Page 26 of Sumanika

If he wanted me alive, he wouldn’t have let me go there in the first place.

After a long pause of silence, I asked,“If you believe in God, why are you afraid to give love another chance?” He lifted his intense gaze and stared sharply into my eyes.

It stripped me bare, leaving me weak in the knees.

But there was a magnetic force that kept me comfortable in his presence, and I couldn’t stop gazing back at those dark green eyes. His eyebrows were mediocrely thick, his lashes were long. I could feel our breathing shallow.

"You might know that love is not a bed of roses," He drawled, his gaze lowering at my lips. It made me feel even weaker.Attracted.Maybe.

“Only adjusting you around the waist is certainly not love. So I wouldn’t know,” I murmured, feeling his grip tighten around my arm and his expression harden.

“Then you shouldn’t speak of it,” he spat, and I lowered my gaze to his lips, moving as words flowed out in his deep voice. The voice, a source of both madness and safety in my nightmares, had preserved me amidst the surrounding inferno. The voice that now spun my world around a different axis.

Hi voice.

“I’m just trying to shift your perspective. I can’t say for certain, but marriage can be a nightmare without love… I’m speaking from experience,” I tried to express, my voice trembling.

A half-smile lingered on his face.

“So, a second chance, huh?” he asked, and I felt intimidated by his words. Though, I nodded. Unconsciously.

“And what if it happens again?” he asked in a low voice, knitting his brows. His thumb kept brushing the knot on my arm, gently and slowly.

“Why would it happen again? You’re getting married to her; you two will be together,” I said. My chest tightened when I mentioned the word‘married.’

He smiled slightly, leaving my arm, nodding. I clenched my fists.

I quickly looked away, when he leaned in closer to whisper in my ear,“Someone is acting like a good wife. Are you…falling for me?” His words sank deep into my ear, stirring my dormant senses and creating an intense sensation before I abruptly stepped back from him.

“No! I am just…saying,” I exclaimed, lowering the sleeve of my blouse before walking out of the library.

“Prove it,” he said, following me out of the library, and I turned, looking at me.

"What?" I asked.

“That you are not falling for me? You don’t care about me,” he said, walking past me to sit on the couch, where his dinner awaited him.

“I am not,” I stated.

“Ugh, I really don’t want to eat all this. I don’t even like these,” he said, looking at the food.

My eyes widened, and I shook my head in disbelief. Seriously, I stayed up this late to see his tantrums?

“I brought everything you like. There are no beans, no pickles. It has jaggery, raw onion, and everything you enjoy,” I pointed out, glancing at the plate again.

“See, I’ve caught you. You know everything I like.” he smiled at me, and I immediately stepped back, not believing him.

“Well… ah, that’s because I’ve been taking care of you and your family for quite some time now,” I blurt, and he smirked, looking at me.

“Not at midnights, half-wife.”

My body froze. What the hell did he say? The words hung in my throat.

I immediately rolled up my sleeves and said,“You brought me this, so should I take it as a sign that you’re falling for me, too?”

He looked at my arm before looking back at me.

“Keep it covered, okay? It will help.” His voice suddenly became concerned, and I dragged the sleeve down, saying,“I should go.”

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