IshRa SS - Crossroads Chapter 15 Pg 88 *CONCLUDED* - Page 59

Originally posted by: rutu83

is it too soon to ask for an update?

Originally posted by: rufana10

awesome update Neethi
subbu showed his true color to everyone...
he is a jerk 😡
felt bad for ishita...
loved d way raman punched on subbu's face 👏👏
finally raman understood everything...
at last he found ishita 😃
looking forward to ishra confrontation and confession
update soon dear 😊

Originally posted by: sririt

Can't wait for the update dear. Please do it soon, if you can

Originally posted by: prayosha

Wow...the story was such a wonderful...

All parts I read in one go...

& you stoped it at very wrong point...

Please continue soon...

Originally posted by: --Ta--

Great update😊

Continue soon!

Hello,

After a long gap, here I am, with the next update😊

Unfortunately, we've almost reached the end of the story. There will be one more update, mainly to tie up a few loose ends. But that will be it.

And this one contains the much-awaited, long-pending confession! It was a bit difficult for me to pen down this part because it's special and important to the story. So, I really hope I haven't goofed up. Do let me know😊

There was something eerily familiar about the sight, he mused as he stood watching her, her long hair flying with the breeze, and the golden paddy fields glistening in the sunlight beyond where she stood. He walked over to her, his steps deliberately slow, and placed a hand on her shoulder. And when she turned to face him, her red-rimmed eyes going wide with surprise as she saw him, he realized that this was no deja-vu. This was his dream, turning into reality before his very eyes.

"Raman?!" She exclaimed, shocked to see him.

He came to his senses as he heard her voice, but his mind was still grappling with the realization of how deeply he was bound to her.

"What were you thinking, running away like that?" He said to her furiously.

"Raman, please.. I need to be on my own for a while," she said, turning away from him again.

"The hell you do!" He retorted. "No one knows where you are, and your family is worried for you. So you're coming back with me, right now!" He held her by her elbow and tried to pull her along with him, but she pushed his hand away in anger.

"I'm not going anywhere. What are you doing here, anyway? How did you even know I was here?"

He folded his hands across his chest and looked at her evenly.

"I'll answer you if you tell me what you're doing here in the first place! Why here, Ishita? You could have gone anywhere but you chose to come here."

"I.. ," she stammered, while he waited patiently for her to come up with an excuse. "I don't know what you're talking about. I just happened to drive by, and I stopped here.."

"Oh, I get it. You were out for a drive today... on the day of your wedding...and you randomly decided to stop here.. probably for a snack? And it has nothing to do with the fact that this is where we met the first time?" He mocked her.

"No. Of course not." She replied, looking away from him.

"Stop lying, Ishita! For God's sake, stop lying to me, and also to yourself!"

"Stop pestering me! I'm here because I was upset, and I needed to get away for a while," she stated, refusing to tell him what he wanted to hear.

"You're upset?" He laughed sarcastically. "And what about me? You think the last few days have been a cakewalk for me?"

"My wedding got called off, Raman... again! Do you expect me to be happy about it?"

"Okay, I'm sorry. That was insensitive of me," he replied, trying to put an end to the argument. "Now, please, let's go home."

"No Raman," she begged him, tired of his persistence. "You shouldn't have come in search of me. Please leave me alone."

"No, I won't." He caught hold of her by her arms and pulled her closer. "Listen to me, Ishita. You and I..."

"What are you doing... stop this!" She pushed him and stepped away from him, before he could complete, making him stare at her, taken aback by her stubbornness.

"For how long do you plan to keep running away? Because it's not going to work. I'll just keep following you wherever you go!"

"You were the one who wanted me to stay away from you! And now you have a problem with that?"

"Oh, of all the things I asked you to do, you chose to pay attention to that? If I remember correctly, I had also advised you to dump that idiotic guy, Subbu. But you didn't listen to me then, and almost got married to him today!"

He sighed as she looked away from him, unmoved.

"Look, we can discuss all this later. Our families are waiting for us. Come back with me, please."

"Why don't you understand, Raman? There is no we'!" She exclaimed, her eyes brimming with tears. "Why do you insist on pushing us together every time?"

"Because I love you, damn it!" He declared, finally getting it out of his system, and putting it out there for her to deal with it. "I love you, and I know you feel the same way about me, so don't you dare deny it."

His words, though not unexpected, stunned her into silence. How many times had she yearned to hear that from him? How many times had she herself wanted to say it to him? But she couldn't let it go any further.

"I don't.. I can't...Raman, don't say something you'll regret later on. You know nothing about me," she tried to reason with him.

"I know nothing? All I don't know, right now, is why you think that the fact that you can't bear a child will change anything between us."

'He knows!' She looked up at him, surprised.

"Yes, I know!" He said to her, in reply to the questions in her eyes. "And yes, it's unfortunate, but I don't understand how you can use that as an excuse to throw me out of your life. Couldn't you have at least spoken to me about it once? Did you think that I would think any lesser of you when I learned the truth? Did you think it would change what I feel for you?"

"Yes, I did! I thought... you will never be happy with me, Raman," she said, her voice almost a whisper.

"Ishita, I am telling you again.. I love you, no conditions attached. I want you, and only you in my life. Everything else is immaterial. You think I'll never be happy with you? Ishita, I would never be happy without you." He said to her, taking her shoulders in his hands. "Everyone around us can see what we have between us. Then why can't you?"

Her heart did a somersault as she heard his words. He loved her, truly, wholeheartedly; it was as if she had been blind all along, foolishly refusing to understand that, choosing to trust Subbu instead. And then she had assumed that he would break her heart too, just as Subbu had. But instead, here he was, giving new life to her hopes by confessing his love to her in spite of knowing the entire truth. She looked at him guiltily, realizing how wrongly she had judged him.

"Those dreams... the astrologer... it was you. It was always you, Ishita!. And you want to give it all up. But I won't allow you to do anything of the sort. We will be together, and that's final."

"Okay," she replied, but he continued rambling.

"I've had enough. I've waited for too long. Now, I won't listen to any of your excuses."

"Raman, hear me out-"

"I said, no excuses," he repeated sternly. "From now on, I make decisions for both of us! I will not allow you to ruin our lives anymore than you already have.."

She sighed, shaking her head, as he continued blabbering, without giving her a chance to speak. And since she saw no other option left, she decided to take a leaf out of his book to convey her feelings to him. She grabbed him by the lapels of his shirt, pulling him against her, and pressed her lips firmly against his, finally putting an end to his rants.

It took a few moments for him to gather his wits, the taste of her sweet lips driving every other thought out of his mind. But when he did get his bearings, he realized what her actions meant, and felt happiness, as he had never felt before, course through his heart. His arms went around her waist, pulling her closer, and he tilted his head, kissing her back deeply, fervently.

Minutes ticked by and it was as if the ground beneath them had slipped away, making them float, lost in each other's embrace.

"OYE!" They broke apart, startled by a loud, yet familiar voice.

"Jassi aunty!" Ishita whispered, horror-struck, as she saw the lady march towards them, fury writ all over face, along with her anxious husband in tow. Ishita cursed herself for having behaved so immaturely, and landing them in a soup, yet again. She looked around quickly and saw, to her relief, that the area was secluded and they hadn't been spotted by the crowd this time around. But who would save them from Jassi aunty's wrath?

"Oh no," Raman groaned beside her as the duo approached them.

"You both again! What is it with you two? Do you plan to turn this place into some sort of a kissing point?"

"We're really sorry, aunty-" Raman tried to apologize, but she cut him off.

"Not one peep out of either of you. Crazy, hormonal youngsters...Always looking to create trouble! If you don't get out of here this instant, I'll call the police! And I mean it this time!" She wagged a finger at them angrily.

"Okay, okay, we'll leave," Raman said to her, while Ishita hid behind him out of embarrassment. And before she could scold them any further, he caught hold of Ishita's hand and pulled her along with him towards the exit.

"Beta-" They stopped in their tracks and turned to see Jassi aunty's husband walking hurriedly in their direction.

"Uncle, please, we're sorry about everything," Raman began, expecting another thrashing, but was interrupted by him.

"Oh, never mind, beta. I actually wanted to thank you both!" He said to them with a smile.

"Thank us? What for?" Raman and Ishita looked at each other, perplexed.

"Well, you might not be aware of this, but when you both had your little moment back there last year, some overexcited kid took a photograph of you. And within a few days' time, it had spread like wildfire...all over the internet. Imagine my surprise when my son informed me that a picture from my dhaba was on... what was it again?" He scratched his beard, not noticing Raman and Ishita's shocked expressions. "Oh yes, Face something!"

"Raman! There's a photo.. of us kissing.. on the internet?" Ishita uttered, her face going white with shock, but when she turned to Raman, she saw that he was trying hard to control his laughter.

"Raman!" She smacked him on the arm. "We've got to find it and take it down!"

"Oh don't worry, beta, I've seen it myself. You both are hardly recognizable in it," Uncle assured them. "But our dhaba surely is! And before we knew it, we had become famous! You wouldn't believe how many customers came up and asked us about your story. They still do, sometimes," he laughed as he told them. "It always embarrasses the living daylights out of Jassi, which is why she is so angry with you. But frankly, it's a lot of fun. Good for business, too!"

"Umm, we're glad we could be of help, uncle," Ishita said, much to Raman's amusement, "but we need to get going now."

She dragged Raman along with her, who burst out laughing as soon as they were out of earshot.

"Raman, this is not funny!" She fumed at him as they sat in his car, but he only stared at her with a content smile, and leaned towards her to kiss her again.

"Raman! We're still here," she warned him. "If Jassi aunty sees us, she'll probably shoot us!"

"Oh, come on." He placed an arm around her waist and pulled her to him. "Didn't you hear uncle? It's good for business," he said to her, before covering her mouth with his, drowning out all her protests.

****

"How can you even think of placing such a condition?" Madhavi bellowed at Toshi. "Look, Vishwa, these Punjabis think we'll agree to anything!"

"Madhu, I don't think there's any problem-" her husband tried to explain, but she paid no heed to him.

"Listen, Santoshi, the wedding will not be in Punjabi style. We won't allow that!"

"And we can't have a Madrasi wedding. Bhalla ji, please tell them. Their muhurat is usually at such odd timings.. Only doodhwalas and paperwalas will be awake at that hour," Toshi argued.

"Unlike Punjabi weddings which take place so late in the night that we'll have only owls and bats as guests!" Mrs.Iyer retorted.

"Toshi ji, please calm down," Mr.Bhalla tried to pacify his wife, "We'll find a way out."

"And what about the food?" Mrs.Iyer enquired. "Will that be Punjabi as well?"

"Of course! Do you think we'll serve sambar rice at a Punjabi wedding?" Toshi replied, mocking her.

This was the scene that Raman and Ishita walked in on; with Mrs.Bhalla and Mrs.Iyer squabbling with each other, their husbands, along with Bala, striving hard to keep their fight at bay, and Simmi, Mihir, Vandita and Mihika giggling in the background.

It was only after a few minutes that Vandita noticed Ishita and Raman standing at the door.

"Ishu!" She called out excitedly and ran to her, pulling her into a tight hug.

"I'm so glad you're back. Don't ever do that to us, Ishu!" she said, stepping back. "We were so scared. If Raman hadn't called us and informed us that he had found you, we would have died with worry."

"I'm so sorry Akka. Won't happen again. Promise!"

"Raman, thanks man.. again!" Bala came up to them and shook hands with him. "We owe you, bigtime!"

"No worries, Bala. I think I'm getting good at this. She can go wherever she wants, but I'll always find her," Raman replied with a wink while Ishita grinned at him.

It was then that Vandita observed the happiness on their faces and she sighed, relieved at how everything had finally fallen into place for her sister.

"Ishu?"

"Raman!"

The rest of the family soon surrounded them, welcoming them with screams of joy.

Mrs.Iyer threw her arms around her daughter and broke down, shedding tears of relief.

"Ishu, I am sorry. Will you ever forgive me for what I did?" She said, taking her hand in hers.

"What for, Amma? For loving me the way you do? Don't worry, Amma, it's okay," Ishita assured her, and glanced at Raman, who stood a few feet away from her, dealing with all the questions his own family was bombarding him with.

"It's all okay now," she added to her mother with a smile.

**

"Ishita?" She heard Toshi call out to her, and turned to find her walking towards her, dragging Raman along with her, with Simmi following close behind. She looked on, puzzled, as Toshi pulled out her hand as soon as she had reached her side, and placed it in Raman's hand.

"Phew! Now, I'm relieved!"

"Ma, this is too much," He said in mild annoyance.

"Chup kar tu!" She retorted. "I don't trust either of you. You both keep running away from each other at the drop off a hat. Now, if either of you let go of each other's hands, you will have me to deal with! Do you know what you put us through? It took all of us the entire day to piece the whole story together," she scolded both of them, while they looked at each other, ashamed.

"Yes, Ishita," Simmi intervened, "if I hadn't informed him today, Raman bhai would never have known what the real problem was."

"Simran?" Ishita acknowledged her, surprised to see her. "You're Raman's sister Simmi?"

"Yup," she nodded happily. "I came back home only today, and boy, was I in for a surprise!"

"And we're lucky that Simmi knew you from before," Toshi spoke up. "Ishita, I said something really silly the other night, and I'm sorry for it, but why did you have to take it so seriously? We had already accepted you as a part of our family, and we wouldn't have let anything change that. But, I suppose, you don't love us enough. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy for you to leave all of us," Toshi said, her voice softening.

Tears of guilt sprung up in her eyes as she heard Toshi's words.

"No, mummy ji, please believe me when I say that it wasn't easy. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she said, her voice quivering.

"I'll believe you, Ishita, but only if you promise me that you will always be with my son," she said to her. "At least for my sake, if not for his. You see, I'm getting too old put up with his craziness."

"Ma! That's not fair!" Raman complained, as Toshi winked at Ishita and they all burst out laughing.

**

"Madrassan, aren't you forgetting something?" He whispered to her, making sure that they weren't being overheard.

"What, Raman?"

"You haven't said it to me as yet," he hinted.

"Said what?"

"You know, what!"

"No, I don't. Can you be more specific?" She asked, enjoying his irritation.

He was about to give her a reply, but was interrupted by Mihika.

"Akka! I'm so relieved Jiju found you," she said, walking up to her with a smile. "That Buddhuram had also tried, but he almost got lost himself," she said, shaking her head.

"Buddhuram?" Ishita asked her, puzzled.

"Ah! Here, he is," she said, as Mihir joined them.

"Tell them, Mihir, how you kept driving in circles and almost got us lost. Jiju, please tell me how he's survived in this city so far. He has no clue about which road leads where! Anyway, I'm happy everything's sorted now," she added chirpily and left, leaving Raman and Ishita confused.

"Ishita," Mihir spoke up hesitantly, "I..I wanted to tell you how sorry I am. I don't know what came over me that night. I shouldn't have said all those things to you."

"Relax, Mihir, it's not your fault. I would have reacted the same way had I been in your place," Ishita assured him.

"So you forgive me?" He asked her, expectantly.

"Hmm, on one condition," she replied.

"Tell me, I'll do anything!"

"The next time you want to spend time with my sister, you ask her out on a proper date," she said to him with a wink, while he looked back at her, appalled.

"Don't worry, she'll like you. I'll put in a good word for you, too, if you want," she added, patting his shoulder, and he looked away, embarrassed.

"What? Mihir, not you too!" Raman exclaimed. "I'm warning you, Mihir. These Madrasis only know how to drive people crazy. So, you better think before you act!" He said dramatically, to which Ishita punched him in the arm.

"Bhai, bhabhi.. you both are too much," he complained and walked away, flustered, as they laughed at his predicament.

**

Soon, it was time for the Bhallas to leave, with Mr. and Mrs.Bhalla inviting the Iyers over to their home, to discuss the wedding, since they hadn't managed to come to any conclusion regarding the functions amidst all the confusion that pervaded throughout the day.

"Ishita," Raman whispered to her angrily. "Terrace. Now." And he walked out, leaving her amused.

He paced around on the terrace upstairs while he waited for her to arrive, frustrated with her for putting his patience to test. All he had wanted was to hear those three words from her. But she had been strutting around, feigning ignorance and avoiding him throughout the evening. Well, he would be as stubborn as her. He wouldn't leave until she told him how much she loved him.

He heard the sound of footsteps just then, and spotted her near the entrance to the terrace, looking around for him. He strode up to her, and yanked her by the arm so that she crashed into his chest.

"Raman! Let me go, what if we get caught? Amma and Appa think I'm downstairs, seeing off your family. If they find me here with you..."

"No, I won't let go," he interrupted her, tightening his hold around her. "Not until you tell me what I want to hear."

She looked at him, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

"You know what, Raman, these bold declarations of love.. they're not my thing. We don't need to say it out loud to let each other know about our feelings now, do we?"

"But that's not fair. I said it before. Now it's your turn," he complained, as she tried hard to control her laughter.

"But Raman, I'm a girl!" she exclaimed, widening her eyes. I can't say it, alright? It's difficult for me. Now, please leave me before Akka or Mihika come in search of me."

He let go her then, his arms going lax around her, and stepped back, feeling dejected.

"Fine," he muttered and went away without looking at her, down the stairs and towards the parking lot. He had already made his family leave with Mihir, citing some excuse, so that he could spend some time alone with Ishita, but if she couldn't bother to say those important words to him, then he wasn't going to waste his time trying to get it out of her. It wasn't such a big deal, he consoled himself. After all, he knew that she loved him and that was enough for him.

He fumbled in his pocket for his car key, and as he pulled it out, a small piece of paper fell out onto the ground. Curious, he picked it up and a huge smile made it's way to his lips as he saw what was written on it. Scribbled across the note, in her neat handwriting, were the words "I Love U". He couldn't stop staring at it, and laughed aloud realizing how easily she had tricked him. Instinctively, he looked back towards the terrace and sure enough, she was standing there, against the railing, looking down at him, observing his reaction. And when she saw him look up towards her, she smiled and waved out to him.

He ran back upstairs as quickly as his feet would take him, and stood facing her for a few seconds, panting. Then, in a few short strides, he covered the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her, burying his head into the crook of her neck.

"You really got me there," he said to her with a soft laugh.

"That was the intention," she pulled back a little and giggled.

"Raman, I love you," she said, a moment later, placing a palm on his cheek. "And I can keep on and on saying it as many times as you want me to."

"So, say it. I won't get tired of hearing it" he replied cheekily, making her laugh again.

"I love you," she said kissing his forehead once, "I love you," she kissed his cheek, "I love you," she pecked the other cheek, but before she could utter the words again, he swooped in and sealed her lips with his, overwhelmed and overcome by the intensity with which he loved her.

"You've made all my dreams come true, Ishita," he cupped her cheeks and placed his forehead against hers while she smiled at him, feeling spellbound and liberated at the same time.

All but one.'

A fleeting thought; but she brushed it away for now, and buried her head in his chest, finding comfort in the sound of his steady heartbeats against her ear.