Poles Apart

Chapter Fifty-Six

I fold my arms over my stomach. I know he's sorry, but I can't get myself to tell him it's alright. There's just something that's plainly unsettling about this entire exchange.

"But you still said it."

"I should not have," he admits, softly.

"Don't ever say it again," I tell him, trying desperately to stop my voice from quivering. I bite my lower lip to stop it from wobbling. "This marriage is precious to me; you're precious to me." I take in a deep breath to calm myself before continuing. "I don't want to hear something like that from you when I'm trying to give it my best at every moment of the day."

I can only take Arjun's word for it as he promises, "it'll never happen again."

"And about Dubai—" I hold his hand— "I'm proud of you, Junnu; so incredibly proud of you."

"Thank you," Arjun whispers, hugging me, and continuing on a hesitant note, "Are we okay?"

"I am," I confirm. "Are you?"

"I am, if you are," he affirms, kissing my forehead.

~.~.~.~.~

Arjun and I end up on the lawn outside, where Arjun leads me to a rusty, old swing. He proceeds to sit on the only piece of seating furniture, causing it to creak noisily, and I flinch, quickly reaching out to Arjun as if to save him from the fall.

"I'm fine," Arjun assures me, smiling. He pats the place next to him, inviting me to sit on the ancient swing set.

"Did this come with the house or did you have to go to any trouble to bring it here?" I mock, warily eyeing the piece of outdoor furniture.

"For someone with enough courage to dive off a cliff, this old thing sure scares you," Arjun teases back.

"Scares me because it's old," I clarify, slowly lowering myself onto the seat, first resting my palms on it before steadily placing my whole weight onto it. When the swing doesn't make a sound, I triumphantly move back in a quick action, causing it to squeak, the sound sharper than before.

Arjun laughs at my antics. "Could've just sat down normally," he suggests, and I respond grumpily, with a glare.

I try to adjust myself to sit comfortably and also prevent this old thing from making a sound when Arjun compliments, "you look beautiful."

I stop what I'm doing as the heat rushes to my face. A shocked, "huh?" leaves my mouth unintentionally.

Arjun's lips turn up into the familiar smirk I never thought I'd miss. "You look beautiful," he repeats, accentuating his words with a soft, velvety chuckle.

I look down at my clothes. I'd thrown on the first set I could find, a white kurta and grey ankle-length leggings. White, I realise-- Arjun's favourite colour.

Tucking hair behind my ear, I compose myself before moving back to lean against Arjun, not caring for the creaking of the swing.

"You haven't told me the story of the house yet," I remind him.

When I don't hear a response from him, I lean back a little, to look at his face. "Hm?" Arjun hums suddenly, seeming to have broken from a daze. "The house," he reminds himself.

I thought the daydreamer between the two of us had been me. Since when had Arjun turned into one?

"The house... like I said," he starts, distracting me from my chain of thought. "I'd bought it before Savitri left for the States," he repeats.