Someone To Love

13. peace.

"When are you meeting bhai?"

Her voice brought him out of his thinking, the coffee cup still in hand as he was lost in his thoughts. "I haven't decided on the date." The bitter coffee felt good on his tongue, the familiar taste bringing a bit of solace.

"Daksh." She sat beside him, a hand on his as he looked at her, her messy hair in a bun threatening to fall off any second, her eyes filled with understanding as her scent filled his nose.

One look at her and the chaos in his mind silenced.

"Mi reina I don't know," he played with the cup in hand. "I haven't met bhai since his divorce announcement and I don't know how to talk to him, like ughhh, it will be weird." He dropped the cup, resting his head on the chair as he breathed in. "We grew apart. A lot. Throughout the years. How the fuck will I talk to him?"

"Before the accident how much did you talk to me, Daksh?" Her question snapped him out of his reflection, but she gave no room for him to speak. "See, all I am saying is, we spoke so little, yet we had an understanding. And after the accident, it felt so natural. Like we have known each other for years, no awkwardness, no hesitation. Do you know why?"

His head turned left and right, the small no reflecting the quest of his eyes.

"That is because you and I were scared that we may never see each other again."

The truth was, he'd always wanted to talk to her, but he was afraid of what she might think of him because he's introverted. They were just in a marriage of convenience, and he did not want to put her through any hardship.

But not anymore.

He is not leaving any chance to be with her, ever again.

"Also, you can take xoxo with you, he will help comfort you." She smiled, resting her face on her palm as a look of pride gleamed on her face. "Why is xoxo so special?" he wanted to ask this question since the moment he had felt the small zebra on his bedside table. Her face paled as she turned towards him, her eyes filled with pain.

"Aai stitched him for me as a gift on my sixth birthday. She jokingly claimed that it would love me just like her whenever she was not around. Strange how fate works, ten years later she left and xoxo is the only thing that I have which makes me feel closer to her, makes me feel less alone."

He stared at her, her words piercing his heart in sharp stabs. His family may be career-oriented and his mom and dad may not be around as much as he wished they did, but yet it did not change the fact that they were still his parents.

Still alive and there for him whenever he wished.

"Along with you, ofcourse." His brows furrowed. "I mean, along with xoxo, you, too, make me feel less alone."

"Really?" he questioned in a serious voice, which differentiated his playful feelings.

"Ofcourse my dear husband," her voice stopped the moment the words left her mouth, her lips forming a small o to reflect the shock she felt herself. He arched an eyebrow as the butterflies inside his stomach did summersaults, his heart throbbing loudly against his chest.

"Are you sure my dear wife," he smiled as her cheeks turned red.

"Yes, yes, in fact," she grinned. "You never make me feel alone."

"Also, thankyou." She smiled as she scooted close to him, her legs folded on the chair as their knees touched. A jerk of electricity passed through his entire body and he internally cursed as to why he was behaving like a teenager.