Please vote and comment......................longest chapter till now............................
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Josh, who was striving to maintain control till then, ultimately succumbed to frustration. His body tensed, and with a furrowed brow, he sharply interjected, "That's the wrong word... It should have been 'no'."
Shivi gave him a dazed look, bewildered by his response. He sighed heavily and turned away.
She spun Josh around, her eyes brimming with urgency. "Josh, let it all out. Yell at me, slap me, just get it over with. Please, don't be distant. I can't stand this for another second. I'm at fault, I fully admit it. You have every right to punish me."
Josh was overwhelmed with emotions and exploded in frustration. "Shivi, you're unbelievable. You must be crazy to think I'm mad at you or being distant. I'm just struggling, damn it. What do you really think of me? That I would yell at you, hit you, interrogate you? Is that all you see in me? And for the record, this is exactly why I detest your family. Did you think I'd treat you the same way? Oh, God. Maybe that's all you've ever known in your relationships, so you expect ours to be toxic too? In real relationships, people talk, Shivi. They don't scream at or hit the ones they love.
But you know what, Shivi? I'm beginning to question if you're a human or just a punching bag. Why can't you ever say 'no'? You don't say it to your father when he parades suitors before you, and you didn't say it to even me when I was rubbing myself on you. What are you, really? And why can't you say 'no' to me when you disagree with what I'm doing?"
"For the past two days, I didn't share my feelings with you because I didn't want to contribute to your existing misery or hurt you further. I kept my mouth shut to avoid saying something that might be hurtful. But now, I'm realizing that you've been doing this your entire life—suppressing your thoughts, emotions, and desires. How have you managed to endure this for so long? It feels like I'm suffocating."
He walked out to the balcony, gripping the railing tightly, staring into the dark sky. Shivi followed, standing beside him, speaking softly. "I told him about us."
Josh's eyebrow shot up. "Your father?"
Shivi closed her eyes briefly. "No... to Ram."
Josh sneered, "Does it even matter? He might reject you respectfully, but what about the next man your father sends? What's your plan for him?"
Shivi defended herself, "Josh, I can't tell my father about us now. The emotional blackmail and drama... I can't predict what will happen, but it would surely end my time at Oxford. And you haven't told your father either, right?"
Josh crossed his arms against his chest and said, "You are right. I haven't told my father yet, but he doesn't arrange meetings with prospective brides for me every day and asks me to choose from them. How would you feel if I went out to meet other women, even if it's for my family's sake? Shivi, I can't stand it when someone leers at you, assessing your worth as a potential bride, or treats you like you're up for a trial run. My blood boils when I witness all of this because I'm not just your boyfriend; I'm your fiancé, for God's sake. Sometimes, I feel like putting a wedding band on your finger just to put an end to this nonsense."
Shivi fell silent as she understood that Josh was hurting, but at the same time, she couldn't help but wonder how impractical his solution was. She felt his jealousy consumed him so much that he lost his rationality. Josh had always been the more mature one between them, but these emotions seemed to have clouded his judgment and made him incapable of thinking rationally.
Shivi breathed heavily and realized there was nothing she could do to appease him, although she desperately wanted to. She wondered if the remainder of the trip would be like this, but more than the trip, she pondered how their relationship would progress. How would she convince her family and proceed with marrying him? She also wondered if Josh's father had another challenge prepared.
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LOVE ME LIKE YOU DO 2
RomanceThis is the 2nd book of the series LOVE ME LIKE YOU DO. If you have not read the first please do read it.