SS: King 2 Hearts Ch8 Pg20 - Page 11

Rishabh held her up in his arms, her petite form floating in the summer air.

"How much longer?" he whined as his muscles cramped up from the weight.

"To the left, to the left", she purposely dropped a cherry on his forehead.

"Can't we get people to do this? Or atleast a ladder?"

"No my king. Every sane person wants to enjoy the organic cherries in their backyard".

"How? By toiling their husband?"

"Okay, put me down. We'll trade places", Madhu offered in all seriousness.

"That's fine. I would rather not break any bones before my European tour".

"Any news on the Swiss side", she restored picking fruit.

"No, not yet".

"I think I better fly down there. What do you think?"

"I would rather you never leave the house", he frowned and pulled her down.

"What was that? All the cherries are on the floor now". The queen was clearly not impressed.

"Screw that! What do I pay these staffers salary for? You are coming with me".

Then, he propped her up on his shoulder like a hunted prey and walked back to his residence. Madhu's eyes were suddenly feeling droopy, ripe with sleep and smudged eyeliner.

"I am not going to leave the money trail alone whether you like it or not Rishabh. So I would rather you know everything than me sneaking behind you back", she mumbled half her words in an inaudible tone but he read her lips.

Rishabh knew exactly how stubborn his wife could be. But, as the ruler of a nation, he could be twice the stubborn when needed.

"Wake up!"

"Umm. Five minutes".

"You were dancing on my shoulders just minutes ago madam queen".

"The sun made me sleepy. Go away".

"This is my bedroom".

"So? If you want to sleep just take my bed please".

Rishabh thought back to the night of the secret cabinet meeting. He'd held her close, out his own will. But that is where the contact stopped. His pride would never allow him to be the one taking initiative. But three days later, when she suddenly texted calling him out for cherry picking, he came dressed in rainboots. Talk about over-enthusiasm!

She made fun of his apparel for a total of five seconds before patting his butt and blushing slightly. "I could kiss you right now, you look so good", she said. This woman had the skills to make a man dance around in a clown costume if she so desired. All Madhu had to do was bat her eyelids and he was a fool for her.

Lucky for him, she was double the crazy in love. One twinkle of his eye and she would jump fire hoops to make him happy.

"You're going to sleep with the makeup on?"

"Unless you are willing to remove it for me. Yes".

"Then I will".

"Will you?" she shot upright in anticipation.

"What is this? You are perfectly lucid".

"Not for much longer your majesty. I am weak when it comes to face massages".

He brought over a bowl of almond butter and some cotton balls. Then, covered the cotton pads liberally with the butter and smothered em over his wife's skin in a circular motion.

"You have the raccoon eyes", he laughed whilst pulling her head into his lap.

"I don't mind. Who am I trying to impress?"

He frowned. "Me! You should be trying to impress me".

"You don't need to be impressed honey, you are fine as is".

She was so relaxed in his arms she forgot about her outburst the other night.

"All done", he clasped her fingers in his and lifted up her head. "You will thank me later Madhubala". He carefully slipped out of the covers to leave the room.

"You light my heart on fire when you say my name like that", she called out from behind. Oh how her shameless solicitations were getting to him. He was tempted to jump into bed and make love to her all night. But he was afraid. The woman could be fierce when the situation called for it and he wasn't sure she'd want him lusting this moment.

"What are you doing still standing there?" she laughed.

"Huh?"

"You are the only man I see. Can I put it in simpler terms? I grin, sweat, stutter when you are within ten feet of me. It brings me to my knees when you smile. I am so in love I will turn my body over for your touch", she sounded angry at herself more than anything.

He tiptoed closer to her, holding her head in hands, not knowing what to do next. So she leaned in closer and landed a kiss on him. This was his clue to take the next step. But instead, he stopped himself.

"No Madhu".

"..."

"I don't want to break your heart. Truth is I don't love you right now. And until that day comes, I don't want to take advantage of your emotions".

"Right now"- these two words will become the reason Madhu holds out hope that he will come back to her one day. That cruel bas***d, he should have lowered the axe in one blow. Instead, he is watching her slowly bleed dry.

"Okay", she said and curled up into a ball, too afraid to lift up her head and show her vulnerability.

"Aren't you leaving?" she asked.

"No", he scooted closer to her side, stretched out his arm underneath her and buried her nose in his chest. "I am going to stay here with you". He could feel her hot tears wet his clothes but he didn't ask why. And she didn't tell either. In fact, she refused to stir a muscle in his embrace. The night fell into a dead silence but he could not sleep. He was staring at the dark ceiling trying to contain his thoughts in a deep corner of his heart.

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The warm morning sun interrupted his sound slumber. He peeked his head out of a sloppily arranged quilt covering his half naked body. On the floor below the bed, he saw a variety of electronic gadgets, signaling equipment and analyst's log books scattered along the length of the carpet. Behind the trunk near the leg of the bed, he noticed Madhubala sleeping with ink markings printed on her face. She had drool dripping out of her mouth and a pool of saliva formed on the notebook where she rested her chin. His sharp nose soon sniffed out the food on the night table. Two identical plates of breakfast, only the contents of one of them were already half eaten- an apple with bite marks, two poached eggs and glass noodles, half a cup of London Fog. He chowed down on the first plate. Then, finished the untouched breakfast as well. Madhu didn't need to eat that much anyway, he reasoned. A man needed more strength in his bones.

He tiptoed around her sound asleep body and gathered bits and pieces of useful information about the Swiss money trail. Apparently, the Prime Minister's assassination case had his mother's fingerprints all over it. No surprise there! The woman was a witch of the Wild West if you asked Rishabh. After all, no mother with an ounce of love for her children would leave her husband to pursue his rival. He would have forgiven her if just left her antics at that but she went further alright! She got herself a son out of wedlock and had the audacity to ask His Majesty to name him prince. Rishabh was pretty sure she killed his father too. But he could never bring himself to say it out loud. Now that Madhu's family was involved, he was certain she wouldn't leave it alone. No matter how much Madhu said she loved him, she loved her family more. And he could never be so selfish as to ask the girl to give up their only chance of redemption.

He reached out to clear the hair out of her eyes. Oh how cute she looked with her mouth half open, snoring peacefully. He reached down closer to her lips for a kiss but in just a second, her eyes opened up wide and she stared right up at him. Soon, she caught his lips between her fingers and lifted him up in the same uncomfortable state.

"Did you read my papers?" she demanded an answer.

"Yes, but only because you left them out in the open", he cried in pain.

"So it is my fault that you poke your nose in all my business?"

"Yes, pretty much". He tickled her abdomen to test if she would loosen her grip.

"What do you think about your mother? Do want me to bring your father to justice or should I push this under the rug?" she asked with a dead serious expression.

"Oh, you are not ticklish", he lowered his eyelids trying to think.

"You are my only family left in this country. Naturally, what you want is of importance to me. If you do not wish to see your mother dragged out to court, I will stop now".

"But bringing your mum and dad the justice they deserve should be your goal". Unfortunately, Rishabh's ability to reason was running thin today.

"I can swallow a hard pill, this is not my first time".

The queen had said so many things with those few words. The palace walls surrounding her could vouce for her. They knew so much more than they let on, so much more than she let on. The queen had indeed kept hidden many darker secrets in her belly. Another one would not be a problem. But Rishabh would turn bitter a marriage that had already gone sour. Did he really want to take the risk for an estranged parent?

"I would like you to stop", he said.

And so he did. He risked his sanity for the sake of an unloving mother. He chose her scorn over Madhu's happiness. Although the king wasn't certain he made the right call, it was a conscious choice. So he was ready to live with the consequences come what may.

"Then I will do as you wish sir", replied the queen.

She gathered her years of hard work into a cloth tote bag without a flinch, smiled a pleasant smile, refusing to let him see the pain she felt within. With one command Rishabh had closed shut the walls between them that she worked so hard to break down.