Tum Hi Ho

Chapter 31

 Two days later, Paridhi was back to Mumbai sitting in her bedroom, dreading the next day as she had to meet Darshan. He had a concert in Pune and they were going by road. She also was planning to talk to him soon, about the lie they had told his father, they needed to sort it out as soon as possible. Vishal's family had said yes to the marriage, but her parents wanted to investigate some background information so they hadn't agreed yet. But it was a matter of time. Paridhi had cried after she had returned to Mumbai and had avoided Darshan's calls and messages. She knew he would try to make her feel better or help her in some way, but she wanted to avoid it as she was sure it would make her fall in love with him more deeply. She hadn't even told him that she had returned to Mumbai, fearing that he might turn up at her door. As much as she desperately wanted to meet him, she was even more afraid of facing him. Later that night, as she was about to go to sleep, Darshan called her and Paridhi stared at the screen, thinking whether she should receive it or not.
I can't keep avoiding him forever, she thought, I have to be strong and face whatever life throws at me. Avoiding and hiding had never solved any problems, she had learnt that lesson hard way. She took a deep breath and swiped the green button.
"Pari? I have been trying to call you from 2 days. Why aren't you receiving my calls and replying my messages?" Darshan demanded, sounding furious.
"Arre, I was at home, surrounded by relatives all the time. I couldn't. And I was in the train today, so network problem. I just arrived in Mumbai." Paridhi lied, knowing that if Darshan knew she had came back 2 days ago and had been avoiding him, he would feel bad. There was a pause and then Paridhi heard a sigh.
"Alright. Tum kal subah aa rahi ho na? I will be picking you up at 8 o'clock. And no arguments, the team is going by another car, me and Hardik, we have a separate car for us and the instruments. So be ready." Darshan's tone made it clear that he was in no mood to listen and Paridhi didn't even bother to argue.
"Ha thik hai, I will be ready."
"Waise how was the trip? All good at home? You were a little stressed before you went." Darshan asked and Paridhi sighed.
"Yeah, everything is fine. Also, I have to tell you something. We will discuss it tomorrow in the car." Paridhi said.
"What? Kya hua? Kuch problem hai kya?" Darshan immediately asked.
"Err...problem to hai, but can we discuss it tomorrow? I am really tired and I was just going to go to sleep." Paridhi replied.
"Yeah, fine. Wake up early, don't be late. Good night."

 The next morning, Paridhi heard the doorbell ring as she brushed her hair. She tied the hair up with help of a big clutcher and walked towards the living room as the bell rang again and again. Always so impatient, she thought as she smiled, knowing it was Darshan at the door.
Darshan stood at Paridhi's doorstep impatient and eager to meet her, see her again. The last 4 days had stretched like eternity without Paridhi. He had been unable to focus on anything, his mind constantly lost in thoughts of his Pari. Even now, as he stood at her doorstep, he could not help but ring the doorbell again as she seemed to take forever to open the door. He raised his hand to knock on the door, but it was opened in that instant and he froze. His breath caught as he stared at the person he loved more than himself. He had missed her so much that he could barely control himself from grabbing her and hugging her tightly.
Instead, he smiled at her, "Hey, morning."
He greeted her cheerfully but noticed that Paridhi's response was a dull 'Morning'. He frowned at her, but then he also noticed that her hair was tied up in a messy bun. As she turned around, he swiftly grabbed her clutcher and removed it gently, trying not to pull her hair. Her hair fell down on her shoulders in waves and he grinned mischievously at her when she abruptly turned around, startled.
"Darshan", she rolled her eyes exasperatedly and tried to snatch back her clutcher from his hand, but Darshan was quick to raise his hand above his head, away from reach of Paridhi. He was 6-foot tall guy and she was a mere 5.2, there was no way she would be able to take it back from him. She huffed in annoyance, glaring at him.
"Fine, I have few more clutchers and rubber bands." She said and turned around to walk to her bedroom. She froze when Darshan caught her hand and pulled her towards him so that they were just inches apart from each other.
Paridhi stared at him, stunned as he lowered his face dangerously close to hers, then whispered in her ear, "I will pull them out too because you look beautiful with your hair open." Then he backed away, grinning at her. Paridhi stared at him for a moment as she processed everything, then shook her head as blush crept on her face. She was suddenly happy, butterflies fluttering in her stomach as she took in the fact that Darshan had called her beautiful, again. She turned around to hide her giddy smile and rushed to her bedroom to grab her phone and purse. They were going to return after the concert, so they didn't need to take any bags except Darshan. She left her hair open, brushing them so that they were smooth, but kept a rubber band just in case.
 "Pari hurry up." Darshan called out and Paridhi rushed out. As they walked to the car, Paridhi noticed that it was empty. She turned to look at Darshan, confused.
"Where is Hardik? And driver kaha chala gaya?" She asked and Darshan rubbed his neck with a shy smile on his face.
"Hardik went with the team and this is my car, I don't need a driver."
"But it was decided to book two cars, I checked it yesterday." Paridhi asked, astonished at the change in plan.
"I canceled it this morning. You said you wanted to talk, I figured we could use some privacy." Darshan said casually and Paridhi sucked in a breath. She had completely forgotten about the problem she had to discuss with Darshan. She nodded stiffly and climbed into the passenger seat.
They had breakfast at a roadside Dhaba, Darshan sat in the car while Paridhi went out to bring food. As they exited Mumbai suburbs and hit the Mumbai-Pune highway, Paridhi realized that she was literally on a long drive/road trip with The Darshan Raval. He had cancelled going with Hardik, refused a driver and was driving 200 KMs just because she had wanted to talk about a problem which he didn't even know about. She realized that he cared for her, he had helped her a lot after Nikhil's assault, he had literally beaten up Nikhil without thinking anything and he had offered her his house to stay. He had often covered her mistakes from Naushad sir, taking the blame on himself. He always gave her lifts and went out of his way to drop her home so she could reach home safely. She looked at Darshan, amazed by the fact that The Darshan Raval cared for her and she had been oblivious to the fact until now. She slapped herself mentally. But this didn't mean that she had a hope, he was just being a good friend and a gentleman. There was no way the legend himself could fall in love with someone like her. And in reality, he deserved someone far better than her. Someone of his level, who could match his standards. She took a deep breath.
"So Darshan, the problem I wanted to talk about...." Darshan glanced at her and nodded to encourage her to speak.

// Haha, sorry for the cliffhanger. So what do you think will happen now? How will Paridhi tell Darshan about her marriage? How will Darshan react is she really told him? Please vote if you liked this chapter and do comment and tell me. //