SLOVE

C H A P T E R E L E V E N

Night dwelled upon the citizens of the city as the full moon cocooned every soul in its serenity.Infrequent chirping of crickets was the only sound that could be heard in the darkness.The room with grey walls was lit up again but this time only the calm of the peaceful night lingered over it as occasional strokes of carbon leaded pencils being dragged over the pale white papers and slender fingers hitting the keyboard repeatedly, was the only noise being made.

Ilaya took hold of the glass mason jar on the coffee table and brought it to her lips,the cold metal of the straw made shivers run down her spine.She sipped on the cold beverage which wasn't cold enough as the ice had dissolved in the brown liquid.The black frames bunched up on her nose as her eyebrows scrunched in distaste.She looked up to stare at the jar in her hand and rolled her eyes.

She sighed placing the laptop beside her on the couch,Ilaya got up with the mason jar in her hands.Her sock clad feet fiddled with the slides which were turned upside down,her shoulder length hair curtained her face as she looked down with creased eyebrows, wanting to get done with this quickly.The slides seemed to be as stubborn as her,even after multiple tries she wasn't able to overturn them.

"fucking hell"Ilaya bent down to flip the Nike slides she had gotten from the men's section.Her feet slid into the synthetic leather as she stood straight.Getting up,her eyes caught glimpse of the lehenga choli displayed on a bodice inside the closet.A reminder of the day ahead of her.

Her movements halted as realisation dawned upon her.It was her nikkah tomorrow.Ilaya never thought she'd be marrying this early,that too a man with an ego bigger than The Everest.The hypocrisy to say this.

There was a shit ton of regret,but she could do nothing about it now.At least she won't have to deal with a husband.But again,a little bit of pestering would've made her parents to change their decision.Only if it wasn't Ehan's stupid idea.Blaming anyone but herself was what she had been doing all her life.She'd do it again,without any regrets.The only remorse she felt was getting married.

She sighed dejectedly,there was nothing to cry about now.Her eyes drifted towards the platinum band on her ring finger,the rose gold of the diamond casting a halo.It was the ring from her engagement which took place almost two weeks ago.The only reason she kept it on was-well just because it was pretty.It was simple yet extremely elegant,with intricate flower designs as claws to keep the rock in place.

"I fucking hate you"

The sides of her lips twitched at the memory,he had said those words as he made her wear the ring.Ilaya's phone buzzed snapping her to reality.What the fuck was I even thinking.She picked up her phone from the coffee table,it was a message from Ehan,a voice note specifically.

She sat back on the couch,the coffee long forgotten as she turned her phone's volume up.

"Ilaya,tumnai sona nahi hai kia?I can't believe your getting married tomorrow.So immature"she could hear him chewing on something while he lectured her to sleep.Hypocrite.

(Ilaya,dont you have to sleep?)

Ilaya rolled her eyes and checked the time.Oh.It was almost four in the morning,she didnt even realise how fast the time had passed as she worked on her new launch.

Ilaya walked over to the bed and laid down on the soft mattress,the silk sheets gathering beneath her.She really was getting married tomorrow.This wasn't supposed to happe-enough of your randi rona,accept it already.Unfortunately,this was the bitter reality, no matter what,she had to accept it.

She sighed closing her eyes,her breathing eventually became even as sleep overcame the thoughts clouding her mind.

She ducked her head under the blanket,as the bright light tortured her eyes,she could hear commotion around her but eventually the voices started to fade away,the creases on her eyebrows disappeared as she almost fell asleep again,if it wasn't someone shaking her violently.Ilaya's eyes fluttered open adjusting to the bright lights,her expressions turned sour as she sat up straight.