That was the first thing Ranveer noticed when he stepped into the small pub that was filled with large crowds of sweaty bodies. The uninhibited, graceful, yet unsteady sashay of her hips as she sauntered over to a stool, next to a man with a broad chest and a tight T shirt who spoke too loudly. She had on the same blue dress she had worn on her date with Chirag a few years ago - although it seemed to be a lifetime. It rode up to her thighs when she sat, revealing creamy skin, and Ranveer gnashed his teeth together as the stranger's eyes traced the expanse of them hungrily, the fury begging to emerge.
He strode stiffly over to them, taking a hold of her arm and spinning her stool. She squeaked in surprise before she saw him, her expressions flitting from one of amusement to shock and finally settled on annoyance and a slight bit of unfettered curiosity as she looked him up and down, as if making sure he was really there.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, before trying to turn back to the stranger, but Ranveer's hold on her was stronger and prevented her from twisting.
"Taking you home." He said firmly, his voice flat with irritation. He tried to pull her towards him, attempting to lift her off her seat, but Ishaani resisted, placing her palms against his chest, trying to push him away.
"You're not taking me anywhere. I happen to be having fun." She snapped.
"This guy bothering you?" Beefy guy with the tight T shirt stood up, sizing Ranveer, his dark eyes hostile.
Ranveer slowly took his hand off her arm, as he stepped towards the stranger, his body placed between Ishaani and the beefy guy.
"I'm her..." He swallowed. "I'm her f**king boyfriend." He practically snarled. From the corner of his eye, he saw Ishaani's head whip up in disbelief and shock while the beefy guy eyed him sceptically, looking at Ishaani instead. She looked at Ranveer stonily, angry that he wouldn't leave them alone. She moved past Ranveer to whisper to the stranger conspiratorially, "It's okay," she said smirking, before eyeing Ranveer defiantly, "He's my f**king boyfriend."
The man inclined his head towards Ranveer, giving him one last tough look, before getting up and shooting Ishaani a wink, that said, Next time then.
Ranveer then turned to her, the fight in him dying immediately as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ishaani, please come with me." he said tiredly.
She seemed to sense something because she conceded and hopped off the stool. "Since you asked so nicely." She shot him a cheeky grin. Yep, she was really drunk. If she was sober, she would be mad at him. If she was sober, she would walk away as always, not sag into his chest as he led her out of the stuffy air of the bar and into the cool breeze of the night.
"What the hell were you thinking?" he asked once they were on the road and walking towards his car. She stilled in his arms as he waited for her answer in the silence of the night. Ten heartbeats later, she responded.
"I was thinking, if Chirag can do it, so can I." She said quietly.
Ranveer remained silent, knowing this was not something she would have said with a clear mind; just keeping his arm around her, and making soothing circles on her shoulder. She continued, "But you. You always come for me, don't you? Save me from all the danger, all the grief and pain. You tried to tell me about Chirag so many times, but I never believed you. I'm so sorry, Ranveer. Even though you're rich now, you're RV now, you're still my best friend inside. You don't hate me. And you still love me. I see it in your eyes now. Why? I'm a terrible person. Is that how you've felt all along Ranveer? The one person you loved with every bit of you, only to realize that they never loved you? It hurts here," she whispered, jabbing her chest. "Somewhere inside me, I know you hadn't done anything to Disha. You're innocent, aren't you? But I didn't know how to deal with it - you loved me, and I didn't. Ranveer, you've always been there for me, and the one time you needed me to be there for you, to support you, I chose to walk away. I'm so -" She babbled before he cut her off.
"Ishaani." Ranveer angled his body away from hers to that he could look at her. He bent his knees so that they were at eye level, taking her face in her hands with infinite gentleness. "I've never held you responsible, okay?" Her eyes shimmered with tears, frustration and impatience as she pushed his hands away and stepped back.
"You should dammit! I hurt you again and again. I've never deserved you. Not as a friend, and I definitely don't deserve your love. Yet, somehow, you keep coming back."
"Maybe I'm a masochist." He smiled wanly, humourlessly, even as his heart squeezed.
"Maybe you're a masochist, but I'm cruel." she said, the tears finally spilling over.
"I chose you, Ishaani, and I'd do it again. I'll take the pain, and the heartbreak over the empty life I would be living without you in it."
"You deserve someone who loves you back equally, Ranveer." She whispered, her bottom lip trembling.
"Maybe." He agreed, shrugging. "But I chose you. I don't expect you to love me back, Ishaani."
"Ranveer -"
"Shush. You're cold. Let's get you home." He said, taking her hand once again and leading her towards the car parked nearby. When she didn't follow, he looked back at her.
"Can we...can we sit here for a while?"
Ranveer smiled before turning back and leading her to sit on the cold bench under a tree. She snuggled closer in the security of his arms, tucking her head under his chin. "You're so warm."
Ranveer chuckled, and Ishaani could hear the sound rumble and reverberate in his chest. "And you're drunk." She was quiet for a long moment, and the next time she spoke, her voice was almost inaudible.
"This was the dress I wore during that date with Chirag a long time ago. I want to hate him so much Ranveer, I really do. But I can't. The only person I hate is myself for trusting and loving him." Her tears were staining his suit, but in that moment, Ranveer couldn't care less. Without thinking, he kissed her hair, pressing her closer to him.
He wanted to kill Chirag.
Her long, soft fingers found his rough, calloused ones - hardened from years of living as a servant - and intertwined them. "See, we fit together perfectly - like puzzles. We're so alike, aren't we?" She let out a harsh laugh. "Trusting the ones we love blindly, even as they hurt us, breaking us bit by bit. We're both the black sheep, the outcasts. Remember how you told me the family may hate us both, but we have Papa's love? There's no Papa anymore."
"We have each other." Ranveer said softly.
"No." She tilted her head upwards to look at him, her eyelashes brushing against his cheek. "I wasn't there for you before, but now I want to be. I'll never leave you again, Ranveer."
He wanted so badly to believe her, but he couldn't afford the luxury to do so. After all, there was only so much his heart could take. He couldn't cause it to shatter again by living on false promises - this time, perhaps the pieces would be lost forever and he wouldn't be able to put himself together again. He couldn't fall apart before completing what he came back to Mumbai for - revenge.
She was so close, her lips were so close. It was almost as if they were breathing each other's air. It would be so easy. It would be so easy to just bend down, cup her face and kiss those inviting lips, savouring the taste of her. In his times of solitude, after she had walked away from him, he could replay the moment in his head, memorising the feel of her in his arms. He could add this delicate, fragile moment - which was so precious - to his dreams - etch it in his mind forever. He knew it was rare and he was never getting this chance again, and he should kiss her while he could.
But that's not how it worked, not at this time, not with this girl when she was drunk and vulnerable and pining over another guy. She was never his - not to have, and not to covet.
It wasn't like he had a broken heart - not like hers anyway. He didn't have mutual memories with her that were lost because of a huge betrayal. He had never lost her because he never had her in the first place. He always knew she would never love him, yet he continued to. Nothing had changed. Even though the fuel behind his relentless hard work that made him the man he was today was the determined need to avenge his family's and his own humiliation, it was her smiling face that his mind and heart returned to at night, just before he fell asleep. It was her memory that kept him sane and prevented him from losing himself inside the web of rage that he had woven and getting trapped in that bottled misery. He knew she didn't love him and he could live with that. Because above all, he wanted Ishaani to be happy. Wanted her to be loved and in love. She deserved that and so much more. She deserved to have her life brimming with all the joy in the world.
It's not like he had a broken heart. But it still hurt, and he couldn't help shed a few tears when he thought she wasn't looking.
So instead, he looked at their interlocked hands, and squeezed tightly.