Page 8 of The Unwanted Husband
With new found energy, she wrapped the thin robe around her as she went down the stairs. She entered the kitchen and looked around in the partial darkness for the mugs. The light was streaming through the windows as the sun came up over the hills.
The house was quiet as it was too early for anyone to be awake. And when they were, especially the kids, it was very evident. She had spent the past few days with headphones and heavy music playing to drown the noises. She didn’t mind children although she wasn’t fond of them but something about them made her heart wrench. They were the only reminders of her sorrow and she didn’t want to be around them any longer and risk hating the very sight of them.
She made coffee for herself and barely took a few sips when she heard the door from the patio open. The guy she waslast expecting to see at that time walked in wearing a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. It seemed like he was out for a run.
“Good morning,” he said, somewhat surprised to see her. He quickly reached for a stack of paper towels to wipe the sweat off his face and hands.
She only nodded in response. “Would you like some coffee?” She felt rather generous since she would leave in less than twenty-four hours.
“Sure, thanks. I’ll be right back.” He disappeared up the stairs, and by the time he made it back, the coffee machine was pouring out his drink.
Isha was seated at the small round table in the kitchen and glanced in the direction of the coffee machine when it beeped. Her eyes averted and landed on the beautiful structure of the man who stood with his back to her. The broad shoulders, the well-defined muscles on his arm, the perfect V at his lower back, and the rest of him were just hard to look away from.
Thankfully, she had the reflexes to look away from him and look at her coffee as she chastised herself for ogling at him. His stature and build had not registered in her mind until that morning. Just in the last week or so, he seemed to have built a routine for himself and had a handle on the situation with the kids.
He sat across from her at the table, and a strange silence fell over the space again. She hardly knew him, and there was nothing really that she could talk to him about. So, she decided to deliver the message about her plans.
“Ashok,” she said and paused when his intense brown eyes locked with hers. “I’m heading back to San Francisco tomorrow morning.”
“What?” His voice was calm, but the expression in his eyes did not match his tone.
“I need to head back. It’s not like I’m doing anything here.” She looked around her brother’s home and added, “You’ve settled in pretty well here, and everything with the kids has also—”
Her voice was lost when she saw the anger in his eyes. It was undeniably intimidating, even though he didn’t utter a single word.
“Ashok, I need—”
“Monisha,” he interrupted her in a cold and calm tone. He slowly sipped his coffee and said, “You are not leaving until we sort out the custody of the children.”
“Custody?” She was confused. “You and I are legally responsible for the children. We have custody. What am I missing here?” She was sure he didn’t understand the will her brother and sister-in-law put in place.
“That’s right.Youand I are legally responsible for everything, so how can I hold the responsibility myself?”
She had no idea what the guy was concerned about. “If you are concerned that I would fight for custody of the children, don’t worry, I won’t.”
The look in his eyes made her feel like she said the unthinkable. “Are you really Ravi’s sister?”
Those words pierced hard. “What the heck do you mean?” she hissed, suppressing her anger.
“It’s barely been ten days since your brother passed, and you are ready to go back like nothing happened?” Despite the growl in his voice, his tone was annoyingly calm.
“I need to go because I cannot take it anymore. This place has taken everything from me. My parents and now my brother.”She took a deep breath, fighting back the tears and swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat.
He placed the coffee mug on the table and leaned in. “And like I mentioned, I lost my sister and my best friend and their children have no idea what happened to their parents.”
“Don’t try to guilt me into this. I’m of no use when I’m such a mess.” She truly felt there was nothing she could do when the kids had two nannies to take care of them.
He leaned back his eyes threatening to turn her to dust with the rage in them. “I bet that’s what your aunt thought when your parents passed away leaving you with no one to take care of.”
All thoughts left her mind and she went numb.
With those words, he left her sitting frozen in her chair, feeling like the air was sucked out of her lungs and being crushed by the weight of guilt.
The asshole had hit the nail on her coffin. She could never think of leaving now because he was right.
Her back froze when she heard footsteps again. “And if you are so pissed about what happened with your father and his company, do something about it.”
Like he hadn’t crushed her already with his words, he even added insult to the injury with his last statement.
