Tiptoeing towards love

6

Parthiban

The sun began to dip down the horizon but Mozhi hasn't still come out of her room. I know she's beyond immature and stubborn as a mule but what she did today has my outrage reach a new height and I did things that I normally would never commit to.

I have slapped her, my niece, to whom I hadn't even used a bitter word before. Yet it was all her triggering phrases that gave birth to all my actions. Well, that doesn't mean I refuse to take accountability for what I did!

What I had done was wrong. At the same time, what she did was not right either.

She trusted that poisonous woman more than her own thaai mama(maternal uncle), that is, me and she just agreed to marry her cousin without double thinking...

Even after he peeked at her in that disgusting way, Mozhi still supported him due to her inability to detect his true desires. If that's not enough for me to get heated already...she then wanted me to marry her off to someone else as soon as possible just so I would marry a girl momentarily.

That was a foolish speculation.

Marriage and love are things that I don't indulge myself in. I'm not intrigued by these concepts. Working hard, helping people get jobs, and growing my empire is something that I've fallen in love with and I cannot imagine myself being pulled away from these for the sake of a person who adopts the role of my wife or lover. I can still work while having a spouse but I'm a workaholic and my partner would be fed up with my nature and temperament eventually...

Therefore, why must I waste someone's love life when I'm already aware of my possible incapacity to maintain a relationship? Why must I drag someone into my life when I know that I wouldn't give them the needed attention?

These are some of the reasons why I choose to stay single. I love the way I'm living at the present and I wouldn't want to change anything in my well-organized life.

However, I'm not sure If I could lead my said life peacefully after Mozhi had dropped a bomb asserting that she wanted to marry me. She is my niece who I've watched grow up from her infant stage. I laid her on my shoulders when she was little and let her sleep on my chest back then. She was an adorable kid whom I had immense affection for. Our relationship was something that was very pure with no wrong motive intended.

And having to see her as my wife is...extremely disturbing.

Yet now, what am I supposed to do when she was being fixated on her decision to marry me? How will I convince her? For a fact, I knew that she would win what she puts her mind on in one way or another, and presently, she seems too bent on marrying me and I doubt whether she will even waver a bit.

This is fucking messed up! I don't understand how she was even okay with the idea to marry me, her maternal uncle...

This makes me wonder about how had she even seen me so far to be fine with the concept of marrying me. This alters everything. Our bond wouldn't be as same as the one that existed previously between us. It has deviated already.

Sighing out of distress, I approach Mozhi's room and knock on it. She hasn't eaten anything after the morning breakfast and the thought of her being hungry wounds my heart.

"Have you decided yet?" She booms from inside. Hadn't had any food for more than 6 hours but her voice was still energized!

"Mozhi...I can't do that ma," I trail off, restricting the urge to shout at her. "Then go away!" She screams and I back off a little by the strength of her tone.

Scratching the back of my neck, I walk away and settle on the couch, my stomach growling at the lack of food. How could I eat when she's being obstinate to ingest food?

But at the rate my stomach is growling, I don't think I could remain so long without meals.

A while later, I could not control myself and I prepared a Maggi. While doing so, I asked Mozhi whether she needs one but all I received as a reply was an ear-bleeding scream from her.

Hence I ate the maggi alone and laid on the couch, hoping that Mozhi would come out of the room sneakily to have food...

Or so I thought.

The midnight dawned and the moon showed up bright in the sky, but Mozhi was still locked in her room. I tried to call her again but she stated that she was going to sleep and asked me to not disturb her.

I was left speechless by her determination.

Eventually, I lock the main door and recline on the couch again, feeling apprehensive about her health. Leaning back, I let my eyes close for a minute and the aggravating day unknowingly had me undergo a deep slumber...

As I blink my eyes open, the sun was up on the atmosphere and I hurriedly dash to Mozhi's room with a thundering heart. It's past 8 a.m. and my Mozhi had been bearing an empty stomach for almost a day now!

"Mozhi!!" I bang on the door but she doesn't open, neither does she reply. Equally concerned and aggrieved, I go berserk and yell her name but to no avail! Having enough, I resort to the last option which is to break her door.

The door is a wooden one with outmoded and weak locks that we hadn't changed even after renovation.

Thus when I kick the door twice using my vigor, the door flies open and I glimpse Mozhi sleeping on the bed without any movements. I swiftly advance towards her and pat her cheeks, calling her name helplessly to wake her up but she doesn't unlock her eyes.

"Mozhi...Mozhi ma!"

Has she fallen unconscious due to the lack of intake of food? Hissing to myself, I rush to the kitchen and fetch a glass of water. As soon as I attain near Mozhi again, I lay her head on my lap as I sit myself on the bed and sprinkle some water onto her face...

After a few times of repeating the action, she finally opens her exhausted eyes with difficulty, and only then did my heart rate become rational.

"You frightened me there Mozhi, don't be mulish anymore...let's get something for you to eat, come," She still shakes her head and I couldn't help but be astonished at her consistency.

"Unless you approve to marry me...I won't eat anything," she whispers wearily, and having left with no option, I was coerced into abiding by her wish.

"I will marry you, alright!? Now just come and eat something!" At my hastily spilled response, Mozhi grabs my palm and spots it on her head.

"Promise on me?" She asks innocuously while staring into my eyes.

"Promise on you," I answer, trying to swallow the fact that our relationship won't be the same anymore...

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Thoughts?