Pyaar Se: An Innings At Love

44. mumbai meri jaan

"You drew stars around my scars."

Kriti's P.O.V.

"Bhaiya, careful." Came my worried voice as Arjun bhaiya helped Naman get in the elevator that lead up to our penthouse.

I punched in the code and put my thumb on the fingerprint scanner and unlocked the door.

We helped Naman sit on the couch and then I rushed to get some cushions and pillows to make him feel comfortable.

I set the cushions under his ankle to elevate his leg, as soon as I got them.

"Is this okay?" I asked him as I stood up.

"Yeah, it feels good." He answered to which I nodded my head.

"Does it still hurt?" Was my next question, the worry and concern was pretty evident in my voice.

"A little bit." Naman replied.

There was something off. I could feel it, something was going on in his head which was bothering him.

He was quiet the entire journey back home. I made a mental note to talk about it to Naman after Arjun bhaiya leaves.

"Mom, Ishika and Yukti are visiting you tomorrow, Naman." Arjun bhaiya informed as he sat down next to him.

"There's no need, bhaiya. Bhabhi anyways needs to rest as much as she can these days and mom and Yukti will get exhausted for no reason." Naman said to Arjun bhaiya.

He was right, Ishika bhabhi's three pregnant. So, she does need a lot of rest. And it's the monsoon going on here, in Mumbai. Therefore, the humidity is at its peak which will exhaust both mom and little Yukti.

"You know how mom is, she was ready to fly to England but I somehow convinced that I'll handle it. She worries about you a lot." Arjun bhaiya explained.

"I'll talk to her." He replied to which Arjun bhaiya just shook his head.

"Let me make some coffee for us, bhaiya, any specifications?" I, then, asked.

"No no, Kriti. I am gonna leave, now. Ishika must be waiting and you must be tired. Get some sleep, now, he's home. He'll be alright." He assured me to which I nodded my head.

"Come on, skip. Let's get you to bed." Arjun bhaiya said to Naman which made me chuckle.

He, then, helped Naman get settled on the bed and I repeated the actions which I did earlier- putting the pillows.

"Take all your medicines on time and listen to what your wife says. I'll see you." Arjun bhaiya instructed Naman to which he nodded his head not before rolling his eyes, though.

I decided to walk Arjun bhaiya to the door. He stopped right at the door and turned towards me to say, "He can be a bit cranky. He gets irritated all the time when things don't go the way he wants, don't think too much of it. And take care of yourself, too, Kriti."

"Yes, bhaiya. Visit soon and please give my hugs to Yukti, I miss her! I'll probably FaceTime bhabhi tonight." I told him to which he smiled and nodded. Then, he left and I went back to where my husband was.

"Are you hungry?" I asked him as soon as I entered the room.

Naman shook his head in response.

"But you have to eat otherwise you won't be able to take your meds, bunny." I said to him.

"Here, you watch the TV while I go make some soup for you." I passed him the remote and left the room.

I made this vegetable soup that the doctor had prescribed and for myself, I just added some noodles in the same soup.

Smart, I know!

I quickly set our bowls in a tray and walked back to our room.

I sat on the bed, next to him, carefully and placed the tray on my lap.

"Time to eat!" I squealed which made Naman look in my direction.

"I'm not hungry." He said in a clipped tone.

"Doesn't matter, love. You've got to eat." I said and took some soup in the ladle and blew some air towards it with my mouth to reduce its temperature.

Then, I moved the ladle towards his mouth and softly said, "Here you go."

He took the ladle from his working hand and put it back into the bowl.

"Naman, what is it?" I asked him.

"I told you I'm not hungry."

"No, there's something else bothering. Tell me, what is it?" I asked him.

"It's nothing." His response was still clipped.

"Okay, I won't have food if you won't." I said and put the tray on the side table.

"No." He said.

I didn't reply to it and pretended to search for some show on Netflix.

"Stop behaving like a child, Kriti, and eat." He ordered.

"Tell me what's going on in your head and then, I'll eat." I told him.

"Ugh, no." He was upset.

"Fine, guess I'll sleep empty stomach tonight then." I pouted.

"Jesus, fine." He said and I turned towards him, curiously.

"I...I didn't get to perform the way I wanted to for the country. I let them down and that's been eating me up this whole time. I don't even know if I'm good enough to lead the team. I-I don't even know if I deserve all that I have- including you. I don't know if I'm worth it. The entire country's put their faith in me and I come back with a broken leg and a cracked wrist. I don't even know if I'll be able to play the World Cup or not." He opened up to me.

"Naman, no. You didn't let anyone down. You didn't get hurt intentionally and moreover, you injured yourself while serving for the country. You are one of the greatest captains we've ever had. You are worth it all. And, you deserve all this and more, baby. Never doubt yourself." I softly spoke to him as I put my hand above his and caressed his skin.

"I've seen you put your everything to your job and injuries happen in a sport like this, you just have to trust yourself and get back to the field. You are the most hardworking person I have ever met and don't you dare doubt yourself. You have those leadership skills in you, that's why they made you the captain. You are the best at what you do, don't let those voices inside you tell you otherwise." I finished.

We sat in silence for a bit and then, after sometime, he spoke up, "Thank you, baby. I don't know what I'd do without you. I love you."

"I love you." I smiled.

"Now...you need to eat." I further added and put some soup in the ladle and fed him.

The entire time, he was eyeing my actions and silently gulping down the soup. It felt like his eyes were staring into my soul but I enjoyed it- the attention from my husband.

"I want to fuck you so hard, baby. I swear as soon as I get out of this bed, I won't let you get anywhere else."

Ladies and Gentlemen, Naman Mehra is back!

Author's Note:

Hi everyone, I hope y'all are doing well. Just wanted to let you know that I have made a playlist for 'Pyaar Se' which is available on Spotify.

The link is pinned in the comment section, if you wanna check it out from there! Or to get an easier access, check out the highlights on the instagram page, @kaysslibrary to directly get to the playlist!

Also, peeps that follow the 'gram helped me choose the new cover for the book! So, follow @kaysslibrary RIGHT NOW.

I love and appreciate you all very much.