I am back with another update. I have a confession to make đł I was in no mood to write something intense and serious so I took the liberty to drag it a bit and kept the update light and fun. I hope you guys don't find it a filler. But I have a promising precap which I would elaborate in the weekend.đł
So till then...
Sitting on her bed, a silly smile on her face, Ishita was reminiscing her day at work. Ishita had had one of the most embarrassing day at the clinic. She had been unable to concentrate on anything after Raman's departure. The secretary, Sheila, had caught her several times smiling absently while she was busy telling her the number of appointments she had for the day. Even her patients had noticed her weird behavior and had pointed it out to her. She had been checking her phone every single minute. Was she not feeling well? Why were her cheeks so red? Had she been running a fever? One of them even asked.
Hiding her face in her hands, she smiled and then took her pillow in her arms, squeezed it and sighed, feeling light-headed as if she was in a dream.
Ishita felt like living her dream. She felt like she had lived the brightest morning of her life when she had woken up in his arms.
When she was in Mumbai, they had been intimate, had made love but they had never spent the night together. Raman had always been a gentleman and had always made sure that she was never into embarrassing situations and then...he had never rushed into things with her or made her uncomfortable.
Things had evolved slowly and steadily between them. She had always felt like living and sharing her life with him despite having their independent life and flat. She would come at his place in the morning sometimes, when he was not around just to fix his messy closet or to decorate his living room and sometimes, she would drop in to surprise him in the evening by cooking for him. He would be home and she would be there waiting like a typical housewife, had dinner with her and he would tease her nonstop about her culinary skills. He would make fun of her legendary rassam, idli and sambar.
"Your rassam will one day explode my intestines", he would say dramatically to annoy her and then he would grab her and tickled her, kissing her on her jaw line and neck, making her giggle.
"I love to reel you up because you look too sexy when you are angry," he would say naughtily while grazing her earlobe.
"And I hate it when you have fun when I am going crazy," she would reply back with a pout.
He would then kiss her senseless,making her melt in his arms as he devoured her lips and explored her mouth passionately. Sometimes they would lie on his couch, watching movies together...well most of the time she was watching while he would snore, his head buried in her throat.
Ishita chuckled as the souvenir of one such evening in her flat came to her mind.
***
The television set was in her bedroom and she was watching "fear files" sitting on the bed while Raman had fallen asleep beside her. That was one creepy and scary episode where a girl was locked in a haunted room and came out possessed. It was past midnight when the episode was over and Ishita suddenly felt uneasy. The bedroom walls were having an eerie appearance with the moonlight casting a shadow on them and to make matters worse, she had no idea if it was her imagination but it seemed to her that there was some bizarre sounds coming from the windows. She was really scared but she wanted to go to the washroom.
"Raman! Raman!" She hissed while shaking his shoulder urgently. A sleepy head Raman immediately woke up and asked," What happened? Is it morning already? Do I need to go?"
"No! You are not going anywhere." Ishita grabbed his arm.
One look at the clock! It was past midnight."What happened?" He asked again.
"I...I want to go to the washroom." She stammered embarrassingly. "Can you come along with me?"
"What?" Raman asked incredulously."Are you serious?"
"I mean, can you stand outside the door while I..."
"Ishita the washroom is just right there, at your left, two feet away!"
"I know. But I am scared! I am hearing some strange noises coming from..."
"See! This is what happened when you watch such stupid shows! Fine!"
Raman led her to the washroom which was only four steps away and stood there with a sleepy face, yawning.
"Are you there?" He heard her from inside and rolled his eyes and answered back to reassure her. Paagal Aurat!! She was back after some minutes and insisted that Raman slept overnight.
"You go in the morning, please!" She said with a small voice.
She had officially lost it! Raman concluded but again reassured her that he would leave in the early morning when she was in deep sleep.
She finally climbed on the bed and Raman laid beside her.
"Raman!" She again called him while he was already half asleep. "Kya hain?"
She slowly inched towards his body and snuggled further in his back. "Why don't you turn around and...hold me please!"
"Sirf naam ki Jhansi ki rani ho!" Raman muttered and turned her side to wound one arm over her abdomen and a huge smile spread on his face when she buried her face in his chest and cuddled to him.
"I think I was wrong. You should watch horror movies more often."
He chuckled and hugged her tighter as they slept in each other's arms.
***
Ishita giggled thinking of that night and her silly reactions but he had been an adorable darling. He didn't leave her that night and left her apartment in the wee hours of the morning when she was deep asleep with a note left on her side table "sleep kumbhkaran sleep after ruining my sleep the whole night."
She was still lost in his thoughts when Ruhi barged in. "I can't believe that papa left without greeting me in the morning!" The little girl was not so happy with her nose crunched and her brows frowned. The exact replicate of her dad when the latter was miffed.
"He overslept baccha and had to rush to the airport." Ishita said and bit her tongue when the little girl asked how she knew it.
"Well he met me before leaving," she nevertheless confessed to her best friend whose eyes brightened up and with a huge grin announced dramatically," then he is forgiven!"
Ishita smiled and blushed. She was impatient to be his bride. She could see what a great son and father he was for his family. He had been a great lover and her gut feeling was telling her that he would be a very good husband too.
It was late at night when Ishita felt her restlessness growing. She had waited for his phone call...Her fingers were itching to dial his number...but...since he had informed her that he would be busy and she didn't want to bother him. Still she was annoyed. A phone call wouldn't take much of his busy time and he knew that she would wait for him...well that was Raman Kumar Bhalla! A man of contradictions and unpredictability! Ishita waited and spent the night turning and tossing in bed until she slid into a deep dull sleep. But Mr CEO never called.
The next morning Mihir informed Ishita that his Bhai did call but only for some few minutes because he was in a rush. He immediately reassured Ishita that he would ask him to call her as soon as he phoned back. Why would he call Mihir and not her? Ishita wanted to ask but only thanked Mihir and hanged up.
Finally after one whole hour of debating, Ishita succumbed to her urge and called him but in vain...the royal highness and his phone too was beeping as BUSY. She therefore busied and drowned herself too on the project which Dr Bhatra handed her...before she blew up.
The man was impossible and so insensitive at times that Ishita wondered aloud how she fell in love with him.
There was only one plausible answer- Love was one crazy little thing!
Back home, she attacked her closet and messed up her clothes and fixed them again to calm herself down, freshened up later and had dinner. Back in her bedroom, unable to concentrate on her reading, a bundle of nerve, she finally decided to go outside. Some time in the cool evening breeze would surely help her to feel better now that her patience was wearing out and her temper was mounting.
Some time later, the air had turned a bit chilly and Ishita decided to go inside but once she reached the bottom of the stairs leading to her house, she stopped dead on her track. His white imposing Mercedes was in the parking lot!
It meant that he was back one day earlier. Was it pre-planned to surprise her? She ran up the stairs but stopped at the door.
His voice! How she had missed it. He was talking to his parents and Ishita walked in noiselessly. As if on cue, he turned around and their eyes met and both exchanged a discreet smile and sat in the living room with her parents', sipping a cup of coffee and waiting impatiently...
When Mr and Mrs Iyer finally left the room, Ishita walked towards him.
"I missed you Raman," she whispered as she snaked her arms around his waist and leaned forward to rest her head on his chest.
"You've been home since two long hours and it is now that you are here to meet me?" Ishita whined as she gazed into his eyes. Without a word, he pulled her close and hugged her to him, his eyes closed, his lips clenched as he swallowed tightly. Kissing her head, he hissed,"I missed you too."
She pulled away to stare at him...It was then that she noticed her clenched lean face, his pale skin...she also realized the tension with which he was holding her shoulders as he tried to put some distance between them. Something inside Ishita stirred. There was a pained bleak look in his dark eyes as he was staring down at her.
"Is everything ok?" She asked with a small voice."Didn't your business deal work out as you wished? Is that why you are here one day earlier?"
"Yes you can say that," he replied back tautly. " but next time I would have to go away for a longer period of time to settle things in my way."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean to say that the negotiations didn't work out. I will go personally to crack the deal...In Australia."
"That's ok Raman you can go."
He smiled a distant smile to her and Ishita again felt that uneasiness creeping inside her. Why did she feel that there was something wrong?
"I may have to go for a longer period...a month may..."
Ishita was flummoxed. Is that why he was tensed? He wanted to postpone their wedding! She couldn't fathom it!
"WHAT? But Raman..."
Raman cupped her face and leaned his forehead to touch hers."I don't want to go...I can't leave now...at least not before we are married..."
What was he trying to say? Raman seemed very pensive and Ishita could sense that he was trying to find a solution to an...impossible situation. But he was good at that, wasn't he? Making a success out of a disaster. It was the most fundamental source of his outstanding business success.
Raman Bhalla, the CEO of the year, would not let a business deal get under his skin but...he looked perturbed. His gaze lingered on her face. Ishita was still trying to find out where the conversation was heading when he dropped the bomb!
"Let's get married next week!"
"What?"
"You heard me. Marry me next week and come with me to Australia."
"Raman! Are you planning to immigrate there or what?"
"No. Australia is the last place I would like to be. I want to be with you and my child. I can't stay without both of you. I was never as restless as I was yesterday. As soon as it was over, I took the first plane and came back to you."
Was there any way that Ishita could refuse him after he floored her completely with his words? She had a hard time convincing her Amma. Madhu Iyer had looked at her with eyes ready to pop out of her sockets. Was she looking at a stranger in front of her? Where was her responsible, hassle-free, uncomplicated daughter? Ishita was surprising her way too much lately. Just days before, she found out from an outsider that her daughter was seeing somebody in Mumbai when she thought that she was still affected by Subbu and his betrayal. And then came the marriage announcement!
Now court marriage!
But she could see how happy and fulfilled her daughter was with that man and his daughter entering Ishita's life and as a mother whose child's happiness matters the most, Madhu Iyer granted her daughter's wish.
The Bhallas, though disappointed, had accepted the court marriage too but Toshi Bhalla was adamant about having an engagement ceremony two days before the settled date for the court marriage.
"People should know that my son is getting married and I want to introduce my daughter in law to my friends and close relatives." She had exclaimed and Raman had readily accepted the proposal.
So there she was in Delhi's most hyped and expensive malls in search of her outfit for her engagement party with her would-be mother in law who insisted to "Punjabise" her even if she would be wearing a saree. Ishita looked on helplessly as she gave a hard time to the salesperson.
As if it was not enough, she found herself being dragged by Simmi, Raman's sister to lingerie stores.
"Why are we here Simmi?"
"What do you mean by why are we here? Should I tell you the importance of these flimsy and sexy things in a woman's life? And let me tell you, you are getting married to a Punjabi men and..."
"Ok ok...please spare me the details about Punjabi men, Simmi. Let's try some."
Ishita rolled her eyes and followed Simmi inside the lingerie store and found herself at the mercy of her crazy sister in law. Ishita was in the fitting room, half- naked and trying on underwear chosen by Simmi and which were either not fitting or not looking good.
"Simmi please! I think I would rather choose myself..."
"But Ishita...these are the 'IN' types these days and believe me..."
Simmi was still trying to convince her from outside the room when her phone rang."Ok! You pick what you want, try them and show me once you are done," she said before attending her call.
Alone, with nobody to push her into anything, after having a good look at the different collections, Ishita finally decide to treat herself. Soon she was busy trying on same racy lingerie - she tried a see through bra, red ribbons and even stockings.
Enough to give Simmi's brother a cardiac arrest. Ishita giggled and then blushed. She loved what she have selected and she knew that he would too.
Finally she decided to try the black lace one, her favourite, and asked the lady outside the fitting room to call Simmi to get her opinion. Seconds later, Ishita was standing in front of mirror in her black lacy bra and panty when the curtain was whisked open and her sexy outfit was revealed to none other than...Raman Kumar Bhalla!
"Ayyo Murugan!" She exclaimed horrified and shut the curtain instantly, feeling hot and cold at the same time.
"Oh Teri!" He swore and turned away, his ears on fire.
Raman's meeting was over and he had decided to drop at the malls to check on them and when the salesgirl went to that crazy Simmi, who was too engrossed in her phone call, she sent Raman to the fitting room.
To be continued...đłđ
Precap:
"Open this door!"
It wasn't a polite request, it was a command, and that galvanized her into anger. She pushed to close thedoor, frantic to double-lock in, but he had wedged his foot into it.
"Go away Raman!"
"Open this door," he said,"or else I'll break it down."
"Go away."
He didn't answer but instead gave the door a shove with his shoulder and the chain snapped as though it was made of papier mache. He swept into the room and she turned to run...
"Paagal Aurat! What the hell do you think you are doing, running out like that?" He snarled as his hand clamped on to her arm, biting into her. He looked dark and furious
CID
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
20