LOYALTY

Sulking

Jaison never really regretted any of his decisions except a few. At the moment he couldn't pinpoint if he regretted providing books to Akira or proud that she was finally doing something for herself. He had a bittersweet feeling as he silently watched the said woman sitting on his chair completely focused on the book in her hands.

He had started looking forward to their reunion in the afternoon. The swelling in his chest as he anticipated what type of dish she would cook made him rush back home.

'Home'. He never addressed his apartment as 'home'. It was a place he returned back to after he drained himself completely.

Akira would cook a lot of korean food along with indian dishes. After trying a ton of them he came to a conclusion that he had almost zero tolerance to spices. While he coughed with his eyes red, his wife would laugh her ass off as if it was the funniest sight ever.

As a result she would keep a glass of cold milk infront of him whenever an indian dish was cooked.

Jaison himself hadn't realised the changes in his behaviour. He suddenly started liking his everyday visit, the time they spent while eating food and bickering about absolutely rubbish topics. It made him even more concentrated in his work. He just had to finish his half day schedule to go back home without a care about office work.

As usual he had rushed back to be invited by the rustling in the kitchen. Then Akira would come out to ask him
'How was your day?' with a heart melting smile on her face that would force him to smile back.

But today he was invited by the sight of no one in the living room. Confused, he entered the kitchen to see Ms.Ara cooking the food. His heart had started to beat faster realizing the similar scenario from before. Before he could run back to their shared room, Ms.Ara turned to him. She informed him that Akira was in his office space, studying since morning.

He stood outside the room as he intently watched her study. It had been a few minutes but he wasn't getting tired. He could do this all day. He gently leaned on the door involuntarily to stare in a more comfortable position but ended up causing a creaking sound.

Akira's head snapped towards the door. Jaison tried to play it cool as he entered the room, clearing his throat.

"You're already here? What time is it?" She stood up keeping the book aside.

"Its 2pm."

"Oh, why didn't Ms.Ara tell me? I haven't cooked anything yet. I was so into the book that I couldn't keep track of the time." She pouted, feeling bad.

"She cooked today." He couldn't hide the bitterness in his tone. He narrowed his eyes as he looked away from her.

"Acha. Kya pharak padta hai vaise. Vo khana banae ya mai banau." She muttered.
("Oh. It doesn't matter who cooks anyway. She cooks, I cook same thing.")

What she didn't realise was that it mattered. It mattered more than she could decipher.

She made him want to come home everyday.

"Translation please." He huffed, annoyed.
"Actually, forget it. The food is going to get cold. Hurry up." he poked his inner cheek and stomped his way out of the room.

Akira tilted her head in confusion.
What happened to him now? Must be on his period.

She snickered at her own thoughts and picked up the book and made her way towards the dining table.
Jaison had already started to eat his meal. Something he never did. He always waited for her to sit down and serve herself.

She shrugged her shoulders as she sat on the chair beside him.

Jaison shut his eyes tight when he saw her keeping the book beside her. She flipped the pages while Ms.Ara served her with food.