Chapter-9 ( Realization )
The restaurant thronged with people, eating late lunch, busy in conversations, elder people, younger ones, it was a perfect setting of an outdoor lunching, the ambience and the weather was lovely and bright.In themidst of this, Radhika was sat opposite toSam, there said corner table, always a place reserved to only them, her hands played nervously with the Sari end, it was a white and pink in combination, she had to wear this, because of the insistence of her mother, as they attended a family function in the morning. Sam happily twirled the pasta from her plate andaround the fork, she pushed it in her mouth and glanced up at her. She was as usual wearing a white tank top, and a long blue middy, matching was the blue scarf around her neck, with blue and white sea shellloops as the earrings, they dangled when she slid her hair off her shoulders time and again. A habit that wouldn’t go and that told Radhika that her best friend is in a happy mood. The gold coloured rustic bangles slid down her hand whengave Radhika a click of fingersshake to lead her put of the haze of uncertainty.
“What’s up with you?”She asked frowning.
Radhika smiled weakly in response.
“It’s nothing.”She replied.
Sam’s eyes looked on strained at her response, but she shook her head.
“I hope you’ve packed everything.”She rubbed her together excitedly. “God, I think there is lot of stuff still that I don’t remember, but mostly it’s the warm clothes and shoes, lots of them, and you know what…”Her eyes sparkled up, making Radhika to squirm in her chair, feeling immense guilt eat at her conscience very much.
But, Radhika maintained false smile, gluping hard to not blurt out everything.
“What?”She asked.
“I have noted down all the phone numbers and contact information, of the art connoisseurs in New York, with the help of our friend,Dev.I had emailed our works to them and they are very much interested to work with us on the project if….”She went on enthusiastically, her face lighting up, a warm wide smile playing at her lips, eyes sparkling and all.
Radhika felt like kicking herself, extreme pain hit her heart. What should she say to her? How should she say that, she wasn’t or can’t accompany her to New York, all the hard work behind inmaking their plan a success had tanked down in a failure, and also reveal that she was getting married, because her father had forced her to, andif shedoesn’t agree, her mother is going to pay heavily for her refusal.
Oh god, she couldn’t hear more of her dream breaking into pieces. Into their both dream breaking into pieces.
“Sam!”She cried abruptly.
That did gether the neededattention, as the dreamy look broke from Sam’s face, and her eyes snapped to hers in a surprised stare.
“What? What is it? Oh, I know I’m too excited. Did I forget something?”She asked, her eyes sliding all over her face in a worry.
Radhika sighed heavily.
“You did not forget anything…. It’s actually…I…”She started out feeling breathless already.
God, why is it so hard to talk now. She had to, though it’s going to rip her heart to see Sam’s face after it.
She shook her head and looked and stared straight into Sam’s worried filled gaze.
“I can’t come to New York with you.”She said weakly and all in a small voice.
Sam stared back at her a second, she put down the fork and leaned back on the chair.
“Is this some kind of crazed humour that you have going on, because really, Radhika, I don’t think the joke is suitable to the situation, it just is not. You have zero when it comes to being funny.”She laughed a little, but her eyes lost the sparkle when Radhika didn’t join along with her mirth.
She stared and stared, seeing finally the truth behind her pained features.
“You’re serious.”She whispered in disbelief, and leaned back more.
Radhika couldn’t hold her forlorn stare anymore and slid down her gaze to her fiddling hands.
“Yes, I am.”She whispered, her eyes watered a little.
“No, no,no.”The sharp affected tone of her friend whipped Radhika’s head up.
“You can’t do that. What about our plan. What about being together in this. You’re always backing out..”Sam shook her head….”I’m going to cancel thisall then. I can’t go if you’re not there with me.”She said, her tone turning firm and sad altogether.
Radhika hurried and grabbed her hands on the table.
“No, absolutely not. You’re going to New York, Sam.”She persisted…”I know you had payed the fee for the work shopand…and this is your dream too. I can see it in your eyes, don’t deny it, please.”
Sam’s eyes glimmered and swam with sadness and pain, her fingers entwined with hers.
“What am I going to do all alone there without you.”She whispered…”Why can’t you come along? What is it that’skeeping you here?”Sam asked giving a more anxious look.
Radhika avoided her gaze, and bit her lower lip and chewed on it. She drew her hands from the table, her fingers wriggling again, as her right hand forefinger slid on the left hand ring finger, an immediate zoom of intense moments spent with him came into her mind.
“I’m getting married.”She said finally, allowing the words tosettle on herself first, still feeling a deep swirl ofdisbelief colour her tone, thinking that she really was getting married.
In only few days, the empty finger will be filled with a wedding band. His wedding band.
Radhika was very reluctantto glide her gaze backand catch Sam’s eyes.
Sam stared at her, her eyes never blinking, she titled her head to the left side, and raised both of her elegant eyebrows.
“You’re getting what?”She asked finally, unable to believe what she really heard.
Radhika’s lips and throat hurt to repeat the words.
“I’m getting married.”She repeated, and moved back a little in the chair.
“You’re are getting married.”Sam nodded her head, and slid her hands over her forehead rubbing her eyes a little and moving back her palm down her face…”This just keeps getting interesting… You are not coming to New York and you’re god damned getting married…should have known when you avoided me for two weeks, and in the space of this time all thiscrap happened and I don’t get an inch of inclination about it. Just fantastic.”Sam went on sarcastically, shaking her head in surprisedwonderment.
Radhika moved away her eyes and settled themon the hot swirling coffee mug that the waiter put down on the table just a second ago. She remained silentuntil she felt Sam’s fingers grabbing hers, pulling her gaze up to hers.
“Something bad happened, didn’t it? It’s your father, right? He did something, I know. Radhika, let it all go.”Sam pleaded with her eyes to hers.
Radhika’s heart palpitated, her mouth almost blurting out everything, but some sanity seem to put a stop at the threatening break of a dam, all the emotions accumulating and becoming too much to hold together, but she gulped down all of it.
“Ah,..it’s nothing like that,”She lied, and Sam let go of her hand immediately.
She sighed and stared at her in disappointment and incredible hurt, her eyes shut her out.
“It’s nothing huh? You’re lying. It’s such a wonder that, I still can’t manage tocreate a space in your life,that you shouldn’t resort to liesand not keep all the secrets from me. What’s the point of being a best friend, god knows that I try hard for you to come out more, butit hurts here.”Sam’s voice became pained, as sheput her hand over her heart….”That the onlyperson I trust and love the most, doesn’t trust and love the same.”Withher eyes swimming with tears, Sam got up, looking down at her and shutting her out completely.
“No, no, Sam, please don’t do this..”Radhika got up too, tearing up also.
“Have a happy married life, since I won’t be attending it..”Sam shook her head, and turned around with the half sentence hung between them, she moved forward without turning back.
“Sam,please, listen. You don’t understand..”Radhika shouted, her voice breaking too much, but she already turned to the sidewalk and left blistering in anger.
Radhika sighed and fell down on the chair, putting both of her hands on the table, she clutchedher hair. Cursing heavily over her fate.God, she hurt Sam. She should make up to her, at any cost. Sam was always the fierce one, when it came to emotions, never letting anything stay in her heart, why can’t I be like that, she thought, as a largetear swam out and flowed downfrom her left eye, she kept pondering over and over about a solution but nothing came up in her scrambled mind.
Her phone started ringing, and Radhika took it out from her purse. His number. She frowned, after the day of the ring shopping, he had taken her phone, punched his number into her contact addressand gave a ring with his phone to hers. She never got a call though in these two days, but why was calling her now?
Radhika got up and lifted the call.
“Hello, is anyone there on the line…”The male voice cut a little but continued on…”a person is injured here badly and bleeding, this number was on the speed dial over the guy’s phone….”
Listening to that Radhika gasped out, her ears started to ring, as the phone fell down fromher hand.
Injured badly. Bleeding…were the only words that swarm around her mind.
Radhika hurriedly slid down and took the phone from the ground and dialled back his number,but it came as switched off. What should she do now? Her mind went into panic drive.
She didn’t know anyone of his relations or friends. God, how little did she knew about him. How ironic that she is getting to him.
For the next to two hours Radhika kept frantically dialing hospital, asking and describing about an injured patient, but nothing helped, and she became desperate with each passing hour. She knew that he had no one. He was all alone, but she couldn’t think of him getting injured. He was indestructible.Invincible. Nothing could hurt him, but that’s what she had an image of him in her mind.
She sat in the chair, helpless for about a minute, an idea came into her mind then. Radhika opened her WiFi networkon the phone and searched his name on Google. Immediately a fourteen page length information about him came into view. About hisworks, his business across the world, his net worth and few or many of his images. Radhika moved uncomfortably on the chair. Lot ofimages of him with each of a moregorgeous woman graced on his arm. No smile but only a hard look, and afiercepenetrating pairdeepbrown eyes staredback at her.
Another image caught her attention, Arjun in the centre and two men stood on either side of him. One such person she recognised. Radhika eyes furrowed, it was Sam’s brother was it not? Rohan Khanna?She had seen pictures of Sam’s family in her hostel room, while studying in the Uni. Sam had told and made acquaintance to every photograph, she had, Radhika remembered her getvery often ashomesick and nostalgic about visiting home in Manali. All three of the suited men cut a hard mean image. She also somehow recognised the third man, an image of Sam’s brother and him came into her mind. Sam had that picture too, but when Radhika asked about the person, she just brushed it off saying that it was an old friend of her brother. But what relation doesthesetwo men from Sam’s life have with her to be husband? Thoughts occupied her mind for quite a while.
Several images later, her finger tip clicked on a Mansion picture. His place. Radhika kept wondering and wondering. Maybe, he was shifted home after the accident. An image of him lying unconscious on the ground with his head bleeding out all the blood from hisbody,and she winced and closed her eyes. No, that can’t happen. She got up, a decision making it’s way, she moved towards the side walk and called out a cab.
It stopped right on to near where she stood, Radhika hurriedly opened the door, got in and gave the address to the driver.
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With her finger nails already nibbled away in anxiousness, she sat perched in the cabwith various of gory images hay firing in her mind, making her more worried by the minute. She pulled at the Sari endand knotted and unknotted it in extreme nervousness.
The cab stopped abruptly, the driver turned in his seat.
“It just stops here, mam.”He said, and Radhika looked around.
A thick elongated shrubbery started from where the cab stopped, it was like a maze, travelling to a distant gate, and on up level, she could see a more far distant Mansion house, with red and white glimmering and shining out in the darkened evening sky.
“Alright.”Radhika mumbled and nodded.
She got out of the cab and paid the driver.
Radhika kept looking, staring down the concrete road, and the thick shrubbery swanked on either side of it. She took a deep breath in and stepped forward. Her movement of the limbs slow at first but took pace, as she thought about his various smiles. His face several times turning to face her came into view, making her eyes water a little. He couldn’t behurt. That’s not possible, her heart told.
She didn’t when she started running but she did.
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Arjun after a very hectic and near miss of a big accident, felt his mind and body knackered for the day. His face looked tired and putty, as he slid his hands over his face haggard and battered by the end of the day. The other car, lost its control almost drive in and collided with his. Excepta big cut over his arm and hand, which he had been seenby the doctor immediately putting bandages of white all over. He hated it, but the other driver of the car got hurt really bad. He had called the ambulance and it was pretty bad with all the blood, and in the hurry of that he had lost hisphone.
The house phone buzzed in the hall and Arjun cursing heavily and got into the room and took the call.
“What is it?”He barked.
“She is not at the restaurant and nor at the house.”Amal,informed firmly through the line.
His back straightened up immediately.
“What do you mean she isn’t at the restaurant… Only hours ago you informed me that..”He started barking more.
“She is here.”
Arjun’s mind went crazy at that.
“What?”
“Look into the security cameras, Sir.”The phone clipped off after that.
He dropped the phone, fumbled on his way over a bean bag and reached a corner room. He burst open the door, and stood frozen.
There she was, in all thirty two angles of the cameras, a vision in white and rosypink, the shiny, silky long tresses flying in the air, with the face of the angel, she kept running towards his Mansion, running all along the maze of the long stretched shrubbery.
“What the hell..”He muttered under his breath, standing there thoroughly surprised.
Arjun jerked out of the shock from seeing and reached the buzzer.
“Open the damn gates.”He bit out, glanced at the screens once again, and turned around to the door.
He ran fast down the stairs, three, two and one, finally reaching the ground floor, he thudded all the way and to the front door. He ripped it open and ran towards the gate, his gaze wild all over.
The bronzed large gate clang opened with a cring, moving slowly out of his way and he waited cursing under his breath more stronger than ever.
His eyes finally spotted, locked, moved, narrowed, glided, caressed, heated, burned, blisteredall over her running form. He panted, with the force of his earlier movements. Her eyes finally caught his, and the hair of his back raised up seeing her teary face. His stance got harder, as she did not stop running but increased her speed.
He braced for it, and it came as a warmsoftest blow on his body, yet a powerful one when he staggered back a little with the force of the hit, but he stayed glued to the ground.
His arms automatically surrounded her body and caught her up. His face buried itself into her soft and sweet smellinghair and into her neck.
“Heavens, Mysweet, what happened?”He murmured into her neck, breathing in heavily her scent andfeeling completely winded.
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Radhika’s face sure must have resembleda beet root shade as a deep raising mortification coursed through her every vein.
She sat stirring in discomfort, in thecushioned sofa chair, him staring at her incessantly, continuously, without an eye blink. His arm and hand had a white bandexcept that he wasn’t in a bed totally unconscious with his head bleedingheavily or anything, as the melodramatic mind of hers thought and punched up images after images imprinting on her brain. His hair was dishevelled, he was wearing a light purple sweater T-shirt and pajama pants. His face looked thoroughly tired, but still he looked like a million dollar international model.
After all that drama, he lead her into the house, and after in what broken tone and language that could be deciphered a litteshe told him everything about what happened, then hemade her drink a glass of cold water, to settle her shaken nerves, and kept gazing at her making her feelextremely uncomfortable andaware of him in the silence and emptiness of the room.
“So, you got this call about me being injured, is that right?”He drawled, looking all over her face and leaned back.
Radhika avoided his intense stare and looked away across the hall.
“I need to leave.”She mumbled, got up and turned to go.
He caught her hand and pulled, Radhika turned very reluctantly.
His eyes played mischievously, and an unseeing smile played at his lips.
“What’s the hurry?”He drawled more leisurely, his gaze slid over all body like warm honey.
Radhika’s body felt all heated over, recognising the danger and trouble writtenin that piercinggaze.
She struggled and freed her hand somehow and moved back.
“….I…it’s getting dark and pretty late.”She breathed out, and her eyes widened when he stood up slowly, all the while his eyes never straying away from hers.
He took two step forwards and Radhika moved two steps back, her chest heaving up and down looking at him.
“You should have thought about it before coming here, before coming to me.”He leaned down, and whispered slowly.
He moved forward more and cornered her to the wall. His body hit hers.
Radhika pushed at his shoulders, and ran away, but she gasped, as he tugged at her Sari end. She looked back a new feeling taking over, to see his face lose the smile as he stared at her with such intensity.
He tugged once again very hard. Radhika’s body twirled around, and the white Sari came off altogether, and she was left in only the pink skirt and the blouse. Her hands instantly covered over her chest.
“What the hell are you doing?”She gasped, looking and glaring at him.
His eyes strayed from onto her hair and all over down to her body in a very slow caress.
“I like this. Very very much on you.”His voice turned a notch down, and more huskier.
His circled the Sari around his left hand and moved towards her,now there was no escape as her back was attached to the wall more firmly.
Radhika went hyper aware of him, her eyes wideningcircled his prowling form towards her.
“L…look we are not even married yet.”She whispered in a tremor, as his hand grabbed her waist.
But, his body froze, ashis heated stareonher lips travelled to her eyesin surprised wonder.
Then, her eyes locked in surprised at his face when something wonderful happened. She observed in slow motion as he threw back hishead and roared upin a rumbling of laughter, his whole tired face lighted up all the while he laughed in relentless mirth.
His body vibrated with it, travelling and creating a rumble seep into her skin, blood and body.
He shook his head, still chuckling.His manner turned playful.
“Oh, my sweet, you make me laugh…”He leaned down and stared into her eyes….”So, you’re saying that, there is a chance of us doing it after marriage. Is that what you were hinting at? And is that what we’re doing now, hm?”His tone took a mischievous and a teasing one.
Radhika stared at him, letting the words taken in, and after a second of understanding it, her face heated up and her blood boiled at his patronising tone and words. He was looking down at her as if she was a naive idiot. Of course, she had nil experience in those matters, but he didn’t have to laugh into her face about it.
She glared and scowled up at him, and he chuckled more and planted a warm kiss on her forehead.
“Don’t worry, you’re safe from me. Until our wedding….and after that I can’t promise much though.”He whispered huskilyinto her ear, sliding his lipssoftly andwarmly all over her neck……..
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Long part you want. Long part you get. Hope u liked it….I mean loved it…hahaha 😉
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Der will be certain tough times, were u will be in a rock and hard place, that u couldn’t even let out even wit ur best of friends……DAT may lead you to hurt ur dear ones, unintended, of course, making dem say things like…ur too closed and stuff….dats wat happened wit Sam and Rads in did part..:(
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Yaar never eat outside street food, see I’m still paying for it. My stomach is unsettled…I feel weak and dizzy…hate the feeling:'(
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Ignore the many typos DAT I obviously make dearsssss and keep rocking my lovelies 😀
Til next time then, I’ll keep missing u all aloooooooooooot:-(
Credit to: kfar