Warrior

33

Warning: themes of trauma are covered in this chapter - reader's discretion is advised

~

Finally, when all of the partying and rituals are over with, not only am I relieved, but my in-laws are as well. Gone were all of the fake aunties, which meant I could finally be in peace, rather than deal with their jealous, beady eyes.

Not that I cared, but like come on! Find another hobby!

I sat down before the vanity and worked on removing the masterpiece that is my makeup. Arnav was busy downstairs helping the other guys to clean up a little, but he had said he would be up in ten minutes or so. At first I didn't understand why he had told me that, but then remembering the occurrences of what had happened earlier, I understood.

As I continued to remove the makeup off of my face, inwardly, I repeatedly told myself that Arnav would be entering the room soon. My eyes would repeatedly dart at the door through the mirror, darting back and forth from my face to the doorknob.

It's only Arnav, it's only Arnav! There's no need to lock the door, just wait... wait... wait-

The door opened slowly and in came Arnav. His eyes immediately landed on me and I look at him through the mirror. His look of concern is very obvious, so I flash a small smile to end it. He gives one in return, then I watch him shut the door behind him and lock it. As soon as he does it, I feel relief spread all throughout me, even though I try to not feel that way.

Arnav goes into the closet and I focus on removing the rest of my makeup. Not long later, he came out, all freshened up, changed, and ready for bed. However, he instead sits down by the coffee table and opens his laptop, and starts working on it.

"Seriously," and I can't help but to scoff.

Arnav looked up at me over his laptop. "What?"

"Are you really working right now? When it's almost time for bed?"

"There's a few emails I have to get back to," he smiled sheepishly.

Ah! ...well, there's no doubt that there's a ton waiting for me.

"I should take a page from your book," I said as I stood up.

"Mm, I'd say take it, but save it for tomorrow. You look tired."

I mean I didn't get the sleep I should've last night....

"Neither did you," I replied, crossing my arms and tilting my head.

"Touché," Arnav grinned. 'Tell you what - by the time you're all changed up and ready for bed, I'll be done with my stuff and be ready for bed as well."

"Oh? Bet."

Arnav smiled and nodded in return. "Bet."

With a small smirk on my face, I headed to the closet and grabbed my nightwear, opting for a t-shirt and pajama bottoms. I quickly changed up and freshened up as well, and when I returned to the bedroom, I find Arnav's makeshift-bed prepared on the floor, Arnav sitting on it.

"Told you," he smiled.

But I'm not amused at all. "I still hate the fact that I've kicked you off of your bed."

"Khushi, you didn't kick me off of anything. I chose to sleep on the floor, remember?"

He smiled at me, then fluffed his pillow and laid down. I quietly and slowly made my way to the left side of the bed and sat down on the edge, looking down at Arnav.