Guilty Pleasures

56

"Love is a medicine to pain: and the search and need for it is equivalent to that of thirst. You need it to survive..."

🔞 MATURE CHAPTER 🔞

Raghav had driven Pallavi home in silence; a sharp ache to the left of his chest as he leaned back into the seat that caused a hiss to escape his lips: yet the sound he omitted did nothing to retrieve his wife from her own spiralling thoughts: his eyes moved to focus on the road having ditched the sight of his numb wife; but the tears that caught in the light seemed to have increased his worry by tenfold; and so his own eyes continued the rhythm of dancing back and forth between her and the oncoming traffic.

He had heaved a sigh; half expecting her to retreat in such away yet half wishing she did what she was prone to do: talk things out.

He missed the sound of her voice in the eerie silence that had descended upon them and like a small flicker of dust within a storm he, himself was looking for something to hang onto.

He was looking to be anchored.

He had pulled up in front of his house soon after his eyes travelling back to his wife who still stared out of the windscreen with this look that had now begun to haunt him.

"Pallavi." He called out softly; yet his wife's eyes remained unrelenting at its fixed spot.

He gently moved forth; his hand touching her arm gently; calling her name with more power and finally he bore fruit; his wife's eyes settling into his as she jumped out of his tender hold.

"We're home." He signalled with his eyes picking up to the white mansion in front of them and when her gaze had followed his; he had watched as she launched to undo her seatbelt within record speed before launching herself out of his car; whilst he sat with a sense of bewilderment watching her; and with a grunt he forced himself to follow the trial his wife had already walked.

When he entered he noted the looks his mother and sister passed him; and half closing his eyes as his mother walked towards him he cursed under his breath, for the coldness in her gaze told him that once more she found fault in him.

"What have you done this time?!" He looked away at the coldness to her shrilly tone.

"Your wife just ran up the stairs with tears in her eyes; no words uttered. So I will ask you once more patiently about what the hell you've done to her this time."

He clenched his side firmly; and his own fiery gaze met that of his mothers; yet the heat he was radiating consisted of different level of fire.

And to spare his mother from the fire he was burning with he moved to walk away; to avoid a battle he now saw no hope in conquering yet his mother had other plans; roughly pulling him to a halt and shoving him with force that had a louder grunt escaping this time.

And as his mother; having disregarded the pain of her child launched forth to attack.

Raghav felt a palm wrap around his bicep; a cool hand attempting to stabilise him as he stumbled.

His eyes met those of his wife and the colour that he had seen amiss from her face had returned; and he wondered what had brought her back into reality.

But before he could ask his wife turned to his mother.

"I ran past because I needed to throw up Aunty." And within her words he found his answer.

"We were attacked at work. A shoot out happened and your son launched into battle to protect everything; hurting himself to protect me."

Pallavi walked away from her husband momentarily to stand closer to her mother-in-law.