Swara woke up the next morning and stretched lazily but immediately froze as the memory of the past night began sinking in on her. She stood up on the bed and looked around for Don, but there wasno sign of him. She looked around some more and saw his cummerbund, shirt, coat and shoes and her dress scattered on the floor. She furrowed her brows. That wasn’t at all like him. She glanced over at her shoes that he had placedneatly near the nightstand.
He was so tidy and organized, disciplined.She began worrying thinking he had left the room in a hurry. She touched the side of the bed he had rested on and flinched at it was cold, as if no one had slept there. Her expression saddened. He hadn’t slept with her.She hated to do so but she went and took a shower, washing away his touch.
On the bright side,she felt revived and ready to face him. She wore a pair of casual jeans and awhite t-shirt. She wanted to feel as comfortable in herskin as she could. She tied her hair ina high ponytail and stepped out of the master bedroom. She could hear male voices from the dining area in the kitchen.
‘Actually it’s 24 karat gold’
‘I see. That’s surprising given its size’ she could hear Don utter
Karan:See right here, that’s Emerald
Don:You sure it’s not Jade? It’s so smallyaar.
she could now see Don and Karan leaning over the kitchen counter, inspecting a pieceof jewelry. Don looked at it through a loupe
Don:It’s Emerald alright
Don grinned as he inspected the jewel
Karan:Yeah, I know, theylike to ruin fine jewelry with plain stones.
Karan rested his chin in his palm, his elbow on the counter
Karan: But this is the real deal he grinned
Don:It’s exquisite.
Don pointed out then placed the items onto the counter
Karan:What else?
Don:You’re going to love this.
Karan:It’s platinum and white gold, 22 karat. Those are sapphires.
Don inspected it as well
Don:It has Amethyst too.
Karan:Really?
Karan furrowed his brows and Don handed him the loupe to see
Karan:You’re right.
Don:But!
Don retrieved the loupeand after inspecting the jewel a bit further he returned it to Karan
Don:These are diamonds. All 3 of them
Karan:This is crazy!
Karan let out an excited laughter Don chuckled and suddenly stopped as he gazed over to Swara, finally acknowledging her presence
Don: Swara
he nodded and hesitatingly gave her a dimpled smile
Swara:Yeh kya hai?
she frowned as she approached the counter Karan looked over at Don questioningly. Don gave him a look and placed his hands on his hips
Don:This is very rare, very expensive jewelry, darling
Swara:I can see that
she looked over at the gorgeous pieces. She couldn’t help but stare at them. She doubted she had ever seen something more beautiful
Karan:I’ll… come back later mayb
Dn:Relax, Karan
Don patted his back as he passedby him, circling the counter to come near Swara. And then he placed his hand on her lower back as he looked down at the jewelry and took the sapphire bracelet and placed it over her wrist, securing it
Don:How does it look?
Swara wanted to reply but she realized the question was meant for Karan.
Karan:It’s outstanding
Karan’s face lit up with a smile karan:Looks even betteron her wrist
Don:It does, doesn’t it?
Don caressed the bracelet with his thumb as he held her wrist
Don:I think it goes with your outfit, too
he grinned at Swara She gasped
Swara:Belkol nahin!
she tried to remove it but couldn’t with her left hand.Don gently caughther hand
Don:Why do you want to upset me?
he asked softly, but his look graves She looked at him in shock
Swara:Excuse me?
Don:I want you to haveit
he said as he squeezed her wrist a bit, his eyes pleading but his tone commandingShe narrowed her eyes and paused as she stole a glimpse of Karan, who quickly looked away. She whispered
Swara:How about what I want?
Don closed his eyes and sighed Don: Swara…
Swaraj: What I asked of you was a lot less than this.
she whispered as she showed him the bracelet before placing it on the counter carefully Don looked over at Karan and nodded. He packed his stuff and silently left the apartment Don followed her into the living room, where she sat on the couch. He looked surprised that she hadn’t left into the bedroom he didn’t sit next to her, he decided to stand, crossing his arms and his ankles as he leaned onto the doorframe
Swara:Something you want to tell me?
She glanced over at him. He was again surprised that she didn’t look furious. She was calm. She looked down at her fingers
Don:I was going to ask you the same thing.
He shrugged
Swara:I can’t think of anything
She raised an eyebrow but continued to stareat her fingers
Swara:Something you wanted to tell me may be but decided instead to gift me expensive jewelry?
He rolled his eyes
Don:It’s not like that
She looked up at him
Swara:You want me to trust you. But you can’t even sleep next to me for one night.
Don:What has that have to do with trust?
After a long pause she said
Swara:I just need to know that you can do something outside your comfort zone for me as well.
He paced the way towards her and crouched in front of her
Don:Why do youthink it’s outside my comfort zone?
he looked at her attentively, his eyes wide and sincere She looked back down at her fingers
Swara:Because you’ve never slept next to a woman you hadn’t had s*x with.
He gave her a dimpled smile
Don: I’ve never slept next toa woman, period. But that’s not why it’s outside my comfort zone
She looked at him surprised
Swara:Oh?
He furrowed his brows and paused for a while
Don:It’s because I’ve never shared this kind of intimacy with anyone. I don’t feel comfortable sleeping next to you not because I can’t control myself… which could also be an issue.but because… I’ve just never done this before.
he reached out and held her hand
Don:And about the bracelet. Don’t insult mesaying I gifted it toyou in order to avoid this conversation
She sighed
Swara:I’m sorry
Don:Wear it, then
he grinned She rolled her eyes
Swara:Don. I can’t just accept it. God knows how expensive it is’
Don placed his hands into his pockets
Don:Ummm, about 200 000 euros. Give or take
he wrinkled his nose playfully She gasped
Swara:What?!
He then fished the bracelet out of his pocket and looked at it
Don,:Yours, I believe
handing it to her She stood up, taking her distance
Swara:Would you please be more careful!? It looks fragile as it is!
Don laughed. It was his genuine laughter again
Swara:Swara, I handle jewelry like this every day. And I’m not just referring to yourself.
he coaxed She looked at him puzzled
Swara:Kya matlab?
I’m into the jewelry business now. I collect rare, valuable pieces, appraise them, then sell them on a very exclusive market.
She blinked at him
Swara:Legally?
He laughed again
Don:Haan, legally
he got close to hear and stroked her cheek once
Swara:So that day in Paris when… I mean, your business you had with Pierre…
Don: It was diamonds. Lots of them.
Swara:So why all the guns and the low-key location?
Don:You can never really trust someone with such expensive valuables, and such large sums of money.
Swara:So it’s all legal
she raised an eyebrow incredulously
Dob:No black market, no funny stuff?
Din: I don’t give my clients fiscal receipts if that’s what you’re asking. And don’t forget I’m still a worldwide wanted criminal… I might have kept some ofmy contacts…
Swara:So it’s not taxed
she placed her hands on her hips
Swara:That’s illegal
she pointed out calmly Don shrugged and grinned widely as he placed his hands back in his pockets
Don:Kya karoon, sweetheart. You know me
Swara couldn’t help but giggle silently. She couldn’t really expect him to change his ways completely.
Don:Otherwise it’s completely legal. Promise
he batted his eyelashes playfully she giggled some more then paused for a while
Swara:So… no more drugdealing?
Don clicked his tongue
Don:That’s over and done with
Swara raised her eyebrows incredulously again
Don:Saach.Ever since Berlin. I told you I wanted to leave that life behind.
he got closer and took her hands in his. She could feel the bracelet between their palms. He then placed the bracelet back on her wrist.