1.3 | Heartbreaks For Sale

11.

A/N:

Hello! This will be the penultimate chapter of the story so all will make sense soon enough. Go ahead and tell me what you think of this chapter. There's a lot of yelling that follows below so...caution for noise sensitivity?

cara xx

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AKSHARA WAS TEMPTED to pinch herself to check if it was real. Seth Whyte, in his avocado green jumper and blue jeans, was staring at her with a small smile.

"Kanna, you didn't tell us you have a boyfriend," Akshara's mother broke the silence. She spoke in English to make sure the two boys on the couch could understand her unhappiness if it didn't show enough on her face.

"Um..." she rubbed her hands on her jeans, trying to stall time and think of an excuse.

"Well, why don't you introduce him?"

Akshara glanced at Seth. Every cell in her body was asking her to grab him and speed off to her room. She didn't process the situation yet, or know why he was here at her house. With every second that passed by with her mother's glare on her, she felt her anger slowly climb up. This is not the time, she wanted to yell at her.

She walked around to where he sat and took his hand. "This is Seth Whyte, my boyfriend. He is from Hill Vale, his parents are divorced and are now living in two different countries and he has a sister who goes to a boarding school in the States. What more do you need to know?"

Seth was taken aback but Jasper only hid a chuckle, shaking his head. He had heard episodes of 'The Quarrels of Zim Household' exclusively and was well aware of how every argument with Mrs Zim went. Akshara's father nudged him to keep quiet.

"Lewis, keep these two company while I have a chat with your daughter," Mrs Zim said sharply and snatched her daughter's hand from Seth's. Akshara expected this reaction, especially after she heard his name. "And don't give Jasper the beetroot chips. He emptied the whole stash last time."

"Aunty, please! I drove all the way for that," Jasper whined and her father patted him, promising him snacks with a wink.

Seth only looked amused and confused.

I'll be back, Akshara mouthed to him and followed her mother into the room. She shut the door.

"What do you think you are doing?" The language switched back to Tamil. She was glad because she didn't want Jasper and Seth to know anything.

She sighed. "What did I do now?"

"Akshara, don't act smart with me. You're making me angry," she chided and then sat on the bed. Akshara leaned against the door. "I promised you I won't meddle with your love life. But what is this madness? I told your father that you weren't over Seth completely and you needed help. He didn't listen and asked me to trust you. What have you done now?"

"Is it so wrong that my ex-boyfriend and my boyfriend share the same name?" Akshara asked. She was exhausted. She had no food in her stomach and had used up all her energy crying and screaming at a stone without an ear. All she wanted to do was pretend her world wasn't tearing down and go to sleep.

"Did you go around searching for a guy with the same name? If you think that will solve everything or erase the fact that Seth died, then you're wrong. You can't replace Seth with anyone, kanna. The fact that he has the same name won't do the trick."