The One I Cannot Have

Chapter 39: I'm still not tired of loving somebody who's not mine

I went to the washroom to wash my face, trying to compose myself. It had to be washed After all those tears dried on my face.

As I dried my face with a towel, I looked at myself in the mirror and stepped out of the bathroom. That's when I saw Abhimanyu standing right beside the door.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, trying to hide everything I was going through.

"I was just checking if you're okay," he replied, looking concerned.

"I'm fine," I said, although my voice betrayed me, cracking slightly.

Abhimanyu didn't seem convinced. "Are you sure?" he asked. "You don't look like"

"What do you see?" I asked. When I realized he wouldn't go until I let him know.

"See, I don't want to assume things like all the people are doing right now. I just want to know things from you" he said and I remained silent.

"Come on. Tell me. There's nothing to hide anymore. I'm your friend" After hearing everything from my mouth he is still calling me his friend. This is straight friend-zoning someone before being proposed to.

I couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment when Abhimanyu referred to me as "just a friend" after I had poured my heart out to him in front of everyone, in front of cameras live telecasting my confession. It was almost like he didn't understand the gravity of what I had just shared with him. I mean, I had just confessed to being in love with someone I met after 9 years, serving time in prison for him, and then the dumb guy still calling himself my friend.

Abhimanyu continued to refer to me as his friend. It was like he was completely oblivious to the fact that I had just bared my soul to him and that his response could have a huge impact on how I was feeling. Or maybe he is teasing me.

Despite the efforts he made throughout the day to make me feel good after my bail, his final comment left me feeling irritated. It seemed baseless, considering how he treated me the entire day. He had taken me to a quiet place in nature and brought all my favorite dishes. He had even arranged a room with all my essentials to make sure I felt comfortable. But now, at the end of the day, he was referring to himself as my friend. I couldn't help but wonder why he would do that, especially after all the beautiful gestures he had made earlier.

I felt like he was friend-zoning me thinking I will propose to him now. I mean, at least he could have addressed himself as my crush or someone I'm in love with, right? We are this Frank at least. Maybe he was just being polite, or maybe he was scared that I will propose to him and he will find it hard to answer. I wasn't going to propose to him. I made it clear in the courtroom, in front of everyone. Whatever it was, I couldn't shake off the feeling of disappointment.

"In what thoughts are you lost?" Abhimanyu snapped in front of me and I tried to look normal.

"I called my office, my boss," I said what he was trying to know earlier because I couldn't say what I was thinking right now.

Abhimanyu nodded in understanding and pulled me to the bed to make me sit and talk. "now continue" his expression turned serious as he listened to me speak.

"It's not great" I started.

"What did your boss say?" he asked after a moment, his voice soft and gentle.

"The higher authority fired me. They said they can't wait for the case to close neither they can keep someone with criminal records."

"I'm sorry. Was your Boss rude to you?" He asked.

"No, he has always been good to me. He even tried to talk from my side but he failed. He said that he would help me find a job once everything is sorted out," I replied trying to make the situation look right.