31
"Are you happy with me?" He asked with nervousness because, according to him, there was a ninety nine percent chance she would say no. After all, he couldn't remember if he had done anything for her happiness.
He didn't know that just his presence in her life gave her happiness.
She looked at him and smiled genuinely. "Yes, I am happiest like I have never been." Her reply made him smile but also shocked. He looked into her eyes for any doubt, but there was none, only innocence, care, and...Love.
Love? For whom?
"How can you be happy with me? I have never done anything for you, and besides, you were forced to marry me, right?" He asked curiously.
"Yes, I was forced, and so were you, and I seriously had zero idea about how things would go between us. I agreed to this marriage just because I wanted to go away from that hell, but...
When I first met you and you said those things, my hopes were crushed once again, but there was no turning back. I would have lived a loveless life here or there, so I decided to be here." She said, and a wave of guilt passed through him.
"But things changed, and when I got to know you more. You are not a bad person like you love to show. You are not cold-hearted.
You are a kind person who loves his close ones, who cares so much about them, who can give his life and also take anyone's life for his family. You love them very much. So, if you can love, how can you say that you don't have a heart? Or are you cold-hearted?
You are just afraid. Afraid to not get that love back.
Afraid to get hurt again. You are not stone-hearted.
You have a heart but it's multi-layered.
" She lifted her gaze to meet him, her eyes filled with determination.
And he was shocked after listening to her.
He started thinking that he was too easy to read, or that his wife was just good at reading faces.
He feels like someone is looking directly into his soul and revealing every secret that he has hidden from everyone.
He is scared because no one has ever looked into him like this.
He is feeling like an open book. And what scared him most was that every word that she said was true.
Yes, he is afraid to not get his love back to not get his efforts back, so he buries his feelings deep down to not get hurt again.
"And you know what? People who have multi-layered heart have Golden heart. Maybe I don't know everything about your past, But I know you. I know the man I love, I know the man you are today," She said, looking deep into his eyes.
He knew where this was going, so he tried to say something but was cut off by her, who placed her finger on his lips.
"Let me share this, please. If I didn't say it today, I wouldn't have the same courage again." She said, and Reyansh's heart started beating fast, so fast that she could hear it in utter silence.
While Arya's condition was no different. Her heart was beating fast as if it would have come out of her body if there was no covering.
"I don't expect the same from you. Don't feel pressured because of what I am going to say.
Just keep in mind that I will wait for you.
If it means waiting my whole life. I'll wait till my last breath and you would never have to feel pressure just because I expressed my feelings.
" She said and looked at her shivering hands.
She took his hands, looking deep into eyes that she had always found deep, alluring, and magnificent.
She finally said it.
"I Love You, Reyansh"
She said, and Reyansh's heartbeat stopped for a moment.
She continued, "I don't want you to reciprocate the feelings until you feel like doing so, but I want to let you know that you are everything to me. I never had these feelings for anyone.
Your smile makes my day better and your voice calms me. Your presence in life gives immense happiness. I don't know when but you will become my home," She confessed.
Reyansh was silently standing there listening to her his heart was about to come out of his ribcage.
"There are so many things you don't know about me. And I am afraid that you won't love me once you know everything. I am afraid that your perception will change for me." He finally said.
"It will never happen and I'll wait for you to open up with me and share your every deep trauma with me."
"You will get bored of me. Or you might get tired of my actions soon. Or you might find someone better than me." He said the words unknowingly.
Arya felt a sting in his heart listening to him. Although she was angry listening to him, she knew something had happened that made him believe this. And she was ready to make him believe in love again.
"I can never get bored of you, and if I already had best, then why do I need better," She gave her assuring smile.
"Take your time. Take your time to test me and I'll take my time to make you fall for me." She said caressing her hand, and silence prevailed over them.
Arya's mind is filled with thoughts. She was scared to get rejected by the end of his life.
"You have the power to choose, Reyansh. You can choose to let your past consume you, or you can choose to move forward and make amends."
He stared into her eyes, searching for any trace of doubt or fear, but all he found was unwavering faith and love.
'How could she still look at me with such love and acceptance?' he thought.
"I know you've been through a lot, and I know there are things about your past that I may never fully understand. But I also know that you're not a bad person. You're a man who's been hurt" Her words cut through the darkness around him.
He was surprised by how determined she was. She saw through his attempts to push her away, But she refused to see bad in him. Instead, she chooses to see the good in him. To him, her words felt so genuine. And his mind and heart were saying only one thing.
To give this relationship a chance.
"So you are saying that you are okay with staying with me if I don't love you back?" He asked.
She nodded, her eyes never leaving his.
"You're my husband, the man I love with all my heart, so I will never leave until death do us part," She replied.
He felt a lump form in his throat at her words, a wave of emotions washing over him. He looked into her eyes and saw that she meant what she said. She believed it strongly.
"No matter how much I try to push you away from myself, you're never going to leave my side, are you?" He asked, raising one of his eyebrows.
She smiled, and replied. "Never"
"I am ready to give this relationship a chance, Sunshine." Those were Reyansh's words that made her heart dance with joy.