Chapter 82: chapter 82

SRUTHIMy heart pounds wildly in my heart. Recklessness? That is something foreign to me. I always do things very carefully and safely. I don't take risks or go after adventures. I was never the one for an adrenaline rush but strangely now, I want to say yes to Madhav. I want to be reckless for once in my life. The only reckless thing I have done in my life is to marry this man when I hated him. I am not regretting that choice, so, maybe another reckless choice is not going to hurt.“Yes, I want to see the beach now,” I answer in a whisper. Madhav's lips lift in a grin before he wraps his hand around my knees and hoists me up.I squeal in surprise, “MADHAV—”“Shh! Don't make a noise, we may alert the night guards on patrol,” Madhav warns. I take a deep breath and try to calm down. I push myself up onto the wall. I let my legs dangle on either side of the wall and look at the other side of the wall. The beach looks calm. I am gazing at the beach mesmerized that I don't see how Madhav jumps over the wall but he is on the other side without a scratch or wound on his body. “You ready to come down, Sruthi?” asks Madhav looking up at me as I am still sitting on the wall. Madhav spreads out his arms wide like he is prepared to catch me. “If you don't catch me properly, then I will scream and alert the patrol guards,” I warn Madhav. Madhav's smile is confident and easy, “Trust me, Sruthi.”With another deep breath, I put my other leg on the beach side of the wall and get ready to jump. I close my eyes and jump waiting for my body to hit the concrete floor. But nothing of that sort happens because Madhav's arms wrap around my body and he catches me effortlessly like that is something he does every day“See, I caught you,” Madhav says with a grin but I can't bring myself to give him a witty comeback. All I can focus on now is how close our faces are. My hands are wrapped around his neck and he is still holding me in his arms. A little movement from either of us would eliminate that small space between our lips. Maybe I am feeling too reckless because I suddenly want to know how it would feel to have his lips on mine. It takes me a moment to realise that Madhav has gone silent and I meet his eyes. His eyes look like liquid silver and they drop down to my lips. I hold my breath in anticipation. Does he also have the same thoughts as me? We are already husband and wife, so, a kiss between us shouldn't come as a big deal. Yet, I know it is a big deal between us because we aren't a normal couple. We didn't get married under normal circumstances. So, a kiss would change things between us. I still don't know how Madhav sees me.I am not sure what Madhav sees in my face but his eyes darken and the gaze he is giving me is enough to heat a room. Just when I think this moment is perfect and nothing can ruin it, a loud horn ssounds faraway snapping us out of the trance we are in. Both of us let go of the other and look around in alarm. “Did we get caught?” I ask in a nervous whisper.“No, we didn't. That must be from the lighthouse” Madhav says pointing at the lighthouse, “Come, let us go near the water.”He grabs my hand and pulls me towards the water. I follow him without any protest. His big hand engulfs mine and I feel a satisfied sigh escape me. It feels nice to hold his hand. I feel secure and safe when he holds my hand. We walk near the water and watch the waves crash against the shore in silence. “I used to go with my mother to the beach late at night,” I blurt out. I have never talked about my parents to anyone except my therapist and brother. Madhav doesn't ask any questions but just squeezes my hand gently and that keeps me talking, “We would sit on the sand and watch the waves. I always found it fascinating to watch the waves rather than the stars at night. My mother would sit with me and tell me the story of how she met and fell in love with my father.”“Your parents had a love marriage like the president?” Madhav asks sounding surprised. Usually, ministers only get married for political reasons. They try to marry the person who would benefit them the most. There were a few exceptions to that. A couple of them being my father and the current president.“Yes, they did. Unlike other ministers of his time, my father married for love. My mother was a simpleton from a faraway village.”“Your mother is from a village? That is surprising. How did they meet and fall in love?”“She was from a village at the border. My father met her when he had gone there for inspection. The first time, my mother met my father, she mistook him for a thief and tried to chase him out of the village.”“Woah! That should have been a wonderful meet-cute.”“Indeed it was. But soon, they fell in love with each other and my father married her that year and brought her to the capital but they faced opposition from the other ministers yet they overcame those hurdles and gave birth to my brother and then me.”“Do you miss them?” “I do at times. It took me a long time to accept the fact that they are not in this world. I couldn't even believe what happened that day. It took me a month to accept that fact.”Madhav pulls me into his embrace, “I am sorry for what happened to your parents.”“It is okay. I am doing better now. I have an amazing brother to make up for their absence and then I have you.”“Me?”“Yes, you are the reason I started to believe in myself again. When others pitied me or treated me with ulterior motives, you never did. You were right about one thing though, I was shit scared of you. The rumours surrounding you made matters worse but I never wanted to show you that I was scared. I also enjoyed the arguments we had over the years.”“Are you still scared of me?” Madhav asks in a whisper. His breath is hot on my neck making my heart race faster.“No, I am not,” I answer.“Then what do you feel for me?”❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥