23 Fallen

July 9, 20xx

Split, Croatia

Li Jie quietly carried her and tread the narrow cobblestones.

Yan Shi leaned on his body and found herself spacing out again. The concern in his words stirred up something inside her.

Is this really possible? That she's already infatuated with this guy.She was surprised with her own deduction.

'That quick? Why did it never happen with Bai Haifeng?'

The answer to her question was very simple. The other guy, there was no love. It was pure friendship.But with this sweet, adorable man, her heart is melting,by his words and actions.

"Nick?" her weak voice rang to his ears.

"Hmm?"he paused before turning slightly to face her before asking again "What is it?"

"I think----" she stammered and was unable to speak.

"You think what?" he questioned with no impatience at all.

Instead of saying what's on her mind, she blurted out, "I'm hungry."

With this, the picked his pace.

The decision to keep her feelings for now came abruptly when she thought of telling him first of her condition.Because if she will take his love, she wants to bare her soul to him. No lies.

Trust is the foundation of a good relationship.

Additionally, her illness. If he will accept her imperfection, then she's willing to take this roller coaster ride.

Later, her mouth beamed with a smile andwhispered "Yan Shi, you've fallen fast and hard."

***

Back to the suite, he placed her on the sofa and took off her shoes slowly, not to stir her up before turning to the kitchen.

The aromatic smell of food was touching her nostrils, triggering her stomach to growl in hungry.Disoriented, she sat up and spotted him bringing the food to the center table near her.

The next second, the sound of spoon and fork was the only thing heard as they eat in silence.

After the meal, Yan Shi entered the bedroom to shower. Inside the bathroom, she touched her neck, hands to check for any bumps and looked for red patches on her back. A sigh of relief was out immediately as she noticed no mar on her white skin.Earlier, there was itchiness on her neck and she was worried it was rashes but luckily, no. It was probably the heat.

Coming out, the figure of the man was in the bedroom. He was separating his clothes by color. Since it was impossible for him to wear the rest of what's in his suitcase, they shopped for his wardrobe for the next few days.

Seeing the him like this, the conjecture in her head before, popped out again.

He seemed to have the urge to arrange things in order.

From the way he repeatedly washes his hand to how he prepared food. In the kitchen, the spices were arranged in certain order.

Thinking of it now, when he first came to the apartment in Paris, there were subtle signs.

First, the living room. When she put it back the way she wanted it, he rearranged them immediately.

Second,their first dinner. When she placed the chopsticks on his side, he took and lined them with the glasses.

The man is obviously showing symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder which is not entirely harmful as opposed to what's being seen on dramas or movies.People have it due to different factors and over time, it results to them developing certain rituals to cope with the anxieties that these obsessions create.

She always sees him wearing a thin black rubber wristband.This made her wonder what compulsion he has, that he wanted to curb with this technique.

But unless he tells her, she won't ask. Anyway, he is harmless. Though he has this annoying habit of leering at her body at any chance he can get.

When his movement caught her eyes, it reminded her of question she meaning to ask this morning.

"Why are you here in the bedroom? Use the other room."

The second sentence came out when he didn't answer the question.

"Didn't we agree. Separate beds?"

"Yes." he answered with a smirk while his chin was pointed to the two beds leaning on each other as if telling her something.

In the contract, it states:#2. No sleeping on the same bed.

The clause was very vague.

"Wife, you sleep here, I sleep there. Not on the same bed, right?"he askedwith a smirk on his face as he pointed one after another.

Her question was answered with his logic.

If taken into literal context, it meant they won't share the same bed.

But it didn't also limit to the interpretation of having two beds in the bedroom.

Suddenly, she retracted her opinion of him earlier.

He's dangerous. He's like a lawyer, nitpicking every word.

His triumphant laughter echoed in the room as he entered the bathroom and the desire to hit him crossed her brain.

"Slytherin"

'Semantics got you.'

Sighing, she yawned in sleepiness and crashed on the bed.

Fine.

Same bedroom is fine as long as he keeps his hand away from her.

That was the last thing she remembered.

*****************************

July 10, 20xx

Adriatic Sea

Yan Shi stirred when thesound of waves and mixed scent of fragrant flowers and sea salt wafted to her nose.

She vaguely sensed something moving, like splashing waves.

Then realization hit her, she was at sea.

Elation rushed in and barefoot, she sprinted out of the cabin to the deck.

In her haste, she never saw Li Jie coming down the stairs, bumping on him on the process. Good thing he was quick that he stretched his hand to hold her before she will roll down that narrow steps.

"Careful wife." he warned.

When she became aware of the man's closeness, she wiggled out from his support.But instead of letting her go, he lifted her in a princess carry and walked up.

Yan Shi found herself leaning to get a whiff of his masculine scent rather than getting mad at him.

'It's really mild to the nose'

The moment his feet landed on top, she got off quicklyand ran like a child to the railings with happiness radiating from her.

"This is so cool!" she jovially shouted as she spread her arms wide open on the side and let the cool summer breeze touch her face. Her voice drifted in the air.

Wanting to go higher, she hoisted her feet on the railings and balanced herself.The next moment, there was the feeling of elation when she was on the elevated platform.Raising her two hands up in the air, she shouted "Mom, I'm going sailing!"

Happiness poked in her heart for fulfilling her mother's wishes that never materialized once Laura Ricci started staying in the hospital for her treatments. Her mother enjoyed sailing a lot.Two days before the accident, her mom brought tickets to go on a cruise to the Mediterranean and they were supposed to leave 5 days later.That night she told her, she was so excited and stayed up all night thinking about it.However, it never happened.

Because she was in deep musing, she never perceived he was standing close her.

A warm body supported and lowered her down.

Yan Shi stiffen when he put his arms around her waist, hugging her tightly and nestled his chin on her right shoulder.The onslaught of something warm was making her uncomfortable, so she wriggled away from him. But instead, he clasped her tighter and whispered in complaining voice "Keep still."

With his breath next to her skin, sending tingling sensations to her, there was a sudden surge of emotions breaking from within.

'Your hormones are clouding your brain Yan Shi.'It was reminder from her

Li Jie loosened his grip when she was rooted on the floor and accepted his embrace. At this moment, he felt contentment with their position.He thought he'll need to pull the wristband just in case he does something unacceptable. After all touching a woman's breast without her permission is against the norms. But he's surprised, the unwanted thoughts never appeared now.

In the beginning, he didn't understand his fascination with symmetry and that itch to touch breast.

He once thought he was a pervert and his ex-girlfriends broke up with him for the same reason.That made him avoid women. Not to be drawn to them and behaved badly. To him, a woman should be respected whether its her body or her thoughts.

Yet, every time he sees a perfect pair, his imagination runs wild, wanting to touch and study them. This made him assume he was lunatic.

Only when he went to see a psychiatrist that he learned, it's a part of his Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Unlike other people, his case is rare.The Cognitive Behavioral Therapy he undergone helped to change his thought patterns.For the last two years, he was able to deal with the anxiety and felt 'normal.'

But these impulsessuddenly sprouted after meeting her. So every now and then, he would remind himself to respect his wife's body. Not to touch without her go signal.If it doesn't work, snap the rubber on his wrist.

They stood together in silence. Her faint lemony fragrancewas assaulting his senses, making his eyes dimmed in lust and sent an unprecedented erectness down below.

The feeling of something hard poking behind startled her and automatically, her body jerked away from him.

But he pulled her back, held her head with both hands and his lips grazed hers.

*********************

Tidbit of Info:

HAPHEMANIA is the desire to touch objects or bodies.

TIC -is a sudden, repetitive and nonrhythmic motor movement.

(A/N : Haphemania is a rare case so not much information is available. Even in the DSM-5, the definition is very vague. Some people with Tourette's Syndrome have this tic. There's still ongoing debate on this subject.)

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My Thoughts:

Although OCD is a mental disorder, as long as the person with obsession and compulsion will not harm other people, he /she is safe. But the media has played greatly in thwarting the reality of this illness. Nowadays, people would laugh if they see a person wiping the chair before sitting or cleaning the hands repeatedly.

The truth is, people having this suffers inside. If one doesn't submit to the compulsion, anxiety clouds the brain and discomfort increases. They fight the demons (compulsions) but most often, they cave in especially if treatment is out from their grasp.