After two hours of searching, Srishti and Priyanka found the perfect outfits and accessories. Priyanka had chosen herself a Prussian blue saree paired with silver blouse and accessories and found a meticulous rich shade of wine red with golden highlights. She had found the perfect blouse and a pair of ruby red jhumkas to adorn herself.
Although shopping wasn't something she really enjoyed, Priyanka made sure that she was involved in the process by her sweet peaky ways, the only thing that troubled her that very moment was message from Barath saying that his homecoming was delayed and he'd only be reaching her the next night,
It was eight in the evening when they reached home and she reckoned Chandru to be alone as there was only one car on the porch.
'Enaku restroom ponum!' Priyanka dropped all the bags on the floor and ran to the restroom making Srishti chuckle at her before picking up the bags,
But something about the air around her made her feel uncomfortable, her heart sank when she heard a voice.
'Ponnunga shopping pona ulagathayae maranthruvaanga chummava sonnanga' Chandru's voice echoes from the living room. Srishti felt restless seeing Dinesh sitting there with him,
'Ahma ahma.. Neenga laam video games veladren nu ulagatha marakuringa la athe maathiri dha' Priyanka came to stand beside Srishti,
Dinesh turned to look at Srishti with an arrogant smile as he ignored Priyanka 's words completely. She held her hands softly to herself and poured them a glass of water before going to the room. She closed the door with shivering hands ,her heart pounding hard now that she was alone.
She quickly arranged the jewelry into her old jewelry trinket and hung the saree neatly inside the closet before folding the blouse beside it.
The door opened suddenly, revealing Priyanka as she came in with stern eyes, 'Spare ku dress eduthuko..you are not staying here tonight '
'Dho kelambren..avan inga vanthrukan nu enakku theriyathu' replied Srishti,
'Enakum therila.. Vaanaram..enga ponalum vanthu imsa pannuthu' Priyanka muttered under her breath,
Srishti simply nodded, the memory of Dinesh's smirking eyes and vile smile made her uncomfortable. ' Ne car ku po Priyu..na Chandru kita pesitu vanthudren'
'Priyanka nodded slowly, 'Sari.. unnoda bag kodu.. Phone kaila vechiko'
Srishti walked silently, not wanting to garner much attention. She drank some more water while she waited for Chandru to come inside the kitchen to have a quick word with him. Her insides froze when she heard footsteps from behind which certainly didn't belong to Dinesh.
'Heritage day ku dress ready polaruke' Srishti turned around with disgust to find Dinesh standing there with a deceptive smile,
'Unaku enna venu? Edhuku inga vantha?' She asked him, masking the fear in her voice with annoyance. A part of her brain wondered how he knew that she had brought the dress for the Heritage day event. But then again, Srishti was a person who only shopped for necessity.
'Is it pink? Hmm..that's too pretty for you.. Green ah? Blue ah? ' he probed furthermore,
'Na ponu' She started moving away from the place, her eyes infuriated at the way he felt delighted seeing her uncomfortable,
Dinesh blocked her comfortably by holding her wrists with one arm and her mouth with another, 'Heritage day ku ne dha ennoda date ah enkooda vara' he ordered, sending waves of displeasure down Srishti 's system,
