She squeezed him with her tight hug to the point of his fast thud of heartbeat could be felt in her soul and for a moment, Leena felt relaxed in his warm embrace. It reminded her of their first hug and his sweet whisperings to console her as if nothing could hurt her with him around and he proved it right and from then on she didn't want to get out of his arms when they felt like heaven to her.
Devin's mood dropped an octave at her spoiled behavior. He has called her umpteen times and sent multiple messages, he even googled emotional sorry quotes and sent her thinking that she would accept his apology but she neither attended the calls nor replied to the messages, and now she has the vigor to trespass his security and had the gall to hug him without any remorse and torturing him again. To add fuel to the fire, she is now calling him Vinny.
"It seems I have spoiled you rotten." Devin pulled back willingly from the hug. He didn't want to give in to any of her wishes now. It was just a small lie from his end and did she have to punish him severely to the point of not talking? He couldn't concentrate on work and it was of no use running to the office. Instead, he tried to distract himself from her thoughts and focused on cooking which is a thousand times harder than securing a business deal. Well, at least for Devin, it is. Her refusal to talk with him has cut through his heart inflicting a stabbing pain in his c.h.e.s.t but the moment he saw her face, all the sufferings he underwent for the past two days have faded into thin air.
"I am not spoiled. Just well taken care of by you." She shamelessly conveyed her feelings as if it was a matter of fact.
"And now you have become spoiled rotten. Why did you come here? Who gave you the address?" He crossed his arms and lectured her in a cold tone. Although he was mad to the core, it started to loosen up a little when she stepped into his territory by herself.
"It's Harley." She pouted when she could sense his anger and she knew her pout is the strongest weapon to win him over.
"Look at her pout! She is looking at me with her screaming eyes and making me listen to every decibel she never whispers."
"What whispers?" She innocently asked batting her lashes. Although his voice was low, Leena still heard it but pretended to be naive.
"Nothing and you, stop with that pouting." He scolded when it was getting hard to control.
"Being pouty is trendy and added with my impeccable beauty, I know it's hard for your eyes to keep my beautiful face away." Leena countered, twirling her hair strands proudly.
Devin was wondering why she did not start trumpeting herself and there it started now.
With a sigh, he glanced at the servants who were enjoying the show as if was a kind of entertainment program. He sternly ordered right away. "Leave for the day. I will take care of the cooking."
'Leave for the day? For making a simple salad, he burnt the entire kitchen, and if they leave him alone in the house for the whole day, he would burn it into ashes.' These were the inner thoughts, the servants had in their mind. But seeing a woman, they believed she could be a help to Devin when he can't even make a toast without burning the kitchen. Little did they knew, even Leena belongs to the same category but at least burning the kitchen can be excluded from her list.
Reluctantly, the servants left the place when Devin's brooding stares were tormenting them.
Right after the servants left, Leena looked at him with a broad smile trying to abate his anger. But Devin didn't give in this time, not after when she ignored him completely for two days. Without a word, he strolled into the home but left the door open so that she could take a hint.
"Why didn't you go to the office?" Leena asked stepping into the house, examining the enormous villa and she must say, everything well fitted with his personality.
"I was making Kale salad," Devin replied curtly.
"Kale salad? It's my favorite. But why didn't you go to the office?" Leena asked again. Looks like, my Mr.Adonis is good at everything and Leena already started thinking of lending the kitchen responsibility to him alone in the future.
"Learning the recipe from youtube and implementing it has taken four long hours. So, I missed my office timings. Happy? If you have come here to ask about it, then you got your answer now. So, you can go back home." Ignoring her, Devin went back to his bedroom to get changed, for he was planning to leave for the office.
"Idiot," Leena whispered. His words were a sharp stab to her c.h.e.s.t twisting it endlessly and she realized she has gone too far in pushing him away. She doesn't know how relationsh.i.p.s worked. It was hardly two months she has gone together with Ethan and she never made an effort to understand the relationship when she was always being occupied. Everything happened on a whim at that time with him.
But with Devin, it is entirely different. If his sweet talks can lift her to the mountains, his refusal to acknowledge her could push her to the bottom pits. She then realized the command he has over her heart. She has come here to straighten up her feelings for him and until then she is not going anywhere. With that, Leena followed him to the bedroom.
With the approaching footsteps, Devin didn't expect that she would follow him blindly and with her rapt stares, he couldn't change his outfit. Finally, he gave up and approached her. "I will drop you home. Let's go." He grabbed her wrist and tried to drag her along with him, but even before he could reach the door, Leena jerked his hand away.
"I am not leaving." She sternly declared looking straight into his eyes.
"Are you playing with my feelings again?" He slammed the door shut with his foot and pushed her to the door barrier. Locking the door shut, without giving a chance for her to escape which she always does tricking him, he pressed his hands on either side of her head and moved closer until their faces were inches apart. Her heart sped like there is no finishing line, her stomach gave in the butterflies at his surprising nearness, she went weak in the knees while her mind was in the abyss. Everything happened one after the other, finally shutting her brain completely.
"Did you come here to mock at me how stupidly I have been going crazy for you?" He grabbed her chin and inclined to his face to see the emotions in her eyes that she would always try to hide within.
His every word was crammed with apathy towards her. Leena winced in pain with his harsh words. Did he think of me in that way?
"I have been calling you like crazy for the past two days and you couldn't even spare a little time to reply? If you have thought of turning me into a stupid, then congratulations, you have successfully achieved your purpose, infact you have been doing it for a long time. You rip my heart always but you are the one feigning to be bleeding, just like now." Although Devin was the one who has directed the harsh words, he was the one in pain.
"Did you think of me in that way?" She was hurt. The only person's kindness she wanted in this world has turned harsh on her. Before she loses her sanity and goes weak, Leena wanted to tell him how she feels about him.
"Then what about you? Why didn't you call me after I came back to New York? Without a word, you left me on that day. I know your grandfather is hurt but don't you think you need to explain at least after? You always run away putting me in puzzles. But you never tell the words I wanted to hear." Her heart was in the flames of pain burning her inside as if the sun of pain is living inside of her heart. She was on the verge of breaking but she is begging her inner self to stay strong. She didn't want to show her vulnerable side in front of him.
"Leena.....It's because I didn't want to disturb your peaceful sleep when you had a sudden break, and as for contacting you..." There was a pause in his voice powerless to speak, a lump formed in his throat seeing her holding back her tears, and this time he was solemnly credible for them. "I wanted to give you space to sort out your feelings. Didn't you see my devotion towards you from the day I met you? Why can't you realize my_"
"I want to hear it from your mouth!" She cut him in mid-sentence. "You show all the kindness in the world, you protect me with all your heart but you don't tell how exactly you feel about me."
"Please. Stop it_"
"Don't stop me today. Do you think you are the only one going crazy? Do you know how much I suffered for three days without seeing you? I want to close my eyes because I might get a chance to see you in my dreams. I want to close my ears because I might get a chance to hear your only voice in my head. But I can't understand your feelings. Not after knowing that I am being an imposter for someone you loved in the past." All the pent-up anger that has been built up in her heart has come to the veneer and she started punching his sturdy abdomen and when it didn't relieve, she started kicking his legs like she always does.
Devin was literally shocked by her words. Here he was thinking of imprinting his absence in her mind but he did not think she has been missing him crazy. He didn't mind when she kicked him or when she was hitting him, the words she confessed were replaying in his mind but suddenly something stuck in his brain.
Imposter of someone I loved in the past? Who dared to put such a false thought in her mind.
"Imposter for someone? You still don't know the place you hold in my heart, sweetheart. You want to know how I feel right? Let me show the things I wanted to do with you alone." There was not a moment of hesitation. He slammed his lips onto hers silencing her protests.
The next thing she knew when she processed her brain, he had slammed his lips and nearly knocked the wind against her lungs with the sudden invasion. The words she wanted to voice were entangled in her throat when he shut her mouth in an intense kiss.
He doesn't want to talk, he wants to prove it to her with actions. If his actions don't prove the truth of his words, then his words don't have a meaning to them.