141
The villa was quiet, save for the occasional rustling of the trees beyond the terrace and the low hum of distant waves. Yalda lay curled on the sofa in the living room, buried beneath a fleece blanket with a hot water bottle pressed against her lower abdomen.
Her face was scrunched into a perpetual scowl, and the muted romantic drama playing on the TV barely held her attention.
She hated this.
She hated the way her body turned against her every month like clockwork. The dull ache in her lower back, the stabbing cramps in her belly, the way her breasts felt swollen and sore. And more than anything, she hated how absolutely everything made her want to cry or scream or both.
And Ioannis wasn’t home. Of course he wasn’t.
She sighed heavily, even though there was no one around to hear it. Loki lay curled up by her feet, occasionally lifting his head to check on her before going back to sleep. She had tried to distract herself earlier, even baked some lavender lemon cookies with Alina's help, but even the act of folding the dough had felt like too much. Her body ached. Her heart ached. Her mood was sour, and it simmered like a pot ready to boil over.
When the villa door finally opened that evening and Ioannis stepped in, her body tensed. She heard the faint sound of him placing his keys on the hallway table, the swish of his jacket being shrugged off. He called out casually, his voice smooth and warm, “Yalda? I’m home.”
She didn’t respond.
He peeked into the living room and smiled when he saw her curled up on the couch. “Hey,” he said softly, walking over and leaning down to kiss her temple. “Long day?”
Yalda turned her face away. She was upset that he'd left her alone all day. Yes, he had to go to work, but still.
His brows lifted slightly. “Interesting.” he said, sitting on the edge of the coffee table in front of her. “What’s going on here?”
“Nothing,” she grumbled. “Nothing at all.”
He smiled in that maddeningly patient way of his, the one that made her want to smack him and hug him at the same time. He could tell that whatever was happening wasn't all that serious.
“Alright,” he said, playing along. “So you’re curled up on the couch being grumpy, and you have an attitude, surely there must be something wrong."
She narrowed her eyes at him. “I have cramps. I feel like crap. You’ve been gone all day and I hate everything.”
He nodded slowly as though he finally comprehended what this was about. “Ah. That kind of day.”
“Don’t say it like that,” she snapped, glaring at him. She couldn't help how she felt, and the fact that he was so calm and chill infuriated her. “Like I’m being unreasonable.”
He raised both hands in surrender. “I didn’t say that.” Perhaps this was more serious than he thought.
“You didn’t have to, your eyes already did." She grumbled. It happened, you missed someone so much that you develop an attitude when they finally show up.
Ioannis sighed. He reached out to brush a tendril from her face, she didn't back away luckily.
"It's alright, Baby." He said gently. "We'll fix you."
She stared up into his eyes for a couple of minutes before groaning and flopping onto her bac. She flung an arm over her eyes. “I missed you,” she mumbled.
“Understandable,” he said, reaching for her hand beneath the blanket. “I missed you too.”
“Then why didn't you come back to me?” she was being dramatic, she had never been a drama queen but here she was. It seemed a lot had changed over the last couple of months.
“Because work still exists,” he chuckled. “But if I had known you’d be this pitiful, I’d have taken the day off.”
She groaned once more. “Don’t make fun of me.”
“Never.”
He leaned in to kiss her forehead gently, then her cheek, and then her lips briefly. Yalda let out a long breath, trying not to melt. Even when she was at her worst, Ioannis managed to make her feel a little more human.
“Want me to run you a bath?” he offered.
“No,” she said quickly. She didn't want a bath, she just wanted to be with him. “I want you to stay with me."
He nodded considering. He had just returned from the office and he needed to freshen up and get changed, but surely he could do that at a later time when she was in a more stable mood.
“That seems fair,” he said settling beside her and pulling her gently into his lap. “Go on, then, feel better.”
She did. A soft sigh left her as she buried her face in the crook of his neck. “I hate hormones. I hate my periods."
“I could spare you the pain for nine months if you want me to,” he murmured into her hair, stroking her back slowly. “All you have to do is say the word."
Despite herself, she let out a quiet laugh.
He rubbed her back gently, soothingly.
“You should have called me earlier, I would have come back." He said. "You know that right?"
She nodded. She did, but she couldn't be unreasonable, she knew he had matters to tend to.
She rested against him, relaxing little by little as he rubbed gentle circles into her lower back. They stayed like that for a long time, no conversation, just the quiet of the villa and the steady sound of his heartbeat beneath her ear.
“I missed you so much today it made me angry,” she admitted softly. “I kept thinking, if you loved me, you’d be here.”
“Oh, sweetheart,” he whispered, cupping her cheek. “I have no idea how much I love you, how much I want to be with you always."
And she truly didn't. She had no idea just how deeply he loved her, how much he craved being in her presence. She had no idea how much he valued her, but still:
Tears sprang to her eyes suddenly, irrational but real.
He kissed the tears away, one by one, with tenderness. “I promise next month I’ll be with you all through your period next month. We'll do whatever makes you feel better."
“You promise?”
He nodded.
“You have my word.”
Yalda leaned back, looked at his face, and let out a long sigh. “Thanks foe being here. I know I'm not the best company at the moment.”
“I live for the drama,” he said solemnly, brushing his lips over her nose.
She laughed then, full and genuine, and it chased away some of the heaviness in her chest. He kissed her again, softly, and she wrapped her arms around him.
Cranky or not, hormonal or not, she wa
s safe here. And loved. Even in her most unlovable moods. And somehow, that made all the difference.
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