Nurture And Love (BOOK #3) ✔

Chapter 68(2) Blockbuster

Chapter 68(2)

"I am a cop." Prachi reminded to herself before getting into the car that the young driver fetched for her. The poor weather had left her with no choice but befriend a stranger on her way back home. While seated on the passenger seat, she saw a faint smile lurking in his lips as he ignited the car engine.

Cautioning herself, she muttered in a loud voice, "Look mister, I am a cop and if you need any help regar-ding crime or law-breakers, you can always seek my support. The police station we left behind is my work-place and I am the DSP there, so. . ."

"Whom are you trying to convince, madam?" His voice was low and gentle as he drove the car in the midst of rain. "I don't think I am a criminal that you will have to keep reminding me of you being a cop."

Prachi pinched her eyebrows together into a thin line as she spoke, "I think I have heard you some-where. Who are you?"

His fingers shook on the steering wheel when Prachi tried to catch a glimpse of his face, partly hidden by a cap. His jaw moving brought a spark of recognition in her, but the unfamiliar, cautious tone in his voice rang alarm bells in her head. Out of the blue she reached out and grabbed cap, yanking it off in one smooth motion.

"Oh." He jittered, applying the brakes and bringing the car to a halt. "What are you doing?"

"Ishaan?" Her surprise turned into a rush of cold air that made her heart jump into her mouth The one person she had been desperately looking for was right beside her, his cotton shirt half soaked and his hair messy, intensifying her disbelief.

She examined him closely, and found his hair in a tangled mess of dark curls. Those strands were unruly as if it hadn't been brushed in ages. To her surprise, an outgrowth of patchy beard had framed his sunken cheeks and chapped lips. His eyes were encircled by dark bags, which were now gazing blankly into the dimly lit street ahead of them.

"What have you done to yourself?" Tears blurred her vision, and a drop or two spilled on the back of her palm. She sank to her seat and clutched her purse to her chest as her inner sobs continued to weep inside her ribcage. The pain of guilt which was already very consuming and relentless, had now began to shift, making room for a new kind of sorrow—a sorrow that was infused with the bittersweet essence of love and loss.

"I am sorry." She chimed as the pain of guilt continued to gnaw at her soul. Slowly arching her back, she turned towards him, and their eyes met in the dim light. She murmured in her soft voice, as if speaking too loudly might shatter the delicate tension between them. "I have never imagined, even in my worst night-mares, that our distance could impact you in the worst way possible."

Prachi's hand now inched closer to Ishaan's face, giving him a chance to withdraw, but he chose to stay still. With eyes closed and hitched breathing, he felt her gentle touch on his wounded skin.

"Our distance was never powerful enough to deform me." He inhaled deeply, his voice breaking. "I have been through a lot lately, and my distorted image is a consequence of the same."

"Though I have lost the rights to know wh-at all you may be facing, will you still want to share with me?"

"Never say that, Prachi, that you have lost your rights on me." She choked back a tear when he uttered it. Her thumb brushed over a particularly bruised skin on his cheek, and she winced, a small, involuntary sound of pain escaping her lips.

Her trembling palm held his face firmly, as her fingers spread across his cheeks. "Ishaan, please look at me. Why did you choose to play hide and seek with me? I was desperately looking for you."

He resisted at first, his pain warring with his need for her. But slowly, he met her gaze, his eyes searching hers for something—anything—that could make sense of the chaos they were in. "I thought you would believe me, at least, but when you didn't, I chose to go on hiding and. . ."

"And ghosting on me." She whispered, her thumb brushing away a tear that had escaped down her cheek. "I have felt your presence every-where, Ishaan. I have missed you, craved for you and silently wept for you. Couldn't you give me a cha-nce to explain my part of the story?"

"I considered doing something that would bring happiness to the hearts who were in love. It could have been better if Aaru had agreed to let her parents know what her heart craved for, but she decided otherwise." He didn't move, his shoulders rigid and tense. "On the day when Rehaan was leaving for Indore, I called him up and explained to him the decision made by Aaru. Trust me, Aaru really didn't know that Rehaan and I were behind all these who made her escape drama a reality. Rehaan stayed back in my old mansion until the day of the marriage, and later on, met Aaru on the train."

"And I refused to trust in you, considering that my bro-ther was a sage and you a sinner. The thought of you doing the wrong could even come to my mind!" She nudged her head roughly. "Though Rihu has already confe-ssed his faults to me, I am engrossed by guilt since that very day."

"No, Prachi, don't be guilty."

But, deep down, somewhere beneath all her sadness and guilt, there was a glimmer of hope that wouldn't go away. It was a faint and barely noticeable glint, but enough to make her think that maybe, just maybe, there could be a way out of the darkness. "I promise I'll do whatever it takes, no matter how long it takes to earn back your trust, Ishaan. Please don't give up on us."

The words hung in the air like a bloat of heavy clouds. Prachi closed her eyes and leaned in, feeling the warmth of his touch on her cold skin. The cut of guilt was still fresh, an open wound which hadn't started healing yet. But beneath it all, there was a glimmer of hope, a small flame refusing to be snuffed out.

A breath she didn't know she was holding escaped her lips as she hugged him tightly, afraid he might vanish at any moment. It wasn't a solution, but a start of something fragile and uncertain; it was the first step towards healing.

"Look at me," she said softly, her voice smoothened into a gentle pleading. Ishaan turned his head to meet her eyes. His gaze was searching, vulnerable, and she felt an overwhelming surge of tenderness.

Without saying another word, she moved closer, narrowing the gap between them. Their breaths mixed in the small space, warm and damp, their lips just inches away. Her heart raced fast like a wild drumbeat matching the rain's relentless rhythm. She shut her eyes as her lips touched his, a gentle and unsure moment.