Pocket Full of Lies

62- A Lie...to Thrive

Rehaan's POV

My wife!

I had butterflies in my stomach just by thinking about the possibility.

Lying to the watchman was killing two birds with a single stone. He would shut up and Muskaan would also get the hint that I think of her in that way. However, this crazy girl beside me was too busy being offended to even think about it.

You are not even sure if she likes you like that.

'She had to...she had to, right? Her going to trance and touching my lips had to mean something, right? She had to feel something for me.'

It could have been just an attraction or a mistake.

A mistake or temporary attraction- something that could easily happen when we were isolated from the outside world and just had each other.

Or...her finger might have just slipped, because she was startled by our proximity. There was no way she did it in full consciousness.

The way she jumped back in alarm literally screamed- Error.

Looks like I was going to repeat my mistake. The first time, she was just pretending to be my girlfriend, but I fell for her. She lied and stuck by me to survive that time. And now, we are stuck together again because of the identity thief.

I keep falling for her again and again, while she is just trying her best to survive.

Was I even in her mind?

The care I received from her and the few almost kisses felt like she did, but they could all have been coincidences. It's not like she ever came to me deliberately before.

And it doesn't seem like she would ever do it again.

Even if she had feelings for me, she would never jeopardize her living conditions for love. Because if I don't reciprocate the feelings, it would become impossible for us to share space after her confession. Unless and until she was 100% sure of my feelings, she would never approach me.

Her survival instincts are just too strong.

But what if she didn't actually have feelings for me? If I approached her first with my feelings, there was a higher chance that she would say yes because of the guilt of breaking my heart again. Or because she didn't have anywhere else to go.

That's why it wasn't the time to outrightly show my feelings.

Until Muskaan could be independent again,
until she could get back her identity,
until she could stand up on her feet again, until she was over her guilt and had made peace with her lie,
until then...I will lie to thrive.

She lied to have feelings for me and I would lie to not have feelings for her.

And that's why, I faked it. The fake grumble, the fake temper and the fake annoyance.

All I wanted was to smile and coo at her but I made my nose flare in anger, my jaw ticking as she had her triumph moment. She was probably laughing her evil laughter internally, too happy for having bested me.

Don't ask me how I know about her internal laughter. I am not sure about that myself.

The sparkle in her eyes, and the smirk she had clearly showed that she was cackling inside.

Like I was somehow sure that it was a face she made when she had her Mwahahaha moment.

All of a sudden a memory hit me. It was short enough to not cause me any real pain, but it did cause me to stumble, and Muskaan to lose her sparkle.

She was immediately to my side, helping me regain my balance.

"What's wrong?" She asked worriedly.

"Nothing, I just remembered coming back early one day and finding you purposefully ruining my favourite white shirt while laughing like an evil witch."

"Huh?" She looked confused.

Of course, she was. This was something that happened years ago. Just because you remember it now, doesn't mean she would instantly remember the scene too.

"A memory," I informed her. "You mopped the house with my brand new shirt," I told her, while trying to muffle my laugh as expressions moved through a rollercoaster in a second.

Her furrowed eyebrows filled with confusion suddenly went up as I elaborated. The light bulb moment didn't last long as she winced, probably having remembered my anger and then moved to looking sheepishly at me.

"Shouldn't you focus on remembering important things? Why are you getting memories of stupid things?" She shouted at me instead, her hands moving in all directions, looking awkward as hell.

Like I can control what memories I receive.

"You do realize that I am not going to get angry for something that happened years ago, right?" I asked her, a chuckle slipping out of my mouth.

She sheepishly scratched her forehead, muttering under her breath, "Like your temper comes with guarantee," before pushing me lightly towards the gate.

"Go now or else you will lose all the goons," she ordered with a fake huff, trying her best to change the topic without looking awkward.

And she failed badly...

"For someone who was pleading with me that it was unsafe and to not go, aren't you being quite eager to throw me into the battlefield?" I raised my eyebrows at her, while walking backwards.

She gritted her teeth at me, looking annoyed as hell. "Don't go if you don't want to, who's forcing you," she yelled, before stomping through the emergency stairs.

I laughed at her temper as I stopped walking. I decided to wait for her, knowing well that she wouldn't even climb one floor before coming back, huffing and puffing.

Although I didn't want her to come, it was better for us to go together than her stubborn self following behind me recklessly alone.

Yes, follow me.

I was hundred percent sure that she wouldn't stay put. All my efforts had gone down the drain.

How was I so sure about that?

First, she easily caught my lie about her being my back up. She knew I was manipulating her right away.

She might have backed off a bit, take note, only a bit, because of my police excuse. But it was all over the moment I stumbled because of the memory.

No facts, no reasoning, no excuses worked on her. It never worked before, and now it definitely would not.

The Muskaan I knew wouldn't ever let me jump into danger alone.