“Eh?” I blinked twice. 
Rithik rubbed his palms together in excitement. “Oh, yess! This is gonna be interesting.” 
“No, I just wish to know. Look, if this would have been one sided, I would have abided, but it's not. It's clear you love him and wish to be together, yet you are not. As far as I've seen Rithik-” She briefly glanced at him, shooting a smile while he nodded enthusiastically. “He seems like a green flag. Not to mention romantic. Not anyone will travel to the other side of the world after you ditch him like that.”
“Thank you, Kylie. You are a true pal.”
“Geez K, stop making me feel more guilty. I don't like it.” I said weakly with my head hung low. I was about to get up from the seat when Kylie held my hand, stopping me. 
“It's just me and him, N. I won't tell the girls. I won't judge you either. You can talk to me,” Kylie held my hand, looking me in the eye.
Crap! Something came over Kylie and she was determined to get it. I sighed, giving up. Henceforth, Rithik and I told her about our relationship, specifically when things started to get bumpy. The mafia-like fued with Raj; the drama that ensued with Rithik's bua when she caught us, his questions about marriage all the way to the letter I wrote before leaving.
Kylie tapped her chin in thought, her brows knitting. “Hmm, I agree, it's messy, but not irredeemable. It can be addressed. Rithik- you said it was difficult to convince her to date you.” 
“Yeah, stressful,” Rithik answered, his voice strained. “I knew I was up for rejection if I'd asked her out before. I pretended to joke I loved her, just to gauge her reaction. I was always figuring her out. Always treading on thin ice. Then again, she was never interested in dating to begin with, but I could tell she liked being with me. It's like she's commitment-phobic.” 
“Oye, I'm right here, you shitheads!” I deadpanned.
“More like emotionally unavailable. That's what I'm sensing throughout the 온라인카지노게임. Why is that?” Kylie dodged my comment, jumping straight to the gun. “Yes, I agree, relationships are scary. It's like taking a leap of faith, but we still take it. All of us desire someone special by our side. Have you been hurt in the past?”
“Nah, this has been my first, serious relationship.” 
“Well, she's been hurt by her family quite a bit...” 
“By her family, how? She rarely talks about them. How are they like?” Kylie turned her attention to Rithik, her expression showing curiosity. 
I leaned my head down the table, feeling uneasy with the direction this conversation was going. Despite throwing daggers at Rithik to warn him, he went ahead and told her anyway. Atleast the things he knew about my parents. Great, just great! Perhaps he should announce it to the whole world what a fabulous family I have and how spectacularly they have raised me. I trained my eyes on the floor, hoping it would swallow me from this ridiculous scenario. 
“If that's the case, it explains a lot of things,” Kylie spoke after listening. When she glanced at me, I jerked my head away, sulking. “You like to be in control. It makes you feel safe and protected. Just like your casual relationships in the past. You're not losing yourself in the process. However emotional intimacy is everything you stand against for- to the point where it becomes your defence mechanism. It stems from your deep-rooted fears from home where you couldn't get the emotional stability you needed as a child. You were probably betrayed in some way. So now you're too scared to open up and get hurt again. It's a form of insecure attachment style.” 
“How...?” That's all I could say, slightly hugging my elbows. 
Kylie smiled nervously, “I studied a bit of psychology, actually. However, this is just my take.”