FF: Ricky & Indira: Serendipity - Page 62

It was Monday afternoon & Ricky was busy in his work when he heard a knock on his cabin door. Without waiting for his reply, Alex walked in. When he did not sit down immediately Ricky looked up at him.

R: Something wrong?

Alex withdrew a packet & placed it on Ricky's desk. Ricky opened it & the contents of the packet spilled on to his desk. It was the diamond necklace which he had given Indira. Ricky looked up at Alex questioningly

R: What is this?

A: She left Ricky. She handed in her resignation. Along with it she asked me to hand this over back to you.

Ricky chuckled in dry humor

R: So she has turned you into a delivery boy now?

A: This is no laughing matter Ricky. You hurt her terribly on Saturday. I don't know what exactly happened''she did not give me any details but I think you should go & talk to her before it is too late.

R: Talk to her about what Alex? She behaved in a completely inappropriate manner at the party. I could have forgiven her over her insecurities about Natasha. She has always had those. But in insulting Natasha that day she insulted Dad's oldest friend Mr. Khandelwal, Natasha's dad as well & put my parents in a very embarrassing situation. I will never forgive her for that. I had to watch with my own eyes as my father apologized to Mr. Khandelwal for Indira's bad behavior.

Ricky glanced up once more as yet another visitor walked into his office. This time it was Priya.

P: Sorry for interrupting you guys but I have got something to confess!

***

Ricky zipped up his jacket as he stepped out of Delhi's airport. It was a cold November day, in spite of it being 11 o'clock in the morning. He caught a cab & gave the driver directions to Sharma Niwas. He was soon there & knocked on Sharma Niwas's door. It was opened by a strange guy who must have been about his own age.

R: Who are you?

The stranger gave a chuckle and said,

'Well you are at my home & you are asking me who am I? May I know who is asking this question to me?'

With barely controlled irritation Ricky replied,

R: I am Ricky Diwan. And now who are you?

He felt an immediate change in the body language of the stranger. He said,

'I am Vidhit, Indira's elder brother. And what are you doing here?'

R: I have come here to talk with Indira. And I won't leave till I have talked with her'

V: Well, then it will be a long wait for I won't allow you to meet my sister.

R: I fully intend to meet her today and right now, even if I have to knock you down for that.

When they would have started fighting, Inder Sharma came up from behind Vidhit & asked him to let Ricky in. Vidhit grudgingly moved aside & let Ricky in.

V: She is in the backyard. If you trouble her or hurt her more I will personally throw you out.

Ricky just ignored Vidhit & went in search of Indira.

Tomorrow was the first day of Diwali. Hence he found fairy lights hanging from the walls of the house. The aroma of chaklis & karanjis & laddooswas everywhere. He turned round a corner & came across Indira. He came to a standstill & leaned against the wall silently observing her.

Indira was standing on a ladder hanging up the last of the fairy lights. She heard someone approach & assumed it would be Vidhit bhaiyya who had come up to help her. Securing her shawl around her she asked him without turning,

I: Should I add more lights, bhaiyya? Or will these many be enough to light up the house?

R: Not even rows of fairy lights will ever match up to the brilliance of your smile Indira. Smile once, genuinely, and my whole world will brighten up once more!

Indira stiffened on the ladder. Ricky! Why was he here? Getting down carefully she turned angrily on him,

I: What are you doing here? Get out of my house right now. Vidhit bh'..

Ricky pulled her towards him by her arm & with his other hand covered up her mouth.

R: Sssh! Just hear me out once. Please listen to me.

Ricky removed his hand from her mouth slowly.

I: Just like you have listened to me always, right? Why have you come here Ricky? Why can't you just leave me alone?

R: I came here to ask for your forgiveness &'

I: OK. I forgive you. Now can you please leave me in peace?

R: And I have also come to explain certain things to you.

I: I am not interested.

R: But I have to explain things Indira. Please listen to me. And then if you still want I will leave.

Indira stood stock still staring off into the distance supported by the wall behind her.

R: After you handed in your resignation on Monday Priya was there at the office to meet me.

I: Priya. You mean Sameer's wife or Natasha's best friend?

R: Indira please'.ok'.Priya our well wisher had come to meet me in my office. She told me the whole truth about the fiasco which had happened at the anniversary party'about Natasha being drunk & accusing you of wrong things. I am so sorry for judging you too harshly. I really am. I should have trusted you instead of believing Natasha but I was blinded by her theatrics.

I: I already told you I have forgiven you. Now if you will'

R: She also told me something else. For the past year & a half I have been wondering why you behaved in that strange manner after I returned to India after Sammy's wedding. And Priya helped me join all the pieces of this jigsaw. There are a few things which both of us didn't know then Indira. I also called up Shankar, who is the caretaker of my house in Mumbai & who further helped clear up things.

I: You are not making much sense to me. What did we not know then? What do you know now?

R: The day I returned from US after Sam's wedding I never knew that you had come to meet me. Natasha in a very drunken state confessed to Priya that that day she had deliberately led you to think that she had slept with me that day. She lied to you that she was my girlfriend. She is a master of deception as I know from experience now. Hence you very easily fell for it. Priya felt horrible for indirectly helping Natasha in another of her plan at the party when she once more successfully created trouble between us. After Priya left I went & confronted Natasha. She admitted to all her horrible deeds.

Indira felt hope rise inside her but she squashed it mercilessly. Looking up at Ricky she said,

I: She didn't say 'I love you'. You said that. And you weren't expecting me that early'so don't tell me that you knew it was me.

Ricky caught her face in his hands & willed her to look up at him.

R: Of course I knew it was you. My subconscious mind knew you were there. I don't need to see you to know of your presence Indira. The melodious tinkle of your bracelet, your perfume, and your silky hair brushing my cheek'..they all alerted me to your presence. And I meant those words only for you. I couldn't have ever meant them for anyone else.

Indira felt her resolve diminishing. Hating this weakness in her character she pushed Ricky away. When she would have walked past him; Ricky got down on his knee. Indira gave him a surprised look on seeing this but continued walking. He caught her hand

R: I have no script here to help me, no nothing, nothing planned you know! But umm'I just have to say it out loud this time'.have said it so many times to myself'..umm'.but this time you should know too'so that then'and now my knee is aching already'so you have to reply fast'.

Indira tried to hide her laugh.

I: What are you talking about Ricky? Look at you; you haven't formed a single coherent sentence in the past few minutes.

When she would have turned and left him on his one bent knee, he pulled her towards him. She fell on top of him giggling. They both ended up on the floor giggling like a bunch of teenagers. Ricky turned her around so that she was lying on the floor beneath him. He tucked a wayward strand of her hair behind her ear & gazing deep into her eyes said,

R: Look, I guarantee there will be tough times, I guarantee at some point of time, one or both of us are going to want to get out of this thing but I also guarantee if I don't ask you to be mine I will regret it for the rest of my life'.because I know in my heart, you are the only one for me! I love you Indira. Do you love me?

Ricky held his breath as he waited for her reply. She had every reason to refuse him. He knew he had been a jerk but he loved her & he would earn her forgiveness no matter how long it took him to do it.

Indira's defenses crumbled completely. Winding her arms tightly around her neck she ran her fingers through his hair. Tears of joy gathered in Indira's eyes. She lifted herself slightly & gave Ricky a big hug.

I: I love you too Ricky. I have always loved you!

Ricky covered her mouth in a passionate kiss. She felt the desperation & the release of held back tension in his moves.

R: I have missed you so much over the past year Indira. This loneliness has been like a throbbing ache within me which just wouldn't heal. I wanted you back, I couldn't ask you to come back, I couldn't live without you, I would not beg you to love me. You had me confused like never before!

For the first time Indira took initiative & showered his face with tiny little kisses. Ricky's control snapped & with a groan of surrender he kissed her passionately.

R: You have to marry me Indira. Alex has already given me an ultimatum that our friendship would be over if I don't get earn your forgiveness, Priya has said she wants me to apologize on her behalf & would never forgive me if you don't forgive her, Mom is angry that I shouted at you at the party, Dad didn't like it either'..oh'and by the way they both loved you'.

Indira chuckled. Pushing him back she sat up.

I: That's no way to propose to a girl Ricky. You cannot order me to marry you. First you will have to learn how to ask a girl to marry you.

Ricky noticed the devilish twinkle in her eye.

R: Oh! You are right. I must first learn how to propose. And for that I am gonna need to practice. And to be perfect at proposals I will need to practice a lot. So, whom do I start my practice with? Chandni Chowk has many beautiful girls'..I could start there. And if they are less I can always try Greater Kailash where I have my own bunglow'.and if'.

Indira tried to hit him on his arm but he pulled back causing her to lose her balance. She fell right into his arms & he enveloped her in a hug.

R: Or I can be my usual perfect self & ask you directly without any practice. Will you marry me Indira?

Indira looked up into his eyes & smiled back. Lying her head on his chest she replied with a huge smile on her face,

I: Yes! Yes I will because in the future when my grandchildren ask me, 'who was your first love Granny?' I don't want to pull out some old album & point at some worn out old picture. I want to be able to look across the table at you & point out and tell them, 'He is right there!'

Indira sat up in her bed & stretched herself lazily. Just one more day in this room, in this bed, in this house'.and then she would leave this place forever! She got out of bed with a huge smile on her face. She smiled often these days'but then she had reason to. Not every day did a girl marry the man of her dreams!

She stood on the balcony toweling her hair dry gazing down at the preparations which were in full swing in her house. Today was haldi. All her aunts, sisters, bhabhis would soon be arriving & then the haldi ceremony would start. She went inside her room & took out the dress which she would be wearing today. It was a simple & elegant yellow colored Punjabi suit. She quickly pulled it on. However in her hurry to get ready for the occasion the zip of her dress got stuck. As she struggled with the zip she felt a hand close in round her own. She stilled. She blushed as she felt rather than saw Ricky. She laughed at the way her imagination was running free'how could Ricky be here? But then if it wasn't him, who was it? She whirled around & would have fallen if a pair of hands hadn't held her.

She felt her heartbeats quicken as she gazed into a pair of green eyes. Her mouth formed a perfect O when she saw Ricky standing in front of her.

I: What are you doing here?

Ricky smirked,

R: Keeping you from falling down.

Ricky slid the zipper into place. She tried to push him away but he wouldn't budge.

I: You very well know we are not supposed to meet till the wedding.

R: And you must know by now that I just cannot follow rules! I am a rebel at heart who likes to do things his own way!

I: But'

He silenced her with a kiss.

R: And now I feel so much better!

Indira blushed.

R: It is archaic & unnecessarily cruel to keep two people who love each other away. It was driving me crazy to not be able to see you. And these days it is even difficult to get you on the phone.

Indira smiled & ruffled his hair.

I: Awww! But then how did you manage to get in? Didn't anybody see you?

Giving her a devilish smile he replied,

R: That is for me to know & you to guess.

I: I think you should just leave now Ricky. I do not want you to get caught.

R: I came here for a purpose.

I: What purpose?

Ricky picked up a bowl of haldi kept on the dressing table. Taking a little bit of it from the bowl he applied haldi on Indira's cheeks.

R: Haldi ka pehla shagun meri taraf se Indira!

Dropping a kiss on her forehead he turned to leave. Indira caught his hand. He turned back & looked questioningly at her. Indira rubbed her cheek against his & said,

I: Tumhe bhi Ricky!

***

Indira felt rather than saw Ricky's eyes on her. She glanced at him through the corner of her eyes. He looked breathtakingly handsome in a snow white silk kurta which had beautiful gold work near the neck & round the cuffs. The rich violet stole around his neck highlighted his fairness even more. She smiled as her each & every dream was getting fulfilled today. After she had accepted Ricky's proposal his parents had come down to Delhi to meet with her Papa & Ma. They had asked for her hand in marriage & knowing their daughters wish her parents had agreed to it immediately. She had made it a point to apologize to her in ' laws about the scene which had been created by her unwittingly at their anniversary party. They had forgiven her whole heartedly. Priya too had apologized to her & she had been equally forgiving towards her.

Ricky couldn't take off his eyes from his beautiful bride. Indira looked gorgeous in red & green. Her lehenga was blood red in color & had beautiful jari work on it. The entire dress had a gold & green border. Her hands & feet were decorated with henna. Much against his wishes she had tied up her hair in a bun'.a situation he intended to remedy as soon as he got a chance.

Unfortunately he had to wait for many hours before he could do his wish. When he entered the honeymoon suite which they had reserved, he found her standing in the balcony lost in thoughts. Without preamble he lifted her into his arms. After getting over her initial shock she laced her arms around his neck & smiled into his eyes. No sooner had he tugged off her chunari from her head he undid the clip that held back her tresses. Her hair fell in waves to her waist & framed her face. He lay his head down on her lap & pulled her down to him. And then'.well kisine humse kaha tha 'iske aage baccho ko dekhna mana hai!!!'😆

Credit : Runaway bride

P.S. : This was the last chapter of our FF guys..Thank you so much for your love n support..It was because of you all we could complete our FF. Thank you so much once again guys..Love you all..God bless you..😊