RECAP:
Rishabh got up from his chair- his voice rising in irritation. Niharika got up too..her defenses were weaker than ever.."Rishabh.." she said with tears in her eyes..and her hand touched his arm..
Their eyes locked..
Part 6:
Hands touching...eyes locked...a zillion sparks ignited between them..taking them back to the magical time period..
Niharika immediately retrenched. She stood with her back touching the wall and folded her hands. He continued to stare at her.
"Inspite of the fact that u were so immature and stubborn, I loved you more than anything else in the world. But-..one day my parents found out about us. They were completely against it. I decided to wait till they changed their mind. But since my parents were facing health problems, I could not be rebellious- I didn't want anything to happen to them because of me. You could not understand my problems, and you left the city without leaving any contact details. When my parents' healths became fine and they softened their stand towards you, I searched for u. And then I found out that you had married someone else. I am sorry- perhaps I didn't handle the whole thing properly, but I did what I felt was right at that time. If you think I betrayed you, you can continue to hate me." Niharika was quite composed now, she was feeling better after talking all this.
Rishabh was at a loss for words. All these years he had held niharika responsible for breaking his heart..and now he was feeling guilty.
The air was icy cold now..Niharika shivered. Rishabh took off his jacket and offered it to her. She took it but just held it close, instead of wearing it. He rolled up his sleeves and loosened his tie. Niharika couldn't take her eyes off him.he looked so handsome and adorable in that plain white shirt, black trousers and beige tie- he looked strong as ever..yet vulnerable.
He is a married man..she warned herself.
"Are you alrite Rishabh?" She asked with concern.
"No I am not." He said in decisive tone.
"Rishabh- jo hona tha, ho gaya. Now it's been a long time. You are happily married now, have a family of ur own..forget all that past."
"Yes u r right. Except one thing- I am not 'happily' married. I am sorta trapped in a miserable marriage. Ek waqt tha jab mujhe laga ke Prerna aur main ek doosre se pyar karte hai..lekin ab pata nahi woh pyar kahan kho gaya.."
Niharika stared at him..worried and shocked. "How can you say that..I mean- problems are there in every relationship but-"
He smirked. "Don't worry- it's not like I can divorce her tomorrow! because I have to also think about my kids. They have problems of their own, and the last thing they need is their parents making headlines in gossip columns."
"Well I hope things work out for you guys.."
"thanks.." He said. She kept quiet, she didn't know what to say.
Then he asked- "So..how about you? Did your parents find a suitable boy from our esteemed marwari community for you?" She could sense the sarcastic tone. She smiled. "Yes..actually they did. But things didn't work out. We separated long ago. I have one son..He is studying in London now."
They were quiet for sm time. Rishabh's gaze was so arresting..Niharika was aware that he was looking at her...her mind was telling her to go to her room.
"Good night." She said.
"Good night." He said without breaking his gaze.
She walked towards him to return his jacket.
"Keep it. In case u miss me-" He said.
The words were exactly the same. Years ago, when they were walking back after their first date, he had given her his jacket because she was feeling cold. Outside her house, when she offered to return it, he had said 'Rakh lo, in case u miss me."
She looked at him. "u remember?" she smiled.
He smiled too and asked "Remember what?"
"Never mind." Romance was never Rishabh Bajaj's favorite topic, was it!
"Why don't you wear it? Aren't you feeling cold?"
"I am..but-"
"But what?"
"It doesn't go with what I am wearing."
He shook his head. This was so typical of her. She used to go on and on about how she had 'nothing nice to go with this outfit' or how her latest haircut was a 'disaster' or how she had 'put on 2 kgs in like 2 days '. He had never understood the whole thing. He thought she looked beautiful all the time. She was perfect and flawless according to him, she had a million faults according to her!
"You look beautiful. Anything will look good on you." He threw his hands up and said matter-of-factedly.
She was used to hearing from others about how beautiful she is but hearing it from Rishabh gave it real meaning.
As much as they hated to admit it, now their hands were itching to hug each other. Niharika was determined to fight her feelings. Rishabh flinched first. He took the jacket and kept it on the chair, and slightly opened his arms. She melted in his arms. Everything in the world seemed perfect at that moment.
In the morning, Prerna got up and got ready fast. She had to go to Basu house.
Rishabh walked in.
"Good morning!" He said.
"Arre aap..? Aap theek to hai na? Raaste mein koi problem-"
"Koi problem nahi thi. I am fine." He said.
"Aap chai lenge?"
"Haan."
"Abhi laati hu."
"arre nahi..maine kitchen mein keh diya hai... tum kahin ja rahi hu?"
"haan..woh basu house.."
Rishabh's cell declared arrival of new sms.
He checked it lazily, smiled to himself and sat on the bed typing a reply.
Then he sent it, and looked at Prerna and said "Arre tum abhi bhi yahi ho? tumhe derr nahi ho rahi hai? tum jao jaldi..bohot kaam hoga na wahan.."
"haan..woh.." Prerna didn't know what to say. There was something that was bothering her but she didn't know what. He looked the same, but something wasn't quite the same about the way he interacted with her. She looked at him. Ruffled hair, red eyes, one-day-old stubble, crampled shirt-trousers, loosened tie..but he looked very content and happy.
"Prerna!!! jao na..why are u looking so lost!" Rishabh said with a smirk. Then he got up and went inside the bathroom.
Prerna hesitated for a moment and reached for his cell. She checked the latest sms:
"will call u later." The sender's name was just a capital 'J'.
Rishabh came out of the bathroom.
"Arre! Prerna? Kya hua- jao wahan pe sab intezaar kar rahe honge!" Prerna felt that he was mocking her but his face was straight.
"haan main ja hi rahi hu." she muttered.
A servant brought the tea and newspaper. "Thank you!" he said cheerfully and opened the newspapers.
She picked up her purse. He was whistling 'you were always on my mind' by elvis while reading the paper.
She couldn't remember the last time she had heard him whistle like that..
Finally she left the house, trying to remember all the people from their circle, with name or surname starting with 'J'.
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