LET ME HATE YOU

Thunderstorm

With the bolt of lightning crackling in the sky, Asmaira sat up from her sleep, startled. Her fear of thunderstorms and lightning was a constant companion, never allowing her to fully embrace the beauty of the monsoon. She flinched and covered her ears when the lightning struck again, followed by the sound of thunder. She bit her lips hard to avoid her yelp from escaping, a testament to her deep-seated fear.

Her gaze fell on Amaan's back, sleeping beside her. She knew how exhausted he was lately, managing both his gaming firm and Hashmi Enterprise's work. If that was not all, he helped her in taking care of Kabir, ensuring she wasn't distracted from her studies. By the time he hit the bed, Asmaira could see he drifted into his slumber with fatigue. She felt ashamed thinking about how much he was doing for her out of obligation and a sense of responsibility.

Lost in thought, when another lightning bolt struck, she couldn't help but duck and hide her face into Amaan's back. She paused when Amaan stirred in his sleep. Afraid she had disturbed his sleep, she closed her eyes and practiced deep breathing to avoid getting caught. However, he only lay on his back, stretching his hand that happened to land just above her head. Counting till thirty, she slowly peeked, finding him still in a deep sleep with a furrow.

Unable to resist, her hand on its own raised before her fingers traced the frown that immediately eased at her touch. Her eyes traced his face and halted at his lips. Drawn by intense yearning, she was about to touch his lips when another lightning hit, and she fisted his t-shirt, clutching her eyes shut.

Nuzzling into his side, she kept mumbling incoherently. Torn between her fear and hesitation, she glanced at Amaan's side profile and whispered, "P-please don't wake up. I don't mean to—."

A part of her was relieved when there was no movement from Amaan; however, a part of her was worried. Because of fear, she ended up moving closer to him, which could be misinterpreted as if she was making a move on Amaan. What if he wakes up and finds her so close, clutching his clothes?

She kept counting one sheep, two sheep, with closed eyes, twitching whenever lightning spread, but Amaan's presence calmed her down to some extent. While she was at her 100th sheep, Amaan stirred and lay on his side, with his arm falling onto Asmaira. If it were another time, she would have stared at him in disbelief. However, compelled by tiredness, she instead moved closer to his chest, pressing herself into him.

She kept mumbling the sheep's count and eventually drifted into sleep. The moment her mumble died down and her breathing turned even, Amaan opened his eyes slowly and looked down at the woman in his arms.

Adjusting her neck over his stretched arm, he pulled her closer by her waist, letting her head rest comfortably in the crook of his shoulder. Brushing the strand of hair away from her face, he inhaled her familiar scent. He was awake the moment Asmaira sat up with a jolt. He had to stifle his reaction at the contact of her finger over his frown. Even with closed eyes, he could feel her stare marred with something that he couldn't decipher. He witnessed everything and had to put extra effort into hiding his smile or stopping a chuckle to escape when she started counting. Her hesitation was evident in the way she held him, yet her fear of thunderstorms won over her hesitation.

His eyes followed the swaying strand of hair brushing against her face, which he eventually tucked around her ear. And then his gaze landed on the mole on her neck. A thought to lick it crossed his mind, and he was one second away from doing it when his sanity kicked in.

Dumbfounded at his intrusive thought, he clenched his jaw

Lost in thought, he pulled her closer to himself, resting his chin over her head, and let out a sigh.

"Aashi," he whispered and closed his eyes, with an unspoken promise to protect the small woman even if it was from nature.

The following morning, Asmaira stirred in her sleep, and when something stopped her movement, she opened her eyes in confusion. She blinked three times to clear her hazy vision due to the absence of her glasses. She tried to get up but felt bound. Frowning, she glanced around to see what had been holding up only to go wide-eyed at the sight of Amaan's face.