You said Forever and Always

Chapter 10

Zayne

Today had been perfect, giving me a glimpse into what life with Naina could be like. She was wonderful, and I enjoyed spending the day with her in leisurely activities as much as I used to enjoy working with her.

When we lay together at night, I felt my heart fill with affection for her. I loved her.

"Naina?" I checked to see if she was awake.

"Hmmm?" she hummed in response.

I turned to face her. She was my wife. It shouldn't be hard to tell her this time around.

"Naina, I'll be moving to my own place next week," I started. I wanted to tell her how I felt about her, but I also knew she was with Advik, my current roommate. I had stayed here as long as I did because of her. "I don't know if I will see you once I move out."

"I'll definitely meet with you once in a while. And we have our research project that we need to work on as well," she assured me immediately.

"What if I want more than that?" I asked softly.

Silence.

Naina looked down at her fingers.

"I'll be marrying Advik next year, sir. But that doesn't mean we can't be friends."

"Naina, when I look at you and Advik, I see two people with no real connection, just forcing a relationship. You just use physical affection to patch things up... And he is just...." My words spilled out.

"I love Advik, and I don't need to justify our relationship to you," she said coldly.

"I wish you were with someone who saw you the way I do," I told her, hoping she would understand how I felt.

She held my gaze, her eyes searching mine. I stepped closer and ran my fingers along her hair. I wanted to kiss her. For a moment, it had seemed like she would let me, but then she turned away.

"Zayne, please..." she whispered. I didn't understand what she meant, but her previous playful expression had turned to one of fear.

Maybe I shouldn't have said anything. Maya had asked me not to try to make her fall in love with me, but she hadn't told me not to tell her how I felt, right? But Naina's expression told me clearly that she wasn't ready to see me that way.

"Forget I said anything," I said quickly.

"Zayne, I'm sorry," she began, her voice playing like a sad tune. "It's just too soon for me. I wish..." she paused, and I wondered if she wished she had never met that jerk. I sure wished she hadn't.

"I wish you didn't feel like that about me." It was a heavy blow. It felt like she was delivering punch after punch. I would recover, and she would punch me again. I remained quiet, not wanting to say anything that would hurt her or me.

Several beats passed.

"I'm really sorry, Zayne. I should have known. I just... I just told myself, it was just..." I didn't understand what she was on about again. But she was crying now, and I regretted saying those words to her. "I'm so sorry..." she said again.

Words continued to fail me. I loved her. Wasn't that all I had said? I hadn't asked her to love me back. Why was she crying? Is it so terrible for her to be loved by me? I was a better man than the douchebag who had broken her heart.

I wanted to remove myself from her presence. Just leave and not face her again. But Naina was hurting because of something I said. I needed to bite the bullet and be there for her.