Better Together | ✓

59 | overpowered

Chapter 59 : Overpowered 

Ruhaani slowly stepped into the room and shut the door, looking around. Gradually, she made her way to the walk-in closet. She stood by the sliding door of the closet, her gaze finally finding the person it had been searching for.

He was in the process of removing his coat. "Is it too late to say that you actually look quite nice in a three-piece suit?" she said, wearing a smile, hoping he would take her bait.

He slowly turned around and looked at her as he dropped the coat on the ottoman. He didn't revel in the compliment. His face looked rather empty, as if her words never reached that part of him that displayed a smug smile every time he thought he had the upper hand in a situation, every time he managed to get a compliment from her.

"Want to talk?" She asked softly, reading in all his tension. With slow deliberate steps she reached the ottoman.

"No." He uttered turning around. "I'd like some space, some time alone." He said gently, lowering his gaze to his wrists as he unbuttoned the cuffs. He was dumping his issues on her a lot from the past few weeks. She practically knew everything that was going on with him, at least at home and to some extent at work. He didn't want be reduced to a vulnerable man who had a ton of issues before her.

"Okay. If you think that, fine." Ruhaani spoke. She couldn't help but feel a little hurt at his dismissal. She comforted herself by reminding herself that he was a stubborn person. Especially when it came to sharing emotions and feelings with her.

Aadarsh fisted his hand, controlling the urge to turn around and tell her to stay. Somehow when she was around, he felt lighter. In years, he hadn't talked the troubles of his heart out to anyone, but he did that with her. It had become unbelievably easy to count on her, for emotional support.

He almost felt bad for it. At the crossroads he was standing, he didn't even understand what was going on with him. There were way too many parameters in his life that were going out of control, and he despised that. It made him feel helpless.

He turned around when he neither heard anything from her nor any sound of her retreat. She sat on the ottoman quietly, her back facing him. His coat was in her lap as she ran a hand over it to remove the traces of creases.

He swallowed the hard ball of emotions down his throat and settled on the ottoman beside her, but facing the other way. His gaze rose up to the mirror. Since there were two mirrors facing each other and the ottoman was placed right in between, he could see her reflection. Almost instantly, she also looked up at him. Their gazes colliding through the two mirrors.

She said nothing but lowered her gaze, as she went about folding his coat with utmost care.

He loosened the top two buttons at his collar and leaned forward, running his palms down his face. He was waiting. Waiting for her to say anything. Anything to lighten the tensed feeling stretching in his heart.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" He sighed and spoke, giving up on his patience. He straightened up and turned to her side.

She turned towards him too. "You said you wanted to be alone."

"Yet, you're here."

"Yes I am, because I have realized people don't always mean what they say, especially you."

Aadarsh turned away from her and lowered his gaze to the carpeted floor. Guilt poked his insides. Yeah, like he never meant that Abhi was a disappointment. He wondered what she thought of him on the matter. Did she understand him? Did she understand that he never meant it that way? Or was she here to advocate for Abhi as usual?