Shivaay

This Rudra always finds a way to irritate me.

"Rudra! Bye" I hung the call midway of his dramatic blabbering.

We're finally moving to Kailash. Daadaji insisted because of the behaviour of the family member. I personally was thinking to move, but didn't know how to say it to her and also I wanted to stay with Daadaji so do her.

Things have been pretty much good. She has started interacting, subconsciously to her. Whenever I hold her hand she doesn't take it back anymore.

Although the talks are not longer but we do have small talks. She doesn't ignore me anymore but we aren't husband and wife for her yet.

Once I asked her to choose between a two completely mismatched pair of cloths to which she made really funny face. So I asked her to choose something for me.

I could say that was a ice breaking moment. Since then she choose for me every now and then, she initiate trying up new ways to tie a necktie for me whenever I have a important meetings.

I always enjoy those moments. In three months of the wedding we have come close enough that she perhaps, doesn't hate me, like she said on the first night, it seems like that.

"Annika what would you~~"

Oh!! No!! She saw it.

Damn it what am I supposed to tell her!!

"What is~~" She pointed at the huge portrait of her, the one I clicked at Manali 7 years back, with a choking voice.

"Annika I~~ woh main~~ this~~"

God what am I supposed to tell her?

"I~ woh main~ this~ what! What is this?" She almost scream.

"How~~ When~~" She kept looking between me and the picture with uncountable question.

"Annika let me explain~~"

"What will you explain? You didn't like my face so you edited it and placed it here. You think I'll like this? I'll be surprised and I'll go like 'This is the best thank you' and fall in your arms. Then let me tell you this is worst. Why the hell you have to photoshop~~"

"IT IS YOU, ANNIKA" I had to yell to stop her blabbering.

"What?"

"Yes it is you." I held her shoulders pull her little close to me. "It's not photoshoped. Nothing in this one is edited." Her eyes welled up.

My hands reached to her face wiping it.

"No it's not~~"

"Yes it is. It's from Manali, 7 years ago. I was working on my project and I saw you, you were just so beautiful, the smile of yours, the voice of yours, the everything of yours was just so beautiful that I~~ I fell for you Annika."

It just came out. I don't think I can hold it anymore.

Annika

I don't know what to do. I can't~~ I am just baffled right now. Did he just say he fell for me?

"Can you believe it? I didn't even knew your name, who you were. I knew nothing of you but I still fell for you. It's not like I never saw more beautiful women than you but you were more than just beautiful. You were~~ I don't know how to describe that."

"I was~~ I was beautiful Shivaay. I am not anymore~~"

"Dagh yoh Chaand par bhi hain na Annika, Par uski wajah se Chaand ki koobsurati pe koi asar nahi padta. (There is a stain on moon too Annika, but that doesn't affect its beauty.)" He held me more closer to him.

He is so warm. I never felt this warmth from any other men. I unconsciously leaned as he held me.

"You still are beautiful to me and always will be. Because I don't just love your face I love you. I love how you help anyone whom you don't even know, I love how you randomly asked those kids to play with them, I love how you laugh so loud on silly jokes of any random aunty just not to upset them. I love how you care for Daadaji. I love your personality. You do shine like a full moon. That is what I love about you." He leaned closer.

"You are saying all these just to make me feel good when the fact is it's all a lie. No one would love a girl whose face is burned." I said wishing all of it to be a lie.

"Sab Chaand ko pasand karta hain Annika. Tum mera Chaand ho aur main tumse bohat pyaar karta hun. (Everyone loves the moon. You are my Moon and I extremely love you.) I love you please look into my eyes and you will see it."

Looking in his eyes I saw it was not disgust or pitty in it. It was actually love.

"I never looked at you the way you think I did. I always loved you. I was sad when I saw you for the first time. I was deeply hurt to see you not loving your own self."

No! Not this I have been trying to run away from it.

"Shut up!" I looked away but still being held by him. I don't feel like moving away from him, infact I can't move even an inch away from him. It feels like I am glued to him.

"Stop running away Annika! Please stop running away from it. I know it's hard. It could never be easy but please try. I'll always be by your side. I swear. Stop holding on to your past. Accept it. Be confident with it. Untill you not love your own self and not accept it no one else will. The personality of yours is so strong that just by accepting yourself you'll be attracting people with it."

I leaned more and more into him. No one ever, since I have been attacked, told me this. Not even my family. All they did was to pity me, curse my fate or just be disgusted by me.

"You could be an inspiration to the other acid attack victims. You just have to accept it. Just let go of past. I am not telling to forgive the attacker but let it out. Just stop being a victim. Be a woman that could be beautiful with just a smile and confidence in her own self." He leaned more and kissed my forehead.

That was the final take I couldn't hold it anymore. I just fell in his arms and cried, cried it all out. I was tired. I was really tired.

He did nothing, he said nothing after that. He lend me a shoulder to cry on, pat me along with occasional kiss. What did I even do to deserve just a such man as my life partner!

So Shivaay finally confessed.

Please let me know what are your thought.

Stay safe take care of yourself and your loved ones.

Love Love ❤

M. S.