Sometimes Love Is Not Enough

Chapter 10

Arnav

"Did I ever tell you why I fell in love with you?" She asked without looking at me.

"Why?" I dared to ask, swallowing deeply as my heart beat at an unfathomable rate.

"Because you loved your family—your Di—more than anything in the whole world. And you were always ready to do anything for them. Especially for  Di." She replied while looking at the water before turning to face me. The moment I glanced into her eyes, they looked teary and sad. She didn't seem happy that she admitted her feelings to me. Or that she was in... love with me.
 
"Khushi, I... I love you." I said it as I felt something I couldn't put into words and grasped her hand in mine, holding it tightly with the intention of not letting go while she stared at our joined hands unblinkingly.

"I know." She murmured while resting her chin on her arm and leaning her head slightly to the right, her brown eyes weary and exhausted from crying as she stared at me.
 
"Then trust me. I didn't want to scare you. All I wanted to do was apologize. That's it. You misunderstood me." I tried to make her understand as I looked her in the eyes, wanting her to know how sorry I was. How hurt I was to see her in such pain! Such suffer!
 
"But you didn't." Her words gutted me... It felt like a punch to my already wounded heart. But it was true. I never apologized to her. All I did now and back in the living room was try to make her understand that I was not at fault. But at some point, I was. I was at fault. And I was trying to prove to her that I wasn't at fault. But truly, I was trying to prove that to myself. Because I've never made a mistake in my life. And even if I did, no one dared speak of it... But today... today I can see the impact of my actions on Khushi. Yet all she wanted was a small apology. From heart. From realization.
 
"I'm... sor..."

"It's fine. I know, you had your reasons." She cut me off as I started to apologize. She pulled her hand away from mine, stood up, and returned to bed.
 

I stared at the place where Khushi was sitting some time ago. Why did I have to switch off the lights? Why didn't I just say sorry to her? None of this would have happened. Neither would she have been afraid nor fainted. I closed my eyes and dropped my head in regret. None of this would have happened if I hadn't blamed her that day. But why did she have to say all those things to Di? She knew Di was sad and hurt... I sighed, lifted my head, and went back to bed.

I pushed her hair away from her face, then stared at her for a bit before leaning in and kissing her on the forehead. Then I took her hand in mine and decided to talk about it later in the morning before closing my eyes.

*

I worked on my laptop while waiting for her to come out of the bathroom. I'll fix everything today. I'll take care of everything. I'm not going to let misunderstandings or anything ruin our relationship. I will...
 
Khushi strolled out of the bathroom, dressed in light pink. She was looking beautiful... She always does, but today she's looking more beautiful. I stared at her as a slight smile formed on my lips as she went to the mirror while drying her hair with a towel. Then she put on earrings, bangles, and her bindi before draping her dupatta over her neck and leaving the room.

I stared at the door for a minute before realizing I was supposed to talk to her, not stare at her... Breathing deeply, I tried to focus on my work while keeping an eye on the door for her.
 

She walked in as soon as my phone rang with a call from Aman. But I ignored it and rose before gently grabbing her wrist to stop her and telling myself to stay calm.
 
"I wanted to talk to you." I stated this after she turned to face me. She nodded before pulling her hand from mine, and I glanced at her, perplexed. "What's wrong?"

"What is it that you want to say?" She asked lightly, avoiding my question.
 
"What happened? Is..." I came to an abrupt stop half-way when she stepped back just as I reached for her hand. "Why are you behaving like that?" I paused and looked her in the eyes. "I understand you're upset over last night, but... don't do this."

"I'm not upset." She said this while looking into my eyes. I felt the honesty in her words, yet there was something in her eyes that bothered me. Something that said not all things are fine.
 
"I'm... I'm sorry, Khushi." But she walked near the bed, with her back turned on me, and began folding her clothes while avoiding me.

"Listen, I..." I took a step forward and tried to speak with her calmly, but Hariprakash's voice cut me off.
 
"Bhabhi, Nani Ji is calling you." He said from
 the door.
 
"I'm coming." She turned, nodding and smiled like she always did. So, she is going to reply to him with a smile but will not even look at me?
 
I took a long breath, gritted my teeth, and said loudly, "Tell Nani, she's not coming." And I closed the door in his face before turning to Khushi, who was staring at me with her slightly widened eyes. I walked up to her before pulling her close with a bold grip around her arm.

She tried to pull her hand free from mine without looking at me. But when she failed, she closed her eyes and murmured softly before opening them again.

"Do you really think you can leave this room without talking to me?" As my anger overtook me, I asked her.
 
"Leave me."
 
"Not before you forgive me." I said it without moving my gaze away from her. If you can be stubborn, so can I. Let's see who wins.
 
"You don't have to apologize." She spoke quietly. Still not looking at me.
 
"Well... I already did." I tried to relax myself as I said it through my teeth. "Now, forgive me." But she didn't say anything.

It seems like forgiving is the last thing on her mind.