Tales of Love

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Two days.

She was given two days to think about her decision. The decision that would ultimately seal her life and join her to the man she'd found in all the chaos that girded around her. There was no time to waste, no time to make hasty decisions but he had given her time. Albeit, it was not much but he told her that she could think about it.

Layla was lying on her bed, her hair created a halo around her pillowcase. Her thoughts were wayward and submerged in all the recent happenings. As the words had been spoken from his mouth, she had instantly stopped thrashing in his arms. The arms that were unfamiliar but at the same time oh so familiar. The unfamiliarity came from the contact of the skin, that was as forbidden as the poisoned apple and the familiarity came from the touch that was nothing but comforting.

The moon was high up in the sky, its light penetrating through her open window. Gentle, soothing wind bellowed and caressed her cheeks. She laid on the bed, her eyelids begging to be shut but her mind was in fragments. Whenever, she closed her eyes, his face came to the forefront. The beseeching eyes, the raspy voice and the taut embrace.

Amidst, all the taunting words and heated arguments, his eyes were earnest. When he declared his verdict, he looked as confident as the man he was born to be. His stance was lethal, his back ramrod straight, no hint of fumbling or hesitation. He knew what he wanted at that moment. With that startling clarity, came the forbidden voice from the deep recesses of her mind:

He wants you.

This thought unsettled her deeply. She sat straight in her bed, the only sound around her was of her gentle breathing and the clock ticking. Layla knew the mess that they were in, the uncertainty that lurked around them. Yet, the only thing certain was his choice. The choice of marrying her. She was utterly puzzled at his choice. Why her?

With every new thought, the links were getting entangled within themselves. After, she had calmed down from her outburst earlier, he had instructed his mother to take her to her room. Since then, he had been busy in conversing with his friend. She couldn't grasp how to react to the news that he had took the liberty to hire a lawyer for her, though he was his friend but still it was no ordinary feat.

As much as she denied the prospect, she knew in her heart that there was something. Something that lingered and sizzled between them. A thread so thin, yet its grip was a vice. Whenever, she was in near vicinity of him, the air around shifted and something potent slithered around them. It coiled, stretched and moved slowly; binding them together.

Sometimes, her own thoughts scared her. The easy familiarity that existed between them, the compelling push towards him, it all made her doubt her own sanity. For she had never felt subdued and bewitched by a man, with this intensity. In the night, her mind was an open Pandora box of repressed memories and jumbled thoughts. Her mother's sweet voice teased her in the dark:

Never trust a man, my child.

The obedient child that she was, she took her advice to heart. She didn't know if it was fate or sheer coincidence that life never gave her a reason to refute that advice. However, there was this small ball of defiance that had saturated itself inside her. It moved around her, drenching her in its embrace. It gives her validation. Validation to just trust him.