Navya and Kalyani enter the room with a bottle of chilled water and Mr.Rao gets up to leave.
Mr.Rao: Preeti, I will leave now, but remember what I said and if you think you cannot talk to me openly, talk to your Aunt and we will take care of everything.
Preeti had tears in her eyes. She did not cry though. She quietly saw Mr.Rao leave. Kalyani & Navya were trying to pacify her.
Kalyani: You know that your uncle is harsh, it is not worth crying for what he said.
Preeti: Hey, I understand my uncle better than anyone else. He is a nice guy and listening to what he said, it makes complete sense to me, but what I do not understand is how did my Uncle meet him in the train.
Kalyani: What is there to understand? Your uncle came from Hyd to Vizag and we all know that he (thinking about Kumar) too came from Hyd to Vizag - maybe both of them were in the same train and he told about meeting you. The only thing to know is from when he is following us; I will go and talk to Kishore Anna about this.
Preeti continued while Navya was still listening.
Preeti: He is following from my college days. He proposed to me and I rejected. I thought he stopped following me, but after today I am sure he did not stop following me.
Kalyani: Why did you not tell this to me yesterday itself?
Preeti: How will I tell you yesterday when I saw him only today?
Kalyani & Navya were both trying to understand what Preeti meant.
Navya: I thought you all watched a movie together!
Preeti: No, that was with that guy Kumbhakarna, sorry Kumar - right?
Kalyani: So, who are you talking about now?
Preeti: I am talking about Mahesh, who proposed to me in college.
Kalyani and Navya understand that Preeti was not lying to her uncle and had been speaking the truth all this while. At this time, Kalyani also thought that Mr.Rao did not see Preeti & Kumar, but saw Preeti & Mahesh together and then she had questions that did not have any answers.
Kalyani: When did you meet Mahesh?
Preeti: I told you, that he is my college mate.
Kalyani: No, I mean, when did your uncle see you and Mahesh together?
Preeti: I do not know, may be today because he said he saw us in the 'bakery'.
Navya interferes
Navya: But it was Kumar at the bakery and not Mahesh, right?
Preeti: No, Mahesh had also come to the bakery today and I met him. I introduced Kumar to Mahesh too.
Kalyani: When did this happen?
Preeti: When you came home to collect the keys.
Navya: But we were there with you.
Preeti: Kishore and you had left for the tickets and that's when Mahesh had come.
Kalyani: Why did Mahesh come to your table even though he saw Kumar with you and that you had rejected his proposal in college itself?
Preeti: How should I know?
She thought for a while and replied...
Preeti: When Mahesh came to meet me, Kumar was not at the table, he went to pick our order up.
Kalyani: But you just said that you introduced them to each other.
Preeti: Yes, Kumar came back with the order and then I had introduced them.
Navya: I would have been confused what to introduce them to each other as...
Preeti: I told Kumar that Mahesh was my class mate.
Kalyani: That was easy.
Preeti: ... and I told Mahesh that Kumar was my boyfriend.
Navya & Kalyani both ask her why she had to tell that to Mahesh.
Preeti: For one, Mahesh had proposed to me and he should know that I am not single anymore so that he does not follow me again. Secondly, who better than Kumar; as he does not stay in Vizag and does not know anything about me!
Kalyani: I am clear from your side, but I am still unclear about whom your uncle saw.
Preeti: That's exactly my confusion, but I need to clarify things to my uncle and aunt as I do not want them to think that I am in love with someone.
Navya: What is wrong in loving someone? If you like Kumar tell your uncle.
Preeti: Kumar!? Hey, I do not know him at all forget about loving him. I know him only for 2 days and half the time he was sleeping.
Navya: Then, who do you like, Mahesh?
Preeti was silent now. Kalyani started probing.
Kalyani: Preeti, do you like Mahesh?
Preeti did not answer and both Kalyani and Navya started pushing for more details.
Preeti: Mahesh proposed to me when I was in college and I was not interested in love when I was in college. Also, at that time I was a complete burden on my aunt and uncle as my parents had passed away. I did not want to bother them with these issues. So, I rejected his proposal immediately although I knew his love for me was sincere and he was a very nice guy. Later I heard from someone that he is well settled now, but have not been in touch with him at all. I don't know how he came to the bakery today and suddenly showed up and caused all this confusion.
Navya: We should talk to your uncle and clarify all these details, but I think we should talk to Kumar too.
They have lunch and in the evening Kalyani & Preeti decide to go to the bus stop to drop Navya. Meanwhile Kumar and Kishore pack their luggage, Kishore informs at home that he would be going to Hyderabad with his friend and that he would be back in a couple of days. All of them go together to the bus stop and reach by 6.30pm for the bus at 7pm.
********* To be continued ********
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