In love with my husband

New Beginnings (Avishek's POV)

I was losing my mind. I had no other explanation for what I was doing. I look at the blinking cursor in front of me, but all I could see was Seema's wide eyes, her body shifting like she was about to bolt. I had no intention to be that close to her, but I couldn't help myself when I saw her flushed face, rosy cheeks visible even in her dusky skin. 

I wanted to kiss her.

I groan, dropping my head on my hands, wanting to pull my hair out. Lately, these feelings were evolving inside of me. I wanted to be close to her, I wanted to keep her around me all the time, and now, I want to kiss her.

A knock pulled me out of the thoughts, I looked up to see Vikram entering my office. He raised an eyebrow looking at me. I must have made a miserable sight.

"All good, man?" he asked, amused.

"Yes" I sighed and looked back at my blinking cursor.

"Are you sure? You don't look good." He said, sitting at the chair in front of me.

"Yeah" I said dryly.

"How is Seema?" he asked, a hint of teasing in his voice.

"She's good." I replied without missing a beat.

Truth was we both were ignoring each other after the stunt I pulled in the kitchen. My sudden feelings for her overwhelmed me. All my life, she was a mother to kids and now suddenly, I wanted more, I wanted something real. That freaked me out.

I guess I scared her with my boldness. She has been actively ignoring me as well.

Vikram hummed but didn't say anything.

He sat for few more minutes, talking about work and went back saying it was time to go home. I too packed my stuff and went home.

I parked my car at the driveway, and I realized the house was way too quiet when I entered. Usually, the two women always chattered when I came home, but I didn't hear anything today. I entered the kitchen to see Seema cooking.

"Hi" I said, awkwardly.

She turned in surprise and smiled hesitantly.

"Hi", she replied.

"Why is the house so quiet today?" I asked, pulling a bottle out of the fridge. "Where is Ru?"

"She is in her room." she answered, going back to her cooking.

"Why? She is usually here" I said, taking a sip.

"Vikash is here." she said.

I frowned. Vikash?

"Who?" I asked. I didn't know any Vikash.

"Her husband." she said quietly.

I stood still. 

Her husband is here?

Seema turned back to face me and continued.

"He came suddenly. We were having late lunch and then all of a sudden, he called Ru. He said he was at the airport. He wanted to meet her. We went and received him." she said, looking at me.

I just tilted my head to the side, not knowing what to say.

"We met him at the airport, they cried, we came back home, and then they disappeared inside the room." she concluded.

I walked to the chair, giving myself few minutes to process what I heard. Ru's husband is here. She is going back.

 I got used to her again. She was my best friend; I hadn't realized how much I missed my best friend. Now she was about to go again. I should be happy for her, and I was. I never had a doubt that she was going to go back to her husband, but I didn't realize, how much I wanted her around, how much I had missed her goofy face around, how much I had missed my friend around.

I look up at Seema. She was looking at me like I was going to break down and start crying. Since last couple of months, I had learned to read her. I still didn't know what she is thinking. She masks her emotions really well. But the way she couldn't look at me for a long time, the way her hands are fisted at her side, I knew, I knew what she was thinking.

It was no time to be a coward. She shared her insecurities with me, she trusted me. I already let her down once, I am not going to do it again.

I stood up, walked to her, put my arms around her and brought her close to me. She put her hands on my shoulder as if to brace the sudden impact. Her eyes, widened in surprise, were full of questions.

"I'm glad. I hope they settle whatever is bothering them." I say, sincerely.

And I meant it, from the bottom of my heart.

"Before Ru came back in my life, she was always Ru to me. My lover, my best friend. I didn't think of anyone else." I started and stopped to lift her chin up when her head dropped. "And then life happened. I had a family to take care of, I had children to take care of. I got busy. Before I realized, I had stopped thinking about her. When I picked her up from that café, I realized, I missed her. Missed her so much." I forced her to keep her chin up. Her eyes filling up with tears and I knew she hated it from the way she scrunched her nose.

I kept going.

"I missed her so much because she was best friend. She knew me like no one else. All my life, I only knew her, and then all of a sudden, she was gone. I was lost. I couldn't cope without her. It's true, I missed her as my girlfriend at first, but then I had also lost a friendship. And that hurt."

I paused to swallow a lump. I had to breathe couple of times before speaking again.

"What I am trying to say is, Ru is my best friend, the lost years hasn't changed that. I'm going to miss her when she goes back with her husband. I got used to her again. I was so happy to get my best friend back, I didn't stop to see the bigger picture. But as much as I am going to miss my friend, I hope she is happy in her life, with someone who loves her, the way she loves someone. And this time, I can cope without her. You know why?" I asked, pulling her even tighter against me.

She gulped and shook her head. A tear escaped her eye and I traced it down with my lips.

"Because I have you. I was too foolish to realize this back then. But I am older, wiser. I won't make the same mistakes I made when I first met you. I am going to redeem everything. I promise I will give you the life you deserve, I will love you like you deserve." I promised, both to her and myself.

She looked at me, her tears now freely flowing, and she planted her face on my neck. I held as her sobs wrecked her body. I let my tears flow. 

It wasn't a new beginning just for Ru and Vikash, it was for us too.

Hi everyone. How are you guys? I hope you all are staying safe in this difficult time. 

Anyway, everything is on the table now, don't you think? I think it's good. Really good.

This was all for today. I hope you guys liked it. Please leave a comment and vote if you like the chapter.