Love Me

11

6 months later

" You promised me," she muttered, throwing a pillow at him.

" Yeah, I know… but I’m busy with work. I’ll take you shopping later, I promise," Daksh replied, eyes still fixed on his laptop screen.

" Stop looking at this damn thing and look at me!" she yelled, snapping the device shut.

" Roshni, behave and choose your words wisely. I told you already, if I said I’ll take you shopping, I will. Why are you creating a whole drama?" His tone only deepened the frustration in her eyes.

" I don’t want anything now," she said, folding her arms tightly across her chest after getting scolded by him.

" Here, use my phone until evening. I’ll take you shopping then. Why don’t you go to the park, or somewhere else? Go out, play, enjoy, be happy. You don’t even have to go to school, yet here you are arguing with me," he sighed, holding his phone out to her.

She moved toward the main door, hand gripping the handle before turning it open.

"Be busy with your FUCKING work! I don’t want your damn phone," she snapped, storming out of the apartment without another glance already regretting the words that slipped past her lips.

"Why does she think that she won’t come home again?" Daksh muttered, not bothering to follow.

At the park, Roshni sat onto a swing, kicking the dirt beneath her.

" Always the same as ‘I’m busy, Roshni.’ He’s never free. Why doesn’t he just marry his laptop and his college? I’m the only one who feels something for him here, while he’s just… what if he has someone else in his life?"

Her chest tightened at the thought. In those month living together with him and she has started developing unknown feelings for him which she never had in past.

" What will I do if that’s true? My heart already races whenever he comes close. Mumma, what should I do now?"

She shook her head, scolding herself.

" No, Roshni, don’t overthink. If he’s already taken, I’ll tell his girlfriend I’m pregnant with his child." She groaned at her own words. "That’s a dumb idea—just like me. All I want is to shop with him. I want him walking beside me, not his laptop."

She sigh looking around towards the kids who were playing in parks and old people walking. She smiled which faded immediately.

" I never thought I’d fall for the man who scolds me for every little thing. Why do I have to curse? God save me this time. Next time… next time we’ll see what happens."

Lost in thought, she didn’t notice how quickly the hours had slipped by until she glanced around again.

" How can time pass like this? It was afternoon just now—how is it evening already?" she gasped, leaping from the swing and rushing back home.

She knocked twice. The door opened, Daksh stood staring at his phone. She tried to peek, but he slid it into his pocket.

" So, you remember you have a home to come back to. I thought you’d forgotten."

" I’m sorry for cursing but you’re at fault too, Daksh. You can’t just blame me… Are we not going shopping?" Her lips form pout, soft and stubborn.

" Come inside first," he said, though his eyes flickered toward the low neckline of her kurta making her cleavage visible.

" We will go but first, do you have anything to say about the cursing?" His arms folded across his chest.