Detached

CHAPTER 72

*MEERA'S POINT OF VIEW*

Stunned into silence was probably the phrase that would best describe me in that second. I had no words. Had he seriously just told me that he loved me? Me, messed up, damaged, broken Meera Singhania? Someone like Riyansh couldn’t love me, could he? What on earth would he even see in me? Riyansh was a player; he didn’t love girls… did he? My heart constricted. I wanted so badly for that to be true. I’d dreamt of him saying those words to me hundreds of times. Never, in any of my dreams, had they sounded so sweet.

He pushed himself up off me as he stared down at me, seeming to be gauging my reaction. His grey eyes were searching my face. They shone with tenderness and passion, and the sight of it made my heart ache. Could it be? Could someone as sweet, adorable, smart and funny, really want me?

My body seemed to belong to someone else, my limbs were not responding as I struggled to take in and believe his confession. It took a great deal of effort for me to push myself up to sitting too. His face was merely inches away from mine as his eyes narrowed, silently begging me to speak.

“You love me?” I whispered disbelievingly.

He nodded. “Yeah, I love you,” he confirmed. That was when I saw it in his eyes, the truth, the depth of his feelings, the devotion. Suddenly it all made sense, his actions, his attentiveness, his affection. He wanted me. A sad smile twitched at the corner of his full lips. “It’s okay; I know you’re scared to let me in, Meera. After what happened with Ankush, I know you need time before you can make yourself vulnerable again. I’ll wait for you, as long as it takes,” he whispered, looking at me fiercely.

My heart melted into a puddle in my chest. My muscles seemed to unfreeze, so I bent forward and pressed my lips to his, knowing that nothing I could say would explain it better than that. He didn’t kiss me back though; he just stayed still as if shocked. When I pulled back, I looked up into his eyes, and I saw my whole future there.

“I love you too, Riyansh,” I whispered. Air rushed out of his lungs, blowing across my face in one large burst. His eyes widened in shock as his whole body stiffened. “I’ve known it for a while but I didn’t really know how to deal with it, and I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t think that you felt the same.”

He groaned, leaning forward and pressing his forehead against mine. “Really?”

I laughed nervously and nodded. “Yeah.”

His hands cupped around my face as he tilted my head slightly. His eyes met mine. “Let’s try this again then, huh?” he whispered. His lips brushed mine when he spoke and my skin prickled with excitement. “I love you,” he repeated, grinning.

I grinned. “I love you too,” I replied immediately, feeling my heart skip a beat.

His lips crashed against mine forcefully; kissing me so fiercely that it was like he was unleashing all of his passion in one go. My arms looped around his neck and we fell back into the pillows, not breaking the kiss. His love for me resonated through every cell in my body, overwhelming me, consuming me, owning me. When the kiss broke, I was breathless. His eyes glittered with excitement and joy as he grinned down at me.