47. We Sail On The Same Boat

Arjun’s PoV

Preethi is completely upset and so is Avni. Avni never stopped crying saying that she didn't do anything wrong to upset mommy. Poor her! I can totally understand the turmoil Preethi is in. I remember very well when I lost my cool whenever I heard her name during those horrible times of my life. I never wanted to talk about it or acknowledge my hurt. She was not worthy of my feelings. All I wanted was to pretend that Anamika was never a part of my life but people just don't disappear from your lives. There are friends and relatives to bring her up all the time and once I burst out in anger that stopped them from bringing her up.

I can now understand that Preethi is in the same boat as I was once. But I can also understand Avni. Avni is a blessed kid with immense knowledge and maturity for her age. She is a very considerate kid given the situation. There is nothing wrong if Avni wants to meet up with her dad. The court order says that Nilesh can visit Avni once every month in the presence of Preethi. Since Preethi is not yet ready to face Nilesh, she has been blocking all the ways that Nilesh tries to contact her.

Preethi closed her eyes and leaned on the window of the front seat and Avni cried to sleep in the back seat. I wanted to give her some time to realize her mistake before I talk her out of it. She never spoke a word but held my hand on the gearbox and stayed quiet all the time in the car.

“Preeth, I don't think what you did was fair. Avni is a beautiful child and it was so wrong of you to scold her in a place where there are people aside from family. Imagine what she must have felt. Try to withhold yourself better. Whatever the disputes are, it is between you and your husband. It is not between Avni and her dad. Try and get it in your thick skull. You have been dodging all the requests he has been making to see Avni. She is a child and you know well that she is longing to see him. If you are not comfortable with meeting up with him, I can take Avni to meet him.” I told her as soon as we entered her room.

“I know. I am feeling terrible already and don't make it worse, Ajju. I will make it up to her and it is my fault so I have to make it right. I will take her to meet her dad. Thank you for being there for me, for us.” She said.

“Don't be so formal, Preeth. You know I will be there for you no matter what.” I reassured her.

“I know that but I also know that your wife doesn't like me very much. She displayed her hatred for me already and I don't want to aggravate it further. It will only make your life more complicated. I am actually happy about your life. I am seeing that easy, fun, charming Arjun in her presence too. So far, that side of you is exhibited only to your mom, me and Praveen. Now that she is in, I could say, you are finally happy in your life. I wish it stays that way. So I think it is time for us to give a little break.” She said, I know she is a brilliant woman and a very practical person.

“Huh, nothing escapes your eyes. Preeth, I am sorry she made you feel that way. I'm not going to lie, she does feel intimidated around you and that is because she is possessive of me. It doesn't mean she hates you. She needs time to understand our friendship. Give her that time. I am not going to give up on you for her. So don't talk about this again. Now, I know you are not yet ready to see Nilesh. You just leave it to me.”

“No, no, no. It is absolutely fine. I should face my own demons. I cannot rely on you for everything.”

“If you think you can do it, then I am fine with it. But don't just pretend that you are ok to avoid me.”

“God, no. I am really ok. One day or other, I have to do this on my own and I now feel the sooner the better.”

She is right and now more than any other time, I feel the urge to play cupid in her life. She must feel loved again. Only that can subtle down the scars of betrayal. Just like it happened to me. Only after Anika has come into my life, I feel like I am owning my life. Her love makes me forget that betrayal by Anamika. Her submission to me gives me an authority that tells me that she belongs to me. Even though she had a boy in her past, I don't blame her. It is just the age, but all I am furious about is that she conveniently hid the fact that she had a boyfriend.

Everyone has a good side and a bad side. I don't believe in heroes. One is a hero until he/she gets an opportunity. A human without a flaw is impossible and I think that love consumes everything including their flaws. Similarly Anika has her own flaws. She is an opportunist, she has a big mouth, she is very bad at choosing the right word or she doesn't know when to shut up. But besides that, she is a very straightforward person, as long as I have perceived her. She, though knows that it will make me furious, says things that flashes on her heart. I like that quality of hers.

Though I am angry at her, I could not withhold that anger whenever I see her. Though I wanted to hurt her, I could not help but feel terrible for doing that to her. I wanted to mark her mine and take her completely on the very first day but I couldn't do it without getting her consent. I felt so cheap for even thinking that she will be mine if I fuck her. But all my sanity flew through the window when Arun came to meet me. I did horrible things to her but felt awful when I realized her complete submission. I know she is in love with me at that moment.

But when I came back from my trip, I learnt that she broke my very dearest possession of mine, the beautiful fountain. I was already raging on the fact that she hid her love affair from me and it added to that burning rage. My anger drained down on her but when I realized that she mended it and is also truly in love with me, I decided to try and make it work for us. She didn't help it, she kept on saying the wrong thing and hurting Preethi.

Despite all the troubles she gives me and all the anger I get at her, I cannot deny the fact that she calms my heart. She has a magic that wipes out all my worries and tension. When I see her, all my mind and heart is filled with her and there is no distraction. I am not a fan of public displays of affection but with her I don't care about that. I love looking at her, I love the way she reacts to my looks. I love the bold side of her. She is definitely the one for me. I must find the one for Preethi to make her feel safe and loved.

I drove to Harish’s home to pick her up. I called her on the way to give her a heads up when she said she was already out to get home. I got angry when I got to know that she was ready to get on his motorcycle. I didn't like it one bit. But when I said that to her, she bounced back at me. I love that insensitive side of her. She never cares for the after effects of her reaction but, she just speaks her heart out. In fact she was right, she calls him her brother and also a childhood friend. I cannot tolerate their closeness and expect her to understand my friendship with her.

I could not admit that I was wrong to ask her that, though. I shifted the blame on my mom. She retaliated for that too and she was not wrong either. But I wanted to know the real intentions behind her behavior. If it was jealousy, I would be happy and if it was suspicion, it is my responsibility to clear the air. As I already knew, she was brilliant enough to give me a question as an answer for my question. She said she feels insecure, that results in her behavior and indirectly pointed her index finger at me for all her misdeeds. In a way she was right but I am not going to agree to it.

She wanted me to talk out my feelings so that it would be easier for her to understand me. She said talking out will solve problems but I asked her to shut it to solve all the problems for which she laughed her heart out. That laughter did the trick. I couldn't peel my eyes off of her. I felt light in the head and her laugh made my manhood rise up. She stopped when she realized I was looking at her and looked down. Her cheeks instantly turned pink and her breathing became irregular. I love that effect of me on her.

I cannot hurt this girl. She is a precious gift from god to me. I cannot punish her for a mistake she made because of immaturity. I have a past and so does she. I should let it go and make her feel more comfortable and loveable in our relationship. I must just see her love for me now rather than worrying about her past love. I took her face in my hands and made her look up at me.

“I love it when you laugh wholeheartedly. It really wipes out all the chaos in my heart. You lift my soul up with just your laughter. You are stupid but you do have a string to my heart, Anika.” I told her while seeing her eyes grow wide for every word I said. Such an expressive eyes she has. I bent down and captured her lips in mine kissing the life out of her. She is an addiction to me from which I never wish to rehabilitate.