Love Me Like You Do: A Soul Stirring Game Of Destiny

I Know You Made Love To Josh

He gently patted her shoulders, and she opened her eyes to find a pair of brown eyes staring at her. It was Ruth.

Ruth had a questioning expression in her eyes, and she was able to understand what she had just said in her sleep and how her body was reacting. Shivi on the other hand, was shocked to see Ruth as just before a second ago, she saw her Greek god making love to her. It was so real and romantic that she regretted the reality. The very same second, she missed his touch, his warmth, and his closeness. All the warm feelings around her were replaced with the cold reality. She just wanted to run into his arms and wished maybe he would take her back to the beach.

Ruth wore a worried expression as she observed Shivi's reactions "Are you okay? You were..."

Trying to be defensive, Shivi said "What?? Nothing happened."

Ruth sighed and said "I never said anything happened. But I know you were living the fantasy which you are not able to live in reality. "

Almost coughing she said, "No, no, you must have mistaken."

Ruth paused for a second and looked at her, "Shivya.... It is okay. I am not questioning you or ridiculing you for anything. I am not here to judge you when I send you out of the room for hours together to have intimate moments with my boyfriend Jack.

Shivi still tried to play innocent by hiding what she just dreamed of "I didn't get you. Why will you judge me? "

Ruth sighed and responded "i heard everything.You were moaning my brother's name repeatedly. It looked like you were having a dream about...  "

Visibly flustered Shivi retorted, "Okay, stop. You owe me a lot, so don't tell your dear brother about this."

Ruth chuckled and nodded gently, her eyes still reflecting mischief. "Okay, I will not. But why are you hiding your emotions? All we have is one life. Don't you think we should live it happily by doing what we want, being with the one whom we want to be?"

Shivi, avoiding eye contact, expressed a mix of sadness and reluctance. "I wish life was that easy for me.And I am not a person who will date casually. I am here on borrowed time. I have promised my parents once I am done with my studies, I will marry the guy whom they choose. They have never been proud of my decisions and choices because I have always been doing things against their wishes. So, I want to at least do this for them, so they have something about me to feel proud about."

Ruth, sensing the underlying conflict, placed a comforting hand on Shivi's shoulder, she said "Shivya, life is too short to live it for someone else. Your happiness matters too, and you deserve to make choices that make you happy."

Ruth was genuinely surprised by the stark difference in perspectives. In America, even the thought of her mom trying to set her up with a friend's son would trigger fury. However, here in a completely different cultural context, she observed Shivi's readiness not just for a date but to share a bed with a literal stranger, all because her parents would expect her to do so.
Ruth looked curious as she questioned, "Sorry, don't get me wrong, but how do you start living with a total stranger? How can you consider him as family immediately after marriage? How can you get intimate with him?"

Shivi, wearing a disappointed look, replied, "I really don't know. I am myself wondering about it. How do our girls accept all this?"
In a thoughtful tone, Ruth continued, "Hmm... can I ask you something?" Shivi simply nodded in response.

"You know, right, Josh really likes you. Instead of giving some random guy an opportunity, why don't you give Josh a chance?" Ruth suggested. Shivi began to speak about her parents, but Ruth interrupted, "Before you speak about your parents, please think about yourself. They will get you married to this guy and then go back to their own house. You will have to live that life every single day, enduring everything which your parents signed you up for. And if it is in their hands, you will end up with someone like that 'trial run guy.'"