Chapter 3 Attraction

The monitor's beeping told her where she was, but she didn’t move, didn’t open her eyes. She knew she had been out for a while, but wasn’t sure exactly how long, and she didn’t care; she loved the calm. She was aware she wasn’t alone, but she didn’t need any sympathy; she just wanted to rest.

Loud footsteps dragged into the room, and she felt someone hover above her, checking for a pulse.

“She’s alright.” She heard the Doctor tell her companion in the room. “There’s nothing serious; she is just stressed and needs to rest. Please give her some space; the nurses will check on her frequently.”

“Thank you, I’ll be in the hallway. Please let me know if she needs anything.” That voice….. That wasn’t Zayn, but it sounded so familiar. It was deep and a little too loud, one of the Yadav brothers?

Nodding, the Doctor replied, “Will do.”

Everywhere returned to normal, and Isha wasted another ten minutes before opening her eyes. A drip line was connected to her veins, and a tube was inserted into her nose to aid her breathing. The room was spacious and had a lot of greenery. By her bed, a bouquet of red roses lay on the cupboard; they were fresh and smelled like healthy earth.

Her mind went to the happening before she passed out, and she sighed in tiredness and embarrassment. This wasn’t how the evening was supposed to go. It had been so long since she had ever got to the edge; this was the first time in two years. The effect Zayn had on her was one she never understood, but it was what it was.

She grabbed her talisman with her free hand and smiled as she felt its charm seep through every cell in her system. Its healing power was amazing, and she knew she wouldn’t have survived this long without it. She rubbed it gently and closed her eyes, listening to the creaking fan as it made a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree journey over and over again.

*****

Aarav Yadav was beyond worried. He knew something was wrong with Isha, but he didn’t know what. Most times he caught her in pain, she would give a flimsy excuse like a headache or menstrual pain. It was so frequent, and he was beginning to wonder if his teacher was right when she taught him that a woman sees her period only once a month.

Yes, she was a servant, and his family’s belief in love was about amassing wealth and connections through marriage, but he couldn’t get his eyes off her. It was beyond her beauty; she was the sweetest girl he had ever known, always caring, always loving. Her smile could brighten up a room, but whenever he got close, she brought out a different side of herself, rude and stiff, but he knew a fake when he saw one; she was clearly forcing herself to be this way; it was like she was running away from something. He saw through her like a ghost, and the events of tonight only made everything clearer.

His eyes were on her during the event, as she swung her hips in between tables, doing her duty. He saw lots of eyes following her every move, and he couldn’t fault them; she was beautiful, and the letters of the alphabet are not enough to describe her. Big brown eyes, oblong face and lips that looked so soft, one could spend hours imagining what they taste like.

For a moment, his attention had been drawn to something else, and the next second, he saw his mum looking panicked and calling one of the bouncers who was hired for the event. They left together for the inner room, and he followed, curious about what the fuss was about. And when he saw her lying helplessly on the floor with a bleeding nose, he felt as though his heart had been split in two. He was scared and swung into action immediately. They called an ambulance, but he had no time for that; he picked her up in his arms and drove her to the nearest hospital as fast as he could.

At their arrival, she looked so pale, and the doctors panicked, asking all sorts of questions to which she had no reply. She was too quiet about her past and personal life, so he had no medical history for her. They gave her treatment and conducted tests, the results indicated there was no abnormality in her, and Aarav thought this was a little strange. Right now, he only needed her to wake up and be fine. He had been so frightened when he saw her; she looked like she had no life in her. There was definitely more to this girl, and he wished he could help her, wished she would let him.