The Waves Whisper ✓

21 | stay

17
𓂃𓊝𓂃

When I woke up the next morning, my mind was more tranquil. I was finally away from the man whom I hated the most and whom I feared the most. A sense of safety enveloped me. I didn't see Apoorva in the room when I woke up, but he was there after I came back from the washroom. He was sitting at the table, expecting me. His eyes widened at the sight of me, and a smile spread across his face. On the table, I spotted two cups of coffee.

"I hope you like coffee." He gestured for me to take a seat.

"Yes." I nodded and sat across the table. I wrapped my fingers around the cup, savouring the heat emitting from the coffee against my skin on that cold morning.

"Um, I was going to ask that..." He shifted in his seat. "...Are you really leaving?" He asked with dullness in his eyes.

"Yes," I answered. There was nothing left for me in that city other than glimpses of terror from my marriage. Nothing was holding me there. But everything I could achieve was in Calcutta. The taste of freedom that was awaiting me there thrilled me. But I would be a burden to Neelam. She would be delighted to take me in, but I would be an extra expense for them.

"I am sorry that I said all those things yesterday." He blurted it out.

"No. I should be the one to apologize. I said some hurtful things."

He looked me right in the eye and ran a hand through his curls.

"What?" I enquired. He let out a weary sigh and stood up from the chair. He knelt down in front of my chair.

"It is very selfish of me to say this." He said grabbing my palms. "Please, stay."

It took me a few seconds to process that.
"I lost you once. I don't want to lose you again." His eyes had hope in them. I was speechless. It felt surreal to see him in front of me, asking me to stay. I was silent for a little while.

"I'm sorry, I'm crossing the limits." He was about to stand up and leave when I grabbed his hand.

"I mean it." I said and stood up.

"Whatever I said yesterday was from the sudden outburst of my feelings that I had subdued for years."

"What... feelings...?" He took a step closer. I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"Tell me." He muttered under his breath. We were so close that he was inches away from my face.

I gazed into his deep, brown eyes. "You. Feelings for you." I whispered. A smile formed on the corner of his lips.

"Is that so?" His eyes fell on mine, and they travelled to my lips.

I nodded. "It's always been you." I didn't know how I formed those words in my mind and spoke them out loud.

"Weren't we enemies?" He smirked. The way the smile played across his lips made my heart flutter.

"We...were." I could hear my heart beating in my throat. His presence was making me dizzy. The air around us felt hot, even though it was a cold morning. He leaned towards me, pulling me swiftly by the waist, making it slam into his body. I forgot to breath for a second. I could only see him, everything around me was blurred. The only sound I could hear was our heartbeats. I wished to stay closer like that for a little longer. I didn't want to break away from his grip. A thousand stars went supernova inside me as his lips pressed against mine, so tender and gentle.

I am light like a feather.

I am aloft in the air like a milkweed.

He softly elevated my face by grabbing my jaw, caressing it with his thump. It made me slightly part my lips, enticing him even more. I could feel the heat of his body in mine. His fingers smoothly stroked the back of my neck. As he deepened his kiss, I clutched his soft linen shirt tightly. We were both frozen in time. There wasn't anything else on my mind other than him. It was him that I wanted to live with. It was him that I wanted to die with!

It was funny to me how I loathed him when I was sixteen. Five years later, I was kissing the same man.

I was out of breath and dying, but in a good way. But we would have really died if we had continued in that for a few more minutes. I pressed my face against his chest as we drew away from the kiss.

"I want to stay." I said, face still pressed to his chest. "With you."

"Let's leave this place then." He replied, gently stroking my hair.