Ishra FF ||A Contract Of Love|| Prologue ~ Chapter 24B - Page 26

came across this story today ... loved it :) :)

luking fwd to reading more..

Sruthi(DilMereSuntaNhi) - Lovely banner dear

Thanks for pm.

Continue soon dear ur story is amazing

Prabh you are an Amazing Writer...
Realy Love Ur Work...
waitinggg for update...
and plzzz also update Mai or Mrs.Khanna...

Note: Not proofread so ignore spelling and grammar errors

Chapter 9A

As she reached home, she walked in looking down at her phone. She couldn't believe he had sent her such a text. She couldn't help, but blush and took a screenshot of his text. She went into the bathroom and changed, ate dinner, and finished up some office work. She finally had a moment to herself and looked at her phone. She saw 2 missed calls from Raman followed by a text. The 2 missed calls worried her, but she saw the text and calmed down. He had sent her a picture of Ruhi with a message...

"She misses you."

"I do too. But 2 missed calls to say that?"

"Actually, I don't shop...much. So where are we going to tomorrow?"

She imagined him ruffling his hair like he did the day he asked for her number and laughed.

"Relax, you will just have to follow my lead and everything will be okay."

"Ok Ma'am."

"And we aren't going to just one place."

"We aren't?"

"Nope! So make sure there is enough supplies for Ruhi to last the day."

"OMG! All day?! 😲"

"Yes all day! So now get some rest. Otherwise you'll look old at the wedding."

What did you just do Ishita! He is going to be mad! Such an idiot you are! She thought to herself. She started to type a long apology when he sent...

Why were you staring at this old man?😉"

"Raman...stop..."

Ishita you are dead today! What are you doing?! She hurriedly typed up...

"Sorry Mr. Bhalla."

"It's alright, and you're right, should sleep now. Will meet you tomorrow!"

"Bye!"

She scrolled up to his first message and kissed the picture of Ruhi before putting her phone away. She lay down on her bed and thought about all the time she had spent with Ruhi and how excited she was for tomorrow, and sleep overtook her in no time. Mihika who had been standing by the door as she saw her Akka smile as she busily texted Raman was relieved to know that now someone was there who made her happy.

~~~~~~~~

Iyer House - 11 am The Next Morning

She paced back and forth from one end of the room to the other picking up all the things she needed as Mihika followed her around wanting to go with her.

"Please, please can I come?"

"Mihika, what if he doesn't like it?" asking her as she rummaged through her purse.

"Akka you never care about people's likes and dislikes, then why does it matter?"

Ishita sighed and looked at her younger sister...

"You have to understand. He might not be comfortable with you around. I mean he has just started to say things when I am around. I saw him feeling awkward the other day when you walked in, and I realized afterwards I shouldn't have left him alone with you, he hardly knows you."

"Fine Akka, but can't you ask once?"

"Mihika he won't say no if I ask. I am sure of that, but I know he will feel left out."

"Okay fine, I won't go. But call me and let me know if you need anything. And you own me a shopping trip. Just the two of us and your little Ruhi. "

"Okay! Now let me go. He will be here any minute."

And right she was! Her phone rang as she finished her sentence and she headed out.

~~~~~~

He sat in his car tapping the steering wheel as he waited for her to come out. He looked through his rear view mirror to see Ruhi happily sitting her in her car seat playing with a small toy. He turned back and looked at her...

"We are going shopping with your mommy...you're going to like that?"

She dropped her toy and waved her arms squealing. He chuckled and said...

"I wonder if you're more excited about your mom or the shopping!"

She squealed louder and he smiled as Ishita walked over and opened the door...

"What going on here? Secrets between Papa and Ruhi?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Just see her excitement when I talk about you and shopping! You girls, seriously!"

"Shopping is our birth right, Mr. Bhalla! Umm is it okay if I sit in the back with Ruhi?"

"Go ahead, you don't need to ask. Anyways I had a feeling I was going to look like a driver today." He said with a sigh.

She giggled and he started to drive away. He followed her directions and took her to the mall she wanted to go to. As they drove he noticed her playing with Ruhi in the back and not saying a word, so he started a conversation.

"Ms. Iyer can I ask you something?"

"Hmm" she replied still engrossed with Ruhi.

"Are you mad at me?"

"No! Why would I?"

"I thought maybe it was the text I sent you yesterday about the staring. I thought you might not have liked it."

"It's fine, it was just a joke. Anyways it's okay between friends?" she asked.

It seemed more of a question than a statement. She looked at him for the first time in their whole conversation as she hoped it would understand what she was saying. He knew she was asking him if whether they were friends or not. He looked through the rear view mirror and looked at her, causing their eyes to meet.

"You're right!"

He reassured her with his eyes and she smiled at him before he looked back at the road and she went back to playing with Ruhi. They reached the mall half an hour later. They walked in as he pushed Ruhi's stroller so she could look around freely. He looked at her as she walked around. She seemed like a child being taken to an amusement park. Her eyes were filled with excitement and she had a huge grin on her phone.

"Is this your first ever time at a mall?" he asked jokingly

"No why?" she said looking around at the different places.

"You're so excited like her!" as he referred to Ruhi.

"I love with shopping, like love with capital letters. Although it's mostly window shopping, I just love being here, in a mall. It's a lot of fun. And it's been a while since I've been here."

"Nice! Finally learned something about you. Even though it's something completely opposite to me."

"You don't like shopping?"

"Not one bit, it's so tiring."

"Interesting, I thought you were someone more concerned about how they look. Like now, you're wearing casual clothes, but you still look make sure they are stylish and look good on you."

"I care about how I look, but I rather have someone else buy my clothes for me. Just a really lazy person when it comes to shopping."

"I can see that now."

"Yea...and thanks for the compliment before." He added with smirk on his face.

She pretended to ignore his last sentence and walked into a boutique as he followed. She spent a good 20 minutes looking around as he followed quietly and only nodded or gave one word answers if she asked him something. He walked around only to admire Ishita talk to Ruhi in her playful tone as if Ruhi understood everything she said. They came out empty handed and walked around to find another place to shop. They walked around for a while and she stopped by a designer boutique's window. There was an elegant bridal lehenga that was on display. She looked at it in awe and absolutely loved what she saw. Then she looked at price tag and walked away, not looking at it again. He noticed and leaned over to whisper...

"It's alright, buy whatever you like. And that display one is nice."

"Mr. Bhalla I will buy what I like with my own money." Reminding him of their agreement from the other day.

"Think of it as a gift from me and Ruhi. And if you want I can call Ma and she will tell you I am supposed to be the one buying it for you anyways."

"Fine! But first and last gift. So you only but the wedding dress, nothing else. And the display one I know it's nice, but I can't wear it. I won't be able to walk in it. It's so heavy and with the dupatta, I won't be able to manage it."

"By the way, how many outfits do you need to buy?"

"Just 2, one simple one for the engagement and a little fancier one for the wedding."

"Okay... I have to show you something, follow me."

She followed his lead and he took her a small store in the corner of the whole shopping center. As they entered, she found the whole place filled with clothes of her style and preference. She had never been here before but now she would wanted to shop here over and over again.

"This is the perfect place!"

"Isn't it? Now go look around."

She found many sarees and lehengas she loved, but didn't know what to pick. She went to try on what she had chosen and decided to go out wearing the one she found looked best.

He had been waiting for her to come out since the last 20 minutes and God knew what she was doing in there. He had fed Ruhi and put her to sleep while she was still changing. As he placed Ruhi in her stroller, he turned around to see a beautiful sight. She came out wearing saree, something he had never seen her in before. She was looking down as she walked carefully and in the process a strand of hair from her loosely tied bun came in front of her face. The colorful yet simple saree defined her personality and made her beauty stand out even more than usual. She came up to him and asked him what he thought...

"I love this! Stunning!"

"Thank you!"

"I am talking about the clothes."

"...right..." she looked around embarrassed for thinking he was complimenting her.

"I'm joking...You look gorgeous."

She blushed profusely and bit her lip looking down at the ground and he smiled a lopsided smile at her.

"I...I will change." She rushed back into the change room to avoid him.

She came out changed back into her own clothes and after paying for her saree, they walked out to find her 2^nd outfit.

She saw one of her favourite stores and pointed it out to him. As they walked into the shop, there was a huge crowd and a lot of hustle & bustle everywhere. As they walked into the crowd, Ishita was pushed by someone trying to get by and bumped into Raman. She placed her hand over her stomach and looked scared.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded although he could tell he was still scared. He held her shoulder firmly with one hand while the other was on Ruhi's stroller and she clutched his arm with one hand as the other was on Ruhi's stroller. He slowly guided her back to the door while protectively watching over her and Ruhi making sure they wouldn't be bumped into. As they stepped out, she was still clutching onto him frightened. He helped her to a small sitting area nearby. He felt her hand tremble on his arm, he took out a water bottle and gave it to her. She didn't know what to do and without thinking, she hugged him tightly. She buried her head in his shoulder and cried. She clutched onto his shirt not wanting to let go of him. He was startled at her sudden reaction, but then realized her fear and emotional state. He placed one arm around her and stroked her head with his other trying to get her to calm down.

"Shhh...Relax Ishita."

"This baby is everything for me! What if something had happened? Raman my-" she said between her sobs and he intervened...

"You two are fine...shhh...You're okay."

She wouldn't stop crying and his eyes had tears forming too. He knew the fear of almost losing your child, how it felt like it would take one mistake to be separated from your baby. And he certainly couldn't bear her feeling this way. He also realized as strong as she appeared in front of everyone, she wasn't. She had shown him her weaker side today and he made a promise to himself that he wouldn't ever let her cry like this again. But right now, he had to make her stop crying. He pulled himself away from the hug and cupped her face in his hands, her tears were continuously rolling down her face and were falling onto his hands.

"Look, look at me. You trust me right?"

She looked at him and nodded as she continued to cry.

"Then believe me, you are okay, both of you are. You're fine."

He wiped off her tears and held her hands tightly as she took a few moments to calm down and stop crying. He gave her water to drink and she asked to go home. As he drove her back home, he looked to his side to find her eyes closed as she leaned back resting her head. As they reached her house, he didn't have the heart to wake her up as she seemed to be fast asleep after the emotionally and physically tiring day. At the same time, a truck passed by honking the horn waking her from her sleep. He cursed the driver under his breath, as she recognized her surroundings. He walked her to her door with Ruhi in his arms, as she entered her house, her mother was in the kitchen and hadn't missed her daughter's dull face. Upon being asked with happened, she replied...

"I'm fine Amma, just tired."

She went into the room and he followed her. Her mother looked worried, but assured her everything was fine. He found her in her room sitting on her bed. She asked to see Ruhi, and placed the infant next to herself in the bed. She fell asleep stroking Ruhi's head and he covered her with a blanket as her mother walked in. She took Ruhi out of her embrace much to his displeasure, and handed the baby over to him.

He walked out with her mother as she asked him what happened, he didn't want her to worry, so lied and told her she was tired from being out all day. He also asked her phone him to let him know how she was after she woke up.

He was skeptical about leaving her, but knowing her parents were around as well as Mihika who she would share with, he left the place, though still worried for her.

The Next Day

He sat in his office, his mind thinking about her. He hadn't gotten a single call or message from her family or her. He had texted & called her last night and this morning, but she didn't respond. Feeling anxious, he felt like he had no choice, so at lunch he called down at the reception and asked if she had come to work today. She had and he asked for her to be sent up to meet him. As she walked in smiling, he stood up and the first thing he asked her was whether she was okay since whatever had happened yesterday.

"Mr. Bhalla we had decided that we would keep personal and professional matter separate."

"Ish- Ms. Iyer! Since yesterday I haven't been able to do anything properly thinking how you must be and you are telling me this?!"

"I'm sorry, but please just forget everything."

"Forget everything? How can I? Do you realize how scared I was to see you in that state? You were trembling in my arms. You kept on crying and crying, your tears were on my shirt, on my hand! I couldn't sleep last night thinking about how you were feeling this whole time, I could only go back into the moment I saw you break down in my arms and you want me to forget seeing you in that condition."

His expression had changed from anger to sadness and concern as he told her what he had felt seeing her in that state. She felt bad for her earlier words since she had told him off while he had been so worried since yesterday.

"I didn't know you were so affected by everything. But trust me I'm okay. It was just that moment I was really scared, didn't know what to do and broke down. But I am okay, trust me. If I was tensed you would have noticed anyways, so I am not lying, I am actually alright."

She assured him that she was okay and he wasn't fully convinced with her answer, but agreed with her for the time being. They sat in his cabin and ate lunch together as they talked about office work and Ruhi. He genuinely felt relieved and convinced that she was okay after having talked with her over lunch. After lunch, they bid goodbye and continued with their work.

2 Days Later

She finished the last touches on her makeup. It had been 3 days since the mall incident and she was finally getting over the mini scare she had. Today all she could think about was today this contract marriage will finally be official. They would exchange rings to seal this deal they had made for the kids. She heard the chatter of people outside as he arrived with his family. A few of his close relatives and hers were invited to this small event. She walked outside and found him seat on the couch with Ruhi. She smiled and waved at them when no one was looking. And she went to her parents to tell him she wanted all this done as soon as possible. They asked her to sit down next to him, so they could start the ring exchange. She sat down next to him and he whispered to her...

"Stunning...not the outfit, you!"

"Thank you! But right now you shouldn't be staring at your future wife."

"My advice thrown back at me, nice!"

His mother came to them interrupting the moment, as she handed her son the ring. Her Amma also came and handed her a ring. She forwarded her hand and he brought the ring closer to her finger and after initial hesitation from the both of them, he slipped the finger onto her finger as he looked at Ruhi. It was her turn and she also hesitated, but as put the ring on his finger as she looked at Ruhi who was between them clapping her hands together. As they both leaned to pick her up, they came closer to each other. He whispered

"The deal has been sealed..."

"For the kids..."

He backed off from picking his daughter and let her mother pick her up. The rest of the evening went by in a flash. From him being introduced to her family and vice-versa, so the two hardly had time to talk to each other...

A Week Later

It had been a whole week since they had properly met, all they had done was exchange some texts here and there. He was busy trying to finish up all his meetings and important work so he could spare 2-3 days for the wedding as well as manage all the guests from his side. She had been lucky enough that he had given less work for the past week and she was able to leave work earlier and spend more time concentrating on her wedding. She had gone to meet Ruhi 3 times in between and each time, he was either busy and they couldn't talk or he wasn't home at all. She could tell he was working extra hard to get things when she had gone to put Ruhi to sleep in his room only yesterday. Everything was a mess; his papers, files, and other things were placed everywhere. He was busy on the phone when she entered and seeing Ruhi with her, he cleared the mess on the bed and placed everything on the table and walked onto the balcony to finish his call. That was the only time she had seen him at his house in the past week, and even today she wouldn't get a chance to see him or Ruhi since it was the haldi function at his house and hers.

Bhalla House

He never wanted this to be this grand, but his filmy mom just needed everything to be so loud and festive. His close relatives surrounded him as they prepared to start the rituals for the day. He was extremely tired from staying up finishing the last bit of work and Ruhi had woken up earlier than usual as well. He was half asleep as his mother brought over the haldi to start. The excited Ruhi kept on wanting to get out of some distant aunt's arms and go to her dad. He took her and placed her on his lap and played with her the whole time as he was getting covered in haldi. Ruhi was also enjoying seeing her dad looking so silly and kept on touching his face curiously to see what was on his face. Ruhi made his weariness fade away and he enjoyed the ritual with her.

Iyer House

She didn't want to have this wedding in a grand way, but her parents wanted to make this special with the hope it will make her happy and she had agreed for them and the wishes & dreams they had. She heard Mihika call her to come out quickly since the haldi would be arriving soon. She quickly changed into her sleeveless yellow salwar suit and headed outside. As she waited for someone to come from his place, he texted her. He sent her a picture of himself and Ruhi. His face was covered in haldi as Ruhi laughed and touched his face.

"I wish she was here. I miss you two."

She texted back to him and bit her tongue after realizing what she had sent. She didn't bother to correct it since she had actually missed her friend during this past week.

"I've sent a surprise for you. Tell me what you think."

He texted back and left her eagerly waiting for her surprise. As a few of his cousins dropped the haldi, and they handed a gift box for her as well. She couldn't wait to open up and see what he had sent, she was so excited that she could hardly concentrate on the ritual itself. A few close relatives and family friends applied load so haldi on her and Mihika was busying complimenting her and all she could think about was his gift! As everyone had finished taking their turn in covering her with the paste, she ran off to clean herself. She took a quick shower, changed, and found a moment alone in her room to open his gift. As opened the shiny wrapping to find a wedding lehenga inside. As she took it out of the box, she realized it was so similar to what she had wanted to buy the other day, but had left due to the price and difficulty of wearing it. She looked closely and saw the skirt part had lighter embroidery and the dupatta was simpler than the one in the mall. It looked very similar, but was going to be something she could wear.

She messaged him...

"I ❤️ the surprise! It's beautiful, thank you! "

"😊 No problem. Glad you liked it."

"Can't wait for tomorrow! I will meet Ruhi properly after so many days!"

"Same here! Will see you tomorrow!"

The Next Day

Is it the haldi or the pregnancy? That glow on her face, it's different, like nice different.

He thought to himself as he looked at her have a great time chatting with some other women sitting around her. It was the day of her mehendi and their extended families were together in one hall for the first time. He looked around at the crowd and everyone enjoying themselves. There kids running around, elders either talking or singing and his little princess was the center of attention with her grandmother's & mother's friend circles. After all she was dressed up by her mother in a sparkly dress and a bow on her head. But today she was the one who stood out. The smile, the glow, the sparkle in her eyes, just her herself. She is the bride, that why she looks special; he thought and convinced himself.

She got up and he hoped she would come talk to him, but she walked by him giving a smile and went to some guest who were just entering. He got caught up with talking to his friends, attending guests, and being with Ruhi while she was also busying getting her mehendi done, talking to her own friends. They only met and got a chance to talk to each other was when everyone was busy with dinner. She was sitting alone as her friends were busy eating and her mother & sister were busy with the guests. He walked over to her...

"Bored?"

"Kind of, I'm waiting for this to dry."

"It's nice."

"Thank you! Your mom and I decided the design."

"She and your mom probably asked you to write my name, so did you agree?"

"I did in a way! Well everyone thinks that it's for you, but it's really not."

"What is it that everyone believed you and you didn't really write my name?"

She showed her right hand to him and he looked closely trying to find out what she had gotten written. He looked for a few minutes as she giggled at his frustration on not being able to find anything. He almost gave up and wanted to look away until he caught sight of something by the corner of her wrist. It was the letter "R". He pointed at it and smiled as he understood what she had done. She had gotten an "R" to show everyone it was for him, but in reality, it meant "R" for Ruhi.

"Very smart!"

"That I am!"

She smiled and walked away to find Mihika so she could get something to eat. He asked her to sit down while he found Mihika, He asked her to make sure Ishita ate from time to time and not worry about the guest as he would take care of it...

__________________________________________________________________

So sorry for not being able to include the big wedding part everyone was looking forward to. But promise will update it very soon! Please like and leave your feedback for this part!

Chapter 9B- Page 43

Wow brilliant update prabh,im totally enjoying ruhi antics.you are improving your story day by day much.i immersed in this.its clearly visible to me when im reading this.raman is so caring,and i think his feelings improving towards ishita.After ring exchange how they sealed the contract,it is a contract for kids only for ishita but not raman.how could i explain prabh.each and every word,moment touch my soul.:-)
thanks for pm dear.
Raman is so caring,he always think about ishita health,her comfort,her convience,her protection.
Raman mesmerised by her beauty.raman gifted lehanga which liked by ishita,but raman designed it with less embroding work for her comfort.:-)
stunning not outfit ,but ishita.
Lots of wonderful moments in this update.thank u so much prabh.love u dear.:-)

It was so awesome...