The way I used to live

Daksha's POV:

I had a sleepless night because of Aarna's words. I spent the whole night, thinking about the 'what ifs'.

Damn, Aarna! She completely messed up my brain with her words.

I really don't know whether to consider her words seriously or to ignore them, considering it to be her usual nonsense.

Talking about Arjun, I have a strong feeling that he won't do any such thing.

Truth be told, I might have known him only for a short period of time but he gained a little bit of my trust. Don't ask me how because I don't know how it happened.

I spent a restless day in the hospital. I was waiting for the clock to strike at 4 o'clock.

So, I could meet him and finally get rid of this anxiety. It was 3:45 pm but I already started for the cafe.

I went walking as it was just a street away from my hospital. I reached there within five minutes and entered the cafe. While waiting for him, I ordered an espresso to calm myself.

He arrived sharply at 4:00 pm. He took his seat and placed his order. An awkward yet comfortable silence engulfed us until it got broken by the waiter who returned with the order. God, it's really awkward.

He cleared his throat and placed a file in front of me. He gestured to me to open it but I sat there without moving an inch. He sighed and started talking.

"Why are you not opening it when I called you here for that purpose only?" He asked me.

Idiot, how can I open it when so many weird ideas are running in my brain?

"What's in it?" I asked after calming down my nerves to some extent.

"It's an agreement. It is actually important for you to sign it before the marriage itself," he told me but he didn't explain anything about what the agreement was for. It was enough for me to come to a weird conclusion.

"Agreement! What are you talking about, Arjun? I know this marriage is not happening out of love. I know that we both agreed to this just for our parents but seriously, how can you ask me to sign this agreement? Look Arjun, I don't know what you are expecting from this marriage but I want to give this marriage a chance. So, I can't and won't sign any of these silly agreements."

He looked astonished at my sudden outburst. I really didn't know what that damn agreement was about.

I couldn't help but think of it as a prenuptial agreement because of the circumstances of our marriage.

He looked at me with a somewhat amused and thoughtful expression and gestured to me with his finger to lean forward. I looked at him with a confused face but I did what he asked me to do. When I leaned forward, he immediately pinched my nose and flicked my forehead with his thumb and forefinger.

When he released his hold, I immediately glared at him while rubbing my nose and forehead.

"Silly girl. Why don't you open it and see for yourself about what's there in it?" he asked me in a teasing tone that earned another glare from me.

I opened it and became flabbergasted seeing what that agreement was about. Yeah, not an agreement. They were property and transfer of shares agreement.

It stated that 80% of his property would belong to me after our wedding. I looked at him with my eyes wide open.

"I. I thou..ght it was a prenup-" he cut off in the middle and continued.

"A prenuptial agreement. When did I say that? It looks like it has become a custom for you to misunderstand my every action," he said with a sigh and shook his head. Before I could say anything, he continued again.

"Before you misunderstand me again, let me clear my stance. If you think that I considered you as a person who was after my money, then don't. I never took you and will never take you to be a gold digger. I am transferring my property which I have earned to you so as to give an assurance to you that I am serious about this marriage. I would have transferred my entire property if I didn't have a sister. 20% of my property is for my sister. As you have said, this marriage might not be out of love but I would never do such a petty thing to disrespect this sacred bond. I can assure you that divorce will be the last thing that I will do," he said while giving me an assured look.

His words warmed my heart. Now I was guilty of accusing him wrongly when he did nothing but consider my feelings and assuring me.

"I am really sorry. It won't happen again. I promise you. By the way, I appreciate your gesture but you don't need to do all this. Please, I can't sign them. I believe in you," I said while looking at him. He laughed out loud after hearing my words.

Damn! His hearty laugh was making my heart run a marathon. I was used to his smirks or his teasing smiles but it was my first time seeing him laugh. He was looking so sexy when laughing.

I calmed myself and controlled my racing heart. After laughing, he suddenly took my palm into his, making my calm heart race yet again. He patted the back of my hand and started talking.

"What will I do with this property? Till now, I didn't have any thoughts of getting married. So the money that I earned to this day had no purpose. Now I am getting married and it comes with responsibilities. Let my hard-earned money have some purpose. From now on, I will transfer my monthly earnings to your account too. You will handle every money-related matter at home. I will never question your usage. Please sign it and consider it as a present from your soon to be husband," he said, the last part making me blush a little.

Even after his reasoning, I was still hesitating to sign it. He again probed me to sign it by making an innocent face.

At last, I signed it. He gave me another document to sign it. I signed it as it was a document for registering our marriage legally.

We came out of the cafe after paying the bill. I bid him goodbye and thought to return to the hospital as Yuktha must have been waiting for me.

When I was about to leave, he held my hand and asked me if I was free, to which I nodded my head.

"Great then. Can you come with me? I have something to tell you," he said and I agreed.

I settled in the car and he started driving. I messaged Yuktha to go to my house without waiting for me.

Upon reaching that place, he stopped and parked the car at the side. He immediately rushed to my side to open the door like a gentleman.

I laughed in my heart seeing this side of him. I got out of the car.

I looked at the place and was greeted with a peaceful sight. It was filled with greenery.

The view was already breathtaking but as it was close to twilight; it enhanced its beauty even more.

I smiled excitedly. He took my hand and walked further. After that, he sat on the grass and gestured to me to sit beside him. I did the same.

"Beautiful place, right," He asked and I agreed with him by nodding my head continuously, making him chuckle a little. He rubbed my head and started looking ahead.

"I accidentally discovered this place. This place gives me beautiful solace. So, whenever I want to escape from this stressful life, I come to this place to seek peace. Nobody knows about this. Not even my friends. I brought you here to let you see the place with which I have a special attachment," he told me with a smile on his face.

At that moment, I felt like I was so special to him. Seeing his actions and care, I was sure that agreeing to this marriage was not a mistake.

"Daksha, I don't know how much you know about me. If I am sure, you don't know anything about me apart from the basic details. If so, I want to tell you some things related to my past. I want to share everything with you before the marriage itself," he said and looked at me. I nodded at him to continue.

"In the past, I was already engaged," he said while looking at me as if he was checking for something on my face.

When I heard him saying that he was engaged, I felt a little pang in my heart but I masked it immediately. He sighed and continued.

"But it was broken off," I did a mental dance after hearing him say that.

He told me about how he was engaged and how it was broken off after his father's death. He shared his struggles in the past. He told me everything. When I heard about his past, my respect for him reached another level. Even in the face of difficulties, he stood strong and faced everything bravely. Call me weird but I was glad when I heard that he was just in a platonic relationship with his ex-fiancée.

"I am not sure whether my feelings for Anusha were real or not, but I felt betrayed when she left me at my lowest point. So, I don't know whether my heart is capable of allowing anyone inside for that matter, bu I am sure that I won't regret this marriage. This is my past. Even though it is called the past for a reason, it has surely left a shadow over my present. So, bear with me." He looked at me and continued.

"I don't know how to express my feelings in words and I don't know sweet talking. So, I will always prove it with my actions. As of now, I am not sure about my feelings for you but I am not repelled by the idea of being with you. I respect you a lot and I expect the same from you. We can start this relationship by being friends at the start. We will take it slow." He said and extended his hand for a handshake. I took it immediately.

Seeing him being so understanding, I was really happy. My Mom was right. They would never make any wrong decision for me. I was glad that I agreed to the marriage.

"Shall we leave then?" he asked me and I nodded. He stood up and gave me his hand. I took it and before I stood up, I asked him a question, still holding his hand.

"Arjun? What if I say that even I have a painful past? I don't know whether you will support me after hearing about my past. So, can you promise me that you will stay with me forever irrespective of my past?" I asked him and I didn't receive any response.

My eyes teared upon seeing his silence and I was about to remove my hand from his but he tightened his hold and pulled me upwards with a force. I landed on his warm and broad chest.

I looked at him with my teary eyes. When I wanted to leave his hold, he hugged me tightly with one hand, still holding my palm with his other hand. He brought our entwined hands in front of our faces.

"I didn't offer my hand to leave it in the middle," he said while motioning at our hands with his eyes.

Understanding his meaning, I removed my hand and hugged him tighter.

I started sobbing in his chest, remembering all the past happenings, I cried at my fate, I cried at my helplessness.

All the while, he hugged me tightly and started consoling me with his awkward gestures. I laughed at his awkwardness in between my crying. He looked at me and brushed off my tears. I was still smiling with tears.

"Stop laughing. I am really not good at consoling," he said while removing his hold. I left him and nodded.

After that, we settled in the car and headed to my parent's house. We reached there and he again came out to open the door for me. I came out and bid him goodbye.

When I was entering the house, he called me. I turned around to see that he was behind me.

I questioned him with my eyes to which he shook his head and held my face with both hands.

He kissed me on my forehead while lingering his lips there for a while.

"Don't worry. You can tell me about your past whenever you are comfortable. We will face it together," he told me. After that, he entered his car and drove off after waving at me. Even after he left, I stood in the same position while placing a hand over my racing heart.

"God, I think my heart will stop functioning if it continues like this," I thought and went into the house.‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒