Strangers?Or Not? ONGOING

Chapter 9

Third person POV because writing Anquit from a first person POV is too hard😪(It's better this way imo but changing everything uptil now is harder so this will have to do🤷🏻‍♀️)

2021

meanwhile in another part of the city: 

"You still love her, don't you?"

"Who?" Anquit sighed back; he knew who his fiancee was referring to but had to hear her say it. They had bid goodbye to everyone else and were heading back to their apartment in Kandivali.

"Ishvika, duh!"

"And what makes you think that?"

"Seriously? I've seen the way you look at her when she's too distracted talking to someone else. Until last month, I didn't even know her name and I might not have been able to connect the dots then but at least I can now."

He didn't know how to respond. He always tried to be inconspicuous but guess she knew him too well. His hands tightened on the steering wheel. They were almost home by now.

"I'll take that as a yes," Saishree whispered. She had been watching him. Being a therapist made her an exceptional people reader. And she knew him like the back of her hand. Maybe not all of his past but definitely his present. And all his tells. Six months is a long time to get to know someone.

Silence prevailed as they pulled into the parking lot and ascended the lift to their flat. They lived in a 2 bhk flat. No one knew but they stayed in different rooms. Thankfully both had ensuite bathrooms so all awkward moments could be avoided.

Anquit's parents had been behind him to get married for the longest time. He knew that he would never be able to fall in love with someone again and so he agreed to an arranged marriage. However, the only condition he put forward to them was that he gets to meet the woman once in a sort of date setup before the entire "Let's go to her place and have chai" drama. (chai: tea) Because he had finally agreed to at least get married, they gave in to this unusual request of his. However, as a result, many of the potential bride's families refused to let them meet like that. Or he refused after the so-called 'date'. And, in rare cases, she was the one who refused. The main reason behind this arrangement, which he refused to disclose to anyone, was that he wanted to make it clear that he will never be able to fall in love with her and he's only getting married to keep up appearances. He would, in public, do everything to not let anyone doubt their relationship but she should not expect anything more than friendship from him otherwise. Saishree was the first person to agree to such an arrangement. She was very understanding of his proposal and did not even try to question why. He knew then that he had found someone reliable who he may be able to love as a friend or confidante, but never more than that. It was never really clear to him why she would agree to be in a loveless marriage but who was he to question her. Their five months of courtship so far had brought them closer than ever before and no one doubted their love for each other. The relation they shared was that of best friends; but for anyone looking in from the outside, there would be no doubt that they were hopelessly in love with each other. Saishree had had a profile on matrimonial websites, but it was strange that her parents weren't the ones who'd made it. It was her distant aunt and uncle; with whom she also stayed. Anquit's family had, in fact, visited her there. His parents were a little skeptical about getting them married without her parents' permission. But with a little bit of coaxing from Anquit as well as Saishree's family, they had agreed.

The lift dinged to announce their arrival on their floor. They were finally back home. The both of them got freshened up in their respective rooms. Saishree was just preparing to go to bed, even though she wasn't really sleepy, when there was a knock on the door.