Chapter 146 - Opening Up (1) (2/2)

Silence fell upon us. Neither I continued, nor did he say anything. Maybe, Fortune did not like the silent atmosphere as he made a growling sound at the back of his throat.

My eyes immediately went to him, and at the same time, Eshan's fingers squeezed mine in his hold as if he did not like my attention shifting to Fortune.

”What? You can't be serious Eshan!” I found the whole situation ridiculous.

”You have cynophobia.” He averted his eyes as he tried to cover up his jealousy. I would never have thought that Eshan had this side to him as well. It was surprising, truly remarkable.

Then, just to tease him, my mind suddenly suggested me an absurd idea. I wanted to see his reaction if I were to get close to Fortune. Before I could realize, I was getting up from his lap and sitting beside him.

”What?” he asked grumpily as he looked at me. I kept aside the hot water bag which had cooled down by the time. I gave Eshan a mischievous smile. I used to do that with grandpa.

Granny and I would tease him when he didn't accept things. He had a habit of checking on granny now and then. His eyes would always follow her, but he never admitted it openly. So, at one-time, granny went to our neighbors and stayed there for almost half of the day.

While grandpa's anger had hit the roof in our home, he ultimately admitted to it, and it was only then that granny returned from our neighbor's house. We had a really good time at grandpa's expense. After that, he never denied his true feelings.

”Nothing.” I giggled.

”Where are you going?” He asked when I stood up from the sofa. Fortune was lying at a couple of feet distance from me. I eyed Eshan once whose face had changed the color. He somewhere got the idea that I was up to something.

”I'm not going anywhere.” I innocently smiled at him.

I inched closer to Fortune. I just hoped that he stayed put. Arjun had said that he was the service dog. Hopefully, he would stay settled. Service dogs were trained that way. They would remain calm around patients, and that was what made them special.

”Innaya, no,” Eshan spoke from behind. I turned my head in his direction as I inched closer to Fortune.

Fortune's ears twitched as he raised his head from his paws. He tilted his head in both directions alternatively. His tail started wagging. Compared to the one who had cynophobia, my reactions were pretty normal as the distance between us gradually decreased.

Maybe, it had everything to do with the calm nature of Fortune. From yesterday, he hadn't done anything that scared me. That's why they said that you learn to deal with things when you are thrown in that spot. Perhaps, Arjun's action of leaving behind Fortune was a good idea. Maybe, just maybe, I could get over my phobia because of Fortune.

”Innaya, stop going near to him. We don't want you getting agitated, now do we?”

Eshan's voice turned a little cautious as he tried to not startle me.

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