Solace

|7| meet

Taking small steps, I walked towards him, but my legs felt like jelly, ready to give way at any moment.

Upon reaching the car, I saw Shivani and Roshni climbing into the backseat.

I had no alternative but to take a seat beside him. I shot an irritated look to Shivani, she responded with an innocent gaze.

As though I were oblivious to her unmistakable innocence.

As I sat at the front, he also got in and took the driver's seat. No words were exchanged-no greetings, no hellos. We didn't even look at each other, or perhaps he was looking, but I couldn't discern due to his sunglasses.

I snapped out of my thoughts when I felt his gaze on me. Slowly, I turned my gaze towards him. He had removed his sunglasses.

Looking into his eyes, I found them deep, like oceans where I could easily loose myself.

We maintained eye contact for a few more seconds until we broke it, hearing Roshni and Shivani giggling from the back seat.

"Bhai, aren't we getting late anymore? Should I tell, Ma that today, Bhai and Bhabhi are busy, looking at each other? We can do the shopping tomorrow," Roshni teased.

"Don't talk much, Roshni, and stop blabbering. Nidhi, put on your seatbelt," Vaibhav ordered.

His voice was deep, like Mariana trench, yet gentle. I felt a shiver down my spine, due to nervousness, and murmured, "Yes, I am sorry, seatbelt."

I quickly realized what I said and corrected myself, "I mean, yes, seatbelt," while fastening it.

Seeing my nervousness, he smiled a little and started the car, and pulled it in driveway.

Afterward, we didn't say anything. He was busy driving, and Roshni and Shivani were chatting. I was occupied looking outside the slightly opened car window.

"We should have a Sangeet, Haldi, and Mehendi, different functions. Right, Shivani di?" Roshni exclaimed in excitement.

I came out of my thoughts when Vaibhav said, "No, Shivani and Roshni, there will not be many functions. I don't want to pressurize uncle. It has been a few days since he got discharged from the hospital. It would be better if he takes rest as much as possible. A simple wedding will be nice. We can have a grand reception in Mumbai, but for the wedding, we should keep it simple."

"I am sorry; I totally forgot about it," Roshni said in an apologetic tone.

Hearing his concern towards my father made my heart skip a beat, I felt a sense of happiness. However, I didn't show any emotions, neither did I look at him.

After how Rohit broke my trust, it was not easy for me to trust someone so easily. I glanced at him from the corner of my eyes. He was engrossed in driving, his face emotionless, and his hands firmly holding the steering wheel. His hands were strong, veins showing from his wrist to his forearms and hiding under his T-shirt.

Realizing, what I was doing, I felt a little ashamed and turned my face to the other side. I spent half an hour of the drive looking out of the window.

When we reached, he stopped the car and said, "You all go. I will come after parking the car. First, we will buy the clothes, then we will go for jewelry. It won't be safe to roam here and there with expensive jewelry," Vaibhav said without looking at me. Then he glanced at me for a few seconds, and even I looked at him. But I broke the eye contact, feeling timid, and quickly came out of the car.