A casual phone call drained the blood out of Santha’s face. It was Sarah. And she is still in the hospital. End of limb felt numb, almost nonexistent. Visions blurred. A distant buzz lingered in her ears. Breathing is still a task. But her cognitive is still spot on. She answered the call, she had to. “Mom...I need to tell you something” she tiptoed between words with tiny sighs here and there. Santha waited patiently. “I fell for a guy” As if injected with stimulant, her eyes woke wide, thrilled and surprised at the same time “Who is it, baby?” “You know him, Mike” “Oh my lord, he is hot…”“Mom!!! Behave please” Sarah exclaimed as she covers her face in embarrassment “Mom...he is not the reason I rejected your choice. Well, technically he is. He made me call off the meeting right after he expressed himself. So...” Santha exchanged the last bit of her energy for a chuckle. “Baby...I just wanted you to be happy...At that

                  Never underestimate the mystic power hidden beneath a woman’s eye. It makes and breaks. Mike lost, even indulge in his witch’s eyes.                 Work is one serious place for Sarah. Her sweet voice exerting stern dominance is cute in a way but not to be taken lightly after how she dragged the big boss down the hall and shoved him into the meeting room. The cold pair of eyes staring from the end of the hall help too, though.                  A flip of a coin, when it comes to Mike, serene and innocence fluttered her lashes. Oddly, making him submissive. Although Sarah set the ‘no intimacy in office’ rule, it can be hard to control Mike sometimes. Now that he had touched and had a taste of her, his imagination horse runs wild. How her naked body would be like pressing against his? Tip of his nose itch to uncover

“Sarah…” something began churning in her belly. She pushed Jessica into sitting “You go” she whispered with head hung low. “What??? You go, he is your boyfriend” “You are the reason behind this” “You know how to handle him” “Sarah...” she scrunched her face, blinking tight. “See!!! He wants you” a death glare darted at Jessica before she turned around, revealing only her eye again.                  Mike’s brown eyes swirled with glee, twinkling at her although the rest stood stolid. He slipped out his hands from his pocket, wiggling 2 fingers to signal her “Come here…” his calmness doesn’t help her jitter. Her lower lip drew between her teeth. Slowly, she stood up and padded to Mike, holding dearly at the only weapon available now, the chocolate mint ice cream tub.                 He raised his arm, making room for her, suggesting that

              There is a thin line between fight or flight, called freeze. The body of gasp holding her breath in her throat is the evidence. “Having fun?” he pointed his chin towards the lingerie bag. If the hoarse, gravelly voice didn’t do the job, his massacring smile did it. “Come, I need to talk to you” the limbless puppet pulled to stand and dragged along to exit the restaurant.               Gone the playboy–ish vibe in Suman’s face, hello to the raw, cold man. His talking finally paid off. The image of her in a sexy neon pink sleeping gown pushed the boundaries of stalking to staking. If only he could pursue her…               Jessica came back to a vacant table. Shopping bags toppled over on another on the extra seat they have kept it. Her head spined around looking for a sign of

              The mighty building stood tall, distracting Sarah from the hustle and bustle of worried faces around the courtyard. She had never seen a police station in real life. Intimidated, she clings to Mike’s arms, while he was preoccupied with a friendly policeman. An official report is still due to be filed against Suman Mehtra.               Anand Mehtra, Suman’s dad was already there, looking rather ragged. He had run up and down doors to get necessary documents aligned for Suman’s bail. His glacial stare dipped at Sarah and her grip on Mike’s arm tightened a bit more. He held her wrist and walked past Anand to the officer in charge’s room, not forgetting to cast his hatred over Anand.               Officer Dantey, the one who arrested Suman, was anticipating their arrival. The sun’s warmth shini