Tum Hi Ho

Chapter 7

It was his team, checking on him. They all came in and made the general racket, sitting on whatever they could find and joking about everything. Darshan noticed the time and decided that it was time for breakfast as they had to perform on the venue at noon.
“Alright guys, let’s order breakfast.” He suggested and everyone agreed. As Darshan picked up the intercom, Hardik looked around and frowned. “Where is Paridhi?” He asked and Darshan shrugged.
“She went somewhere while I was showering.” He told them. But he was starting to get worried. He had thought that she had gone to check on the rest of the team.
But if the team was here, then where was she? He took his phone to call her, but realized that he didn’t have her number.
“Hey, kisi ke pass Paridhi ka number hai?” He asked his team and they all shook their heads.
He was about to start panicking when suddenly the door opened and Paridhi entered, carrying two bags. She was bit startled to see the room full of people but after a moment she smiled.
“Hey everyone. Good morning. Darshan, you should start getting ready. The program will be starting in 2 hours and you have to be there on time or else their rituals will be delayed. Have you had breakf….” Paridhi stopped talking as she noticed that Darshan was staring at her with annoyed expression.
“Where were you?” He asked in a clipped tone and she frowned.
“Yehi thi. I went to check on the schedule and other technical things with event manager and then I shopped a little because I had some time to pass. The jewelry here is nice.” She showed him the two bags.
“Ha to bata ke bhi ja sakti thi na!” Darshan shot back at her and she was startled at the anger in his tone. She immediately got nervous.
“Dar…Darshan I…di…I just…” Seeing her stuttering and out of breath, Darshan calmed down. Even he was shocked at how he had just reacted. Why was he so angry?
It wasn’t like she had to take his permission to go everywhere. Why was he so worried about her then? He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, trying to gather his thoughts.

“I am sorry. I just… you are new here and I was just worried ok. You went without telling anyone anything and none of us have your number. So give me your number right now.”
He said sternly and heard Hardik chuckle behind him.
“Bhai, ladkiya tere number ke liye marti hai. Aur yaha pehli baar tu khud kisi ladki se number maang raha hai”, Hardik teased.
Darshan blushed and Paridhi smiled shyly. Paridhi recited her number, Darshan saved it and forwarded it to the team too. Paridhi felt her anxiety ease away as she laughed with rest of the group.
The truth was when Darshan had complimented her in the morning, she was reminded of Nikhil’s words. The way he had mocked her and made her feel worthless came back to her and she just couldn’t handle it. She had to stay alone for sometime or she would have broken down in front of Darshan and that would have been very embarrassing for her.
So under pretext of work and shopping, she had found a quite corner which was empty and cried her heart out.
This made her feel light and there were less chances of her starting to cry in front of everyone.
But as she looked at the group, Darshan, Hardik, Rahul, Adil and Sameer bhai, she felt as if she belonged.
She felt as if Nikhil’s words didn’t matter because everyone accepted her, even liked her enough to include her in their group. She smiled with true happiness for the first time in many days.
They had breakfast quickly and reached on the venue just on time. Paridhi managed everything as efficiently as Naushad Khan would have managed and Darshan was impressed by her skills and smooth management.
They finished the performance without any problem and were in Mumbai by midnight. As they exited the airport, suddenly Darshan realized that Paridhi would have to go home alone at midnight.
He knew that it was not his place to worry, she could surely take care of herself. But still it didn’t stop him from worrying. He debated internally as she looked around for cabs. But when she took out her phone to book an Uber, he couldn’t stop himself and walked towards her.
“Hey, how are you getting home? Anyone coming to pick you up?” He asked. Paridhi shook her head.
“I am booking a cab. Jogeshwari pass me hi to hai.” She said and Darshan was suddenly happy.
“Arre, I can drop you, you know. It’s on the way to Lokhandwala.” Paridhi stared at him with her mouth hanging open.
“I…err…but… I don’t think…it’s necessary. I can manage. You are tired. You shou…” Darshan cut her before she could finish.
“I don’t think you should go alone. It’s not safe for a girl to travel alone late at night. You know what I mean. Come on now. I will drop you and no further arguments.” Paridhi had opened her mouth to argue further, but Darshan’s last sentence silenced her. She debated it for a moment, then agreed, knowing that Darshan would have his way.
The rest of the team had already left by the time Darshan and Paridhi finished their argument. Darshan and Paridhi walked to Darshan’s Audi in silence. Oddly, the silence between them was comfortable.
There was no awkwardness or the need to talk. Darshan started the car and asked Paridhi her address. Paridhi lived in Jogeshwari east which was on the way to Lokhandwala from airport.
“See, it’s no trouble at all. It’s already on my route. I don’t even have to turn anywhere.” Darshan said and Paridhi gave him a shy smile.
“Thank you.” She said and Darshan gave her a warm smile which melted her heart. As Darshan pulled out of the airport parking, Paridhi was suddenly struck by the fact that she was in Darshan Raval’s car, with Darshan Raval himself, alone, late at night. She almost freaked out.
This was an ultimate fangirl moment. She couldn’t believe her luck. Out of all the celebrities in India, she was working for The Darshan Raval. It was finally sinking in. She could not help herself from looking at him.
He looked so adorable even in dim lighting at night. She stared at him, his cute nose, his warm smile, his beautiful eyes and the way he hummed a tune. She wished the drive could last forever and she could stare at him.
Darshan sensed Paridhi’s stare and smiled. Still, he didn’t look at her, letting her stare at him. He hummed a tune which had began to form in his mind out of nowhere. 25 minutes later, he reached the area Paridhi had told him and looked at her, asking for directions.
“Aage signal se right, then first left.” She told him and within 5 mins, they were outside Paridhi’s society, where Paridhi and Nikhil lived.
“Nice area. Flat khud ka hai ya rent pe liya hai?” Darshan asked her, looking around. Paridhi hesitated. Should she tell him about her boyfriend?
But it was her personal life, right? Also, the relation between Paridhi and Nikhil had gotten so unstable recently that Paridhi was herself unsure of their future. They fought constantly and there was no peace in their relationship. She did not want Darshan to think that she was a casual dater, someone who changed boyfriends constantly.
And Nikhil had strictly forbidden her to tell anyone about their relationship. He wanted to keep it a secret so that no problems would occur when they finally decided to marry. So she decided to go with half truth.
“Err.. I live with a friend. Rented flat, we share it.” Darshan nodded. “Thanks for dropping me.” Paridhi said and Darshan waved it off.
“You are always welcome. Good night. Take care ok.” He said seriously and Paridhi nodded.
“Good night Darshan.”
Darshan reversed the car before he was tempted to stay little more. What the fuck was happening to him? Why was he so concerned about her? He had hardly known her for two days. But there was something that pulled him towards her.