Edward's POV
For a minute, he was silent. He just kept staring at her. For a while.
What was he to respond to her? He wasn't confident enough of speaking a word to her. What if he again says something which might hurt Emily unknowingly.
He hardly knew what was going on his friend's mind these days.
He was afraid he'd say something which might push her to the edge and she'd burst in tears. Again. And she wouldn't even let him comfort him. He was already robbed off that right of being a friend to her.
He couldn't even embrace her in his warmth. So he kept quiet, his mind reeling with several things he wanted to say but couldn't quite understand where to start from.
"I think you were standing here for a while." Emily said, adjusting the white cardigan around her shoulder. She clearly avoided meeting his eyes.
He was lost again. Nothing to say. Silently, he waved a hesitant hand in the air. "Hey. It's me."
She didn't respond. And he felt worse for getting caught by her like this.
She didn't made any move to extend the conversation. Instead, she started walking past him, following the road leading to the Children's Park in the neighborhood.
He thought she was leaving him. Yet again. Heart beating fast, he grabbed her wrist. "I want to talk to you."
She didn't turn around. "About what?"
"About our friendship."
"I think I already made it clear that I wanted some space from you, Edward."
He took few steps and stood in front of her. "And that I already gave you so much, even more than I could ever handle. But it's already been past four months and you still do not want to see me. Tell me what I'm supposed to do."
"The only thing I expect you to do for me is to help me move on with everything that had happened so far."
"Then I want to do it together. Invite me in, be with me, and let's move on together."
She eyed him warily this time. He didn't flinch under her searing gaze. He meant what he said and he would never let her feel that he only says the empty words to her.
Emily began to walk towards the near playground. "I wish to do it alone. Do grant me this favor. And stop coming to my house this late at night. I don't want you to see you getting hospitalized in this harsh cold when your father needs you the most in these times in the middle of the redevelopment of the Boards Members of the Company Executives."
He started walking with her, keeping one step behind her. "For someone wanting to have some space, you sure know more than I know about you past these months."
"You're a family friend, Edward. I ought to know about you." She kept her eyes forward but he could feel she wanted to keep the conversation going.
"Did you go somewhere?" He asked tentatively, "You seem to be dressed like this lesser than usual..."
"...In the past" She added, and then continued, "I've been wandering around here and there too to get my mind off the past. I did went somewhere."
He didn't want to push her, but he was curious. And anxious too. "Where exactly?"
"I'm getting reinstated back into the State Hospital soon, and one of my Ipommediate Seniors happens to be the passout of the same Medical College I got my medical degree from."
"Oh. Then you girls went to the club to chill out?"
She turned around suddenly. He found himself engulfed with the elegant scent of roses, the aroma perforating his pores and calming his nerves. He resisted closing his eyes then and there. "Why would I ever go to a club with a guy the met just once?"
Rolling back into reality, his brows furrowed. Suddenly he didn't like the mood around him anymore. "A guy! I thought it'd be some wom-"
Emily crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Am I always supposed to meet the girls and ignore the majority of the male population around me, just because I'm friends with you and you don't seem to agree to it?"
Emily took a seat in the park, adjusting the sweater around her thighs tightly to keep herself warm.
He was taken aback. She was right. She should meet the men too. That was the way with the world. Hell, that was the way with him too. He met girls too in college.
Though he never got into any serious relationships with any of the girls he met on a blind date, except for Lara whom he took out on a date after they confirmed their relationship officially, he couldn't say that he used to stand away from the opposite gender.
"I didn't mean it that way." He muttered and took a seat next to her. She didn't react so he supposed she didn't mind his company as much as she spoke of.
Suddenly he was reminded of the past. They had played in the same neighborhood park while they were just children.
Though here, in this park, they came as a friends again, the inner part of him questioned why they were still being just friends.
And that was the territory he refused to cross his mind with.
He was very much aware of her while sitting next to her. Her subtle scent was making him feel dizzy and all he wanted to do in that moment was to cup her face with his hands, and memorize every curve of her features to his heart.
Emily broke the descending silence between them. "I didn't meant to say that," she said, still not meeting his eyes.
He realized she was feeling guilty for being so forward with him.
"No, no. I shouldn't have started the same argument again and again." He said, and suddenly deciding that the air was too thick between them, he crossed his arms across his chest in a playful manner. "So, tell me about this guy you went on a date with. How is he? Was he good to you?" He completed his sentence waiting patiently for her to answer.
Emily sat for a moment before she turned a little towards him, adjusting her cardigan. "He is a nice guy."
He nodded in understanding. "How nice is he? Was he polite with you? Did he waited for you to sit first before he sat for dinner himself? Did he open the door for you?"
She pouted, her lips pursued in a thoughtful manner. "He did. He was so very understanding too. He is the Department Head of the Pulmonary Medicine, you see."
"Ah, a doctor. Good for you, you guys will have better communication in both ways. In field work, you can rely on him, and when he lands himself in trouble for treating you like a girl, you can give him a taste of your master punch. Also, he can easily read you like a book when it'll come to things like why women are so obsessively emotional over things men can't get even their minds to understand."
Emily shifted to look at him in the eye. "I'll pretend that wasn't directed at me."
"Oh, but that was surely directed at you. At least that was my intention."
She sighed. "You're such a deliberate."
He didn't know why they were suddenly talking about some guy Emily went out with. Especially, when even talking about that blasted guy's personality made him want to break his abdomen into six anatomical segments.
Surely, Emily would agree with his knowledge of her subject.
"You like him then?" He asked, his heartbeat slowing in anticipation of what her response would be.
Emily didn't respond. At least not in time. And he thought he would end up being crazy, waiting for her reply.
"He spits when he eats. He slurps his noodles like a kid. And he also makes purring noises like a cat while drinking coffee." She said, conclusively.
Consciously, Edward thought about himself.
Does he spit when he eats? Did Emily ever saw him behaving like such a sheep straw?
Finally, he found his voice. "So, what's the problem with that? Surely, these are just little things in comparasion with the whole of his personality."
Emily looked like deep in thought before she spoke, "He's five years my senior both in age and profession. I know I shouldn't consider these things in today's age. But frankly, our thoughts were not in cohesion this meeting. He was interested in very different things than I could ever dwell upon. He seemed to have more knowledge in medicine so he expects everyone to be understanding of him, while I could just stare at him while he talked about some really sophisticated things that went totally over my head!"
Edward knew he shouldn't feel good about the date gone horribly wrong for his best friend. But it all came from his insides, when he thought about how much his heart sped up in fear that Emily would fall for some random senior guy she went on a date with!
His thoughts cut short when he heard Emily sneeze through one of the coldests day of the season. Silently, he unbuttoned his sleeves and slipped out of his night coat.
Bitter coldness hit him hard. It melted and flew like a lava along his front and thick. Tightening his jaw to prevent him from hugging himself, he pushed Emily a little closer to his side while he draped his night coat over her shoulders.
She defended a little at first, muttering she did not want to get him cold because of her. He ran his fingers along the cluster of buttons on his sleeves and buttoned them to prevent the cold air from going inside.
Finally, he pushed the few front buttons inside their respective holes, gently taking hold of her shoulders. He made her look at him.
"Thank you." Emily muttered to herself and before she could turn her back on him, he stood from his place and sat on the ground, his hands taking hers while he swayed a little out of imbalance to place his shoes firmly on iced snow.
He squeezed her fingers a little, as he eyes met his squarely.
He did feel like dying on the snow from cold but the warmth radiating from her soft hands was making him feel lightheaded. Like he was on a room full of heat laden fire.
He couldn't understand the pang of ache in his heart, couldn't quite put his finger on why his heart would take a leap of jump whenever she pouted like this. But he did understand that he wanted her back in his life. And so, for now, he'd focus on doing just that.
Emily shuffled out of her seat to put him back into his position. "Have you gone mad, Edward! You'd catch a cold! Hurry up and sit here-"
"Let me speak before you. Like this." He intertwined their fingers. "And you need to listen to me this time, Emily."
She refused to listen, wiping his wet fingers and shirt with her handkerchief. "No, not like this! I'll still listen to everything you say even when you are being seated beside me."
"You don't even look at me while we are next to each other."
"I'll look at you. I'm looking at you now, Edward. Don't be stubborn," Emily said before she stood straight in front of him, her hand still on his palm, with his one knee on ground while the other swished flat on cold snow.
Strangely, he smiled at his position. He should've been on his knees when he first proposed the marriage to her. He should have clearly asked her like a man, to be a woman, as his wife, for him.
Now that he came in this situation, it's all for better. Even then, if Emily had refused his proposal saying no, she couldn't spoil both of their lives like this in a fake arrange contract marriage like this, he wouldn't even have the right to speak against her decision.
Thinking back now, he realized how Emily had tried her best to get away from that foolish proposition he proposed. Yet he, making her swear on the name of their friendship, made her do it.
Saying to her that he'd have done it for her it, if it were her, on his position.
He smiled bitterly to himself. He knew such a liar he had been. He'd never have been able to marry Emily off to someone else, let alone marry her himself just to see her with the love of her life. It was like asking the God to tell him that he wanted a slow painful death rather than a single finite blow to end his life.
Once again, the reason of why seeing her with the love of her life felt like a painful death to him, he didn't dare his thoughts wander to that dangerous area.
He fell in love. Once. And that was enough.
But then, did it mean he was in love with Emily? Maybe that's why he was behaving strangely like a jealous obsessed guy in the name of a best friend? That's why he couldn't tolerate any other guy around her? He couldn't stand the thought of another man with his Emily?
That's why he wanted nothing more than to take her into his arms and kiss her senseless? Make her his. Forever. And ever.
Does that mean that he has finally gone insane? Again?
No, he shuffled those thoughts away before he could probe any further.
____
To be continued...
I'll surely update the next chapter in two days I promise. This time I won't lose on my promises guys. I'll try my best.
So how did you like the Edward's POV? Is it how it should be? Or is Edward behaving too much like a normal man and he should be behaving more passionately for our dear Emily?
I'm trying to give their maximum interactions here, as much as I can. It's hard for me too, cause after a year and a half, I seem to have forgotten half of my own Book, so I need spaces and plots here and there to fill up the words.
So, I'll ask this honestly. I know not much happened this chapter, but how was this chapter guys?
Emotional?
Entertaining?
Interesting? Cause it was Edward's POV?
What do you think about Edward now that you've seen him how and what he thinks about our Emily?
Does he still look that cruel to you that he looked from the start? Or his POV has helped you guys sort out some of the anger you've for him?
If anyone of you wants to talk, you can find me on Instagram - [ ritika_verma_970000 ]
