Chapter 51

LadyMeringue

@LadyMeringue

A/N: Hey there everyone! :D :D Here is the next update! :D :D

Here's wishing a very Happy New Year to all of you! I hope that this year's brings along a lot of happiness, health and prosperity into your lives! Also, before I forget, this chapter is dedicated to Anne - belated happy birthday, sweetie! :D :D I hope you had a fun day and had loads of cake! <3 <3

Not keeping y'all for any longer,

Happy Reading! :D :D

Ishaani sat by the piano with her fingers caressing the keys in a soft rhythm, the melody flowing around the house in a slow, sad tune. Playing the piano had always been her go-to whenever she needed to vent emotions she couldn't express, her fingers taking to the acoustic keys not unlike a lover who showered the love of a lifetime upon the one who held the lover's heart as its own. There was a strange melanchony about the night as Ishaani continued to play, the fear in her heart finding its way into the melody while the atmosphere of the house grew morbid in distress.

After Chirag's call, the panic had begun to rise itself into her throat as she called Ranveer repeatedly, only to be told by a taperecorded message that his phone was switched off. The office landline had been next upon her list even though no one received the call, her anxiety only growing manifold until expression had become a must. Her first thought had run towards the scalpel that she knew would ease her out from her misery, but it was not a path she wanted to walk down upon again. She'd chosen to walk towards light, and so was the decision made.

She couldn't run back and embrace the darkness in pursuit of light.

The next and only option she could come up with awaited her downstairs as Ishaani pulled open her wardrobe and pulled out Ranveer's abandoned vest. Slipping it upon her nightie and trying to feel his warmth against the cold fabric, Ishaani made her way towards the piano without spending another second in vain, her breathing uneven.

The black robe of her satin nightie billowed behind her in a graceful train as Ishaani's eyes found the monochromatic acquaintance she sought in need. She'd slid across the polished darkwood bench and had taken in a deep breath, her nightmare and her conversation migling into one until her fingers found its way upon the harmonious keys. The first break of sound snapped her out from the living nightmare and her eyes shot open, her fingers finding its way across the board with an unconscious ease.

Pain and fear found an expression, her fingers never once missing a beat as she continued to play the unknown tune without any deliberate thought, the outflow of grief and guilt easing away the turmoil her heart felt. Eight grew to nine and nine grew to nine thirty as Ishaani never once let her fingers rest, her eyes shut in fervent prayer. She tried to seek for his essence through the piece of clothing he'd left behind for her especially for moments like these. And yet it was nothing but a pathetic trace compared of the essence of the man, his rich scent nearly exhausted from upon the vest.

Thoughts began coursing through a thousand different possibilities, each worse than the other until it left her mood brimming with a darkness capable of consuming her whole. And yet it never reached breaking point as her fingers continued to strike chord, the soft music dispelling away the demons of her unspoken fears. She could feel the music awakening her soul with the anguish of loneliness it felt now more so than ever with the inevitable farewell was just a night away. At the same time tomorrow, their paths would perhaps separate from the crossroad they were standing upon for three weeks now.

Or perhaps not.

Through the symphony of her unknown tune, her heart suddenly skipped a beat and her breath ceased. And even before he could announce his presence, Ishaani felt every pore of her body raise itself in a fit of violent goosebumps as her eyes darted towards the door in expectancy. Frothing anxiety gave way to melting relief as moments later, Ranveer walked into the house. Ishaani's fingers drew her melody of painful, inexplicable wait to an end as she stood up from her seat, her eyes never leaving his own.

Ranveer walked towards her with a tired smile upon his face and Ishaani covered the distance between them impatiently, her heart knowing no solace as she threw herself into his arms. Greedily absorbing his essence while her heart relaxed against the warmth of his embrace, Ishaani refused to let go of him as Ranveer circled his arms around her protectively, lifting her off her feet. The horror of her nightmare faded inevitably against the soft touch of his lips against her cheeks, kissing her softly before setting her upon the floor and caress her hair in loving strokes.

She could feel him shake slightly as his breath came in deep sighs, the button of his nose resting upon the arc of her own while their foreheads met. Ishaani could sense his distress, realizing that something was off. Her suspicion was sealed when he pulled his lips into a broad smile the moment he realized that she'd sensed his unknown worry.

"Aren't you asleep yet?"

"I was waiting for you to get back home. What took you so long? And why is your phone switched off?!" asked a vexed Ishaani who was fumed as she pushed him away, crossing her arms upon her chest. Ranveer gave her a flustered look at the admonishing that reminded him of his mother.

"I-" began Ranveer awkwardky but even before he could complete, Ishaani finally took in his sight entirely, the first detail about him freezing her blood. There were blood stains upon his beige suit.

"Is- is that blood upon you?"

"My phone lost power, that's why. And I would have gotten home a lot sooner if my car wouldn't have met with an accident," answered Ranveer in a fatigued sigh and Ishaani clasped her hands upon her mouth, her eyes widening in stunned disbelief. 

This couldn't be. This just couldn't.

"Accident? What accident? Are you alright? Ranveer, I-"

"Relax! I'm perfectly alright!" cut across Ranveer as he cupped her cheek strongly, Ishaani falling silent abruptly. She didn't bother hiding away the tears that were beginning to pool in her eyes. Taking advantage of her dumbstruck silence, Ranveer began to explain.

"I was coming back in a cab when a car hit our from the side. Luckily it was from the opposite end so I didn't get hurt although the cab driver got hit pretty bad. Idiots drive anyhow these days without even looking at the signal."

"Did you see who it was? The car, I mean," corrected Ishaani, her tone now as colourless as her face. She didn't have to ask a question she already knew the answer to, forewarned as she was. Chirag Mehta did mean business after all. Ranveer noticed the change in her expression, his eyes narrowing at her in bewilderment. 

Something was off about her, he sensed in a jiffy, but he'd come back to that later. For now, he decided to answer her question.

"I didn't. It all happened so quick that by the time I could react, they were gone already. The driver was hurt so I had to take him to the hospital. He's got a slight concussion and some bruises here and there but apart from that, he's perfectly alright. It was a real freak accident though," added Ranveer, his features suddenly taut.

Ishaani's gaze darkened at the observation.

"Freaky, yes..." she whispered distantly, her heart shedding away all fear in light of a rage that she fuelled up her heart.

So Chirag Mehta had decided to walk down this path after all - the path to her destruction by taking away the only thing she now cared about. But she would not give him the satisfaction. No, she wouldn't. And she would go to all lengths to make sure that what happened tonight was something that wasn't to be repeated again. Even though it was something she didn't want to do, she knew that it was going to be for the greater good. Atleast for now.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Ranveer spoke again.

"So, did you have you food?" he asked, and Ishaani was surprised to find herself in his embrace again. She didn't realize when her arms had sought the solace of his essence again, Ranveer now kissing the crown of her head worriedly. All they had in between them was tonight before they let tomorrow change the course of their lives yet again.

"No, I told Mala I'd have my dinner with you."

"Are you in the mood for a little late night excursion or are you just too comfortable in my vest?" joked Ranveer once they separated and Ishaani looked down to see his vest upon her. She had forgotten about it.

"I needed the comfort of your essence," she replied simply, not bothering to emphasized further as she met him full in the eye this time. When Ranveer continued to look at her in the same powerful scrutiny that made her soul tremble, Ishaani decided to break the intensity of the moment by giving him a small smile.

"I'll give it back to you tomorrow."

"You don't have to," assured Ranveer instantly, Ishaani's face relaxing into a goofier smile. Their moment was broken when Mala cleared her throat from behind and announced that dinner was on the table, much to Ranveer and Ishaani's apparent embarrassment.

Ishaani led Ranveer towards the dining room where dinner sat in wait for them underneath lids, both of them turning their plates upwards and helping themselves without speaking another word. The silence in the air remained thick, both of them lost in their own reverie. One remained lost in the unsettling accident that for some reason felt unnatural while the other remained lost in the fear that the threats made to her were not in vain.

Chirag Mehta was indeed on the kill, and he wouldn't rest until he got what he'd set out for. Destroying both of their lives, starting from Ranveer.

And through the bitterness reflected Ishaani upon her life, wondering about the strange ways that the journey had that brought her to where she was today and how she'd reached this moment of her life today. As a child, she'd made so many plans with a gusto to march and stomp away at the world while she fulfilled all her dreams and her heart's desires to the fullest, letting nothing bind her down. 

And yet not a single plan had materialized even though she did reach the end point that she always wanted to achieve. Perhaps God did hand her down all the tools required for her to write her destiny the way she wanted to even though she ended up at the end point written for her already.

Or had she?

"What are you laughing at?" asked Ranveer suddenly, snapping Ishaani out from her daze. She flushed dully when he looked confused. She didn't realize that she'd laughed aloud rather humourlessly.

"Nothing, really. I was just thinking about how strange life is," replied Ishaani after some time, her mind now upon a new tussle - should she or should she not tell Ranveer about Chirag?

"What do you mean?" he asked as he took another spoon of the gravy, looking at her worriedly. Ishaani sighed, her eyes suddenly blazing in the generous lights of the room even though when she spoke, the scorn bled away through her voice.

"There was a time when I thought I had my entire life planned, right from my education to my old age even through the uncertainties. I was so crazy about going to the US to complete my Masters and revolve my life around so that nobody could ever call me the illegitimate daughter of Harshad Parekh again. Look where life brought me today and how it brought me to it."

"You did complete your Masters from here, though," remarked Ranveer. Somehow, the memory of that particular achievement in her life only made the resentment in her heart grow.

"It was a compromise I was willing to make because I supposedly loved him so much," she began, her tone scathing. For some reason, Ishaani noticed that her statement stung Ranveer terribly even though the gasp that left his lips was mute. Ishaani remained silent for a few minutes before she mused aloud in the same bitter tone.

"Love... it feels like such a joke at times, associating him and the fact that I even thought that I was in love with him."

"Ishaani, what happened, happened. You can't do anything about it," interrupted Ranveer solemnly, realizing that there was something eating at Ishaani terribly and it definitely had something to do with Chirag. She sighed to herself, not really heeding his advice as she ploughed on.

"Do you know the first trick he used from your book? To start with the whole manipulation?" she asked suddenly, her question taking Ranveer completely off-guard.

Ranveer's features darkened as though the mention of the book reminded him of the demon he'd created. As though it reminded him of what his one overambitious plan had cost them both, even if it was Ishaani's wish at the end of the day.

It was better to not know people at all than to know them so well at times.

"The five-minute date?" put out Ranveer as a guess after a few minutes. Ishaani knew that his mind instantly saw it to be an appropriate trick to begin a manipulation with although it was rather risky, she knew he would admit. The look upon his face made her heart squirm uneasily.

"Yes... It was during my twentieth birthday. The time the two of us fought on the phone. I was distraught the entire day until at night, Chirag convinced me to come with him for five minutes downstairs ans towards the garden. But through the gesture, all I could think about was how this was something you'd do, my thoughts never once moving away from you," spoke Ishaani in the same monotone while Ranveer heard on in silence.

It was not the first time that she was talking about the five-minute date or what a turning point it had been in their supposed 'equation', and yet the irony of the situation seemed to get to her even more so tonight. Through her narrative, Ishaani could only ponder upon one phrase from her latest conversation with Chirag that floated into her mind time and again.

The two of us are much more alike than you think. It's why you fell for me so easily in the first place.

When Ranveer didn't break the silence between them and it only seemed to prolong into an stretch of awkwardness, Ishaani decided to ask the question she'd been meaning to ask him for ages now.

"This was what you were planning for my twentieth birthday originally, no? The five-minute date after which you'd take me to the terrace and confess your love for me, giving me the 100-page copy of the book?"

This time, it was Ranveer's turn to smile ruefully.

"That and the manuscript of Caffeinated Love, which ofcourse back then was Another Night at the Cafe. It was a night I'd carefully structured for so many months on end. Even in Sydney. After the proposal, I was planning to take you to Surat to talk to my parents about this if you'd have said yes."

Ishaani remained quiet for several minutes, her mind never once at peace as the turmoil in her mind and her heart only grew darker. She was supposed to protect him at all costs and she wouldn't let Chirag's shadow fall upon him at any cost. But what about the assurance her heart wanted from Ranveer that she'd only get if she came clean about this?

What was she supposed to do tonight?

What was right or what was easy?

"And what I gave you in return was extraordinary," remarked Ishaani with such self-reproach that it managed to catch Ranveer's attention, the fear in his eyes growing deeper. He was about to speak when she beat him to it, her voice harsh.

"Sometimes, I don't regret the pain I've had to live through. The loneliness I've had to live with..." she continued, trailing off when Ranveer took her hand within his own.

Ishaani could feel Ranveer try to delve into her soul through the windows of her eyes even though they were firmly shut to him tonight. There was insurmountable love to drown into, yes. But the windows to her soul were shut. But she knew that he understood. Understood that the root of her unspoken misery went way deeper than he'd expected it to go. But she also knew that even though unraveling her mystery would take time, but it would be a must for him.

They both had long since agreed upon the fact that Ishaani Parekh was an extremely dangerous woman when she guarded her secrets this strongly.

"Do you really have no qualms against your family? Or is that something you tell yourself to ease away the weight of the past that does you no good?" asked Ranveer, apparently deciding that a change of topic was a better option. Ishaani took some time to think upon the question but when she spoke, her answer was as frank as she could hope for it to be.

"I don't, honestly. Most of them have redeemed themselves, I guess. Disha and I have never been on better terms, Prateik was clearly too young to know what was even happening and he was innocent so there's nothing I could hold against him."

"And Gauri?"

"How do I hold any grudge against the woman who was trying to fight for her love to breathe in a society where everyone was hellbent on killing it even before it could grow? Nobody understands her plight better than I do today and if I were in her place, I'd have done exactly that. But maybe life's given us a second chance to catch up after all these years. Maybe once you leave, I'll drop her a visit. See how life's been with her in all these years."

"What about Sharman?"

"He paid his dues after what he did for us back in London. He didn't have to do that and yet he let me bring the legacy under the Parekh tier and with no profit to him. It was what we were talking about when you were held back by Mr. Tennyson. I was storming at him when he told me about how DeBeers got wind of the ripples from our end and how he managed to save grace since we did everything under the law. They had nothing to hold against us."

"He'd make a bad businessman, mixing his personal and professional lives like that," commented Ranveer and both of them chuckled at the cheeky remark, the wise words of Harshad Parekh echoing around them in past memory. The moment they sobered, however, Ishaani continued speaking, her tone now gentler although the regret in it didn't go amiss by Ranveer.

"I don't care. He may have been an opportunistic fool back then, but atleast he did make amends his own way. Maybe he did have some heart left from the old days after all. I may not be able to go back to trusting him the way I did as a child, but I don't hold anything against him either. We both have our own personal space and we respect that, and maybe with time I guess we'll find the lost love as well."

"And that leaves Devarsh," stated Ranveer, his voice strangely blank. Ishaani sighed.

"Yeah. Him I don't know what to do with. He was never like that," she added, her gaze dropping. The fact that Chirag Mehta's singular presence had taken away so much from her, including her family, made her soul burn with a fire that scorched her insides with a ferocity that was beginning to make her sick. She could feel her hands shake, feeling an emotion she'd never felt with such strength before - the urge to kill.

"None of them ever were. It's what life does," reasoned Ranveer in a heavy voice, shrugging his shoulders as Mala cleared away their plates.

"I guess. Who knows, maybe he'll save our lives and redeem himself since Sharman did save our careers and our empires." Ranveer didn't bother hiding his amusement, bursting into a peal of laughter that only made Ishaani's lips twitch dangerously.

She marvelled upon how they could laugh at the tragedies of their life that had left them bereft. But when life had left nothing behind for them except the capability to fantasize upon what their journey could have been otherwise, perhaps laughing at the irony of life was the only thing left to do.

"You still live in that fairy tale land of yours at times now, don't you?" asked Ranveer the moment he sobered down, the smile upon Ishaani's face breaking out at long last. It was the first genuine one ever since he'd returned back home.

"It's always good to hope in life," shot Ishaani in a sudden burst of unexpected optimism, remembering her conversations with his parents respectively.

Life had not given her too many instances of optimism, but she was coming to appreciate the concept now that she was beginning to truly understand the power of hope. While she let Ranveer absorb the weight of her first statement, she gave him something more to ponder upon when she spoke next.

"Even this was an impossible thing for the two of us once upon a time, wasn't it?" asked Ishaani even though it was more of a statement as she pointed at him first and then herself. Ranveer nodded his head appreciatively.

"You make a fair point. You've learnt to argue well in all these years," added Ranveer with a sly look and Ishaani folded her arms across her chest not unlike a child.

"I always argued well," she began, earning a snort from Ranveer, who now looked like he was having a hard time biting down his retort that ached to leave his lips. Shooting him a dirty look, she continued in the same confident tone.

"I've just learnt to reason better like Papa."

The mention of his name smacked the smile away from upon Ranveer's lips. He took a deep breath before making conversation again, though this time, it was more of a confession.

"Sometimes I close my eyes and I feel like it's all a dream. That I'll open them again and be back at the servants' quarters getting ready to leave with Mota Babuji for the BSE. We'd have such insightful conversations on the way - sometimes about business, sometimes about life, sometimes about love. I miss him so much. Baba was the one who taught me to walk but Mota Babuji was the one who taught me what it truly meant to stand upon your own two feet."

Ishaani smiled at him lovingly, knowing how close he was to her father. Harshad Parekh was the man Ranveer saw his God in and he revered him the same way, being his most loyal and faithful disciple until death tore them away in the walk of life. A wise person had once said that to the great mind, death was but the next great adventure. She wondered what was it to the ones left behind.

Perhaps that was life.

"We'd have driven him mad, I think. Especially if he knew about our situation right now," spoke Ishaani when Ranveer looked in better control of his emotions, hoping that it would lighten up their moods. To her dismay, she found herself sinking into her dark, pensive mood even more, now beginning to feel terrible as she found herself being pushed towards breaking point.

"He'd have tried being our voice of reason like always. Although I think Falguni Maa would have been the better candidate here with her practical yet slightly blunt approach about life..." confessed Ranveer as an afterthought, Ishaani cocking her eyebrow at him in question.

"Slightly?"

"Do you blame her, really? She wasn't wrong even in the slightest if you think about it, you know," admitted Ranveer, an uncomfortable look upon his face. Ishaani lost the colour from upon her face even more and gave him a deep look, words leaving her lips in a sincerity that made Ranveer gawk at her in stunned disbelief.

"You know, as a child, you know how things were between Maa and myself. And somewhere along the line, you know that even though I resented my mother for her attitude and materialistic approach, I loved her so much. I just never appreciated it enough. It was the day she passed away and she just lay there, peaceful and unknowing... It was that day when I truly realized how much I really loved her and how much I really appreciated her. What she meant in my life, how much she mattered to me and how much I cherished her."

"For the space of a second, I could have sworn that I'd seen the reflection of your mother in the cold stare of Miss Parekh that broke surface the first time I saw you three weeks ago in the cabin." Ishaani smiled, knowing that it was an uncanny resemblance that Ranveer had never wanted to see in her,  ever. It was something both he and her father had strived day and night to protect her from and yet that was exactly what life had turned her into. 

A cold stone who once trusted too much and too blindly.

"That's what death brings about," agreed Ranveer heavily. Ishaani nodded her head, the sigh she let out hiding a dry sob as she continued.

"We must have had so many arguments and there were times where I believed that I hated her as well because of the kind of things she'd say. But the day I turned into Miss Parekh, I realized that all she ever told me was the truth. The truth in plain black and white because that's how the world was. Cold, harsh... manipulative. Years ago we had an argument... just a couple of days before you got your scholarship letter."

"I remember..." cut through Ranveer, letting his memory take him back to the night she had told him all about it, the affront in her tone for her mother making him gasp.

He'd sat her through the night and tried to talk her out of it by explaining how her mother was telling her all this for her own good, but something had stung her too hard. She simply refused to understand. And as sat together at the table tonight, she realized why her mother's words had affected her so much - her heart knew what her mother was saying was right. And her unspoken feelings for him that her mother had meant to make her realize was something that had left her at unease.

Ishaani relaxed back into her chair, a faint smile tracing it's way upon her lips now.

"That night, I was so mad at Maa! I could have torn my lungs yelling at her and it wouldn't have expressed my anger for the things she told me. And you bore witness to my rant that night. And yet, every single bit she told me that night was correct. I was fooled in the name of love, I had to fight in a cold cruel world for survival, I lost the shelter of the two men who had always protected me against everything... and I did have to become the cold, manipulative bitch that the world knows me as today even though I didn't want to. She was right... It was when I stepped into her shoes that I realized why it was that she could never trust or love ever again. But perhaps that's the only difference between the two of us. She loved the wrong person. I chose the wrong person. It's why she could never love again, and yet I can. Because I never stopped loving you to begin with."

Ranveer pondered upon her words before giving his own judgment.

"She may have been harsh upon you at times, Ishaani. But she was a woman who'd experienced the world at its worst. She knew what she was talking about and she just wanted to protect you against it by making you aware about how the world was out there."

"I was glad that she didn't remain alive to see the state my naivety had landed me up into. It would have killed her anyway," remarked Ishaani with the same self-reproach that left Ranveer uncomfortable once again.

"Learn from the lessons life teaches you but never blind yourself to the point of oblivion," advised Ranveer and Ishaani realized instantly that it was amongst one of the several things that she had told her mother that night when sharing the details of the conversation with him.

She laughed in spite of herself.

"And yet its what both of us are doing, just like Maa. Easier said than done, just like a lot of other things," she added, shooting Ranveer a furtive glance when his gaze sharpened upon her. She could feel her resistance shake against his gaze that tried to break into her soul again.

"That's the tragedy of living, I guess," conceded Ranveer with the only thing he could think of saying, softening the intensity of the eye lock between them.

When the clock behind struck ten, Ishaani found herself snapping out from her thoughts, knowing that another confession from her end was due. She could confess everything tonight except for the one thing whose answer was the only thing that Ranveer was actually in search of - what was bothering her.

"She loved you a lot, you know. Cared for you and valued you, above all. Perhaps even more so than me. I think she knew... knew that I was in love with you around the time you were leaving for Sydney. I could see it in her eyes that she knew something I didn't. She'd sensed it, I guess. Just like all mothers did. I wondered why she'd come to me that night and spoken about my future, but I know now. She was trying to make me see that I was in love with you and what the future held for both of us back then, both good and bad. And oblivious that I was, I sought to argue relentlessly with her without once trying to understand what she was trying to say."

Ranveer gave her a gentle smile, thinking about the last time he'd met the woman.

"The morning that I left after what happened between us that night, Falguni Maa was the only person I met before leaving the Parekh Mansion. There she sat in her room quietly and by herself, staring away at the gardens. I'd touched her feet, I remember. And our eyes met. Both of us knew the pain of loss, the true pain of it because we were both going through the same thing. We said nothing, and yet our eyes said it all. And it was for the first time in years that she'd pulled me into a hug. I don't know how long we remained like that until we separated, but she simply stroked my hair lovingly and gave me her blessings along with an advice as a parting note."

"What was it?"

"Never wait for tomorrow because there's no promise that it'll ever come," replied Ranveer promptly, Ishaani gasping at the power of the words. Both of them felt a tug of guilt in their hearts as they refused to look at each other now, wondering whether there was even a tomorrow waiting for them judging by the way things were in their life all along.

When the silence grew unbearable, Ishaani tried to break the ice with a failed attempt at humour.

"That's so like Maa. Even with me she never once spoke directly, and yet there was a statement she told me that stuck on to me for a long, long time."

"And that was?"

"Logic defines what the brains knows but cannot defy what the heart feels," quoted Ishaani in a single breath while Ranveer heard on in silence. But unlike the previous time, he had an answer readily upon the tip of his tongue, holding out his hand to her.

"She was a wise woman. It's no wonder why Mota Babuji loved her so much, and so unconditionally at that. And I'm happy to see that you've gained your mother's wisdom along with your father's heart. They make a wonderful combination together."

Ishaani smiled at him as both of them got up from the table, making their way towards the piano again. Ishaani let her fingers trail upon the keys in a gentle push and music broke out in symphony, giving Ranveer enough time to watch how her fingers trailed before she brought the tune to a halt. Ranveer gave her an uncertain look before trying it out, the tune breaking at points even though Ishaani had to commend it to be a very decent shot for somebody who was not in regular practice of playing the piano.

But then again, Ranveer had always been a quick learner.

As time grew on, Ranveer took complete command upon the piano as his fingers pressed upon the white and black stripes with an unknown tenderness that echoed through the house with a newfound gentility while love seeped through. And all Ishaani did was watch. The guitar was more his forte, she knew, and yet the precision he was playing the piano with reminded her of the time he'd purposely lost against her in a battle of words with her father as the referee, learning the basics of the piano as a well-planned punishment that only worked in his favour.

And tonight, he continued to do the same thing as his fingers now played along the tune of Tum Hi Ho, the magic of love suddenly intensifying in the aura around as he grasped Ishaani's hands within his own and pulled them across the board alongside. The tale of his one-sided, unrequited love had a strange sweetness to it tonight, the bitterness of pain and heartbreak inhabited from years fading against the newfound passion blending into the music, the intimacy between them promising not unlike the song's carefully-worded lyrics.

The enchanting and somewhat mesmerizing tune rang through the house in vibrating octaves, flowing in ups and down, the tune symbolizing their life and it's ups and downs so far not unlike a rollercoaster ride. And through the ride, his love had never fallen weak.

"Are you always going to keep doing this for me?" questioned Ishaani once Ranveer brought the tune to an end. She couldn't help but stare in wonder at what God had really created in his form.

"As long as your smile doesn't go back to the way it used to be and as long as you keep smiling, yes," replied Ranveer in all earnest. Without warning, he pulled her fingers upon his chest and let her feel the beats of her heart.

Her lips shuddered while her eyes shut in reflex. Her heart grew colder and colder with every passing minute as the premonition of danger only grew more and more pronounced, darkness clouding her senses. When she dared to open her eyes to the blinding chocolate orbs that met her gaze, the decision was made at long last.

"You can do anything for my happiness, can't you?"

"Name it and I'll do it," answered Ranveer, staring at each other with a love they found themselves drowning into. It was sufficient to make Ishaani snap out of her stupor, reminding her of what she had to do ahead.

"Promise me that you'll never leave me in the dark. You'll always fill my life with light."

"That's all?" asked Ranveer, slightly taken aback by her request even though her gave her a reassuring smile when her eyes dimmed. 

"I promise."

"It's a dark night for me, Ranveer. I'm afraid," she whispered. She felt a chill run down her spine, her lips parting in silence as her eyes now reflected the beseech she felt. Ranveer lessened the distance between them and cupped her cheek, feeling her other hand grow cold in his own.

"Then let me embrace you and take away all your fear. I'll take you to the light," he whispered, his lips meeting against her own in an intimate capture. His thumb trailed along the black lace of her nightie until it found the spot where the pendant lay. He gently caressed the bridge where Ishaani's heart now lay squirming in panic-driven anxiety, easing the prickles away as he continued to kiss her, their senses suddenly shrouded with oblivion until reality slapped them awake in the form of need for air.

"And what about the rest of the nights?" whispered Ishaani hoarsely against his lips, Ranveer seeing that her eyes had gone red. He wiped away the tear that had betrayed down her cheek.

"I'll do this every single day until I'm alive, Ishaani. I will fill your life with light. Always."

"What if there's no light?" she questioned, the prickles returning back stronger than ever. Ranveer no longer smiled. The air around them had grown tense.

"I'll snatch the light from the moon and bring it upon your feet if that's what it takes," replied Ranveer passionately and Ishaani nodded her head not unlike a child seeking assurance. And yet the questions didn't end for they have just begun, Ishaani's curiosity knowing no bounds. Her words now worked faster than her mind.

"And what if there's no moon?"

"Then I'll be the light of your life," replied Ranveer, now sensing her line of thought. And as he stroked her cheek lovingly, Ishaani knew that her resistance was going to break anytime now.

"But what if there's no you in it?" tumbled the question away from Ishaani's mouth, Ranveer's lips parting in surprise. Ishaani gasped moments later, realizing the folly of her question that made her facade of strength implode with brutal force. The impact of her shattered resistance resonated through her eyes as Ranveer stared at her wordlessly, the delve into her soul no longer difficult for fear swam into her eyes with an ease. 

The fear of losing him.

"Ishaani, what's wrong?" asked Ranveer as Ishaani now began to cry in earnest, hiding her face away in his embrace while he rubbed circles upon her back.

"It's the nightmare, isn't it? It's back," he whispered when her clutch upon his shirt didn't ease with the passing minutes and neither did the intensity of her sobs lessen. Ishaani looked up at him, her breaths now coming in hiccoughs. 

The horror struck look in her eyes was answer enough.

Ishaani had once confided to Ranveer days after his eighteenth birthday that her nightmares always affected her to the point of a breakdown, aggravated by her own real life experiences of watching him die for her time and again. Even though he still didn't know what had pushed her to this point of paranoia, Ishaani knew that experience had taught him enough by now to know that it wasn't the nightmare alone that had given her a push. Perhaps he would think that her breakdown was because of his accident tonight, she pondered further. He wouldn't buy it entirely, but she knew what to sell in case it came to that.

"I don't know what to do, Ranveer... I just don't... The images just won't go away..." moaned Ishaani, refusing to leave the warmth of his arms. Gently pulling her chin up even though he didn't break the embrace, he gave her the strongest and the most reassuring smile that he could muster in that moment.

"Ishaani, look at me. I need you to listen to something I would tell you years ago because it is the truth and I want you to remember something for as long as you are alive. I may not live in myself, but I live in you. You may not be able to physically find me around you someday, but whenever you need me beside you, know that all you'd have to do is look within your heart... your soul. In your memories... in every single breath you take. We are not bound by any relationship... simply by each other's soul. I trust you to know and remember everything - everything I say, everything I do... until we meet again, someday."

"Ben Sullivan..." whispered Ishaani, as though the name was sacred. Ranveer let his lips curve into a small smile as Ishaani pushed away the bangs of hair from upon his head, letting her fingers trail upon his forehead lovingly.

"That was always you. That was what you always told me even back then... before leaving for Sydney. He meant it."

"And so do I."

"I'd die if anything happened to you," spoke Ishaani in an inaudible whisper as her hand trailed across his chest, trying to hear his heart beat against the fabric of his pistachio green shirt. Ranveer pressed her hand firmer against his chest by resting his own upon hers, whispering in her ear lovingly after kissing her behind it.

"Can you feel my heart beat, Ishaani? As long as you live, this lives. The day something happens to you, this won't. That's why I always pray that it's me before you - that I can buy you an extra breath at the cost of my own."

"That was when I didn't realize that you were the life of my soul. I won't let anything happen to you after all these years of sacrifices. And this time, I will save you no matter what it takes," answered Ishaani as her eyes snapped open, her tone getting stronger and stronger with every passing word.

"Ishaani, what are you-" began Ranveer as Ishaani distanced herself away from him, her eyes suddenly looking as dead as they did when he'd first seen her three weeks ago, even though the fire in them was no longer hollow.

"Ranveer, you need to go to Sydney. You've been away for quite long and like you said, Jameson was talking about how rough the markets have been getting. You need to be there and make sure that nothing goes wrong. Our personal lives aside, we can't let RV and Miss Parekh get lost in the fair now, can we? Not after the fact that we're just beginning to reap the fruits of our hard work and perseverance. And that's why I think that this distance is good. We'll get a couple of month apart from each other to come to terms with everything and perhaps we'll be able to think about this more clearly then."

"What are you saying?" asked Ranveer sharply, his eyes not leaving Ishaani's face even once as she made to stand up. He caught her wrist and pulled her back upon the bench.

"I'm saying that you are not ready still and it's alright. I can understand. So you have nothing to be guilty about. I think a couple of months apart will give us some more perspective to think about everything that's happened in these three weeks."

"What if I don't need a couple of months?" asked Ranveer and Ishaani's eyes widened, the words choked in her throat. Now that she had walked down this path, she knew that she would have to stick to it. It was for his best.

"What if I do?" she countered and Ranveer eyeing her suspiciously.

"If you require it, then I'm willing to give them to you. Why don't you come with me to Sydney?" he suggested suddenly, curious to see whether her response was what he was expecting it to be. He wasn't disappointed in the least.

"I have a heap lot of work back here, Ranveer. Even you know that. The maximum I can give myself a holiday is for four days in five years. Not more than that."

"I do hope you do know that we need to make a schedule of how we are to divide our time once we..." he trailed off at, now eyeing her keenly. Ishaani looked away, his gaze too penetrating for her own good.

"Once we what?"

"I don't know. Give this another shot?" completed Ranveer. Ishaani stood up, doing a double take upon his words.

"So you are ready to take the leap then?"

"I won't know until I do, will I?" retorted Ranveer just as Ishaani sat back, a strange despondence in her heart. Happiness had always been a flighty companion to her, she knew. And tonight was no different.

"What's going on with you, Ishaani?" asked Ranveer when she refused to say anything further. Seeing the string of his patience snap at her obstinacy to keep all her pain to herself, Ishaani knew that there was no escaping as he forced her chin up again so that their eyes met.

"Nothing. I'm-"

"-lying. Stop lying to me. Wasn't doing this once bad enough that you are doing the same thing again?" questioned Ranveer heatedly, Ishaani getting what he was referring to. Their last night together before he left for Sydney. Ishaani pushed away his hand and stood up, her frustration evident.

"What do you want me to do, Ranveer? Dance? Sing? Jump like a bubbly girl who looks like she's on drugs?"

"I want you to be honest with me! Say it now, and I won't go. And I mean it," replied Ranveer with the same snappy tone Ishaani used, feeling his own temper teeter at the edge. She knew that the strain was getting too much upon him even though like always, he knew that he'd have to be the stronger of the two. 

Ishaani gave him a rueful smile.

"We are no long teenagers, Ranveer. We are RV and Miss Parekh running two empires. Wasn't this your own policy to never mix your personal and professional strands together?"

"There's a difference between mixing them together and trying to prioritize," retorted Ranveer, now looking exasperated. Controlling his temper with great difficulty, he softened the expression upon his face and found purchase on both sides of her shoulder. She didn't throw off his hands this time.

"You are my top priority, Ishaani. Nothing changes that. RV knows his priorities so you don't have to remind me about that," he added briskly, leaving Ishaani with an amused look upon her face that didn't match the pain that reflected in her eyes.

"If this is how we are going to spend the rest of our time, then we're going to be able to give each other a second chance," said Ishaani, her tone now tired. Ranveer let his jaw drop a little, taken aback by the sharp coldness of her tone that still didn't match the look of her eye.

"If you don't want to give this a second chance, tell me now. Don't talk in cryptic circles and riddles," stated Ranveer after some time when the pregnant silence between them didn't yield anything better.

"I just think that some time away is what we both need right now to just sort things out and be more firm and decisive. It's been a gigantic change in our lives after years of isolation and loneliness, so accepting all of this right now is going to be a lot more difficult for us than a couple of months later. Because both of us have things holding us back right now, it's wise that we don't get into the haze of things just because we are emotionally volatile, and take a step we both regret later. So it's best that you return back to Sydney for a couple of months."

Ranveer pulled her chin up and let his finger run upon her cheek and through her hair, watching her involuntarily shiver upon his touch while her lips trembled. Brown met onyx with defiance and the suspicion jn his eyes grew deeper, knowing that he was missing the bigger picture over here entirely. She knew that he would do some digging around now that she had refused to come clean about it, cursing her luck and her capability to be so stupid even after all these years of knowing that she was a poor receptor to pain. 

She couldn't fight it alone, not without destroying herself.

"Look into my eyes. Say this looking into my eyes again," he whispered in a desperate plea, his lips dangerously hovering upon her own. But there was no pain of rejection in his eyes. Just fear - the same fear that flew around the house through the octaves of the piano. She knew that he was afraid about the unknown that she was keeping away from him, even more so after seeing her struggle underneath the burden of it while she tried her best to keep him out of it.

Ishaani's eyes dart towards his lips, her eyes almost shutting in resignation. His scent was distracting her thought process. Ranveer let his nose rub against her own, trailing along her eye pockets as Ishaani's fingers trailed along his neck, slowly making their way up to his lips. Even before he could kiss them, Ishaani pushed his lips away slowly, increasing their proximity. Ranveer's eyes met her own now in surprise. 

Her tone remained dispassionate when she spoke next.

"We need the distance for some time. You should leave for Sydney until we figure this out."

Their eyes remained rooted upon each other and to her dismay, Ranveer finally realized what it was that lurked behind her eyes behind fear - it was guilt that was hiding underneath the facade of cold indifference.

"Alright, if that's what you want, I respect your decision. But I don't understand - you ask me to give you a second chance first and when I'm almost there, you pull back. What was the point of it all then?" he asked, sensing that through the calm detachment on her face gathered the ominous clouds of turmoil.

The hesitance upon her face clearly reflected her conflict of whether or not to come clean about what had really happened before her features grew devoid of emotions yet again. And when she spoke, Ranveer knew that she meant every single word of it, her eyes bearing testament to the emotion she proclaimed in the most honest confession she could make in that moment.

"I love you, Ranveer. And that's why I don't want to take any chances here," she confessed, her eyes now twinkling with a fresh batch of tears while she bit her lip unconsciously, a give away to Ranveer that she was anxious about something. Even before he could open his mouth to speak, she shook her head with finality.

"I think it's best that we both go to sleep. We have a hectic day tomorrow and need to be at our best. Goodnight and sleep well."

Constructive criticism will be more than welcome and sorry for any typos. :D :D

Next chapter:
Chapter 28