As Radhika stepped out with the luggage, a news flash appeared on the TV showing the corporator’s son and his friends being arrested by the police.
“We received information that these four were selling drugs in college. We formed a team and caught them red-handed. We’re now handing them over to the Narcotics department—they’ll handle it from here. Thank you,” said the ACP to the media, ignoring the reporters who were all shouting questions at once.
Jyothi watched the news angrily. Just then, Priya came and placed her hand on Jyothi’s shoulder, gesturing with her head, “Let’s go.” They picked up the luggage and stepped out. Arjun and Ashok followed behind them.
All the luggage was placed in the car’s trunk, and they got into the car. As Ashok was about to sit in the driver’s seat, Arjun said, “Shall I drive?” Ashok handed him the keys and sat in the passenger seat.
“Drive carefully. Call me once you reach,” said Priya to Kausalya. Priya nodded and said, “Okay, aunty.” The car started and drove off into the distance.
Kakinada – Pawan’s House:
Wearing a shirt and shorts, chewing on a tobacco roll, Gang’s husband Bongaram was lying down when he heard a car horn outside the gate. He quickly threw the tobacco aside and ran to open the gate. The car pulled in and stopped.
Ashok said to Priya’s and jyoti, “You go inside, we’ll bring the luggage.” Priya and jyoti went inside. Ashok opened the car trunk.
As Arjun was about to take out the luggage, Bongaram came and took the bag from Arjun’s hand, saying politely with a smile, “I’ll carry it, sir. You go inside.”
Just then, Ashok came and said, “How will you carry all this alone? We’ll help you.” As he tried to lift a suitcase, Bongaram took it and said again with a polite smile, “I’ll carry it, sir. It’s okay, you go.”
Ashok noticed something fearful in Bongaram’s smile and thought maybe he was hesitant to ask for help. “It’s okay, I’ll help,” said Ashok, reaching for the suitcase. Suddenly, Bongaram’s expression turned angry. He placed the suitcase aside and said, “You carry it yourself, sir,” and walked away.
Ashok, shocked, asked, “What happened?”
Bongaram angrily replied, “If you do our work too, then why are we here, sir? We’ll pack our things and leave.”
Ashok, confused, said, “What did I say? I just said the luggage is heavy, so I’ll help. That’s all, right? Why are you talking nonsense?”
Bongaram, still angry, said, “Did I ask you for help, sir? You hired us to do this work, didn’t you?”
Ashok was about to respond angrily when Gang came running and said, “Sorry sir, when he was young, he got hit on the head. Since then, he’s a bit off..
She slapped Bongaram on the head and continued, “He insists on doing the work himself, sir. If someone else does it, he doesn’t accept it.”
Ashok, surprised, asked, “Is there such a disease?” Looking at Bongaram, he said, “You carry the luggage then.”
Thinking to himself, “What kind of illness is this?” Ashok went inside with Arjun. Bongaram and Gang followed behind with the luggage.
After dinner, Arjun went to his room and lay on the bed reading a book.
Priya, dressed in her nightwear, entered the room and began taking her clothes out of the briefcase and arranging them in the cupboard. Arjun watched everything out of the corner of his eye, pretending to read his book and act uninterested.
After arranging all the clothes, Priya sat on the bed and said, “I’m feeling sleepy. I’m going to sleep. Turn off the light when you go to bed,” and turned to the opposite side and lay down.
Arjun looked at Priya nervously, hesitated, and said, “Priya…” but stopped mid-sentence. Priya, noticing that he stopped talking, turned toward him and observed his discomfort for a few moments before asking, “What is it?”
Arjun, still nervous, softly said, “Shall I sleep in the other room? It’ll be more comfortable for both of us.”
Priya looked at Arjun seriously for a few moments. Already nervous, Arjun became even more tense seeing her serious expression.
After staring at him angrily for a while, Priya suddenly stood up and said, “Give me the car keys.”
Startled, Arjun asked, “Car keys? What for?”
“This is your house. Why should you sleep in another room because of me? Our house is nearby—I’ll go there every night and come back in the morning,” she said.
Arjun stood up nervously, moved closer to Priya, and stammered, “You… you’re going to your house?”
He looked at Priya with fear…
What turn will their journey in this new house take? Let’s find out in the days to come…
