C h a p t e r S e v e n : B r i d g e O v e r T r o u b l e d W a t e r s
"Swayam" she breathed, as his lips left hers.
He kissed her softly, hushing her. "Don't say anything sweetplum. Let me have this moment."
And so she let him have it.
--
"Swayam?"
"Hmm."
"Now what?"
--
A peaceful silence fell over them as the wheels of the bus rolled underneath them. The whole of the office lot were going on a trip to the Niagara falls and Swayam and Sharon had conveniently taken the back seats, aiming for the much needed privacy. Sharon had her head on his shoulder with his arms keeping her in her place. She let the silence fill her, afraid that any words might break this tiny dream of hers. The dream of them.
You love her, don't you?
Only a fool would deny that and Swayam was no fool. He knew that it was pointless to deny that he loved her, especially after the way he had kissed her; she had kissed him back.
Not that accepting his feelings had made things easier. If anything it had made his situation suck even more. He still had a child with Nisha, still had to marry her, knowing that his heart belonged to another; knowing that Sharon was the one he wanted to be with. And if that weren't enough, the fact that he was also hurting Sharon made things a hundred times worse. She had suffered enough without him adding to it. Swayam tilted his head sideways and placed a kiss on top of Sharon's head, heaving a small sigh.
Oh, sweetplum.
Sharon felt him kiss her hair and a tiny smile made its way on her face. And it disappeared as fast as it came. They hadn't talked properly yet but she could figure out what would happen. She wasn't foolish, she knew they were a doomed cause in the present scenario. There was no way anything could happen between them, not when Nisha was in the picture. Sharon had prepared herself for that future. The only setback now was they'd both know about their feelings for each other for sure (one doesn't kiss someone he doesn't feel for like that). The hurt would just intensify and surprisingly Sharon felt okay about it. She felt okay because at least in this way she wouldn't be the only person unhappy with this marriage. She realised how selfish that was of her but then that was the frailty of a human in love. She only wished he hadn't had to suffer along with her. His love life had been a wreck as it is. He didn't need her name on the heartbreak list too. She snuggled closer to Swayam and smiled wryly.
Damn you, Rapunzel.
--
The water of the Niagara falls thundered on the stone bed, the sound vibrating through the atmosphere. And despite the torture it put the stones through there was no doubt it was the most beautiful sight a human could ever see.
Kinda like love, Swayam mused and then chuckled on his own sudden cheesy thought.
He felt a pressure on his hand and looked sideways to see Sharon smile lightly at him, her eyes looking deep into him. He shivered internally as a distinct memory of their one night of togetherness flashed across his eyes. She had looked at him like that, that night. She was looking at him like that, now.
"Hi."
"Hi."
"It's beautiful, isn't it?"
He smiled at the pure glee on her face.
"Yeah, it is. It's chaotic but at the same time is so rhythmic that it calms you."
"Order in chaos."
"Yeah, yeah, bookworm."
She rolled he eyes at him and he chuckled. Silence fell over them again, but this time it was pressing, as if pushing them to talk about relevant stuff, not random crap. Swayam took a deep breath.
"Sharon, I-"
"Don't say it."
"What?"
She looked at him with sad eyes and his confusion grew. Why didn't she want him to say it?
"Sharon?"
"Don't take me wrong Swayam. You have no idea how much I want to hear those words from you, no idea how many time I've wanted to tell the same to you." She shook her head in dismay. "I thought I could be brave and face our situation' with grace. Turns out I was wrong. Turns out that I'm not that strong. Turns out that I'm so in love with you."
Swayam was dazed. He clenched his fists and unclenched them, releasing a shuddering breath to stabilize himself. And then he smiled, dryly.
"Funny how you assumed I was strong enough."
She looked confused for a second before the dots joined in her brain and Swayam saw her expression change from shock to realisation to a bemused look in a second. Swayam took her hands in his and looked at her intently.
"Who are you trying to kid, Sharon? You're the strongest person I know. And I'm not saying for the heck of it, I'm saying because I've known you since you were in two pigtails. I've seen how strong you are, and I've admired it." He moved his hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "I've seen how beautiful you are and have been mesmerised by it. I've seen how equally snarky you can get and have enjoyed it. And I've just seen how selfish and in love you are and will reciprocate it. I'll do it because I love you too Sharon."
Swayam cupped Sharon's face and placed a sweet kiss on her lips as she took in whatever he had just said. Her heart expanded with love for the man in front of her so much that it hurt. She jumped at him as he caught her tightly, burying his face in her hair. She dug her face in the crook of his neck held onto him, held onto his love. She knew this happiness was temporary, knew heartbreak was imminent, knew she shouldn't let herself drown in the moment; but that was the frailty of love. It allows you to be selfish, allows you to forget about others.
And so she reveled in the frailty.
And he didn't object.
Edited by .nerfherder - 8 years ago
comment:
p_commentcount