"Excuse me?! What did you say?!" Prisha stood before him, with hands on her hips. She was getting a headache at the return of the angry bull and her efforts to control him. She had just come out of making her heart understand to let go of the bad trauma, including him and his tantrum.

"Sanal, we are divorced and as far as I know. I don't have any feelings for you..." Prisha continued to express her heartfelt emotions to not fall in the trap again.

"Sunshine..." Sanal got up and went to grab her hands when she signalled him to stay away from her, getting frustrated.

" Don't call me that!! I am not your wife anymore...." She interrupted him clutching her forehead.

" ...yeah, but...you are the one I love," she saw the tears in his eyes...again. She couldn't reprimand what was happening with him. But she needs to put a halt to this...once and for all.

"No... not anymore..." Prisha sounded quite adamant in her words as she said it looking straight in his eyes.

Sanal saw only sadness, anger and....more hatred for him, which answered his question of ever getting any love from her. She was right there was no love left for him in her.

He looked down biting his lips and nodded his head agreeing to her words, which somewhat convinced her.

"Look, Sanal. I know that you want fight with every other person in the radar. But please, he is my friend. And I request you to not put your nose into my business. ok? you are here to protect me. Do that. and everything else...is not your concern," Saying so, Prisha went to her room to have some shut eye. Sanal didn't clarify as he knew her behaviour towards him was what he expected after the trauma that she had endured because of ...him.

At around 10 pm, her phone rang showing Lisa's name.

Lisa told her that it was Joonie who had instigated Sanal by saying things to anger him.

Prisha said that she would talk to him the next morning, in class. As she knew that Joonie was not the only one at fault but was also aware about her ex-husband and his anger issue.

For now, she wanted to clear her head.

She moved to the kitchen to eat something as her hunger streak was coming back.

"There is some pulav in the fridge. Microwave it," Sanal then grabbed the bottle to move in his room.

Prisha felt bad at the misunderstanding that happened in between them...again.

Sanal's room

Sanal opened the door at the first knock, fearing that his Prisha might be in some trouble.

Prisha looked at him with a cute face, melting his heart. He eyed her and smiled at her attempt to converse with him.

"Come in," he then moved to his coffee table to shut his laptop, as he didn't want her to know his eye in her room.

She sat on the chair and scanned the room which was the same ratio as hers, but with different furnishing.

"...um...I wanted to talk to you about the issue that happened in the cafete..." Prisha began to apologise to him in a smooth manner but..

"...I am sorry, Prisha. It was my fault. He was just protective friend. I would have also done the same thing. But...after listening to the actuality..." Sanal then smiled assuring at her poker face and told her that Veena Chech's ceremony was kept after two months. He deliberately changed the topic as he didn't want to talk about his nemesis with her.

Prisha also told him the message that she got from Tom regarding Veena Chech's baby shower.

Both were excited at the news and shared their lives which they had missed the past few months.

"Ok, I need to sleep," Prisha then tried to move out of his room.

"Prisha..." Sanal called her to which she stopped and waited for him to continue.

"..."

Prisha raised her eyebrows at which he excused saying

"...um...friends?" Sanal was perplexed at why did he offer to be her friend when he had decided to break all ties with her, for her own good.

Prisha looked here and there not able to understand her dilemma to be friends with her ex.

'She doesn't deserve you to be even her friend. Take back your words, now Sunny!' were the thoughts running in his crumpled mind as he backed his extended hand when,

However, she nodded her head to see his wide smile giving her hands for a friendly handshake.

"Good night,"

"Good night, Sanal"

For coming weeks, Sanal used to make Prisha's life as comfortable as he could in the house.

He used to make her healthy breakfast filled with fresh fruits, eggs and fresh juice.

For dinner, chicken recipes, protein rich salads with roti or naan, white rice with dal and fried fritters – her favourite.

Prisha told him that she would have her lunch in the cafeteria. But he used to always pack a nutrition filled sandwich for her with her favourite yogurt.

RM used to pick and drop her every day.

Sanal used to only lean on the door frame and watch her converse with him for 5 minutes every day.... not that he was timing their talks.

I mean they were together for the whole 8 hours!

What is there to talk more?!

One Fine Sunday

Prisha was getting dressed in white to attend a wedding, preferably Lisa's cousin's.

It was a beach wedding and the theme was sundress white for girls and summer white for the men. As the bride and groom opted for a yellow and purple theme for themselves. 

She came out to be greeted by two grown men sitting with a grumpy face on the couch...miles apart. 

"Hey," both the males turned their attention to the angel in white walking towards them. 

"The theme is a sundress. But you look...*shakes his head* awesome in these too," RM reminded her who looked down smiling.

"I know. But I just couldn't help myself wearing these. I mean I miss my Indian attire..." she was about to leave when

"*Maalaakha..." Sanal was staring at her with so much intensity that even moved her heart. RM was getting angrier with his interruptions.

He was not understanding their aura and thought to ask her but

"*velutha maalaakha..." he moved towards her ignoring RM and touched the ends of her kohl covered eyes.

(*velutha– white; maalaakha – angel)

He then moved her earrings, placing the black dot under her ears – as a sign of warding off evil eyes.

In all this, Prisha couldn't take her loving eyes from his caring gestures.

His touch.

His scent.

His concerned smile.

Where was this Sanal when she needed him the most?

Prisha smiled at his gesture and looked in his sincere eyes which she had missed.

"We will be late, Prisha..." She woke up at RM's call, turning to him. She picked her sling bag to move out of the house and looked back at Sanal, clutching the door knob.

She slowly mouthed 'bye' to him who nodded at her, sitting on the couch head.

At the wedding

Prisha threw the paper petals on the bride and groom who were walking past the crowd from the aisle after their kiss.

Their friends blessed them for a better life and were clicking selfies with them.

Prisha was feeling elated seeing a Christian wedding for the first time.

Lisa was standing beside her other cousins dressed in pink as the bridesmaid.

The reception hall

Her other friends were all gathered around the banquet hall for the reception party.

The whole set up suddenly made Prisha restless. She was finding it difficult to breath. So, she excused herself from the crowd and walked outside to feel the fresh breeze from the beach.

She was not realising that she had suddenly started missing her family.

Her friends and her....

"Prisha..." RM came running towards her and held her hand.

He rubbed her cheeks asking if she was ok.

Prisha nodded her head and said that she just wanted some fresh air.

RM looked back at the wedding and told her that they can just walk on the beach to relax,

After a minute or so,

"Prisha, you never told me why did you divorce him?" RM found a good spot to sit and gestured her to sit.

As she gazed on the moving waves of the ocean, she remembered all the trauma that was coming back to her.

She shaked her head and looked at him, brushing her dancing hairs behind her ears.

She saw the black mark on her fingers and chuckled saying

"Misunderstanding...?" RM then realised that she didn't want to share her life. So, he didn't urge her anymore.

He changed the topic, asking her opinion on a week's trip to the beach island with the friends.

She thought about his plan of boat riding, partying, and enjoying with the friends next month.

But then she remembered the baby shower and asked him if they could prepone it next week after their terms.

RM said that he would tell his friend about the preponement.

By evening,

RM saw a figure leaning on the door and waiting for her.

He grabbed her hand before she could go.

"Shall we go on a date tomorrow?" Prisha tsked at his continuous struggle to be her boyfriend.

"Joonie..."

"Please... I just want to express my feelings with you. Which is not possible among our friends and..." he then gestured towards Sanal who was suspecting their talks.

Prisha followed his gaze and thought about his date.

"Ok, but no gifts and it's not a date. We are just friends going out for a talk, hm? If you are ok with that. Then I am in," Prisha put forward her demands for the date.

As she knew his flirting skill very well. RM was the college heartthrob and was the idol for most of the girl fans in the campus.

So, when he found an Indian girl interesting, he found many of his fans dressing up in her style.

It was a roller coaster for him every day to deal with his girl fans.

Prisha would sometimes rescue him by diverting the girls to the studio where he was all the time. When he would be hiding near the closet of the gym room.

Sanal sat on the couch trying to read the book 'Birds on a pedestal' for the much amusement of Prisha.

She took the book from his hand and gave him a 'really' look.

She then went to the kitchen to have a glass of water. Sanal followed her and climbed on the kitchen counter eyeing her moves.

"What..." Prisha kept the empty glass in the sink and looked at him.

He immediately looked down tapping on the cabinet door. 

She put her hand on his to stop the tapping.

He bit his lower lips, looking at her like a lost child. Prisha raised her eyebrows asking him. After much hesitation, he mustered the courage to ask her.

"Where is the date?" Sanal gave a weird smile after asking the undying question that he wanted to ask from the time she had entered the house.

Prisha smiled at him waiting for his query and answered totally clueless "I don't know..."

She walked past him to hit the bed for some shut eye. Sanal saw her shaking her head with a small giggle.

What are you thinking Mr. Sanal?

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