22. I Love You
Love hurts, you know.

"Let's talk."

Ashar handed me a cup of green tea.

I sighed and sipped on my tea wordlessly.

He gestured me to take a seat on the plain white bench that usually sat alone in the backyard. Today was its lucky day. Ashar sat down by my side with a cup of something in his own hands. From what my nose told me, it was coffee.

"You can't get mad at me," he said.

"I'm—"

"Because I'm your one and only husband," he finished.

"Fake husband," I corrected.

"You can't get mad at me because I'm your one and only fake husband," he corrected. "Better?"

I rolled my eyes. "Why are you here?"

"Isn't the husband supposed to come and apologize after upsetting his wife?" he asked and sipped his coffee with a slight smile. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

I cocked an eyebrow. "I've never been married before and you don't look sorry. Is the wife supposed to forgive?"

He nodded seriously. "And then they live happily ever after."

I met his eyes. "Until the divorce." It was the first time in a while we were touching this topic.

He held my gaze and nodded in agreement.

"If you don't mind me asking, did you tell your sister you'll never fall in love again?" I asked cautiously.

His cup paused halfway to his lips. Steam met his face and he brought his cup down. It was something that had been sitting in the back of my mind.

"What did Aara tell you?" he asked staring at his coffee.

"How you like me but maybe not love me," I said trying to lighten his mood. I wanted to avoid bringing up about his deceased mom or his past. "C'mon Ashar, haven't you watched any movies? You're supposed to fall in love . . . with me."

I was joking but he didn't seem to take it lightly.

His face was unreadable. "Love is not what movies make it out to be."

"How dare you make an accusation against films?" I said not at all serious. "Honestly Ashar, I haven't ever fallen in love and if it's not like what it is in movies, I'm going to die."

He scoffed. "It's better to die than fall for someone."

I sipped my tea. "Oh, so you were the one who got dumped. It's okay. Plenty of fish in the sea. No need to be salty."

Of course, I already knew his girlfriend broke the engagement for some reason. I didn't want to see him moping about it. It bothered me why she would leave him if she was as poor as him? Maybe she was richer. But even then, why would she dump him a month after his mother's death? That was cruel even on my standards.

"When you fall in love," he said, "we'll see who's salty."

I chuckled as he rose from his seat. "I don't think that'll ever happen. Men have a hard time seeing past my fortune and assets. Someone falling for me me is wishful thinking."

"You misunderstood. What if you fell for someone?" he asked with his head lightly tilted.

The light from the sunset touched his eyes and face to make it handsome as if he had timed it personally. The way he was looking at me was how I wanted someone I loved to look at me.

Casually, softly, beautifully—all the attention on me. I wondered how it'd feel to be close to someone and not just physically. I thought hard about his question.

"If I fell for someone, I'd keep telling him until he agrees to spend the rest of his life with me," I told him as I stood up.

"So you'll harass him?"

"I've already gone to jail once. It's better to visit in the name of love." I gave him a wink.

He laughed.

For once, I had a pleasant feeling in my heart. It was sweet sitting there with him with a kind smile. He sort of looked handsome when he smiled or laughed. There was a honesty in his eyes that he wasn't faking his behavior.

He was different from the men I had met before.

Not like the rich idiots Mom introduced me to on my birthday.

It was hard having everything in life yet still feeling empty.

I didn't feel so empty now.

* * *

Aara returned to school with her new glow up during suspension. I helped her choose a black a-line dress with a frill back. It had the Louis Vuitton logo on the belt. She had a matching thick LV coat with black suede pumps from my closet. Her silver hoop earrings matching the silver zipper of her dress and coat.

"You look stunning," I told her as I fixed her curled hair. "Make sure not to talk to anyone unless absolutely necessary. The less you talk the more people want to hear you speak."

She nodded. "Thank you. Wish me luck."

"Good luck."

Ashar joined us as he was dropping her off today. He needed to drop off a written apology promising the incident would not repeat so that Aara could rejoin after suspension.

"Let's go," he told his sister.

As I had nothing better to do, I decided to see them off to the front door. Neither one noted my new action and I figured I could do this more often.

It felt heart warming. I always wished my mom or my dad would see me off. It rarely ever happened. Maybe once in my lifetime. Having working parents was tough.

"Make sure to meet up with Jhanvi," Ashar said in a lowered voice. I had forgotten about my cousin. "She needs you."

I nodded.

Aara gave me a mini hug at the door which surprised me. Ashar seemed hesitant to make a move. We were trying to prove we were a couple in front of her.

"I love you," Ashar said looking dead straight into my eyes.

I blinked back at him frozen in my spot. Aara made a gagging sound before dragging her brother away. I vaguely heard her complain about too much display of affection as I shut the front door.

Did Ashar tell me he loved me?

Were my ears ringing?

Aara heard him too though.

He must've said it to please her. After all, I had told him yesterday she thinks he likes me not loves me. Of course! That made more sense than him catching feelings for me. As if that would happen. He was still agonizing over his ex fiancée. Why would he love me anyway? I've treated him worse than anyone I've ever encountered. Okay, maybe not as bad as Cecily.

I hadn't realized I was walking in a random direction when I stubbed my pinky toe in the sofa.

I cursed loudly.

"Are you okay?" Cecily asked. She was picking up some plates on the dining table a few feet away.

"I'm okay," I mumbled.

An awkward spell of silence fell between us as neither one of us knew what the other wanted. I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from telling her to piss off.

My mind kept playing back Ashar's words despite the pain in my foot. I reprimanded myself for taking him seriously. Ten men before him had told me they loved me. Yes, I knew they saw my bank balance. I barely spared them a glance.

Ashar was . . . different.

He wasn't money hungry. I could see how much he valued his family and his relationships. The way he had fought for Cecily's hand the day we first met. The way he remained stuck to his sisters. Playing with them in the snow or hugging them whenever they saw each other after school.

Maybe I should listen to him about Jhanvi and give her a chance.

I huffed out loud. I hated him for being right!

I texted Jhanvi if she had time to meet up today. She replied within a minute saying she was free. We decided to meet at my mother's restaurant for lunch. I hadn't gone there since the day I accidentally spilled soup on Cecily.

When I arrived there, the staff had mostly changed from two months ago. Mom had probably fired every single person here that day. I felt a pang in my heart for being responsible for people losing their jobs. Then again, they didn't have to go to jail. I did. It was a horrible experience on my birthday!

I tried not to dwell on the past as I took a seat in the balcony area which was sealed by glass walls. The high temperature inside and the low temperature outside made it difficult to see through the mist on the glass.

Jhanvi entered five minutes afterwards wearing a classy beige trench coat that looked snug. Her cheeks were flushed from the cold. The bags under her eyes were more pronounced than last time. She even looked like she had gained a few pounds when she removed her coat and placed it on her chair.

She sat down without a greeting.

"How are you?" I asked for the sake of formality.

"Do you care?" she asked and flipped open the menu.

"Not exactly," I responded.

The waiter brought us appetizers and took our order, leaving us to sit in pin drop silence.

"What did you want to talk about?" Jhanvi asked breaking the ice.

"Our last interaction wasn't that . . . Look, we aren't on the best terms," I told her directly. "I know you loved Sunny and if he decided to cheat on you still, it's his loss. If you want any help from me, I'm available."

She raised an eyebrow. "What's with the sudden change of heart? I thought your film was more important."

"I quit."

"So you're indulging in charity in the meantime?"

I narrowed my eyes. "You're not charity. You told me we are family . . . and I'm trying here."

"Dad was right. Ashar turned out to be a good influence on you," she said leaning back in her chair.

I didn't know how to respond. Thankfully, the waiter brought the food to shift our focus.

"Did you meet me last time to tell me about your divorce or was there anything else you wanted to talk about?" I asked her.

"I heard he met you a few times post that party," she said. "I wanted to know if he had something to say."

I almost laughed at how pathetic she was. "Do you really think Sunny came to meet me to tell me how much he loves you and how he's dying for your forgiveness?"

"What did he want?" she asked, deepening the lines on her forehead. "He's never gone out of his way to meet you before."

I thought hard about every time Sunny had come to my house to meet me.

"Actually, he did mention something about amending his relationship with you and I told him to meet me at a spa," I told her.

"Did you meet him at a spa?"

"No, I completely forgot," I replied. When her face fell, I added, "He misbehaved with me at a club a few days later. I didn't keep in touch with him whatsoever."

"Misbehave? How?" she asked.

"He was drunk. I was drunk. I don't remember much except for leaving there fast," I told her quickly. It felt disgusting to tell her that her husband called me a "daunting beauty." "Honestly, I fully support your decision in divorce."

She nodded wordlessly. Something glazed over her eyes as she fell into deep thought. She had barely touched her soup while I was halfway through my salad.

I tapped her plate with my fork to bring her back to life.

"Sorry," she said and quickly scooped some of the steaming hot soup into her mouth. She gasped immediately as her mouth burned.

"Be careful!"

I quickly handed her a glass of water. Tears cascaded down her cheeks as she gulped down cold water. I wasn't sure if it was due to the soup or her love life.

"I deserve this, don't I?" she said bitterly. "Everything that is happening is my fault because I was too busy with my career. I let everyone including you get away from me, so I could expand my stupid business. All this money and no one to stand by my side. Why am I such a loser? I wish I was dead!"

"Don't say that."

I pulled my chair next to hers and handed her a napkin. She wiped her face and broke down further. Instead of saying anything, I held her and let her lean her forehead on my shoulder. She cried her heart out while I caressed her hair soothingly. Her mother had passed away when she was born and my mother wasn't the emotional type. We had each other growing up but once she started college, differences started. The physical distance increased the distance between us.

"Can you help me?" she asked through her sobs.

"With what?"

"Help me gather evidence against him."

I looked into her bloodshot eyes and knew I had to make a huge decision.

Ashar was right. She was family.

I fixed her hair and nodded.

Papa would be proud of me.

* * *

A/N

Sorry for delays. I work 6:30-3pm and then class from 4-7. I get barely any time to write nowadays.

What do you think?

Is Ano changing?

I hope you like the story so far.

Please vote/comment!! It gives me motivation to write.

How is life and CoVID?

—K-K-Kiran