Second Chances | Grooms #2 | Slow Updates #WattyLonglist

【 v. small gestures 】

Visiting the place where one had multiple negative and hurtful memories was not easy. For Maahi, it was her apartment. She had to live there. She had to revisit the place. Nikita had helped her clean up the place, as well as offered to stay the night. Maahi, however, assured her she would be fine and sent her home.

When she couldn't sleep tonight either, she started to put all of his things in boxes. Nikita had suggested she burn it all. It would have made her feel better if she was the vindictive type of person who burns things belonging to their ex's. She wasn't. So, boxes it was. She cleaned out his side of the closet, the things in the bathroom, the photos, the albums, his shoes, his things from the dresser, everything.

She did not want a single sign of his in her life.

Finally feeling exhausted after all the work, she took a seat on the couch. She laid down and turned on the TV. Not long after, she fell asleep.

When she woke up in the morning, she heard a noise in the kitchen. Only three people knew the key code to enter the house. Sonu, Nikita, and herself. The first thought that entered her mind was that Sonu had come home. Wearily, she walked towards the kitchen, grabbing an object in case it was Sonu intruding.

Seeing Parth by the stove, she let out a breath she had been holding back. He glanced up feeling a shadow. "How did you get in?" She asked, placing the vase in her hand on the counter.

He turned off the stove and walked up to her. He placed his palm over her forehead to check her temperature. "You still have fever."

"It's not that bad." She said, inching away as his hand dropped. It let him know that she knew she had fever. With the exhaustion last night, she knew she was getting sick. It was a good thing it was Sunday, and not a work day.

"I came with Nikita to discuss something with you, but you weren't answering so Nikita let us in. She went to get some antibiotics as you didn't have any. I guess it's the pain from your wrist that's causing the fever."

"Yeah." She answered, knowing that could be the case. He poured out the soup in a bowl and forwarded it to her. "Thank you."

"So, why were you sleeping on the couch?" He questioned after following her to the dining table.

After swallowing the sip, she answered, "I moved his things in boxes but due to my wrist, I couldn't move them off the bed. Anyway, what did you need to discuss?"

"Ah, yes. Sonu isn't going to give you divorce that easily. Even you know that the only way Sonu can stay in the States is because he came on spousal visa. Since he doesn't have a green card yet, just a visa, the Indian embassy will appoint a lawyer for him. They may ask that you stay together for a few months to try and save the marriage."

"Excuse me?" She stopped eating the stop to stare at him, demanding silently that he tell her he was only joking.

He wished he could tell her that but he couldn't. With a sigh, he explained, "You know how the law can be sometimes in India. Divorces don't happen as easily, and his lawyer will argue our cultural and religious norms. I just wanted to prepare you for that possibility."

She questioned, starting to put him on the offensive. "Are you telling me you can do nothing about that if they argue that?"

He got the impression that she was about ready to start freaking out. He gathered her hands in his and looked right into her eyes to calm her down. "I didn't say that, Maahi. I promised you he'll never touch you again, and I meant it. I just wanted to let you know so it doesn't come as a shock."

She swallowed and the nodded to convince herself he was in her corner. She reminded herself that and told herself to not make him the villain here when it was the law and society and Sonu who were the bad guys.