Silent Love

| 12 |

Shehnaaz

Perturbation of the highest order dominated me. I was baffled at the new reality I  was facing and not a trace of an idea was bearing inside my mind that could help solve the situation at hand. What was I to make of this?

“You said I’m out of danger for as long as he didn’t know me.” I muttered. “What happens now? Is he going to kill me? Can he really do that? Would he?”

His eyes widened when he noticed how agonized I was. Seemingly ruled by protective instinct, he drew closer ta me.

“No, I'm not going to let him lay a finger on you." He promised.

“I don't trust you.” I said as I pulled away from him. Though seated on the same bed, I felt miles away from him.

Through blurred eyes, I could detect
a sense of hurt cross his eyes, but he quickly concealed it. I knew that it was a brutal thing to say but it was true and he ought to know that. All he’s ever done till now was let me down. There was no way I'd give him my trust unless he earned it himself in righteous ways.

But that goal seemed hard to achieve, for both him and I. While he might make use of given chances to prove himself worthy of my trust after all, I was afraid that I simply lacked the strength and patience to give him another chance. I was well aware that I tend to overthink when I consider the matter of letting some on into my close circle.

Since Sidharth had already disappointed me, quite abundantly, he had essentially shot himself in the foot by doing so. He'd eliminated any chances he had with reconciling with me.

“I know you don’t," He said, “But I swear to you that I won't let him hurt you anyway. Besides, I know him, Shehnaaz. And I just realised that perhaps this happened for the better.”

I frowned, “How so?”

“Akshay always honours his allies. Although he hates the idea of my wife, I’m guessing he’ll overlook that fact when he sees you as the reason why his wife is alive. I’m not assuring you that you’re completely out of danger, but I’m certain about one thing. Akshay would never hurt you knowing that he owes you. You heard him say that yourself, didn’t you? He might not see that right away as he needs time to process all the emotions. But once he clears his head I’m a hundred percent sure that he’s going to let go of his grudge.”

“It sounds more like you’re convincing yourself.” I muttered, my gaze dropping down to the floor, unconvinced.

Sighing, he rubbed his temple. “Honestly, Shehnaaz, I don’t know what to say. But I wasn’t saying that to console you. I meant every single word I said. Akshay is an honourable man in that aspect. He stays loyal to the ones who help him.”

Shrugging, I let a quite sigh pour out of me “I'll hold you to that since nothing else is going to calm my nerves at the moment.”

I had looked away from his figure
to instead focus my attention on my breathing since I was edging closer to a mental breakdown. As I was preoccupied, I hadn't noticed Sidharth  moving closer to me until he opened his palm out for me.

Confused, I frowned at it.

Noticing my hesitation, he added, “It helps me calm my nerves when I’m stressed.”

I stared it for a few moments before my eyes traveled back to my own hands. Before my conscious could overrule what I truly sought, I watched the palm of my hand bury within his. Giving it a gentle, reassuring squeeze, he engulfed my
skin in his warmth.

I was sure Sidharth understood where we stood and where the situation placed me. But our minds needed a refractory period. So that’s what he let me have.