Chapter 122 - Fluffy Ball Of Fur (1/2)

|Innaya|

Two pairs of eyes locked in a fierce battle continued the staring competition without any break. Now, one might wonder who those eyes belonged. Contrary to the normal expectation, it was not Eshan.

I would have loved to engage in gazing at Eshan's deep molten orbs, but sadly it was not the case. Perched up on the sofa chair with my knees tucked underneath I stared ahead consciously. At around ten feet distance from me, there laid a reason for my misery, innocently.

Innocently? Did I just think that the fluffy ball of fur looking at me with those big eyes was innocent? I must be losing my mind to think that. But as I continued looking at him, there was that slowly spreading feeling of liking towards the dog. His lack of aggressive behavior must have something to do with it.

I regarded Fortune warily. He did not do anything harmless. He did not even try to approach me as if he was already taught by Eshan to stay away from me.

After Arjun abruptly left in the morning, Eshan also locked himself in his study. Something bothered him, and he brushed it off making up excuses for not feeling well. I knew Arjun's departure worried him. It was written on his face, he just did not realize that. From bits and pieces of Arjun's conversations so far, I knew he also had some terrible past. Otherwise, he would not have guessed my condition.

Imagining Arjun going through something terrible that had left a big wound on him; I felt heartache in my heart for him. From my own experience, I knew how hard it was to deal with aftereffects of the trauma. I just prayed that he was okay and he too gets someone in his life that would help him move on. Eshan and I were there for him.

However, it was not the same. As my life partner, Eshan had that love, understanding, patience, and respect for me. I wanted the same for Arjun, too. Kind of emotional safety a partner could provide would not be compared to that of what anyone else could offer.

Eshan knew about Arjun's past, and it would be very wrong on my part to ask him about it. I just prayed that Arjun would be okay and he returned safe and sound to us.

Fortune whined tilting his head on his paws. I wondered if he did that because, for a minute or so, my attention had shifted from him as I thought about Arjun.

”Do you think Arjun is in some kind of trouble?” I asked him about his owner. I realize my mistake after the question was out. Was I trying to communicate with a dog who I did not know? Dogs could understand human emotions and gestures. However, the possibility of understanding a stranger sounded weird to even my ears. I shook my head, thinking about my weirdness but, the idea of talking to Fortune seemed quite appealing. Back then I had searched ways for overcoming my cynophobia. One of them was to watch videos of dogs, and assure myself that not every dog out there would attack me.

Somewhere I had gotten over it and learned to handle my anxiety. That was also the reason that I could stay without breaking into a run before Fortune. My eyes from time to time glanced at stairs, waiting for Eshan to leave his study.