Page 52 of The Unwanted Husband
The words hung between them, loaded with everything they weren’t saying. She felt her cheeks burn, wondering if he was thinking about the kiss too, despite their mutual pretense.
“The important thing,” he continued, his voice becoming suddenly businesslike, “is that Aravinda now has no reason to question our relationship.”
“Why does she find it hard to believe that we would get married?” Isha found it odd that they had to go to those lengths to prove to his sister.
“Because she knows me and is also smart to know that there is no way I would get married to someone at such short notice.” He chuckled. “Never in a million years did she expect me to get married.”
“That’s fair. But why not share our plan with her? Unlike your parents, she should understand what we are trying to do.” Isha was glad the topic moved away from the article and the pictures in it.
He paused for a moment like he had to formulate the right response. “Aravinda being the oldest is fiercely protective. Not just of us siblings but also of the twins. She suspects you would return the moment we are welcomed back to the islands.”
“Oh, you think, she does?” Isha didn’t expect his sister to know anything about her.
“Absolutely! She is the one person you and I need to convince about how madly and deeply we are in love with each other.
His words made a shiver pass through her. She had never been in love. Didn’t know what it would be like as she had always been in emotionless relationships. She had shut down that side of her as a young girl and didn’t know how to even express them.
“And looks like we’re doing okay, based on the captures in the article. Let’s just keep up with that and we should be good.” With those words he nodded at her and left the room.
After he left, Isha sat alone in the kitchen, looking through the article on her phone. He was right about the photos, they looked like they were genuinely into each other. The way he was looking at her, the way she was smiling up at him. It was almost convincing enough to make me believe it was real.
Was it the mutual attraction that made them look at each other that way?
She touched her lips, as if remembering the kiss that they pretended, but it never happened. There was no denying they were attracted to each other. Maybe it was better to not pursue it. Maybe the attraction from her side was because she needed a rebound guy.
Isha read through the article about the ring, their marriage, and how stunning they looked as a couple. She couldn’t shake the feeling that the line between pretense and reality was getting blurred due to the sheer attraction between them.
She knew the pull was temporary, at least, that’s what she kept telling herself. And it needed to get out of their systems, to finally scratch that itch that had been driving them both crazy, and then they could move on like rational adults. It soundedso simple, so logical in her mind, like a problem that could be solved with a simple solution.
But he was being stubborn, fighting this thing between them with every fiber of his being, as if acknowledging it would somehow make it real. She could see it in the way his jaw tightened when she walked into a room, the way his eyes followed her movements and the tension was so thick she could practically taste it.
He was attracted to her too and she wasn’t imagining the heat in his gaze or the way his breath caught when she stood close to him. Last night was a testament of how much they wanted each other. They were both adults, both feeling the same magnetic pull that made it impossible to focus on anything else when they were close.
So why was he making it so complicated? Couldn’t he consider putting an end to this maddening distraction that had them both walking on eggshells around each other. They could address it, deal with it, and then get back to their lives without the constant undercurrent of want humming between them.
But convincing him of that logic was proving to be an entirely different challenge; one that required a strategy he wouldn’t see coming.
CHAPTER 19
The sound cut through his sleep like a blade, a cry that was raw, desperate, and unmistakably hers. He was reaching for his t-shirt even before he was on his feet. His heart hammered when he heard another muffled sob drift through the walls.
She was having another nightmare.
It had been a few weeks since she’s had a nightmare and he hesitated to barge into her room like he had in the past. Something shifted between them and he didn’t even want to acknowledge it.
He stood frozen in the hallway lost in thought, his hand hovering over her door handle. Every rational part of his brain screamed at him to walk away, to let her handle it herself. Just like she had in the past. Getting involved would only complicate matters between them, not what he needed right now.
Another low whimper from behind the door shattered his resolve.
He pushed open the door quietly, not to alarm her, his eyes adjusting to the darkness. She was tangled in her sheets, her face contorted in distress, her hair damp with sweat. Her body looked like it had thrashed against invisible demons, and she kept murmuring something he couldn’t quite make out. Words that sounded like pleas.
Every protective instinct he’d been trying to suppress roared to life.
He approached the bed slowly, his chest tight with an emotion he refused to name and acknowledge. She looked so vulnerable, so broken, nothing like the strong woman who challenged him at every turn during the day. This was theversion of her no one else got to see—the one that threatened to make his resolve crumble.
“Isha,” he said softly, reaching out to touch her forehead that was slick with sweat. “Everything is okay.”
The moment his fingers made contact with her skin, her eyes flew open and unfocused, still caught between sleep and some other emotion. For a heartbeat, she didn’t recognize him, and he saw confusion and something else flash across her features.
