Sindhu was sitting on the sand; observing the waves while thinking about her future. It's been three days since she left Hyderabad and she missed him. She wondered if he missed her or at least thought about her.

She wanted a fresh beginning but couldn't keep her mind off her husband. She grew attached to him even if they fought every time they talked.

She sighed trying to change the direction of her thoughts. She gazed at the beach again and instantly relaxed hearing the soothing sounds of the waves.

Sindhu had been fond of beaches ever since she remembered; she had been a hopeless romantic and thought sitting ashore, holding the hand of your loved one was bliss. She always wished Hyderabad had a beach but since it didn't, she wanted to continue coming here as long as she stayed in the city.

She was lost in his thoughts until she found a little girl playing nearby. She gestured the girl to come, who walked towards her with a smile.

"Where are your parents?" she asked the girl softly.

The girl pointed to a couple talking animatedly, holding each other's hands.

Sindhu's heart tightened. She could never get to be like that with him.

"You shouldn't wander away from your parents like that" Sindhu advised.

"They didn't get me ice cream" she said, pouting.

Sindhu chuckled "Are you allergic to ice creams?"

The girl nodded making her continue "Then you should listen to your parents. If you became unwell from eating ice creams, you won't be able to watch Doraemon or Power Rangers"

"No. I want Doraemon" the little girl exclaimed in worry.

"Then, no ice creams. Ok?"

"Ok" she said sweetly.

"Go back to your parents and no more wandering"

The little girl left her before kissing her cheek. Sindhu smiled touching the spot as she observed the girl whisper something in her mother's ears. The woman looked around and waved at her with a smile.

Sindhu smiled back and turned her gaze back to the waves when she saw Karthik, a few feet away from her, observing her with his eyes narrowed.

He walked towards her and she stood up, shocked to see him.

Before he could say something, she started "I am sorry, I didn't know you'd be here. I wouldn't have come to this city if I'd known you'd come here on work. I really don't know ----"

Karthik's eyes widened in confusion. She thought he came here on work purpose? She thought he was angry seeing her here?

He didn't know what to do and stood dumbfounded as she continued blabbering.

Sindhu was perplexed seeing him. He must have come here on work or for celebrating her departure. She so wished it was the former though she knew it doesn't matter.

"I will leave" she finally said but he quickly caught her wrist before she turned away "Wait"

She looked at him expectantly as he struggled with his words "I--- I ---came--- I"

Karthik couldn't utter the words; he travelled 700 kms to apologize, yet nothing came out of his mouth.

He sighed heavily and finally said "I came for you"

Sindhu blinked. Disbelief danced in her eyes and he didn't blame her; she must not have expected him to follow her.

She stood still, her lips parted saying nothing when he continued "I am telling you the truth. I came here for you"

"Why?" she asked when she recovered from the shock.

"To tell you that I am sorry for everything I said" she shook her head down thinking deeply as he added "And to take you back"

Sindhu's eyes shot up instantly; never in a million years had she expected that from him.

"I don't think---" Before she could continue, he cut her off "Please don't say you won't come. I promise I won't treat you like that again. I am very sorry"

Sindhu frowned. Why is he pleading her to come, like his life depended on it?

"Did your mom lecture you to bring me back?" she asked doubtfully.

He nodded and her heart sank. He only came here, in fear of his mom.

"I didn't come here because of my mom" he replied, as if reading her mind. "I informed my mom when I asked your number. I would have searched for you even if she didn't ask me to"

"Why?" she asked slowly.

"Why what?" he asked softly.

"Why should I come back? You don't want me there, obviously. Give me one reason on why should I come there?"

Karthik wanted to tell her that she was wrong and that he didn't mind sharing his house with her; one day probably his life too, though it might take years for that to happen or at least months. But, he couldn't say that. He didn't know what she expected from him and he didn't want her to be hopeful about a life with him.

"Because you are my wife" he answered finally.

He is right; you are indeed his wife and you have to stay with him. Her subconscious reminded.

"You could just leave me here. That way, I won't be a trouble to you anymore" she offered. She wanted to go back but she feared about her life with him; she knew nothing changed between them even after this.

"I don't want to leave you and you were never a trouble to me" he answered truthfully.

Sindhu almost laughed hearing that. In his words it must have meant 'It was me who troubled you a lot. And I am sorry for what I did to you'; that's the most he can say, probably.

She nodded and he smiled seeing her answer. Sindhu almost swooned, seeing him smile. In her defense, it's not something you get to see everyday.

He walked towards the road, pulling her with him. It was then did the two of them notice that he is still holding her hand. However, he didn't leave her until both of them got into an auto.

Sindhu took him to the hostel she was staying; Karthik was surprised to see the building. It was the same one where the warden almost called the cops.

When she got down with her bag, they left to Dwaraka Bus Station to find a bus to Hyderabad.

"Hungry?" He asked her, after they took tickets in the counter.

"Starving" she exclaimed, holding her stomach.

He chuckled and she thought it was the most beautiful sound she ever heard; may be more beautiful than the sound of the beach waves.

By the time they returned from dinner, their bus arrived making them rush to their seats in hurry. The bus started at 9 PM and soon Sindhu fell asleep, on his shoulder.

Karthik was amused seeing her sleep within the initial minutes of their journey. He saw her head droop down to his shoulder but said nothing knowing she was unconscious; she wouldn't have had the guts to do that, if she was awake.

However, her head rolled from one side to the other with the fast drifts of the bus, making him fear for her safety; he was sure she'd hit herself to the window or the front seat.

He stretched her seat as it's a semi-sleeper and made her lie down properly. The seat was big enough for her to comfortably sleep since she is just about 5'5'' while he was sure he wouldn't get proper sleep like the previous day.

Karthik was surprised to find Sindhu asleep when he woke up at 7.30 in the morning the next day; he fell asleep in the early hours.

She woke up an hour later.

"Where are we?" she asked, yawning.

"In the outskirts. We still have an hour long journey"

"We reached outskirts already?" she yelped, getting up from her sleeping position.

"Already? We've been on the bus for almost 12 hours and you were asleep the whole trip"

"Oh, sorry. I feel sleepy in moving things" she replied with a sheepish smile.

He wanted to say he knew that; instead he nodded.

"What about your office?" she asked, yawning again.

"It's Sunday" he reminded.

It was half past ten when they reached their house. Karthik retired to sleep immediately while Sindhu went to bath.

When Sindhu went to kitchen to cook lunch, she was surprised to find the fridge empty and quickly made a detour to the vegetable market.

She prepared lunch by 1 PM and went to his room to wake him up.

"Get up Karthik. It's One O' clock" she shouted at him.

"Go away. I want to sleep" he complained in his usual voice.

"You can sleep after having lunch. Now get up." she shouted, louder.

"Will you stop doing that" he snapped angrily, getting up.

She winced at his tone making him realize his mistake instantly.

His eyes softened seeing her "I--- I am--- I am" When he saw her frown, he added "coming"

She left the room giving a slight nod.

Karthik walked into his bathroom and quickly brushed his teeth. He felt stupid for snapping at her just after he promised he would change his behavior. It hadn't been 24 hours and he broke his promise already.

He left to the living where Sindhu was sitting on the chair at the dining table waiting for him.

As they started eating, she got up suddenly and switched on the TV. She continued flipping through channels with her left hand while her right hand played with the food in her plate.

"Yay!!! K3G" she yelled excitedly.

When she saw him look at her in suspicion, she added "I love that film; it's amazing"

As Sindhu continued watching the film while eating, Karthik took the opportunity to observe her. She looked carefree and lively; different from the woman who shared his house the past few months.

He continued watching her even after his plate was empty; he was amused seeing her reactions as she watched the film. It's like you can literally see what's happening in the film on her face. Her face looked pained when it was a sad scene; she looked happy when the scene was good; a smile on her face when it's a funny scene and her head bobbed up and down with the beats if it was a song.

He never saw someone enjoy a film as much as she did. He never saw her this alive which made him wonder if she was always like this.

Karthik felt like he is seeing her for the first time today.

"Can I ask you something?" His question snapped Sindhu back to reality.

"What?" she asked, her attention shifting from the film to him.

"Why Vizag?" he asked her curiously.

"What do you mean?"

"I meant why you left to Vizag when you knew no one there?"

"Um I went there because it's far from here" from you - he understood the underlying meaning as she continued "I went there once on a trip during college days"

"You can't run to an unknown place just like that. You may have visited once but you knew no one there."

"Actually, I do. One of my class mates was from Vizag; and so I went there hoping to take her help. Thanks to my luck, she was out of station and I had to do everything on my own" she added the last part sarcastically.

"Do you have to go that far? To stay away from me?" he questioned, frowning at her.

"I wanted to start fresh" she replied slowly, her eyes drifting down to her plate.

Somehow, that hurt him more than it should. The thought of her starting a new life without him bothered Karthik so much and he didn't understand why.

"How did you find me?" her question dragged him out of his thoughts.

As he explained the whole story, Sindhu listened to him, looking at him in wonder.

"That was smart" she commented and he felt proud of himself thinking the way he explored the truth before she added in a teasing tone "I never thought Ravi could be that smart"

Karthik tried to glare at her but ended up smiling. He didn't understand why he liked her teasing when he should have felt offended.

"Don't ever leave like that again" he said looking at her seriously and she nodded shyly.

---

Thank you guys for reading.. I would love to read what you think of this chapter

Please Vote, Comment and Share

- JANAKI S