"I usually don't mind."
"But?"
"I'm tired. I want to sleep. And this doesn't seem important. But if I don't do it. . ." Her voice tapered off and she tiredly closed her eyes. With a shake of her head, she lifted her mug and took a tentative sip, annoyed when he pulled it back to grab her attention.
"If you don’t do it, then someone else will learn to get off their ass and figure shit out. Don't do it. Go sleep."
"I can sleep later."
"When? After you drop down from exhaustion? You look like you are five seconds away from doing a faceplant.”
Shepatted her cheeks self-consciously, wondering if she looked that terrible. She hadn’t had time to change out of her scrubs yet. She glanced at herself, a little embarrassed.
"I'll be fine,” she muttered, picking up her phone to begin scrolling for the closest fabric markets.
Engrossed in her task, she did not notice Rian’s annoyance. His brows clashed at her refusal to put her own needs ahead of others. He wished he could demand that she go to bed and take care of herself first, but recognized that he had no right.
What he did have, however, was an alternative. He plucked the phone out of her hand, shushing her protests.
"I have a proposition for you. Call your aunt and say you can't go right now."
Aditi’s face cleared, surprise etched across her features. Wide eyes met his and she blinked, waiting for him to say something more.
"It doesn't have to be a call,” Rian caved, her obvious shock and stunned silence prompting him to explain further. “Text her. You do that, and I'll take you shopping after you rest."
“You will?” she asked, unable to hide her scepticism. “You? In person?”
“No, my spirit will accompany you,” he snapped, rolling his eyes. “Yes, me. In person.”
Her phone rang, interrupting them. The caller ID flashed, and Aditi cast him a discomfited look.
“It’s my aunt,” she explained. “She probably wants to know if I’m on the way to the shop yet.”
Feeling weirdly like she was doing something wrong, she reached for her phone, her sights snapping to his face when he placed his hand over hers to hold her still.
“Don’t pick it up,” Rian requested again. “If you can’t say no, at least ignore the call. And I’ll take you to the market later tonight.”
His face was serious, and Aditi couldn’t understand why. She tried to lighten the moment.
“I am looking for a very particular shade of saree. This isn’t the kind of shopping anyone would like.”
“I’ll deal with it. Don’t pick it up,” he said again, nary a smile on his face, his eyes never straying from hers. She gulped, feeling the phone vibrate under her hand, but Rian did not let go.
“But. . .”
“At most, she’ll be waiting a few hours. Not the end of the world.”
“Rian.”
“Listen to me.”
Aditi waited for the urge to rush to her family member’s aid come calling, the guilt that was part and parcel of an elder daughter’s life when she was unable to jump to do their bidding.
However, for the first time in a long time, none of those emotions hounded her. Rian seemed so certain that it would be okay for her to pick her own timeline to help them, his request—nay, order—so clear, she felt a calmness leach into her. The compulsion to obey him felt like a relief rather than cause for alarm, because it was clear he was concerned for her.
The phone went silent and she still couldn’t look away, his ash-grey eyes pinning her in place.
“Good girl,” he said quietly, giving her hand a soft squeeze of approval before he let go.