Page 64 of Love Locked
“Well, that’s not true. The real expert is here,” Adil smirked.
Then they argued some more, and the banter between them diffused the tense atmosphere after Kyra’s terse reply. Kabir ignored the feeling of doom in the back of his mind. He reached out for Kyra, who was laughing and grasped her hand in his.
She held his hand loosely for a brief moment before tightening her hold. The seemingly minor action stabilised him. It felt like an anchor… an anchor to his haywire thoughts. He felt happy and at peace, blissfully oblivious that the waters of life were about to get choppy, windy, and possibly, even stormy.
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Kyra scanned the surroundings as she sat, sipping her glass of wine. She was surrounded by happiness and laughter, but it didn’t bring her cheer. Everyone was so happy, except her. She understood why the atmosphere in the room felt euphoric. They all were thrilled for her and Kabir. She had been happy too until Raina visited her.
Although a week had passed since Raina visited her, Kyra had yet to devise a plan to end her relationship with Kabir. She had already distanced herself from him after that morning. She was not staying with him in his house after Raina announced her pregnancy.
Kyra was trying to be calm and collected but severely failed. She lost it when Ruhi brought up Shimla, the snowstorm and the stupid cabin. That trip was so full of memories that it was painful for her to even think about it when she was on the verge of breaking up with Kabir. Memories flashed in her mind. Memories like eating samosas at the roadside, their arguments on the drive, Kabir catching the mouse in the kitchen, the heart-to-heart conversation in front of the fire, the snow fight, everything. All these little things led her to fall deeper in love with Kabir.
Kabir was already worried about her, and it showed in his actions. Maybe he thought she was mental for randomly blowing off about their Shimla trip. She shook her chaotic thoughts and fully immersed herself in the feeling of being with Kabir. She focused on his presence. This happy, contented feeling that felt like home was what she was going to miss the most after tonight. She closed her eyes and tightened her limp grip on his hand, trying to etch that sensation in her mind forever.
What if she could never share this level of intimacy with him again?
Though she was trying her best to live in the moment, Raina’s scathing remarks kept playing in the back of her mind. She hated herself for even considering hurting Kabir, but sometimes there were really no other options.
A week had passed, and she was still with him. Raina harassed and threatened her daily by messaging her, making her anxious. She had to do something, and soon. Everything was set and scheduled to go as she had planned. She was going to carry out her break up strategy when Kabir dropped her home. She just hoped nothing went seriously wrong.
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Kabir stopped the car in front of Kyra’s building. They both sat there for a few seconds, none of them speaking anything. Kyra unlocked the door to exit after a beat of heavy silence. She hadn’t welcomed him inside her house or spoken about staying the night at his place even once. The last time they spent the night together was last week when he had to visit his parent’s house for an important meeting.
Even though he pretended he didn’t give a damn and didn’t pressurise her to tell him the reason for her odd behaviour, the whole thing was starting to get on his last nerve. He got out and rounded the car to face Kyra.
Kyra leaned against the car door, looking like an angel. She was wearing a pair of snug jeans and a ruffled white tank top. She looked sombre, and again, that sinking feeling he had the entire week crashed onto him with full force.
“That was quite an evening, wasn’t it?” Kyra caressed his cheek and pecked his lips… for the last time, probably.
See? Everything was fine. You were just being paranoid, Kabir thought.
“You tell me. What was that all about?” He sounded exactly like every woman he had rejected…hurt and confused. He had to confess that it felt rather pathetic being on the opposite side of that equation.
“What?” She innocently asked, wounding her arms around his neck, trying to get close to him one last time.
“You know exactly what.” He unwrapped her arms from his neck, putting distance between them.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Kyra tried to sound genuine but failed miserably.
“You want me to spell it out for you? Fine. When Adil asked about telling our parents, you said not soon. But we discussed this, Kyra. We were going to tell them immediately after telling our siblings. What happened?”
“Nothing happened, Bir.”
“Liar. You’ve been acting differently for the whole week. I was waiting to see if you would come and speak to me about it.”
“Kabir, I just changed my mind. Is that a problem?”
“You changed your mind, which is fine. The problem is you didn’t think it was important to tell me about it?”
“Oh my God, Kabir. What is this? Why are you being so needy?” Kyra snapped. She saw the hurt on Kabir’s face and wanted to slap herself.
“So, I’m needy for wanting answers. Great.” Kabir shook his head.
“It’s just that I’m...I’m...trying. I’m not used to being in a relationship. Moreover, being with you is different. It’s…it’s like everything just magnifies when you’re around. All the feelings, the needs and the expectations...It’s… You won’t understand.” She whirled around to hide her face.
“What does that mean? Try me. I will understand if you’ll make me.” Kabir wanted to take her in his arms again, but he controlled himself.
