From the moment Bojana returned to her hut after visiting Anil and his family, she noticed a change in Jovan. Quite a noticeable change. He had calmed down and lightened up. She had to admit that even his jokes carried a different tune to them. She knew the reason for it. Jovan may have fooled Anil but she was older and much wiser. The sudden change in Jovan was caused by Jagoda and not just because she woke up. It was mainly because... she wanted nothing to do with him.
Bojana smiled to herself as she tended to the porridge cooking over the fire. Its aroma smelled promising, but that was not the reason for her barely noticeable smirk of accomplishment. In the last few days, she had devised a plan that entailed Jagoda being tended to by Jovan. And only him. Somehow Bojana found convenient excuses to disappear from the hut whenever Jagoda needed help with eating, sitting up or... tending to her human needs. This forced Jovan to help Jagoda each step of the way toward her recovery. In turn, it forced Jagoda to rely solely on Jovan's help. And the more she refused his help, the more of it he offered just to spite her. But, along the way they let their emotions lead them as they interacted with one another. THAT affected Bojana's mood in a considerable way.
One snowy day, when Jagoda was still too weak to sit by the table to eat and Bojana left the hut yet again, Jovan followed his regular routine. He picked up the bowl of porridge and carried it in his hand over to the bed that Jagoda sat in. He moved a couple of pillows and placed them against the wall. He then guided her as she leaned back against the pillows, or rather slouched against them. Jagoda hated feeling useless and defenseless. She was raised to be a leader, not to give into an invisible pain - regardless of its origin. Worst of all, she hated knowing that she needed Jovan's help to do pretty much everything.
"Thank You," Jagoda said, quite noticeably speaking through clenched teeth.
Bringing the bowl of porridge closer to her, Jovan shot back a somewhat irritated response. "First of all, stop thanking me for every petty thing I do around here for You. And second of all, don't thank me at all if You don't mean it."
"Did You mean it?" asked Jagoda.
"Which part?" Jovan asked with a temper already simmering under his skin.
"The part where You said that You do every petty thing for me around here." Jagoda replied with some of her own temper in her words.
"Pretty much," Jovan replied stoically.
"You obviously think I am beneath You," Jagoda fired back.
With a cold smile, Jovan said, "Sunshine, that will never happen. At least not the way You carry Yourself."
"You are such a wild boar!" Jagoda noticed the coldness of his smile immediately since it did not reach his eyes as it usually did, and snapped back at him. She tipped her head in the opposite direction causing her to hiss out with a pain so throbbing that she swore.
"I would tell You that You don't have to try so much to get me to kiss You. But then You would probably call me a wild boar again," Jovan chuckled with cocky amusement as Jagoda moved her head slowly to look back at him.
"I did not say anything," she said, pointing her finger at Jovan.
"Sure, You didn't." Jovan grinned from ear to ear.
"Do You speak to all women in this manner? Or just the ones You consider inferior to You?" Jagoda asked after a moment as he began to feed her the porridge.
YOU ARE READING
THE TIDES OF TIME
Romance⚔️ "Being born and raised to respect life and its rules, Jovan Galanis made something of himself. He was ambitious, outgoing, disciplined, and righteous to his very core. His parents died when he was a young boy, and having been raised by his Macedo...
