Chapter 12
The noise of her bustling about the kitchen brought a smile on his face. He settled down on the sofa & closed his eyes. How did a jerk like him end up with an angel like her. He recollected her narrating the story of the Beauty & the Beast to those pestilent kids.
The beauty finally realized that the Beast & the Prince was one & the same.Her voice echoed in his ears. He felt a strange feeling of solitude & helplessness pierce his heart.
He had been living an accursed life devoid of laughter, happiness & colors before she fell into his arms that fateful night & had breached the tough walls of the daunting citadel guarding his treacherous heart. She had slowly but steadily hacked at those cold walls which finally came crashing down letting her love & laughter seep through his heart & soul like an elixir infusing life in his tired shell of a heart. However unlike the Beast who had held on firmly to the Beauty, he had thrown it away. For someone claiming to be the smartest & toughest cookie around he had been boneheadedly stupid in letting go his guardian angel. If only he could turn back the clock, go back in time & rewrite the past...
LOVE...
What a strange beast. It possesses you when you are least prepared & when you finally come in terms with this alien emotion it leaves as abruptly leaving you bereft & rudderless.
Kushi how i wish i had not lost your love. How i wish i could make you fall in love with me again. Wishful thinking indeed but hey a man can always dare to hope right.His eyes finally lost the battle & closed wearily. His last thoughts were of her & her bewitching smile. Little Ms Sunshine, he called her secretly in his mind & the name suited her. His lips curved into a smile & he eased down on the sofa & finally let slumber claim him.
She stared at the dal simmering slowly in the pan while she was lost in thoughts about the person for whom she was cooking this elaborate meal.
Akadu kahin ke.
She smiled at the memory of his stormy look when he had gatecrashed into her flat & the way he had thrown a temper tantrum 1st on his tiff with Di & then later when refusing to return home. It was at times like these that she felt that the name Chote used by Nani & Di was apt.
He was just like a kid miffed with his best friend & yelling for his favorite toy. She wondered how he had been in his childhood. She remember Nani & Di fondly reminiscing about his naughty pranks on Aakash & Di. Where did that naughty child disappear? Her smile slowly waned away. His childhood had been ruthlessly snatched away from him. At an age when he had to play with his friends & have fun he had responsibilities & woes thrust on his tiny, delicate shoulders for ever wiping away his laughter & joy. She felt the sting of tears in her eyes when she remembered him breaking down on her lap that night. That night she had stolen a rare glimpse into the soul of a man who had fortified his heart against love, emotions which he felt weakened a man but deep down he was still that little naughty kid who had longed for his mom's warm lap & dad's comforting hand on his head.
How she wished she had the power to go back in time & erase all his pain & hurt. She could not see him in pain, nor his tears which seared & scorched her soul. How she wished she could bring back that naughty, loving, cute Arnav who loved life. She sighed. If wishes were horses...
She returned to an eerily silent living room. Her confusion turned to silent bemusement when she say her dear rakshas slumped out flat on her sofa, his head at a weird angle on the arm rest, his left leg dangling precariously at the edge of the sofa.
She got down on her knees & stared lovingly at that handsome face which haunted her thoughts & dreams without giving her a respite. As
usual she was amazed by how adorable he looked in sleep. She painstakingly
traced his brow, eyes, cheeks & finally those delightful lips. He murmured incoherently in his sleep, crunched his nose & then a hint of a smile graced his lips. She was transfixed.
Is it possible to love someone so deeply that no matter how much they push you away, hurt you, break you, you still yearn for that person's voice, smile, touch. She had tried hard to protect her fragile heart from any more agony by trying to stay away from him but like a hopeless addict craving for his next fix, she craved madly for him, his heartbreaking smiles, his soul-searing caresses, his husky voice, his intoxicating eyes. From the beginning she had fought hard this mad, inexplicable pull & attraction towards this arrogant man but her heart lost the battle & had surrendered unconditionally without even a whimper of a protest.
As she stared longingly at him, finally realization hit her. She had always been on the losing side with no allies. Her beloved Devi maiyya & her treasonous heart had conspired against her. She had tried to fool herself that she will move on, forget him & plot her life ahead alone & brave. But she now knew it was a fool's dream, a wishful folly. She would never be able to forget him. Her heart will continue to beat only for him. All that hogwash that Arnavji spoke that day about her finding a Prince Charming was hilariously impossible. She will always love him hopelessly, madly & desperately. The day she stopped loving him would be the day her heart stopped beating, the day she stopped breathing.
She stared at his tired visage & saw him frown in his sleep, tossing about a little restlessly.
She held his hand & leaned closer to kiss his eyes softly before brushing her lips fleetingly across his enticing lips. He sighed in his sleep & unconsciously tried to snuggle closer as if even in his sleep his mind pulled him towards her loving warmth.
She felt a strange feeling of protective instinct. She wanted to simply whisk him away from this cold, calculating world with greedy people & secure him from their schemes & follies, protect him from sadness, treachery, greed & heart break. She wanted to simply steal him away from this ruthless world & hide him in her own make believe paradise, hold him tightly in her embrace & never let go. She just wanted him to stop worrying about his loved ones but laugh out loud, run around without a care, smell the rain, get drenched, eat to his heart's fill & sleep on her lap every night. She realized that she could do anything for him, go to any extent to bring a smile on his face, see him happy & relaxed. For him she could fight with the whole world even Di who by the looks of it had hurt him. She resolved to have a quiet word with Di without his knowledge to try & understand the cause of his hurt.
She leaned beside him, resting her head on the sofa, held his hands more firmly & closed her eyes.
PRECAP
She was slumped by the sofa holding his hand, her head resting by his cheeks. He sat up slowly without letting go her hand & stared at her angelic face.
Edited by Angels11 - 7 years ago
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