Her

Her father is in the living room, talking with the family members while Evalena is watching him from afar. Hiding behind the wall that separates the kitchen area and the living room, she is gazing at her father with yearning in her bright green eyes. Her hands clutch the wall tightly like she is still afraid of him, even though they have a huge distance between them.

Do not ask her why she is so timid before her father! She is just this way.

Biting her bottom lip, she walks back into the kitchen to check the tea she is making for him and the others and her mind goes to Adam. She feels that it was Adam who invited her father for the celebration or she does not think that her father would come under the same roof as hers by his own free will.

Is he forced?

The thought alone saddens her heart. How badly she wants him to love her freely!

She stares at the liquid that is boiling before her eyes and suddenly her eyes are filled with tears as she remembers her past.

She recalls his anger, his resentment towards her last time. He did not even want to see her face. He literally kicked her out of the house. Though he was not behaving like a caveman at that time, he surely told her firmly to leave or he would leave the house because her face was not something to look at every time for him. He despised her appearance from then.

She left, not wishing for him to leave the house he had built on his efforts.

While she is still sinking into the melancholy, Adam enters the kitchen. Seeing the boiling tea coming out of the pot, he strides to the marble slab and turns off the stove. Holding her arm, he asks, "Where are you lost?"

Evalena comes out of the trance and looks at Adam who stands beside her. She then looks down at the marble slab and the place is ruined because of tea flown out of the pot. She sighs, mumbling, "Sorry."

"Of course." He shrugs, shaking his head.

He leaves her arm and starts pouring the tea into the cups while she ignores his question and asks, "Was it you who invited my dad?"

"Yeah," he answers honestly, "Don't you want to celebrate Christmas with him?"

Evalena sighs deeply, "I thought by what you heard from me that night, you'd realize that things between me and him aren't well?"

"Yeah, I concluded so, but things don't remain the same till the end. Nothing is permanent, Eva."

"And you think my dad would forgive me for what I have done in naivety?"

"I think he has forgiven you long before." Evalena frowns, watching him as he turns to her after arranging the cups and holding the tray. He gives it to her, adding, "Just know that he loves you. You're to him as you were when you were a child. It's just his anger and maybe you two never talked with each other in peace. Now if you do, you'd discover something new."

Evalena holds the tray, silently listening to him while Adam smiles at her.

"Now go and serve them," he says, patting her cheek.

She obeys and goes out. Putting the tray on the table, she steals a glance at her father who does not look in her direction. He is busy in a conversation with Christian, Adam's father, and genuinely looks happy to see him. After all, they know each other.

She fetches the cups to her father-in-law and her father. Her father-in-law gives her a kind gesture, and her grandfather-in-law gives her blessings but her father remains silent, averting his gaze as soon as she is in front of him. She does not understand her father very clearly but one thing as she has learned while living with Adam, she can look deeper into her father and feel that he is restless from within.

Serving everyone, she steps back, standing behind a couch on which her mother-in-law sits, talking with others. She feels nervous, looking at her father every time but he does not spare her even a single glance.

Minutes pass and she leaves for the kitchen with the empty cups. Though there are servants for such things, Evalena only needed a chance to fade away from her father's presence.

As soon as she is on her way to the kitchen, her gaze falls upon Adam and she realizes that all the while, he was watching her from a distance.

In her state of agitation, the day passes and when the evening comes, Adam insists on starting a conversation with her father which she denies every time.

"Adam, no, I can't do this. Please, don't take me there!" She says in a hushed tone but Adam does not stop.

Holding her shoulders from behind, he is guiding her towards the guest room where he has told her that her father is waiting for her. At first, she freaked out, trying to make excuses but she could not escape it. Adam was not letting her escape his presence.

"No, Eva, you have to do it," he answers, taking her to the closed door, behind which, her father is waiting for her.

She swallows hard, giving him a horrible expression. "Why are you doing this? I can't do it. He doesn't want to see my face, haven't you noticed it already?" She whispers to him as she turns to answer him and now she is pinned to the door by him as he stands in front of her.

"You can do it. Come on, he's your father!" He whispers back and the very next moment, she turns to escape him but Adam catches her in the midway, pinning her back to the door and adding, "Do it, Eva. He is not angry with you."

"You're forcing me, Adam," she says, and her voice cracks as tears start forming in her eyes. Her lips form a pout as her bright watery eyes are beholding him.

He groans, "Oh, Eva! Your tears won't save you this time and let it be this way if you think I'm forcing you. Now, turn around, open the door, and go inside."

Evalena gapes at him. "You're so cruel!" She adds as her chin wobbles.

Adam turns away his face, not wishing to look at her tears. No, they are not fake and it hurts him but he cannot let her go without making an effort to talk to her father.

"Go, Eva."

"Adam, please?"

"No, I won't listen to you. Now if you don't go inside, I'll punish you for this when we're alone."

At his last statement, she turns around, mewling and wiping her tears. She opens the door and steps inside. As soon as she has taken a step inside, the door is closed without her knowledge behind her back which makes her sigh.

Adam was never joking.

"Lena," her father calls her, getting her attention as she looks at him. "Come here," he adds, pointing at the couch in front of him.

She obeys, taking a seat. Her eyes flutter around the room which is bathed in a warm glow and surrounded by a woody fragrance that dominates the room. It smells pleasant as how a room smells when opened after a long time yet clean.

The couch is fluffy under her weight yet she is uncomfortable, moment to moment, changing her position with subtle movements.

"How are you doing here?" He asks, not wasting even a moment in silence while Evalena has already started fidgeting her fingers in nervousness.

At his question, she answers in a low voice, "I'm doing well." Her eyes slowly cast up to glance at her father. She bites her bottom lip before asking back, "How are you doing?"

"Likewise."

She nods, lowering her gaze down to her lap again. After this, she does not know what she has to say before him but her father does not even give her a chance.

After a few minutes pass in silence and only the sound of clock hands hitting is audible to their ears, her father asks, "How's your life here? With Adam and his family?"

"It's going well..." She looks around, adding, "His family is sweet. He respects me. They are nice towards me."

He hums and once again silence follows his words. After that, he suddenly gets up and goes to take his mobile. Evalena watches him, finally looking up from her lap. He disconnects the charger and comes back with his mobile. He types on the screen and then shows her it. He does not say anything but Evalena scans the faces in the picture.

It is the picture of her parents with Adam's father only. Her mother Gabriella is in her wedding gown and her father is her groom, looking handsome and attractive in that attire. Even taller than the current time. She wonders why his father would show her the picture of their wedding day when Adam's father came to attend it.

"This was the first time I met Christian face to face. Before this, I only heard from Ella about him. I had no idea about his character but soon, it was known to me. I doubted if Adam would be like him," he takes the mobile and puts it down, adding, "That's why I was afraid of giving you to him without even knowing him."

Evalena's eyes soften as she listens to her father but still, she takes out no word, listening to him as he continues;

"You two grew up together and we knew your perspective; it couldn't remain hidden, Lena."

"How?" She mumbles to herself but her father listens.

He chuckles lowly and she is indeed amazed to see him this free around her. She has even forgotten the last time he laughed when he was with her but now it feels pleasant to be around him. It feels like one of those days when she was a school girl and one glance from her would set sparkles in her father's eyes. She was the only daughter, after all.

"Your eyes, Lena. They're too alive, like Ella. She couldn't hide anything, and so the way you are. Even if you shut your mouth, your eyes say all that's in your heart."

She purses her lips, falling silent but nods her head to her father's words. He is right, anyway; her eyes speak more than her words.

"But you know why we were afraid? Because just like your mother told you, we couldn't let you want him and we were so cautious regarding this, because we know the consequences, Lena. We've experienced it and we didn't want you to do the same and regret it for the rest of the years. Guilt is one of the hard stages that needs to be conquered. If it can't be done so, it's like a graveyard in one's heart. It doesn't let one live peacefully."

Even though her father is right, she cannot help but murmur in confusion, "But now, I'm with him."

"At least not because you tried to change the paths. Destiny brought you to him, Lena, not you."

And her doubt is answered. This is the will of everyone around her. Indeed, if she had tried to force things, it would have brought destruction in her life but as her father said, not hers, but the Supreme will was followed in her life, things are smooth and soothing in her life now.

"I wonder what you have experienced..." She says, feeling this urge to know if her father wants to tell her but he would not let her.

"It's better if it remains unknown to you," he stops and gets up. He comes and sits beside her, taking her cold hands in his warm ones. She stays rooted because of such an affectionate gesture from her father and more she is rigid when he says, "However, I'm sorry for treating you this way, my child. I thought that strictly working with you would take you to the right path but I forgot about you being an innocent kid. I should've taken the other way. I pushed you away, Lena, and I'm sorry for it."

"Dad..." She whispers, feeling her throat getting clogged up but she still forces out, "You don't have to be sorry. You just wanted my well-being."

He smiles with sad eyes. "I need to..." He halts, pressing his lips. He lowers his head and she watches his shoulders trembling, soon followed by his small sobs.

Her heart clenches inside her chest as she sees her father breaking into tears.

"I'm sorry, Lena, I'm so sorry." He shakes his head. "It's all my fault. I was so harsh towards you. It was I who pushed you away and later condemned you for the outcomes of my mistake."

Though now tears stream down her cheeks, she wishes to comfort her father. She cups his face, wiping away his tears as she says, "Please, don't cry, Dad."

He looks at her, eyes softening. He smiles at her through the tears and nods his head but does not stop crying.

"And wasn't I too naive? You did what seemed well to you but I foolishly stood against your discipline. I should've talked to you at least for once. I should be sorry, Dad."

He listens to her silently, wiping away her tears and that's the moment that is like a blessing to her for no reason. Call it His grace. She was happy to get back to her father and solve things between them. And she knew Adam had a hand in this.

After the father and daughter have talked to each other for at least two hours, telling each other many things, including the fact that first Adam approached her father to solve things between them, she comes out of the room with new reasons for happiness, with her father.

Both of them go downstairs as midnight approaches because finally, it is the time to celebrate Christmas.

Adam, who is in the living room, looks at the father and daughter and smiles at them, knowing in his heart that finally, everything is normal between them.

They begin to celebrate, worship, and praise the Lord. A lot more activities await them. They sing praises and hymns with each other, never forgetting to tell the story of Jesus' birth, the Saviour of this world.

Barak was the happiest while listening to them. After all, his grandfather, Evalena's father also showered him with love. Till now, he did not even want to look at the child of someone else but now, learning that Evalena loves Barak like she has given birth to him, he knew it was left for him to bring a change in himself, change that mentality and love Barak as his own grandchild.

They celebrated until it was six in the morning, praying in the end while holding hands, and finally fell asleep in their respective rooms.

As another day has followed, they live it in spirit, wanting the entire day to be given to their Lord. Getting engaged in work, women cannot pay attention to anyone, and that troubles Adam somewhere.

Evalena should at least stay with him, no?

The man was almost at his wife's mercy, seeking a single chance to be on her side but got none. Finally, when it was night and women were free from tasks and were talking to each other, Adam came downstairs, knowing very well that he needed her now!

He looks at the circle of the women as they are laughing and talking. Adam feels nervous to interrupt them because there is no man, so he remains near the railing, watching them.

But this urge troubles him from inside to be with his wife and listen to her sweet voice. He firmly tells himself that he can interrupt those women to get his wife out of the circle because he has rights, no?

Of course, he has every right, he tells himself, and feels proud of it.

His eyes search for someone special; Evalena, and he finds her among the women. She is holding a cup of tea and listening to them with a smile on her face. She does not react openly until one cracks a silly joke. Husband truths are also unfolding there but Evalena remains silent in the case of Adam.

Now what should she even say? Adam is not even a double-sided man and keeps no secret about what she would like to talk about. But one thing she keeps in her heart that makes it tingle is that Adam is a very romantic man.

Keeping his face in his palm as his elbow is perched on the railing, his eyes keenly watch every movement of his wife.

The movement of her eyebrows as she arches them solely. She raises them if she is surprised to hear something. She smiles at everyone and his heart skips a few beats, noticing the faint movements of her wet and pink lips, and the way her eyes lower as if she is thinking something in her mind.

He does not even realize when he is at the bottom of the stairs and walking towards the circle. He beholds his wife's eyes rising from her lap and landing on him.

"Adam?" She smiles, "Need something?"

"Yeah," his answer comes out immediately, sounding so desperate like a plea from a person thirsty for water.

"Oh, what?" Delicate voice, makes his heart palpitate, and he utters in response, "You," becoming the center of attention. The sound of their chit-chat ceases and all eyes are on him.

What just happened, he wonders.

Evalena's frown leaves even before coming and her eyes look down. Did he really say that out of control, he wonders over and over again? Because her cheeks turn pink all of a sudden.

"She?" Someone speaks from the middle. He does not wonder who, because his greedy eyes are not ready to leave how pretty and submissive his wife looks. Oh, they are so obsessed with the woman they want to behold day and night.

But surely, he is stuck. "Yeah, she, I wanted to tell her that—"

"Tell her what?" The woman finds it too cheesy, no?

"That I'm g-going out for a..." But he has no reason to walk out of the mansion! However, he makes out a lie as he completes, "w-walk."

They giggle. Evalena looks back at him, smiling a bit. "You want me to accompany you?" She asks straight, ignoring the naughty and knowing gazes coming to hold her at her place. But, even before he answers, with a nod, she gets up, gesturing, "Let's go for a walk."

Easy, isn't it?

"Already? But I liked you here, Lena!" Her friend wiggles like a child, a pout on her face.

"I'll be back soon. I, too, wanted to go out, by the way," she reasons, earning a nod from her friend while he is wondering if she spent an entire day with his wife and how still not satisfied.

The same applies to him, by the way!

Well, I'm her husband. She's becoming my habit. What's wrong? He reasons in his heart and maybe even the Creator would smile in response.

She leaves the cup half-filled with tea as she stands straight.

"You can finish it on the way," he says. Because she likes tea and he knows it. She nods, getting back the cup before coming out and standing beside him.

"Let's go."

And they walk out. He feels their gazes on them but ignores, taking Evalena out with him. Once under the dark sky, he sighs and reaches his hand to put it on her waist. Out of habit, I can't help it. He likes to hold her, and touch her for petty reasons.

As they begin walking ahead, saying nothing but listening to the sounds around them, she asks him to hold her cup. He does it, unable to feel its warmth because his attention is snatched by her and he cannot reciprocate anything.

What's so special about her?

Well, everything. Even the way she holds, twists, and makes a loose bun of her dark hair. She takes out something like chopsticks in his eyes which she tugged between her collar and pushes it into her hair to hold the bun. And then, she asks for the cup. But as soon as she looks at his hand, she snatches the cup with its stick and looks panic-stricken.

"How could you hold it like that?"

"Like what?" He looks down at her worried face. Her other hand holds his palm as if she is to examine it.

"It was hot!" She blows on his palm and he catches how red it looks. Soft blows tingle his skin, pushing away the discomfort he began feeling after he was back on the earth.

He was lost.