In The Stars || AdiYa FF

Chapter 15 - From a Stranger to a Friend (Feb 18-21)

Once they were back to the Hooda House, Zoya had swiftly made her way to the guest room. She stayed in for better part of the day and evening. Aditya knew what she was going through. 2 years back, he had gone through the exact same thing. The only difference was Aditya was caught completely off-guard by Pooja and her affair whereas Zoya had some inkling about Yash's indiscretion.

Though nothing could soften the blow. To find that the love of your life, the one person who should've been blindly trusted, was betraying you was a gut wrenching experience, to say the least.

So he gave her time and space. From his own experience he knew that the last thing she wanted was some outsider who could never gauge what she was going through, telling her that it would all be okay.

Nonetheless, after dinner with his family, where they all inquired about Zoya's absence and Aditya gave an excuse that she was down with a headache, Aditya took a tray of food upstairs, to the guest bedroom. He knocked on the door and called out her name, letting her know that it was him.

She didn't open the door but spoke in a hoarse voice, "I am fine, Aditya. I am just tired."

He could tell from her voice that she been crying. "I understand," he stated, "I brought some food. I'll leave it outside." He put the tray on a table near the door. Before heading back he spoke again to the closed door, "Zoya, if you need anything... someone to talk to... just know that... I am here."

He waited for some time and just as he was about to leave, she responded. "Thanks."

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Come morning, the first thing Aditya did was check up on Zoya. He noticed that the food tray which he had left last night, was untouched. She hadn't eaten anything, in over a day.

He picked up the tray of now stale food and dropped it off in the kitchen, asking the cook, to prepare something fresh. With a tray of toast, butter, eggs and orange juice balanced delicately on one hand, Aditya knocked on the door with the other, "Zoya, it's me. Can you please open the door? I got you breakfast."

"Just leave it outside," came her voice.

"No." He responded firmly, "You didn't eat your dinner. You need to eat something now. Else you'll fall sick."

There was no response from her.

He knocked again, "I'll not leave till you open the door."

Moments later, he heard rustling of bed sheet, meaning that she was getting out of the bed. Faint footsteps approached the door and the door-knob turned, as Zoya pulled the door open.

She was in yesterday's clothes- a white top and jeans, her hair was disheveled, her face was red and her eyes, puffy from crying. She wiped her face with her palm and took the breakfast tray from him. She turned around to close the door when Aditya put his hand on it.

"Please eat something."

"I will," she sounded tired.

"In front of me," he said. He knew that once he left her, she would not eat anything. "I will leave you as soon as you do."

Zoya grumbled, "You don't get to boss me around."

"I wasn't-," he began when she cut him in, "You are no one to me, you are not my family, you are not a friend. You are practically a stranger! You have no right to tell me what to do."

"Zoya," he tried to placate her, "I know how difficult this is for you. If there is anyone who can understand what you're going through, it's me. This may seem like the end of the world but I promise you it'll get better. You will just have to let someone help you. I didn't, I shut everyone out and I regret it."