Far yet closer ✓

Commitment

~~Robert~~

A rustling sound woke me up from my sleep. I first sensed my screaming muscles. Stretching my body, I fully woke up and looked at Sanju, who also woke up and was staring at me with her beautiful brown eyes which were clouded with confusion. 

"Haven't you left?" She asked.

"How can I leave you in this state??" I asked in return. Moving forward, I placed my hand on her forehead. Her temperature cooled down a bit.

"Excuse me for a moment." Mumbling, she stood up and slowly walked up to the bathroom. 

I went into the living room to give her privacy and flopped on the couch.

20 minutes later she came back. She changed into her pink pj's, washed her face, and pulled her long hair into a bun. Even in her messier state, she is beautiful.

"Want to eat anything?" I asked and she nodded. I grabbed her to the couch and pulled her closer.

"Wait, I will let Ethan know to bring us food." Saying that I fished my phone out.

"I want to eat something light and Indian. I will prepare something." She said.

"Don't worry. I will tell him to bring Indian food for you."

I immediately called Ethan and asked him to arrange for food.

"When did you come into my house?" She asked, placing her head on my shoulder. My heart swelled up in happiness.

"Evening. When I came to know that you had fallen sick I immediately rushed here. I called you and knocked on your door. You didn't answer. I panicked. Without another choice, we broke in." I said, taking her hand into mine.

"You broke in?? How is the door??" She started to get up but I held her firmly.

"It's fine. Sanju, you don't have an alarm system. I told Ethan to install it."

"Alarm system?? Why do I need it?? I mean. No one knew about me here. Who will break in? Also, I don't have any valuable items in my home." She protested, sitting up straight.

"Sweetie, you are the most valuable one in this home. Do you understand? We can't say what the situations can turn into. Don't argue with me regarding that." I said flatly.

"Robert...." She called.

"No more discussion about it." I cut her off before she could say any further.

"How did you know that I have fallen sick?" She asked weakly.

"I went to your office today to see you. Sam told me that you have fallen sick." I said while intertwining our fingers.

"You went to the office to see me... Why??" She asked, looking surprised.

"You canceled my dinner offer. You haven't replied to my messages and didn't return my calls. It scared me like hell." I said sadly.

"I'm sorry Robert. I didn't see your calls." She said, lowering her head.

"Why did you cancel the dinner? Have I done anything wrong?" I asked, raising her head with our intertwined hands to look into her eyes.

"It's not that. I'm just not in a mood for it." She said avoiding his eyes.

"Don't try to lie to me, Sanju. What is it?" I demanded.

She took a deep breath before answering, "You are my friend Robert. I value your friendship and I like you but I can't understand my feelings about you. Maybe hugging and kissing are common here but it's not for me. I came from a background where only the committed ones hug and kiss. I know you are being friendly but all this closeness is creating a hell of chaos in my heart which I can't understand. I'm also not used to dating culture. I know there are several women in your life before me and I'm going to be one of them in the future but I don't want that. I don't want to spoil our friendship with these feelings. I want to clear my head and make it clear to you that we are good friends." She said breathlessly.