Our Journey Of Love (Completed)

9. Abhi and the proposal

TAMARA'S POV:

When I returned to the flat, Mrudhula is not there in the room. She left me a note saying that she is going to her hometown. I already ate so much in the afternoon, and I am lazy to cook, so I just had some fruit salad and settled on my bed, closing my eyes and recalling today's events. My phone beeped with a message tone.

Ram: Someone seems to forget about me today.

Automatically my face lit up because of his message. We are messaging each other frequently and also engaging in occasional phone calls. Today I am so happy that I want to share it with someone. But Mrudhula is not there; calling Ram Seems to be a tempting option. So without thinking anything else, I dialed his number.

"Hello, Mr. Ram, I hope you are doing well these days," I said in a professional tone.

"I am fine, Ms. Tara. I am privileged to get a phone call from you. May I know the reason behind this, your highness" He said with a serious tone.

But I know that he is suppressing his smile. I don't understand why these boys like to tease me.

"Stop it, Ram! I wanted to share something exciting with you, but you are spoiling my mood. Now I am not going to tell you anymore," I said.

"Okay, girl, enough teasing for today. Continue with your story. I am bored to death today. You know I talked with a dog near my apartment to come out of this boredom." I imagined him talking with the dog and can not stop my laughter. But in between, I got a call from Abhi. I declined his call and messaged him, saying that I am on call with Ram.

"Didn't you go out today? "I asked him.

"No, we are planning to meet tomorrow, so I was free today. Already tell me the story."

"Okay, I went to the mall with my college friends, and guess what," Abhi is calling me again.

"just a minute, Ram, Abhi is calling me on my phone. I will connect with you after the call. Sorry for the interruption," I apologized to him.

"Hey, no problem, Tara, go on. There must be some urgency. I will talk to you later, " by saying that, he disconnected the call. I sensed a change in his tone, but I did not think about it much at that time.

"What happened Abhi, is there something serious going on?" I asked him.

"Can you please come out now for some time? I want to tell you something," he said in a painful tone. I don't know what is happening to him. I am getting panicked now.

"Okay, I will be there in 5."

With that, I locked my flat and, impatient to wait for the elevator. I took the stairs to go down fast. There he is, waiting for me on his bike in deep thought.

I silently went there and stood beside him. He signaled me to hop on his bike. He started his motorcycle and took us in the direction of the beach. No words were exchanged. I so wanted to end this silence, but knowing Abhi, I won't do that. He is one of the most lively people I know, but he doesn't want to be interrupted when he is serious about something. I want him to open up first.

We reached the beach in 10 minutes.

"Don't you want to ask why I bring you here" Abhi opened his mouth for the first time.

"I want to, but I know better not to ask you any questions when you are serious," I replied. He is looking peaceful now facing the sea.

"This attitude of yours is what attracts me more towards you day by day." He said. I don't know how to react to that statement.

"I don't want to do this to you, but I can't bear this burden anymore. I like the way you handle the kids. I like the way you treat your parents and family. I like the way how you give respect to our elders. I like the way you give importance to our friends. I like how you stand up for yourself and carry yourself around the people. I like your innocence as well as your stubbornness. I like you the way you are." He finished.

I am speechless. I did not expect this from Abhi. After my family, he is the closest person to my heart. He is like a family to me. He is the only one with whom I shared my past. At this point, if you ask me the question of who is important to you between Ram and Abhi, I will choose Abhi over Ram, but not as my life partner. But, Ram and Abhi are different. This is like comparing apples with oranges. Abhi is more of a best friend and kind of a family to me. Ram is someone with whom I am starting to imagine the rest of my life.

"You don't need to struggle that much, Tara. I know how you feel about me. I also consider you as a family. But I don't remember when I started to develop feelings for you. But I fell hard for you. But your engagement happened, and I tried to distance as much as possible from you, but here you are, always trying to get back to me. I am not going to ask anything from you. I just want to free myself from these feelings. I hate myself now for putting you in this situation. But this is necessary for me to move on from you. Whatever you decide, I will respect your decision." He left his decision in my hands.

" Thank you for letting me know your feelings. Even if I am not engaged to Ram, I may not have accepted your proposal. Because I never imagined and can not imagine you as my life partner. But you will always be my best friend. I hope that I did not do anything to hurt your feelings." I said out my thoughts.

"Thank god! My burden got reduced. Let us go and have some ice cream now," he said, masking his feelings.

I know he is holding his pain and trying to cheer me. I am also not prepared to handle it further. I need time to think and then have to tackle this situation. So I kept quiet and followed him towards the ice cream parlor. We ordered Oreo and chocolate chip ice cream. I had the ice cream while facing the sea. My thoughts are as disturbed as the waves in the ocean. Today is undoubtedly one hell of a shocking day. I hope that no more revelations are waiting for me.

Thank you for reading.

Please vote, share, and Comment.