Tum Hi Ho

Chapter 11

Once he was back in kitchen, he swore. “Fuckk, what is happening to me? Why am I caring so much for her? Why did it feel like world was ending when she fell down?” He murmured to himself and banged a fist on the kitchen counter in frustration. Paridhi, who had came out to keep the empty plate was startled by the sight of Darshan looking frustrated and punching the counter.
“Darshan?” She called out timidly, “What’s wrong?” Darshan turned around to find her standing in the doorway and was startled.
“I…err.. nothing. Why are you here? Maine kaha tha na tumse rest karne ko?” He said and Paridhi bit her lip nervously. The sight made Darshan’s heart skip a beat and he took a sharp breath, clenching his fists to control himself.
He had suddenly had a desire to kiss that lip Paridhi was biting. I am going insane, Darshan screamed internally at himself. Paridhi’s voice brought him back to reality.
“I…errr came to keep the empty plate. Err… where am I supposed to….?” She asked and Darshan took the plate from her hand, depositing it in the sink. He grabbed a banana from the fruit basket and was about to hand it to Paridhi when she shook her head. “I…err… don’t like banana. I just…the taste is..errr..revolting. Yuck” She said and Darshan chuckled.
“Okk, take whatever you like from the fruit basket, but you have to take ONE fruit.” He said and Paridhi scanned the fruit basket. She took a handful of grapes and popped one in mouth. Darshan nodded in approval and led her back to the bedroom. Paridhi slipped under the blankets and sat there eating the grapes while Darshan sorted out the mess in his living room and packed his bag.
He came to his room to change as it was time to go and found Paridhi sleeping. He stared at her for a few moments, taking in her sleeping form. She looked so adorable while sleeping, one hand on her stomach and another hand resting near her neck. Her hair spread out on his pillow. She looked cute. Suddenly he came to his senses.
“What the fuck am I thinking? I am really going insane.” He thought to himself. He decided to let Paridhi sleep for a few more minutes and went on to change his outfit. He stripped down his clothes in the washroom, then realized that the outfit he was supposed to wear was hanging in his wardrobe.
Cursing to himself, he peeped out of his washroom and saw that Paridhi was still sleeping soundly. He tiptoed out of the washroom to his wardrobe and grabbed his clothes. He glanced at Paridhi and sighed when he noticed that she was deep asleep. He then decided to wear the clothes in the bedroom itself.
Anyways she was sleeping. Who was going to see him? He put on his jeans and turned to look into the mirror. He tried to grab his hairbrush and accidently knocked it down.
Cursing, he bent to pick it up and heard a gasp. He looked up to see that Paridhi had woken up and was staring at him. She suddenly averted her stare and pulled the blanket over her head to block her view of his shirtless body.
This was the second time she was seeing him like this. She had woken up to sound of something crashing and the first thing she had seen was Darshan’s bare back. The sight of his taut muscles and the way his biceps flexed as he bent down and stretched his hand towards the brush made her gasp. Embarrassed that she was caught staring at him, she had hidden behind the blanket to hide her blush. She had to admit to herself, Darshan was really hot.
On the other side, Darshan found it pleasing instead of embarrassing that he had such effect on Paridhi. He quickly put on his shirt and turned around as he buttoned it.
“You can look now, I am decent.” He called out and saw Paridhi peep out of the blanket.
“Darshan aap bhi na. Aise ladki ke saamne koi change karta hai kya?” Paridhi asked and Darshan chuckled, suddenly getting into a naughty mood. He left top three buttons open and turned around to face her.
“Are what is there to hide? I have posted shirtless pics so many times. Ladkiya marti hai mujhe aisa dekhne ke liye, aur tumhe free live view mil raha hai.” He said and grinned, making Paridhi blush.
“Are dekho to idhar, batao kaise dikh raha hu?” Darshan asked her when Paridhi looked down making her look at him again. She nodded her head, smiling shyly.
“Acche dikh rahe ho, humesha ki tarah.” She said and suddenly Darshan felt like the happiest person in the world. Seeing him grin stupidly, Paridhi realized that Darshan was teasing her. She got an idea.
“Bas ab wo upar ke button band karo. Phir aur bhi acche lagoge. Ekdum cutiepie.” She said and Darshan’s smile immediately vanished.

“Cutiepie?” He asked, irritated. Paridhi shrugged.
“Haan, you are cute. Really very cute. The cutest person I have ever met. Cute, just like a baby. Cutiepie.” She said, trying to hide her smile and Darshan got more irritated. He buttoned his shirt, grumbling about insensitive girls.
He then asked Paridhi, “Tumhe me sirf cute lagta hu?” Paridhi nodded which made him even madder and he shrugged on his jacket.
“Hmm, chalo utho ab. Nikalna hai.” He told her on an annoyed tone without looking at her and went out of the room. His sudden change of behavior startled Paridhi.
“What did I say that offended him so much?” She asked herself and shook her head when she was unable to come up with the answer.
Thinking that his grumpy mood wouldn’t last for too long, she climbed out of the bed and went to get freshened up in his washroom. She brushed her hair using Darshan’s brush and was startled when she realized that she was inside Darshan bedroom.
Funny how mind works, she mused. She had been in here for more than an hour and she had just realized that to stand where she was standing was a dream of million girls. Funny how fate works in odd ways. She did not belong here, yet she was here.
She was engaged to someone she loved, yet she wanted to love someone else. These sudden thoughts startled her. What the hell am I even thinking? She shook her head, no, she loved Nikhil and she wanted to marry him. Or did she? Doubts began to creep in her mind and she began to overthink. What if she and Nikhil were not meant to be? What if Nikhil wasn’t the One? What if she thought she loved Nikhil, but in reality she loved someone else? Did she love someone else? If she didn’t love Nikhil, then who did she love?

As if in answer to her questions, she was startled out of her thoughts by Darshan’s voice.
“Pari! Are you coming or should I leave without you?” She looked at her watch and realized that they were really getting late.
“Coming, 2 minutes.” She shouted back and tied her hair in a messy bun. She applied some compact and lipgloss, along with a stroke of kajal and then sprayed some of Darshan’s dior perfume from one of the bottles kept in shelf. She then rushed out to find Darshan ready with the bags. He handed her handbag and looked at her from head to toe.
“You look nice.” He complimented her and though Paridhi thanked him, she found it odd that even though she was not feeling well and she was dressed in a simple t-shirt with bare minimum of makeup, Darshan still thought that she looked nice. She slipped her feet in her shoes and bent down to adjust the straps when she felt something pulling at her hair and the next moment her hair was loose from the bun and falling all over her face and shoulders.
She straightened up, frowning and found Darshan holding the clip that had held her hair in the bun. He grinned at her, stretching his hand up and away from her as she tried to grab it back.
“But you look beautiful when your hair is not tied and loose.” He told her making her look at him with wide eyes. Did Darshan Raval just compliment her? Paridhi couldn’t believe it. So she just shook her head, making her hair fall freely around her shoulder and pushed a few loose strands away from her face. Little did she know that this simple act of hers was making Darshan’s heart skip a beat. He was falling for her, Darshan realized. This simply blew his mind. Out of all the girls, he had to fall for her.