Chapter 187 - Didnt seem like you two love each other. (1/2)

|Innaya|

No one can predict what will happen in the future. I never thought that we would have this day in our life after what we went through. Nothing is permanent. Everything is temporary. I had seen his friends. They were never good news for me. Did I not have a very good experience? Sahil. Sameer. Barun. Karan. Mark. They all were in one way or another, Eshan's friends. I wondered how this friend of his going to turn into.

My hands, busy cutting onions, had no guidance of my eyes which furiously refused to leave the sight of Eshan. I could see his cheerful figure sitting on the couch in the hall right in front of me. With his friend, Ayesha.

Ayesha was apparently Eshan's childhood friend. She was ten when her family migrated to the US. She had appeared early in the morning at 4.30 AM when Eshan was deep in sleep. My weak slumber most of the time kept me on alert so I had quickly moved down to attend the visitor before the doorbell could wake Eshan up. She had a huge bouquet of red roses in her one hand and a large gift-wrapped box in another.

I was certainly taken aback when my gaze fell upon her for the first time. It was a little unexpected to have a lady come to their place with a romantic gesture. At first, I had thought I was thinking too much along the romantic lines. I had politely asked who she was and her first question was - who I was.

I wouldn't lie. It affected me a bit that she was asking about my identity in my own home rather than telling hers. The roses and the gift in her hand were already not helping me keep my sanity. Something about her and something about them felt off. Oddly off. I had mentally smacked myself for even thinking the same.

I hadn't missed the way her mouth had fallen open and her eyes had held the sheer disbelief in them as if she just did not want to accept that I was Eshan's wife, but she had quickly covered it up with a smile and let me know that she was Eshan's friend and was there to meet him.

I hadn't missed the surprise on Eshan's face either when I had woke him up, reasoning that there was a female friend of his who was over, after making her sit in the hall. He had scratched the back of his head, figuring out who it could be as she hadn't even told me her name.

By the time Eshan and I had walked down, we found her pacing in the Hall. Eshan had still looked clueless to me as if he didn't recognize her.

It wasn't unless she uttered Shan, Eshan seemed to have suddenly brightened up. He had rushed forward to engulf her in a hug and I... had not liked it. Though I felt it was awful of me to react mentally the way I did, I couldn't help it. If I did not like it, then I didn't. I was slowly learning to let go of denial and that was why I was accepting the reality that having Eshan that close to a woman did not please me.

Back then, when I had been ridiculous and accused him of having a relationship with some other woman, I hadn't felt this way. I was hurt then. I had felt cheated. The feelings were unhealthy and I knew it.

Now, it wasn't the same case. Despite the fact that I did not like the closeness Eshan shared with Ayesha, the emotion of being cheated wasn't even in the deepest corner of my heart.

Was I getting jealous?

”Ah,” I winced in pain. As I looked down, I felt nauseated at the blood on the onions. Since my eyes weren't in coordination with my hands, I ended up cutting my own finger.

”Innaya.”

I heard Eshan's scream as he left Ayesha and ran in the kitchen. I witnessed the same concern in his eyes that I always did when I was hurt and Eshan was around. I felt better. The pain was no longer on my mind. Having Eshan holding my hand tenderly had me forget every bit of the pain.

”Why can't you be careful?”

He dragged me to the sink and ran my finger under the cold water. Even his scolding made me feel so good that I began contemplating if I was becoming mentally unstable.

”I... am... okay,” I stammered, taking my hand back from Eshan after glancing at Ayesha who had also come up to us. The moment I did that, his muscles stiffened and watching it broke me like it had been breaking me for the past month.

The unsaid, invisible barrier that Eshan had created between us had been tearing me apart little by little.