Unwanted Addiction

Chapter 5

Natasha 

It took me at least 5 minutes to collect myself and focus on what I was doing. What has gotten into him suddenly? I don't think I need to put the blush anymore, my cheeks are already wearing a natural blush. Goodness, now why am I grinning ear to ear?

Has the time finally come when I have gone senile? He is tougher than the questions of the competition exam, no one knows how to crack him. No, did I even receive prior training before marriage on 'how to stay sane with your husband/former/current crush? when he keeps pushing and pulling you haywiring your system and messing with your love cords inside.

It's as if that human knows about my feelings and is purposefully teasing me, his gaze which slowly takes me in as if I am the most beautiful person in his eyes, his eyes ever so slightly dropping from my face to my pert nose, staying there for a moment before he brushes away his gaze as if playfully stroking my nose with a feather in the process. Then finally they fall on my lips. 

The stare I am then objected to makes my body ring with a different sensation. I feel so shy and demure that I almost want to hide from his eyes, cover myself or hide from him waiting for him, waiting for him to put out the fire he lit in my heart and I peek at him under the veil of my shyness expecting whatever he is wishing to do with me in his head, all nervous, jittery and also wanting to make it a little hard for him to do so. 

I feel out of breath when he caresses me with his eyes and then his eyes fall on my body and I feel my body getting hotter under his inescapable orbs, the same as mine but darker. He seems to wrap my body with his gaze binding me where I am, rendering me unmovable and teasing me again as if my thoughts about him were wrong and he knows nothing about the storm inside my heart, nothing about my feelings for him that I am already under the shackles of his love, I am already bound by him not just by fate but also by heart. 

I feel my heart leaping onto the darker side, a deeper shade of red, of love, where I find myself coming out of my veil of shyness and take a step towards the seducing hymn he is singing for me, making my heart dance on his tunes just by his eyes, just by his gaze, just by the slight glance of his somewhat true feelings towards me I find myself catching but then a fear cave in, an uncertainty whether what I saw was true or my delusion? Is it a subtle attraction or something which can resonate with what I have hidden inside my heart? 

And then I take in my appearance, the reddened cheeks, my dishevelled self, the uneven breathing and a touch of heat still lingering on my body making me realise it wasn't a delusion, it was all real and my feelings soar when I feel myself fighting for my love, for our bond, for our marriage more strongly and not giving. 

I found myself smiling when I remembered his small smile almost disappearing after a second when he noticed my hairline filled with crimson vermillion, ek nishani ki mai unki hu aur vo mere,  (A proof that I am his and he mine) a way where I feel my inner feelings being able to reveal themselves a little. 

I quickly wore the rest of the jewellery and then worked on my hair. Even I could tell, I was looking beautiful today although it was my first time wearing a Maharashtrian saree however I was able to pull it off well. I was almost about to finish when I was putting a 'bindi'  on my forehead (a mark (such as a red dot) or a piece of jewellery worn on the middle of the forehead, especially by Indian women.) when I heard someone knocking on our room's door. 

I quickly went to open the door and found Kavita Aunty standing there with a smile on her face and I found myself mirroring the same when I saw her. In just a night, I could tell she was a good lady, almost like family and she was the one who helped me wear the saree and also provided us with the traditional clothes for the pooja since we didn't have any more clothes on us except our nightsuits since we were supposed to leave this morning and that's why before a getaway to Lonavala and Khandala, we guys are going to go on a quick shopping. 

"Tumhī agadī apratima disata āhāta. Kōṇācyāhī lakṣāta yēṇāra nāhī" (You are looking really beautiful, dear. May god protect you from the evil eye)

"Aap ne kuch aisa kaha ki mai sundar lag rhi hu hena? (You said something like I am looking beautiful right?) I asked with a beaming smile

"Aur ye bhi ki tumhe kisi ki nazar na large (And also that may god protect you from any evil eye)" She said with a laugh and I smiled. 

"Acha ye batao ki Dhruv kaha hai? Ready nhi hua abhi tak? (Alright then tell me where Dhruv is. Is he not ready yet?) Aunty asked and before I could answer, I heard the familiar deep voice from behind answering instead. 

"Aap ne yaad kia aur ye lo hum haazir (You remembered me and here I am, in front of you)" Dhruv spoke and I turned to look at him only to get my eyes widened when I took him in, he was wearing a 'gulaabi' (Pink) kurta and a golden dhoti, matching my saree. He had rolled the sleeves of his kurta up to his elbows and I could see his toned forearms with his ever so deliciously veins bulging and making an appearance. The kurta clinging to his broad chest made it look like it was getting harder for the fabric to breathe around his masculinity. 

"Acha hua varna hume to laga tha ki yaha to case hi ulta hai, patni ko nhi, pati ko zyada time lagta hai tyaar hone me. (Good timing otherwise I thought that you guys are the opposite case where the husband takes more time than his wife in getting ready) Aunty said and laughed as we joined her in her joke laughing together.

"Chalo phir, aajao tum log bhi neeche, pooja shuru hi hone vali hai. Other guests have also started arriving." (Alright then, you kids come downstairs. Pooja is just about to start.) She said patting my cheek lovingly and leaving us in the room. 

I smiled seeing her off and turned around to grab my Potli bag ready to leave when I heard my husband clearing his throat, I looked up at him through my eyelashes only to get hit by a whirlwind of his charm again but his voice soon broke my spell. 

"Suno" (Listen)