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“Sweetheart, I…”
“Don’t call me that, especially when I am mad at you!” she lashes out, pointing a finger at me. Instead of replying, I give her an amused smile which only infuriates her. “Did you not think I would not be okay with this absurd decision of yours? And to make it worse, you didn’t even bother discussing this with me. I am not leaving this house with that Goddamn babysitter.”
“This sounds like a win-win. I think you not leaving the house will work better for me to keep my sanity. Why didn’t I come up with this plan earlier? Anyway, better late than never.”
“You are crazy.” She throws up her hands again before lowering them to her hips.
“Alisha, you seriously expect me to trust you after yesterday? You have been doing things to provoke me. And you and I both know that you need a bodyguard to keep you on track. So, make no mistake that if you leave this house, it will be with a guard. I won’t have it any other way.” I pinch the bridge of my nose and look up at her only after she has been quiet for far too long.
“I won’t have you controlling me,” she mumbles under her breath in annoyance.
Seeing the agitated look on her face makes me stand and close the distance between us as I cup her face in my hands. I feel an electric current pass through my body as my thumb rubs her warm soft cheeks lightly. Her bottom lip trembles, and tears well up in her eyes. That’s when I realise that I must be looking like a dominating asshole who is domineering, preferring to lead her by intimidation rather than allowing her to have a voice of her own.
“Sweetheart, I love you. Please don’t doubt my love for you. Please understand that I can’t imagine a life without you. You are important to me,” I breathe softly, not liking the disgruntled look on her face. No matter how much it upsets her and she fights me on this, I can’t have her stepping out of the house without any security. In her, I have found what I was missing. My feelings for her are strong and irrefutable. She makes my life and me better. She gives me peace and hope, and I can’t afford to lose her. I hold my gaze steadily, like a lawyer sealing my case. “Alisha, you’re the greatest blessing I have ever had in my life. I wouldn’t want anyone to take you away from me. Please don’t fight me on this.”
“But you must consider what I want. I don’t need protection. I hate the idea of anyone following me like a shadow. It’s going to make me uncomfortable.”
Granted. I must take her wish into consideration, but I don’t think I have it in me to give her this. I love her way too much to risk her security. Yesterday was an eye-opener for me that I can’t let her stroll unaccompanied when there are assholes around who must be waiting for an opportunity to harm her or have ulterior motives. “I know I may sound demanding, which must be too much for you. Please forgive me, but the bodyguard stays.”
“It’s about last night. Don’t you trust me that I am nothing but honest with our marriage even if I know it’s temporary?” she contends.
“I have not an iota of doubt about your honesty. And about our marriage being temporary, let’s not talk about that right now,” I say softly, kissing her forehead.
“You can’t brush me off.”
“Listen to me, Sweetheart.” Letting go of her cheeks, I place two fingers under her chin, raising her eyes to mine. “Don’t argue over the security, please. Nothing you say will change my mind. So, it’s best if we leave at this.” Though I am feeling a little guilty that I am forcing this on her, I can’t help but frown.
She gives me a look that says ‘I-don’t-expect-this-from-you’ look. Fuck. If that doesn’t hurt me. Placing her hands on mine, she removes my hands from her face and then lifts her eyes to meet mine.
“You are being unfair.”
“I promise you won’t even realise his presence. That’s the best I can do. There is no other option but for him to stay. Please, not for you, but for me and my peace of mind.” Holding my breath, I watch her reaction.
“Fine,” she grunts. “You can have your stupid bodyguard follow me. But let me tell you that I am not at all happy with this. Now if you can excuse me, I need to leave for work,” she states.
“You are taking the car I bought for you?” I ask but her glare gives me the answer and tells me this is not the wise time to push her on this matter. “I guess then I will see you later?” I run a hand through my hair as I try to camouflage my anxiety.
Her eyes search my face, and she swallows a lump. Without saying a word, she turns around and leaves my room.
For a moment, I wonder if whatever I am doing is wrong. What if my possessiveness becomes the reason for taking away the most important person in my life? The knot in my stomach ravels.
‘Loving her is my passion, I will never give up on her, no matter how much she pushes me. I will always bounce back,’ I vow to myself. She has no idea that she is my world, and I want to completely give myself to her. With time, I will eliminate all her doubts and make her give our relationship a chance. I will prove to her that whatever she does, wherever she goes, I will be right here waiting for her. I don’t care how long it will take her to come around, but I don’t want to lose her. She is irreplaceable.
My first instinct is to follow her and make sure she sees how much I love her, but instead, I decide to drive down to work. I think throwing myself into work may help ease what I’m currently feeling. Picking up my briefcase and car keys from the table beside the bed, I make my way to my car. All through the drive, her thoughts don’t leave my mind.
I am so completely and totally in love with my wife. God! All those butterflies, love songs, and the weightlessness of love – it’s all real with her. She is my life, my dream, and my desire.
Chapter 24
Alisha
The annoying sound of my alarm clock wakes me, reminding me of what happened yesterday. All through the day, I managed to avoid him. Even when I was back from work, I had to lock myself in the room in an attempt to steer clear of him. Damn! Ranveer just knows how to wind me up. At times, I wonder if he deliberately does things to annoy me. Bodyguard? I mean, seriously. Why the hell does he have to go to extremes to get his point across? I understand his need to protect but I can’t fathom him; he is so intense and does things which mess with my head.
What really irks me is that he has this misconception that I am some damsel in distress, who needs protection. I understand that being a thorough chauvinist, that’s the way it seems to him, but that’s so not true. By some means, I need to find a way to stop him from doing all these crazy acts of his that drive me up the wall. Ranveer definitely is used to being obeyed. Domination runs in his blood. But I won’t be forced to pander to his every demand. Maybe if he wasn’t such an overbearing jerk, we could gel around just fine. My lips curve into a smile, as even in his high-handed moments, he is thinking about my well-being. It doesn’t completely deflate me, but it makes it damn hard to hate him.
My so-called tall muscular bodyguard, Ajay, did a tremendous job of keeping himself invisible. Still, at the back of my mind, I could feel his presence and couldn’t ignore him. And when I told Rewa about it, she looked stunned at first and then broke into a deep belly laugh.
I tap the dismiss button and am about to go back to sleep when I hear a knock at the door. ‘For heaven’s sake! Can’t I get a few minutes of peaceful sleep?’ I grumble as I push the blanket off me and walk towards the door, all the while thinking if this is Ranveer’s other hideous tactic. In that case, I will not spare him for sure. I agreed with the bodyguard because I didn’t have the stamina to argue further with him, but I won’t say yes to another unreasonable demand of his. I am so putting my foot down.
