He leaned in front of the mirror inside the bathroom and looked at his own face.

"What are you doing Jaby!" he mumbled to himself.

At the spur of the moment, seeing here dampened spirits he had offered to officiate the marriage, but he knew that it was going to be hard. From a distance when had looked at them together on the stage, it was hard.

And now he had no idea where he was going to hide his pain away even though he had been accustomed to doing so for long.

He removed his clothes slowly and then started the shower. As the blood got raised away from his hands, he could see the water on the floor change colour.

He rinsed his face and closed his eyes and let the hot water soothe his body at least for his mind was already in a numb state.

He was constantly getting hounded by her. The way she looked in that dress, the way her eyes were filled with questions for him, the way her face had saddened when he deliberately avoided her near the ambulance. It all started fogging his head.

For a moment he felt like quitting.

He felt like running away.

Coming back was the biggest mistake that he had committed and as if as repentance for his sins, he had to bear through their marriage.

His palm slightly stung under the water and it was then that he realized that he had injured himself as well. Probably some broken shard had torn through his skin, but that didn't; bother him at all.

He switched off the shower knob and ran his fingers through his wet hair, pushing away all the water. He then reached out for the towel from the cloth stand and realized that there were no fresh towels up there.

He looked at the laundry basket near the washbasin and saw all the towels in there.

So, taking a deep breath, he came out of the shower and then knocked on the bathroom door slightly and then opening the door a bit he said,

"Raymond! I need a towel or a robe to use."

He then stretched out his hand from the door, waiting for Raymond to arrange for a towel for him.

But there was no response.

"Raymond! Are you there?" asked Dr. Nelson getting a bit worried about his whole situation.

"Raymond!" Dr. Nelson called out a bit loudly and Akira who was just passing through that room heard him out and entered inside.

"Is anyone there?" Dr. Nelson asked again.

"Erm... yeah!"

Dr. Nelson heard that familiar voice and his heart just stopped. It was her voice.

"Do you need anything?" asked Akira as he could sense that probably he needed something since he was calling out from the bathroom.

"Erm... nothing. Can you just send Raymond or David in here."

"Why, what happened? Is there any problem?" asked Akira and came further inside the room.

Sensing the increase in the loudness of her voice, Dr. Nelson knew that she was approaching close. So he shouted,

"Just stay where you are. There is no problem. I just need a towel," Dr. Nelson said. His voice sounded a bit embarrassed.

"I can get that for you. Why do you need their help for a towel?" said Akira and left the room without listening further.

Taking a deep breath, Dr. Nelson closed the bathroom door, cursing his fate for entangling him in this net of unrequited love from where there was no escape.

A couple of minutes later, he could sense her footsteps. She was approaching for the bathroom door and seconds later he heard the slight knock on the bathroom door,

"You can leave the towel outside and go," said Dr. Nelson as he wanted to avoid any confrontation with her. He was scared of her questions because he had no answer for them.

"Erm... all towels in my room had been used up, so I have got my own towel for you. I hope that's OK?" asked Akira and stood there waiting for his answer.

Dr. Nelson literally didn't care. He just wanted her to leave that room. He was even OK to tale a used towel from the laundry basket at that moment. So he just said,

"Anything is fine."

"OK," she said and placed the towel on the floor outside the bathroom door.

Hearing her footsteps Dr. Nelson slightly opened the door of the bathroom and took the towel that was placed outside.

"Oh jeez," he muttered as soon as he got the towel inside for it smelled like her. That baby pink towel was way softer than any of the towels that he had used before. He gently dabbed his face with it and then muttered,

"Is there even an end to this misery?"

He then wrapped the towel around his waist and leaned on the countersink. With his palm, he wiped away the condensation from the surface of the mirror and took a deep breath.

"Why did you put me in such a mess Alita? Why?"

Then closing and eyes and gritting his teeth with a solemn resolve he came out from the bathroom assuming that Akira had left the room. But the shock of his life was waiting for him laced in all white, perched on top of the bed.

"Christ Akira!"

He yelled as he saw her sitting on the bed, fiddling with her phone.

"What happened?" she asked innocently as she raised her head to look at him.

For the first time in her life, she was seeing him bare-chested. Even for him, it was the first time that anyone was seeing him all bare apart from Alita.

"I am sorry!" said Akira and turned her face away but alas she could see him in the mirror in front of her, and he could see that he was looking at her. His eyes looked a bit annoyed and his face looked quite tense.

Her eyes scrolled down from his face and landed on his waist where he had placed his hands, and she could see a tiny spec of red that had spread on his towel.