We were in the living room sitting in silence. Ved and the woman called Arohi, both were looking nervous. She was rubbing her hands and biting her lips. Ved was looking down while keeping his intertwined hands on his knee. I wanted him to say something, to tell me who this woman is. I was getting a bad vibe from her. Am I over thinking? I wanted to ask him but the awkward silence was too much to open my mouth. The maid brought the tea into the living room. I took it from and gestured her to go inside. I kept the tray on the coffee table and moved towards Arohi and served her a cup. She looked at me and I gave her a small smile. She smiled back at me. I gave a cup to Ved, he lifted his head and our eyes met. He looked like he was struggling on something in his mind. He took the cup from me and looked away. I took a seat next to him and served a cup of tea for myself.

"Hmm. Ved. Who is this?" I was about to take a sip when I heard Arohi asking. I withdraw the cup from my lips and looked at her. She was looking at me from head to toe and there was a questioning look in her face. She stared at me with a frown. That's when I looked at myself and realised that I was wearing Ved's kurta. I looked at Ved and saw he was looking at me. He then turned towards Arohi. He kept the cup on the coffee table and sighed. She was waiting for him to answer. "This is Niharika. She... She is..." He hesitated and looked away from Arohi. "She is my wife." He said without looking at either of us.

I looked at Arohi. She too looked at me then averted her gaze from me. She biting lips and gulped. Her eyes became watery, but she didn't let them fall. I saw Ved looking at her with sad eyes. She cleared her throat. "I didn't know you were married. Anyway, congrats." She said and stood up. She licked her dry lips. "I. I shouldn't have come. I. I will leave now." Her voice was trembling. She was trying to not cry. She turned around to leave but Ved was fast and he holds her wrist before she could reach the door.

They both looked each other. Tears started flow down from her eyes. Ved looked at her with guilt. His eyes were also glassy. He slowly wipes her tears with his thumb. He looked at her with so much pain. It felt like someone was squeezing my heart. "Where were you all these years? I. I thought you... that accident... Your dad..." He was stuttering. He was struggling for words. His fingers were still caressing her cheeks. I was standing there without knowing what to do. "We. We need to talk." He told her. She nodded. I don't know what this woman to him is or who she is. But I assumed she is someone important to him. This is the first time I saw him concerned about a woman. He was cold even to his mom. But to her he looked so vulnerable. I felt like I should give them space. I decided to go back to the room so that they can talk. I turned around and walk towards the staircase.

"Niharika." I heard him calling my name. I stopped on my tracks and turned around to look at him. "Raghu will drop you home. We. We are going out." He said without giving any emotion on his face. I gulped the sob came to my throat. I nodded my head with stinging eyes. They both turned and walked towards the door; Ved's hands were still holding her wrist. The doors closed behind them and my eyes started water.

.....................................................................................................................................................................

I didn't go to office that day. Raghu dropped me at the pent house soon after Ved and Arohi left. I sat in the living room and switched on TV while Nirmala was cooking in the kitchen. I was watching a movie which I saw before and it was getting bore. Nirmala came from kitchen and told that food is ready and she going to clean the house. I switched off the tv and told her that I will help her in cleaning. She refused first but I insisted. I wanted something to distract myself from over thinking. I was having many thoughts in my mind since they left together.

We both cleaned the house for the next two hours. It was nice talking to Nirmala. She talks a lot about her daughters and how they quarrel with each other, then how they makeup at the end. I felt relaxed while talking with her. We finished cleaning almost every room only his study and kitchen was left. I told her that I will clean the study so that she can clean the kitchen. I walked inside his study. I have never come into his study before. It was a large room with wooden floor and the wall shelves were filled with books. On one side there was a floor to ceiling glass window. There was large table in the centre of the room. I moved towards the window and opened the curtains and room filled with sunlight. I looked outside and saw the sea; it was the same view from the patio. I smiled and began to clean the room.

I kept the files which was all over the table in order and placed them on the file holder. I sighed in satisfaction. Finally cleaning is over. I let my hair fall free from the messy bun that I made before starting to clean. There was still time for lunch, so I decided to find a book to read. I started look in the shelves but they were all books related to business. I sighed in defeat. It looks like Mr. Aryan doesn't like anything other than business. I was about to go out when a book sitting in the corner of the shelf caught my attention. I walked towards the shelf and picked the book. It was "The Notebook" by Nicholas Sparks. I smiled; it was one of my favourite books. I opened the book and flipped through the pages and then something fell from the book. I frowned and looked at the paper fell from the book. I bend down and picked the paper. I felt a prick in my heart when read what was written on the paper; "FOREVER YOURS, AROHI." I turned the other side to look and realized that it was a old photograph of Ved and Arohi. They look younger. They were in each other's arms. They looked very happy. Ved was looking at her with eyes filled with love. His hair was short and there was no beard. He was smiling at her; a smile I have never seen on his face. It was visible from the picture that they were in love; blindly. I put the picture back in the book and kept it where it belongs. I took deep breaths to ignore the stinging sensation in my eyes.

I came out of the study. My mind was still lingering around the picture. I sat on the sofa and covered my face in my palms. I don't know what to do. My husband left me alone and went with his ex-lover. I don't know what to feel. Many questions were popping in my head. What happened to their relationship in the past? They looked so much in love but why didn't they end up together? And where was she all this long? It looked like they haven't seen each other in a while. He too asked her that. And why is she coming now? I leaned back and stared at the ceiling.

Nirmala came and called me to tell that food is ready to serve. I nodded and got up from the sofa. I was about to walk towards the table when I heard the door bell. I walked towards the door and opened it. Ved was standing there. I felt relieved. I smiled at him and opened the door wide for him to enter. He looked at me and was about to say something then shook his head then turned to his left. My eyes followed his gesture. That's when I saw Arohi standing there with her suitcase. The knot in my stomach tightened. I gave a questionable look to Ved. He didn't meet my gaze and gestured Arohi to come inside. She stepped inside the house and Ved followed. I closed the door and went behind them.

We came to the living room. I looked at Ved for an answer. He looked at me. He was hesitating to speak. I frowned. He took a deep breath. "She. She is staying here for the time being." He told me and looked away immediately. My breath got struck in my throat. The tear I was trying to ignore was threatening to come again. I looked at Arohi. She looked at me looked down soon without meeting my eyes. I couldn't form any words. I pursed my lips so that a sob won't escape from my mouth.

Ved looked at Nirmala and asked her to show Arohi the guest room. She nodded and took Arohi's luggage and walked her to the guest room. I looked at Ved. His hands were on his hips. He was looking everywhere but me. "How long she will stay here?" I asked. He looked at me. "I'm not sure. She will be here for some time. She has some issues with her family. " He said with an emotionless face and turned to walk away.

I feel the anger boiling my blood. How could he bring his ex-girl friend here, to stay with him where he lives with his wife and how she agrees to stay here? "Do you still love her?" The words left my mouth even before I could stop. I gasped and closed my mouth with my hands. He stopped on his tracks. He turned to look at me. He frowned at first and then the realization hit him. His face changed. He gritted his teeth and stalked towards me. "Did you go through my personal things?" He asked me. I looked away. He grabbed my hands above my elbows and turned me towards him. His eyes were red with anger. "I asked you a question Niharika." He asked through his gritted teeth. "I. I was cleaning and it just happened." I said gulping. Tears welled up in my eyes. His grip on my hand tightened. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Don't ever touch my things again." He said. I bit my lips and a tear rolled down my cheeks. His eyes soften and his grip on me loosened. He brought his hand to my cheek but I turned my face to my side. He left his grip on my hand. I looked at him. He didn't meet my eyes; he looked away. His clenched his hand into fist. Without saying anything I walked away from him towards my room. I closed my room behind me and slide down the door. I sat on the floor, hugging my knees and let the tears flow freely.