32

Guys! Inline comments are my driving force. Please be generous regarding them.

Happy reading!

*

The sky was a mixture of red and yellow, something akin to the glow of sunset, yet a little more bright than usual. David was busy working on his latest blueprint, because his son and wife were out with his sister and niece, for their girls time out. But since there were so many girls, all collected, how could his son leave that opportunity and stay back with this 'old man'. So here he was, alone, among the blue prints. His personal assistant, Tobias, has just left and Hope and Oliver wouldn't come for another few hours. They are most probably having dinner outside. So, this was the perfect opportunity to get some work done. Since the penthouse would feel lonelier, he decided to move to his office.

His office building was getting emptier as the day progressed. Through the glass walls, he could see darkness in Eric's cabin. That meant he left too. Or probably his 'lazy ass' never came.

When it was eight in the night, his phone rang. He saw it was Hope. They are probably back.

"David? Where are you?"

He folded the final blueprint in his hand, "Just got done with the work. Since you two weren't home, i came to office."

"The building must be closed by now."

He chuckled, "Who would dare to close the building when the boss is still here! The guards and all stayed back. I allowed Tobias to go."

"Won't you have dinner? I brought your favourite lasagna."

"My favourite lasagna?", A thought crossed his mind- What restaurant could make better lasagna than..

"Yeah! Your favourite lasagna by Eric?"

He made a face, "You know well how to spoil my mood."

That, somehow, made her laugh, "I know you won't admit. But you love whatever he cooks."

He rolled his eyes, "How come he was there enjoying time with you all? I was here, working my ass off to afford food for you both!"

She laughed at her husband's theatrics, "Come back fast! Me and Oliver are waiting for you."

He reached home in the next twenty minutes. Wishing his driver and guards, a good night, he got into the lift and finally opened the door with the spare key card he always carried.

He was in the dining area, removing his shoes, when he called for Hope.

"Mrs. Hopeless Wellington! How dare you are not here to welcome me with your long legs and red hairs!"

He heard a laugh from upstairs, and turn to see her coming down, ofcourse, with her long legs, and red hairs. He smiled amused. He loved this part of the day, when he freely bantered with her.

"You should come upstairs. Your son is not happy that you called me here."

He narrowed his eyes, "Make him aware that you are my wife. I am your first responsibility!"

"He wouldn't lis....ouch!!", he wasn't looking at her, focussed on removing his shoes when she shrieked.

But his heart jumped out of his mouth when he saw her leg slipping, and she fell on stairs. Thankfully, she was holding the rails and so she did not come all the way down.

He threw his shoes, and immediately ran to her, "Hope! My god! Can't you be careful!!"

He reached her and looked at her leg. She definitely got a sprain, her ankle was painfully twisted.

"Wait! Let's go to the hospital!"

He went ahead to pick her up, "It's not that serious. The pain is probably from a sprain. Call a doctor home."

"No you must have broken your leg."

She shook her head, "No! Just a sprain."

"Are you sure?", he asked her, worried out of his wits.

She nodded, "I am sure. And Oliver is upstairs. Help me..I'll walk to the room."

He made a displeased face, "Ofcourse I'd let you walk.", and then he picked her up. She protested, but he was stronger and with practiced ease, he took her upstairs.

"I am heavy."

He nodded, "You are. I feel like I lifted a gorilla!"

She smacked his back, feeling every bit of offended, but he didn't care.

"Mumma!?", when they entered the room, they heard a cute curious voice enquiring what happened.

David laid her down on the bed, and went soon to Oliver who was about to jump from his crib.

He made him sit beside Hope, "Your mumma got a boo-boo on her leg. See!"

Her ankle was now turning blue, and he immediately called the guards outside to get a doctor home.

By the time he cut his call, he turned to see, Oliver's face turning red, and soon after he burst crying.

The two parents panicked and Hope immediately reached him, "Oliver? My baby? Why are you crying?"

Crying Oliver was an extreme for David. Oliver was a cheerful child who only cried when he did not get his way, which was rare since he was a highly pampered and dotted upon by everybody around him. He immediately went into panic mode, and has not learnt yet how to deal with him.

Hope on the other hand, pulled him closer to herself, hiding his face in her chest, "Little strawberry? What's wrong? Tell mumma.."

In between his cries, he managed to utter few words, "Mumma! Boo Boo!", and then another batch of crying and sniffles followed.

Hope and David looked at each other, shocked and amazed.

"He's crying because you got a boo-boo? I mean a wound?"

She shrugged, still dazed but catered to the crying child in her arms, "Oli! See Mumma's boo-boo is not painful. She's not crying? Is she?", she made him look at her face. He observed her and nodded.

"So? Why are you crying? Mumma's okay, and she'll be really fine if you give her one or two kisses."

He nodded, a little sad still, but stood up nonetheless, to kiss her cheeks.

David couldn't help but feel grateful, happy and ecstatic. His son and Hope were so attached to each other, he often felt like a third wheel. And Oliver? This little guy was so sensitive when it came to his mother.

Oliver didn't leave her, kept sitting on her lap, clutching her top, as the doctor came and examined her ankle. Hope didn't wince even once, because Oliver again and again looked at her to see if it was paining. David sat beside the two, holding her hand, gently rubbing it to lessen whatever pain she was feeling.

The doctor didn't even leave fully, before Eric and Erica burst in their bedroom.

"Why is a doctor here? Where's Oliver?"

Looking at his Papa, the solemn expression of Oliver turned into a smile, "Papa!"

"Hope is hurt. She twisted her ankle.", at David's answer, two reactions followed.

Erica, worried, went and sat near Hope asking of her well being. Eric, on the other hand, sighed in relief.

"Thank God! I thought Oliver is hurt."

Everybody looked at him, disbelief etched on their faces, but he shrugged, not caring.

"Olive? Baby come here! Meet your little sister. Teach her about your animals."

Eve has started sitting. She fell sometimes, due to her own weight, but when in the crib, she found support, she could sit endlessly.

She was settled in Oliver's crib, and then Oliver sat beside her. Like a responsible big brother, he started telling her God knows what, and Eve clapped and heard his monologues as if he was preaching some kind of religion.

The focus was then shifted to Hope.

"You should be more careful Hope!", Erica examined her leg, gently.

"It is all his fault!", It was Eric's turn to make a face in disbelief because David was pointing at him.

"How is your wife falling has anything to do with me??", he questioned.

David scoffed, "Because you got those long ass stairs made. Anyone would fall from that Great Wall of China!", and then he turned to Hope, "I told you living in his penthouse is a bad idea!"

That made Eric chuckle, "Oh! Then why don't you go and live in that mansion of yours, which now probably has dense cobwebs. Perfect for you to live!"

"Ofcourse I'd live in my grand mansion! Who wants to live in this little damaged bird nest!"

Hope sighed and looked at Erica, "Get them to shut up, or throw them out."

They were still fighting when Erica abruptly stood up.

"You both are thirty plus for God sake! Act like your age or I am going to deport you both to a zoo!"

That shut them up. Oliver who was enjoying the exchange, chuckled when Erica scolded them, bursting into a fits of laughter soon after. Looking at him, Eve's lips curved upwards and she clapped.

*

"Take care of yourself and if you need some help, call me. Anytime. Okay?"

Hope nodded, grateful for her presence. She put Oliver to sleep, fed David his food, and cleaned the kitchen and dining room.

When they left, she turned to David, who came out of the closet, "Have your medicines please."

He nodded and went to the cupboard adjacent to the bed to fetch his medicines. He sat beside her, and gulped his medicines with water.

"Doctor has asked you to massage the area with ice in case of swelling. If you feel something, tell me before I investigate myself."

She nodded and then, he settled beside her.

"You almost broke my favourite set of legs.", he pushed her hair back from her face, "I will kill you."

His words, though vicious, were said so lovingly, that Hope basked in their warmth.

"I am serious Hope!"

She chuckled, "I don't care."
Internally, she thought, 'If I get such dedicated care and attention, I am probably breaking my legs twice a week.'

He shook his head and laid beside her, drifting off to some thoughts. This was their balcony time. Since they have established an understanding, they regularly spend an hour or two, depending on the kind of day they had, in the balcony, talking about random things. Somedays it goes in the wrong direction, David teasing her endlessly. Somedays, they just discuss life in general. This is also the time, when Hope often talks endlessly, which he loves to hear.

"What are you thinking?", she asked seeing a deliberative look on her face.

"You saw how Oliver got today? After he saw you hurt?", he asked and she nodded, sighing. The kid is a sensitive little bundle of joy.

"I was the same when you abruptly left for your concert."

She looked at him, a little baffled and a lot more amazed.

"You see... I didn't leave abruptly...and were you crying the same way? My Oliver is a sweetheart."

He chuckled, "You left abruptly...after i upset you..and your sweetheart was as hysterical as me that day minus the crying part."

She shook her head, "You are wrong...and if you were that anxious, you must know i am not going anywhere."

He turned towards her, looking straight in her eyes, "You are not going anywhere?"

She shook her head.

"Promise me!", that made her raise her eyebrow, "Why promise?"

"Just so I can rest in peace."

She smiled to herself, turning herself so she was facing him. A light wave of pain travelled through her leg as she moved, but something else was more important.

"Promises don't hold substance unless we mean them by heart."

"Where's your heart then? Ask it to mean what I want."

She took her hand, kept it on his chest, near his heart, "My heart is not with me. I gave it to someone way back. But I can swear on your heart, I will not leave unless you ask me too."

Annoyance ran through him at her last words, "Why would I ask you to leave?"

Her answer was quick, to the point, and struck a cord in him, "Because you don't love me."

That switched off his brain for a second, and he was left with nothing to say in reply. He couldn't agree and he couldn't disagree. And the intensity in her was too much to bear. At that moment, she was in a higher place and he had no option but to get subdued. He couldn't.

"I.."

What he didn't realise at that moment was- she is in a higher place because even if he did not love her, she did love him. And that automatically gave her more rights over what happens in his future.

His silence, although an end to their conversation, brought within her, a strange chaos. But that chaos was somehow familiar. It was the resentment she felt whenever she realised her love will forever remain one sided. And that she only has one option- to fill the space between them with so much love that she herself wouldn't feel the lack of it. But was it possible?

*

The next day came with a bedside breakfast and coffee, both father and son, doting on her. They even fed her with their own hands, as if she has twisted her wrists. Both wrists. She sat there, not allowed to move. Oliver was to be her guard, who was to cry out loud if mumma tries to escape. And the little guard was so perfect in his duties. He would shriek loudly, "Dadda!" everytime Hope moved. By afternoon, it became stressful to sleep still, at one place, but by that time, her guard was tired and so he quietly slept in her arms.

She looked at David who was sitting beside them with his laptop, as the supervisor.

"David?", she whispered.

He looked up from his laptop, "You need something?"

She nodded, "I need to take a shower and change my clothes. Just help me get down the bed. Please!"

Her pleading eyes stirred something in him, and he decided it's high time he gives it a thought. He kept his laptop aside, and stood up. Slowly pulling Oliver away from her, he proceeded to pick her up, when she protested, "I can walk now. I guess."

He glared at her, "You are being allowed by me. So everything will happen on my terms."

With that, he picked her up, and took her to the bathroom. In the shower cubicle, he made her sit on a chair.

"Sit here! I'll get you a shower cap and your clothes and towel."

"Bring decent ones!", she called out.

"My choice."

Soon after, he came back with a towel, and a bathrobe. Making her wear a shower cap, he kept the body wash and other bathing essentials near her.

"Now, I'll stand outside the cubicle...", the sentence wasn't completed but it managed to horrify Hope. The cubicle walls were textured, not exactly transparent but somewhere on the lines of translucent. She trusted him, but she cannot deny he's a pervert! A good pervert!

Her expressions amused him, clearly knowing what was going on in her head, "Don't worry Hope! I'll try my best to not peep in."

She looked away.

"Leave. And do not look this way, or i will not talk to you."

He shook his head, "I can't promise. A really hot woman showering behind me, just two metres away! I can't help it. Offff!", he fanned himself, as if he was feeling hot.

But he knew, each naughty word of his was horrifying her. Like it did to her when she was still a teenager. How come a thirty years old woman hold the innocence of a teenager? He loved this about her. And he loved the fact more, that he gets to nudge this innocence atleast thrice a day.

He left, and she stared at the door of the cubicle, begrudgingly.

"Hope! Make it fast. If your security guard wakes up, he'll throw a fit!"

She went ahead with the shower, often glancing out, to see if he was looking. But as corrupted as he pretended to be, David was a thorough gentleman at heart. As long as the shower was on, he stayed quiet, leaning on a wall, not looking back and surprisingly never disturbing her.

Amidst the shower, she realised the subtle intimacy of the moment. He wasn't touching her, she wasn't touching him. But their was something in the air that changed as this particular barrier was broken. Hope has been with a few men, but she never felt comfortable enough to shed her clothes with a man standing just few feet away. She believed shedding modesty in a man's presence is the highest form of expression by a woman. It is different to get naked during intimacy. And it is different to shed clothes in a man's care.

By the end of it, Hope felt strangely calm. Her heart has finally abandoned the fight with her brain, where they fought over the subject about what extent David's flirting could go. Her heart, ever the fan of Mr. Wellington always said that his flirting was like those baseless threats, who he only throws at her because he enjoys her blush. Her mind, however, always went in alert mode, when David's jokes got too much. She wondered if her clothes were provocative, or that if David would really act on the sexual tension between them. But all he has done is making her comfortable in the air around him. Her confidence in him was materialised.

She wore the bathrobe, and slowly walked out. Her leg had that aching sensation, but nothing she couldn't manage. This father son duo has made a tragedy out of a small accident.

She kept a hand on his shoulder, making him immediately turn.

"You done?"

She nodded, a soft expression on her face. He examined her, and then looked at her ankle, "How's the pain?"

"It's alright.", she croaked out and stretched her hand, "My clothes."

He handed her a set of furry pajama pants and shirt and leaned on the counter, "Now beg me to turn! Only then shall I allow you to wear your clothes."

She observed him, and chuckled internally.

"No need. It's okay!", and with that she proceeded to open the knot of her bathrobe. Shocked, David shrieked and turned, making her laugh.

"First beg me Hope!!"

She chuckled, "I won't beg you. You'll turn yourself. Just see!"

Grumbling under his breath, "Shameless woman! I'll have to do your cleansing. My company has corrupted you! Where's my decent Hope who would blush at my simple flirty smile?"

When she was done, he helped her come out of the bathroom. Straining her leg, gave her a little too much pain, but she remained quiet. But as if some telepathy, he went downstairs and brought an ice pack for her.

She hissed at the cold sensation on her wounded leg, but gradually it started feeling better. The buzz of the painkiller she had earlier, and her body freshly showered probed her to sleep and she started drifting off. But in her half conscious state, she demanded David, what she would never in her right senses.

"David?"

"Hmm?"

"Please hold me while... while I sleep."

He looked on amazed. She's asking for him to hold her while sleeping. It is always him who initiates such things.

"You like cuddles?", he asked amused, as he removed his slippers and got on the bed beside her. She was now between Oliver and him.

She only hummed in reply, to sleepy to form words.

But a satisfied sigh left her mouth when his warmth actually surrounded her. He held her tight by her waist, and another hand sneaked under her neck.

"Sleep tight Hopeless!"

*

Things were pleasant beyond that. Hope's leg healed in two days and Erica offered to accompany her for their children routine vaccinations. They were in the waiting room, and the kids were taken away for their measurements and routine checkup. The nurses here were kind and friendly, so it was a relaxation time for mothers before the actual vaccination.

Erica and Hope sat together, talking about trivial things before Erica decided to probe a question that has been bothering her.

There was this day, a week ago, when Eric came back like he has won an award. It was the same day when Aurelio intruded the building. He was very happy. All his anger and resentment forgotten. Erica found it pretty unusual especially after meeting Aurelio in person.

When she asked him the reason of his happiness, he simply said, "My plan worked. Those two dumbos were hugging each other like their life depended on it. I am sure it's somewhere around love! You don't hug your best friend, as if you are a leech on loose! And you know what!? David is a dumpster. No doubt. But Hope! She's been dense too. Since school time. She had all the fun falling in love, but when it came to expression, she surpassed all the fools of this world."

Erica looked at him bored. He was criticising the two as if he has been the best proposer of the world and he can write a book on 1000 ways to propose women.

Nonetheless, a question lingered in her mind, "Did Hope confess her love to David?"

She also witnessed the changing dynamics when Hope hurt her leg. However, minutely.

And so she asked, "Hope? How are things going with David? Did you confess to him yet?"

Hope got lost in her thoughts, too comfortable with the recent occurrences, loving and enjoying the warmth between her and her husband. It was borderline intimacy and a advanced stage of attraction. But she didn't know if it would transform into something more concrete, atleast from David's side. Because she was already deep in this, with no way out.

"I didn't.", she shook her head, "But things have been progressing between us. David even wants to give a chance to this marriage, on an emotional level. But I do not want to burden him with my feelings. He must not feel an obligation to love me, because I do so."

Erica sighed, somewhat agreeing to Eric's recent words about Hope.

"Have I ever told you that when I confessed my love to Eric, we had no future to consider. We were not even dating formally. Just living together and contemplating. His reluctance towards committing was my major hurdle. But loving is all about how much risks you can take. If you accept things and forgive yourself for feeling them, then you have already won half the battle. Don't worry about the consequences."

Hope shrinked in herself, feeling the weight of her words.

"You think about David. To not burden him. To not make him feel the obligation. To not hurt him. But think about yourself. You cannot forever hate yourself for indulging in a one sided unsaid love. Say it and drop that weight off your shoulders. He is a matured man. He understands way more than he lets on. He's stronger than he portrays. You'll see this in future."

As everything started making sense to her, and as Erica went to Eve to get her, she was left alone. With her thoughts and with all what Erica told her, she picked up her phone and opened her text box with David.

"Can we go out somewhere tonight? Just you and me? I'll request Erica to take in Oliver for the night."

About two minutes later, his reply came.

"Ofcourse we can. But is everything okay?"

She braced herself for the night ahead, and replied to him, "I'll tell you tonight what has not been okay."

*