4 hours ago
(This post was last modified: 4 hours ago by heygiwriter. Edited 1 time in total. Edited 1 time in total.)
Chapter 119: Slipping Truths & New Requests
The immediate next day was Nikitha’s turn to stay home with Jay.
From the moment she woke up, something felt different for Jay. She moved around the house with a quiet familiarity, preparing kanji with ginger, helping him wipe his face with warm water, changing his clothes with gentle care. It was almost like the old days, before the walls had gone up between them. She even started small conversations — asking how he slept, whether the pain in his elbow had reduced, reminding him to take medicines on time.
Jay noticed it all. For the first time in many days, she was being herself around him again. The cold distance had softened. She no longer avoided casual talk. But instead of relief, Jay felt a strange unease. He kept guarding himself.
Don’t give me hopes, Nikki, he thought bitterly. The irony was painful — he had once wanted to fight for her, to pull her back from Tharun. But now that she was showing closeness again, fear gripped him. What if this has some intention behind it?
During lunch, as she served him lunch, he finally spoke.
“I don’t know if I should be happy that you’re acting normal again… or fear that you have some reason behind it.”
Nikitha looked at him, spoon paused mid-air. “Why do I look strange to you now?”
Jay met her eyes, voice low but honest. “After your cold distance for so many days… after you threw me under the bus when Sudhagaran came… and now the soup, the ginger chicken, your sudden care, your new request about the village… I can’t stop doubting your intentions.”
Nikitha stared at him for a moment, then let out a soft, almost bitter laugh.
She composed herself and said quietly, “We once agreed that ‘If we don’t meet a proper better half… even if we have affairs outside, our friendship and understanding will safeguard our relationship. We would crawl back without ego.’”
She paused, her voice turning heavier.
“After recent developments… I’m not sure if we can be like that anymore. The emotions around us have complicated everything and destroyed the friendship. Like you said… we should not have loved each other. The moment I realised there was love between us… everything collapsed.”
Jay caught the word instantly. His eyes sharpened.
“So… Do you agree that we had love?”
Nikitha realised her careless slip. She looked down at her plate for a second, then said softly, “Yes… I would put it that way. If not for love, you would not have suffered like this… and I would not have either.” It's better to agree and move on.
Jay’s heart twisted. He leaned forward slightly. “If you realise there was love… then why did you choose Tharun?”
Nikitha looked at him, but didn’t respond immediately. The question hung heavy between them. Jay urged gently, “Why do you think you are obligated to him just because you had sex? See… it’s nothing to me. All I need is you.”
Nikitha’s eyes flashed with guilt and discomfort. “Wait… wait, Jay.”
She stood up abruptly, leaving half her food untouched. “It’s not just sex. I love him. I chose him. It was way before I realised you were in love too. It’s better for us this way.
“You know why I was cold before? Because of this. I genuinely want to continue our good friendship. I fear what if your feelings cause me discomfort that would break my friendship with you. I have no one except you till Tharun comes in. I don’t want to miss you. I still want to be in your life. I want us to be the old us — the friends before love.
At least that phase… will it work?”
Jay smirked, but there was no humor in it — only pain and exhaustion.
“What kind of friend do you refer to, Nikitha?” His voice was quiet but sharp. “Which friend will agree to marry someone in distress? Which friend would shower all the love through sex? Which friend would get into an affair with someone, just to safeguard one? Which friend would take the blame for the disgusting letter he never wrote?”
He looked straight at her, eyes burning.
“Everything I did… not because I thought you were a friend. It’s because I thought you were my woman.”
The words landed like stones. Nikitha stood frozen for a second, unable to meet his gaze. The weight of his pain, his love, his sacrifice — it all crashed over her at once. She turned away from the table, unable to face him any longer.
She walked toward the kitchen sink, her back to him, trying to steady her breathing. The silence between them was deafening.
The night passed in the same quiet routine - food, care, medicine.
Nikitha moved around the house with quiet efficiency, serving Jay his dinner, reminding him to take his medicines, and adjusting the pillows behind his back so he could sit comfortably. She gave him space, speaking only when necessary, but the weight of her own words from lunch pressed heavily on her chest. Every glance at Jay’s tired face replayed the pain in his eyes when she had said she loved Tharun. The guilt was suffocating.
She wanted to talk to Tharun - to hear his calm voice, to feel his steady presence — but she stopped herself. He was already covering her workload after office hours, staying late into the night to finish reports and proposals so she could focus on Jay. Disturbing him now felt selfish.
She couldn’t sleep.
Lying beside Jay in the dim light, she stared at the ceiling, replaying the lunch conversation again and again. His pained expression. His quiet accusation. His words about which friend i refer to, the sacrifices he made.
as the words kept repeated in her ears, that's when she noticed it.
“Which friend would take the blame for the disgusting letter he never wrote?”
Jay didn’t write it.
She had known it deep down — a quiet instinct she had ignored not because of anger, because it came from Jay's mouth. But when the same Jay utters exactly opposite way, hearing it from his own mouth, seeing the exhaustion and honesty in his eyes, made it undeniable.
I knew it. I knew it, she whispered to herself in the darkness. She realised not just Tharun, that day Jay too decided to take blame to protect her Name. Indeed at the end it was Jay whose name got damaged.
Ever since the mirror discovery at Tharun’s apartment, a part of her had wanted to treat Jay with dignity — like the old friend he had once been. But she realised now that trying to force their friendship back to how it was would only complicate everything further, especially after how he had responded. The love, the hurt, the memories — they were all tangled too deeply.
She decided she would stay distant, but she still wanted him to have everything he deserved. She would orchestrate it from afar - making sure he was cared for, supported, and protected. Clearing his name from the letter was the first step. She couldn’t let him carry that false blame any longer.
Nikitha turned slightly on the bed, careful not to wake him. In the quiet darkness, a new resolve settled over her. She would help him. She would fix what she could. And then… she would finally let go.
But even as she made that silent promise, her heart ached with the weight of it all.
The immediate next day was Nikitha’s turn to stay home with Jay.
From the moment she woke up, something felt different for Jay. She moved around the house with a quiet familiarity, preparing kanji with ginger, helping him wipe his face with warm water, changing his clothes with gentle care. It was almost like the old days, before the walls had gone up between them. She even started small conversations — asking how he slept, whether the pain in his elbow had reduced, reminding him to take medicines on time.
Jay noticed it all. For the first time in many days, she was being herself around him again. The cold distance had softened. She no longer avoided casual talk. But instead of relief, Jay felt a strange unease. He kept guarding himself.
Don’t give me hopes, Nikki, he thought bitterly. The irony was painful — he had once wanted to fight for her, to pull her back from Tharun. But now that she was showing closeness again, fear gripped him. What if this has some intention behind it?
During lunch, as she served him lunch, he finally spoke.
“I don’t know if I should be happy that you’re acting normal again… or fear that you have some reason behind it.”
Nikitha looked at him, spoon paused mid-air. “Why do I look strange to you now?”
Jay met her eyes, voice low but honest. “After your cold distance for so many days… after you threw me under the bus when Sudhagaran came… and now the soup, the ginger chicken, your sudden care, your new request about the village… I can’t stop doubting your intentions.”
Nikitha stared at him for a moment, then let out a soft, almost bitter laugh.
She composed herself and said quietly, “We once agreed that ‘If we don’t meet a proper better half… even if we have affairs outside, our friendship and understanding will safeguard our relationship. We would crawl back without ego.’”
She paused, her voice turning heavier.
“After recent developments… I’m not sure if we can be like that anymore. The emotions around us have complicated everything and destroyed the friendship. Like you said… we should not have loved each other. The moment I realised there was love between us… everything collapsed.”
Jay caught the word instantly. His eyes sharpened.
“So… Do you agree that we had love?”
Nikitha realised her careless slip. She looked down at her plate for a second, then said softly, “Yes… I would put it that way. If not for love, you would not have suffered like this… and I would not have either.” It's better to agree and move on.
Jay’s heart twisted. He leaned forward slightly. “If you realise there was love… then why did you choose Tharun?”
Nikitha looked at him, but didn’t respond immediately. The question hung heavy between them. Jay urged gently, “Why do you think you are obligated to him just because you had sex? See… it’s nothing to me. All I need is you.”
Nikitha’s eyes flashed with guilt and discomfort. “Wait… wait, Jay.”
She stood up abruptly, leaving half her food untouched. “It’s not just sex. I love him. I chose him. It was way before I realised you were in love too. It’s better for us this way.
“You know why I was cold before? Because of this. I genuinely want to continue our good friendship. I fear what if your feelings cause me discomfort that would break my friendship with you. I have no one except you till Tharun comes in. I don’t want to miss you. I still want to be in your life. I want us to be the old us — the friends before love.
At least that phase… will it work?”
Jay smirked, but there was no humor in it — only pain and exhaustion.
“What kind of friend do you refer to, Nikitha?” His voice was quiet but sharp. “Which friend will agree to marry someone in distress? Which friend would shower all the love through sex? Which friend would get into an affair with someone, just to safeguard one? Which friend would take the blame for the disgusting letter he never wrote?”
He looked straight at her, eyes burning.
“Everything I did… not because I thought you were a friend. It’s because I thought you were my woman.”
The words landed like stones. Nikitha stood frozen for a second, unable to meet his gaze. The weight of his pain, his love, his sacrifice — it all crashed over her at once. She turned away from the table, unable to face him any longer.
She walked toward the kitchen sink, her back to him, trying to steady her breathing. The silence between them was deafening.
The night passed in the same quiet routine - food, care, medicine.
Nikitha moved around the house with quiet efficiency, serving Jay his dinner, reminding him to take his medicines, and adjusting the pillows behind his back so he could sit comfortably. She gave him space, speaking only when necessary, but the weight of her own words from lunch pressed heavily on her chest. Every glance at Jay’s tired face replayed the pain in his eyes when she had said she loved Tharun. The guilt was suffocating.
She wanted to talk to Tharun - to hear his calm voice, to feel his steady presence — but she stopped herself. He was already covering her workload after office hours, staying late into the night to finish reports and proposals so she could focus on Jay. Disturbing him now felt selfish.
She couldn’t sleep.
Lying beside Jay in the dim light, she stared at the ceiling, replaying the lunch conversation again and again. His pained expression. His quiet accusation. His words about which friend i refer to, the sacrifices he made.
as the words kept repeated in her ears, that's when she noticed it.
“Which friend would take the blame for the disgusting letter he never wrote?”
Jay didn’t write it.
She had known it deep down — a quiet instinct she had ignored not because of anger, because it came from Jay's mouth. But when the same Jay utters exactly opposite way, hearing it from his own mouth, seeing the exhaustion and honesty in his eyes, made it undeniable.
I knew it. I knew it, she whispered to herself in the darkness. She realised not just Tharun, that day Jay too decided to take blame to protect her Name. Indeed at the end it was Jay whose name got damaged.
Ever since the mirror discovery at Tharun’s apartment, a part of her had wanted to treat Jay with dignity — like the old friend he had once been. But she realised now that trying to force their friendship back to how it was would only complicate everything further, especially after how he had responded. The love, the hurt, the memories — they were all tangled too deeply.
She decided she would stay distant, but she still wanted him to have everything he deserved. She would orchestrate it from afar - making sure he was cared for, supported, and protected. Clearing his name from the letter was the first step. She couldn’t let him carry that false blame any longer.
Nikitha turned slightly on the bed, careful not to wake him. In the quiet darkness, a new resolve settled over her. She would help him. She would fix what she could. And then… she would finally let go.
But even as she made that silent promise, her heart ached with the weight of it all.
![[+]](https://xossipy.com/themes/sharepoint/collapse_collapsed.png)