Chapter 231 - Why can’t you think about yourself?

|Innaya|

We gave chance to others to create misunderstandings between us. If not for us lacking in communication, such a wide gap would not appear in-between us. Of course, I should not deny that I had given them that chance. Had Karan not found me that day, the current misunderstanding would never have happened.

Karan had threatened me that day, saying he would call Eshan. But, I had not divulged any information about what had happened. I had just made an excuse of missing grandpa and Eshan. He had bought my lies. Perhaps, he had acted that day before me because after hearing Eshan say that Karan had contacted him, I realized it was nothing but an act. Act to deceive me. 

"Eshan, I did not tell him anything," I emphasized again, taking his face in my hands. He repeatedly apologized, muttering things. Caressing his jaw with my thumb, I raised his face. He stopped his apology, staring blankly at me.

"What's between us will always stay between us," I confessed, looking in those brown eyes filled with tears. Leaning down, I touched his forehead with mine. I closed my eyes.

"I believe you. It's just that- forget it." Eshan shook his head before he went silent.

Suddenly I felt like laughing. So much or heartache, so much of pain, so much of struggle, so much of hurting each other… for what? What did we gain out of it? What did we achieve? The truth about this whole fiasco was still a mystery to me. I wanted to know. While staying like this, so close to him, connected, I had an impulse to forget everything. But, then it would come to haunt me sometime later in the future.

"When did you plan this thing out? Your mother-" I stopped abruptly. I had no idea what thoughts I harbored about his mother.

Eshan held my hands on his cheeks before bringing them down and pulled his head back. At the loss of contact, I opened my eyes.

Interlocking his fingers with my own, he raised our joined hands close to his face. His soft lips brushed across my palm, giving rise to a feeling I could not name. It had to be the most ridiculous thing, that we were sorting our problems in the bathroom. There were so many places in this big house where we could have sat comfortably, but in the end, things had to turn out this way.

"I was never part of her plan. I got a clear picture of everything today," Eshan said.

"Then what about Karan?" I asked. 

That madman had still gone ahead and called Eshan, despite clearly telling him not to. Knowing information from a person who had once kidnapped his wife would not sound good to anyone. They even had deep unsolved disputes in-between them. Ah! Had I known Karan would create more troubles, I would have smashed things in his house.

Eshan shook his head. "We'll talk about everything later. Let's get you cleaned up. Mom and dad are waiting for us," he replied, choosing to not start Karan's topic now. 

His parents? I had forgotten about them. Why were they waiting for us?

"Waiting for us? I-I…" I stammered clenching and unclenching my fist.

Eshan smiled, patting on my arms. "Don't worry. They won't hurt you. But, I can't say the same about me. I might end up receiving a good beating and earful of a lecture from dad," Eshan smiled as he stood up.

The nervousness of meeting my in-laws and in such kind of situation made me feel jittery. How would I face the woman, who had called me characterless? 

Those accusations, those hurting words, those scornful eyes looking at me with disgust, it all came to me. And, those photos? How could I forget about them? I panicked. Even matter of my supposedly alleged affair could be handle once, but if those manipulated nude shots were to be get publicized... everything would be over.

"Eshan, those photos…" I gripped his shirt. Recalling that nude photo sent shivers down my spine. We knew the truth, but others did not. What if people post the photo on the internet. In this era of technology, manipulating things was a child's play. I shuddered involuntarily thinking about the consequences.

My trembling body was engulfed, and I could feel Eshan's warmth holding me in his embrace. Wrapping my hands around his waist, I clasped them behind his back. The severity of the situation was making it hard for me to breathe. I breathed deeply, telling myself to calm down. 

"Aah…" I flinched in pain when Eshan rubbed his palm on my shoulder. It was the place where I had gotten hit by the purse.

"What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing." I stammered.

"Innaya? We should stop hiding things from each other," Eshan said.

I looked down, guiltily. If I told him about the reason why it hurt, would he not get angry at his mother?

Before I could decide what I would do, Eshan walked behind me. I did not realize when he took hold of the zipper of the dress, pulled it down all the way to my waist.

I gasped, feeling startled when a cold air greeted my bare flesh. What was he doing? What situation was we in? Was today called- 'weirdest day?'

He pressed his warm palm on the unconcealed skin of my back, abruptly breaking all my thoughts. The skin to skin contact, when he could see my almost bare back sent shivers through my spine. 

"Stop moving around."

Eshan sounded crestfallen, and his palm exerted a little more force than before. "You should have let the nurse take a look."

"It's nothing." I shook my head, reaching for his palm on my back. I patted it twice. It should be nothing more than some slight abrasion. While I secretly wished he could take his hand, and his eyes away. Quite often if we got hit, the place would be painful for a while. Here, his mother had used full force while throwing her clutch at Fortune.

"It's bleeding," Eshan said. 

"Oh!" Why would it bleed? I frowned. Why Eshan's mother would try to hurt Fortune puzzled me.

"Why can't you think about yourself?" Eshan grumbled. His fingertips moved around in a leisure manner across my skin. 

"I have you to think about me," I replied even before realizing. The answer came naturally. I had him. No one in this world would think and care about me as much as he did.

"You… forget it. Stay here, I'll take care of it."

"You've to take care of a lot of things," I whispered, recalling the mess that was still unsorted.

***

unedited