Chapter 25: Chapter 25

"What?"

"I am all alone. No one wants me, no one cares what I want. You're the only person who is standing by me, so just don't leave me." She glanced up at him with glossy eyes. "I am not requesting you. I just want you to be with me on your wish. Stay with me."

Thrill and fervor of care shot up through Yuvraaj's spine and his heart fluttered in his ribcage. After three weeks, his wife confessed that she needed him and it was actually very surprising that a girl who didn't want to stay with him for a sane moment was asking to stay with her.

"Say something!" She whined, palming his cheek and made him trance out.

With his earnest breath, he nodded. "I will never leave you. Even if you desperately want to leave me, I will bend you up and bind up with me. Understood?"

"I won't go." She murmured, boring her eyes deep in his and Yuvraaj smirked, "Don't abnegate then."

He blew her hair and kissed her forehead. Recovering her breath, Anahita stood on the balls of her feet and rested her head against him. "I thought you left me because I demanded your card and because you wanted to go to coast."

"If I were to leave you, I wouldn't be here with you. Above all, I had many others reasons to leave you than those you mentioned." He simpered, rubbing his nose against hers. Yuvraaj clasped her palm, perfectly molding her fingers against him and kissed her with knuckles, "Now stay with me like a good baby and don't leave my hand. I am certain you can't even take care of you but before that let's eat something first and then we shall proceed with shopping."

Pursing her lips, Anahita smiled softly and shook her head. "No. I want to go back to hotel."

"Why? I am with you. Why are you afraid? I won't leave you."

"Still. I want to go back." She pressed.

"Fine!" He succumbed before her, "But we will have dinner here because this hide and seek has left me exhausted. Okay?"

With a brief nod, Anahita rubbed her face with one hand and sauntered close to him. Her eyes inching up on Yuvraaj time and time again. Unknown to her, her cheeks turned red as the scene of her breaking down revolved before her eyes.

"Um...Yuvraaj.." She crooned measuring up her words and was greeted by a very coherent nod, compelling her to proceed, "I...whatever....happened there. I..mm...didn't mean that. I mean .."

"I know what you mean, don't worry, I had said those words just to calm you." He interjected to avoid her reluctance. His repellency didn't fit good with her.

Frowning, Anahita yanked his hair and grunted. "I said that about you leaving me for a card. Not about other things and you don't have to comfort me with lies, alright?"

"How dare you..." Yuvraaj glared her, ready to pounce on her for her belligerent act of pulling his hair in public but Anahita didn't give him chance to retort and shoved him in the adjacent wall, trapping her with arms either side of him.

"How dare me?" She slapped his arm, "How dare you? Why did you say you lie? Huh! See, Yuvraaj, you're not doing any noble cause if you're with me, Alright? I am your wife."

Shock was evident on Yuvraaj's face as he witnessed the enraged Anahita, almost stapling on him.

"Who am I?" She asked, frowning and rested her elbow on his shoulder. "I am your wife. Legally and officially. It doesn't matter for a week or two but I am your only wife and only I have rights on your everything. Do you get that?" She brilliantly broached up the topic of his money as well. "Why did you even have to pace up yourself there? I was lost in thoughts and that's why I couldn't see you but you should've looked back once, to check if I am there or not." She gripped his chin. "And now since you have found me, you are lying. How could you?"

Her pitch and the stares of scrambling figures increased, Yuvraaj was embarrassed, first time in his life. He was being berated in the public by a woman who happened to be his wife and with this position where she had caught him captive.

"Anahita...." He tried prying her hands, "We shall talk later in our room."

"No!" She refused adamantly, "Why not now? You made me sick by yapping all the time that I am your wife, I am your wife since forever. My whole life is in this phase just because you wanted me as your wife and here, you've a new frame of mind. You refuse to accept my existence. You refuse to let me stay with you and now you refuse that I am your wife. To crown it all, you say you were lying."

"Ana...."

"Save it Yuvraaj. I am not listening anything. You men can't be trusted upon. I have to be the way I am just because you and everyone drilled it into me that I am your wife and now suddenly you don't want me. You will never understand." She curled her lips, her eyes twinkling with water and her mind cursed her to become weak before him, "You don't have to pain yourself to be with me."

Angrily, she pivoted in her heels, only to be pulled back and this time, Yuvraaj pasted her in the wall. This happening didn't fascinate the miniscule number of people around and they paid no heed to a six feet two inches tall man who had shoved a petite woman in the wall besides they had seen the prior scenario.

"Leave me..." She wriggled but Yuvraaj drew a finger on her lips, smirking wide, "It seems you're deeply hurt that I have a new frame of mind now. You sound like you desperately want to be my wife. Huh?"

"Over my dead body!" She snorted.

"That's not what you said seconds ago. You wanted to know why I have this frame of mind and you sounded very pleased when I yapped that you are my wife." With each word, his lips trembled to burble up in laughter but he held himself back. "You got groomed for me. You wanted to be perfect for me and now since we're married, you don't want to leave me, do you?"

"I never said that. I said it's your mistake that I was lost." She blatantly refused, chinning up. Without further ado, Yuvraaj kissed her passionately, making her eyes go wide and she pulled herself back, hitting her head in wall, "Ouch!"

"See," Yuvraaj laughed, "If you try to stay away from me, you will hurt yourself."

"What the hell? How do you do that?"

"Like this." He kissed her again, nipping her lower lip and shoved his tongue inside her mouth on a voyage, exploring every nook and cranny. Anahita moaned in disbelief. Her legs worked against gravity. She tried to steady herself but had to grip Yuvraaj's shoulder for support. Yuvraaj's arm flung around her waist pulling her closer and raised her from the ground getting tired of leaning. He left her after good ten minutes but his eyes never left her face.

"I meant how dare you kiss me without my permission?" Anahita murmured, struggling to cover up her red cheeks.

"You wouldn't want to." He kissed her forehead and pulled her with him. Wordlessly, she matched his steps walking abreast and they sloshed into the nearby restaurant. Anahita excused herself for a quick minute and did her touch up, sprucing up her messy self. Dinner was uneventful for them with the blush on her face every now and then which Yuvraaj studiously avoided.

"Hey, you go. I'll just come back." Yuvraaj belayed on his steps as they reached up to their Villa and Anahita caught his wrist, narrowing her eyes, "Where?"

"I'm just coming."

"No way. Spill out." She demanded and he sighed. "You won't lost in the way. I think I've forgotten my cellphone at the reception. Now, will you let me go?"

"Okay." She unwillingly drew back her clasp and nodded her chin, "But come soon."

"I will." Smiling, he jogged back to the hotel building and Anahita sauntered to their suite, finally relieved that she was safe.

***

Next morning was not alike every morning that was dawning upon the couple, snoring softly within embrace. This morning was not alike every morning when Anahita would get up cursing her husband, this morning was not alike every morning where Yuvraaj would steal a kiss from his dormant bride and pretend to be asleep when her eyes would blink.

This was a fresh, exuberant morning paving in their little adobe which was as always dishevelled yet now coming to a spick-and-span way. Muffling the comforter more on her, Anahita tried to retain on the warmth radiating from a very naked Yuvraaj.

Her fingers drawled upon his chest and rested on his heart. Gradually, her eyes blinked as she adjusted her gaze against the sunlight peeping directly through the glass window facing ocean and she stretched her body, yawning.

As though a bird had just taken flight from her mope headed hair and she sniffed, rubbing her nose. Crying session of yesterday well conversed with the cold weather of Sardinia and decided to confer cold upon her. Lethargically, she staggered to the bathroom and fished out her toothbrush from the cabinet, looking at her face in the mirror. Her nose was a hot pink; corroboration of her short-lived acute cold. Lazily, she brushed her teeth with the farrago slides of last night dancing before her dull eyes that bloomed a smile on her lips.

"What took you so long? Aai called and wished to talk to you but...wait a sec, what is this?" Anahita bombarded Yuvraaj with questions as he came inside with a paper bag.

"This is," He teased her with a smile and plopped on the couch installed in a corner of their suite. He revealed the bottle of vintage wine and Anahita gasped, "You're going to drink? Only this was left, my husband is a drunkard and i....don't understand why dad praised you so much? Listen Yuvraaj, don't even think of puking after your little celebration because I vomit at the sight of vomit. Hell, i am feeling spew." She bantered and covered her mouth with her palm, feeling hypochondria.

Making a face, Yuvraaj pulled her next to him with his good hand and tapped her head, "It is not liquor. It is wine with the minimum alcohol contents. Even you won't get drunk if you gulp down half of it, let alone me."

He flipped two stemware glasses and poured Cheverny a medium low alcohol white sparking wine, and Anahita eyed the spume on the surface, fascinatingly.

"This is the best wine of this category, exported from Sauvignon Blanc from Loire, France and it is made with less sweet grapes." He informed her, boosting about his acumen and Anahita rolled her eyes, she wasn't at all interested in knowing where this wine was made and how.

She swallowed nervously, staring at the glass and Yuvraaj when he extended it to her. "Drink it girl!" He emboldened her and took a long swig of his share.

Wrapping her fingers on the cold glass, she tasted it squinting her eyes, ready to spurt it if the taste didn't suit her. But, to her surprise, it was not at all that worst as she had expected. It was a bit sweet and citrusy on her tongue, it smelled like fermented grapes. Over all, it was a great experience.

"How's it?"

"Not as bad as I thought. Can i get some more?" She smiled cheekily, forwarding her glass and Yuvraaj retreated the bottle from the table, hiding it behind his back, "If I am not wrong, you hate drunkards and now you're demanding more liquor, baby." He smirked and Anahita punched his biceps, slightly, "Don't be presumptuous! Give it to me."

She snatched the bottle and poured wine for her, "Don't tell Aai! She will be very upset with me." She giggled, sipping the wine.

Yuvraaj smirked, "Do you think I fill my mom about what goes behind closed door? It's you."

She narrowed her eyes, pressing the glass on her lips and swallowed, "I want to ask you something Yuvraaj."

"Go on!"

"Where did you learn this shamelessness?" She posed a faked smile, "I mean I can't even understand how are you so shameless? Starting from day one, I haven't held myself back to show my unlikeness towards your attitude yet you manage to...."

She was trying to complete her animadversion when he tugged her wrist and pulled her over him, holding her chin between two fingers, gazing straight through her eyes.

"It's because a man is allowed to be savage and shameless with his wife. Do you not like when I do this?" He crawled his fingers under her top and pinched her waist, scrutinizing her face.

"Do you not enjoy when I do this?" He hugged her tightly and sniffed her hair, "Don't your heartbeats paces up? Ain't your cheeks burn up and turn into deep shade of red? Don't you feel to stay in my arms forever?"

She was unblinkingly gawking at him, subjecting herself to the sweet torture he put her through but her gazing was short lived as Yuvraaj retreated, smirking, "Did you think I will ask this?"

Frowning she moves back, "Even if you had, my answer would've been a straightforward No. Because that's the truth. You are a self-centered, self proclaimed j..."

"Women in our household don't openly call their husband names. You need to learn a lot and I am wondering why mom praised about you?" He reminded her.

"Whatever." She put her glass on the table and stood up, "It's already very late. Let's sleep, we've a lot of things to do tomorrow."

"Like what?" Yuvraaj looped his lips at a side, tilting his glass, "Getting lost again?"

"It was your fault. You won't be that lucky every time." She blamed, padding to the bed and slipped under duvet when his remark had her astonished, "I've been lucky since I got married to you."