Pact To Passion

13: Beginning of a Beginning

"A major sacrifice
But clueless at the time,
Enter, Caroline
Just trust me, you'll be fine!"

RAINA

I was left aboveboard.

This is probably the biggest understatement of the whole modern age because never in the real life did I expect him to ask something like that, to me, just after a week and that too when he denied it the first time. Callously.

My head jerked towards him to find him already staring at me from the corner of his left eye.

My head was heavily hedged with his question and I wonder what made him change his thoughts? I still deeply despise this man. He's nothing but a trouble for people.

Atleast, he always bought me inconvenience, self-doubt and hate I never wanted in my life.

"What did you say?" I asked, my voice heavy with confusion and laced with the difficulty of answering the question if that's what he asked me.

"You heard me the first time." He replied as his veins popped out due to grasping the steering wheel tight. It was as if he was struggling with his own thoughts when he asked the question.

This infuriated me further because this man is so bipolar, I don't even know if he's gonna mean it tomorrow or not.

"Trust me, Ruhaan, I am not interested in your inconstant behaviour and conversations, not anymore at the rock bottom. You asking me this question seems like the toxication in you speaking and I don't know if you'll even mean this tomorrow. Hence, I don't want to answer your question." I stated clearly looking back at Aarohi who was sleeping soundly not having an ounce of attention on our conversation.

"I don't think that we should be talking about my alcohol tolerance to start our truce. We better should start with the basic things." He spoke totally ignoring my response.

"Truce is something where two people who don't like each other enough agree to basic terms and stop arguing. I think you're missing that part so consider my response first and then we'll talk about the beginning." I interjected crossing my arms as I gazed out of the window.

I am not sure about the truce anymore.

Last week has been tough not because we weren't talking but mainly because I've been busy in my new job as a pastry chef and everytime I came home tired from work, I used to find him half naked in bed staring at me like I was some sort of meal he was ready to eat.

Well, that's the impression I got and then I recalled his earlier flirtation with me which nearly made me lose myself in his embrace so if that's the effect he has on me after I ignored him straight, just casually gawking at him sometimes, I don't know if I am ready for the truce because this will give me a chance to spend time with him more and I don't know if I am ready for the beginning of my end.

I don't know what's the end of this truce for him, but for me, it's heartbreak, detachment from a person I'll probably get attached to and I don't have the heart to bear it all.

"Raina." He stopped the car as we reached the palace and I turned to him as he was already finding my eyes.

I frowned in confusion due to the utter softness in his regard when he spoke again setting up the grounds for hope only to later deforest them into barren lands of despair.

"Raina. I want to know Raina. Not Jain, not Arya, not the girl who I first met at 7, not the woman who studied college in Delhi. Just Raina." He exclaimed keenly, sincerity lurking behind his cold exterior building up my expectations.