॥The Wrong One॥

But it seemed like he would not get what he had wished for. Kayana refused to let Vodia near his phone, instead seating him on the couch whilst she went to shower, taking his phone with her.

Vodia sighed, but not out of annoyance. He could get used to be taken care of.

Sitting alone, finally, Vodia had time to catch up with his thoughts. Something had changed with Kayana. He didn’t know if it was this morning or last night, but he did know that she had been changing slowly for a while. Not changing into a different person, changing back into the person that he had fallen in love with what seems like decades ago. And he had missed her.

Shaking his head, Vodia lifted the cup of tea she had prepared for him to his lips, blowing slightly, watching the steam slowly spread into the air in front of him. Sure he had tea before, but the tea made by his Kayana was something else. A taste he would never tire of.

His mind ran at all the possibilites of day two, but he realised that Kayana would not let him leave the house in this storm and so his ideas had to be home based. Glancing around the apartment, his mind slowly began to get distracted, imagining a home of their own, with Kayana waiting for him as he came home from work. Little pitter patter of feet as they rushed down the hall to greet him, perhaps dragging their towels behind them as their mother attempted to prepare them for their baths. She’d sigh then, a small smile playing on her lips as she would take in her family. Pretending to be angry, she’d send the little ones back into the bathroom, then slowly sashay her way over to him, her eyes never leaving his as he saw the tiredness fade and excitement come back. He’d drop everything by the door and – No.

Vodia shook his head. He couldn’t start imagining a life with Kayana now. Not when he had only two days. Maybe if he hadn’t offered to bring Kayana to Raian, maybe if he had just kept her in Karya. Kept her with him. Maybe she’d have learnt to love him one day. But Vodia knew he would never have been able to do that. And so he had to resign himself to the fact that, in this life, Kayana would never truly be his.

With a dejected heart, Vodia leaned forward, his eyes resting on the stack of DVD’s. He’d love to have the memory of simply resting with Kayana on the couch. He’s had the day out, now it was time for the comfy day in. Grinning he slid off of his seat, crawling on his knees towards the little shelf. What movies do girls even like? As soon as he thought the question, he groaned, his eyes settling on The Notebook. That was a classic right? Sliding it out, he set it aside and continued searching.

A moment later, he heard the bedroom door opening, Kayana’s anklets chiming as she made her way to the living room. She gave him a pleasant smile when he looked up and continued on her way to the kitchen. He heard her opening some cupboards, waiting for the moment when the jug went on. Standing up, he walked into the kitchen, watching Kayana flit about the tiny space.

Noticing her red nose, Vodia’s brows furrowed, and in one swift move he had Kayana pulled up against him, her minty breath blew into his face as she exhaled coming up right against his chest.

“Sweetheart what happened?” Vodia asked worriedly. He didn’t want her unhappy. Not in his company.

Kayana looked confused for a second as Vodia’s finger tapped her nose and his face tilted upwards slightly.

Understanding dawned on Kayana and the smile she graced Vodia with brightened her whole face. Happiness lit up her eyes and she bit her lip 

Looking deep into his eyes, she sniffled. Then sneezed 

॥The Wrong One॥

“What movie are we watching Vodia?” Kayana mumbled from beneath the piles of blankets that Vodia had tucked her into. After knowing why her nose was red, Vodia had found every blanket in the apartment and piled them on top of her, assuring her that he’d be just as warm when she had protested, asking about him.

Grabbing the remote off the little coffee table, Vodia lifted up one end of the structure and slid inside, glancing at Kayana from the corner of his eye, a soft smile playing on his lips. “We’re both sick.” He answered as a form of logic.

She simply nodded.

Turning the TV on, Vodia watched Kayana’s face as she saw what movie he had picked and her giddiness was enough for Vodia to have to sit through the two hours of it.

Reaching for the popcorn, he placed the bowl in between them, he knew he couldn’t push Kayana into being comfortable with him, so he’d just wait until she wanted to be near him. A moment that came a little after his thought.

Kayana grabbed the bowl, placing it in her lap as she moved closer to Vodia, squeezing her way slightly under his arm until he got the message and put it around her instead of leaving it squished between them. Kayana refused to look upwards, her heart racing with the thought that she was finally showing him what he meant to her. That he was hers. And she was his.

Vodia’s heart was also racing, his mind whirling with the possibilities of why she would torture him so. He wasn’t complaining, he loved having her in his arms. But if she was going to be with Raian in a few days, why was she doing this to him? It would just make it that much harder to let her go. Realising that perhaps he was just overthinking things, he settled back, noticing Kayana relax only after he did.

॥The Wrong One 

Vodia woke up with his upper half sagging to his right, on top of an also sleeping Kayana. The little snores erupting from her was endearing and Vodia refused to sit back up even though his back was aching. He was enjoying this closeness with Kayana and knew that it was one of the moments that he would treasure forever, making it all the more special. He glanced towards the balcony doors. At some point during their little movie marathon he had closed the curtains and the absence of light from underneath them led him to the assumption that perhaps they had been asleep a while longer than they assumed the movie would take.

He pressed his face into Kayana’s back, inhaling her scent. She moaned slightly in her sleep as she readjusted so Vodia wasn’t directly on her shoulder blade. He chuckled at the annoyed expression on her face as he poked her cheek. He was enjoying this. Her scooted up until he was level with her ear, leaning his weight on the back of the couch as he blew lightly. She moaned again and her hand went up subconsciously to swat at the annoyance 

He couldn’t help himself then, and he leaned down to kiss her cheek. Her eyes fluttered open then, a soft smile gracing her lips as she lifted her eyes and looked at him. She squirmed a little until she was laying underneath him, her hands resting lightly on his chest 

“Good afternoon Love.” Vodia whispered down to her, his nose tapping hers on each side once before resting on the tip 

“Good afternoon.”

Kayana’s eyes glistened with an emotion that Vodia couldn’t pinpoint, but if he let himself hope, he could pretend he saw adoration and calmness. The sun had completely set by that time, and they lay in darkness, basking in the others presence. Vodia soon felt Kayana’s breathing slow and her eyelids began fluttering. She had fallen back asleep. He grinned to himself as he kissed her forehead and hopped off the couch.

He would make dinner 

He made his way to the kitchen, turning on a lamp on the way. Opening the fridge, he searched for something he could make that wouldn’t give Kayana food poisoning. Truth was, Vodia hadn’t had to cook anything other than noodles for a long a time. And even then, only when his mother or the maid was out of the house. Most times they had even had pre-cooked meals ready for him to just heat and eat. Now was when he wished he had heeded his dads words. Being able to cook for your woman is the best lesson. Vodia sighed, thinking of his father, he truly was a lovely man and knowing what Vodia had set out to do would destroy him. His father just wanted him to be happy. Rubbing his hand down his face, he tried to push the disappointing thoughts aside. Now was not the time to become sad because of his feelings. When he’d set out on this adventure, he knew he’d have to put his own thoughts and feelings aside and make Kayana feel like she could tell him anything. She could trust him to make her happy regardless of what it would cost him.

Shaking his head he turned his attention to the cupboards, not finding anything up to his standards in the cooler. He now wished that they had spent one of the earlier days actually going grocery shopping rather than hunting for Raian. Reaching for the first edible packet he could see, he slammed it down onto the counter top, his anger translating into his actions. Looking down, he had smashed a packet of noodles on the surface, one end popped open from the impact and tiny noodle pieces spread around it.

It was his time to shine.

Opening another cupboard, he brought out a deep pot, placing it on top of the stove. Vodia flicked the switch next to the counter top, filling the top with water and waiting for it to come to a boil. Reaching for the cups, he flicked the switch for the jug, the boiling sound filled the air around him just in time for him to see that the water in the pot was also boiling. Vodia felt giddiness flow through him. Half because he imagined his life exactly like this, and half because he was making such a childish meal. Noodles. But knowing Kayana, she would eat it like a delicacy just to keep him happy. Placing the noodles into the water, he covered the pot and turned around to see what else he could obtain from their scarce food supply.

Finding some tomatoes, he began cutting them up into quarters. He didn’t really know what to do with them, but he could probably use some of the leftover lettuce and make some sort of a salad. He wasn’t sure how that’d work, but he was willing to try. Humming to himself, Vodia reopened the fridge, grabbing the last little bowl of lettuce that was left and began chopping that up. Deciding that the tomatoes were too big, he began dicing them into tinier pieces.

Cutting open the flavour packets, he dropped the sachet contents into the noodle pot, stirring lightly as he smiled to himself.

Vodia moved around the kitchen with ease, the warmth from the stove and light pitter patter of the rain brought a sense of peace around him as he began dishing out the food in separate dishes. Ofcourse, not forgetting the whole reason for his happiness in the first place, the beautiful woman he got to call his wife even if only for a short time. He shook his head then, he wouldn’t let the inevitable ruin what was his now. Setting the table, Vodia slowly went into the living room again, looking towards the couch where Kayana was sprawled along the length of it. For once, her face was clear of all worry lines and he was happy that she was feeling the peace too. Kneeling infront of her he trailed one finger down her cheek, relishing in the softness that was her.

“Wake up beautiful.” He finished with a kiss on her forehead.

Kayana’s eyes opened and she yawned, placing one hand on the neck of his shirt. Pulling him close, she kissed him, her eyes closed as she touched his nose with her own. She pulled back slightly, savouring the startled look on his face.

“Hey.”

She let go then, sitting up and stretching and leaving a wondering Vodia still kneeling as he watched her.

Kayana got up, walking into the kitchen. “What smells so good? 

And then Vodia heard her giggle. Walking up behind her, he put one arm around her waist and the other ruffled the back of his hair. “Dinner.” He answered sheepishly as he led her to her seat.

Now looking at the spread, Vodia realised it was a stupid idea, and wondered why he hadn’t just made a reservation at a restaurant. Atleast she wouldn’t have had to pretend that she liked what he thought was food. 

Reaching for his phone on the counter, Vodia began going through his contacts when he felt Kayana reach across the table and place one hand over the screen.

 “It’s perfect.” And her eyes shimmered with the truth.

Vodia placed his phone to the side and grabbed the hand she had extended, interlacing their fingers. He picked up the sorry excuse of a salad and offered it to her, once again questioning why he had made salad with noodles. Kayana politely declined, but left her hand in his, loving the feeling of familiarity it gave as his rough thumb rubbed her skin. 

It wasn’t a three course meal, nor were there candles. Kayana hadn’t even brushed her hair and Vodia’s was sticking up in all directions, but Kayana didn’t want to spend her night any other way.   

॥The Wrong One॥