Circle of Trust

Chapter 33

Nothing that happened around her was her fault. Then why did she feel so horrible, like she was the one who failed to understand. Varun was the only family she had and to have him angry at her nearly broke her heart.

Her eyes stung as she spent the next few minutes cleaning the kitchen. She was simply stalling, afraid to step out and face the truth. She frowned, her hands rubbing at the same clean spot on the kitchen counter. What was the truth that she dreaded?

She couldn’t doubt her husband, could she? She wasn’t one of the wives who gave in to suspicion at the slightest hint of trouble.

She wasn’t.

Varun loved her – and that was the ‘honest to God’ truth in her husband’s very own words. Was she worried about losing him?

No.

She wasn’t!

If there was one thing in this life she was absolutely sure of - it was his love for her. He was right; he never stopped professing his love for her even though he took ages to actually admit that he did.

She needed to trust his love, not question it like the way she had. No wonder, she felt horrible about the way she had behaved.

What was it her brother had always reminded her, even in the moments of abject darkness in their lives –

Love has shackles only trust can break.

Life had been hard for them, but her brother had taught her to trust. She repeated his words again and again, his soft voice echoing in her head.

“Naina…”

She swung around and was surprised to see Shiv. He being here could only mean one thing – Varun had broken his vow and invited him. Her husband had finally shown a sign of trust, and she desperately hung on to it. What was the matter with her today – she couldn’t stop getting tearful. Dropping the scrubber, she stepped forward, her eyes lighting up despite its wetness.

“Hey…” his voice oozed concern, and in two quick strides, he reached her side.

“Shiv….” Her resolve broke, and needing the comfort of a friend, she stepped into his open arms naturally, erasing the years they had spent apart.

Shiv had been her friend, had helped her cope with things she couldn’t share with anyone. Without question, he had trusted her, the kind of trust her brother had harped about.

Suddenly conscious of her surroundings, she wiped her tears with her hand that was pressed to his shirt and tried to step out of the embrace but Shiv wouldn’t let her. He simply loosened his grip but let her remain in the circle of his arms.

“Do you want me to kick his butt?” he asked, digging his chin into the top of her head.

She chuckled. “How do you know it’s him I’m crying about?”

“Wild guess.”

She sensed his smile and couldn’t stop herself from responding to the teasing tone.

“Should I?” he asked again, sounding eager to kick his best friend.

She pretended to mull it over and heard him snort from above.

“You have it bad, don’t you?” he said.

Naina nodded. Sighing heavily, she wound her arms around her friend. She had missed the comfort Shiv provided. He always knew what to say to her, how to make her smile even through her tears.

“I have missed you, Naina” he said.

“Missed you too, Shiv.”

The fridge door banged shut behind them, and Naina slid out of the hug, knowing instantly who had caused it. She was prepared for the censure in her husband’s eyes instead the raw pain she saw in their depths stole her breath. Her hand flew to her throat, and she subconsciously leaned into Shiv, who still had his arm around her.