Chapter 163 - He Stole Away My Breath (2/2)
I sighed. Arguing with him on this topic was worthless. For me, he was fragile as well. He hid his vulnerabilities well. And, that made him more fragile in my eyes, for behind that mask of strong façade was the man with the heart of a child.
With him holding me, I grabbed the opportunity of acquiring the strength from him. All his efforts have been to make my mood better; I could not ruin his efforts. Through the shawl and fabric separating us, I could feel the warmth from him.
He nuzzled his face in the crook of my neck, peppering small kisses from time to time, without saying anything. I released another deep sigh feeling a little better.
”How are your eyes now? Are they still hurting?” Eshan spun me around in his hold before I could answer him. ”Let me take a look,” he said as he started accessing my not-so-swollen eyes.
”Alright, stop it Eshan. Thanks to your remedies it's fine now.” I held his inquisitive gaze and replied with gratitude.
After that cold compress episode, he had not stopped at only that. He chopped some cold cuc.u.mber and had me keep those slices on my eyelids. Then he went a step ahead and had me do the home remedies he found on the internet. He was treating such small thing as if it was something serious.
I have had swollen eyes before as well. Who hadn't? People dealt with them without fussing so much over it.
”Oh okay. That's good then.” Eshan smiled. I observed his smile for a while. Tonight he seemed less talkative. I failed to understand what was the reason behind it. If it was because of grandpa's death anniversary then it was okay, but why did I feel it had other reasons behind it?
”Sometimes, it's not good to bear everything alone. I used to think otherwise. I often hid things in my heart before, afraid to hurt my loved ones. I didn't want to trouble mom, grandma. I shared many things with grandpa, but then there were times I couldn't do that. Something would always hold me back,” I confessed as I looked in his deep eyes, gazing at me with tenderness.
He caressed the side of my face, allowing me to complete what I wanted without interruption.
”I will say this again. Until that day when I lost you, I realized how important it is to open up. Those days I spent apart from you, I realized it more and more. Eshan, that's why I want you to understand this as well. I know you have something in your mind. It's understandable. However, I feel that I need to know if it's troubling you.” I raised my palm and brought in between us, placing it on his chest where his heart was beating.
”As long as you want... you'll find me here, beside you. To listen to what you have to say. To hold you, just like you hold me. The way you want to provide me comfort, I want the same. I have no desire to intrude on your personal life. I understand you won't want to share everything. But, if you ever want to talk about it, remember you have me. I don't know sweet words, I wouldn't know how a wife should act, but I know how to return someone's goodwill and love—”
My words died down in my lips for Eshan leaned in, and his lips stole the words in the searing kiss. My voice was lost as I felt the feverish need of him. It was as if he wanted to convey something. The insistent, probing lips of his nibbled, sucked, peppered, and played around with mine.
Whatever I was saying went forgotten when his arm sn.a.k.e.d around my back and pulled me in. With the help of his other hand, he supported my neck and dived in with all he had got.
The air inside my lungs was getting knocked away with every stroke of his tantalizing tongue. I did not understand why he would suddenly kiss me when I was in the middle of talking. I wanted to let him know that I was there for him, just the way he was for me. I had noticed his distracted look. Something was bothering him.
I didn't want to press him for answers, but at the same time, I couldn't bear to let him suffer alone. So, I had raised the topic tonight. Who knew, instead of getting answers, Eshan would leave me speechless as he stole away my breath.