Flashback Continued
Without Katyayani even realising it, Ganak had shortened the distance between them. His whisper fell on her ear like a feather and tickled her senseless.
She raised her head to look into his eyes and was taken aback at the intensity in them. Gone was the amiable, cute boy. Instead, a striking young man was looking at her hungrily. Her lips were in no condition to form a coherent reply.
"Since you didn't refuse me, it means you agree," he said in a seductive voice.
With that, he closed the remaining gap between them and bent down to touch his thin lips to her blood-dripping red ear.
"Give me a kiss, Katyayani, please," his words made her tremble visibly.
She stood still in shock for a few moments.
Ganak straightened up and cleared his throat awkwardly. "Don't worry. I was ju… just kiddi…"
Before he could finish speaking, Katyayani stretched on her toes and leaned against his cheek to drop a soft, moist imprint there.
"Happy birthday, Ganak," she said shyly with her head lowered.
She heard a short bark of laughter above the roaring of her heart and her neck bent down even further, almost touching her chest.
"Young Miss, are you alright?" Eka's worried voice sounded at the door.
Katyayani looked up in bashful horror but Ganak was already next to the window. "Thank you for the best birthday gift ever."
With that, he was gone.
Katyayani didn't know how long her mind remained in a daze. But since that moment, something changed significantly in her relationship with Ganak.
All this while, she had been the respectable mistress and he was the polite servant. But after that night, she became his girl and he was her possessive and dominating boyfriend.
To be honest, she loved the whole experience. It was novel for her, having been used to making decisions for so long, it felt good to be led by someone, to depend on someone…
Few weeks later
"Why can't you stay here any longer? Why do you have to go back? It hasn't even been a full three months. How can you bear to leave me and go away for so long?" Ganak's petulant voice made Katyayani feel very guilty.
But she didn't have a choice. Trini had told her a day ago about an opportunity to go to Adra in the coming week. Travel preparations had to be done and this being her first visit to that country, there were a million things to plan for.
For a moment, Katyayani resented the fact that she had to do this task and walk this path. Suddenly, she wanted to be an ordinary girl. But the next minute, she was ashamed of her thoughts and sobered up.
"I promise to come see you after a month. I will send you a letter and you come to meet me at the restaurant where you took me last time to eat food, ok?" She cajoled him with those dove-grey eyes and put her hand on his arm coquettishly.
Ganak shrugged her hand off sullenly and said, "Don't bother about this servant. At the end of the day, one has to follow whatever the mistress says."
Katyayani's heart broke at his harsh words. During the past few weeks, barriers had completely come off between them and intimacy had increased to an unprecedented level.
Had it not been for Ganak's resistance, Katyayani would have lost her virginity to him already.
She had never experienced such a frenzied attraction towards anyone. If not for this mistimed assignment, she would have stayed back in Dima city for much longer.
"Please don't part with me on such cruel words. You know what you mean to me. In fact, I have been wondering if it would be alright for you to come and live with me at the cabin sometime in the near future?" She told him shyly.
Ganak looked at her in astonishment. Everyone was aware that the wooden cabin had been left to Katyayani by her mother and no one was allowed to visit the place in all these years.
His eyes crinkled with happiness. "Then, I will wait for your invite…"
Katyayani smiled and crept closer to give him a quick hug. "Soon… very soon."
Three weeks later
Katyayani couldn't help but smile foolishly as she sat in the carriage.
"Young Miss, I don't understand the urgency to come to Dima city. Trini was hurt during the mission and so were you. Why aren't you letting your wounds heal before coming here to meet Mandodari didi?" Eka asked her for the umpteenth time.
This kind of impulsive behaviour was highly unlike the sensible Katyayani.
Katyayani reigned in her excitement and lied through her teeth. "Having faced a near-death experience, I want to just go and hug Dai Maa once. The feeling of being alive is great and I want to fully cherish it. Also, it's my birthday and I haven't celebrated it with Dai Maa in so many years."
Eka stared at the radiant girl in front of her.
There was something off about the whole thing but she couldn't put her finger to it. Last night the four of them had argued amongst themselves about letting Young Miss go to Dima in her current condition. Even though her wounds weren't half as serious as Trini, she was still injured, nonetheless.
Eventually, it was Dvi who convinced everyone with her argument. She reminded them that their young miss was a thirteen year old girl at the end of the day and had never even once crossed the line drawn by them.
She always did what was right, and stayed within her boundaries. Once in a while it was alright to let loose else she would feel stifled.
Since Trini was in a bad condition, both Chatvari and Dvi stayed back with her.
During all these years, Katyayani had hardly stepped out of the boudoir except for going to meet Mandodari at the shop while in Dima.
Hence, not many people recognised her.
Moreover, she wasn't going to the Bali mansion this time round. As a result, when she said that she didn't want to put the hideous mud pack on her face, Eka agreed.
It was probably safer this way since no one really knew her original looks.
Katyayani gripped the handkerchief tightly in excitement.