FROM DARE TO LOVE (Editing)✔

CHAPTER 59

I come out from behind the curtain with my head lowered, his shocked expression turns into a not-you-again look. He sighs

'Why am I not surprised?' he says rolling his eyes. I don't look at him but at the floor.

'I-I-was checking...'

'Me?'

My head shoots up, yes of course you who else, I wanted to say but then I shake my head. He walks towards me and I start to panic, my heart fluttering madly. He is now only inches away from me, I am looking everywhere but at him. Him standing inches away from me with his shirt off his gorgeous body is driving my hormones crazy. He takes the notepad from my hand, our fingers brushed and I felt electric jolt. He frowns and holds my wrist. I shiver with his touch. Few seconds of silence I realized he is staring at my tattoo. He leans in squinting his eyes. Oh, no!

He glares at me 'What is this? What is my name doing on your wrist?' he demands, frowning at me. I jerked away my hand

'None of your business...' I say and am about to leave when he held my arm and turn me around.

'If this one of your tricks then I am not going to fall for it' he says bitterly. His words and the tone stabs my heart.

He held my wrist again and begin to scratch the tattoo, I winced. I felt my eyes filling with tears, not because of his nails scratching my skin but because he doesn't even trust me a bit. Tattoo that I made with so much love and sincerely, he feels it to be a trick. Well, after what I had done all those years back one can't blame him for having trust issues.

'This is some trick, you did this after I had come for dinner, right?' he says looking at me, his fingers tightly wrapped around my wrist. I simply look at him and shake my head, I see his expressions soften when he noticed tears in my eyes. He leaves my hand and I let it fall to my side, our gaze stuck on each other.

We both are numb and lost in each other, at that moment I wanted to confess everything to him, confess to him that I love him so much. He then takes a step back

'Why did you do this? What do you want to prove?' he asks me, this time his tone soft.

'Because...'I breathe, I wanted to say so much but I couldn't find my voice. A small voice inside my head asked me to say everything, confess everything as I won't be getting this chance again.

Riad takes a step closer and held my chin in between his index finger and thumb and lifts my face. Our gaze fixed. The time stops and everything around me disappears as I find myself drowned into his eyes.

'I-I...am getting late...' I stammer and take a step back, Riad shakes his head and looks at me going back to his angry self

'Leave...'he says sternly. I nod my head, I was leaving you needn't say, I think to myself.

As I come out from the room I find my breath return, I lean back against the door. I smacked my forehead. I am an Idiot, I had such a perfect chance to confess my love to Riad but I missed it. For some reason, I couldn't muster courage to tell him this. I guess I need to be senselessly drunk to tell everything that is in my heart.

'You are an idiot' Ruchi echoes my thought, after I had narrated her the entire incident as we sit at the café sipping our ice tea.

'I know... (I sigh) but it's good that I didn't, it will create unnecessarily drama. Yaar, he doesn't trust me at all...the way he was scratching the Tattoo he thought I was fooling him...and you think he will believe me when I say I love him' I say rolling my eyes.

Ruchi thinks for a while before saying 'Then do something that will make him believe that you love him...'

'Wasn't the Tattoo a big hint?' I say shrugging. Ruchi nods her head

'But you need to do something bigger, Tattoo will make him think...and now that he is confused its perfect time, confess to him and if still nothing happens we will think of something' Ruchi says, she places her hand over mine and squeezes it gently.

I sip my tea and think sadly, Hanan.

'And what after that...he is engaged.' I say

'So?' Ruchi shrugs and I look at her surprised. How can she be so casual about it? he is engaged to Hanan, besotted to someone else and next month is the wedding. And Ruchi is like- So?

I say the same to her. Ruchi rolls her eyes and places her glass on the table, she leans forward.

'See, Riad isn't happy with the engagement, it's obvious. He might like her as a friend but not as a wife. He is still in love with you... and you love him...then you two should be together...then only everyone will be happy, right? And this marriage, if it happens, the worst affected will be Hanan. See, Riad and Hanan's marriage will have respect, care, friendship and even sex but no passion, no love. Do you think Hanan deserves such a marriage? And don't give me the crap, after marriage he will move on and fall in love with Hanan. Dude, if he didn't move-on from past fifteen years then how can you think he will move on now. In these fifteen years so much happened, so many girls would have come and gone yet he is still stuck on you then how can you say he will move on after marriage. Dude, he won't. He, you and Hanan all three lives will be ruined.' Ruchi finishes.

By the time she finished explaining, I blink at my friend, Ruchi- who gets back to drinking tea.

I am surprised, Ruchi has never been serious philosophical type person. But whatever she has said makes so much sense.

'Now what do I do?' I say confused. Ruchi sighs

'Dude, Riad is an Idiot. He will go ahead with the wedding; you have to do something. Convince him you love him and break the engagement' Ruchi says

I shake my head; it is easy said than done. Hanan's heart will break and who knows if there will be tension between the two families after that. Hanan's family is Urooj's in-laws, this might affect Urooj too. I lean back against my chair and stare at my ice tea.