60. Kitchen Disaster #3
I looked offended. "Excuse me. Emotional labour exists."
Ishaan deadpanned. "Yeah? Must've been hard staring at your wife all day."
I smirked shamelessly. "Very hard actually. You should try getting married too."
"No thanks. Watching your condition is enough birth control."
A laugh escaped me before I lazily opened the first file.
"Chill, man. I can take a few more days off."
"No, you absolutely cannot." Ishaan pointed at the files. "Clients are already asking for meetings, the finance team is losing patience, and HR nearly cried this morning."
I frowned slightly. "Why was HR crying?"
"Because you approved three random leave applications at two a.m."
Ohh, I remember. I did that when Me and Dhwani were, you know, talking last night.
"They sounded emotionally convincing."
Ishaan stared at me in disbelief. "One of them literally wrote, 'Sir vibes are not matching with office environment.'"
"So what?"
"Yugant."
"What?"
"Get back to work."
I exhaled deeply while signing the papers one after another. Honestly, at this point, it felt like Ishaan was the boss and I was some unpaid intern surviving on stress.
"You're very aggressive today," I muttered.
"And you're very useless today."
I smirked slightly while flipping another page. "Someone sounds lonely."
"Someone sounds whipped."
My pen paused for a second before I looked up slowly. "Careful."
Ishaan instantly burst out laughing. "God. Look at your face. One week of marriage and you already react like this?"
I shook my head while signing another file. "You won't understand."
"Thankfully."
Before I could reply, my phone lit up again with Dhwani's message.
Leaving from market now.
Without realizing, a small smile pulled at my lips.
Unfortunately, Ishaan noticed immediately.
"Oh disgusting," he muttered dramatically. "There it is. The husband smile."
I looked at him calmly. "Jealousy is unhealthy."
"Shut up and sign the files."
"Hmm... I am doing that," I said while signing another file. "But I have a very good piece of advice, if you want to take it."
Ishaan instantly exhaled like life had personally disappointed him.
Then he pulled a chair and sat in front of me before drinking a few sips of water.
"See..." he pointed at me tiredly, "I am not Samarth. Please eat his head and leave me alone."
I looked up from the file slowly. Even Samarth doesn't throw this many tantrums.
I avoided his previous sentence like he avoids me.
"It's actually a good idea," I continued. "You should try it."
"Don't fucking throw marriage bullshit at my face," he snapped immediately. "I don't have time for that. And start behaving like my boss for once."
Wow. Now the PA was advising the boss how to behave like one.
"It's not a bad idea," I said calmly while putting my signature on another page. "You can settle your life."
Ishaan laughed once. A dry, humorless laugh.
"That's exactly what I'm planning to do after a few months," he muttered. "Leave this office and go somewhere far away from this sick life."
My hand froze mid-signature.
The playful mood disappeared instantly. Because that was exactly what I was afraid of.
He already had plans. And the worst part? He sounded serious.
I slowly looked up at him. "You're still thinking about that?"
"What do you mean still?" Ishaan leaned back in the chair tiredly. "You think everyone wants to spend their whole life trapped like this? I never wanted to choose this, but I did because I was compelled but not anymore."
"You built this company with me, Ishaan."
"And maybe that's the problem."
The room fell quiet for a second.
Ishaan rubbed his forehead before speaking again, calmer this time. "I am tired, Yugant."
Not physically. I knew that tone. That was the kind of tiredness sleep couldn't fix.
"You need a break," I said.
"No." He shook his head. "I need a life."
His words hit harder than he probably realized.
Because somewhere deep down, I knew he wasn't completely wrong.
Work had consumed all of us slowly. The only difference was... I had Dhwani now.
Something outside office walls. Something that pulled me back toward normal life.
Ishaan didn't have that. And maybe that's why he sounded so detached.
Before I could say anything else, he looked at me again and smirked weakly.
"Don't look at me like that. I'm not dying."
I know he was not. But sometimes it felt like he was. Not physically. Just... little by little from inside. And I know the reason is me somewhere.
My phone screen blinked. I peeked at it once.
"You've checked your phone six times in ten minutes."
I signed the last file looking at him and tossed it toward him.
"Take your emotional damage papers and leave my cabin."
He nodded.
"That's the Yugant I know. Annoying and emotionally unavailable."
I clicked my tongue. "Mind your business."
He smirked tiredly. "You are my business unfortunately."
Then he walked out, leaving the cabin quiet again.
My eyes unconsciously moved toward my phone screen once more. Half an hour suddenly felt too long.