The Most Unwanted Call

Raj's pov

Saira’s silence stretched between us, a chasm filled with years of hurt and misunderstandings. Her gaze flickered, vulnerability breaking through her hardened exterior, but the walls were still there. I could see it in the way she hugged herself, as if my words alone weren’t enough to reach the parts of her I’d wounded so long ago.

I took a step closer, hesitating as I searched her face. “I don’t expect you to forgive me overnight, Saira. I know I’ve given you every reason to doubt me, and I hate that. But… I don’t want to be that guy anymore.”

Saira’s lips parted, as if she was about to respond, her expression caught between frustration and something gentler, something I could almost call understanding. But just as she took a breath, my phone buzzed, cutting through the fragile silence between us. Irritated, I pulled it out, hitting decline without a second thought, my eyes not leaving hers.

But then it rang again, insistently. Saira’s gaze hardened, and she took a step back, her arms folding defensively across her chest.

"See?" she said, a bitter edge to her voice. "You act like you care, but I can't forget what you've put me through, Raj. How you made every single day miserable for me, like I was just someone to laugh at, to push around." Her voice wavered, a mix of anger and pain. "All those years… I can’t just forget them."

I reached out instinctively, wanting to bridge the distance between us, but she shook her head, her expression torn. "I don’t know how to believe this is real, Raj. I need… I need time to understand what I’m feeling. To even think about trusting you."

She took a shaky breath, her gaze flickering down as if she couldn’t bear to look me in the eye. "I can’t just… flip a switch and forget everything," she whispered.

The vulnerability in her voice cut deeper than any accusation, and just as I opened my mouth to tell her that I’d wait as long as it took, she turned and hurried out of the room, leaving me with the ringing phone in my hand and the silence pressing down like a weight I couldn’t shake.

My phone buzzed again, the sound slicing through the quiet. I glanced at the screen, and my jaw tightened when I saw the name flashing across it: Eira.

Of all times, she had to reach out now? The frustration that had been simmering since Saira left began to boil over. Eira—she was a part of my past I’d worked hard to leave behind, a chapter I thought I’d closed long ago. But here she was, forcing herself back into my life at the worst possible moment, as if she had any right to.

Taking a sharp breath, I answered the call, my voice colder than ice. “What do you want, Eira? Can you stop making things more complicated for once?”

A soft, musical laugh came through the line, a sound I once found captivating but now felt sickly sweet, like poison wrapped in silk. “Raj, is that any way to greet someone after all this time?” she purred, her tone laced with amusement. “I’ve come all this way, and that’s the welcome I get?”

I rolled my eyes, resisting the urge to hang up. She always did this—always twisted things, played her games. And just when I thought I’d left her behind, here she was again, trying to tug me back into her web. “Cut the act, Eira,” I said, my patience wearing thin. “Tell me what you want, and make it quick.”

She sighed, a delicate sound that I could practically see her making, her lips curled in that all-too-familiar smirk. “Oh, Raj, you’re no fun. You used to be much more entertaining.” Her voice dropped to a teasing murmur. “And don’t forget, I’m here to see my fiancé.”

I clenched my jaw, fingers tightening around the phone. Fiancé. She was still holding onto that word like it was a claim, as if she had any real hold on me now. “Don’t call me that,” I bit out. “That was a long time ago, and you know it.”

“Oh, but do I?” Her tone was light, playful, as if we were discussing something trivial. “You may think you’re done with the past, but the past isn’t done with you. And you know how patient I can be, Raj.”

I shut my eyes, willing myself to keep my composure. “Why are you here, Eira? What do you really want?”

Her voice softened, almost mockingly sweet. “I came back after so long, Raj, and you’re treating me like a stranger.” She paused, her words almost a whisper. “After all, you and I both know we have unfinished business.”