Meet Her Eyes

Part 4

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'I will send someone to help you pack your belongings tonight....'

'Drat!'  he knocked his fisted hand so hard, on the wood that the whole table shook to its core. The contents upon it swaying like the delicate leaves of a tree under heavy wind.

'You need to go home!'

'Drat!' this time when his fist came in contact with the table he punched it so hard that with a loud split, a crack appeared on the side. His knuckles turned red and bloody and yet he felt nothing but the dread seeping in through his blood to his bones, as his own words swirled in his head making a repeating endless loop that swallowed his peace and sanity along with it.

He looked at the 'Z' shaped crack in the wood and ran his fingertips along it's fringe, to feel its rough course and sharp edges that could split his skin in two..... and that, he realised was the problem, wasn't it?
That in an unbridlled moment of rage when he had let his frustration show, his brutal force had cracked the wood in two and now, no amount of repenting was ever going to fix it back again.

He was not ready to let her go, damn it! He raked his fingers through his hair and gripped its end with a brutal force trying to feel the pricking pain that it was supposed to bring, with itself.

But....Nothing! Nothing!...... he felt nothing but the frustration and shame that settled upon his chest in layers, after what he had done.

The chief eunuch had returned half an hour ago to let him know that packing was complete and the horses for the wagon had been prepared too.

And his dread had increased a thousand folds!

'She can't really leave! No! No! she can't!'  he shook his head and stampeded around the room like a rampaging mad elephant, neither able to sleep nor able to sit still.... but the wait was not for long.

He watched the dawn approaching with its golden rays and chirruping birds, bleary eyed and with a bedraggled stance from his window.
He felt the soft rays of Sun upon his skin and listened to the chants of morning arti prayers from the nearby temple and yet only one thought plagued his mind, his promise from last night.

' I won't let her go!'
~~~

The morning air was just as cold and chilly as last night had been, the golden rays of the sun were hidden beneath the thick clouds as the royal caravan left from the palace gates.
By every standard, it was a gloomy day and the last night's fog had almost thickened and wrapped itself around the city like a large whittish smoke.

There was a serene silence surrunding them, as the horses slowly trotted forwards in the low visibility. The city seemed asleep in this dreamy haze of the cold chilly morning when even the sun hadn't shown it's face yet.

But the same serene silence and the dreamy haze seemed like a omnius nightmare to Sukanya, that she can't seem to wake up from.

The streets were empty, the markets slow and the pain mingled with the fear of losing him was so immence that everything upto her bones seemed to be aching within her.

She had spent the whole night wide awake, looking at the ceiling while her body remained curved like a tight ball on the bed.

And the tears had came gushing down her eyes, but she had held them at bay and thought of every possible way to stop this from happening.
But as morning had drawn closer along with her time of deprture, she had realized that he had in fact no reason to keep her here anymore.

She was the unwanted wife, a shameful burden he had taken upon himself to save his brother's life and she would always remain the same to him. The wench who had slept with his brother and manipulated him into marrying him.