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Chapter Eight
Guests had arrived at Modi Household and the wait for both the Bahu's was in line patiently. Ahem was eager to see Gopi in the green outfit as he made way to the shower and let the cool water fall on his hair; calming his nerves. He stood there re-thinking the events he had encountered with Gopi as his hands rested on the tiled wall before him and figured that he had to find a way to tell Gopi that it was he whom was made for her and not Jigar. If only he could know if Gopi felt the same way about him, it would be so much better this way, rather than Gopi gets married to him; as she did in the previous life. It would make his life a lot more exciting if Gopi would too fall in love with him, as he was with her. But how could he make such a thing explainable to Gopi, she didn't know how to break the rules, he thought. But then as if an answer had been answered within itself Ahem smiled, if Gopi didn't know how to break the rules, Ahem certainly did, he would make Gopi see that he was the only man that could be in her life, and none other, not while he as alive anyway.
Jigar had come into Ahem's room to leave the engagement rings for him and Anita on the bed as he had heard Ahem in the shower, and figured he would locate them easily there, before he left to get ready himself.
Gopi sought the blessings of all elder members in the house, and was taken to one side to be seated while the ceremony warmed-up. Rashi had somehow managed to creep upstairs to find out which room was Jigar's so she would know which room to stage for Gopi and Nikhil. She hid as soon as she saw Jigar come out of one of the rooms on the far side, which seemed pretty big too, and then headed back in his direction and deliberately bumped into Jigar to begin some potential conversation, 'have you seen Gopi yet Jigar Ji?' She questioned as she bent down to retrieve his phone.
'No Rashi not yet, me and Bhai have only just returned from work, so I need to take a shower before I join you guys' he informed giving Rashi every detail she required as he possessed his cell again.
Hetal saw Gopi getting uncomfortable as she sat on one side, and sat by her to give her some company. Eventually she had asked Gopi to remove her shawl as she had warmed up by now. Surprised at Gopi's clothes but not disappointed Hetal wowed Gopi's graceful looks even in such overly exposed designer clothes. She immediately understood Gopi's discomfort to the style and praised her courage to wear the dress simply because her in-laws had wished for her to do so. Kokila's impressions however read otherwise, she wasn't at all pleased with Gopi wearing such vulgar styled clothing, but had remained calm through the ooh's and aah's when guests had gone gaga over her dress and graceful manner in portraying it.
During which Gopi's pin had come loose from behind her shoulder and tried to keep her net dupatta composed in place, but with no luck, and so Hetal had told her to go to Jigar's room upstairs and fix herself up and can also familiarize herself with Jigar's room while Jigar wasn't there. Rashi had by now returned and also intervened by offering to take Gopi up to Jigar's room as she claimed to have known where it was, but hadn't bothered to notify Gopi that Jigar was in the shower. This was perfect thought Rashi, as the opportunity had arisen itself, and with Jigar Ji already being in the shower, he'll come out and find Gopi in the room with Nikhil topless and then my job will be done. However she needed to act quickly, as there won't be much time before Jigar Ji comes out of the shower.
Gopi quickly shut the door behind her and lowered her dupatta to begin making the folds again. She tucked it into her waist at one side and carefully tried to place it over her shoulder and pin it to the back of her top.
Nikhil hadn't seen Rashi coming when she'd accidently ran into him and knocked his drink all over him creating a fuss over the matter. 'Oh god Nikhil I'm so sorry, I didn't see you coming' she said believably. 'Damn Rashi, all my shirt's ruined' he protested. 'Don't worry I'll dry it with an iron' she suggested simultaneously, 'you just remove your shirt' she ordered. 'Er dikhra go upstairs and take your time, don't be hasty, and go to the guest room and wait there, while I send Rashi up with the iron' said Hetal taking care of the matter instantly.
Rashi ran back to point the room out to Nikhil, 'go to Jigar Ji's room instead Nikhil, he might be able to borrow you a shirt in the meantime' she suggested, 'it's the room on the far side of the left.' 'Ok-ay Rashi' agreed the too bubbly Nikhil.
Finally Anita had arrived after much time, and hadn't bothered too much with formalities; Umang had accompanied Anita to the ceremony whose eyes had only searched for Kinjal, Ahem and Jigar's beloved sister.
Kokila had taken her around to seek blessings of all friends and family, but could see her carry this duty out half-heartedly, and had made it clear that she was only interested in meeting Ahem.
After much effort Gopi finally managed to pin the dupatta in place onto her top and moved around to see if it was fixed in place, only to be caught off guard by the opening of a latch from a room within the room. Gopi hadn't noticed another door inside the room as she had only paid attention to sorting her dress out. A few moments later however, she had learnt two things, first: the room within the room was in fact an en-suite bathroom, and second: that this bedroom didn't belong to Jigar Ji, as it was Ahem Ji that had walked out of those doors with soaking wet jet black hair, and only a pair of pants with a towel around his neck hanging over his perfectly carved abs.
'Nikhil' the voice of Jigar called out behind him. 'Hey Jigar, how are you doing?'Nikhil asked in response as he headed forward to greet him, and tell him of the mishap that occurred, 'I was just headed to your room while Rashi fetches an iron' he informed. 'Oh right okay, that's fine, but only my room's in this direction and not that way' Jigar pointed out 'that room happens to be Ahem Bhai's.' 'Really, I must've made a mistake in following directions' said Nikhil not making such a big deal of it, and definitely not wanting to bump into Ahem, not even by mistake.
'Gopi' said Ahem in surprise and pausing to adopt the look of astonishment as he'd realised what Gopi was wearing. 'Ahem Ji! Wh...wh...what are you doing here?' She gasped after much too much trouble. 'What am I doing here, what are you doing here?' He questioned back as he walked a little closer to her, and making her take two steps back.
'I, I...was told that this was Jigar Ji's room and Kaki...K...Ka...Kaki Ji told me to w...wait here as Jigar Ji wasn't here' she finally managed to finish. 'You confused our room for Jigar's?' Ahem almost threw back feeling offended. 'Sorry?!' She let out in questionable status. 'I meant to say that-' he stopped abruptly and looked at her tarty attire and literally spat out the words without bothering to give her reason for his comment 'why the hell are you wearing that outfit?' 'Ji?! Ahem Ji I had no choice, you said that you were going to send someone round to collect these garments and exchange them for a different design but nothing of the sort happened.' She said stating all the details.
'That darn store, how could they...' he cursed, and then turned back to her 'has Jigar seen you yet?' He asked with curious concern.
'Er no, we haven't met each other just yet-'
'And were you planning on wearing that in front Jigar and staying alone behind closed doors?' He infuriated baseless accusations without letting Gopi finish, 'what the hell is wrong with you Gopi?! You seem completely different to the Gopi that I once knew' he blasted walking up to her, and ordering her to remove that outfit at once. 'Take this off at once, and I'll tell Mom to give you something else to wear, but you are not going to wear this in front of all those unknown crowds,' he said as his hand went forward like he wanted to release his anger, but closed his palm into a tight fist to gain control over his actions instead.
Gopi was beginning to feel scared of Ahem's sudden change in attitude, he was behaving like she was his possession or something, which was far from it, but what was it that had troubled him so much; Gopi still failed to understand. She'd turned her face over to the left as her shoulders turned stiff in order to escape Ahem's anger, but nothing had come her way, Ahem had stopped in front of her, she peeked over to see what he was doing.
His mouth was tightly clenched, nostrils flared, and his eyes widened in bother, before Ahem could open his mouth to say something, Gopi had apologised unnecessarily 'I'm sorry Ahem Ji' she said meekly. Making Ahem feel slightly guilty, 'it's not your fault Gopi' he said with his voice turning softer, 'it's me I just, I just don't know what comes over me when I see you Gopi, I feel like you should already be familiar with certain things about me, but then I realise that you're not, and then I just end up getting disappointed with myself for involving you in this mess that I've created.' He said turning away from her and trying to let Gopi understand a little glimpse of his life at the very least. 'It's okay Ahem Ji' replied Gopi as her tears dried up, 'I understand that you didn't like the fact that I misunderstood you, it was my fault I should have trusted you. If you say that you sent someone to mend ways then surely you must have, but once again the workers must have messed things up.' Ahem looked back at her in admiration, and threw a half-hearted sideways smile, which Gopi accepted as an apology and in return expressed herself in the same manner.
Once things had cleared up between them and nothing was left to say Gopi shuffled nervously as she made aware the circumstance they were present in, and in turn Ahem cleared his throat realising he was not wearing any clothes, and Gopi too was in a state she would rather not be seen in, 'erm you can go ahead and sort yourself out and I'll just er, wait in the bathroom for you to finish,' he said trying to make things rightfully presented again.
Gopi knew that Ahem's anger was more than skin-deep but to tamper with it would be asking for trouble, for her own feelings seemed to be playing up while she was around him, for so many days she tried to avoid her mind lingering over Ahem Ji, but without fail. She was scared to think of this matter as it would only bring her heart ache, and to make matters worse he was her future brother-in-law, she shuddered at the thought of it, as she returned to the mirror.
'And were you planning on wearing that in front Jigar and staying alone behind closed doors?' He infuriated baseless accusations without letting Gopi finish, 'what the hell is wrong with you Gopi?! You seem completely different to the Gopi that I once knew' he blasted walking up to her, and ordering her to remove that outfit at once. 'Take this off at once, and I'll tell Mom to give you something else to wear, but you are not going to wear this in front of all those unknown crowds,' he said as his hand went forward like he wanted to release his anger, but closed his palm into a tight fist to gain control over his actions instead.
Gopi was beginning to feel scared of Ahem's sudden change in attitude, he was behaving like she was his possession or something, which was far from it, but what was it that had troubled him so much; Gopi still failed to understand. She'd turned her face over to the left as her shoulders turned stiff in order to escape Ahem's anger, but nothing had come her way, Ahem had stopped in front of her, she peeked over to see what he was doing.
His mouth was tightly clenched, nostrils flared, and his eyes widened in bother, before Ahem could open his mouth to say something, Gopi had apologised unnecessarily 'I'm sorry Ahem Ji' she said meekly. Making Ahem feel slightly guilty, 'it's not your fault Gopi' he said with his voice turning softer, 'it's me I just, I just don't know what comes over me when I see you Gopi, I feel like you should already be familiar with certain things about me, but then I realise that you're not, and then I just end up getting disappointed with myself for involving you in this mess that I've created.' He said turning away from her and trying to let Gopi understand a little glimpse of his life at the very least. 'It's okay Ahem Ji' replied Gopi as her tears dried up, 'I understand that you didn't like the fact that I misunderstood you, it was my fault I should have trusted you. If you say that you sent someone to mend ways then surely you must have, but once again the workers must have messed things up.' Ahem looked back at her in admiration, and threw a half-hearted sideways smile, which Gopi accepted as an apology and in return expressed herself in the same manner.
Once things had cleared up between them and nothing was left to say Gopi shuffled nervously as she made aware the circumstance they were present in, and in turn Ahem cleared his throat realising he was not wearing any clothes, and Gopi too was in a state she would rather not be seen in, 'erm you can go ahead and sort yourself out and I'll just er, wait in the bathroom for you to finish,' he said trying to make things rightfully presented again.
Gopi knew that Ahem's anger was more than skin-deep but to tamper with it would be asking for trouble, for her own feelings seemed to be playing up while she was around him, for so many days she tried to avoid her mind lingering over Ahem Ji, but without fail. She was scared to think of this matter as it would only bring her heart ache, and to make matters worse he was her future brother-in-law, she shuddered at the thought of it, as she returned to the mirror.
'Gopi! Will you be able to hand my towel that I left on the bed there please!' Ahem shouted from inside the bathroom, he'd thrown it when he'd gotten angry at Gopi, and left it there in a hurry. 'Er...yes Ahem Ji one moment,' she called back hesitantly, oh god; this wasn't good, it especially wasn't the type of situation she wanted to be in on her engagement day, that too with another man.
She knocked on the door to hand the towel to him, he'd opened it without keeping himself hidden from her, and taking the opportunity to flaunt his ripped abs and huge biceps before her, Gopi couldn't help but look, she could feel the blood rushing to her face, knowing she'd put herself in an awkward position but it was too late; she was already blushing faintly. Ahem's gaze had almost instantly shifted on her pink cheeks as she could see him trail her face, and this didn't help, it meant he was now officially introduced with the vast effect he had on Gopi.
The signs Ahem had been looking for seemed to be pretty obvious now that he watched her cheeks stained themselves with a pool of pixie pink in the space of two minutes, and to fuel the fire he'd taken his time to let her admire his body, as he reached for the towel slowly, but surely.
Their slow paced tempo of communication had been disrupted by the sound of the front door jolting back and forth like it was stuck before it could open, with Anita's voice calling out to Ahem. 'Oh shit it's Anita!' Feared Ahem knowing the scene on this side of the room was nothing of the sort that she would understand it to be, without thinking he grabbed Gopi's hand and pulled her into the bathroom, as she yelped at the sudden action taken by him. He covered her mouth with his palm and hushed her, 'if Anita sees us like this she won't understand anything we tell her, and she will be sure to blow matters well out of proportion, so just stay quiet please,' he begged in a whisper as he gave her a nod and hinted that he would remove his hand from her lips if she gave consent to remain quiet, and she in return gave a single nod. He could hear her heartbeat racing as her breathing grew uneven, which she tried to disguise but failed miserably, as he lowered his hand from her face slowly.
Ahem reached over to the shower and switched it on and moving back over to Gopi, covering her with his body so her clothes would remain dry. 'Ahem!' Anita called out, and then the door of the bathroom shook, 'Ahem' she knocked this time. 'Anita!' Ahem said trying to act surprised, 'what are you doing here?'
'We're getting engaged Ahem, and I'm assuming that both parties in the alliance must be present on the day' she informed sarcastically, 'now tell me how long are you going to be?' She pushed again. 'Er look Anita I'll be out in 20 minutes, I just got in, why don't you go ahead downstairs and I'll join you soon.' He said trying his luck to drive her out of his room for a long period. 'No that's okay, I think I'll wait here' she called back, Ahem closed his eyes in despair, as if things couldn't get any worse, how on earth was he to smuggle Gopi out of the bathroom now; sure he wanted to tell Gopi his feelings but not like this while the setting would make him look like the bad guy, that's cheating on his fiance. He wanted to do things the proper way.
Anita sat on Ahem's bed as she looked around the room and then caught glimpse of the two ring boxes lay on the bed, reaching over to them and taking a sneak peak. While she waited for Ahem to come out of the shower.
Gopi's brows creased in fear, knowing there was no way out. Ahem noticed the fear in her eyes and felt responsible for putting her in such a position, but there was nothing he could do to talk himself out of this situation. Although this scenario hadn't felt much of an issue to him, he knew Gopi was ready for a heart attack.
He tried to think of something quickly but was suddenly alerted by something that was hiding in Gopi's dupatta. She followed his eyes to find a suffocated cockroach trapped between the layers of folded net in her dupatta and was instantly ready to scream at the hideous sight of it, but Ahem knew Gopi's phobia for the insect already and had covered her mouth just in time to conceal the muffled pitch of her scream, which remained consistent.
Ahem had to react quickly and tried to shake the net from that area to slip the creepy crawly out but with no luck, Gopi's muffled scream gained more impact resulting in Ahem holding her mouth shut tighter. He tried to tell her to remain still, 'Gopi please don't move, it won't hurt you I promise' he begged, 'just be still,' but the insect had wormed its way lower to her stomach, and Ahem had no choice but to pull the net dupatta out of her skirt and flaring it out for it to drop onto the wet ground, and then flicked it over to one side with his towel, and threw it over it so it would remain hidden.
Not able to get rid of the squirming feel of cringe from the insect Gopi gripped onto Ahem's shoulder to shake her fear out as her body shook against his, leaving Ahem wanting to react to her touch that left a burning sensation on the surface of his skin.
In that moment alone he'd abandoned all sense of reality and taking full advantage of the situation before his very eyes, he decided that he wouldn't let Gopi create any more literal distance between them, her bare skin warmed his cold body obliviously, while her eyes had fixed themselves on the insect, she was unaware of the emotions she was beginning to arouse within Ahem.
By the time Gopi had taken interest in the actions her body had recruited, she hadn't noticed Ahem's deepened narrow gaze on her face, before she could attempt to remove her hand from his bare shoulder, he grabbed it with authority and held it kept in place, and focused on inching his face closer to hers. Her eyes hovered with uncertainty from his narrow stare to his gently parting lips that was closing the gap between the two of them; her own lips parted to say something but was objected by the warm pressure of Ahem's and before she knew it, she was allowing herself to drown in his dark brown glossy eyes, he lifted his hand to brush the back of his fingers against her tender cheek, taking his time to claim entry into her mouth. His lips had trailed hers to a much softer and lingering kiss now to pull away for a short second, just to see whether Gopi was feeling forced by his control, but a pleasant surprise for him was Gopi's lips had searched for his in response from the parting, her eyes were closed and she was willingly letting him taste her gentle lips, and he didn't resist to her plea.
This time he demanded her by crushing his lips against hers, she was lost in his world; she couldn't think; she didn't want to think, and most of all she didn't need to. Her hand slipped up his chest and around his neck, while Ahem slowly caressed a soft delicate curve with his cold touch, making Gopi flinch at the slightest, but Ahem pulled her closer to him, making Gopi stumble and in reflex her hands tugged onto both his shoulders, but he was quick to react; his hand went up to her hair to hold her fast driving her up against the wall, as he could feel her body tremble from his touch and her grip around him was tightened for support tugging onto his hair. His fingers were digging into the back of her neck now as he pressed his body closer to hers, wanting to give her more, but not knowing what more would be in the giving at that moment in time.
Everything about that moment was wrong, the location, the time, the events, the moral boundaries of this life, regardless of it not being real, Ahem still felt intact to the values of a relationship, but yet he couldn't stop himself from making his claim on Gopi. Although everything may have been wrong in theoretical terms, everything happened to be perfect about that moment, true love knew no rights or wrongs, it only knew that being with the person you truly love made every place and every moment in life special.
Thank you to all for reading!
I know I'm really late, and I also promised ANJ4 that I'll update on the next day from Diwali, and I am so very sorry that I couldn't but believe me this chapter had me blocked out a little, even though I knew exactly what I'd wanted to happen in it. So anyway, this is a very special dedication to - ANJ4! Hope I managed to bring that smile to your face that I'd anticipated. And for that matter everyone who has been waiting for this update for quite some time now, I do hope you can forgive me. 😳😳
Also a big thank you to everyone who sent me Diwali wishes, I hope everyone had a great time during this festive week. 🥳
I have absolutely fallen in love with this forum, you guys are so great and I really appreciate all the love you have given me, I have made many great friends here too, so that's definitely another thing I'm truly thankful to this forum for. 🤗
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