Forever His

Chapter 36: Feeling?

Shahmeer's POV:

We'd boarded the jet and gotten comfy in our seats. It would take just over 6 hours to reach Santorini. Mahnoor was sitting on my left, engrossed in her phone. My private jet has Wi-Fi connection but I purposely had it turned off. 

"Stop acting like you're texting someone when there's no Wi-Fi." She places her phone down and turns to me. 

"Funny how your luxurious private jet doesn't have basic Wi-Fi facilities. A bit embarrassing, isn't it?" What was more funny is she thinks she can embarrass me.

"Wasn't it a bit embarrassing for you when I started reading your book?" I watch her face go a slight shade of red and she looks down.

"It wasn't embarrassing. It was invasion of privacy." 

"Well wasn't it 'invasion of privacy' when you kept asking me what was wrong when I clearly didn't want to talk last night?" 

I've learnt not to trust people with my feelings as I grew up and I'll never make that mistake again.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Plus, you seemed really stressed and you didn't eat."

"I don't get stressed. I'm just thinking."

"How hard were you thinking?"

"As hard as I was when you were in my lap. Also, do not sit lowly compared to me." She doesn't answer and looks in her bag for something.

"I still have your book, sweetheart."

"Can I have it back now? The flight is so long and there's no Wi-Fi."

"You have your charming husband sitting right next to you. What more could you want? Unless of course, you want to sit on me, instead of next to me."

"I'll gladly decline. Also, what are we even going to do there?"

"I've planned some stuff for you."

"For me? This is our honeymoon. Not mine." 

"Just keeping you aware, I will be out and about for business. Keep yourself busy."

"Okay. I don't care anyway."

Of course she doesn't. 

                                                                                     _________

We made small talk but I assume she got bored since she fell asleep. Not surprised. It's always been like that anyway.

I glance over at her, curled up in the seat next to me, her face soft and unguarded. The steady hum of the jet engines is the only sound, a constant, calming rhythm as we soar miles above the world. She looks peaceful—truly peaceful—in a way I wasn't used to seeing her. The sharpness she usually carried, the cautious look she always gave me, was completely gone. In its place was something softer, more... vulnerable.

I find myself staring longer than I should be, the way a few strands of hair had come loose and fallen across her face. She'd never let me see her like this if she were awake. It's strange—I'm so used to the careful way she holds herself around me.

I don't know why, but I reach out and cover her with a blanket. A small thing. Not something I really thought about. But now, watching her chest rise and fall gently beneath it, I can't help but feel something unfamiliar twist in my chest. Something warm and quiet, sneaking up on me when I'm not paying attention.

Her hand slips off the armrest and lands just inches from mine. I didn't move. I didn't want to wake her, didn't want to disturb this fragile moment where it felt like the walls between us were thinner than they'd ever been. It wasn't supposed to be like this. We were supposed to be business partners, a contract, a marriage of convenience. And yet, sitting here, watching her sleep beside me, I can't help but wonder when that line had started to blur.

She shifts slightly, and I tense, thinking she might wake, but she doesn't. Her breathing stays steady, her face still calm. I turned my gaze back out the window, staring at the endless stretch of clouds beneath us, and for the first time in a long while, I feel something I couldn't quite name.

It felt strange, noticing the small things. The way her lashes rested against her cheeks, how her lips parted just slightly as she breathed, how her fingers twitched every so often like she was dreaming. I shouldn't care. This arrangement wasn't about feelings—it never had been. We'd both agreed to that from the start. But here I was, watching her sleep like it mattered, like she mattered in a way I hadn't anticipated.

I turned my gaze out the window, trying to focus on the clouds drifting by, but my attention kept pulling back to her. I told myself to stop, to focus on anything else—the flight, the meeting ahead, anything—but my eyes drifted back to her anyway.

It was the third or fourth time I'd done it without even thinking, and the realization hit me—I'd been watching her again. I didn't know why. There was nothing remarkable about it, nothing I was looking for, but something kept drawing me back. She was just... sleeping. Quiet, peaceful, completely unaware of my attention. And yet, there I was, unable to help myself.

I shifted slightly, trying to shake off the feeling, but it lingered. This wasn't something I was used to. The pull to glance at her, to see her like this—unaware, unguarded—felt different, and I couldn't quite place why. It wasn't anything specific that kept bringing me back. It wasn't the way she looked or anything I could point to. It was just... something.

I let out a slow breath, not sure what to make of it, but aware now that I'd done it again. I'd turned back to her. Something about that unsettled me in a way I couldn't quite explain. Maybe it was just the quiet of the cabin, the isolation up here in the air. Or maybe it was something else, something I hadn't even started to understand yet.

But either way, I couldn't deny it. My attention kept drifting back to her, and I wasn't sure why.

                    **************

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Half of this chapter has been spent on him describing his wife but we all love that.

Slightly longer than the last chapter but not as long as I wanted it to be.

Anyways, hope you like the chapter

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE, COMMENT AND FOLLOW!

Love you ALWAYS! Byee <3