All Strings Attached

Chapter Nineteen

"No, Sita," he waves it off. "I understand, everything went down so quick, I'm sure it was overwhelming for you."

I shake my head, chuckling at how he defends me. "You didn't expect it either. You had no plans for marriage either. I'm sure you never thought of marrying me either."

"There never was the space for those thoughts," he says, "I thought you hated me."

"As if you had any inclination of romance towards me," I joke, only to realise he may have intended just that. Did he mean he never entertained the thought because I was so keen on hating him?

My neck snaps up to look at him, but Dhushyanth looks away, clearing his throat, and looks back at me.

"It wasn't that," he says, his voice sounding hollow, "there never was the space for any romantic inclination."

Oh.

"I-" I clear my throat, trying to speak louder, but it doesn't work as my voice comes out hoarse— "I didn't hate you."

"You hate who I want to be," Dhushyanth points out.

I frown, moving away from him as I wonder what he's talking about. "What do you mean?" I ask, anxiety making my heart race. Who does he want to be?

Dhushyanth's eyebrows furrow as he looks at me. "A politician," he states, obviously.

I heave a sigh of relief. "That's just your career," I realise what he's speaking about, and return to my place, settling into Dhushyanth's warmth.

"What did you think I meant?" He asks.

"I thought you meant you wanted be some kind of an unkind, heartless, ruthless, murder or something," I tell him. "A politician is so much better."

"How did you even get there?" Dhushyanth asks, sounding extremely confused.

I shrug, placing a pillow on myself. It would be so nice to have a blanket here right now. "I thought about who you are," I tell him, "and when you said I hate who you want to be, I figured it was the opposite of whoever you are, or whatever things I would hate in a person."

Dhushyanth falls silent for a good minute, making me look up at him.

"What are you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking," he begins, and pauses for dramatic effect as he looks down at me, his lips turning up in a lopsided smirk. "If the opposite of who I am is what you would hate in a person—"

Did I say that?

"— what I am now is what you would opposite of hate in a person."

"I..." I shake my head, refusing to acknowledge the rather explicit implication. "I don't know what you're talking about, I don't understand lawyer language."

"Mhm," he hums, his lips tilting upwards as he continues to look at me with an unsettling smugness.

"Hmm," I hum back, looking away from him.

~.~.~.~.~

"Sita, let me give you some ghee," my mother-in-law insists, pouring two teaspoons over my rice.

"Aunty," I try to stop her by covering my plate. Even for how much I love food, my mother-in-law seems to be never satisfied by my eating capacity. "Please."

"Aunty enti?" [What do you meant aunty?] Thathayya asks, his eyebrows furrowing into a deep frown. "As if she's the neighbour's mother. She's your husband's mother, Athayya ani piluvu." [call her Athayya]

My eyes dart to find Dhushyanth's, whose amusement does nothing for me, so I quickly look up at my mother-in-law, who also looks like she's holding back a smile.