her second glass was almost half.

No one complained or refused the drink juice. That was surprising. No matter how bitter they felt from inside, the three people drank the juice silently without any protest.

Eshan’s father did not say a word. Well, I did not glance at him purposefully. What if he objected?

From the corner of my eyes, I caught visible tears in Eshan’s mother’s eyes. My mind was in a fix. I fed gulab jamuns to Arjun and Eshan after witnessing their plight. However, I could not bring myself to offer the same courtesy to his mother.

However, my heart could not bear to watch her suffer. What should I do?