Unrequited

CHAPTER 1 :"Maybe"

Drunk intoxication infiltrated his threshold of control , driving him into a lust-driven state of lightness. When he closed his eyes he felt her scent fill his nostrils , invigorating his senses, awakening his memory. As he collided into the sheer net curtains losing balance, he remembered how her dark raven curls swept his face in the wind, leaving him breathless. He frantically grabbed at the curtain and looked out of the window, out onto the street , where colorful stringed lights blinded his vision, and dragged his mind back to the first time . The first time he fell, madly, deeply , fervently in love with her smile amidst a festival of life and colour. 

He reached the doorway of his room and saw a slender figure seated gazing at the mirror in the darkness. The windows of the balcony were wide open, allowing the cool monsoon breeze to stream in. She stirred slightly and awoke from her trance-like state upon hearing him at the doorway. She watched her silent spectator as he approached her slowly ; her face still in the shadows of the dimly lit room. 

He gazed at her with  longing eyes. He had waited too long; too long to hold her in his arms, waited too long to feel her steady inhale and exhale on his chest; the very chest that resided his worn-out heart that had weakened in her absence trying to hold up false face of stability. 

She wondered why he came home so late, but her questions seized when she saw his chiseled face transfixed with emotion she'd only once seen before. She'd seen the same look of agonized longing and love in her reflection with each passing day, only to go unnoticed by those around her. She looked away from him in dejection . He gently held her by the chin and drew his face close to hers. "I've waited for this moment for so long" he said. Before she could utter a single word, he whispered softly into her ear "please let me make it up to you,". As she tried to protest he laid his finger on her untouched lips and whispered "this is our beginning". 

She looked at him intently with eyes painted with innocence, wondering what had brought his sudden change. She stopped herself from questioning his behavior, fearful that it was all a dream. As he carried her gently to their bed with his strong arms, she felt as though her prayers had been listened to , she saw her withered hope grow new leaves, she felt as if fate had throw her down an infinite pit of joy. So she didn't question the first intimate moment she experienced after a year of marriage.

CHAPTER 2: "The Calm before the storm"

The wind gushed inside with full force, slight drops of rain woke her abruptly  . She felt for his presence beside her with closed eyes.Her eyes flew open in surprise, when she found him missing. She clutched the duvet close to her chest; a sudden flash of fear ran up her spine. Where could he be? Her eyes were wild and afraid. Her mind shook, free of any peace. That’s when she noticed his shirt on the bedstead. He was here. She slowly reached for it and brought it up to her face, her cheeks turned red as she recalled the moments they shared a while ago… She closed her eyes and smiled content. She felt as though her life had somehow become whole, upon his realization of her love. 

She slipped into his shirt. Happy with how his shirt had fit her tiny body, she felt as though it housed her in his familiar scent, the same way he had housed her in his heart. She was overwhelmed with a sense of bliss, a sense of gratitude.

Her footsteps were soft and apprehensive. She didn't know what to say when she’d see him. She felt the butterflies flutter in the hollow of her stomach. She blushed coyly at the thought of what would await her. A million different scenarios flashed in her head; she was surprised at how enthralled she was at the idea of his presence; she felt like a teenage girl with her constant jitters.

She looked into every room hoping to find him, to no avail. That’s when she caught sight of the main veranda. Its doors were open wide despite the pouring rain, it was beautiful. The white sheer curtains danced in the wind cocooning the one seated amidst the display all the same. There he was. Her eyes lit up with sudden life, upon seeing him.

CHAPTER 3: "Mistake"

He whimpered. His face sunk into his hands. “What have I done ?” He heard himself say, with her photograph still in his hand . His sobs became vigorous , consumed in agony his entire body  jerked back and forth.he wept bitterly . “I betrayed the only one I have loved.”

She approached him slowly, only to stop momentarily inches away from him because she realised he was crying.

 Every bone in her body ached to reach out to him and console him; hold him in her arms and shelter him eternally from the pain he was enduring; she was protective of him. She moved forward to place her hand on his shoulder- but stopped suddenly. He was holding onto something. His gaze was fixed on the picture despite the steady stream of tears that trickled down his face. Her smiling eyes echoed of a million memories attached to his happy past built around heartfelt promises and a love that could move mountains.  Overthrown with despair, he placed the photograph down by his side.

CHAPTER 4 : " Reality"

What she saw crushed her whole, downward, excruciatingly, suddenly, and defiantly in a fixed spiral.

-It was Zora.

That’s when she understood what had happened.

He was in pain because he mistook her for Zora in his drunken stupor.

He made passionate love to who, he presumed was his true love.

She was never really there when he looked fondly into her eyes.

He was in pain and it was her fault.

It was her fault because she could never be Zora.

She had now become his living nightmare

Her presence was proof that he had betrayed Their Untouched Love,

And it killed her.

How could she have forgotten that she was nothing but his get-out-jail-pass? She was supposed to be his friend.  She wasn't his wife. On paper she was sure, but their relationship was a mere ploy to keep him in the country, until he could go back to her after being proven innocent.

She was lawyer. Lawyers didn't get emotionally involved with their clients. A friend stays a friend.  

-          Then why had she not resisted his advances? Why had she let him touch her like no-one else had? Why did she let her barrier down after spending 10 years building it up? Why did she feel sensations she’d never felt before as his lips touched hers; sensations- that made her feel as though she finally belonged?

She looked at the faux ring on her finger and quickly closed her eyes, willing herself mentally to stop falling apart. As she stepped back cautiously along the cool wooden floor, a lone tear escaped her eyelid.

She would never mention it again.