His Scandalous Bride

14: Now

Saddiq doesn't want to think about what Aisha is thinking. Hi! husband? He couldn't even begin to fathom the madness which has her walking with such abandon or the strength to be cheeky with such a high temperature. 39.8°C. Was it possible she didn't know she was sick? Yet, even to him, it seemed farfetched. How can she when he'd known something was wrong the instant their bodies touched when he pinned her to the wall moments before she had fainted in his arms.

Gently, he touched her forehead and compared it to his own. There were still traces of the fever which had him sponging her lukewarm water all night after he'd managed to resuscitate and feed her some acetaminophen but she's out of the woods now. He lets out a sigh of relief. It had been a long night and it would seem ten years of his life had been lost in those endless seconds when Aisha had smiled and collapsed in his arms. He couldn't even begin to make sense of the Herculean strength he'd mustered to peel himself away from her side and run for the first aid kit after he'd managed to get her to open her eyes. He hugged her closer to his body, letting her feed off the warmth of his bare skin and she snuggled closer with instincts, muttering some gibber.

Later, he would wonder why he'd stripped and got into bed with her. It wasn't absolutely necessary. He could have just stacked on more of the blankets. But he wouldn't let it bother him. It was the best choice he could have chosen at that moment. She was speaking in a confused way and her body was beginning to kick with the onset of a seizure. What else could he have done? He'd thought they were just chills earlier and had used an extra blanket on her but when they hadn't gone away, he'd done the only thing he could think of—he'd stripped them both and merge their bodies.  Besides, he'd read somewhere that shivering not only impedes cooling during fever, it imposes an additional metabolic burden; doubling the consumption of oxygen and respiratory minute volume, which increases the percentage of carbon dioxide in expired air thereby increasing the respiratory quotient. He feared he might lose her if he did nothing.

After that day, things changed between them but he wasn't sure he liked these changes as much as he liked how they were before her life threatening experience. She doesn't leave the house without informing him and was always back before he returned but he doesn't see her anymore nor would she look at him in the eyes in those rare moments they were forced to meet which were getting fewer and fewer as days rolled by; she'd moved into the guest room. It's been just a week of this her new routine and he was fed up. What was with the sudden awkwardness? Does she suddenly feel shy? But why would she? She was the first to offer to share his bed.

Today, like the past week, his mood swarm with heightened irritation. Zainab was still in the hospital. Aisha was avoiding him. His family was still boycotting him. Nothing was working in his favor. He was tired. Of everything. Of everyone. Work. Hospital. Home. There has been no moment of respite. If he wasn't at work, he was at the hospital (or rather within the vicinity of the hospital) waiting for some sort of conscience to lay root somewhere and if he wasn't there, he was at home steaming & staring at a closed door just like he is right now. He was beyond exhausted.

He doesn't sleep well either nor does he eat well. It is quite pathetic to admit, but he doesn't seem to do anything well lately and despite wanting to blame Aisha for his predicaments, he doesn't seem to want to, not while he keeps thinking about her; her soft skin against his, her glossy hair which smells of Coconut oil & dreams and her warm floral scent, and how much he wants her. His life suddenly feels extraordinarily empty. It might just be his body responding to his carnal needs but not quite. It is just her. It is just for her. His senses had lost their familiar rhythms and it was driving him insane. But there was something even more urgent than his lust for his enigmatic bride.

It's been three days since he last saw her and he know she is in there. Was it strange that he was worried? What if the fever had returned? Or something much worse? He might have lost his mind ever since that night but he wasn't about to let his libido cloud his judgement. He couldn't help but fear something was amiss.