Rehaan's POV

She was back to cleaning again.

While I was busy contemplating everything and feeling guilty, I had hoped that at least one of us had gotten some rest. Given how tired she looked, I really thought that she would fall asleep the moment she closed her eyes. But here she was, cleaning the entire refrigerator.

"What are you doing right now?"

Hearing my question, her head instantly snapped up, causing her to hit the top of the shelf, under which she had been cleaning currently.

"Ow!"

"Sorry, sorry...,"

I immediately ran towards her, muttering apologies continuously as I lightly rubbed the area of her head that got hurt.

"Move," she said, a bit harshly, before taking a step back herself.

"Should we apply some ice?" I suggested, scratching my eyebrow sheepishly.

"Nah, it's fine. It isn't hurting that much now. Sorry for the harsh tone."

"Why are you apologizing when you are the one who got hurt?" I muttered, earning an eye-roll from her.

"Are you seriously okay?" I asked worriedly as the sound had seemed like she had hit her head severely.

"Someone's back to asking 'are you sure' questions," she taunted, before giving me a small smile and answering my question with a sincere face, "it hurt at first but the sting has gone now. So you can stop worrying."

"Sorry for coming up so abruptly. I didn't know that you weren't aware of my presence in the kitchen." I apologized again.

"I do get absentmindedly while cleaning. You would have startled me even if you tried to alert me of your presence. So just chill. It's not a big deal."

I calmed down a bit after hearing her words. I didn't hurt her because of my stupid action. It was something that could have happened regardless.

"But why were you cleaning right now? You should have been resting," I repeated the question which was left unanswered because of her injury.

"Curd has completely gone bad and its smell has also ruined the milk which was kept beside it. A few vegetables have also rotten," she informed me, while making faces, shuddering even at the thought of it. "If we want to put any new food item inside right now, these things need to be deep cleaned first. This refrigerator stinks. And I am saying it in the mildest way possible."

"Argh!" She grabbed her hair, pulling them tightly. "It's entirely my fault. I completely forgot about it. I should have come back at least once to check the condition of the house."

"True. You should have done that. I mean it's not like you were continuously running back and forth to take care of me. You had all the time in the world," I said, rolling my eyes, "It was sarcasm if you couldn't tell."

"I am not that stupid." She huffed.

"Yeah...not that stupid. Just stupid enough to consider yourself as a superwoman."

She looked comical as her nose flared with anger. But she didn't say anything back to me and just went back to cleaning.

"What do you think you are doing?" She asked, flabbergasted as I knelt beside her in front of the refrigerator.

"Cleaning. What else?" I snorted.

"Why would you...? This isn't something you have to do."

Muskaan genuinely seemed confused at the prospect of me helping her out. And that...that really hit me in the gut. Still not wanting to over think it, I tried to explain my point of view, hoping to understand hers as well.

"This is our house. Shouldn't we share the responsibilities and chores?"

"Your house," she mumbled under her breath.

"Huh?"

She clarified, this time saying it clearly. "This is not our house but yours. I don't live here."

"Doesn't that make it a stronger reason for you not doing this alone? You might help me around but you shouldn't be shouldering the entire responsibility if we aren't living together."

"That's my j—"

She stopped mid-sentence, mumbling some curses to herself, before saying, "It's because you are not well. I am sure you would have taken on a lot of responsibilities if I was the one who was ill."

She didn't look sure at all. Heck, it looked like she herself didn't believe a single word she said.

Something was fishy. I was sure that she was about to say something else. She was now just covering it up. What could it have been? 'That's my j...', what was the actual sentence she meant to say?

Before I could contemplate more, I heard her tired sigh. "Please just go and rest. You are not well."

"I am tired of resting." I counter-backed like a whiny kid.

"Who the fuck gets tired of resting?" She grumbled, before looking at me with an exhausted face.

"Please. You are just wasting my time. I also need to go out and buy groceries after cleaning. So just..."

"You are going out," I whispered, my heart beating fast as the prospect of living here alone in this house. "Not today, please," I pleaded desperately.

"Rehaan," she turned to face me completely, before holding my hands reassuringly. "I will be back before you would even blink."

"Please." I tried again.

"I understand, Rehaan. But please, you also try to understand me. I really need to finish all the work today as I won't have time tomorrow."

I stood up in frustration. "I requested one thing from you, just one thing. You even promised."

She stood up too. "Yeah I promised. I remember it clearly. But you were the only one who pointed out that I am not a superwoman. There are lots of things need to be done here. It needs time. I can't complete it in one quarter of the day while spending the other three elsewhere. I don't have that much time tomorrow. So I was hoping to finish as much housework I can manage today itself.

"Moreover, you need to practice being alone too. If you can't manage an hour or two today, how are you going to be alone for almost an entire day tomorrow?"

My mouth opened and closed, not knowing how to answer her. I just stood there with my head bowed like a kid who was getting scolded.

"Rehaan, you really need to find courage. Because even if I agree to your request today, I won't be able to do it tomorrow. I really need to find a job."

I was about to apologize for my unreasonable request, before suddenly I realized something.

"Wait! Find a job and not go to my job?"

"Aa...Umm...yeah." She scratched her forehead, looking sheepish.

"For how many years?" I asked, my heartbeats racing. "For how many years have you been jobless?" I closed my eyes, scared to find the answer.

She averted her eyes, not giving me an answer, making my heart drop.

Financial abuse too? Did I make her dependent on me so that she couldn't leave?

"Why does the years matter?" She questioned back, forcing herself to look confident. Clearing her throat, she continued, "The thing is I badly need a job now. I feel bad for your situation, but I can't compromise on this. I really need money."

"Yeah, financial independence is a must in these types of cases," I muttered, not realizing that I said it out loud.

"What cases?..." she tilted her head a bit, looking confused.

"Nothing." I waved it off, chuckling awkwardly.

"I understand now. Sorry for being so demanding. Don't worry; I won't stop you from going."

I won't become a hindrance anymore. If I couldn't help her then the least I could do was not to become an obstacle on her path.

"Let's clean up the refrigerator fast and then go buy groceries together. We really need to finish up everything before the day ends. So you can go job hunting peacefully tomorrow."

"You?!" Her eyes were widened to the point that it felt like they would burst out.

"Why not?" I asked hesitantly. Was I helping out such a perplexity to her?

She shrugged. "Because you have never....oh! Now I get it," she said, pointing her finger at me as if she had a eureka moment. "You don't want to be here alone, that's why you want to come right. Seriously Rehaan, it won't take much time. You won't even know and I will be back."

She probably needs some time away from me.

Yeah, that must be it. I should really give her some space to breathe. But that doesn't mean she has to work her ass off just to get some freedom from me.

"I will go." I declared.

"What?"

"You stay here. I will go grocery shopping alone."

Instead of being happy like I had imagined, she looked unsure.

"Rehaan, remember what happened when we got out of the hospital? This will be ten times worse. How are you going to manage when you are so scared of strangers?

"Heck, you didn't even do this before when you weren't scared of anybody. Mr. Rehaan, you have never done grocery shopping in your life."

The reason for her bewilderment was me after all. What kind of a person were you Rehaan?

Shaking my head a bit to clear the self-deprecating thoughts, I faced her with confidence and certainty.

"My fear isn't going to disappear by itself. I need to get out of my comfort zone. And about not doing these things ever in my life, I have to start from somewhere. After all, sooner or later, I will need to learn to do everything."

Because you wouldn't be here to take care of me.