Warm Embrace

Maya nodded and then quickly slipped the card in Aisha's bag. Then got back to her seat.

" Which cuisine should it be? Chinese, Indian, Japanese?" Maya asked looking at the menu.

" Anything spicy. " Maya placed the order as per Aisha's little description.

A while later the dishes were served but before Aisha could devour the delicious, unknown dishes, a sudden pain struck in her head. The fork that was ready to cut through to noodles, fell out of her hand, making a loud sound, enough for at least the two tables beside them to be able to hear.

Maya couldn't grasp the situation for the moment. She worryingly looked at Aisha who had closed her eyes and was pressing her head using her hand because of the ferocious headache, she was feeling. By now everyone in the dining hall had noticed that something was wrong with Aisha.

However, their suspicion was proved to be true when she couldn't hold onto herself anymore and finally collapsed. Most of the people were out of their seats and many had surrounded her, while Maya couldn't hold back her tears. At the same time, calling her little Miss out to wake up and stop scaring her.

Just then like a hero of a movie, a man made his way through the crowd towards Aisha and Maya. He placed his palm on her forehead to find out she had a fever. "There is no need to worry. It's only a fever. Let me help you out. How about I give you a room and a doctor to check her up?" The man asked Maya. Maya wiped off her tears like a child who was given what he had been earnestly wishing for. Then nodded.

The man picked Aisha in his arms, in princess style and walked out of the crowd.

"Could there be something wrong with the food?" A woman in the crowd said.

"Quite possible. She fainted while eating the food." The other replied.

"I'm pretty sure she didn't take a single bite." The other defended. This led to an argument among the customers.

The man who had Aisha in his arms stopped on hearing the loud conversation among the crowd. He turned around and after a glass was elegantly knocked by a spoon with the help of a waiter, he said "Customers, there is no need to worry. The woman has a fever and it isn't caused by our food." He laughed then continued, " Everyone settles down. The food contains no wrong ingredients in it. Have we ever let our customers down?"

Everyone got back to their place and continued eating their expensive food after understanding the man's statement as if he were the owner of the restaurant which he was not.

"Shall we, ma'am?" The man asked Maya who was lost in thoughts.

"Yes, please hurry."

>>>>>>

While Aisha might have fallen down the seat as her body lacked energy, she hadn't lost consciousness. She felt everything that was happening around her. A man's embrace did shock her for a second, but she calmed down after feeling safe in his embrace. Slowly she started feeling the warmth of the man who had held her. She could hear his heartbeats that were racing close to her ears.

Within a few moments, the warmth started to turn hotter and hotter. Was it the man's heart that was racing and his body that was turning hot or was it her's? Aisha couldn't figure it out. But she felt at ease after two whole weeks of hectic incidents and maintaining the strength to fight against her family.

A few minutes later, Aisha slowly got out of the warmth and put on something soft but cold. She caught the hand of the man tightly not letting it go. Just then she was covered by huge blankets which made her feel warm but not enough to make her let go of that warm hand.

Finally, Aisha passed out. She couldn't predict the amount of time that had passed when her eyes opened again. She didn't know if it had been minutes, hours, or days since she had passed out. It felt to her like she had slept only a few seconds. A huge figure emerged in front of her when she opened her eyes. Probably the man she hadn't let go.

"Could you please let go of my hand, now that you are awake?" The man had a cold yet sweet voice. When Aisha spotted his light blue eyes she immediately realised who that man was. Aisha let his hand go, making her feel empty in the heart. This feeling was new for her. She couldn't understand the reason behind her attachment to him.

"Don't worry. You are safe now, nothing will happen to you." The man got out of his seat and then closed the button of his suit. "You are in a safe place." Saying this, he started out but was pulled by Aisha by his coat.

"What's wrong?" He asked. Aisha could still not see his face but his blue eyes were enough to make her recognise her first murder.

"I'm sorry." She said. After which tears started falling out of her eyes.

'I'm sorry for killing a kind man like you. I'm sorry Aditya. I should have listened to you. I should have sided with you instead of those shitholes.' A million words wanted to escape Aisha's mouth in an attempt to vanish her guilt but couldn't.

Aditya was confused at first but then quickly settled his puzzled expression and reached out to Aisha's face. He held her small face in his huge palm then wiped her tears using his thumb. Soon he noticed Aisha's beautiful deep brown eyes. He couldn't take his eyes of hers as if his ocean eyes had found beautiful, dark shade. His thumb was no more in his control. However, he was able to break out of Aisha's bewitching beauty when his thumb was about to reach her lips.

He stepped back and after settling his thoughts and the temperature of his face. He said, "I think you have mistaken me for someone else." To this Aisha shook her head, knowing she was not wrong. Aditya sighed and then sat back in the chair. He wanted to put on a stone face but couldn't resist smiling. And thus, a soft and tiny smile broke on his face. For the first time in his life, Aditya couldn't control his feelings.