The Boundaries of Love

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~~Not edited~~

"Thank you." I try to smile at the server, who is pouring tea very gently in my cup for the second time. I turn my concentration towards the man sitting in front of me. His green eyes warm and understanding. "I still don't understand why you are here to talk to me!"

"You know, Suman." He tears the sugar sachet, "and secondly, I am his friend. I have the right." Mixing the sugar into his tea with a spoon, "He is not okay and you need to know that."

I sigh. After Shravan declared how he would do anything to make me stay in his life, I won't lie, I freaked out big time. I asked him to give me some time to process with all the 'happenings', which he grudgingly accepted. Since then, we talk only when it's absolutely necessary, and that means rarely. The exchanges of our messages strictly maintain the basic courtesy questions, like 'how are you', or 'How was your day'. Both the families understood there is something that's not okay between us but for some reasons they had decided not to meddle, all they know is we are taking it slow.

"He asked you to come here?" I ask unimpressed.

"No. He doesn't know." Akshay leans forward, "But, I am intrigued, what exactly are you thinking?"

"See," I copy his stance, "I am not okay with all the complications that he brings in my life, I love him, but I love my family too. I cannot jeopardise their lives just because I fell in love with him. Roaming the city with two bodyguards tailing me always, I can't really handle it."

"It's four now." He smiles.

"Sorry?!"

"I said, it's four now. Four bodyguards." he tilts his head, "If you thought not talking to him is going to solve your problems then you are wrong. More you push him away, the more he will come back to you."

"But this is . . . this is . . ." I fumble with the words. I fell in love with the man who was ready to respect others' decisions. but now that I see, I see a different man.

Shaking his head Akshay sighs, "You just don't want to understand, do you?" he thins his lips, "It's not like, Shravan has appointed bodyguards only for you and your family. He did the same with his family too. That's how he works, he would do anything to assure the safety of his loved ones." I open my mouth to argue, but he nods, "And there is one for me too, even when I already had one."

"You had?"

"Triumph Electronics; does that name ring any bell, well, I own that."

"You mean," I gape at him. All this while I am sitting in front of the owner of one of the leading electronic companies of this country. I sigh, of course. I should have thought about it. Shravan and Akshay are friends. I vaguely remember, Shravan once told me Akshay is supremely intelligent as he went to oxford university for his engineering. I don't know why I didn't ask him about what he does. "I shouldn't be surprised." I take a sip from my cup, "But that doesn't mean, he would go this far. I can't even recognise him. He was a different man when I fell in love with him, now he is just one of those men who want to control others' lives. look, I am not asking him to not care, all I am asking is to let me know what's happening."

"That's the problem here. Shravan was, or I should say is like that. He cares too much, sometimes that suffocates others, and again which he doesn't understand." He nods, "You two fell in love, but didn't take the time to understand each other. If you start running without knowing how to walk properly, then definitely you are going to fall off the mark." Akshay looks at me with his piercing green eyes, "You need to give him a chance, Suman. He deserves that as you and I both know he is indeed a good man. Get to know each other, try to understand his point of view, or rather try to make him understand your point of view. Being in a relationship is not always all flowers, there will be thorns too. Because Suman, when love itself is boundary-less, it does come with boundaries, and you need to work hard to keep those boundaries at bay."