Where Have You Been All My Life

38|How Patient

She prepared her mind and walked upstairs. She could hear Ruhi and Adi's noise from Adi's bedroom, competing in drawing. She smiled cheekily and gave them juice before walking into the lion's den where usually she rules. Should she really tell him? She doubted. This is not something that is very important but the uneasiness that she was enduring because of confining things made her shrug of her apprehensions.

"Hmm..." He looked up from his laptop and raised his left hand inviting her or maybe the drink.

She smiled nervously as she walked towards him. He noticed the glass shaking on the tray that indicated she is panicky. She had been this edgy when he has invaded her privacy some months ago, in her bedroom. That day, she was scared of him as she thought he would do something dirty with her after how she insulted his pride by saying he has a nonresponsive skin, to her boisterous sisters. Therefore, it was easy to understand that his otherwise warrior woman cum wife is now scared of him for God knows what.

Concluding all these in few seconds while she ever so slowly reached out to him, he took the tray from her hand and kept it on the small tabletop. She looked down and sat beside him; as closer as possible, consciously, making him hold her shoulder that let him snigger. He pulled her in his embrace while she hid her face in his chest and scratched smoothly there with her index finger.

"What are you hiding from me Ishita...?" He asked lovingly.

His voice reflected how patient he is to hear her out. His posture exhibited endurance that, no matter what she would tell him, he would not be angry on her. She sighed and hid her face in the crook of his neck while he patted her back. She broke the hug and looked penetratingly into his eyes that emitted tolerance. How she wished he would be this calm and composed even after he comes to know about the matter. That was trivial...she should not make it a huge issue; her conscience battled again.

"Raman...I was thinking...ermm...today...you said...you heard me saying someone touched me...right?" She stammered looking everywhere but him.

He chuckled thinking how such imprudent things he is hearing. "Haan...I'm crazy...!" He smacked his own head and laughed in a slow thick voice.

"What if...it's true...Aap kaise react..." Her words died in her throat when she noticed his countenance changing.

It seemed like some ghost has possessed him as his muscles stiffened; she could count how many times his nerves pulsed as it came visible inside the skin of his neck and ruddiness spread on his ear and nose. His hand tightened around the tall glass while he tried to suppress his rage. He did not want to scare her when he was trying to comfort her. Thus, he kept the glass on the table and turned to her making her move back in a jolt.

"Hey...kya hua...?" His voice mellowed.

"You...you scared me Ra-Rama-nn..." She said stuttering as she tried to find those flashes of emotions in his eyes that instantly turned to concern.

"Who tried to touch you...?" He asked in a dangerously composed voice, cupping her face.

She looked into his eyes that has the repercussions of his fury, zoomed now and then, indicating that this calmness is pretentious. "No one did...I was just...trying to see how you'd react..." She lied again.

"You got your answer, right?" He asked hugging her from sideways and slowly sipping the juice.

"Hmm...I got it." She closed her eyes pitying Ashok.