IshRa SS - Crossroads Chapter 15 Pg 88 *CONCLUDED* - Page 37

Raman noticed Ishita standing with Mihir and swiftly made his way over to her.

"Where were you?"

"I was right here, trying to mingle with all the nice people around," she replied sarcastically as Mihir held back a chuckle.

"Fine, but spare some time for me too, will you?" he said to her with a wink, and slipped his hand into hers authoritatively.

For a moment, she wondered if she had heard him right, but was interrupted by someone before she could ponder over it.

"And who is this lovely lady with you, Raman?" Ishita saw a man, probably in his mid-forties, approach them.

"Mr.Mehta!" exclaimed Raman, as the man walked over towards them.

"Ishita, this is Mr.Mehta. Mr.Mehta, Ishita, my... friend."

"Jhootha kahin ka!" Ishita turned as she saw another unfamiliar man join them.

"Mehta ji, don't listen to him. He's lying," the young man continued as he playfully punched Raman in the stomach.

"Ishita, this crazy fellow here is my buddy, Ravi Tandon," he introduced him to her.

"Hello." She greeted him with a smile.

"Yaar, aisa kaun sa jhoot bola maine?" Raman asked his friend.

"Ishita ji ko friend bulata hai! Jhoot hi toh hua!"

"What do you mean?" Mr.Mehta intervened curiously.

"Mehta ji, allow me to elaborate. I've known Raman since a long time now. I know him enough to understand that this look he has on his face right now would never be for just a friend. And have you noticed how he never lets go of her hand, whenever he's with her?" He pointed to their hands, which were clasped together. "She's a special one, isn't she Raman?"

Ishita pulled her hand away, mortified, while Mihir stood by sniggering, enjoying their embarrassment.

"Well, that she surely is!" Their laughter was interrupted by Ashok, who was striding towards them along with Shagun. "After all, we all know that Raman has fine taste in women!" He leered at Ishita and looked her over appreciatively, while Shagun rolled her eyes at her.

Raman had a good mind to punch him in the face, and he would have, too, had Ravi not cut in at that very moment.

"Err.. of course, Ashok. Ishita ji, we'd like to know more about you. Raman here hasn't said anything to any of us. So would you please tell us something about yourself? How did you both meet?"

Their first meeting...Ishita's mind instantly went back to that day, eight months ago. The storm, their fight.. the kiss. Her cheeks grew warm as the memories invaded her senses.

Was she blushing? Raman wondered as he observed the colour rise in her cheeks, and his heart warmed at the sight.

"Oh, it's nothing worth mentioning," she tried to evade.

"Aise kaise, Ishita? You must tell them. It's such a good story." Raman urged her, holding back a smile.

"Raman!" she glared at him, unable to understand what he expected her to say.

"Fine, I'll tell them," he said, and to her horror, proceeded to narrate exactly what had occurred. "We met for the first time at a restaurant, and she picked a fight with me for some silly reason, and I got so annoyed with her that I had to kiss her in front of all the people there to shut her up!"

Ishita placed a palm over her face, wishing that the ground would swallow her up while Mihir coughed out loud, almost choking on the drink that he had been sipping on.

"You did what?" Tandon roared with laughter. "See, I knew there was something cooking between you two! Wah, mere sher!" Tandon clapped him on the shoulder, unable to control his laughter. "And the fact that she's with you even after what you did proves how special she truly is!" he added, earning a punch in the arm from Raman.

"You youngsters are so forthright in these matters these days!" Spoke up Mr.Mehta, as he laughed along with them. "During our days, we were more conventional when it came to expressing our love to the ladies. Traditional gifts like flowers, jewellery, discreet love letters seemed to work fine. But nowadays, I guess they're just not enough."

"Oh, trust me, Mr. Mehta, conventional always works. We women don't need such unnecessary drama in our lives," said Shagun derisively. "Take Ashok, for example. He gifted me this diamond necklace the other day," she pointed to the huge neck piece that she was wearing. "Conventional, I know, but I was impressed, nonetheless!" She said proudly and leaned into Ashok's side.

"Aww baby, that's so sweet of you," Ashok said to her, planting a kiss on her forehead.

Ishita had been observing Raman during Shagun's little speech, fearing that he would be hurt to see her openly flaunting her relationship with Ashok, but was surprised to note his expressions. Instead of anger or bitterness, she saw nothing but indifference on his face.

"See, now that's what I call true love!" exclaimed Mr.Mehta. "Mr.Khanna sure knows how to make his girl feel special. And what about you, Raman? Let's see you do something to impress your lady love."

"What?" Exclaimed Ishita, "No, sir, there's no need for that."

"Why not? Come on, Ms. Ishita, you should not let go of such opportunities." he said to her with a laugh.

"Sure, Mr.Mehta," said Raman, after a moment, as if he had thought of something. Ishita panicked and looked at Raman, but he only smiled at her, and to her surprise, walked away from them, towards the front, where there was a band playing soft music. He gestured them to stop and borrowed a mic from one of them.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!" He began, and Ishita watched him apprehensively, wondering what he was up to.

"I stand here, before all of you, because I've been asked to impress my lady love... in case you don't know her, she's the one in red." He said, pointing in Ishita's direction. "Pretty easy to spot actually, since she's the most beautiful woman in the room," he added, much to Ishita's embarrassment. "And Mr. Mehta, let me tell you, it's not easy to please this one!" He laughed.

"She is not someone who can be won over by flashy gifts or grand gestures. But I'll try my best anyway, and conventional or not, the only thing I have with me to give her right now, are some words to show her how much she means to me!"

"This one's for you, Ishita!" He spoke, looking at her fondly.

"Jis din se tha dekha tujhe pehli baar,

Ek sawaal tha dil me jo karta tha pareshaan.

Kaun hai tu?

Jiske aane se dil ka soonapan hua kam,

aur mit gaye meri zindagi se saare gham!

Kya koi pari hai tu,

Jiski khoobsurti se dhadkane hoti hain tez har baar?

Ya chaand hai tu,

Jiski roshni se andhere hote hain gaayab har baar?

Par jab aayi kareeb tu, tab aaya is dil ko hosh,

Aur maloom hua..

Na chaand, na koi pari hai tu,

Ye to koso door hain baste.

Tu to mere dil ke kareeb hai, meri rooh hai tu!"

Ishita stood transfixed, as everyone around her broke into applause. The sound brought her out of her trance, making her aware that his gaze was fixed on her, and he had his hand held out, gesturing her to join him. She walked up to him, slightly dazed, wondering what had gotten into him, his actions puzzling her to no end. But, at the same time, she couldn't help the way her heart fluttered, as his enchanting words swirled around in her mind. The most beautiful woman in the room, he had called her. But she suddenly felt like the most beautiful woman in the world!

She reached his side, and linked her fingers through his, smiling at him through her tears.

"So, Mr.Mehta," he said out loud, bringing her out of her reverie, "have I passed the challenge?"

"With flying colours, Raman!" He replied through the crowd, as Tandon blew whistles and everyone began clapping again.

Shagun could only gape at the two of them, open-mouthed, unable to believe what she saw. The Raman she knew had never been so openly romantic. What was it about this woman that had caused the change?

***

"Raman," Ishita called out to him hesitantly. She had been desperately waiting for a chance to speak to him, and as soon as she saw that all his friends had finally left them alone for a while, she figured it was the perfect opportunity. "Can I talk to you for a moment? In private?"

"Sure," he replied, and led her through one of the doors nearby to an outer veranda.

"What is wrong with you?" She asked him urgently, as soon as they were outside, confusion writ all over her face. "What was all that back there?"

He wished he had an answer to that. He didn't know what had come over him. True, he had been restless the past few days, acutely aware yet confused about his feelings towards her. But the moment she had stepped into the party that evening, he had lost all ability to think sensibly. Every thought had been about her since then, and every moment had been about being with her. And since it had become completely impossible for him to keep his emotions in check, he had decided to let go of his inhibitions, giving free rein to the desires of his heart.

"You wanted to make Shagun jealous? Fine! But don't you think you went a little overboard?"

"What?" He asked incredulously, as she cruelly pulled him down from his happy land.

"Ishita, that was not about Shagun! Nothing in my life is about Shagun anymore, do you get that?"

"But.. then why..?" she stammered, finding it difficult to believe that he was really not affected by Shagun's presence.

"Raman, they're all your friends back there! Do you understand the consequences of your actions? What will you tell them when the truth is out?" She lectured him and he sighed.

"Will you please relax, Ishita? I didn't start it. They assumed that we were together and I...well, I just went with the flow," he said sheepishly.

"That's another thing I don't understand. No matter where we go, people end up assuming that we're together!" She said exasperatedly, leaning her back against the railing nearby.

He chuckled at that and went and stood beside her.

"It's not funny, Raman," she warned him. "It's really strange how many times this has happened. In fact, even at the dhaba, the first time we met, Jassi aunty thought you were my husband!"

"Err... that was my doing, actually," he said, embarrassed, and told her about how the couple had overheard his conversation with those goons.

She was speechless for a few seconds as she processed this piece of information.

"I'm sorry, Raman. I guess I completely misunderstood you that day. It was foolish of me," she said to him guiltily.

"But I'm not sorry. I wouldn't want our first meeting to have happened any other way," he said with a slight grin.

She whacked him lightly on his arm.

"Of course you wouldn't. Which reminds me that you owe me an apology for that kiss!"

"Do I? Was it that bad?" he asked her slyly.

"Shut up, Raman!" She said red-faced, and he chuckled. He had only just realized how much he loved making her blush.

"It was out of line," she continued. "Do you remember how angry Jassi aunty and her husband were?"

"Of course! How can I forget the ever-bickering couple?" he remembered, laughing.

"They were the sweetest, Raman! They were truly in love, even after so many years of their marriage! In fact, even their bickering was a form of their love," she sighed. "Any girl would want to be in such a relationship. I know I would."

"I thought you already were," he said to her squarely.

"Of course," she replied after a pause, putting on a fake smile on her face. She had always evaded when he had tried to probe her about Subbu, and he now had a nagging feeling that she hadn't been completely honest with him.

"But I must hand it to you, Raman. Where did you learn to come up with fake love poems just like that?" She said, snapping her fingers, and giggled.

It dawned on him then that she thought he had been faking it all the while, and he couldn't stand that. He wanted to let her know what he felt for her; and what she felt for him in return.

"You really wanna know?" He asked, looking into her eyes.

"Sure. What's the big secret?" She smiled, expecting a clever reply from him as usual.

"You have to come closer. I can't say it out loud."

She laughed at that and stepped closer to him. And he took another step towards her, so that there was no distance left to cover between them, and catching her unawares, he turned, placing his hands on the railing, on either side of her, blocking her with his arms.

"There's no secret, Ishita," he whispered to her, leaning forward, bringing his body close to hers so that his breath kissed her ear. "Except that none of it was fake. Not one word," he added and reached out to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear.

She gasped as she felt his touch on her skin and tried hopelessly to calm her racing heart as the meaning of his words sunk in.

Did he mean what she thought he meant? She could hear her heart pounding against her chest, and suddenly felt an insane urge to close the distance between them. But before she could react, his phone began ringing and he stepped back from her, distracted.

"Hello.. bol Mihir," she heard him speak while she struggled to get a hold over herself. "Yes, I'm here... Okay... I'll be there... Yes, right now, Mihir!"

He shook his head and turned to her.

"Mehta is searching for me," he said to her while she only nodded in reply. "So...I need to go... You coming?"

"Umm.. sure.. you go ahead. I'll join you in a minute," she managed to say.

He left her and walked away reluctantly. If only Mihir hadn't chosen that very second to call him, he wouldn't have had to cut short this conversation with her. But now the moment was lost and he wished he could somehow find out what was going on in her mind.

She placed a palm over her heart as soon as he left, clutching the railing for support. All evening, she had found his behaviour unusual, not realizing that everything he had said to her, or about her, had been the truth and not a pretence that he had put up for the sake of his family or for Shagun as she had assumed. In all these years Subbu had never made her feel the way Raman had in the span of a few weeks' time. Images of the moments that she had spent with him flashed through her mind and she realized that it was time she acknowledged the apparent truth.

She walked into the hall again, determined to talk to him and make sure that what she had seen in his eyes for her was not just a figment of her imagination. Not really looking anywhere but towards him, she walked hurriedly, only to bump into Shagun on the way.

"Watch where you're going, will you?" Shagun cried out, before she looked up and her eyes narrowed when she noticed that Ishita standing in front of her.

"Sorry," Ishita muttered, annoyed to have run into Shagun again.

"Oh, it's okay, Ishita. I know how difficult it can be to walk in a saree. That's why we wear gowns to such parties. But you really don't have that option, do you? After all, not everyone can carry off a gown with style," she said to her spitefully.

Ishita shook her head at Shagun, unable to believe how arrogant she was.

"Shagun, I can't carry off a gown, I may not even be as beautiful as you are. But even then, Raman has eyes only for me. And in spite of how amazing you look tonight, your husband has his eyes on every woman in this room except you!" She snapped at her angrily.

"How dare you? I trust Ashok's love for me and I don't need you to be the judge of that!" Shagun exclaimed, too proud to accept Ishita's words even though she had a hint of what was plainly obvious. "It's you who should be worried, Ishita. Just because Raman showered you with some flowery words does not mean that he is in love with you."

"Oh, what do you even know about love, Shagun? You will never understand what Raman and I share because you probably measure love only by how many diamonds it can buy for you! So I don't want to waste my time arguing with you. And I request you to invest your time and energy on your own relationship, rather than on Raman's, because contrary to your high-handed opinion, Raman is over you! Completely!" She retorted and walked away from her, her outburst leaving Shagun too shocked to react. And as she remembered how Raman had behaved around Ishita the entire evening, she realized, irritatedly, that she probably held no importance in his life anymore and that Raman had indeed moved on.

Ishita looked around to find Raman missing from where she had spotted him earlier.

"Hey," She heard Mihir call out to her.

"Where's Raman?" She asked him immediately.

"That's what I'm here to tell you. Something came up and Bhai had to handle it. It was urgent. So, he's asked me to drop you back home. Shall we go?"

"But I need to talk to him!" she said to him desperately.

"What is it?" He asked, surprised to hear the urgency in her voice. "Okay, listen, Ashok challenged one of the ideas that we had presented to Mehta and now Mehta is all paranoid. So Bhai is talking to him right now, trying to control the damage!" He said, making his irritation with Ashok apparent in his voice.

"Anything serious?"

"Nah, we're used to Ashok's interference. Bhai will manage, I'm sure," he replied confidently.

"Fine, I'll.. I'll speak to him later," she said defeatedly, and left the party along with Mihir.

****

A million thoughts ran through her mind as she lay in her bed that night. She had all these feelings for Raman, which, if she chose to act upon, would mean making some life-altering decisions, and she wondered if she was ready for that. Besides, did she matter to Raman as much as he had indicated? If so, did he realize what it meant for the two of them?

She didn't know if she should be excited or terrified for what her heart wanted, and was suddenly wary of where her life was taking her. She needed to confront him before she jumped to any conclusion, she decided grimly, and rolled over, in an attempt to get rid of her anxiousness and willed her exhausted mind to get some much-needed sleep.