#2 | IshRa: Meherbaan FF | Thread 3; page 79 - Page 49

Sneek Peek

It had been afternoon when that man returned home. And whoever said he look hot earlier swallowed their words. There was something hot about RKB sweaty, flushed red, to head to the shower that made the girls in the room swoon. If his lazy strut was to be recorded and played in slow motion then hearts were to stop beating, the female race was to stay glued to him and lose consciousness. Hot, he personified hot. And his voice, the husky baritone like melted chocolate that rolled over fudge at those chocolate fountains they could stay at all day, which they could listen to all day. And the dimple, the forbidden dimple, that was a crime. He was swoon worthy. Raman Kumar Bhalla. These were the reasons that when he questioned any passing lady on simple things they stood in trance until he repeated his statements only to acquire a huh, in response much to his humor. He was magic. He was heart flipping, chest beating and overly exhilarating levels of magic.

Previously: Raman sneaks Ishita out.

PMs later. Note Page 73, pls check.

Meherbaan reboot post on Wattpad @Meherbaan

Okay, let's begin.

C H A P T E R 2 1 T E R I J H U K I N A Z A R

(It's 6 am. Not proofread.)

It had been a day since Subbu had walked in on Ishita and the man she came home. It had been a day since Subbu watched the man lift Ishita in his arms and carry her to her room. It had been a whole morning since Ishita left her room. And when that man did, he refused to interact with anyone other than Amma who he informed of his trip to the gym. Ishita had then come downstairs to grab some food and then headed back to her room while the room burst in talks of someone spotting a hickey on her body. The little one whom they called Ruhi glared at him for no reason whenever she passed him by while Mihika and the rest passed him pitiful looks for the rest of the day.

They family planned another outing for the day, this time which most of the house bailed out of still too tired from the previous one. The house was officially in what they called the zombie phased where people either watched bad tv, lazed around or just ignored everyone.

It had been afternoon when that man returned home. And whoever said he look hot earlier swallowed their words. There was something hot about RKB sweaty, flushed red, to head to the shower that made the girls in the room swoon. If his lazy strut was to be recorded and played in slow motion then hearts were to stop beating, the female race was to stay glued to him and lose consciousness. Hot, he personified hot. And his voice, the husky baritone like melted chocolate that rolled over fudge at those chocolate fountains they could stay at all day, which they could listen to all day. And the dimple, the forbidden dimple, that was a crime. He was swoon worthy. Raman Kumar Bhalla. These were the reasons that when he questioned any passing lady on simple things they stood in trance until he repeated his statements only to acquire a huh, in response much to his humor. He was magic. He was heart flipping, chest beating and overly exhilarating levels of magic.

That was what Nalini had to say him when she passed him at a kitchen counter as he picked a bottle of packaged water from the freezer. All she did was stare at him up close while her heart beat ever so rapidly in her chest while he shared a .05 second eye lock with her (probably wondering why in the universe was she staring at him, not that she cared), all she did was lean on the counter like a satisfied woman the minute he walked away with a bright smile on her face and a blush that colored her cheeks before she realized two things; he was years younger to her and that Abhi's milk had overturned on the shove.

It was when Raman reached his temporary that he found Ishita huddled in bed; her comforter up till her neck, her hair in a loose bun, her face sans makeup and the light smile on her face. He hadn't even realized that he had been at her bedside admiring her sleep with that boyish grin or playing with a stray lock.

'Raman, shower, you stink,' she whined in her sleep and he playfully hugged her till she groaned in the sheets and turned away still sleepily rubbing away his sweat off her body like a far too annoyed toddler. She scrunched her face in a frown and pulled the sheets over her all whilst muttering curses in Tamil as he chuckled at her. It had taken him a good couple of minutes to find a change of clothes, a towel and other basic necessities in her massive closet after which he took a moment to fix her sheets.

'Paagal,' he chucked on his way to the bedroom door taking a moment to lock it.

He had taken his sweet time to shower relishing the feeling of hot water against his aching muscles. Why was he working out again? When had he started working out? Because she was required to. He who had been blessed with his looks and exceptional features after a bit of grooming had never once considered hitting the gym. He was more than happy to have the little beer belly he was blessed with courtesy of all those drinks he had consumed in his sorrow. Then she happened; his Madrasan. He had simply been joking when he called her fat on innumerous occasions but when she had been told to hit the gym he had blindly joined her as motivation and the rest had been history. She had gone from being his plump Madrasan to the woman she was today and so was he, he had lost what his mother proudly called the physical signs of a content man.

He leaned against the glass cubicle as he sighed over what was life. Why had she kissed him? Why did he kiss her back? Why hadn't they spoken about it? Why was she the was? Why didn't she ever question him? What was hidden behind the mask she put on? Why didn't she unmask to him? Was he willing to lose what they had? And for what.. sex? It wasn't that he doubted his ability to please her in bed or that the thought never crossed his mind. Good lord, if she only knew of the things he thought of doing to her or his fantasies of her?

He felt himself grow hard at the mere thought of it. Then why? Why wasn't sex as important to him as she was? Why did she matter to him? Why did her thoughts, her comfort and her decision matter to him? He was her husband, wasn't he? He couldn't have her whenever he decided to, couldn't he? Then why? Why did he want them to be more than sex? Why was he comfortable with her happy in his arms rather than her conflicted in his bed?

Why were they like they were? Why couldn't he return the smile she once adorned back to her? Why couldn't he make her laugh, giggle and enjoy the world like she once did? Why couldn't he make her forget the darkness she faced but never spoke of? Why didn't she talk to him of the things that haunt her?

He rinsed off, dried himself and changed into a comfortable set of pajamas before he went back to her. He lay of the bed besides her as she snuggled closer to him. She stretched for a few seconds before whispering a faint, hey. He pecked her on her cheek, telling her that her was back, before asking her of lunch only to have her mumble the words affirmative, Amma, yummy. She then held him at his waist before she fell right back to sleep leaving him to star at the ceiling before falling back to sleep the hours spent at the gym finally taking a toll on him. She smiled as she cuddled closer to him.

It had been hours after he woke up to a hungry stomach and a still sleeping wife. Her temperature was normal, then why was she sleeping so much. Did she overwork herself? She did that; pretended to be a superwoman and when no one was around did she sleep the fatigue off? He was starving. He picked the door keys from the bedside table, picked his cell phone, his wallet and a spare towel as he locked the door behind him so that only she could open it from the inside.

The hallways were busy as usual, only this time with people buzzing around instead of lazily walking around. And it was a sight to watch RKB walk down the stairs as he carelessly brushed his towel against his wet hair, often picking at it. It was Mihika who attacked him with her chitter chatter and he who induged in her nonsensical talks with a grin on her face and the subtle change in emotions as her conversation topics changed, as she locked an arm around his neck and then took the liberty to tease him at which he pulled her ears gaining winces and talks of abuse and then did the three of them, now joined by Mihir, go up to Amma who was being the usual and dressing up on the go and ask for food. And ask Amma chided them they were no longer the corporate leaders or employees they once were; instead they were Amma's kids who needed to be fed.

'Atttiii,' Ruhi hollered as she joined them minutes later, 'Papa, you should meet Atti. Ati. Ati. Ati.' Ruhi in the few hours away from Raman and Ishita bonded with certain number of people and had taken fascination to two teenagers by the name of Boo and Aati, mainly because of her love for their names.

'Paati. Atti.' She giggled.

Only Ru's Paati picked on her Papa. Raman, 'I said hair cut, not a trim,' sighed the older woman as Mihika flashed her tongue at Raman while the old male scowled at her.

Amma who was previously going to pull at Raman's ear, much to horror of the people, instead pulled at Mihika's ears as she threatened Raman that she would use the scissors in her utility bag to hack off his precious hair if she saw him with longer hair like she did to Shravan and Adi the last time they refused to visit the barbers. And had then taken the liberty of warning Mihir of the same whose beard had grown out of proportions as the trio dug into the snack Amma prepared for them as they waited for their takeout to arrive.

Only their takeout wasn't Amma approved. They were traditional bento-boxes filled with various assorted meals that came in premium packages. Raman handed the first one Ishita's Paati and when she refused did he promise that it met her standards and he made sure that the vessels used were not repeated or mixed. It wasn't his crude business mind, it was just the way he wired; ethical and bound to his roots to respect his elders no matter what their actions.

Only when Paati warmed to him did he thank her for what she did for Ishita. 'Your methods weren't justified but actions were. You meant well, she knows that. She'll come around, I'm just thankful to you,' he said. Only then did Paati notice that he wasn't trying to gain her approval or anyone else's. He was being curt to her like she was someone he was grateful to and had to learn to accommodate in life. He wasn't accepting or approving her but was merely thanking her.

'But let that be the last,' he said in an emotionless tone, 'Because the next time you hurt her, it won't be her who keeps you away. Instead, I will make sure to do everything in my power to prevent you from repeating your errors.' He gave her a curt nod as he walked away. Paati instead of being offended smiled at his retreating figure. She would have been offended if he tried to bribe his approval but by defending her granddaughter he had gained his.

Mihika had kept away Ishita's share in her room with her drinks and other things all thanks to mini snack bar Ishita had installed in her room back when she was in school.

And Raman, Mihir and Bala set up one of terraces for the plans they had made. The boys set up their video games, the ladies had their movies in line and had taken up their food to their joints to have their share of fun.

It was during one of those moments that Raman had to use the kitchen that he walked upon Subbu who tried his best to calm his screeching son. It wasn't any of the business but the man clearly had no clue of raising a toddler and the ittle thing had grown red from all the screeching. It was then that Raman had taken pity on the little thing taken him away from Subbu and explained why the baby was screaming. A little good feed later, proper solid food and a change of clothes later was Abhi all giggly as he held onto Raman refusing to go back to his dad. Raman instead of being annoyed had given the little one the grin her had reserved for kids. And even a stranger would know that he had a soft spot for kids, then why did he marry Ishita, Subbu wondered.

'Don't you know me?' Subbu asked him.

Raman gave him a weird look before retorting back with a, 'Am I supposed to know you?' And then Ruhi barged in like a hurricane, her hair flying in all directions and then shushed dramatically as she whispered, It's a baby,' to which nodded back. She then frowned at Raman and pointed at shorts and tee.

'Roo, don't you think that's too short?' Raman questioned his daughter.

'But Mama said it's fine,' huffed little Roo.

'Well, trust your mother and you'll never find never find a decent guy to date.'

'Jeeeju,' sighed Mihika as she walked into the kitchen before she turned to Ruhi and sighed, 'What are you wearing, Ru?'

'Apparently Ishita told her it was cute,' laughed Raman, 'And now we know why she attracted pedophiles,'

Mihika gigged as she playfully swat Raman on his arm while Ruhi glared at the both of the them, 'You married a sociopath,'

'She was pretty,'

'And you were a, ahem, teenager,'

'That too,'

'Okay, you win this one. Speaking of pretty Akka was trending on social media,'

'Madrasan is popular,'

'And pretty,' Mihika giggled. He chuckled.

'I miss Ananya,' Ru sighed and the talks diverted to Ananya before Ru skipped off to call Ananya.

'I need help,' sighed Mihika.

'That we agreed on, ages ago. All of you'll need help so we can rest in peace,'

'I think I'm addicted,'

'To?' And then Raman looked at Mihika, 'If this is a sex talk Mihika, go find your sister.' He looked petrified.

'Why? It's not like you're a virgin. And if Mihir can discuss it with Akka, I can discuss it with you,'

'No, you can not,'

'Why?'

'Because she's the inquisitive one, I'm like a, like a, neutral pole.'

'Okay, then I'll tell Amma what I caught you'll doing on the rooftop,'

Raman moved closer. 'You caught us doing nothing.'

'Then why are you whispering so conspicuously?'

He moved away. Composed himself. Cleared his throat. Smiled. 'I am not whispering.'

'Sure, I'll let Amma know that her innocent ones were,'

'Ahem. We are still married. You, my Mikku, aren't. And what were you even doing on a rooftop late at night?'

'You do not need to know that. I hate being celebate. And Buddhu is being a Buddhu. Probably Akka filling his ears with all this nonsense. Think about it, when Akka and you, you know, how can you be celibate after that?'

'I am not discussing this with you,'

That Madrasan. Why did she have to go around flinging her knowledge of the stuff she did!

'Then I will find Akka, and get all the details, you have nothing to defend.'

'Please do,' he scoffed. 'And when you're at it, go meet Bala. He probably shares your woes'.

Mihika stared at him wide eyed and gulped. Then shook her head in negative. 'I am not getting pregnant unless I really have to,' she exclaimed.

Y'ou'll are all wired the same way, right. Just wondering.'

And Mihir walked in exclaiming on how the taste of the food never changed at the place they got it from. And Mihika joined in with the same.

;Remember our Bombay trip, I could live in that place. Like in the restaurant just eating. It is so good, Jiju,'

'We were there, when we went to meet Adi. It's so good,' exclaimed Mihir.

Appa who walked past them pat Mihir on his back and requested a boys night when they got back to Delhi.

'How unfair, now just Akka has to be there,' Mihika exclaimed.

'Akka has been there. The night Raman bhai asked her to..' Mihir exclaimed and then stopped when he watched Amma pass by.

Amma who walked past them clueless-ly mistook Mumbai for Delhi and continued. 'Marry him? Why continue. Amma is cool, especially with all the things you'll do. Three daughters and not even one could get married decently,' she muttered.

'Periamma, Jiju is a baby magnet, look at the little one. Fast asleep.'

The conversation escalated to Raman muttering a, 'The next time she calls me a bad father tell her I did more of the dirty work. Well, mom did most of the dirty work, but I still did more of it than her.' And Amma looked at her son in law wistfully, if only the Gods were not cruel. While the Gods probably sighed if only they got any action.

'Did you call me dirty?' snarled a little Ruhi.

'If only you know how stinky your diapers were,' laughed her father as he lifted her in his arms.

'Papa, do not call me stinky,' she sighed.

'But you are stinky,' he cribbed as he tickled her.

'You're mean,'

'You're a ditcher,'

'No, I'm not,'

'Yes, you are,'

And everyone had conveniently ignored Subbu until Amma handed him back his kid, partly thankful that Raman hadn't known Subbu. How would he react?

--

They spent the evening and night playing video games; Appa-Raman vs Mihir-Bala or Raman-Bala vs Mihir-Appa while Amma watched her serials with the buys predicting the next moves while Mihika and Vandhu sighed at the sudden twists while Ruhi tsked at the absurdness of the situation.

They had discusses, talked, laughed and fooled around. It had been Delhi all over again. There had been no generation gaps, no age differences or relationships - they had been one unit. Laughing and having fun at the envy of others.

Ruhi and Raman had battled Bala and Shravan at a video game and had won thanks to Ruhi's saving move. And when Ishita arrived had they switched off the system, changed to a Ishita approved' game while Ruhi rushed to the entrance.

'Uth gaya mera baby?' she gushed at Ishita hugging her while everyone chucked at duo and Mihika asked for her hug. And Ruhi obliged.

Ishita instead side hugged Raman, sighed, leaned on his chest and closed her eyes while he placed a protective arm around her as he continued discussing what he had been.

No one had chastised Ishita on her wearing shorts, or her PDA' with Raman. She was sleepy, just out of bed and running low on hugs' she said as Raman shook his head at her, not once hiding his grin.

They called it night soon after as Mihika grinned at Raman and then winked at him much to Ishita's humor.

The sun was showing the initial signs of rising when they were done clearing after themselves that Raman lifted Ruhi and pulled Ishita closer to him and into his embrace and he ushered them to look at the horizon.

'Let's find a day to explore all the Adda's' grinned Ishita as Raman and Ruhi groaned in protest.

Ishita just held Raman closer and poked at Ruhi's nose.

'Let's live well,' he said to his wife and daughter.

'Let's go to sleep. I'm tired,' whined little Ruhi in protest and Raman lifted her and flung her up into the air and caught her soon after much to Ishita's horror earning him a smack from her. Raman instead ignored her and focused on ticking Ruhi as Ishita smiled at them.

There was it, happiness. She was happy. She smiled in acknowledgement. She was happy.

----

It was at the reception the next day that Ishita watched Raman book them a suite. She was nervous, that would be an understatement. It was the first time she would share a suite with Raman on their own terms. This hadn't been their wedding days, the accidental trips or their normal nights. This was different. Just them in a faraway hotel - away from everyone and distractions. He was a man wasn't he? Did he take it the wrong way? Did he expect her to sleep with him? Would she consummate their marriage? Why did he bring her here? He was the same, wasn't he? A sex-craved male. She sighed. What had to be done had to be done. And it was stupid waiting for some love confession before initiating intimacy. And if there was a confession, would she believe it to be something other than means to get into her pants. And why were they even putting off sex? Because she was stupid! Or was it that she had seen how good of a kisser he was that she wanted to get done and over with celibacy? Siiigh.

She sighed yet another time while he pat her lightly on the forehead. She had given him a stiff smile. She could do this.

She was nervous. She was beyond nervous. She was petrified. There were thousands of questioned that ran though her mind.

He unlocked the room and then walked towards the bedroom which was for some reason had been decorated like a honeymoon suite filled with roses, flowers and essence oils. He just walked to the bed and fell back, bouncing on it and tapping the empty space besides his that she ever so nervously walked towards. He hadn't noticed her state, far too tired from the driving. He turned to face her, in such a way that they were lying on the bed facing each other.

'So what do we do first?' she asked him, as she took off the blazer leaving her in the white blouse which for some reason hugged her curves and left nothing much to imagination. He could mentally trace her body, measure her proportions and fine-tune the dirty things that ran through his mine.

He cleared his throat. 'Sleep?'

She sighed. 'With me?'

'Of course. Who else would I sleep with?'

'Okay.' She proceeded to unbutton the buttons of her blouse. The first one, had him like a teenager. The second had him swallowing on his saliva. And the third had given him a clear view of her cleavage and he turned away embarrassed; not really wanting any unwanted situations.

'What are you doing?' he questioned her, still trying to get the image out of his head.

'You said you wanted to sleep with me?' she said in a tone that was plain as the day.

He turned towards her; what was he to do with her? He nodded in confirmation, tracing his hands along hers and finally tracing her top skipping to the fourth button. His hands touched her bosom, giving rise to jitters to the both of them. It was so intricate yet special, the little bits of intimacy they had. The stolen moments that lit up their souls. He traced the fourth button, lying there a moment longer than necessary.

He watched as she curled her toes at his touch, the way she swallowed back, her heavy breathing and the way her eyes screwed shut. And he treasured that.

He moved to the third button, touching her cleavage in an attempt to get the two ends of the shirt together and the button through the hole as he buttoned her up.

'Not like this,' he said to her as he finished buttoning her up. He then moved his hands away from her shirt and towards her waist. Holding her waist he pulled her closer. 'It's on the to do list, trust me on that,' he smirked showing off his dimple as he pulled her even closer. 'But right now I want us to just go to bed. Fully clothed. Doing nothing.'

'Then why did you get me here?' she questioned him, still unsure of his actions.

'Because no one asked you go back there. Because it was eating you up. Because I noticed. And because I vowed to protect you. Because I wanted to. And mainly because, this is exciting.' He laughed.

'You'll be the bad one,' she sighed.

'That's it?' he scoffed. 'There's there I cannot do make sure you're...'

'That I'm?'

'That you're...' That she's what? His? Happy? Content? Safe? With him? Near him? That she's?

'We have a problem,' she confessed while he looked at her blankly.

'Neither of us prefer sleeping fully clothed and then I'm considering using your dress shirts as sleepwear. So much more comfortable,' she continued.

He groaned while she picked a brand new dress shirt from the wardrobe and moved to the washroom.

He said no, that brute, she fumed.

She was going to be the death of him, he sighed as he fell back onto the bed. He smiled and then burst into tiny giggles and then laughter till he felt like he could cry from happiness or an empty feeling he couldn't quite place. She was his, wasn't she? As crazy, as annoying and as Madrasan-ish.. she was his. He smiled at that though. That crazy woman.

Originally posted by: jyothi_cool

Amazing update I just loved it thanks a ton for it

Originally posted by: -Ara-

Jyooottthiii!!!!!!

I'm hugging you. 😆😳