Tum Hi Ho

Chapter 36

 Darshan asked for keys on the way back to the car and Paridhi handed him the keys wordlessly. They drove silently until they exited the city and hit the highway. Paridhi was trying to control her thoughts, but they were racing ahead of her, overthinking and over-analyzing everything. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore.
"Darshan, stop the car. I need to talk to you." She said. Darshan juts ignored her and stared straight ahead, continuing to drive.
"Darshan, this is really important. Stop the car or I will..." Paridhi trailed off, trying to come with something to threaten him. Darshan smirked at her loss of words, but remained silent, still pretending to ignore her. "...I will call my mom right now and tell her to fix my marriage with Vishal." 

The car jerked violently again before Darshan managed to hit the brakes and park it to the side of the road. He cursed, making Paridhi jump and glared at her.
"What the fuck? You can't...Pari..." He was so angry that he couldn't even find words.
"Then tell me why Darshan? Give me a reason and I will cancel this marriage right now. Why?" Darshan looked away from her, trying to control his breathing.
"I can't tell you." He rasped out and Paridhi stared at him. "Darshan, please, tell me what's wrong. Why did you get so angry when I mentioned my marriage? Why do you care so much? Why do you always go out of your way to help me all the time? I am just your manager...Why are you concerned about a girl like me?" Paridhi asked and Darshan gripped the steering wheel tightly.
"I don't want to talk about this." He said quietly, but Paridhi noticed his voice shaking.
"Darshan, please, I am going mad with all the overthinking. What did you mean when you told me not to bite my lip or else you will lose your control? Kya matlab tha uska? Mein soch soch ke pagal hui ja rahi hu." Darshan looked at her intensely and Paridhi bit her lip without even meaning to.
She gasped when she noticed his eyes darkening and she realized that she was biting her lip. She quickly released her lip from her teeth and turned away from him. Next moment she heard Darshan curse and noticed him getting out of the car. She too got out of the car and went to stand near him.
"Talk to me Darshan. I want to...I need to know.... if I want to get married to Vishal or..." Paridhi stopped suddenly as Darshan punched the hood of the car.
"STOP IT PARIDHI. STOP TALKING ABOUT YOUR FUCKING MARRIAGE WITH THAT...IN FRONT OF ME." Although Paridhi was startled by his sudden outburst, she was now determined to find out the reason behind his weird behavior. His reaction confirmed her doubts that maybe it was possible that he liked her, but she wanted to hear him say it.
"But why Darshan? Tell me. Why?" She pushed him and Darshan glared at her. This time, for the first time, she bit her lip deliberately and slowly. Darshan's eyes widened and his expression changed from anger to extreme desire. Paridhi stared at him teasing, half smiling, amazed at herself to be able to pull this off in front of The Darshan Raval.
"Fuck." Darshan cursed and he grasped Paridhi's arms, just like he had done earlier that evening, and slammed her back to the car. He looked at her startled face as she bit her lip again, and lost his control. He crashed his lips onto her hers and felt her stiffen. He pulled back, horrified a little, but unable to resist himself once he had tasted her soft lips. He kissed her lips again, gently this time, and could feel Paridhi relax. She closed her eyes and leaned up to meet his parted lips. The kiss that had started as a gentle, turned quickly into a passionate one as Darshan slipped his hands around her and pulled her close to him.
The feel of his body against her was too much for Paridhi and she melted into his arms, letting him hold her upright. She moaned when Darshan bit her lip and Darshan growled at that sound. He quickly pulled back, both of them stared at each other trying to catch their breath and calm their racing hearts. Darshan took Paridhi's hand and placed it on his chest, near his hand. She could feel his heart racing just in tune with hers.
"This," he breathed out in a husky voice, "is what you do to me and why I care about you and why I was angry at the idea of you getting married to someone else." He leaned down in a swift motion, bit Paridhi's lip again, and pulled back.
"And this," he continued, "is what I meant by losing control." Paridhi was speechless as Darshan waited nervously for her to react. 'What if she rejects you?' The thought crossed his mind and his face contorted painfully. No, he had to make her understand how much he loved her. He had to tell her that he couldn't live without her.
He opened his mouth to say something but froze when Paridhi whispered, "I love you." 

Paridhi got out the words before she lost her courage and finally told him what she felt. It felt like a huge burden was taken off her chest. She felt giddy with happiness as she replayed what had happened just a few moments ago. She whispered, "I love you ." And stared at him as his expression changed from shock to realization to happiness.
"Really?" He asked incredulously and Paridhi chuckled shaking her head.
"No, I am joking." "Shut up, you love me," Darshan repeated as if he didn't believe it.
"You love me. Tell me one more time, you love me?"
Paridhi ducked her head shyly, blushing as Darshan stared at her intensely.
"Pari...you love me?" He asked again and Paridhi nodded, happy to see that he wasn't rejecting her. Instead, he looked really happy.
'So he really loves me.' Paridhi thought, frowning at why he wasn't saying it back. She felt disappointed when he leaned against the car, just staring at her silently.
"What? Aren't you going to say something?" She asked and Darshan just shook his head. Paridhi stared at him exasperatedly.
"Darshan, don't you think you are supposed to say something? I just told you that I love you." Darshan chuckled and shook his head again. Paridhi was now beginning to doubt herself and him. Did he even love her back? Or had she assumed it by herself? Fuck.. what if he didn't love her? Then why did he kiss her? Darshan immediately sensed her panic and slipped her hands around her. 

"Paridhi...I don't...you have no idea how happy you have made me right now. Par jitna tumne mujhe tadpaya hai na, badla lena to banta hai. So right now, I don't have anything to say. Let's go home now. It's getting late." He kissed her nose, then kissed her forehead. Paridhi closed her eyes, breathing in his scent and feeling him shiver against her as a cool breeze blew. She pulled away, smiling slyly.
"Oops, you are feeling cold and I am wearing your jacket. I should give it back." She stared to unzip the jacket, but Darshan grasped her hand and stopped her, staring at her intently.
"It's not the cold that's making me shiver Pari. It's you." He said, his voice husky and deep. Paridhi bit her lip again, and Darshan's eyes darkened.
"Fuck Pari.... Don't...don't do it around me." He said and slid away from her, breathing deeply to calm himself down.
"Sorry," Paridhi said shyly and looked away from him. They both got into the car and the rest of the drive was silent as both of them didn't know what to speak.

//So, Finally they confessed. Well, Paridhi confessed and Darshan confessed, but didn't say the words. So what do you think will happen next? Please VOTE if you liked this chapter and tell me how it was. The story is wrapping up, so I need votes.
Soon, I will be starting a new story, in a completely different genre and I need all the support and motivation I can get. 

Thank you to all the readers who have stayed with me patiently, keeping up with my irregular updates, I appreciate your efforts and I will try my best to give you the stories that you will enjoy. I hope you will support me in future too, even if I will not be writing fanfiction.//