Lies About Us

LOVERRR

--MAAHIR POV--

It has been a week since I last spoke to her. We are both caught up with our busy lives. She usually gets home late, and on some occasions, I end up sleeping in the living room. Not because she takes up my bed, but because I get so tired that I lie down on the couch for a quick rest, and before I know it, I'm fast asleep. "Maahi, beta yaha kyu soo rahe hai?" (Maahi, why are you sleeping here?) I was startled awake by Jagdesh Kaka (JD), who works as a spy for Dida. I realized that I had almost fallen asleep in the living room again just like yesterday.

"Aap thik hai na? Khanna laga du?" (Are you okay? Should I serve dinner?) asked JD. I shook my head in response and said, "Nahi, mein bahar se kha ke aaya hu, aap kha lijiye" (No, I already had dinner outside. You can eat.) I stood up, grabbed my coat, and walked upstairs to my room. It was almost 10 at night, and Haarika was not in my room. She was probably in the study room arranging her books. Books everywhere, she loves them a lot huh... I thought to myself. Are you jealous Maahi? a voice in my brain interrupted. Shut up! I am not jealous or Am I? I responded to the voice. Liar, the voice retorted. Okay, fine. I am attracted to her. Go away, I sighed and kept my coat aside. Feeling cold, I decided to take a warm bath. After a good shower, I walked outside my room and saw her arranging some books and keeping them inside the storage of the bed. My room was a mess right now, especially her side. "Are you going to clean this?" I asked her. She looked at me, licked her dried lips, and replied, "Give me an hour." Her gaze then moved from me to her thick books.

I see a book on the shelf that doesn't look like a medical book. It's called "Twisted Lies" by Ana Huang. The cover picture is decent, so I reach for it, but she snatches it away and eyes me as if I've stolen her precious thing. "That's mine," she says. "I was just looking at it, the cover is pretty," I replied. She gulps before speaking and puts the book away. "Anyways, clean this mess fast and turn off the lights. I need to sleep." I walk to my bed as she eyes me with irritation. "They aren't a mess. They are my books," I didn't answer her, and she gets busy with her work. Her hair is in her face, and she puts a strand behind her ear, but it falls again. I smile as she gets angry. Cute. She stands straight, pulls a rubber band from her wrist and ties her hair up. "What?" she says, and I realize that I've been staring at her. "Nothing," I reply, but it's clear that she's annoyed. So, I get up and walk towards my office. It's been a while since I entered the pin to the locker and pulled out a box. The wooden box opens with a click, and I pull out the half rose piece.

The next day, I woke up at my usual time of 4:30 am, went for a run, and did some workout. It took me almost an hour to finish my workout, and by the time I was coming back, it was almost 6 am. I stopped in front of the backyard and glanced to my left, where I saw someone doing yoga. It was the same person who usually practices yoga every day. The sun rays were falling on her face, making her look beautiful. I tried to control my emotions and told myself to get a grip. I nodded at myself and walked inside. As I opened the door to my room, I noticed the smell of lavender filling my lungs, now even my room smells like her.

SKIP TIME TO OFFICE 

ME: "When are you getting free?"

I casually messaged Haarika, but she wasn't online. While looking at her DP, I couldn't resist clicking on it. She was wearing a dark-colored kurta set, sitting on a bed of grass, hugging her knees, and smiling at the camera. I then checked WhatsApp status, which I don't usually do, and saw a picture of her with her friends, and the guy from earlier was sitting next to her with his hand on her shoulder, while she was smiling. Feeling uneasy, I held onto a paperweight and turned off my phone. Shortly after, my PA walked into my cabin with a cup of coffee, and I asked him about the Sejal project. Out of curiosity, I texted Haarika and asked her if she wanted to go out for coffee.