LRL: My Cadet FINISHED on page 41 - Page 8

Ch 15:

For a minute, Raj couldn't respond. The relief was too great, after four long years of guilt and misery, he had finally accomplished his mission. And here in his arms, the sister of his dead friend was crying. He wished he could simply comfort her, but he knew that he shouldn't. There were so many things he shouldn't do when it came to Naina. The matter should have been simple, but he knew what the truth was. Once he put his arms around her, how would he ever be able to let go?

But Naina's sobs were becoming worse. In one moment, four years of pain and sorrow had poured out of her heart. She clutched at Raj as if she would drown if she let go of him, her tears were soaking into his shirt. Finally Raj couldn't take it anymore, principles be damned, he couldn't let her cry like this without comforting her.

Wrapping one arm around her back protectively, he used the other to press her head closer to his chest. Guiding her into the other room, gently he got her to sit down on the bed with him, knowing that she couldn't keep crying in this manner and still stand for a long time.

"Shhhh, Naina." He told her soothingly, stroking her hair. "Everything is alright now, Navin's honour has been returned to him. There's nothing to cry about anymore, Naina."

She tried to speak, but couldn't get the words out past her sobs. Instead she kept crying onto his chest, while he kept comforting her. She didn't notice when it was that the only sound she could hear anymore was the thumping of his heart where she rested her head. He didn't notice when it was that his arm tightened around her, or when the hand that had been stroking her hair slid down to rest on her shoulder.

Suddenly Naina looked up at him and their gazes met. Her eyes were still moist, but now there was a sense of purpose in her them, as if all of her confusion had melted away along with the tears. Slowly, gently, Naina raised a hand to caress his face. As her fingers traced a path from his cheek to his chin, Raj closed his eyes and tried to control the beating of his heart. His mind was screaming at him to stop this right now before it went too far, but his emotions were telling him something completely different. As Naina's fingers reached his jaw, they slid effortlessly behind his neck to rest there.

The motion was too much for Raj to endure any more, not when she was sitting so close to him, touching him in this way. Taking his right hand off her shoulder, he used it to tilt her head up slightly, even as his left arm snaked around her waist, pressing her even closer to him so that he could feel the warmth of her body through his clothing.

It took less than one second for him to lose any trace of reason or logic. All arguments against what he was doing flew out of his head. Perhaps later he could blame his actions on a lack of sleep or on the slight fever he'd had since the day before yesterday. But right now all he knew was that he wanted Naina Singh Ahluwlia, and he had never wanted anything in his whole life as much as he wanted her right now.

It took less than a second to close the distance between them, and his lips met hers, softly brushing against them. He leaned his forehead against hers, and sighed deeply, as if exhaling all his worries in one breath. Naina's eyes were closed, and one solitary tear slid down her cheek. Seeing it, Raj began to think that he'd made a mistake and started to move away, only to be stopped by Naina's hand on the back of her neck. Slowly she opened her eyes again, and the expression in them was one of such unquestioning trust, that it completely bowled Raj over.

"Naina, I…" he whispered, but she held up a hand to silence him.

Silently, she placed a hand over his heart, feeling it beat erratically beneath her fingers. Then slowly she tilted her head up until her lips met his, kissing him with only the slightest of pressures.

Taking her action for consent, Raj placed his hand over hers, entwining their fingers. Then, moving one hand to behind her head so it entangled with her hair, he deepened the kiss. Her lips tasted like the juice she'd just drunk, and the taste of them was intoxicating.
He could tell that Naina was in no way experienced in these matters, although it wasn't as if he was that far ahead of her in that respect. Her kisses were all the sweeter for their fumbling uncertainty, he wanted to teach her everything that she would ever need to know.

Teach her…

Something was trying to enter the fog that was clouding his mind, but the feel of Naina's lips beneath his, of her hair under his fingers, of the way their legs had entangled, was driving it all out of his head.

There was a reason why he shouldn't be doing this, he knew there was…

It was the academy bell which reminded him of what it was.

There, sitting on his bed, with her eyes wide, her hair ruffled by his fingers, and her uniform slightly askew was Naina Singh Ahluwalia. His friend's sister. His protg. His student.

He had gone way too far.

**

Well I hope you guys are happy with that update! 😉

hey that was amazin.......... cant wait for naina to tell him of her feelins and vice versa

hey very good part.........plz continue soon........i hope raj doesn't stop him.he knows that he love her then he shouldn't be suppresing it................although very nice part 😆

its fantastic yaar 👏 please continue soon 😛 😛 😃

great yaar please continue sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooon

great going

pl continue fast cant wait

Hey guys, thanks for all the lovely comments. Well, Raj is going to face some confusion for awhile before he finally figures out what he should be doing!

Chapter 16

Shocked at his actions, Raj practically leapt up from the bed, striding over to the wall before leaning one arm against it for support. He was still breathing heavily, and he didn't even dare to look at Naina because he didn't want to see the expression in her eyes.

He had promised Navin that he wouldn't take advantage of her trust.

He had made certain oaths when he joined the army. He was sure that doing this had to be against one of them. He had read the academy's rule book on several occasions, usually in order to do something Major Nair didn't want him to. He knew exactly which rules he had broken and exactly what the punishment for doing so would be.

Turning around to face Naina, he saw the uncertainty on her face, the question in her eyes.

"Naina," he whispered, his voice so full of sorrow that he feared it would break, "No."

He didn't need to say anything else, she understood perfectly.

Naina ran from the room as fast as she possibly could.

**

She ran almost blindly, not noticing where she was going until she knocked into somebody.

"Oof," Shalini exclaimed, "Cadet, will you watch where you're…" But she stopped mid sentence at the look on Naina's face. "Naina, are you…"

"I'm sorry, ma'am." Naina told her, in such a distraught way that Shalini was genuinely concerned for her.

"Cadet, what's wrong?"

"I have to go, ma'am. I'm late." Naina said quickly, and then ran towards her room before Shalini could say anything else. Shalini glanced in the direction that Naina had run from, and suddenly understood.

When she reached her room, Naina closed the door behind her and sat down on the bed, still partially in shock. After everything that had happened in the last half hour, she had no words to describe how she was feeling.

Her brother had been proved innocent. She should have been ecstatic, she should've been laughing with joy. Instead the wall which she had built in her heart to contain all of her grief and pain had finally broken down. She hadn't been able to contain it any longer, and she had needed to let it all out, to rid herself of everything. And Rajveer had been there, just as he always was. Ready to support her, ready to help her.

Rajveer…Raj… She realised this was the first time she had thought of him without attaching a Captain or a Sir to his name.

Things shouldn't have gone that far, she knew that. She knew that what they had done was wrong, but she wasn't sure that she cared. She loved him, she couldn't hide it from herself and she no longer wanted to hide it from him. She loved him so much that her heart was practically bursting with the pressure of containing it.

And then today… the emotions had been too much for her, and it had seemed almost natural to let love and passion replace sorrow and pain.

The feel of her lips on hers… His hands running through her hair… His breath on her skin…

Naina closed her eyes, trying to shut out the memories, but they just came back even more strongly.

She didn't know what was right or wrong anymore, all she knew was that she wanted to be with him.

Just then there was a knock on the door, and as Naina hurried to open it she half expected it to be him, but instead and orderly stood there.

"Naina Singh, Brigadier Chandook has called you to his office." The orderly told her.

Naina just hoped that it wasn't bad news.

**

Shalini entered Raj's room to find him punching the wall with his fist and swearing quite badly. Words which she certainly never would've imagined he would say.

"Captain, stop it!" she called out, concerned that he might injure himself if he kept it up.

When he turned around, the look in his eyes was one of such anguish that it floored Shalini.

"Why?" he asked her, "What point is there when…." But he never finishes the sentence.

"I saw Naina running out of here." She tells him. It's more of a question than a statement.

Raj doesn't reply, instead he turns his head away from her, hiding his eyes and his expression.

"Look, Rajveer." Shalini tells him calmly, "You can talk to me about this. I'm not going to tell anyone, and I'm not going to judge you. But hitting the wall certainly isn't going to help solve your problem." She waits patiently, if he wants to tell her then he will.

Finally Raj turns around, and the tears shining in his eyes shock Shalini.

"I've done something incredibly stupid." He tells her. "I've broken promises that I had made to myself."

"You love her." This time it's not a question but a statement, Shalini has known it for a long time, ever since Rajveer's detention after the mentorship camp.

"Yes," he whispers, sliding down the wall until he's slumped against it, as if the effort needed to keep standing is just too great. "I shouldn't, but I do."

There's a knock at the door and Raj forces himself to be calm, to get up and to answer it. An orderly stands there. "Brigadier Chandook has called you to his cabin." He tells Raj, and leaves.

Raj turns to face Dr Shalini again, resignation clear in his face. "I'm sorry Doctor, but I have to go. I shouldn't have burdened you with this."

"Captain!" she calls out quickly to stop him before he can leave, and he turns back around. "Captain, love is not a crime." She tells him simply. "You can't choose who you love and who you don't."

He seems to consider what she has said, and then nodding, he leaves without a word.

**

That's it for today, hope you like it!

its awesome yaar 👏 i only like your ff a lot coz you portray rn amazingly well 😳