Way Back Home

Where my Home is.

Ranvijay is currently flying back home by flight from a business convention in Mumbai.

Ranvijay POV.

Tiring. It feels like even the last bit of energy has been drained from me. God, I need her, I badly need her. I never knew I would need her this bad someday when I met her for the first time.

Thinking back, I don't regret accepting my parent's decision of marrying her. Not like, I had a choice. I always dreamt of having a happy married life, with my girlfriend. But she fell out of love, unable to withstand my cold nature.

I couldn't even get the time to mourn my loss over love, within a month my mother broke the news of me getting married to her, Niharika. A shy, timid girl, or so I thought. In our first meeting when I saw her, I perceived her to be an introverted, shy girl which she is, but her fiery face came to sight when we were allowed to talk alone. I chuckled to myself remembering her first question.

Flashback

"What kind of husband do you wanna become?"
Ranvijay choked at her unflattering gaze, managing a "What?" He certainly didn't expect this.
"I asked, what kind of husband do you wanna become?" She repeated with a hint of nervousness in her voice, this time.

"Honestly, I haven't given a thought about it. I ain't even sure if I want to be one. But, since you asked, I wanna clear out something. I can be cold and closed off at times, rude also, and I surely face difficulties with expressing in words.", said Ranvijay.

"Oh, that won't be a problem until you are true with your actions. And about the first part, I don't have any problem with you being cold as long as I can be that safe place where you can break apart each time you need to. All I would need is respect and communication, I do know this is an arrange marriage and things might be awkward at time, you might even find it hard to get comfortable for the first few months, I might not be exactly what you may have imagined as a wife, but I will try my best to be the one.", Niharika said sincerely with her eyes downcast.

Ranvijay's breath hitched at her response, his eyes were trying to find any kind of indecisiveness in her face, but she remained unaffected. Feeling his gaze, she looked up, into his eyes, getting the glimpses of the storm he was getting through, but before she can decipher, all was gone, his cold front upped their walls in protection.
"This will be tough nut to break" she thought to herself.

Back then, he only wished that she would say no this marriage proposal because, because he didn't want to try again, because he was scared of her, her probable attention or overwhelming care or worse her over bearing love maybe, because he was scared to lose his sanity... he was scared to be stripped off of his walls into warmth and again left alone in the cold with his miseries.

To his dismay, she said a yes, without even a second meeting.

Flashback ends.

He was sitting with his eyes closed. The thing which he was scared of the most happened. He was stripped off his walls, and was enveloped in her warmth, so much so, that 4 days without her was making him breathless.

He hated to be dependent on someone. But he is now, utterly and completely dependent on someone who was an intruder according to him, a mere outsider. She was messing with his coping mechanisms, and he didn't understand what he felt, if he was happy that his walls were being broken or was scared and agitated of the intrusion. All he knew now was that he is used to her forced adoration, love and care. He was jealous of her patience, perseverance and hardwork. Maybe, just because she was a primary teacher and handled many children made her tolerate him too. He chuckled to himself thinking of his stupid logic, but sure she put up with his nonsense, until the last time when she snapped, just before his departure.