ᴇx-ʙᴏʏʀꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅ, ɴᴇxᴛ ʜᴜꜱʙᴀɴᴅ

Chapter 73

Yuvaan

That night, I slept so well, with a smile on my face. She being able to sit with me without a care of the world, and her being able to talk to me, without getting afraid and angry, that meant the world to me.

The next morning, I was up by 9am. I did my bathroom business and took a warm shower and came out in track pants. I didn't bother wearing a shirt, since I'm at home and it's Sunday. There's no one coming home today.

I went downstairs and found it empty.
Didn't she wake up?
She usually wakes up earlier than I do.
Is she unwell?

I ran to her room and noticed her sleeping. She was in a deep sleep. I walked closer to her and sat on the side of her bed. Looking at her sleeping figure, I smiled. Her hand was out so I caught it and gently caressed it, so I don't wake her up. She moved a little in her sleep and I was afraid I'd wake her so I stepped a little back, but luckily she was just moving around.

I scanned her room. It was quiet. It didn't ooze Nishtha at all. No loud pictures, no SRK posters, no photo frames of families - it was just a quiet empty room. I didn't like that. I could sense she's waking up so I quickly went back down and started to work on my laptop.

After almost 45 minutes, she came down. She was dressed in a salwar suit.
"Where are you going?" I asked her as she was scouting the hall, looking for something.
I walked to her and handed her the clip, which was resting on the couch, "It's here."
She looked at me and took it.

Her and her habit of misplacing her clip!

"I'm going to meet Aai Baba." She said.
"Oh, should I come with you?" I asked.
"Do you want to?"
"I would love to." I smiled.
"We're not just meeting them, we're going to meet some family friends as well. It'll be a waste of your time, leave it."
"Nishu, your family isn't a waste of time. If you don't mind, I'd love to come."
"You'll have to talk to the other family friends as well then." She argued.
"I'll talk to them." I reassured her, "Now?"
She looked at me then sighed, "Fine."
"Great." I smiled.
"Go change!" She said.
"I have a bit of work to finish, I'll come after that. Till then you carry on." I said.
"Okay."

She was about to make her way out but I stopped her and turned her around. She was not looking complete, "Something is missing."
She looked in the nearby mirror, "What?"
"Your neck is empty." I said.
She looked at me, then looked away, "It'll stay empty."
"Why is that?"
"Because.... Our relationship isn't one of a wife and husband. So, yeah."
"Okay." I sighed, "You're right." I let her go.
I was walking back when I heard her, "I'll text you when I reach."
I turned and smiled, "Thank you."

After she left, I got back to work, while being lost in thought.
What am I doing wrong?
Sometimes she's ready to open up and talk, then suddenly she closes off again. I know she doesn't trust me or anyone, for that matter, but I still feel like there's something which might help. What is that something?

I even cancelled the road trip, not because I don't want to go, but because I want to do it when she's ready - mentally. The last thing I want to do is force her into something because it's easier for me to win her back. I can take the hard way for her. I will take the hard way. Plus, there was something else I needed to fix.

So, I quickly got dressed, got my car out and drove. Within 15 minutes, I was ringing the bell. The door opened; I was greeted by 2 unhappy faces.

"What are you doing here?" Aditi asked me.

I looked at her, and then at Priya. I knew it was hard for Priya to be mad at me, considering that she worked with me, but she still avoided me as much as she could, "Hi. I wanted to talk."