Mujhe Pyaar Hua Tha~ Short Stories Collection

6

Author's POV

After the launch party and dinner, they returned to their hotel room, the weight of the night lingering in the air. Saisha walked in first, tossing her bag onto the couch. As she turned around, her gaze fell on Ivaan, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, his posture tense, his thoughts clearly elsewhere.

She raised an eyebrow, a playful smile tugging at her lips. "Had enough?" she asked jokingly, referring to his confrontation with her marketing head, Gaurav. She was expecting a witty comeback, something to break the tension, but Ivaan didn't respond. His silence stretched on, and it made her uneasy.

Ivaan didn't say a word as he stood up slowly. The room seemed to close in around them as he walked toward her. Saisha froze, her heart beating a little faster. He didn't stop; he sat on the floor between her legs as she remained on the couch. His face was hard to read, his expression clouded with a storm she couldn't understand.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked softly, her voice tinged with concern. "You were fine this morning, Ivaan. What happened?"

Ivaan looked up at her, and for a moment, his eyes softened, almost as if he was torn. He let out a heavy breath before speaking. "It's about the book, Saisha. It's about Anami."

Saisha's heart skipped a beat at the mention of the name. She had known this conversation was coming. She had seen the way he had looked at her during the dinner, his mind clearly elsewhere. She waited for him to continue.

"I don't know what's going on in my head," Ivaan murmured. "Anami... she feels so real, and yet I know she's just a character. But sometimes, she reminds me of you, Saisha. It's like she's you, but she's not. She's different. And it's been messing with my head for days. I keep thinking about her, comparing her to you, and I don't know why. I hate that I can't get her out of my mind."

Saisha's eyes softened, and she reached out, her hand brushing his hair gently. She understood the confusion in his voice—the guilt, the frustration. She knew this moment had to come. "Ivaan," she said, her voice tender but firm. "Did you feel something for her? For Anami?"

Ivaan hesitated, his gaze dropping to the floor as if searching for an answer that didn't exist. "I... I don't know. It's just that sometimes, she seemed so much like you. Her words, the way she spoke... it was like I was reading your soul in someone else's voice."

Saisha's breath caught in her throat. She had never expected to hear him say it like that. The words were harsh, but they weren't meant to hurt her. They were the words of a man who was tangled in his own emotions.

She moved closer to him, kneeling beside him, her voice softening. "Ivaan, that book... it wasn't just a story. It was for you. It was for us."

Ivaan looked at her, confused. "For us?"

Saisha nodded, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "Yes. I wrote it for you. From the dialogues to the book cover... I did everything. I even contacted that popular book publisher to help me get it published. That book... it was a gift for our first wedding anniversary."

Ivaan blinked, stunned by her revelation. "You wrote it for me?"

She nodded, her eyes glistening with emotion. "Yes. I wanted to tell you things I couldn't say out loud. The words I couldn't speak, I put them into Anami's story. The little girl, the one who had her first boyfriend at the age of sixteen, she was me, Ivaan. And the book? That was for you. For my husband. To tell you that the little Anami grew into your Sai... or Saish. But truly, I belong to you. Always."

Ivaan's chest tightened at her words, the weight of her confession settling deep in his heart. He hadn't known, hadn't realized how much she had poured into the book, into the story. He had been so caught up in his own confusion that he hadn't seen the bigger picture.