IshRa SS - Crossroads Chapter 15 Pg 88 *CONCLUDED* - Page 27

Originally posted by: rk654

Originally posted by: Anum_says

Cannnttt waittt to read next part actually..

This was fabulous yaar

Dil he nahi chah raha tha k khatam ho update..

Brilliant..

Update soon

Originally posted by: sam234

Can't wait for the next update... Update fast yaar... I thought Raman had a hand in bringing back subbu... But I guess am wrong... Then why did subbu come back to her?? I can't believe he is positive... Good that ishita doest love subbu now... Curious to see how they meet next... I just loved Raman's family in this story... Continue soon and thanks for the pm

Originally posted by: super_cutie

Amazing update dear

I'm very much in love with this story

Can't wait for the next update

Actually I've read the last update nearly 7 to 8 times

Totally awesome

Continue soon

Want them to see together

Thanks for the Pm

And once again continue soon

Originally posted by: sky-if

Lovely story!

Mihir the trouble maker?! Waiting to see how Raman finds out. Raman - Shravvu brought back some great memories from the old yhm:)

Originally posted by: _SUMAN_

Res for commenting on next update...

IF me pehli baar update se pehle uske comment ka post hoga🤣

Originally posted by: yhmmylife

@Bold yeah forgot about that 😉. By the way what is your name

anjali

Originally posted by: nrn1486

Rutu, kab tak?😆

Hello,

Sorry for the delay guys. But I began writing this chapter, and it became so long that it took me longer than expected to finish it. Also, i'm updating the whole chapter because I didn't want to leave it halfway. So I've posted the entire chapter in two posts this time (@abha - Hope you're happy now😆)

I really hope you like it. Looking forward to your valuable comments😊

Raman woke up with a start as the alarm went off. He felt his heart drumming in his chest and realized that he had been dreaming again. It had been the same dream, night after night, over the past few months. He closed his eyes tightly as he tried to hold on to the foggy details, but as always, all he could remember were bits and pieces of it. Clear sky, paddy fields... and an unknown woman. No matter how hard he thought, he could not figure out why his mind kept conjuring these bizarre images. But he clearly remembered the feeling of joy that spread through his heart each time he stepped into that field, and he couldn't help but wonder if it had some relevance to his own life.

"Or I'm just going crazy!" He shook his head and got out of bed to get ready for work.

He sat down at the table for breakfast to be greeted with curious stares and muted whispers by his family.

"What is it with you two?" He snapped at Romi and Rinki who had been giggling about something since the time Raman had joined them. "I've been observing you since the past couple of days. Tell me what's going on!"

"No bhai."

"Bhai, it's nothing"

They muttered and immediately fell silent, not wanting to reveal to him that they had been discussing about him and Ishita. Even though they were really happy about what they had learned, the entire family was a little miffed with Raman for having kept it a secret from them. So Romi and Rinki had taken it upon themselves to get it out of him. They had been cooking up ways to make Raman himself spill the truth.

"Umm Bhai," Rinki spoke up. "Simmi di is coming home for her holidays in a few weeks' time, now that her exams are over. So I want to buy her a gift."

"So, go buy one. Who's stopping you?" Said Raman, who was busy looking into his phone, checking his emails.

"But bhai, I need you to accompany me."

"What?" Asked Raman, clearly irritated at the mere idea of going shopping. "Sorry, I can't. I have a lot of work today. Besides, I wouldn't know what to buy. You better take Romi along."

"Oh no, not Romi bhai. He's hopeless when it comes to these things. Don't worry, bhai, I only need your credit card. And as for shopping ideas, I've called Ishita bhab - I mean - Ishita. She'll help us out."

"Ishita's coming?" Raman asked her, finally looking up from his phone, and Romi and Rinki gave each other a quick high-five under the table.

"Yes, I asked her last night, and she agreed immediately."

"Okay then," said Raman trying to appear as nonchalant as possible. "I'll come along with you. Let me know when and where," he said before he left.

"Sure, bhai," replied Rinki as he left, and burst into giggles along with Romi who himself had been trying hard to control his laughter the entire time.

"Told you it would be a piece of cake," said Romi, "I don't understand why he's hiding it from us when it's so obvious."

"Why don't you both leave him alone?" Asked a smiling Toshi who had been observing their antics.

"No mamma," replied Rinki, "Bhai and Bhabhi have to stop this hide-and-seek game now. You wait and watch. I'll make them announce it to us today," she said, unable to contain her excitement.

****

"Good morning! Hope your morning is as bright as your smile, and the day ahead, as lovely as the person you are! :-)" He typed and hit send.

This had become an everyday ritual for him now. He would send her a cheesy good morning message and she would reply back, and that one text from her would be enough to get him through the day. He stared at his phone for some time, and sure enough, there popped a reply from her after a few seconds.

"Hope you have an amazing day too, Raman! And yes, my morning does begin with a bright smile these days.. all thanks to you :-)"

He sighed as he read her text, imagining her beautiful smile.

"Bhai!!" He heard Mihir call out to him, and looked up startled.

Mihir had been sitting across his desk and observing Raman's expressions since quite some time, but Raman had been so lost in his thoughts that he had not noticed him. He had an inkling about what was going on, but didn't know how to broach the subject directly.

"Where are you, Bhai?" he began, "I've been sitting here since the last ten minutes!"

"Oh...hmm," Raman faltered in search of an excuse. "I was just chatting with some friends."

"Okay," Mihir responded, "did Ishita.."

"No, I wasn't chatting with Ishita yar. Don't I have any other friends?" He shot back, and that confirmed Mihir's doubts once and for all.

"Bhai, I was only asking if Ishita reached home safely the other night. It had become pretty late," Mihir replied innocently, trying to hide his smile.

Raman let out a groan as he realized how he must have sounded. He had been behaving like a foolish teenager, spacing out during conversations and walking around with a soppy smile on his face. He needed to do something about it.

"Oh. Well, she did call me that night, so yes, she managed to reach home safely." He said, and immediately switched to a work related topic to avoid Mihir's knowing looks and pertinent questioning.

****

Ishita hummed to herself while preparing coffee for her family, as Vandita stared at her. There had been a marked change in Ishita's behaviour over the last one week or so. She smiled more often, sometimes unnecessarily; she took active part in family conversations instead of being a silent listener, as had been the norm these past few months, and now she was humming? Ishita must have talked it out with Subbu, she concluded happily.

"Looks like you spoke to Subbu," she said out loud.

"Who? No, akka. You know how the time difference takes a toll on us. Plus, he's always busy. We hardly get the chance," she smiled back and went out with a tray of coffee mugs, leaving Vandita confused.

****

Ishita rushed into the mall as soon as she had parked her car. She cursed the traffic for having made it difficult for her to get there on time. All day, she had been looking forward to meeting Raman... and Rinki, of course. But her never ending appointments and then the traffic blocks on the way had delayed her and she almost ran through the entrance to get to them until she spotted Raman standing at a distance, on his own. She went up to him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hi," he greeted her with a warm smile.

"Hi. Sorry I'm late. Where's Rinki?" Ishita looked around for her.

"She's on her way."

"Okay. So.. let's look around a bit until she arrives?"

He agreed and followed her into a nearby clothes store.

They spent almost an hour going through different pieces of clothing, arguing either about the colours or the designs until she had almost given up.

"I thought you weren't interested in shopping, Raman, then why don't you let me choose?" she asked him, irritated.

"I would have, but you insist on going for South Indian colours, and my sister is a Punjabi."

"Since when are colours North Indian or South Indian?"

"This one definitely is!" He remarked, pointing to the green dress material that she was holding.

Suddenly, they heard someone clear their throat and turned to find one of the salesmen standing near them.

"Sir.. Madam... do you need any help?"

"No.." replied Raman.

"Yes!" Interrupted Ishita, "Sir says this colour is South Indian. Could you show us some dress materials in North Indian colours, please?" She asked him politely.

"Err.." The salesman looked at both of them, and scratched his head.

"See?" Ishita turned to Raman, "Even the salesmen have no answer to that!"

"Sir, but what is wrong with this colour? Madam pe toh ye bohot suit karega!" Said the salesman with a smile.

"Oh hello. Sirf ye wala nahi, madam pe har colour suit karta hai! Par iska matlab ye nahi hai ki hum kuch bhi utha lenge. Tu rehne de, mere bhai!" He retorted, and taking Ishita's hand in his, he walked out of the store, not noticing the blush that had spread across her face at his compliment.

"Are you feeling alright?" He asked her once outside, confused by her faintly flushed face.

"Uhh..yes, feeling a little hot, that's all," she lied and added quickly, "Raman, this is pointless. Let's wait for Rinki."

"Oh, speak of the devil! Rinki's sent some photographs to me. Have a look. It'll give you an idea," Raman said to her and held out his phone to her.

She leaned closer to him, and peered into the phone as he swiped through the images.

"This one's good," she remarked on one of the pictures.

"I liked the previous one more."

"But that was green. I thought you didn't like green!"

"Oh! I didn't notice. I was talking about the girl in the picture," he explained, tongue in cheek.

She punched him lightly in the arm, and laughed along with him at his silly comment.

****

"Vandu, we got off early from work today after so many days, and you just had to take us shopping! I wanted some rest, Vandu. And shopping is so tiring," Bala complained to her as they neared one of the exits to the mall.

"Stop whining, Bala! I'm glad I got a chance to shop today, otherwise I would have missed the sale! Besides, Shravu had a great time at the play zone too, right Shravu?"

"Yes!" Piped up Shravan, who jumped up and down excitedly beside Vandita.

"Right! You shopped, Shravu played. But what about me? I was bored to death!"

Vandita laughed at her husband's plight, but froze the next instant as she spotted Ishita, a few feet away from her, standing hand in hand with a stranger.

She watched, wide-eyed, as Ishita leaned into him, while he showed her something on his phone, with his arm placed lightly around her waist. The next moment, she hit him on his arm playfully, and they laughed together, lost in each other's eyes, unmindful of the crowd around them. Who was this man? And why had Ishita never mentioned him to her? Vandita wondered, as her forehead creased with worry.

She was about to go to her when she felt Shravan's hand slip away from hers, and she saw him run excitedly towards Ishita. But to her surprise, it was not Ishita that the child greeted, but Raman. He had run straight into his arms, and Raman had picked him up and was talking to him as if they had known each other since ages!

"Vandu, that's Ishu over there!" She heard Bala, and followed him towards her, dumbfounded.

"Akka, jiju..." Ishita waved to them.

"That's the smile!" Vandita thought to herself. "That's the smile that's been missing from her face all this while!"

"Ishita, what are you doing here?" Bala asked her.

"Jiju, akka, meet Raman. Raman, my Bala jiju and Vandu akka," she introduced them.

"Hi, glad to meet you. Raman Bhalla!" said Raman, as he shook hands with Bala.

"Wait a minute! You're Raman Bhalla? The Raman Kumar Bhalla?" Bala asked him, shocked. "Ishu didn't tell me she had such high profile friends! I've heard so much about you. Your name was all over the news a few months ago."

"Oh," Raman uttered, embarrassed. "Well, I've heard a lot about you too."

"Huh? But my name was never in the news!" Bala joked, to which Ishita burst out laughing.

"And he's my best friend!" chimed in Shravan, who was still in Raman's arms.

"Since when?" Vandita asked Shravu suspiciously.

"Umm.. actually, you both know about Raman. Remember the bus accident? He was the one with whom I travelled back to Delhi."

"Oh, yes, that was you?" Bala spoke up. "Thanks a lot for getting her back safely that day. We were all so worried for her."

"Believe me, there's no need to thank me."

Vandita vaguely remembered the random guy in the story that Ishita had mentioned. But she hadn't imagined him to be this handsome, rich man who looked at her sister like no one else existed in the world for him.

"Well, we were just leaving," said Bala. "Ishu, will you be joining us?"

"Jiju, you go ahead. We're waiting for Raman's sister. I'll be home soon."

They walked away then, with Shravu in tow, and Vandita feeling suddenly fearful of what her sister was up to.

****

"Bhai..Ishita..." Rinki called out to them, as she made her way towards them.

"About time!" Ishita said to her, "I'm so glad you're finally here, Rinki. Your bhai was not allowing me to buy anything."

"Kya bhai aap bhi. Don't worry, bhab... err... Ishita. Now that I'm here, I won't allow bhai to interfere," she said to her.

She led them to a nearby store, and they began looking through the various clothes and accessories on display.

"So bhai," began Rinki as she looked through a rack of sarees, "didn't you say that you have a party next weekend?"

"Yes, the one that Mehta is throwing," he said absentmindedly.

"Whom will you be going with?" asked Rinki, loud enough for Ishita to hear.

"With Mihir, of course. Why do you ask?"

"Oh god, bhai. I was asking about your date!"

"What? Don't be crazy. Chalo let's just finish this off and get going."

Rinki turned away from Raman with a frown, and glanced at Ishita, who was busy going through the pages of a catalogue, showing no indication that she had heard them.

"Wow, they're so adamant! At this rate, I don't think I'll get anything from either of them!" She thought to herself angrily.

After spending some more time at the store, they managed to select a pretty anarkali dress and Raman and Ishita were relieved that they had finally found the perfect gift. Unlike Rinki, who couldn't help feeling disappointed with herself at how Ishita and Raman had outsmarted her.

"This is a nice store. I would have come here had I known about it before," remarked Ishita as they walked out.

"Well, it's not going anywhere," said Rinki, laughing. "You can come again whenever you want."

"Oh, I won't be shopping for myself anytime soon now. I've already bought a lot on the pretext of the wedding," Ishita replied, making Rinki stop in her tracks.

"What wedding?" asked Rinki, not wanting to believe it before she got her to confirm it.

"My wedding, Rinki," she replied with a smile.

She caught hold of her arm and looked at both of them.

"You're getting married?" She asked them, but Ishita and Raman failed to notice that her question was directed at both of them, and not only at Ishita.

"Umm.. yes, Rinki," she replied, "Actually, I'm really sorry I didn't mention it the other day. And going by your reaction, I think even Raman hasn't said anything to you..."

"OH MY GOD!" squealed Rinki, and threw her arms around Ishita, engulfing her in a tight bear hug. This had been the happiest that she had felt in ages! She had only hoped to get a confession out of them regarding the fact that they were seeing each other, but Ishita admitting that they had decided to get married was no less than a bonus. She couldn't wait to break the news to her family.

Raman looked at Rinki, and wondered what was wrong with her. What was it with females and weddings? He found that her enthusiasm irked him, especially since it was for Ishita's wedding, which was a thought that always made his insides burn.

"Rinki, yar, please don't over react!" He exclaimed, irritated.

"Oh bhai, don't be such a spoil sport. I'm entitled to this happiness."

She turned to Ishita and said, "You must come home today. We'll celebrate!"

"What? But why-"

"No, I insist. Please." She continued pestering Ishita until she had no option but to give in.

"Alright," Ishita gave up. "You both go ahead. I'll follow you in my car."

****

Raman had been grumpy throughout the journey back home and hadn't spoken a word to Rinki. Probably because he was angry that his secret was out, Rinki thought to herself. But nothing could dampen her mood tonight. She had even messaged Mihir to come home so that she could make the announcement in everyone's presence. She knew how important this news was, so she jumped out of the car and ran towards their house as soon as they had parked.

Raman waited until Ishita had arrived and said to her as she approached him, "I'm sorry Ishita. My family tends to get overly dramatic about certain things. I suppose this is one of those occasions."

"It's okay, Raman. In fact, it's really sweet how happy Rinki is for me!"

They entered the flat together to be greeted by screams and squeals, and Raman and Ishita were left speechless as they were pulled into hugs by different members of the family. Raman had barely managed to extricate himself from Romi's bone crushing embrace when he spotted Ishita, caged in his mother's arms, who was holding on to her as if her life depended on it.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Screamed Raman at the lot of them, to which they instantly fell silent.

"Come on, Bhai, you can't stop us from celebrating now that we all know," said Romi.

"Yes bhai," Rinki added, "Please don't ruin it for us. It's a good thing Ishita told us. Otherwise, you weren't giving us a single hint."

"Puttar," Mr. Bhalla joined in, "why all the secrecy? Don't you want us to be a part of your happiness?"

Raman looked blankly from his parents' beaming faces, to Romi's and Rinki's excited ones, and to Mihir, who for some reason had resorted to biting his fingernails.

He turned to Ishita then, who looked as clueless as him.

Rinki walked up to Ishita and took her hand in hers. "Thank you so much for this. And now that you've made it official, I hope you don't mind if we openly call you bhabhi from now on."

"Bhabhi?" Ishita repeated, as it finally dawned on her that a huge misunderstanding had taken place somehow.

"Puttar," Toshi approached Ishita now, "I cannot tell you how happy you've made me by giving us this news. Mata rani knows how much I have prayed for my son's happiness, and now, when I see you with him, I know my prayers have been answered. Thank you for coming into my son's life, Ishita. Thank you for coming into our lives!" She said, with tears in her eyes.

Ishita looked at each of them, at the absolute joy that reflected in their eyes, and found that she did not have it in her to dishearten them. She looked at Raman instead, to see if he would break it to them.

Raman couldn't believe the things that they were saying to Ishita. He racked his brains, but couldn't figure out how they had assumed that he was marrying her!

"Ma," he spoke up, "Enough is enough. Who told you..."

"Toshi aunty, uncle, Romi, Rinki," Mihir interrupted him, "let's not bombard them this way! And what's with all this emotional drama, aunty? I thought we were going to celebrate?"

They all smiled through their tears, and agreed with Mihir.

"I'll go buy some snacks. Rinki, chal mere saath," Romi said, pulling Rinki along with him.

"Toshi ji, I'll arrange for some drinks from our special stock," Said Mr.Bhalla with a wink and hurried to his room.

"And I need to call Pammi!" exclaimed Toshi, and ran to make the phonecall, which finally only left Raman, Ishita and Mihir in the hall.

"Bhai," Mihir rushed towards Raman and Ishita. "Before you get all confused, I have a confession to make."

He told Raman about how he had lied to the family to get him out of the alliance fiasco.

"Mihir!" exclaimed Raman, smacking his forehead in exasperation. "What have you done? And here I was, marvelling at how brilliantly you had handled them!"

Mihir cringed as he saw the fury on Raman's face.

"I swear, bhai, I didn't tell them anything about you two. Ishita bhabhi happened to come over that day, and before I knew it, they had made up their minds that she was your girlfriend."

"Oh my god, Mihir," spoke up Ishita, who couldn't believe the mess that she and Raman had landed themselves in. "you were standing right there that day! You should have said something!"

"Bhabhi, trust me, I was so confused, I didn't know what to do!"

"Mihir! Will you stop calling me Bhabhi!!" she said, gritting her teeth.

"Oh!" he hadn't realized his blunder. "It's just that these people have been constantly discussing you all these days so I kind of got used to calling you that," he grinned sheepishly.

Ishita closed her eyes in a bid to calm herself while Raman shook his head in frustration.

"I am so sorry for this, Ishita," he said to her, feeling genuinely guilty about the way his family had behaved. "You don't worry. I'll tell them the truth as soon as they're back. This can't go on."

"Raman, please don't. Not this way." She remembered Toshi's tear-filled eyes and sighed. "They'll be heartbroken and I won't be able to take it. You can tell them once I've left."

"Tell us what?" asked Romi, who had just returned with Rinki.

Raman looked at Ishita, who shook her head at him, with a pleading look on her face.

"Nothing. Just that we know now why Rinki was pestering us the whole evening!"

"It was all Romi bhai's idea, bhai," Rinki defended herself who, in turn, glared at her for ratting him out.

"All's well that ends well, puttar," remarked Mr.Bhalla, entering the room with a bottle of champagne in his hands. "What's important here is that your efforts paid off!" He added, laughing heartily.

Ishita had never been made to feel so special in her entire life. She was being pampered silly by the Bhallas, and their happiness was so infectious that she couldn't help but push away all her guilt and enjoy the attention that they showered on her.

"So bhabhi, Bhai was lying earlier, wasn't he? You are going to the party with him?" Rinki asked her.

"Rinki, please.." spoke up Raman. "I can't take Ishita with me."

"And why won't you take her?" Asked Toshi angrily. "Of course you'll take her along. I won't listen to any excuses this time!"

Raman glared at Mihir furiously, and indicated to him to intervene.

"Err aunty ji, Bhabhi has a lot of appointments that day so.."

"Tu chup reh, Mihir," she snapped at him and turned to Ishita.

"Ishita, you will go, won't you? There's no need to be shy or secretive anymore."

Ishita looked from Raman to Mihir with an alarmed expression on her face, but she could see that they were as helpless as she was.

"Okay, I'll go."

"Woo hoo!" Screamed Romi. "Mihir, you'll be going too, right? I want a great picture of Bhai and bhabhi together. We'll put it up along with the others there," he said, pointing to the family photos on the wall.

Raman looked on at his entire family in amazement. When was the last time that he had seen them this happy? Scratch that. When was the last time that he had seen them this happy on his account? He watched as they rejoiced along with Ishita, and wanted nothing more than to capture that moment and carry the image in his heart forever. In that one moment, he wished he could give his family what they craved for. He wished for all of it to be real.

Mihir had noticed the adoration in Raman's eyes as he watched his family.

"Bhai," he said to Raman in a low voice. "Ishita is perfect. I won't be surprised if this actually turns into something more," he added with a smile, but was surprised to see the pain in Raman's eyes as he turned to look at him.

"There can't be anything more, Mihir. She's engaged to someone else."

He walked away then, leaving Mihir shocked.

Mihir was no fool when it came to matters of the heart. He could swear that he had seen the signs of something beautiful blossoming between Raman and Ishita. So he didn't care if what Raman had told him was true. All he knew was that he trusted his instincts. And he had a gut feeling that the picture of the complete family that he saw before him would soon turn into a reality.