A little over a week had passed by staying in this situation. Often times, Maahi came back after work to find Sonu had done something or the other. A gift. Cooking dinner. Bouquet of orchids. Chocolates. Planning a movie night. It was obvious for Maahi that he was desperate, and none of these were his ideas. Sanjana must have told him what to do, and perhaps even exactly what to say.

She was tired of hearing his apologies. She didn't know how else to make it obvious to him that she wasn't interested in his apologies. It had been a year too late for that.

Taking the box of chocolates that he had left on the dining table, she thrust it towards Sanjana's stomach, "Here you go. I think these are your favorites, not mines." Maahi hated dark chocolate, and if Sonu knew her even a little bit, he would have known that.

Sanjana asked, "Are you blind or can you not see he is trying? All he is asking for is a second chance to make amends."

Maahi sighed finding it sad that she had to explain even the obvious, "I can see that. It just doesn't mean anything to me anymore."

"What kind of a wife are you to put him through that?"

Maahi snapped back, "What kind of a husband was he to put me through that? Anyway, who the heck are you to come and lecture me? It's my life. I'll do whatever the hell I want. You go tell him to stop all this nonsense because it's not going to make a dime's worth of a difference."

Parth had been making coffee in the kitchen when she came in for water. He hadn't overheard her quick argument with Sanjana but seeing her expression, he gauged her mood. "Didn't like the chocolates, I take it?" He added sugar to his coffee mug.

"He seriously needs to stop." Maahi answered and then took a sip. Seeing the coffee, she asked, "Before I pull out a bottle of wine, mind if I take that?"

She felt the need to have somethings stronger than water, and she figured caffeine was a better option than alcohol.

For his answer, he pushed the mug in her direction. Then, he opened the cabinet to take out another mug. He proceeded to get another coffee sampler when she spoke. "Mmm." He turned and once she'd gulped it down her throat, she informed, "Strong. Don't bother making a new one. I just need a sip or two."

"Sure?" He questioned, "I don't mind making another." She nodded in confirmation, and passed it back to him. Neither paid much attention to fact that they were both drinking from the same mug. Taking it, he leaned back against the counter and asked, "How was your day?"

"Same as any other day." She answered curtly, "Back to back appointments. Yours?"

"I met a few clients who want me to look into some of their cases." He answered, passing the mug to see if she wanted more.

She wasn't going to say no to coffee. She took it and reveled the feeling of warm liquid trickle down her throat, "That's good, right?"

"If I take it on, I'd have to stay in town more than I had planned. So, we'll see." He informed, retrieving the mug back from her.

She realized and stood on the balance of her feet instead of leaning back on the counter, "You were only here for the weekend. Parth, I'm so sorry for being such an inconvenience. I didn't even bother to think you could have your own things to do."

"It's no bother, Maahi. Anything for friends." He answered, putting her mind to ease. He offered more coffee, but she denied this time.

"No, thanks. If I have any more, I won't sleep tonight." After leaning back on the counter and placing her hands behind on the counter at either of her sides, she said the question out loud. "So... we're friends?"

"Aren't we?" He reverse-questioned, glancing at her in middle of taking a sip whereby she could only see his eyes, not the smile he was hiding behind the mug.

"I guess we are." She didn't know what she felt answering that. Somewhere, she had hoped he would have given a direct answer so she would not have to deduce herself. So she could have gotten an idea of what was going on inside his head. Alas, she informed, "I'm going to go change. Thanks for the coffee."

"Mhmm." He answered and watched her leave in a huff.

He had definitely caught her attempt to get an answer from him, and it made him smile. She was trying to figure out what they were, and if she wasn't in the situation she was in, it would have been that much easier for him to give her that answer. Then, he wouldn't have minded either. He wouldn't have to hold himself back.

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Maahi laughed as Sonu tickled her. She was in hysterics, and had ended up on his lap. When he finally stopped, she gasped for breaths and stopped laughing. She turned her head to look at him. He was smiling back, and before long, he'd leaned in to capture her lips. Smiling as well, she kissed him back. But, something about this kiss felt different to her.

Once they pulled back for air, Maahi opened her eyes. She stared, confused, seeing Sonu had somehow morphed into Parth. "Parth?"

Parth smiled, licking his lip, "Ofcourse, love. Who else?" Then, he leaned in again and this time kissed her neck and moved to her shoulder. She was beyond confused at what was happening.

How...?

Before long, the kisses on her shoulder moving up to her neck felt different. She seemed to be in her old bed instead of the couch, and instead of being on his lap, she was on her back with someone hovering over her. Her hands were pinned, stopping her from moving.

No.

Sonu was back, and he was holding her down.

With a sharp gasp, her eyes flew open. She gulped down her fear. It was just a dream. She told herself, then looked for the phone to check the time. 2:08. Even the time coincidence was freaky. She pushed the blanket aside, walked up to the dresser where she knew her headphones were. Plugging them into her phone, she started listening to music to calm herself down.

She went back to bed, but half hour later, she still couldn't go back to sleep. She kept tossing and turning. Frustrated, she got out of bed and decided to get some fresh air. She grabbed the thin night robe that fell to her thighs and slipped her hands through the sleeves. Coming to the living room, she found Parth sleeping on the couch with his laptop on his stomach. Confused as to why he was sleeping there, she walked towards him. She shifted the laptop away, closing the screen and left it on the table. She went back to her closet to grab a blanket and wrapped it over him.

As if feeling the warmth, he exhaled a soft sigh. Leaving him to sleep, she stepped out on the balcony. She spent about an hour outside. She hadn't had a nightmare about Sonu before tonight. The beginning of the dream where he had been tickling her had actually happened. It had been their first marriage anniversary. It had only been three months since he had been to the States. Those were the good times. She remembered it had also been the first time they'd been intimate.

She thought back to the kiss in the dream, and why it had felt different. It had been almost as if it had been Parth kissing her, not Sonu. She had felt the butterflies, and as far as she recalled, she had never felt that with Sonu. It had never been emotional or too passionate for her with Sonu. She'd only kiss Sonu now and then because they were married and she was trying to give it a chance. With Parth, however, it had been because she wanted it. She hadn't been tied into a relationship with him. She assumed it was her free will with Parth that had erupted the butterflies the night before Nikita's wedding in the few moments they had shared.

She focused on taking a deep and even breath when she recalled the later part of the dream. No, they were better fit to call a nightmare. She wondered why now, out of nowhere. Was she not dealing with it properly while awake that her subconscious was letting it out through a nightmare? She felt she was doing well with getting back to work and bit by bit, getting busy and keeping her life from falling down the rail.

But, perhaps, she wasn't handling it as well she was deluding herself into thinking.

Eventually getting tired of standing outside, she returned inside. Instead of going back to her room, she sat back on the second couch, to the left side of where Parth slept. She laid down, feeling a lot calmer than an hour ago. She played a playlist consisting of soft music and closed her eyes. This time, she was able to sleep again. Thankfully, it was a dreamless sleep since she woke up in three hours again, before she would have slipped into a deeper stage of sleep.

She'd awaken since she heard sounds. Parth was trying to gather the pages on the coffee table where she had left his laptop. "Hey," She greeted, rubbing her eyes. They burned a bit from the lack of proper hours of sleep. "Good morning."

"Morning." He greeted back, looking up at her voice.

"How come you were sleeping on the couch?"

"Your soon to be ex-husband hogs up the whole bed." He muttered, recalling how irritated he had been the first night when Sonu had attempted to hug him in sleep.

Maahi chuckled, "Yeah, he can be like that." She wasn't a huge fan of that either in the starting. Eventually, she just had to learn to adjust. "Have you been sleeping here on the couch ever since?" She questioned, concerned. She had only slept there for a few hours, but it had been more than enough time for her to know it had to be uncomfortable.

"Yup. I fall asleep reading some thing or other, so it's not that bad."

She informed, "You do know it is bad falling asleep with blue light?"

"Hey, no scientific facts at 6 in the morning." He scolded her, making her chuckle and put up her hand in surrender.

"'kay, my bad." She walked up to the balcony, running her fingers through her slightly knotted hair. It was still dark outside but she knew the sun would be up soon. She decided she may as well start the day by watching the hues of sunrise in the sky.

She was stretching outside when he came up from behind and asked, "What's your excuse?"

"Woke up and couldn't go back to sleep."

"Ah, that coffee?" He asked, assuming.

"Hmm." She answered, going with that answer. That was an easier answer than admitting about the dream.

She thought she needed to stop being any more emotionally invested with Parth than she already had been. It couldn't end in anything good, could it?

Parth's cell rang, and she got curious as to who could call him so early in the morning. He smiled seeing the ID and answered it, "Hey love."

Maahi's heart clenched somewhere hearing him call someone else that. She had thought it was their thing.

Whatever the other person replied, it made him laugh. "Okay, jeez. Way to be violent so early in the morning. Hi, Esha. Better?"

"Much better."

"You're calling me awfully early. What's up?"

"Oh, nothing. Just showered and trying to decide what to wear."

"So you call me for fashion advice?" Parth questioned, amused.

"My fashion sense is much better than yours, thank you very much." Esha replied. In other words, she would never ask him for advice on outfits. "Anyway, I'm guessing you are home?"

"No, I'm not home, why?"

"What? But I was about to drive over after getting dressed!"

"Well, how is that my problem? You should have informed before visiting." Feeling as if she were intruding, Maahi left the balcony to return to her room and shower. She wasn't in the mood to watch the sunrise anymore. Parth continued the conversation, "How did your parents let you come visit anyway? Especially since Sanam and Arjun are in India?"

"I told them I missed Anaya. Besides, I have two weeks off before fall semester begins and you know I'd rather spend it with you all than be stuck at home."

Parth sighed, "Seriously, Esha. You need to stop looking for excuses to run as far away from home as possible."

Esha scolded, "Hey, I already have di and jeeju acting as older siblings. I don't need you to do that too."

"Okay, fine. But just saying, it's not healthy. Anyway, I'm in Philly visiting Nicky and helping out a... friend."

"Just a friend?" Esha brought out her teasing tone, picking up on his slight pause before saying the word.

Parth bargained, "I'll tell you if you come visit me here."

Esha rolled her eyes, "Yeah, right. You're not that special for me to drive all the way to Philly."

Parth knew she was a lazy one. "Guess you'll never know then."

Esha pondered before warning, "It better not be nothing, if I drive all the way."

"Mhmm. We'll see when you get here. And bring Anaya too so you're not driving all by yourself."

"Aww, I knew you cared about me." She gushed.

Parth rolled his eyes, "I've always cared about you, love. You're the one who keeps pushing me away."

Esha threatened, "I swear I'm going to beat you up when I get there. How many times do I need to tell you to not call me that?"

Parth scolded back, "Stop screeching and get your butt here soon."

"Yeah, whatever. Bye."

Parth decided to tease her one last time, "Bye, love." Before she would blast off at him again, he chuckled and ended the phone call.

"Girlfriend?" He turned around at the question to find Sanjana standing there.

"No." It was all the answer he gave as he returned inside to start his day while texting Esha the address.

The last few days had been tough on him, but he was looking forward to seeing Esha and Anaya. More Esha than Anaya. Anaya was Arjun's little sister, and more like his as well. Esha too could be called Arjun's sister, as she was his sister-in-law. But, for Parth, she had always been more of a friend ever since they met two years ago when Arjun and Sanam got married. She was vibrant in her own way, it always rubbed off on him. And right now, Parth would say he needed some uplifting in his life. Something that wasn't complicated or involving too many emotions and restrictions.

༺༻ ༺༻༺༻

By the time it was 9, everyone had woken up, showered and had breakfast. Sonu answered the door when it rung. "Uh, is Parth here?" Esha asked.

Sonu nodded and yelled for him, "Parth, you have visitors." He then grinned at both of them, "Come in, girls."

Parth walked out of the room and grinned seeing Anaya and Esha. Esha was assessing Sonu while Anaya ran up to Parth and hugged him. "Woah, okay. Someone missed me." He commented.

Anaya answered after pulling back, "Wouldn't I? You left me all alone there and bhai and bhabhi aren't there either. Do you realize how boring it gets?"

Parth pulled Esha in a hug and slightly lifted her off the ground. She responded by slapping his arm, "Put me down, you jerk."

"You need to lose some more weight, love."

Esha glared at him, putting her hands on her hips. "Didn't I tell you I was going to beat you up if you...?"

Anaya interjected, "Oh, I'm mad at you too. You missed my birthday!"

Seeing how Anaya's reasoning trumped Esha's harmless anger, Parth put on a guilty face, "I did, didn't I?"

Maahi spoke up, marking her presence, "I suppose I should apologize."

Esha questioned, "You're the friend he stayed to help?"

Maahi looked from Parth to Esha, wondering how much of her situation he had disclosed to her, "Uh, yes. Maahi." She forwarded her hand in greeting.

While shaking hands, Esha looked at Parth, who gave her a side glare to make sure she would keep her mouth shut. He then did the introductions, "Right. Introductions. This is Anaya, Arjun's little sister, and by principle, mines as well. And Esha, we go way back."

Esha rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Liar. We only go back two years."

"Well, it feels like more than that." He answered and then continued, "This is Maahi, Nikita's best friend and..."

Sonu interrupted, "And my wife. Hi, Sonu."

Esha burrowed her brows, confused at that but within a second, she was starting to see why Parth had been hesitant in calling her friend. Her eyes flickered to Parth's, who was looking at Maahi. Surely, this was complicated.

Maahi explained, "Actually, Parth stayed back to help me get a divorce, so technically, he's my soon to be ex-husband."

Sonu did not look too happy at this correction but there was nothing he could say either as it was a fact.

Esha and Anaya nodded. It was more complicated than Esha had originally imagined. "Well, nice to meet you all. Parth, mind if we go out for breakfast? I'm starving."

Anaya echoed, "Yeah, me too."

"Anyone else want to join?" Esha asked to be polite.

Maahi denied, "I'm good, thanks. I should actually get going to work. It was nice meeting you two. Maybe I'll see you tonight?"

Anaya nodded, "Yeah, we're planning on staying the weekend, if not more."

"Great, enjoy your day."

"Oh, we will." Esha grinned.

Parth grumbled, getting the hint, "I'm not taking you two shopping. Forget it."

Maahi let out a short laugh at how quickly Parth was able to decipher her tone, but it somewhere faltered when Esha commented, "Yes, you will. You love me."

"Fine, but as soon as the two hours are up, I'm ditching you two wherever you are." He made the deal. Maahi silently left them to their conversation to go gather up her things from the room. Then she bid them bye, and left for work with a conflicted heart and she didn't even know why.

༺༻ ༺༻༺༻

【author note】

Who missed Esha? Yes, she is a part of this book too and here to stay for a while. Enjoy ;) 

For an update on my whereabouts and why the super long wait between updates, check the note on my profile!