Mine To Be Called ✓

~~•Eighty one•~~

He held her hand. "It will be fun, Andaleeb. You will soon come to live in the moment. This exhilarating activity will immerse you in a world of tranquility."

She bit her lower lip. "I can understand you but I...you know I have a fear of water."

He stared at her in silence. How brave and courageous she was; he didn't know that she feared water.

"Why?"

She just lifted one of her shoulders. "When I was ten, I went on a trip with my cousins on a beach. One of my elder cousins tried to throw me in the water for fun. I didn't even know swimming and I panicked. The water wasn't that deep but as a kid, it scared the hell out of me. Then my Baba rescued me and scolded my cousin so much. I have had a phobia of water since then. If it wasn't for my Baba---"

She lingered there and a sadness occupied her expression. One look at her fidgeting fingers and thoughtful eyes and Masab knew that she was reminiscing the happy time she spent with her father. And now because of him, it was ruined. Her father almost sold her to him because of his brother's insistence because he found no good option for his daughter, who was kidnapped and married without his approval. He came out of the water and held her slim shoulders to make her face him.

"Water shouldn't make you fear it. Fight the fear, not the adventure. How about I help you with it?" He asserted, truthfully.

She swallowed. "I really don't want, Masab. I never battled my fear of water ever, and I don't know if I will be able to do that. The emotional trauma I got was something unbearable maybe."

He cupped her face, his cold and wet fingers making a shiver to run down her spine. "You have to battle all those fears. You have to underwhelm emotional and vulnerable attachments to certain things. For us to survive in this world, that's necessary."

She gritted her brows. "I don't understand you."

In the soft glow of the sunlight, her skin looked bright and golden. She looked innocent and pure.

"Once your emotional connection to me prevented you from shooting me, Andaleeb. I don't want this to happen again and again. You need to fight for yourself on your own," he said, trying to make her understand.

"That was because I love you and I couldn't live without you. What is the connection of both these things? You promised me that you won't talk about death again. This hurts me," she mumbled, tears filling her gorgeous green eyes.

He pecked her forehead. "I know, my love. I was just giving you an example. Of course, I'll fight anything if it tries to come between us."

His intimacy and words always made her feel distracted, and it did this time as well. Andaleeb couldn't even see along the lines of what he was saying. He slowly untied her robe and then held her in his arms in bridal style.

"You just have to trust me. You know that. Right?" He asked, trying to reassure her.

She chewed the insides of her cheeks so harshly but did nod anyway. If Masab said that she could trust him, then nothing would happen surely. He downed a few stairs leading to the edge of the pool, taking her in his strong arms, and as soon as she felt the water on her feet, she gasped. Andaleeb tightened her grip over his biceps, her nails digging painfully into his flesh.

Her breath got stuck in her lungs when he completely downed her in the water, only holding her by the waist.

"No, take me out. I don't think I can manage it," she whimpered, moving her hands in the water aimlessly as tears brimmed her vision.

The past lurked in her memory like a moth where she was dealing with the same emotions as a ten-year-old girl.

"Relax, sweetheart. I am here for you. Put your trust in me and you will enjoy that," he told her.