"Jealousy in romance is like salt in food. A little can enhance the savor, but too much can spoil the pleasure and, under certain circumstances, can be life-threatening".

                                     —Maya Angelou.
    •• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

"I don't yearn to be yours"

"I don't wish to rest on your shoulders ".

"Leave me if you wish, but I don't suffer"

"If only I could lie this easily!".

"Can you please stop this. My eardrums are bleeding", my face scrunches up with irritation as I glare at my husband who is humming  a song while driving back home, his gaze fixed on the road.

"Beauty!", he turns his voice higher matching the high pitch in the song.

"Just because of your Beauty!"

"My hot summers have turned into beautiful monsoon".

"Nick", I warn. "Stop irritating me", I turn away from his charming face, staring out of the window while a small smile tugs up my lips.

God. His voice.

It's unbelievably sexy.

If he don't stop now. Then I might do something like joining in and humming  to his tune.

"You are smiling", his lips tilt up in a smirk.

"No", I stare up at him with blank stoic face. "No. I was not".

"Yes. You were", he replies cooly turning the wheels away from the main road into the dark streets with no lights. 
As we pass through the trees grow tall and heavy on both sides.

"Now, what's happening here? Why are driving into this abandoned land?", I ask in confusion.

He tilts his head his eyes twitching in amusement, "I'm planning to murder you, wife".

I roll my eyes, "Be careful my soul might haunt you while returning back.
Better you call someone for your safety".

"Are you worried about my safety, sweetheart?", he raises his eyebrow.

"No. I'm worried about all those people who loves you"

"So you are not among those who loves me?", he asks in disbelief.

"No", I dead pan which only amuses him. Movement of tiny yellow radiations amidst the dark trees catches my attention as the car comes to halt.

I gasp in disbelief turning towards Nick
"Are those fireflies?".

"Seems so", he teases his lips twitching in amusement. "Can have better view from outside", he doesn't wait as he snaps open his seat belt and exit leaving me behind.

"You are annoying", I mutter as I try to catch up with his long steps.

"Thank you".

"That was sarcasm".

"I know", he stops walking and turns towards me  giving me his rarest smile with that little dimple in his right cheek  and starts walking again as if he didn't make way for all those fireflies to enter into my dark heart and light up like that on the day of a festival.

"Now back to the topic, where are we going?", I ask diverting my current  state of mind.

"Stop asking too many questions", he mumbles non-chalantly and takes my hand and interlaces his fingers with mine as he leads me onto the wooden bridge below which a small stream of water is roaring, hitting onto the small rocks on their way. The bridge is only ten foots lengthy and we cross it in a moment and arrive onto the vast stretch of land covered with thick strands of grass with dew drops of mist covering ontop of them.

We stood at top of an elevated place, which had the clear view of surrounding streets. The surroudings were bare and quiet. Only tiny flickers of lights from the far streets glowed in the darkened night.

"It's simply beautiful", I exhale the cool night air dancing along my bare skin. The place had a serene touch to it and was so welcoming, that it felt like visiting an old friend whom you have never met. Like a familiar stranger greeting you.

I crouched low and ran my fingers through the mist covering the grass and a thrill of excitement rushed through me. I stared up as I watched Nick staring at me, standing a few feet away.

"So, how many times have you visited this place?", I ask as I stand beside him staring at the calm night sky.

"What makes you think I have visited this place before?", he raises his brows.

"I don't know. It might be because this place is too beautiful not to visit", I exhale a relaxed sigh, lifting my head heavenwards, enoying the view of  stary night sky. Suddenly his warm hand clutches my neck and pulls me flush against his strong body.

"What are you doing?" I whisper yell at him in surprise.

"Don't remove this from now on", he whispers his long fingers taking my nuptial chain in-between them as his other hand glides down my bare arm and lifts my left hand, as he stares at our engagement ring with a devious gleam in his eyes.

"It's an ethereal sight. You with just my claims on your body", he lifts my palm and kisses on top of the ring while his gaze locks with mine forcing me to draw in a startled breath.

My heart stutters, unknown emotions exploding through it. The moon is full and it casts a glow over the darkened place, the groans of cold wind is the only sound that can be heard other than my unevenly beating heart.

I can't for the sake of my sanity vote up with an excuse to move away from his grasp. My legs freeze in place as if they are cemented to the ground.

"I wish time freezes now", his low and deep tone send shivers through my veins.

"Why?", I whisper.

"Because you are staring at me as if I'm your entire world, like I'm the reason for your existence".

I suck in a shaky breath and stare at him to deny his words. To tell him it's not true but he places his thumb on my lips while his intense gaze locks with mine.

"Shh", he whispers. "Not now".

He smiles, his fingers stroking along my arm, causing goose bumps to sprout in their wake. His palm glides up the length of my arm, over my chest, and to the front of my neck as he finally cups my face, his fingers rubbing against my cheeks.

"I want to kiss you now", he mumbles mere inches away from my lips, his hot breath creating a warm sensation over my cool lips.

"Why?", I whisper dazed in his hot gaze.

He lets out a humorless chuckle as if I'm asking the most dumbest question in the world as his hold on my jaw tightens.

"Because, my beautiful wife, the thought of not kissing you drives me insane".

I close my eyes leaning into his comforting touch. He hums in satisfaction and before I can make sense of the events his hot breath leaves my lips and his warm mouth attaches on top of my forehead.

And just like that one touch — one single moment , something in me changes causing my body to stiffen.

"Beautiful", my eyes snap open to see Nick is staring at my face without taking his eyes away.

"Are you calling me beautiful?", I ask my eyes wide open and my heart racing a mile per second waiting for his answer.

"No".

Just like that my chest twists all the rush of excitement and anticipation I felt a moment ago vanishing.

"You think you are beautiful?", he asks his gaze wandering across every inch of my face as if he is scanning for something. His one arm wrap around my waist till im flushed against him as he leans down till his lips touches the back of my ear. "You are fucking perfect. A masterpiece. You could drive a man insane. Make him burn the whole world just by your single sign".

He backs away taking away his warmth and lifts my face till the only thing I can see is the sky with twinkling stars and full moon.

"Just like this", he hums in satisfaction by the sight, his fingers entangling through my wild locks swaying in the hauling wind.  "Just like this.... with your face glowing in the dark night, sky lit by only the stars and the moon, this is the most beautiful sight I have ever seen", he stops finally loosening his grip on my hairs and backing away his hands tucked in his pockets.

I stare into his intense eyes still bewildered by his words without knowing how to respond to those words.

"I....I..—", but I'm cutoff by the loud ringing of his cell phone. His entire demeanour changes as he listens to whoever is on the other side. His jaw tense and muscles clenching.

"We have to leave", he orders in a stern tone leaving no space for negotiation.

The tension radiating in the car is so thick it can be sliced by a blunt knife. There are no words exchanged as we dwell in the night's  silence. But there is a sinking, a burning feeling in the pit of my stomach. I know I shouldn't worry, I know I shouldn't ask but my tongue loosens and the words slip out of mouth even before I could stop them.

"Who was that?"

His shoulders tenses and he stares straight at the road as he answers.

"Not anyone of your concern".

"Oh!", I answer suppressing the lava that is erupting inside my chest. As soon as we enter the mansion's gate the car stops and he sits silently without a word waiting for me to step out. His phone vibrates and he answers it, responding it in a short clipped sentences. Before I can think of my actions, I lean forward and snatch his cell.

"I will be waiting for you", a female voice, filled with grace and elegance echoes through the device filling my ears. It doesn't take a genius to guess it is the same woman from the restaurant.

My mind blanks away and I slam open the door throwing his mobile onto his lap. The anger like never before blocks my vision making it difficult for me to walk. I can hear him calling my name but I don't halt my steps. My steps falter as I hear the vehicle takeaway after few  seconds.

My hands tremble, my body shooking in anger. The entire mansion is empty and to my luck Charlie is asleep. I sit on the couch in the middle of the hallway. My mind blaring in thousands ways, n- number of thoughts.

But every thought ends up with only one conclusion.

No. He will not do that.

I  have never been the one to jump into conclusions. I like to think, to apply the same logical reasoning to every thing in my life as I do in my career. But in the matters concerning Nick I'm unable to do that.

But I cannot neglect the indifference in his tone. The way he refused answering my questions. The way he tosses away our moments as If they mean nothing to him.

I'm not a fool and I will no longer allow him to treat me like that.

It's almost after four hours, around three in the morning the front door slides open and Nick enters, his state disheveled. His steps slows as he takes in my features, his eyes widening slightly for a moment before a mask of indifference slips on. Staring at me as if I'm a stranger.

"You are awake", he states taking calculative steps towards me. He slips his tux jacket on the couch and unbuttons his cuffs, rolling them onto his arms.

"Where were you?".

"Out",  he glances up at my eyes. "Work".

"Who was that woman?", I ask in the same clipped tone as him.

"There is no woman", his voice appears stone cold. "And even if there is one it shouldn't concern you".

"So there is someone".

"As I mentioned earlier, it shouldn't concern you".

"The hell it doesn't concern me", my eyes blaze as I step forward and take hold of  his collars. "I'm your wife".

"So?"

"So?", I ground out. My hands trembling. "So, I have every right to know about the homewrecker to whom you run away every night".

"Don't", his loud voice booms in the halls as he harshly loosens my grip from his collar. "Never speak about her in that tone"

"So now you are threatening your own wife for the other woman"

"Other woman", he scoffs mockingly. "I never knew you were such a shallow woman who links relationships with  every opposite gender"

"Nick. You are really crossing your boundaries now. I'm not the one at fault here", I'm literally seeing red everywhere now. "Don't you ever fucking dare to call me names. Or else.....", I stop breathing harshly.

"Or else what?", his lips curl up in a mock. "Or else what Ms. Samaira Deshmukh?", I flinched back at the harsh way he took my name.

"I don't care what you do with your private life. In fact I don't care about you or your personal business", I spit out every word with a heavy heart. "But I expect you to respect the woman you are married to. In this case it's.....me. I'm your fucking wife. I'm the one you are married to".

"So rich coming from a woman like you. Tell me when did you ever consider me as your husband before today?", his eyes turn to slits with   each passing second.

"Do you think I'm not aware  that, this marriage is only a mere part of your grand scheme?, Do you think you can fool me with this fake wife acts? , You have clearly underestimated your opponent in your game. It's Nicholas Remington you are playing against. I fucking know you are here to get back the property. I know you are staying married till you get back your property rights and then you are filing for a divorce. What an amazing plan you have there, Samaira. Wow".

My breath stalled in my chest hearing him say everything that I had internally planned out. The room swayed making me take many steps back. But he didn't stop there.

"Fuck that. You are playing with my emotions all this time knowing clearly I want a fair chance with you"

Even though I knew his words were true, I didn't want to accept defeat infront of him. His last words fueled my own anger. All the pent up emotions that I bottled inside from past week erupted like a boiling lava.

"Chance?", I drawled mockingly.  "You have enough guts to talk about a fair chance, when you all but manipulated me into this charade of relationship to cover your disgusting affairs".

"Sam.."

"No. I'm just surprised by your level of shamelessness", I whisper. "You are not even a bit sorry for what you made me go through. For all those manipulations, blackmails. Instead, you are projecting all those blames on me", I scoff in disbelief.

"I didn't manipulate or blackmail you, as you so put them in words. I gave you a choice. An option to choose from. And it's you who decided to this marriage", he answers not even a bit sorry about his actions.

"Of course my highness. You are right. Why am I even surprised by this? This is what I expected from a man like you"
The moment I let my disgust show his eyes flare up with anger. Something flickered in his eyes but his face remained like a mask of stone.

My eyes flashed with fury as I continued to speak.

No. I'm not going to take all the blames here. I'm not going to hear all his allegations and stand quite here.

I'm gonna have a final laugh here.

He called me a shallow woman. I will show him what a shallow woman does.

A piece of information which I got to know very recently flashes through my mind. I knew throwing it at him will be a very low blow, but at the moment rage fills my insides.

Do it. My mind whispers. Plunge the blade into him the same way he is doing to you.

No Sam. Don't. It's not you, it's your anger thinking. Don't do that, a part of my sane brain whispered.

"I wonder what your real parents will say about their son's actions".

That's all.

I did it.

An entire array of emotions that I haven't seen before on Nick's face  flashes by in a moment, within a blink of an eye. Hurt, anger, vulnerability, sadness, and  hate. Hate directed towards me. Hate , as If he couldn't believe I'm using this against him. Even before the entire scene fits in my brain, he strides towards me like a panther hunting for a pray and I flinch back as his hand raises in the air, his eyes turning red with intense anger, my eye snaps shut ready to expect a blow but a loud noise of glass shattering against the floor makes my eyes snap open.

Nick's entire body is shooking with anger and he has turned his back towards me, fists clenching at his sides. His short breaths echoes in the silent hall, as a terrified Charlie arrives at the scene.

"Get out", his voice echoes through the walls of the quiet mansion. "Get out of my home before I do something that you regret".

I stand rooted to the same place trying to grasp his words into my frozen brain.

My home...

His home....

Ofcourse it is....

"Gladly"

I say with the same venom that his voice held as I take a few steps back.

"Mrs.Remi....", Charlie rushes towards me in panic trying to stop me but I cut her words.

"No. Not a word", I raise my hands halting her in her steps.

My foot steps echo in the silent hall as I make my way towards the main door. I expect for him to turn, to say something, to stop me but he doesn't.

My chest squeezes so tight it feels like it breaks into half as I finally step into the stormy night and my head unconsciously raises towards the night sky. But unlike few hours back there are no stars  or moon to decorate the sky. The sky is empty

Just like my soul.