The love of my life

32. Fight-Flight

"I prayed for soo long, to hear those words come out of your mouth." She says, trying her best not to cry. The three words ringing and floating away from her ears, as if she had hallucinated.

"Daman, I'm sorry. At that time, I thought... I wasn't sure. I thought every girl was... I was young and stupid." He says as she responds in a tight lipped smile.

"You thought every girl was Tara. Every girl wanted to use you, for your money, status, knowledge or whatever you thought was so special about you." She says sitting up, ready to throw the taunts that would make him hurt. This was a habit that Ekansh hated about Daman.

It was something Daman hated about her mom as well, but had inadvertently inherited. Ekansh would be bewildered, when she could hit the weakest spots with her venomous tongue.

"The limited edition Victoria secret's scents?" She says, her memory spot on. "The one you gifted after you suspected her of cheating on you, hoping she would stop floundering about, if she ever was. But I don't think your charm or the enormous bill and import charges helped."

Victoria's secret hadn't officially launched in India at that time, and she knew that as well.

He sat back, the comfort from the soft cushion kept behind doing nothing for the tension in his spine.

She was shooting fire, and he had no shield against it.

"Commitment phobia? Or because you think you are selected by God, to rule thousands, but can't even chose a partner for yourself that's worthy?"
"How can you be expected to make decisions regarding life and death, when you can't even judge if a person is right or wrong for you?"

He looked into those big brown orbs, as she took the glass of wine and took a big gulp.

She hid her face in her hands, as frustration set in.

"We can go somewhere private?" Ekansh offered as she shook her head, and looked up in his eyes.

"I... Let's order food?" She says as Ekansh nods. She hated herself for not leaving, but somehow knowing that he left her for matters of life and death made her feel safe.

But she still hated him.

She couldn't leave, because she wanted to stay... Stay and know what was expected of her.

Dinner was a quiet affair, with mango cheesecake, Daman's favorite dessert as Ekansh kept his platinum card on the bill after, not hiding his lifestyle anymore.

Samayra called her, as she looked at the screen and picked up.

"Hey, everything okay?" Daman asks scared for Tejas.

"Yeah, just Tejas is asleep on the bed with my husband and my dog. So, I just called to say that take your time. Don't worry about him." She says, as Daman thanked her and disconnected.

"Shall we?" Ekansh asked after the billing was done and his card was back in his LV wallet.

Daman got up to leave, as he followed.

The door opened as she walked towards the parking, with him trying to catch up.

"Daman... Daman..." he says, and runs to open the car door for her, before sitting on his own side.

"What did Samayra say? Is it Tejas?" He asks as she shakes her head.

"He's asleep, and he sleeps through the night so, she was just informing me." she says putting the mercedes into the drive, with focus on the road.

"It's a nice ride." He says, trying to stir a conversation.

"It was Sangram's dream car. He saved up for it in 8 years of his service." She says with a kind smile on her lips. Her hand lingered on the symbol of the brand on the steering as if in memory.