The Unwanted Bride

13 - Honeymoon

Typed: 11/12/2023
Chapter 13: Honeymoon

Author's POV:

They'd arrived on time. Khushi would say it was the perfect timing because the mountain looked unreal. Her face was plastered in a sunny smile, mouth wide open in admiration. "Yug," his name stretched on her lips as she ogled at the mountains.

Besides her sat her husband. He was on his phone, messaging his brother to let him know they'd reached. He scanned her face before scanning the surroundings. The right side of her face lit up in joy at the sight of the mountains. It was as if the excitement had shifted-transcendences from her to him. So much that he's bewitched at the sight. The sight of his wife's bright face.

The mountains, under this rainy and frosty weather, were like a bold statement of the slowness of the time. Statement of the reality of the moment, a moment or many moments that are every-lasting in our memories but never in time. As he watched his wife keenly in anticipation to see more thrill in her face, Yug thought the mountain was like a clock. A natural ticking clock for us humans because every time it melts-whenever it melts-it reminds us that we've moved on. It's no longer the same day.

He rolled his window down, peering and absorbing the essence of the mountain, inhaling it as if to purify his soul and reunite it with nothing but positivity. His cold breath mixes in the air, disappearing like fluid, as if to confirm that his soul has been purified.

"It's a beautiful place, isn't it?" He invites her opinion. Her validation. Verbally. Yug was not going to settle for another nod. Nods that Khushi excelled in.

If it was possible, there was colour to his tone. Maybe for the first time too. The colour that had a vast amount of gist-heart. So much that it compelled Khushi to turn her eyes to him. She stared at his relaxed posture, looking out the window, lost in the beauty of the mountains and nature.

Though the weather was the opposite of sunny, the warm rays of the sun had consumed her body, with a feeling of peace, grace and earthy-connected to their roots. Though she felt the heat of the rays, it was Yug whose skin dappled in light, in the ever-morphing serenity of browns.

"It is." The mountains? She's not talking about the mountains but her husband. "Very very beautiful." Her husband was pleased with her conclusion. With her verdict. He, unexpectedly, patted her right knee, gesturing for her to get out of the car.

~

It was already six in the evening when they'd settled into their hotel room. It wasn't a lavish five-star type of hotel but a small cosy one, with a maximum of ten rooms. It was well kept and gave the feeling of home as if all the tourist hadn't ever left their house. Not only comfort but it was surrounded by nature.

"How'd you find this place?" His wife asked him, focusing her eyes on his from the mirror. Behind her, Yug was settling himself in the bed, hiding away in the blanket, just about to grab the phone to order food when he looked at her. He too, fixed his eyes on her. Khushi was wearing a maroon woollen sweater, paired with warm leggings to keep herself warm. The colour was the right pick on her he thought because it complemented her skin.

"Google?" His eyebrows arched, and a smirk-the same smirk she witnessed for the first time-made its way on his face.

Khushi rolled her eyes, shaking her head in disbelief. The good kind of disbelief. "Tell me."

"I thought it was a nice area." Her husband had said it in a matter-of-fact tone. Nothing harsh but he wasn't being truthful.

Yug chose this place because there was one thing he picked up about Khushi during their courting period; she was simple. She had the simplicity that he always seeks-craves to find in every piece of artwork he's ever seen or crafted. Although he doesn't see much proper artwork because his company primarily designs lavish and extremely expensive furniture and décor, he still knows the value of art when he sees one.