Secrets Hidden In Time (Time #1)

52 | The Formidable King & His Heroic General

The shade was sad, yet it contained life.

And now, that he was in front of her again, in his regular form, that vividness in his irises was lost, almost like a shirt that had been washed too many times, and that too within the time period of one single night.

But then, who was she to judge him?

For her own black irises were no different than his brown ones. Light rarely entered them after all.

"You changed?" He asked, scanning her from top to bottom. Instead of the saree he had seen her draping around herself some time ago, she was now clothed in formals. And, like every other day of their life, her bob was again concealed carefully under a thick and long mass of wavy black hair that was trussed into a low and tight formal bun.

"Yes." She nodded. "Someone else is going to join the team today. Formals were a necessity."

He smiled, stepping closer. "Call me."

She scrunched her brows together with an amused smile. "I beg your pardon?"

Ceasing his footfall just half a meter away from her, he hunched over to match her height, the air passing out of their nostrils intermingling with each other. "I said call me." He smiled frailly.

"Dogra Sahib." She trailed softly, smiling back at him.

He sighed, with droopy shoulders. "I thought we were a step ahead after last night. I guess I was wrong."

She shook her head with a chuckle escaping her lips. "Last night, it was me talking to my husband." Her gaze met his. "But now, this is Hinduja Rao talking to Mahadevan Dogra. There is a clear difference between the two." She explained. "And your wife deserves to call you by your name, Dogra Sahib; Hinduja doesn't." She took a step closer, patting away a tiny little crease on his blazer. "I know all of this sounds absurd, but as I always say—" She smiled. "Let the right time come. Let the illusion end. Let it all tumble down to the very base of it and let the story take its course."

He chuckled, his eyes gleaming, as if already aware of the meaning behind her words. "Alright."

"What's the date today, by the way?" She asked, taking a step back.

"18th May." He replied, a little bemused.

She continued to smile while adjusting her specs. "抖阴社区 it down then. Exactly one month later from now, most probably by the 18th of June, you will hear your wife calling you by your name again, once and forever." She winked. "Mark my words."

He chuckled again. "You're sure?"

"Absolutely." She replied. "By the way." Taking a deep breath, she gulped. "You won't ask me about the wig?"

He maintained the curve on his lips, not letting it slip by even an inch. "Rest assured, I won't expect you to tell me about the wig unless I disclose things about my own self in front of you."

"But I do have a question," she hesitated. "If you don't mind."

"Go ahead." He tipped his chin.

"Have you ever consulted a psychiatrist before?" She let out the question sitting on the tip of her tongue.

"No."

She swallowed. "May I know why?"

He looked down, staring at his shoes, while the fingers of his left hand fiddled with the platinum band around the ring finger of his right hand, behind his back "Consulting a psychiatrist means them expecting me to let out everything going on in my mind, and that is something that I can't afford to do at any cost, at least for now." He shrugged. "Not until all of this is over at least."