Sundays were always the worst for Aditya. He didn't need to go to work, and even if he willingly remained online throughout the day or went to the office, his boss and colleagues asked him to relax and unwind for at least one day in the week. However, only he knew how lonely he felt cooped up in his own house, suffocated immensely because of the guilt and the despondency pressing him down from all sides. At least the culpability had lessened to a great extent because Piyali had shown her willingness to forgive him. But the melancholy refused to go away. They had all the time in the world, the chance knocking at their doorstep, but the idiotic girl he had fallen in love with was too stubborn for his taste. Hence, he had to drown in his pool of miseries, and what helped him was a six-pack of beers and a packet of cigarettes for lunch.

With his legs propped on the center table of the living room, ankles crossed, a can of beer in one hand and a half-burnt cigarette stick in the other, he let out a ring of smoke, watching it mingle with the surrounding air. He rarely had visitors apart from Abhi, and even that man was busy with his lady love, having reconciled with Shruti. Hence, he didn't feel the need to clean up or tidy the place like his sister used to when she was there.

He trudged up to the fridge well past 6 pm, peeking his head inside to see if there were some leftovers from the bunch of dishes Soumya had cooked one day before leaving and stacked in the freezer. However, except for the brown rice in one bowl and lettuce rolling around the vegetable rack, dried to the point of no return, nothing else was in sight. The carton of milk in the door was also half empty, and he gagged at the thought of drinking it.

Shutting the door with a bang, he went back to the sofa, hoping to collapse on it and continue with his drinking session when the doorbell rang. He groaned at the intrusion. Anyone apart from Abhi was not welcome into his house, and he knew Abhi had a lunch date planned.

Dragging his feet to the door, he swung it open, a frown etched on his face, an expression of disgust for his guest ready to trickle down. But then his gaze fell on the lady standing before him, and his eyes widened in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"

Nandini bit her lips, evading meeting his angry gaze. "I needed to talk to you."

He huffed, rolling his eyes. "I don't think we have anything left to talk about. You are right. We hurt them, so it's only fitting that we continue hurting ourselves for the rest of our lives. You may please leave."

His words left a bitter aftertaste in her mouth, but she couldn't care less at that point. Pushing him inside, she shut the door behind her, languidly twirling at her spot to take a good look at the place. It was as messy as it could get with his clothes lying on the couch, at the dining table, in the kitchen, and empty beer cans rolling on the floor. The TV was tilted on the wall of the living room, and she grimaced at the thick layer of dust that had accumulated on every piece of furniture. Shoes were strewn on each step of the staircase, haphazardly lying around while towels were draped over the chairs of the six-seater dining table. The kitchen sink was in the worst condition with used utensils lying unwashed and gathering the attention of cockroaches and insects while the countertops had half-open boxes of what looked like stale and unfinished takeout.

"Oh, God! What is this mess?" She scrunched her nose when she watched a small cockroach scurry away from her on the floor. "Who lives like this?"

He groaned, raking his hand through his hair. "If you don't like it, leave already. I didn't invite you here."

She pursed her lips. "I forgot how pesky you can be." Glancing around once again, she blinked a few times to get rid of the blurriness caused by the moistening of her eyes. It was so familiar yet some agonizing memories were also associated with the place. Especially with the open balcony where everything had ended.

He took a deep breath, watching her scrutinize every inch of his home. "Why are you here? You made it pretty clear the other day that you don't wish to interact with me. Then why are you here?"

She licked her lips, fidgeting with the strap of her handbag. "Can't I come to meet a friend?"

"Yeah, right!" He scoffed. "Friends who are in love with each other." As her expression remained impassive, he shook his head. "Go home, please."

She tilted her head. "What makes you think I still love you?"

A pang shot through his heart, and his nose flared in anger. "I am sorry if I assumed." A sarcastic laugh escaped his throat. "I guess you don't. It was pretty evident when you declined my requests since Shubham," he rolled his eyes again, "has asked you to stay away from me irrespective of whether you and him are together or not." He clapped his hands. "Great way to convey your true feelings, Miss Basu. Now, I am certain you don't love me anymore. It's so evident."

She scoffed too. "Yup. So evident."

Beginning to lose his patience, he yelled, "And perhaps you never loved me. Ever. You wouldn't have been so cruel otherwise. Just leave. We don't have anything to say to each other. And you know something, Miss Basu? I hate you more than I have ever loved you. So, go!"

Silence ensued as she glared at him with an intensity that he was certain he would burst into flames and be rendered to ashes within a flash. However, her expressions softened in the successive moment, and she tittered.

He clicked his tongue. "What is so funny?"

Snickering one final time, she went ahead and pulled his cheeks.

But he swatted her fingers away, glowering at her, and shaking his head.

Chuckling, she said, "Albanian Coffee? Seriously?"

Groaning, he collapsed on a barstool at the kitchen island. "I said it on a whim. Why are you hung up on that?"

"Because it hurt." She swiveled at her spot, noticing the half-burnt cigarette sticks lying on the ashtray at the center table.

"What hurt?"

Gaping at him, she said, "Imagining you and her on a honeymoon in Albania hurt." Her eyes glimmered with tears. "I cried through the night because I didn't know I loved you so much that even the thought of someone else touching you pained me right here." She bitterly jabbed at his chest with her finger as her eyes dampened and her voice cracked. "This stupid organ broke into a million pieces that night."

He took a deep breath, an impassioned gaze landing on the crimson of her cheeks. Fisting her hair and tugging her towards him, their noses only an inch apart, and no one lowered their gazes. Electricity zipped between them, heightening the feel of his palms on the back of her head, but she couldn't concentrate as his fingers brushed harshly against her lips. "Then why the fuck do you want to live apart?"

She wriggled out of his hold, placing her handbag on the island after dusting the spot with the dirty rag cloth lying nearby. "You have begun smoking."

His feet tapped the floor out of impatience. He couldn't really understand what she was doing there or why she was professing her love for him after everything that had transpired. But he chose to hear her out. Without letting a single snide comment past his lips, he stared at her as she went to the open balcony, gazed at the buildings perceptibl at a distance, and then waltzed back. She had ditched the glasses for the day, and he was slightly glad about the same. The color of her eyes could be discerned better this way, but his mood soured again once she opened her mouth.

"Aditya," she said, picking up the ashtray, "why did you begin smoking?"

He banged his palm on the counter, springing upright. "I didn't begin smoking. I was a smoker way before I met Piya. It was only when she asked me to drop the habit did I reduce the number of times I smoked in a day. But now she refuses to see my face, so I am free to do whatever the fuck I want. You, of all people, shouldn't care."

Her brows shot up, and she crossed her arms in front of her. "And why should I not?"

"Because you are not my girlfriend. Neither do you intend to become mine."

"But it's injurious to your lungs."

His jaws twitched in anger, and his teeth clenched. "Will you stop preaching sermons and get out of my house?" he bellowed. "You are not my girlfriend to dictate terms to me, and I am not going to listen to you whatsoever, you unbelievably stupid and cuckoo woman."

She gasped in indignation, staring at him, her lips parting in shock at the jibe. Fury coursed through her, and she picked up the first thing she saw out of the corners of her eyes—an intricately painted vase placed on a side table with multiple blossoms colored in different hues along with the green vines entwining with the flower stems.

She was about to hurl it at him when his eyes widened in surprise, and he shrieked, "No, Nan! Put that down. That's very, very expensive."

She stopped at the last moment, her orbs flickering between the vase and the anxious man in front of her. With the scowl etched on her face, she stomped her feet. "How dare you call me names, you cute little baby boy!"

He huffed. "I have told you not to call me that. Apologize."

"You first, you moron, jerk, idiot, imbecile!"

"What I said was the truth! You are mad. Completely unhinged. Frenzied madwoman. Psychotic and—"

She was about to lunge the vase in her hands, but another shriek from him alerted her, and she replaced it from where she had found it. Picking up a cushion instead, she flung the soft pillow at him, and much to her delight, it hit him smack dab on his face.

His features scrunched up due to the impact, and when he opened his eyes, narrowing them at the guffawing woman, a growl escaped his throat. "You are so going to regret this, Vixen."

She squealed when he made an attempt to chase her by sprinting around the couch, and she hastened in the opposite direction while picking up another cushion from the single-seater sofa. He tried to catch up to her, but she was a bit too agile as she circled the hall with him closely following behind. She was squeaking while he shouted at the top of his voice.

"Once I catch hold of you," he rounded the kitchen island and watched her hop over to the staircase, "I am going to ensure you get the worst punishment imaginable."

She gulped when she saw the ferocity in his gaze, and she twiddled with the ends of the cushion. He had only just made a move towards her when she squealed again and threw the pillow in his direction. This time, a deft flick of his wrist diverted the velvety softness of the fabric from gracing his nose, and she used the momentary lapse to run across the hall and halt by the door of the patio.

Groaning, she stomped her foot again. "You are not listening to me."

His eyes narrowed at the scream and the underlying defiance in her tone, and he strode across the hall too. If needed, he would trap her on the balcony and wriggle an apology out of her.

But then again, she discerned his motives and hopped away, landing on the open patio beyond while flailing her arms and legs. "No! Please! No! Listen first and then fight with me!"

His scowl deepened, and he was a panting mess due to the fury coursing through his veins. "Apologize and get out of my house." He glowered at her when she picked up a magazine lying on the patio table to chuck at him.

Her lips parted when she saw the feral stare landing on her, and she glimpsed away. Lowering her raised arm, she mumbled, "You are not listening to me, Aditya. You are just shouting at me since the moment I came in."

"At least I let you come in." He scoffed. "You bade me goodbye from the door itself."

Her face fell, and she gaped at her shoes, fiddling with the ends of her dress. "Listen to me," she whispered.

Noticing that she was yielding to him, he covered the rest of the distance in two quick steps and grabbed her arms. She winced when he gripped her too harshly, and she could tell the taut hold was going to leave marks on her skin, but before she could muster enough courage to look up at him, he had already whirled her around. Her back collided with his chest, and her arm was behind her, twisted painfully.

"Ow!" she yelled, and anger bubbled inside of her at his audacious move. "What the heck is wrong with you?"

He was way too cool after gaining the upper hand. Taking his sweet time to peer at the dying sun, he said, "Apologize."

She twisted her lips. "In your dreams!"

His hold around her tensed further, and she shrieked again. "Apologize, Nandini."

She clicked her tongue and slumped her shoulders. "Leave me, you brute!" When he huffed in response, she said, "You are hurting me."

He remained unruffled at the sweet cadence she had utilized. "Apologize, Nandini."

She groaned at the tenacity and acerbity in his inflection. "I hate you so much."

He lowered his head and allowed his caustic whisper to fall in her ears. "I hate you more than I have ever loved you, Nandini Basu."

Her lips drooped, and she craned her neck to look at him. Batting her lashes, she mumbled, "You don't actually mean that."

He smirked at her and stood up to his full height. "I mean every word of it. I feel nothing but pure and unadulterated loathing for you." When she clicked her tongue again, he peeked at the massive scowl on her features. Her curly hair framed her face, and she was growing redder due to the irritation she was experiencing. Very perceptible on her visage and in those expressive eyes he had loved for far too long. She was trying to wriggle out of his hold while biting her lips and attempting to twist her arms, but she was unsuccessful in her repetitive endeavours, and as she muttered curses under her breath, strands of her fragrant hair brushed against his chin, tickling him, melting his heart. He chided himself for being so weak when it came to her. "Apologize."

She scoffed. "No! Not to the devil, I am—"

"Apologize."

"You are mean, and you said you hate—"

"Apologize!"

"Never. In your dreams. I will not say sorry to an eternal jerk like you. I won't—"

"Apologize, Nandini."

"Never in a million years. I am not—"

"Apologize or I kiss you. For real this time."

She stilled in her action and tried to rack her brain. The words sounded so familiar coming out of his mouth. As if he had said the same set of phrases to her before. And recollections from over a year and a half ago crashed through her, tearing her apart and building her at the same time. He remembered. He had always remembered every little conversation, every feud they had, each word she uttered, and each time when he fell in love with her a bit more. A raspy breath escaped her lips, and her head automatically rested against his chest. Tears flew down her cheeks as she shivered. "I only wanted to hurt you so that you can forget me. So that you can hate me."

He let out an uneven breath, his other arm crawling around her waist, his palm on her stomach as his chin rested on the top of her head. "It did work, Miss Basu. I hate you now."

Her eyes flew open, and she adroitly used her long fingernails to scratch his other arm painfully. When he left her and stared at her in shock, she brushed her stray strands away from her tear-stained cheeks and glared at him. "I hate you more than you can hate me."

"That doesn't give you the authority to," his eyes widened when he saw the angry red marks on his skin, "maul me."

She raised her arm in front of his vision too and smirked. "You mauled me too. Revenge!"

He glanced away after noticing his fingerprints around the chubby arm of hers. "Fine, let's just injure each other and call it a day. That will be an ideal Sunday."

Rolling her eyes, she went inside. Night was falling quickly, but as the sight of a wet towel at the dining table greeted her, she didn't feel exhausted at the end of the long day anymore. Grimacing, she proceeded to the table and hollered, "Eeewww! Who lives like this? I bet animals are cleaner than you, Aditya Roy."

He had been massaging his forehead to rid it of the ache developing in his temples, but when her words fell on his ears, he slid inside the house. "My place, my rules!" he bellowed. "I can live like an animal or a bird or even a dinosaur. Why the fuck do you care?"

She gulped, and words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop herself. "I have to care once I move in, don't I?"

He blinked a few times to make sense of her statement while both her palms flew to her mouth as shockwaves rippled through her body and her eyes swelled.

He fumbled for words for a few moments, respiring raggedly through his mouth. "You... you want to move in here?"

She let her palms slide down, her lips drooping. Fiddling with the sleeves of her top, she mumbled, "Only if you want me to move in here."

"Wh-what are you trying to say?"

She let out a puff of air. "I... I was thinking tha... that..."

"That?"

She rolled her lips inward, biting her cheeks. "Do you want to get dinner with me sometime... whenever?"

A grin broke out on his face. "What?"

She chortled, scratching her nose. "I... I spoke to Shubham, and he... he... he has moved on, and he said he doesn't care. So..."

His brows shot up. "I apologized to Piya, and even she was saying something along the same lines."

She nodded. "So... how about that dinner?"

He chuckled with his hands on his hips. "What do you think? Do you really believe I am over you?"

"You just said you hate me."

He frowned. "When?"

She huffed. "Two minutes ago."

He squinted his eyes as an impish grin decorated his face. "A lot can change in two minutes, can't it?"

A bright smile developed on her features, and she couldn't control her brimming excitement anymore as she rushed towards him the moment he opened his arms wide. He pulled her into his warm embrace, hiding his face in the crook of her neck as she stood on her tiptoe to wrap her arms around his shoulders. Contentment, serenity, and tranquility coursed through their veins within a split second, and they repeatedly thanked the Almighty for giving them another chance at making things right.

"I missed you so much," he mumbled against her hair.

"Not more than me," she whispered, blinking back her tears.

"I hate you so much."

She let out a watery chuckle. "I hate you more than you can ever hate me."

He sighed, gathering her closer to him. "I love you so much."

She sniffled. "I love you too. I love you so much."

He ran a hand through her curly hair. "I am so sorry. I shouldn't have hidden the truth from everyone, and I surely shouldn't have let you go that night."

She let out an audible sob. "I am sorry. I hurt you so much. Those were all lies. Lies! I trust you. I love you. I love you so much."

He drew away, his palms sliding down her arms, interweaving his fingers with hers. Leaning his forehead against hers, perceiving those unshed tears in her eyes, the quivering of her parched lips, and that freshet of the briny liquid making its way down her crimson cheeks, he murmured, "I love you more than you can ever love me."

***