ღ Obsession Behind the Mask ღ

Welcome again to our new story... I'm sorry I didn't upload the story quickly... Now this story will only come two or three times a week, okay? Don't get too confused, and please tell me in the comments how you liked the story after reading it; you just read and leave...

The soft rays of the morning sun were filtering through the window curtains and settling into the room. The sound of a bird echoed outside. Two weeks had passed since that night... but something within Jodha still felt incomplete.

As she did every day,she woke up early, lit a lamp in the small temple in the courtyard. A ceremonial plate with vermilion, flowers, and incense sticks was arranged. The sound of the temple bell echoed through the house...

"Sonu... get up now... don't you have college today?" Jodha said, raising her voice a little.

From inside,Sonu's sleepy voice, wrapped in her blanket, came, "Didi, just five more minutes... class is late today."

Jodha smiled,put the plate down, and said, "The same five minutes every day... If your 'five-minute excuse' worked in your results, believe me, you'd become India's topper."

Hiding her face in the sheet,Sonu said, "Didi, you give taunts even in the morning... can't you talk with a little love sometimes?"

"Love?First get up, then........

...you'll get a special dose of love. Come on, I'll go offer the food to Mother Annapurna."

Jodha finished the prayers,performed the ritual for everyone, and quietly returned to her small room. She put on a simple mehroon-colored suit, tied her hair back tightly, and put on large round earrings. Standing in front of the mirror, she gave her lips a slight smile.......

...the same smile that told everyone "Everything is fine."

But she knew that smile was now just to cover her face.

She picked up her purse and said as she left,"Amma, I'm going. I'll have to stay at the restaurant a bit late today, there are many bookings."

A voice came from the kitchen,"Go, beta, may God make today a good...

...day for you."

The air outside was cool,the street was beginning to stir. The freshness of the morning mingled with the sound of bells from the temple. Jodha took a deep breath and tried to immerse herself in the rhythm of a normal life.

The restaurant wasn't too far away;its name was "Annapurna Swad Bhavan"...

...the city's old but famous spot. Jodha had been working there for several years. The food made by her hands was so loved that many customers waited just for her cooking.

As soon as she entered the restaurant,the owner, Mr. Agrawal, said with a smile,...

"Arre Jodha beti, you're here! The whole city seems crazy for your aloo parathas today. Looks like we'll break records again."

Jodha said with a smile,"It's all your blessings, Agrawal ji. Let's just pray the taste remains the same. It's people's love that keeps us going..........

Her colleague Radha came into the kitchen behind her, as talkative as ever.

"Jodha didi,have you seen that new cook who joined yesterday? His face is so strange, isn't it... seems like he's always lost in thought."

Jodha said absently,"Haven't seen him yet... but he is the new guy, right?..........

...what did he say his name was?"

"His name...was something like Arnav, I think. But there was something in his eyes... I don't know what... very quiet."

Jodha didn't say anything,just her hands chopping vegetables paused for a moment. Arnav... Just hearing the name, she felt a slight tug inside her. She didn't know why.

Radha said,"Didi, are you lost in thought?"

"No,I just remembered I need to turn the gas down," she deflected.

The day progressed.The coming and going of customers, the sound of orders, and Jodha's tiredness all seemed normal. But every now and then, her attention drifted towards that new guy, who was working alone in the other corner of the cooking room.

As the afternoon waned and everyone was busy preparing for lunch, Arnav came to her for the first time.

"Excuse me,can I take this knife?" he said in a soft voice.

Jodha looked up,and their eyes met. For a moment, it was as if time had stopped. His eyes… they were the same.........

...deep, filled with pain, as if they wanted to tell her something.

Without a word,she handed him the knife, but her hands trembled.

Arnav immediately said,"Are you okay?.........

Jodha, flustered, said, "Yes, just a small cut..."

"Wait,"he bent down, poured water over her hand, and gently wiped it with his handkerchief. "Be careful… these fingers are very precious, they might touch someone's heart."

That moment seemed to freeze in the air.Jodha's lips moved, but no words came out. Her heart fell back into that old rhythm ,,,,

...the same one she had felt that night.

She quickly said,"Th...thank you. I'm fine."

"I know,"Arnav said just that and walked away.

Radha winked from behind,"Arre wah, Didi, looks like someone has reactivated your pulse."

"Nothing like that,Radha, focus on your work," Jodha said with false sternness, but something inside had shifted.

The day ended.

When Jodha returned home,Sonu was again glued to the TV.

"Didi,you're back! You look very tired today."

"Yes,there was a lot of work today," Jodha said.

Sonu asked with a smile,"Or....

...did a new cook raise the temperature of your heart?"

"You're crazy!"she laughed and threw a pillow at Sonu's head.

The night's atmosphere was light,but somewhere inside, an unspoken restlessness remained. When everyone was asleep, Jodha sat by the window. The air outside was cold. She took out that piece of paper again...

"Don't be afraid."

She whispered,"Did you come back somehow?"

She felt a presence in the air...a faint whisper, as if someone was saying – "I never left."

Her breath caught.She looked outside – no one was there. But when she turned around, a blue flower was placed on her room's table...

...which hadn't been there a moment ago.

Her eyes widened…and her heart began to beat fast again...

Stop here, yaar, how much more will you read? Don't you get tired?... Okay, let's meet in the next chapter, don't forget to comment and rate...👍🏻🥰❤️❤️

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