Better Together

40 | affection

She was headed to a doom again. She should have chosen to protect herself. Yet, her heart wanted to choose him. She didn't know when Aadarsh—the man who was a walking red flag, who annoyed her at the drop of hat, who hardly cared for what he had with her— had become so important in her life. She had no knowledge about why or how she had brewed feelings for him. They were just simply there.

***

Aadarsh stared at himself in the mirror while buttoning up his white shirt. His life was a mess.

At work, the tender they so badly wanted was seemingly becoming harder to grab.

At home, a storm had hit. Abhi was probably still mad at him. Yes, he and his brother had a fair share of fights, difference of opinions and fallouts. But this one seemed graver than anything before.

Ashvi was beginning to worry him too. She had to be home after three hours the previous day, but returned home after seven hours. That was after going to someplace he didn't know about yet.

Yes, she was an adult and could take her decisions. But as a brother and well-wisher, he knew her choices would take her to a doom. He knew that Ashvi lacked maturity. She was easy to influence, adamant and had little vision to see the far future.

He was scared she'd make a mess out of her life, if she got full control. Perhaps if she had grown up in the shadow of his mother, she would be more mature, more responsible and not so impulsive.

He wondered if Ashvi knew about the events of the previous day. If she did, which he was almost sure she would by now, then she would side with Abhi. She almost always did. Abhi and Ashvi fought on the most trivial matters but they would simply keep each other's side if either of them was against someone. Aadarsh was still unsure if that was healthy or messed up, but that's how Abhi and Ashvi functioned.

To add to his load, there was Vasant Sehgal and his stupid modus operandi to question his ownership of the company, and thereby all his following decisions. He had to act fast. He had to prepare his legal team for an ugly battle. Vasant Sehgal had poked and instigated a sleeping lion, he better be prepared for what was coming at him, cause he wasn't planning to go easy on the man or his family. He would make sure they'd regret coming to his house to attempt to crack his relations with his family.

He owed an apology to Badi Bua too. Badi Bua and Phupha Ji had always been by his side through thick and thin. They were there for his siblings and him when his mother passed away. Badi Bua had always gone lengths to make them all feel they had a mother figure they could reach out to. She had always treated them all like her own children.

She's the closest you have to a mother figure in your life. You hurt her also today.

And then there was Ruhaani.

Aadarsh sighed dropping his hands to his side after setting his collar. He turned to his left, staring at the spot where they had been standing last night when he had kissed her cheek.

He didn't know whether to be happy, he hadn't done anything beyond that or be mad at himself for even getting so close as to kiss her cheek.

The last time he had kissed her on the cheek it was playful, it was just to tease her. But last night was clearly more than that. He remembered everything about the last night, down to every tiny detail.

The conversation, him holding her hand, them coming close when she tripped, their almost kiss on the terrace. If Ruhaani hadn't backed off in time last night, they would have been at a point of no repair.

The prospect of being closer to Ruhaani freaked him out. He didn't want to repeat mistakes he had made in the past. Plus, he had an inkling that Ruhaani was beginning to have expectations from him. He couldn't let that happen. He had to draw the line and Ruhaani had to stop there. For her own good. The closer she'd come to him, the deeper the pain of heartbreak would be. He wouldn't budge. He was going to stick to his plan. Ruhaani was his wife, he'd give her everything she wanted but himself.