Abhigya FF - Enmity and Enchantment (Chapter 9 updated, pg.17) - Page 8

Chapter 8

Outside the house, looking up at the starry night, Abhi was thinking about his wife. This was probably the first time thoughts of her weren't accompanied by confusion or anger. This time, there was only remorse. For the things he had said, done, or even thought of doing. Abhi closed his eyes and remembered the bruises he saw on her arm today, caused by her fall. But he felt as if he personally had created those dark marks on her skin.

"Abhi?" Dadi looked worriedly at her grandson, who with his eyes closes seem to have a painful expression on his face.

Abhi faced his grandmother. "Dadi, you haven't gone to sleep yet?"

"No, I was worried about Pragya. Is she doing okay? Has she fallen asleep? She needs her rest."

Sighing, Abhi admitted to her that he hadn't gone to see her since the debacle downstairs.

Dadi put her hand on Abhi's cheek. "Beta, you need to take care of her."

"I don't think I'm capable of taking care of anyone at this point." All he could think was that he had made a mess of so many people's lives. He closed his eyes and leaned into his grandmother's hand. "I don't deserve to be around her Dadi, how am I supposed to make her happy?"

"That's up to you to figure out beta. But I have faith in you. You have a good heart, let that lead you in the right direction for once." With a smile, Dadi walked back inside. After a while, Abhi followed after her.

He walked into his room and saw the bed empty. She's sleeping outside, in this state? He rushed towards the balcony. There she was, quietly asleep with a thin blanket surrounding her curled up body. He could see the exhaustion clear on her face and knew that she must be uncomfortable.

Abhi weighed his options. Leaving her outside could mean worsening her condition, while picking her up and laying her on their bed could be waking her up and facing her wrath. But she would be more comfortable and she had slept outside for far too long. Sighing, he slowly picked Pragya up in his arms. He gently adjusted her, trying not to wake her up. But his efforts were futile as Pragya slowly blinked her eyes open.

Realizing she wasn't on her makeshift bed anymore, Pragya reacted on instinct and grabbed the neck of Abhi shirt for balanced. She looked up and her gaze locked with his, freezing the couple in their position.

Sleep and confusion swirled in Pragya's eyes as she took in the face of her husband, his arms tightly holding her up, secure and safe. Their proximity speed up her heart even though she was desperately trying to break contact with his eyes. But the concern she saw in them arrested her.

Abhi broke the silence, "Sorry I was just moving you to the bed."

His words broke Pragya's thoughts and the day's events, including her current position in Abhi's arms, came rushing to her mind. Her eyes narrowed, "What do you think you're doing? Put me down right now. Couldn't you see I was sleeping?"

"You'll be more comfortable on the bed" Abhi walked inside and sat her down on the bed.

"What next to you? With you around I've never had a peaceful moment so how do you expect me to sleep comfortably?" Pragya attempted to stand up, fully intending to go back to the balcony.

Abhi easily moved into her path, forcing her to step back and fall back onto the bed.

"Look it's late, let's not argue now. You need your sleep."

"I know. That's what I was doing before you woke me up!"

"I was trying to help you! Why are you so angry?"

"I'm angry?! You're the one who yelling at me all the time!"

Abhi raised his hand to his forehead and closed his eyes, trying to control his anger. Come on Abhi, just be gentle. She's tired and has gone so much lately. Don't yell at her.

"What is your head hurting again? Of course it's going to hurt with all the anger. You - " Pragya's eyes widened as Abhi placed his finger on her lips. The contact froze her in place for the second time tonight, her gaze captured by his. How he managed to vanish all thoughts from her mind was incomprehensible to her. Why did he gentle actions always vanish her anger when she should be outraged?

Abhi looked deeply into his wife's eyes, "Shhh, go to sleep. You'll need it for tomorrow". He removed his finger and calmly walked towards the closet to get his clothes.

Pragya looked confusedly at his back. For tomorrow? Oh, the wedding! Of course he was worried that she would mess something up again. She huffed, "Don't worry, I'll make sure everything goes perfectly for the ceremony."

He turned around with his nightclothes in his hands, a smile on his face. "The wedding is off. That's not what I was talking about."

Her eyes widened again in surprise. He called off the wedding? She looked down worriedly at her hands. What did that mean for their marriage? She looked back up at him, "Then what did you mean?"

Abhi walked up to where Pragya was sitting, leaning down to meet her gaze again. "Tomorrow is a new start for this family, for us. You'll need your energy." He smiled again and silently went into the washroom.