Part 6:
"I can't live without you..." I said. My voice trailed off. It was very difficult for me to open up about what I felt for her. I didn't know how to let those feelings go. I was possessive and protective of them, as I was of her. Confessing what I felt for her was similar to having my teeth pulled. I had kept it in for so long. I tried to let it all go. She deserved to hear it. "I was alive before I met you Suhani, but I wasn't living...not even close." I said. "I think I was just moving through life...I wasn't aware of anything. I wasn't aware of myself. I didn't know what it felt like when your heart beats. Now I'm aware of it. Now I know I have a heart. I am aware of the blood which pumps through my veins. Now I know what it feels like to stay awake all night thinking of one person even though you're exhausted. I am more alive than I ever was. You've woken me up."
She was speechless. I held her hands and knelt in front of her. She was sitting on our bed. I was on the floor. She looked into my eyes, giving me a half believing, half skeptical look. She looked like she would begin crying any second now.
"You're my reason to live." I said. That was it. I couldn't confess anything more. It was too personal. I didn't know how to let it go. It belonged to me and I was fiercely protective of it all. But this was the single biggest truth I could possibly confess to her. "You're my life. You're the center of my universe and my life revolves around you."
Her mouth opened slightly. She didn't speak. "Please come back home." I whispered. "Why didn't you tell me this before?" She asked. She was crying now. "How long have you known that you feel this way?"
"I don't know. It's all been beyond my control. I can't believe how deep they are. I can't explain it. I don't know what you've done to me. I can't call it love, it's like, I belong to you now..." I said. "Suhani, I had to tell you today since my keeping it in was hurting you. I don't know what is love. I still don't. If this is it, then it's a lot more powerful than what I imagined. This is like gravity. You're gravity, and I would float away without you. I am what I am because of YOU."
She stopped me.
"Were you jealous of Vikram?" She asked.
"Yes. I didn't like the fact that he just couldn't stop touching you. "
"So this means that you want to spend your life with me? You want me to be your wife, and no one else?"
"I want you for as long as possible, even longer. You're my wife and I only want you as my wife."
"Not a friend?"
"I want a wife now. My friend can wait." I said. I smiled. She smiled back wholeheartedly and looked down, shyly.
"Will you come back now and this time, not stay in Maa's room but ours?" I asked. She nodded. "But, I need to go back home and get my stuff. I think you and I need to talk to Mummy and Papa and explain some things to them." She said. I agreed with her.
"Wanna go now?"
"I think we should." She said.
We got ready to leave and just then Maa came out of her room and watched the two of us coming out of ours with the utter shock on her face.
She ran towards Suhani and grabbed her hand. "When did you come back home? Why didn't you wake me up? I've missed you so much. Why are you leaving again?" Suhani hugged Maa. Then Maa noticed the wound on her arm and my forehead.
"Oh no, I thought you two were better than this. Was there no other way to resolve your issues!? Suhani, you hit Yuvraj? Yuvraj, I thought I raised you to respect women!" She grabbed both of us by our ears.
"Oh no, Maa...we'll explain it all later but we didn't hit each other." I said. Maa let go of me and then slapped me.
"I should have slapped you a long time ago, Yuvraj!" She was furious. Suhani held her and calmed her down. "Maa, Yuvraj saved me. I was in a bad situation and he came there and saved me." She said.
"But you're going back home, aren't you? It means my son still hasn't learned his lesson. He skips meals and looks dejected without you but still doesn't have the guts to tell you how he feels? Yuvraj, as your mother, I'll do the honors. Suhani, he loves you and he's not man enough to admit it." She hit me again. Suhani stopped her.
"Maa, Maa, Maa! Calm down. Yuvraj told me he..." She paused. Maa looked at my face. I nodded.
"I told her everything, Maa. I was just taking her back home so we could talk to her parents, you know, formally, and I need to apologize to them." I said.
"Yes, and I need to pack my things and then I'll come back home." She said. Maa hugged me. "Thank you. You made your mother proud today." She said.
"Maa, go back to sleep now. When you wake up, Suhani will be there. I'm not letting her go anywhere again. Well, at least nowhere without me..." I said.
"I'm not sleeping! I'm going to wake Sharad up and tell him. I'm going to tell everyone that Suhani's back and Yuvraj loves her!" She jumped excitedly and walked off. Suhani and I went back to her house.
Suhani's POV:
Mummy and Papa were thrilled and had no questions. They gave us their blessings and I packed my clothes and we left. I couldn't believe what all had transpired tonight. I kept recalling every word Yuvraj had spoken to me. His confession was more heartfelt than anything I ever dreamed of. I just wanted to hear an "I love you too" from him all this time but whatever he told me blew me away. I kept staring at him in the car while he drove. He looked like a thousand ton weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He looked relaxed and happy. I felt a nervous anticipation for what would happen when we were alone. Tonight was the beginning of our relationship as husband and wife. Everything was out in the open now.
He reached and held my hand for a few seconds and smiled. "Are you happy?" He asked.
I nodded. We went home and to our room.
I had always imagined what it would be like if Yuvraj told me he loved me. How would it change our relationship? I got my answer fairly quickly. I wanted to unpack my things but he put his arms around me.
"You can unpack in the morning..." He said. His voice sounded different to me. He kissed my neck. I turned around and looked at him. He smiled. I smiled back but I couldn't maintain eye contact with him. He had never looked at me this way before so I wasn't used to it. He brought me closer and touched my face. He was holding me so tightly. I couldn't escape even if I want to.
He placed his finger under my chin, lifted my face and kissed my lips. I had waited for months for these moments, but right after this kiss, I realized that he craved it just as much as I did. He grabbed me and kissed me harder. I couldn't believe his intensity. It seemed like he was just as desperate for my touch as I was for his. He held my waist and our bodies were pressed together in an instant. His kisses reached my neck and shoulder. I felt his arms and back and ran my fingers through his hair and held him as close to myself as I could. My thin saree felt like no match for him as his hands pushed my pallu aside. It dropped from my shoulder and he kissed my shoulders.
We were breathless and still standing pressed against one another. I trembled each time I felt his fingers caress my waist. I pulled on his collar. He took his shirt off and threw it across the room. It felt like there was electricity in the air between us. I saw hunger in his eyes and felt it in his touch. He sucked on my lips. Somehow none of it felt like it was enough. I wanted all of him. He stopped and picked me up and carried me to our bed. He looked into my eyes the entire time. My heart beat doubled seeing his desire so openly on display. Between his desire and my desperate need for him, neither one of us would be able to stop tonight.
We kissed and my patience wore thinner with each kiss. Our foreheads touched and in between he paused for a moment.
"I love you..." He said. Hearing that again only doubled my desire. I wanted to be his now. We were so consumed by our desire and so distracted that we didn't notice the knocking on our door.