In A Heartbeat | ✓

Chapter 34 : Confrontation

It was past nine at night. An eerie silence fell over the household. Nishaant had put Dhruv to sleep and had made sure Daadi ate a little before sleeping again. He walked with a plate to Gauravi's room. Shiv was taking care of his wife, son and their parents. Priya and her girlfriends had anyway eaten while watching movie, and now were all asleep.

He entered the room and placed the plate of fruits on table. He moved to the bed trying to wake Gauravi up. She stirred and finally opened her eyes.

"God, my head hurts like crazy!" She wailed pressing her palms against her head. Nishaant simply looked on. The words she had said earlier kept echoing in his head. She looked up at him. "Why is my head hurting? Did I bang it somewhere?" She asked squeezing her eyes shut in pain.

Nishaant couldn't just stand and stare anymore. "Come on, get off the bed," he spoke moving the comforter off her, "wash your face, and eat something you will feel better."

She held her head moving to the edge of the bed on her knees. She stumbled forward and Nishaant immediately wrapped his arm around her waist preventing her from falling off the bed. "Gauravi, careful!" He muttered, using his other arm to help her unfold her legs.

She placed her feet on the floor and stood up. Nishaant pulled his hand away from her but the second she stumbled forward, his arm was around her giving her support. He walked her to the washroom, asking her to be careful.

She held the sink for support attempting to reach for the tap. "Why is it all blur?" She mumbled.

Nishaant now understood why she was blinking furiously and stumbling. She was still intoxicated and entering the hangover phase. He quickly turned on the faucet. While his one hand was around her neck making her bend the other sprinkled water on her face.

He gently rubbed the color off her cheeks, washing her face. He pulled the hand towel and gently pressed it against her cheeks. She swayed backward losing her balance.

He immediately pushed her against the wall, so that she had support of his hand and the wall. Her eyes were closed.

Nishaant couldn't help but fall more for her. She was so precious. His eyes became moist as he gently stood before her, patting the towel against her cheek.

"It's hurting." She wailed, while her hands held her head. Nishaant wished he could comfort her. But only God knew how much he was hurting.

"Oh, my head... stop that buzzing sound." She cried.

Nishaant quickly pulled her to stand under the shower and switched on the tap. It was cold at first. He stood aside slowly turning the tap so that warm water cascaded down. She relaxed visibly.

His one hand was still around her waist, to keep her in position and prevent her from stumbling. His other reached to massage her head. Colored water dripped off her. Nishaant's eyes drifted down to her pale yellow kurti that stuck as though second skin. The wet material highlighted her curves and what she wore underneath.

Minutes later he pulled the towel from the hanger and put it around her frame over her wet clothes. "Feeling better?" He asked walking her out. She hummed in response.

After making her sit on the bed, he reached her cupboard opening it. He spotted another towel and pulled it out. He walked back to her. Standing before her he gently started wiping her hair.

The entire time her eyes were shut. He assumed that opening her eyes made her feel uneasy, perhaps sensitivity to light. He used the room's intercom to summon the maid. He instructed the maid to help Gauravi change into a fresh pair of her clothes and stepped out of the room, to give them privacy.