Page 83 of Between Love & Ruin

I know I will spiral alone.

“Is everything fine?” he asks

“Yes,” I reassure him. “We just haven’t met since a long time, and we are both in NYC, so why not make use of it, you know?”

He nods before interlacing his fingers with mine.

“I will drop you off.”

I pass him a smile.

Now I really do need to go and see her.

* * *

“What did she mean by that?” Aisha asks me as we sit cross-legged on her bed. I thought she was staying at the hotel, but no. Her husband wanted more privacy with her, so he got a small place here for them.

I knew Reyansh Carter was rich and hopelessly in love with his wife, but I never knew it went to this extent.

It’s adorable.

I sip the cup of chai she made for me. A proper one at that, and I wonder why I never tried it before. Now I need to steal the recipe.

“Honestly, beats me. I always had a feeling she didn’t like me. But I never knew she was this bitter with me. She doesn’t have any concrete reason to not like me, and even though I don’t care about her opinion on me, I do care when it starts affecting what Dominic and I are starting to build.”

A sly grin comes over Aisha’s face, and I roll my eyes. I just know what’s coming next.

“Look at you, lover girl,” she says with a giggle. There it is. “A few months ago I could bet you hated the idea of love in real life. Though you manage to write it so beautifully, it’s magic. But now? You look like a girl who just wants to drown in her lover’s eyes.”

I scrunch up my nose even when heat rises up to my cheeks. That’s a bit of an exaggeration.

“You read too many romance novels,” I say, shaking my head. “But I agree. Even I am surprised by how I feel with him—it almost scares me, you know.”

She nods, her eyes soft now with no teasing glint in them. I know no one could understand what I am feeling right now better than her.

“I know I never felt this way with anyone. Not with my ex. Not for any crush I had in school. But with Dominic, it’s almost like one look by him is enough to make me float. He smiles at me, and every stress and every doubt in my head goes away. And I swear, whenever he touches me or hugs me, it’s like the world around me disappears.”

She gives me a knowing smile while sipping on her chai. She lets me continue because I don’t think I will be able to stop talking anyways.

“I sometimes think I was always meant to come here, you know. Just to fall for him. And even though the way we met, the situations, the timing—everything was a little complicated—it was still worth it. I know I would do it all over again.”

“God,” Reyansh—who I am sure was listening to our conversation from the beginning—comes out from behind the door. “I am sorry for eavesdropping, ladies. But now you look like a woman in love, Sienna.”

I smile cheekily, narrowing my eyes. “I know you were here since the beginning, Mr. Aisha.”

He doesn’t even mind when I call him that.

“Can’t help it,” he says, leaning down to kiss his wife on top of her head, and now it’s her time to blush. “I hate being away from her. Especially on my days off.”

“Sorry for disturbing your seemingly third ‘honeymoon,’” I tease, and Aisha rolls her eyes. “But I needed to vent out somewhere.”

“Don’t mind him.” She slaps her husband’s chest but leans further into his embrace. Now they are making me miss my boyfriend. God, what have I become?

“Yes,” he says. “But I do think you should talk about what Myra said. I think it’s total bullshit. People love ruining something good. But if it makes you doubt something, you should definitely talk about it with Dominic.”

“I agree,” Aisha nods. “People hate seeing people happy. And judging from what I know of Myra, I know she hates seeing you with him. Not because she has something for him, no. But because she hates seeing the power you hold over him. We all know you can’t get that man to do anything but a word from you, and he will happily sell his soul to the devil, if need be.”

“You are exaggerating,” I roll my eyes even when my stomach dips. I know he hears me out. I mean, as he absolutely should. But this is a bit too much.