Chapter 111 - 110

Shreya took his hands in hers and dragged him through the house excited. Charan had no idea where she was going but then he did not really bother to ask her. He just followed her quietly.

Shreya came to a standstill in front of a double door. She hesitated for a minute but then pushed the doors wide open and gestured Charan to get in.

It doesn't take a lot to guess whose room it was. There was a big ass poster of some band hung on the wall right opposite to the doors… so obviously it was Shreya's room. The room itself seemed as big as his whole house.

On one side of the room, there was a huge shelf filled with books and a few feet from it was an elegant looking table and a huge rolling chair. And the side closest to the door had a king-size bed and a very puffy looking mattress. In between space led to a door on both sides. On led to a balcony and the other to a bathroom.

"You know… no matter how many places of yours I see… It still amazes me how filthy rich you are." Charan said looking around. He couldn't mask the slight discomfort in his voice. This place intimidated him. For the first time, he was seeing how far away they were.

For a person who actually grew up in such a space… he did not even know how she was able to sleep on his cramped couch day after day. It almost felt like abuse to have let her sleep there.

Shreya looked at his face and she could see something very complicated was running through his head but then she couldn't figure out what. She just wanted to show him the places she grew up in… her bedroom she slept in… Showing them was like sharing a piece of herself with Charan… sharing some of the most intimate parts of herself. But she did not know how something like that had led to Charan pulling away from her.

Since she didn't understand what was wrong, she asked as she always did.

"What is it?? Why do you look sick all of a sudden?? Does it smell weird here??" She asked sincerely.

Charan looked at her completely oblivious eyes and did not know where to start explaining his own feelings and insecurities. He left out a helpless sigh and sat down on the bed… the bed sunk in like a sponge cake.

"Just add another to the list…" Charan muttered to himself.

"Add to what list??" Shreya asked once again confused.

"Nothing… You want to go freshen up and come??" Charan asked instead, changing the subject. It was not that his heart had suddenly calmed down. It was, in fact, quite the opposite. He was having a very hard time controlling his heart. The more he thought about saying anything the more terrified he got. He was afraid he would end up saying something completely stupid and superficial now and then end up changing things between them somehow. Their relationship was not weak… but then he was still not confident enough to test it.

But then to Shreya, it was a whole different story. She was confused and she doesn't like the feeling. She is used to talking out whatever little friction she ever has in any relationship. She did not know how to hide her emotions and more than that she was not a fan of misunderstanding. She would rather ask a person something rude and know for sure what was happening than be polite and walk on ice picks.

Shreya went and sat beside him. She took his hand in hers and started talking.

"Charan, I do not want to pry. If it was truly something you don't want to tell me, I won't ask you about it and you don't have to tell me about it. But please don't hide things that concern us. I know something here made you uncomfortable and you are holding back on me. I hate any kinda friction in our relationship. You feel something and you don't talk about it… Emotions tend to pile up and one day it will blow up into a huge misunderstanding… I hate that kinda situation. It is tiresome. I would rather you tell me everything then and there and we talk it out…"

Silence prevailed for a while after that. Shreya stood up from her place and said walking towards the bath, "Okay then… I will go get a shower now…"

Charan, on the other hand, thought about what Shreya just said.

When he thought about it now… she had always been like this… from the very first day they met. She had always been painstakingly open about how she felt each and every moment she spent with him. She had secrets… yes… but she never hid anything from him when it came to things between them. She always conveyed her expectations very precisely when it came to things she wanted from the relationship and him with zero hesitation.

So it did not feel right to hide things from her now… especially when it might lead to bigger problems in the future.

Just as he sorted out his thoughts, Shreya walked out of the bath in an oversized t-shirt and some ripped jeans. And her hair was dripping wet.

"Dry your hair…" Charan said frowning when she did not make an effort to dry them.

"I don't know where I kept my hairdryer here… it will dry off on its own…" Shreya shrugged and busied herself with her phone as always.

Charan let out a sigh and went to the bath which was, by the way, was as big as his bedroom. But he did not dwell on it for long and came back with a towel.

Shreya was sitting on her chair behind the desk with her phone and a tablet working. Charan went ahead and just dragged her without a word and sat her on the bed.

"Charan… what are you doing??" Shreya asked confused looking up from her phone.

"You do your work… I am just going to dry your hair…" Charan answered and did exactly that standing behind her.

"No, it's okay… I can do it. Just give me a minute. I need to finish something…" Shreya protested but Charan did not bother with her. He just held her in place and methodically rubbed the towel over her hair and dried them off.