20-09-2025, 03:07 PM
"Help? Uh, ye-yeah, help..." He latched onto the lifeline, scrambling. "There's a spider in my room! I freaked out and ran, I came to find you." His eyes stayed glued to her face, but the edges of his vision screamed the transparent truth.
She blinked, relief mixing with disbelief. "A spider?" She tilted her head, softening. "Oh, Abhi, you're 18.. still scared of those little things?" She tried to smile, to play the doting mom, even as her own nerves jangled.
"Yeah, you know I hate them," he mumbled, forcing the lie deeper.
"Please, Maa, do something." He couldn't look away, but he couldn't look down either, not when she is watching him, hints of her body teased his senses, Ishaan's plan pulsing in his skull.
She blinked, relief mixing with disbelief. "A spider?" She tilted her head, softening. "Oh, Abhi, you're 18.. still scared of those little things?" She tried to smile, to play the doting mom, even as her own nerves jangled.
"Yeah, you know I hate them," he mumbled, forcing the lie deeper.
"Please, Maa, do something." He couldn't look away, but he couldn't look down either, not when she is watching him, hints of her body teased his senses, Ishaan's plan pulsing in his skull.
He knew it worked. "Come with me, I'll show you," he blurted, turning fast, beckoning her downstairs.
Madhuri hesitated, her every instinct screaming to bolt to her room and lock the door. But he was trembling, her eighteen-year-old son, afraid of a harmless spider, and she couldn't say no.
"Alright, let's go," she sighed, trailing him reluctantly, the saree swaying against her bare skin with every step. Her mind churned, torn between shielding herself and soothing him, oblivious to the darker current pulling them both.