His Lotus

22

Deva

"Baby..." Iniya wraps her hands around my neck as soon as she notices me placing myself on my seat.
"How was your weekend??" She kisses me on my temple and questions sweetly, whereas I undo her hands and pull her to my side by holding onto her wrist.

"We are in office Iniya not in any park or something. So behave accordingly," I chastise her while raking my view over the colleagues who seem uncomfortable except Harsh who is enjoying the show.

"Deva," she whines in disapproval and  I send her an irked frown. "We will catch up during the break, now go.." I usher her away as I let go of her hands. "Fine!" She sighs and excuses herself reluctantly.

"Clingy girlfriend hm?" Harsh gains my attention with his teasy query. "Poda(just go)" I neglect him and turn on the computer to commence my work.

"How're your cousins doing Deva? Do they miss me?" I offer him an annoyed glance. "They have got better things to worry about," I shot back sternly.

"Too bad," he replies sorrowfully. "Well...what about my Thamarai, how is she doing?" I furrow my eyebrows at him. "Seriously Harsh? Even after being aware of her marriage, you still are hitting on her?" I shake my head dismissively.

"I will try my luck until she's actually married, maybe even after that..." I snap my eyes at him, presenting him with a sickened look. "You sound creepy," he just smiles back at me.

Ignoring him completely, I concentrate on my work for hours before it's time for some coffee.

In the cafeteria, I spot Lali sitting alone and approach her out of sympathy. However, preventing me from reaching towards her, out of nowhere, Iniya clings onto my arm.

"Iniya!" I hiss, but she smiles up at me, pressing her two huge balls onto my body. Fed up with her, I push her back smoothly as possible and recline on one of the chairs near Lali.

"Lali," she looks into my eyes numbly. There's no emotion in there, whatsoever. Iniya sits opposite to us, perching her elbow on the table and checking me out.

"How have you been?" She shrugs slightly at my question. "Worse," she mumbles, tiredly.

"Are you over him yet...?" She smiles sourly as she peeks at me. "I could never get over him Deva...he.." she pauses when she acknowledges Iniya's presence.

"Iniya, could you order us a cup of coffee?" She nods without hesitating and moves away.

"What happened Lali?" I lean closer, concerned. "He spent his weekend with me...he manipulated me with his words and again slept with me and I gave in," tears vacate her eyes spontaneously as she mutters that.

"And...he.." she stutters, her lips quivering. "And he isn't giving you any attention now? Right?" I complete her sentence and she nods in agreement.

"Lali...it's obvious he is using you for his enjoyment, why do you not get it?" I sigh, irritated by her attitude of giving in to him easily. "I get it Deva but I can't deny him. I really love him," I curb the urge to smack my forehead at her words. I don't know what kind of love this is!

"Lali, you are making things harder for yourself! It's not his fault alone anymore. You are literally permitting him to treat you like an object that he can use whenever he wants so," she sniffs, rubbing her eyes like a poor girl. "I can't help myself," she sobs profusely and I hold her to my chest to lend her support.

Just then, I see Harsh enter the cafeteria and look at us. He just rolls his eyes nonchalantly and goes to flirt with some random ladies.

"Here you go," Iniya brings two cups of coffee with a smile. "Thanks," I mirror her smile. "Lali, have it and relax," I forward my coffee to Lali who grips it around her fingers and sips on it gently.

Once the cafeteria time ends, I nod at Lali and leave the place with Iniya following me back. "Why is she like that Deva...? Is it that hard for her to move on from Harsh?" Iniya ponders confusedly. "We wouldn't understand her state Iniya. She seems to love him beyond her wits," I shrug.

"What's the point of loving someone who doesn't love us back?" Iniya wonders out loud and she actually has a point now even though some emotions we feel aren't controlled by our consciousness at all.

"Anyways, where shall we go today?" She quirks her eyebrows playfully. "To your apartment maybe..." She continues. "And?" I look back at her questioningly.

"We can just watch a movie, chill, and sleep," she says, feigning naiveness. "Only sleep? That doesn't seem to be your true intentions," she blushes at my comment.

"Well, you know what I meant," she responds, staring into my eyes. "I need more time Iniya. We are only two weeks into our relationship," I blurt out my thought and walk off.

"Okay! We can go to the theatre tonight then!" I cross my finger as a sign of agreement and settle myself on my respective seat.

And just like that, a day passed by.

Later, after returning to my home, I posted a status on my messenger of me and Iniya's date night in the theatre and then messaged Thamarai to inquire about her health.

She has unblocked me but doesn't reply to my texts even though she is online.

And suddenly, she goes offline and I grimace at her demeanor. Subsequently, as I check my status, I found Thamarai as the first viewer not less than a minute ago.

My mind formulated an odd theory at her action...

What If she got jealous of my relationship with Iniya and decided to not reply to me in anger?

God...I am being a bit too delusional nowadays.

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