"ishita I know tum andar ho...so open the door damnit. I won't let u hide this time around." He said and his words provoked her anger. No...not this time. she was tired of hiding her emotions behind a fake veneer of friendship. It was time to get it all out in the open. If she still wanted her, he was going to get more than he asked for.
She slowly slid the safety chain off its hook and turned the knob around to open the door. Her legs felt like jelly as she met his dark eyes. His gaze roved over her hungrily as if he could not get enough of her. Shiver after shiver shot down her spine and she clutched the door for support. She backed up against it to leave room for him to enter the house.
The familiar scent of him hit ishita as he brushed past her inside. It sent her senses into a tailspin. He looked furious, which made her already frayed nerves jangle.
"tum toh problems se bhaagne mein expert hoti jaa rahi ho..ishita." he said in a rough tone.
"well I call it putting some distance between us to gain some direction" ,retorted ishita.
"just useless...even if u had to put distance of a continent between us why the hell cud u not anyone know where u were? I have been frantically trying to get in touch wid u for the past week or so." He said.
"tumhe aisa nahi laga ki shaayad I dnt want to be disturbed isliye maine aisa kiya?" ishita asked him.
Raman flushed. This was not going well at all. Just seeing her had made him impatient to make her all his. His insecurity had pushed him to offensive mode. He knew he needed to dial it down to get her to give him a fair hearing.
"actually Mujhe laga but I cud nt wait any longer. I had one hell of a time finding u." he said.
Ishita pursed her lips in anger. "that's right...what mr hot shot movie star wants , he has to get right now , doesn't he? And agar tum yahan Mujhe apne cold blooded agreement ke liye manane aaye ho toh plz leave coz I am done wid it." she almost shouted at him.
Raman noted the anger in her eyes. They stood out starkly against the wan pale face of hers. She had lost weight on her already slender frame and it made her look fragile as a glass. He felt a terrifying need to crush her to him and erase the pain he had caused. He just hoped she wud let him.
"no I am not here for that." He said slowly.
Pain shot through ishita. She had expected him to argue his case. This easy giving up on his part felt like a major let down. She had to get him out of here fast. The longer he stayed the more likely it was that she wud agree to whatever scheme he was proposing just to be near him for a bit longer.
"then what exactly are u doing here and was it my mom who told u where I was?" she asked him.
"actually it was bala and dnt blame him...I forced him into telling me abt ur whereabouts." Raman accepted.
Ishita understood bala's message now. Raman was the reason bala was not here now. He must have thought that a simple talk wid raman wud solve all their problems and so he left. She cud have told him that what they needed was a miracle thought ishita wryly. But still the question of what raman was doing here begged for an answer.
As ishita looked at him wid a question in her eyes raman knew this was time to bare it all, but the fear inside him was crippling. He wanted to turn back and hide behind the safety of a relation wid no strings attached but the thought of losing ishita was even more scarier.
"I just wanted to tell u that u were the best thing that happened to me and that I was a big fool to not realize it sooner. I want u back ishita." He said.
There was not a moment's hesitation as she shot back harshly-" no what u said sounded like another of ur line to get me to agree to ur ridiculous loveless proposal. Why are u doing this to me? I told u clearly that I want more. Why can't u leave it at that? Are u so selfish that it does nt matter to u what I want?" she said choking up wid tears.
"if it is selfish to want u in my life then I must own up to that sin. I do. I want u more than anything I have ever wanted," he confessed.
"u only think u want me becoz I had the audacity to walk away from u before u cut me out urself. Did it dent ur ego that I broke up wid u? is that what it is all about?" she said angrily.
She ignored his look of total surprise. He was an actor after all, so an expression like that must be a piece of cake for him, thought ishita angrily.
"I have no ego where u are concerned. This is something more, " he said.
"oh really?? Clue me in then. What is this all about?" she asked.
Raman felt a dread creep into him. Wasn't this what he always feared? The pain of rejection. The pain of not being loved enough. The pin of his happiness being dependent on another person. The thought of laying himself completely open to it all terrified him. If only he could walk away and forget her! But he knew very well, he could never do that. She was under his skin now. She was like a fever in his blood.
"ishita...this need I feel for u is relentless in intensity. Since the day I met u I have been inching closer to u by second. I won't deny that I have tried to fight it, but I cannot anymore. My life makes sense only I u are there to share it wid me. Tumhare bina sab kuch khatam hai ishita..." he confessed
Ishita looked at him in confusion asking-" are u really saying what I think u are saying?"
Raman-" ok fine if u think I m saying I want to wake up everyday wid u in my arms...u are right. If u are thinking I dnt want to spend another day without u...u are right. If u think I adore u to death and wud do anything to keep u in my life...then u are right...damn right. I would ishita. All I am asking for is another chance...that's it."
Ishita blinked back tears now. She wanted to say yes and ride away with her prince happily into the sunset. But he was still talking about now, not about forever. Was there no forever in his dictionary? She mustered courage and asked him-" for how long raman? Till u get bored of me or till the next pretty young thing catches ur attention? After I cease to be a challenge you will probably discard me without a second thought and where wud I be then? I know u won't cheat on me but if u left, I might not be strong enough to take it. no, raman just pretty words...dnt cut it for me anymore." She tried to stop him.
Raman knew she had misunderstood what he had been trying to say or most likely he had not spelled out correctly what he wanted. But the words, the crucial words stuck in his throat- probably becoz he had not used them in a very long while. At least not in his real life. To say the words wud be the ultimate surrender and to him it felt like a free fall dive without a harness.
"ishita...every other woman ceased to exist for me the day u came into my life again. Since that day there's only been u...sirf tum hi ho ishita. When u are all I want...why wud I even look at another? U brought warmth in my cold, shuttered life. U brought truth and faith into my life. And above all u brought happiness. U are my perfection ishu..." he said without stopping even once.
"u say all that now but wat If some years down the line u realize this is all a mistake?" she asked engulfed by insecurity.
"a mistake? If I let u go that will be the biggest mistake of my life. U are my only chance at happiness...dnt ever leave me again." He said choking up.
Ishita looked at him in stunned disbelief. The vulnerability in his eyes vouched for sincerity of his words. To hear the words from raman felt as if she had been handed her world on platter. She saw him holding himself stiffly as if awaiting a verdict and realized how difficult it must have been for him to say what he had done in the face of her resistance.
"I promise raman..i won't ." She choked out too.
She could not hold herself back any longer and made a mad run towards him as what he said just now gave her more than enough courage to believe in his love.
When raman saw ishita come towards him he opened his arms wide for her. She fitted inside them as if she had been made for him. He never ever wanted to let her go. He lifted her face and rained it with what felt like a hundred kisses down upon it. ishita stopped it by pressing her lips against his. Tenderness gave way to urgent passion in seconds. He slanted his mouth over hers and took all he could. Groans and moans mingled until they came up for breath.
"iss se pehle ki hum aage badhein ishita I need to know kya tumhe lagta hai ki hamare beech jo hai...who...aur zyada ho sakta hai?" he asked and she cud notice a tremble in his voice as she asked-" zyada kya raman?"
"do u think you can grow to feel what I feel for u? I am willing to take all that u can give for now but I want the hope that we can be more than friends and lovers in future." He confessed reluctantly.
That he wanted more emotions from her gave her the courage to be honest. It gave her freedom to bare her very soul in front of him.
"raman how can u not know what I feel for u? main tumse pyaar karti hun jab se tab se main 15 saal kit hi aur aaj bhi karti hun. Sirf tum hi rahe ho raman mera pyaar hamesha. Consciously or unconsciously every move I have ever made has been towards u. however much I have tried to forget u I could not. U were always there in the back of my mind. And when I met u again, it was like I was 15 again all over again. Only this time I cud nt lie to myself that it was a mere crush. What I feel for u is love ...the hamesha hamesha ke liye wala PYAAR raman..." she stopped for catching her breath.
Hearing her raman's breath came out in a whoosh...he had not realized he had been holding his breath too. His eyes blazed with warring emotions of pride and happiness. The only woman for him and she was his at last. He had to seal the deal the right then.
Raman fumbled in his pocket for the ring and dropped down to his knees.
"the first time I gave u a ring I just knew I wanted u in my life. But ab Mujhe pata hai ki I want u in my life FOREVER ishu...ishita iyer will u marry me?" his fingers shook as he held out the ring.
Ishita gasped as she looked down at the ring. It was not the showy piece of bling he had bought her the first time. this was simple row of diamonds winking sweetly at her. This was the eternity band she had coveted that day at the jewellers. Not that she wanted any more reassurance that he cared , but here it was anyway. He had understood what she really wanted. he knew she was the eternity kind of girl and he wanted it with her. She knew he still had not said the precise words of love but he was showing her that he did feel them. And she knew it was true.
A single tear rolled down her cheek as she screamed "YES" and raman picked her off her feet and twirled her around the room in ecstasy.
She was his now for all eternity.😳
so here it almost ends as epilogue is left na.😉
how was it? a bit lengthy reviews plzz😆
Love❤️
Shivangi
Sports
Anupamaa
