The Arranged Bride novel Chapter 43

Nick's POV

On feeling a lot of movement beside me , I blinked open my eyes. It has been three days since Sophia was discharged from the hospital. Since then I have become a light sleeper. I was trying to be alert in case she needed something in the middle of the night.

I looked at Sophia to see her squirming , her eyebrows furrowed . Leaning on my elbow , I roamed my eyes over her body to find the cause of discomfort. Her face was scrunched up in what seemed like pain.

" Sophia , does anything hurt?" I asked only to get no response. Her squirming increased every passing second which was making me anxious. I couldn't wait for the pain to become unbearable and as I was about to get up to call the doctor , I heard her mumble something.

" No - please no.." My eyebrows creased in confusion. Was she asking to not call the doctor? But I didn't say it aloud . Then how-

My thoughts were cut off when she spoke again.

" No... it hurts. Stop... please stop." Hurts !? What hurts - My eyes widened in realization. She was having a nightmare. Shit!

I quickly moved closer to her and patted her cheeks to wake her up.

" Sophia , baby ." I called .

" Sophia , wake up." She slapped away my hands and continued thrashing.

" Please don't." Her forehead was covered with sweat beads. I was honestly feeling helpless. I had never dealt with nightmares and seeing Sophia, the one I love, in such a condition was tearing my heart apart.

" Sophia , you're dreaming. Wake up." I held her shoulders in place to restrict her movements. I desperately wanted to wake her up , to relieve her from the pain.

" No-"

" Sophia, wake up. Look at me. Wake up." I raised my voice and shook her . She opened her eyes . Grasping, she sat up and immediately winced , what I suppose, was because of the pain in the ribs. She frantically looked around the room.

" Sophia ." I softly called placing my hand on her shoulder. Her head immediately snapped towards me and the very next moment she was hugging me like her life depended on it.

To prevent more damage to her ribs from that bending, I carefully pulled her to my lap . Bringing my hand around her waist I brought her trembling body close to mine.

" Shh baby , you're fine. Don't cry. " I rubbed her back in circular motions to calm her down.

" N-ick....h-he was..... h-hitting..." She was choking on her sobs , keeping her face pressed in my chest.

" No baby , no one is going to hurt you again. I am here with you. Stop crying, you're safe." . Her heart-wrenching sobs were too unbearable for me but they seemed to never cease.

I was broken out of my thoughts when I felt a pair of warm hands cupping my cheeks. Looking up, my grey eyes met with Nick's warm brown ones. I realised that I was crying when his thumbs wiped away the tears.

" What happened? Why are you crying?" He looked at me with concern in his face. He was searching for signs of pain in my face.

" I don't know. I don't know why I am crying but....but everytime I remember my days there , I feel scared. What if- if she does something like this again? I'm behaving like a baby. I can't even control my emotions. This feeling..it's so...I feel so weak." I clenched my eyes shut . I hated feeling so... so weak , so vulnerable. Nick clasped my hands in his .

" Open your eyes." I kept them close to avoid showing any more of my impuissant self to him. Although he had seen me in my most defenceless state , there was this hesitation in the back of my mind.

" Sophia , look at me." Taking a deep breath, I looked at him. His piercing gaze was fixed intently on me yet nothing was discomforting about it.

" You're not weak and you're definitely not behaving like a baby . That was indeed a dreaded experience you had there and all this has been overwhelming which is not helping your emotions. It's okay to cry, to let out but that doesn't make you weak. So don't you dare call yourself weak. You're one strong woman, Sophia." The amount of sincerity in his voice had my heart melted into a puddle. The love I had for this man was increasing every day.

I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his . Almost immediately, he kissed back but it wasn't a deep , passionate kiss. It was a soft, gentle kiss through which I was holding up my vulnerable self to him and he was promising comfort , assurance and support, promising to protect the vulnerable me. Pulling apart , he tucked my hair behind my ears and stared deep into my eyes.

" We will get through this. Together." He was whispering but there was a strong determination in his voice to which I found myself nodding.

" Together."