"Let me drop you home first. You rest and don't take the stress. Let me look into this matter. I promise you, everything is going to be okay and you will get your clarity too." Irene tried to assure Effie but somewhere deep in her heart, she was afraid of failing Effie.
Effie nodded. "Who was that guy in the corridor? Is he your ex?" Effie had been waiting to ask Irene about him.
Irene hummed indifferently. Her mind did not have a place for Ayden's thoughts anymore. It was filled with Ashton's. Effie was smart enough to know that Irene was not willing to talk about it so she did not push her more.
"Come, let's look for a cab," Irene asserted and started to make her way out of college with Effie.
"I have this app where we can book cabs. Let me book one for us." Effie pulled out her phone, while they continued to walk.
Effie, though looking in her phone, was protected because Irene chose to walk on the side of vehicles.
<>
"Do you not think he is a bit too dominating?"
Irene, who was sitting alone in the college cafeteria busy doodling, was startled. She was so lost in doodling that she did not even acknowledge anyone's presence until she heard the voice which was a familiar one. But the spoken words were strange.
She looked up to find Ashton standing near her chair, right beside her. "Sorry?"
"Ayden. I heard you two arguing in the morning outside the college. He should not stop you from jogging."
Firstly, Irene was taken aback by what Ashton was saying. He was talking against Ayden which was hard to stomach for Irene. Why would he do that? If at all, he was finding Ayden's demand unfair, he could have just gone ahead and made his best friend understand it but coming to her, and highlighting Ayden's behavior as unacceptable, was weird.
She had just opened her mouth to respond when he took the chair next to her and sat down. "I really like you two together but he should not pester or rather force you for something that you do not want to do."
Ashton seemed different that day. Irene and Ashton… they did not really talk that often and for him to suddenly come up to her one day and say what he was saying… left Irene wondering about a lot of things.
"Ashton," she began. "I am not exactly sure what you are trying to do but I would like to believe that your intentions are good but this is between us… between Irene and Ayden and I believe, we are mature enough to deal with our stuff on our own. Even if we are not, I would not appreciate anyone's interference in our relationship. What happens in our relationship is our thing! It would be better if you stay out of it."
<>
Apart from the weird vibe that Ashton had given Irene that day, there was something else her mind was struck over.
'What happens in our relationship is our thing! It would be better if you stay out of it.'
Those were her words to him that day.
She had asked him to keep away from the matters in her relationship but what was she doing? Did she have a say in Effie and Ashton's relationship?
Was she not being a pure hypocrite now when it came to her friend?
If it was not okay for Ashton to interfere in their relationship, then was it okay for her to interfere in Effie and Ashton's relationship?
That also got her thinking… she was willing to go out of her way because Effie really mattered to her.
Why did Ashton go out of his way that day? Was it… for her?
'Enough. You are not thinking straight. These two situations cannot be compared. He has abandoned a girl after making her pregnant. Of course, you have a say in it.' She was trying hard to convince herself that she was not wrong but it was a tough battle.
She wished she had someone who could give her another perspective on the situation. She wished she had someone to confide in. She wished she had someone with whom she could have a long and deep conversation. She wished there was someone who could help her decide what she was supposed to do.
She was walking fully and deeply engrossed in her thoughts, almost forgotten that she was walking on a road. A blue-colored car was speedily coming toward her to which she was completely oblivious. Effie's eyes were still on her phone because the app was not working so she had uninstalled it and was installing again.
It almost happened in a blink of an eye that someone rushed and crossed the road, got his hand around Irene's waist, and pushed both of them aside. The car closely passed by their side.
Irene, slightly shaken by the whole incident, needed time to understand what exactly happened. Turning her head to the person who had saved her from a fatal accident, she was about to thank him but stopped on seeing who it was. Ilyan.
His eyebrows were pulled down together and lips... pressed together. For some reason, his cold eyes affected her. He looked enraged but seemed in the process of suppressing his anger.
He straightened her and instantly let go of his hold on her. The car did stop at some distance and the driver got his head out of the window, yelling at Irene.
"What? Are you blind? Why don't you choose a better way of dying rather than spoiling my car wheels with your blood?"
"I am -"
Irene was about to apologize but halted on her words when Ilyan gripped her wrist. It was conveyed by just one look on his face that Irene should keep quiet for a while, and she did not know why but she obliged.
He let go of his grip again. He had taken just a step toward the car when Irene stopped him.
"It's okay. Let it be. It was anyway my fault. I was not paying attention. I should have." Irene admitted that she had committed a mistake. How could she blame the car driver when her own eyes were careless enough not to spot the car.
Ilyan walked toward the car wordlessly.
"Are you okay?" Effie hugged Irene. Irene confirmed that she was.
"Who is he?"
Irene did not hear Effie's question as her nervous gaze was staring at Ilyan. The last thing that she wanted was Ilyan or anyone else for that matter to get into any fight because of her.
What the heck had fate in store for her?