Kuch Mere Dil Ne Kaha PART 15

 In the last update Ram and Priya were lost in an embrace after Priya confessed her reason for running away from the hospital. Being there brought back the bitter taste associated with the memory of losing her parents. Ram understood with no further argument. In fact, he offered her the solitude of his embrace. 
Today's update starts with Priya in her room, having returned home the night before. So Ram did not force her to go back to the hospital. The purple ink is Priya's recollection of the events leading up to the morning after the bittersweet night. And as usual the blue is the present scene. Hope you like it!
*Brace yourself for a twist!*
                                                                                  Part 15

Yawning beneath a blanket of fluffy white clouds, the sun began it's rise without miss at the crack of dawn. Priya felt the gentle warmth from the freshly born sun rays splash teasingly along the side of her face, insisting she get out of bed. However, Priya hadn't slept a wink throughout the night. Her drenched Salwar, which had dried on its own overnight, was evidence that something was bouncing off the walls in her mind. Watching the dip and rise of Kush's tummy Priya categorically recalled the events of an otherwise productive night wondering where it all went wrong and whether she could have foreseen the betrayal. 
(flashback of the night) Ram had latched on to Priya’s body; his buff arms wrapped, loosely at first, around her petite frame, sheltering her from the raindrops that cannonballed around them into tiny puddles. The droplets sizzled as it hit the ground as if it were landing in a pot of hot oil, splattering in a similar pattern. Crackling at a distance, faint sparks of thunder surged in bunches through a bed of dark clouds, searching for an exit unsuccessfully yet undeterred. It was a beautiful concoction; mother nature’s very own prescription for the troubled soul. Drugged by the ambient sounds from their surroundings, Ram and Priya remained in a trance that would have otherwise never existed. Their embrace was a safe haven, an unspoken confession of their true emotions, which would fail the conscious test of reality at such a premature stage. It was as though time had been forced to forfeit its power to the unrelenting passion, which had built up between them in the dark of the night. Ram tightened his hold and Priya didn’t rob him of any closeness.
Dragging her feet against the creaky floor all the way to the bathroom Priya halted briefly in front of the wide panelled mirror of her dresser with a look of disgust on her face as she glanced up the length of her body. There was no visible injury to be found anywhere in flesh and the salwar suit, which had been drenched in the ordeal was intact to the very the last stitch. However, the dagger was in the truth that she had let a cunning man like Ram comfort her with his filthy touch and even worse was the fact that in her moment of weakness she had needed him so much. After last night it was a wonder whether Ram even had an organ in his body remotely similar to that of a heart. He was a chameleon, changing colours to blend in to normalcy. There was no sympathy or even an ounce of care within him. Although, he had so expertly lead her to believe that he had changed into an honest man, it was all a sham. Priya cringed, as pieces of the night flashed mockingly before her eyes. "And why wouldn't it?" An evil side of her ego sneered, "After all the joke is on you." It took one night, some seconds, a couple of words but once the sword was drawn with revenge engraved on the sides of the blade, a war was imminent. 
"Ram!" Priya called for the umpteenth time pounding the door with her fist. "My god this man takes longer than me to get dressed but yet he always claims that I'm the reason why he's always late." She muttered to herself and than shouted... "How much longer Ram? You have been in there for nearly an hour." Priya exaggerated 'slightly' hoping it would make a dent in the length of time he was planning on taking. "Oye hello..." Ram responded from inside the change room sounding flabbergasted...  "A proper 20 minutes hasn't even passed by since I came in here..."  Priya's lips puckered into a playful smile hearing the disbelief in his voice. "Acha... Theek hain..."  how much longer Ram?" She finally managed to say with a halfway straight face after taming her amusement. 
"Baas 5 minutes..."  Ram called back, realizing that the roles were reversed today.
"Okay fine... I am going to make myself a cup of tea... By the time I  come back you better be ready..." 
"Haan Haan! Jaye na..." Ram stated hurriedly. Behind the closed change room doors, Ram stood in his same shirtless attire. Indeed it had been 20 minutes since he entered the room and Ram was in no way confused as to what to wear but he had a surprise brewing in his mind, which required them to stay in his cozy home away from home for atleast two more hours. Stumped, he paced the length of the change room thinking about ways to kill the minutes leading up to the surprise he had planned for Priya but doing so in way that would not cause any alarm. Than it hit him like a gush of cool air after a heavy rainstorm on a hot, humid day. "That's it," Ram announced, literally snapping his fingers for added effect. "Ram tu na ekdum ghaada hain. It took you 20 minutes to stumble upon this solution that was laying at your feet all this time?" He shook his head, patting the side of thighs in search of his cellphone. "Shit!" He stilled and looked around the room remembering he had placed it on the night table in the bedroom. "Ab kya karoon mein?" He panicked at first before recalling that Priya had gone to make some tea. "Oh thank god..." Ram's eyes lit up sensing victory he opened the door a smidgen peaking out at first and than bolting towards the night table where his phone was placed. Punching his drivers number into the keypad with his finger Ram placed the phone to his left ear glancing behind his back every so often, checking for any sign of Priya.
"Hello?" Ram spoke finally getting through to his drivers cell number.
"Yes sir! Chintan speaking." The driver promptly responded.
"Are you downstairs? Priya M'aam called you right?" Ram hurried past formalities, cutting straight to the chase.
"Yes sir... I am downstairs."
"Okay great..." interrupted an overly anxious husband. "I need you to leave right now... Make some excuse if Priya M'aam asks but leave... Head back to the KM as soon as I hang up."
"Sir? Is there any work at the KM? Should I send for another driver for you and Priya M'aam."
Abhe nahi yaar... It's Saturday do one thing go home, spend time with your family... Your wife... your kids."
Blushingly the driver responded... "Sir mera shaadi abhi nahi hua... toh baache kahan se..."
Frustratingly Ram brought the flat of his palm to the center of his forehead. "Mera baap... Jaye na... Why are you suffocating the romance in my marriage yaar. I am giving you a day off.. Go enjoy yourself and let me enjoy myself too..." He paused and than added... "Aur suno... Don't tell Priya M'aam that I told you too leave... Tell her that you have a family emergency or something... I don't know yaar, make something up if she asks." Ram stressed his main and final point. "BUT LEAVE NOW!"
"Yes sir!"
Hanging up Ram muttered to himself... "Yeh Driver bhi na... Well mission accomplished... No driver equals no ride... Sorry Priya... But I will make it up to you, I promise."
Tossing his phone on the mattress Ram turned to head back to the change room with a grin on his face plastered from ear to ear, which disappeared the moment he caught a glimpse of Priya. "Shit was she standing behind me all this time." He gulped at the thought trying to decipher the exact emotion hidden behind her poker face.
"P-Priya," Ram stammered. "Woh kya hain na...I was actually out here waiting for you...Ummm...Woh..." He struggled to find the words to create the perfect excuse.
Folding her arms across her chest Priya raised her left eyebrow and with her words she began expertly weaving a trap. "You were waiting for me to pick out a shirt for you right?"
Ram’s mouth remained open in awe. "Looks like she didn't hear anything. Thank god. Warna yeh sherni would eat me whole."
"Chaliye!" Priya gestured to the change room with a subtle nod of her head.
(Flashback of the night) Priya was the first to draw back slightly from the embrace in which she was placed captive. The awkward taste from the realization of what just took place, cunningly laced the air around them so as not give any other option but to breathe it in. "Um." Ram stammered searching for Priya's averted gaze. "Let's get in the car it's raining so bad out here." Ram stated, pointing out the obvious and with nothing more than a gentle nod Priya followed. Noticing her shiver despite her best efforts not too, Ram reached over to the back seat and grabbed hold of his spare black coat, which he always carried with him in the car. With slight hesitancy, partly due to Priya's volatile nature, Ram placed the coat over her shoulder; a gesture that she accepted warmly with a meek smile. "Thank you!" Priya stuttered adjusting the coat more snuggly over her shoulders. In doing so her right hand brushed against the rough edge of a document that was folded in half and tucked away in the outer pocket of his coat. She pulled it out with the honest intention of handing it over to Ram but as she did, her gaze fell upon a section of the document that bore her signature in bold, black ink. "When did I sign this?" She asked fully informed of the contents on the legal documents, which authenticated a marriage she had no knowledge of consenting too. Ram snatched the document from her, not the least bit flabbergasted that she had seen it. Vikram had presented her with the same documents before her attack but she had no recollection of actually signing the papers. "Mr. Kapoor I am asking you something, dammit answer me." Priya roared into the arrogant face of his infuriating silence. She apparently no longer needed the coat, which she threw to the side of the road when she got out of the car. Ram calmly followed her after tucking the documents safely into the dashboard compartment. She observed him with a killer glare in her tear stained eyes as he picked his coat up off the ground laying it neatly on the glistening wet hood of his car. It had stopped raining at some point and so there was no magic in the air any longer just unanswered questions of deception. After a blood boiling pause Ram's blank expression shaped into a look of wicked amusement. He placed both his hands in his pockets observing Priya's pale face with utmost satisfaction. “Don’t you think that you should be asking yourself that question Priya? After all it’s your signature.” Ram spoke, his words coated in cockiness. With a conceited smile shaped on his thin lips Ram took confident strides encircling Priya. She could feel the warmth from his body kiss the skin on her back as he stationed himself behind her. “What’s the matter Mrs. Shar—.” He paused… “Oops, can’t use that name anymore… But to be honest that name was never yours to begin with…” By now her whole body was hot with anger and so when he shifted from behind her, she had not a clue that he had moved until he stood in front of her. Priya eyed him murderously, if only looks could kill. But to Ram it made no difference how she eyeballed him because having dug her grave there was no turning back until he put the nail in her coffin. “I am a business man and a damn fine one at that. Great businessmen don't leave anything to chance." After a brief pause he hammered home his main point. "By stepping toe to toe with me, you bit off far more than you can chew and now the time has come for you to choke on this truth.” Having heard enough, Priya flung her hand towards Ram’s face. However, Ram had anticipated that exact reaction. In fact, he had cleverly laid out a trap, which he had hidden beneath a layer of his handpicked words in order to invoke her to slap him. Just as she did he grabbed a hold of her arm simultaneously pulling her forward until she crashed into him. Dominance, she needed to understand who had the upper hand and in this case it was Ram, literally. “Leave me!!” She screamed at him, jerking like a fish out of water on a hook. “Shut up!” Ram screamed back and held her tighter. The subtle glare of fear in her eyes was satisfying and her abrupt silence meant that she got the message. “I have been waiting for this day Priya...” He spoke uncomfortably close to her face like he wanted his words to be absorbed in her pores in case her ears were to miss it. “ Ever since that day you raised your hands on me in the hotel I have been waiting for you to try that again.” He stated with so much rage in his each word that Priya could have sworn she saw anger seep through each syllable as he spoke. Priya grimaced, an unconscious reaction to the sudden pain that came from Ram's unrelenting grip on her arm. Ram immediately released her hand, taken slightly aback by her troubled expression. In that fraction of about half a second Priya felt as if Ram was simply acting tough being spurred on in the heat of the moment. But than he opened his mouth and carried on with the verbal assault putting an end to the glimpse of that short lived thought. “Thank your stars that you saved my brothers life that night, otherwise..."
"Otherwise what?" Priya pressed him for an answer building off of his empty threat. "What would you do if I hadn't saved him. Would you have slapped me too? Is that what this is all about? Tricking me into signing those papers, is that punishment for that day I slapped you and rightfully so?" Ram felt overwhelmed by a stifling aura conceived by her words; it was like an odourless poison that left him feeling cornered on an open road. Priya pounded on with an undying force driven by the pain with which he supplied her. "Why? Why did you play this sick game with my life?" She cried out loud while her heart bled clear up the passage of her tear ducts. "And if this was the way in which you wanted to get back at me for that day than why did you make it seem like I had a choice?"
Finally breaking his momentary vow of silence, Ram retorted, "Because I know your type. Before every step you take you ask Sudhir for permission. I wasn't going to let his refusal ruin my plan. I love my brother..."
"And I love my sister too... For her I would sign any paper that would guarantee her happiness and well being. If only you had asked... But alas you failed to understand me, Mr. Kapoor.  That's so typical of you... I should not have expected anything different. How dumb of me..." Priya stated with a dry chuckle that was by no means a sign of amusement but rather a display of disappointment, which was aimed directly at her own ego.  
"Well that makes two of us..." Ram snorted back reminding her on topic of the scene earlier in the day where his kind attempt for an apology was met by her tall brick wall of uncalled for rudeness.  
"No Mr. Kapoor, I was right on the money about you." Priya promptly inputed her valid defence. "You 'are' in fact the same heartless, arrogant, egotistic maniac in a business suit... A person like you could never comprehend such complex terms as love, respect, trust, personal boundaries..."
Ram's ego threw a tantrum, unable to bear it's insult. "Enough Priya! You're treading on thin ice. Besides I don't give a shit what you think of me. Your opinions don't matter to me and neither do you." Ram took one step towards her, his eyes reddened with rage. But looking into her eyes was like staring into a mirror, the hue was similar, the emotions firmly intact. "Moving forward with all this... I need you to understand one thing clearly." Ram lectured, his index finger waving in Priya's face like they had a point of their own to illustrate. "We are like these street lights."     Ram started; tracing an invisible circle in the air with his finger."  Although, we're working towards the same goal we will always be on opposite ends of the road." Priya glared at Ram with murderous intent, silent but dangerously so. "We are legally married and it's in your sisters best interest if you accept that truth. Now get in the car quietly, like a good wife." Ram sneered, unwisely taking advantage of his sudden surge of power. "I'll drop you home." Their gaze clashed in a brief toxic pause before Ram walked over to his car anticipating that Priya would follow as he commanded. Ram's car roared as it was ignited, mimicking his owners prowess having witnessed the spectacle. However, Priya had her mind set on not going back into the vehicle from the moment she first stepped out. Sticking to her original plan, Priya wiped her moistened cheeks and called out to an approaching rickshaw, an act that immediately slapped the smug smirk off Ram's face as he watched on. Instead of resisting, quite frankly because he knew she wouldn't listen, Ram simply tailed the rickshaw until it safely halted in front of the Sharma residence. 


Ram followed sheepishly, unsure if it was too early to celebrate. He watched as Priya slammed the wardrobe door shut after pulling out his favourite red Lacoste shirt. Ram hesitantly took the shirt from her as she handed it coldly over to him. "Maybe she heard me?." Ram panicked... "No, no, no Ram... If she had heard me she would not have been so calm." Ram thought to himself pulling the shirt over his shoulders. "C'mon Ram, if she knew do you think she would be so calm..." His muscles relaxed but stiffened back up in the same second. "This could just be the calm before the storm." 
"Are you ready Ram?" Priya asked fixing her hair up in a loose bun.
"Hmm..Hain... Yeah!" Ram spoke quickly, riding the chippy wave of luck that confronted him.
They began walking towards the door when Priya, slowing down slightly, fisted one of the sofa cushions. Unable to hold back any longer, Priya's anger burst through the wall of pretence she had constructed, hoping sheer guilt would lead him to a confession of his mistake. But alas that was far from the case and in Priya's mind her hurling the cushion at Ram, just as he turned around to check why she had slowed down, was perfectly justified. With cat like reflexes Ram caught the cushion mid-air right before it was about to softly crash and bounce off his bulky chest. There was no need for any background story, fore one glance in Priya's pink tinged eyes recited a tale, which he had written.
"Priya, look I can explain." Ram started in his defence, chucking the pillow on a nearby chair as he advanced towards her.
"Explain what? There is no need for an explanation everything is clear as water Ram. I heard it all to the last word." Priya took a couple steps back simultaneously pointing her index finger at Ram ordering, "Don't you dare you come any closer to me." Ram halted, taking her threat seriously in hopes to not agitate her any further.
"Okay fine Priya I won't come any closer but can you please atleast hear me out?"
"No! Go to hell!" She blurted out in the face of his genuine request.
"Oh c'mon Priya, don't you think that you are over-reacting?" He followed her to the wardrobe, keenly watching as she grabbed her silky magenta night gown, slamming the doors once more. He loosely grabbed her arm but she infuriatingly shrugged it off. "Don't touch me Ram." She chided him. "You know what Ram, I have had it with you and your controlling ways. Everything has to go according to your plans and god forbid if anyone has any desires that don't match that which is in your agenda. I don't know if I can put up with this much longer. All I wanted was to go on a romantic ride with my husband but no... My husband is a bore... A controlling bore... And I have had it..." Ranting, Priya made her way to the bathroom leaving Ram simply staring helplessly at her. Even the poor bathroom doors faced her wrath being slammed to a hard shut by her relentless hands. Ram jerked back into action hearing the impact. "Priya." He called out to her, clawing the bathroom door with a gentle scratch of his nails against it. "Priya atleast hear me out." No answer came from inside the bathroom and Ram didn't need a psychic to understand that Priya was ignoring him. Working with the cold silence he was handed, Ram decided to make the best of it. She was ignoring him but she could still hear him out. "Priya, I know you are angry and babe trust me it was not my intention to hurt you. All I want to do is see you smile but somehow my every attempt burns to ashes." Exhaling, Ram continued, "The reason I asked the driver to leave was..." And before he could say anything further, Priya opened the door, still angry as displayed in her eyes.
"I told you already Ram, I don't want to hear any explanation. Please just leave me alone. I don't want to talk to you or even look at you for that matter." With that last slur she brushed past him. She was so blinded in her rage that she failed to see the pain that her words had stirred up within him. In all honesty she meant not a word of what she said, but to Ram it felt as if someone had punched him in the guts repeatedly with an iron fist. Uncharacteristically, Ram gave up trying to get her to listen. Sometimes sparks are better left untouched to burn out at their own pace. Similarly, Priya was clearly not ready to be rationale and had Ram pushed her further that flicker of anger could just as easily morph into an untameable flame.
Having changed into her night dress, Ram watched from a distant as Priya curled into bed, creating a border of pillows along the length of her body, sending her message to Ram loud and clear, she wanted no part of him. 




(Flashback of the night) Knowing Ram's stubborn nature, like her own, Priya wasn't the least bit surprised when she saw him exiting his vehicle. Paying the driver, Priya jolted towards the elevator hoping to beat Ram to the punch. But it was as if Ram had bribed fate to sway in his favour. An old piece of paper dangled from the elevator door with the words "Out of Order" written boldly across it in bright red ink. "Dammit," Priya cursed and reversed her steps in an attempt to rush up the stairs. However, Priya's feet had tangled up, tripping her just as she turned. She shut her eyes tightly preparing for the painful kiss of the cold concrete against the side of her body. It all happened so fast and than it was over, just like that. But the impact was not nearly as bad as she had thought it would be. It was as if she had landed on a bed of pillows smothered in an overpowering yet seductive masculine scent. The fragrance settled within her, hurling forth a distasteful recollection. "Ram..." She thought at once, immediately opening her eyes to face the dreaded truth.
"Leave me you jerk." Priya snapped and wrestled free from his hold with ease, owing to the adrenaline, which was already actively coursing through her body.
"Excuse me? Mrs ungrateful...I just stopped you from falling and breaking your head." Ram replied in utter disbelief.
"Did I ask you too? Did I scream out for help? Why don't you just leave me alone and let me be?" Priya pestered him, evidently annoyed.
"I would love too..." Ram began, following Priya as she made her way up the stairs. "But until this whole Sheena thing is sorted out I need to watch you like a hawk."
"Oh please," Stopping on the steps momentarily, Priya added. "I am more than capable of taking care of myself and my family. So please, do me a favour and just leave..." 
"I saw just how well you took care of yourself today.Not only did you put your life in danger but if I hadn't reached there in time, Kush could have been hurt too.. " Ram replied, pausing briefly to catch his breath. "And I am going going upstairs to meet my brother...Do you have a problem with that?"
"Whatever!" Priya shook her head and kept walking up the stairs with Ram on her heels she could hear his laboured breathing.


Freshening up Priya made her way into the living room having packed the last of her belongings. The atmosphere was barren with the once vibrant walls appearing dull at a glance. Turning her gaze to the single seater sofa where her papa enjoyed his morning tea, Priya became even more concerned seeing it uncharacteristically unoccupied.  "Looks like Papa is still mad at me about last night." Priya thought out loud, making her way to Ayesha's room and when she got there her heart stilled for a moment in her chest out of anxiousness. Sudhir was seated at the edge of the bed staring aimlessly at Ayesha, mentally in another place. Hesitantly, Priya strode slowly towards him stopping mere inches behind him. "Papa.." spoke Priya, softly. The subtle perk of his ear made her aware that he was listening. "I know you are mad at me..." making her way wearily to face him, she continued. "But Papa I have to do this for Ayesha...and Kush...He deserves to be with his whole family. And moreover, how much longer will Sid hide out... Please forgive me Papa... I had to do this..." A wall of silence greeted her every word. She knelt down on the floor against the bed beside him, resting her head on the cradle of his lap. "Papa I am going to be leaving soon... Won't you talk to me before I go..." Holding back her tears she bit her lips to no avail. Sudhir grabbed her gently by her shoulders guiding her up on her feet... Priya sobbed, her head lowered, unable to face him. "Beta..." Priya glanced up at once, softly sighing in relief. "I know you can do no wrong."
"I am so sorry Papa...I know I should have asked you first..." stuttered an emotionally distraught daughter having hurt the man she cared about the most, unknowingly. If it were up to her, Priya would have consulted with Sudhir before entering any contract let alone one of marriage, albeit a mockery. But Ram left her with no option, she had signed the documents without any knowledge of actually doing so. However, for her sister and Kush she decided to simply go along with what had already been committed. Everything had happened so fast, yesterday she found out she was married and today she was leaving for the Kapoor Mansion. Every hour that past by last night, she cherished in her possession. And Priya knew that if she didn't agree to leave with Ram this morning, she might never muster up the courage too.
"Beta... I am not angry with you... I am mad at myself... I told your father that I would protect you...But look at me..." Turning his back to her, he completed. "I have failed to even keep that promise."
"Papa why are you saying that? You have given me everything and than some... You put me above everyone and everything in your life. How can you say that you have failed?"
"But beta...Ram is..."
"Papa please... Mr, Kapoor can not hurt me... He is just as helpless as I am. If he has me in his mansion, I have all his wealth in my name... And to lose that is a risk that he wouldn't chance on taking." She looked him in the eyes, hoping he saw the confidence that she had in her following statement. "I know I will be fine Papa... Because I have you... And as long as you're with me...No one can hurt me..."
Taking her in his fatherly embrace, Sudhir uttered three powerful words, which she thought she would never hear again after the turn of events last night. "I love you Beta..."
Priya looked up at him and repeated the same three words, "I love you too Papa..." just before the doorbell rang and Shipra hollered. "Priya...Ram and his mother are here..." 
   
Priya had no clue as to when she had drifted off to sleep and for how long. But she woke up abruptly being lifted off the bed as though she was still dreaming. The scent of his musky cologne tickled her nostrils waking her into a fully alert state. It all rushed back to her, the events leading up to her falling asleep and with it resurfaced her weakened yet persistent rage. "Ram where are you taking me." She squirmed in his arms trying to break free but  to no avail. Instead she thought it best she wrapped her arms around his neck just to keep from falling, although she knew he would never let that happen. "This is exactly what I was talking about Ram, you think you can just handle me any which way that you want." Priya complained.
"Sorry Priya." Ram apologized, looking straight ahead he continued walking with her in his arms. "You left me with no choice."
Priya fed off from the success of getting Ram to respond to her. "Let me down Ram... I mean it!" She demanded as he walked up the stairs quite clearly headed to the terrace. "Dammit Ram, I am not joking. I said leave me..." Paying her no mind, Ram nudged open the door leading to the terrace with his foot. Realizing that they were outside just as Ram had intended left Priya's blood boiling. And in that moment she found herself uttering three heart stabbing words, which held no meaning when it came to her feelings for him. "I hate you!"  Ram placed her on her feet having reached his goal. Pursing her lips, Priya opened her mouth to spew more venom through her rage but Ram didn't allow her the luxury of expression. "Look!" Ram spoke quickly, pointing towards the lake. That was the ultimate silencer. Priya stood mesmerized staring at what truly was a sight to behold. The ripples in the lake was like a staircase leading to heaven. It seemed as though the lake had opened up releasing the sun slowly but surely from the depths of it's chambers. The sun glowed, it's yellow hue streaked the bluish grey pastel sky. Highlighted were the subtle orange horizontal lines, which bled into groups of tiny scattered pockets along the breathtaking skyline.
"It's beautiful." Priya mouthed almost in a whisper.
"I knew you'd love it..." Ram stated with confidence. "Today is our last day here before we head back. And the future is to fickle to leave these beautiful moments to chance." With that thought, Priya's legs walked on their own until she was close to Ram with her arms wrapped comfortably around him. Her embrace was warmly welcomed, in fact it was needed. Ram held her by her waistline, his grip making promises of never letting go. Their bodies remained joined enjoying the sight in front of them, the closeness somehow made for a better view. Everything felt like it was in place, their embrace had that kind of power. But this time it was different, there was definitely something eating at Ram, Priya could tell by the rapid pace of his heart. 
"Ram what's wrong?" Priya asked snuggling in closer, his scent was a magnet to her senses. 
"What makes you think that something is bothering me? It's nothing..." Ram replied holding her tighter.
"Liar." She accused, nudging his chest softly with her fist. " I know how your hearts beats when I am close to you and today it's not as calm. Tell me Ram... Don't you trust me?" She heard him gulp nervously, an action that worried her but nonetheless she waited and finally he relieved his heart from unresolved anguish. "Of course, I trust you... More than myself..."
"So than tell me..." She circled her finger on the button of his shirt waiting keenly for him to express his tension.  Inhaling deeply Ram let it all out in one breathe. "Please don't ever leave me..."
"What?" Priya pulled away from him staring into his anxious eyes. "Why would I ever leave you?"
Licking his dry lips Ram stammered, "Y-you said you're tired of me… That you’ve had enough.”
Priya gasped quickly to deny that she ever said those words but than her earlier cold demeanour hit her hard like an iceberg. "I was just angry... I-I didn't mean any of it Ram..."
"Priya I don't care what you do or say to me when you are angry. Just don't ever talk about leaving me. I know. I know I am not perfect but you're perfect for me. The thought of you leaving, alone, suffocates me... I can't live without you... And I am not just saying that...I can prove it if you want me too" Leaning her body against his, Priya placed her hands on his cheeks, pulling his head down slightly and than gluing her lips to his… The passionate display of affection was breath-taking, literally, Ram struggled to calm his nerves. “I am so sorry Ram…” Priya whispered, pecking his numb lips that were too shocked to partake in the passion. “I was just so scared.” Ram spoke breathlessly when given the chance to catch his breath. “What can I do to make it up to you?” Ram was beyond excited, he had no idea as to how to react. Priya continued her repentance, stamping soft kisses along his neck waiting for his final verdict. But Ram remained silent, drugged on ecstasy he was rendered speechless. “Was this really happening?” He wondered as Priya recaptured his lips. “Or was this just a beautiful dream?”

Kuck Mere Dil Ne Kaha Part 14

Part 14

Priya's plaid patterned sandals slapped the hard cold concrete stairs as she raced up to the top most level at a relentless pace. Although, she wasn't sure how many steps her soles assaulted Priya gained fuel from the thought that a couple more steps would lead to her most prized possession. "Kush!!!" She screamed out panting as she finally arrived on the 8^th floor. In a frozen, blank state Priya stared straight ahead at the small faux gold sticker that labeled the door. "Room 804." Wording her thoughts, she managed to wheeze out,"Mr. Gupta lives here..." Without the slightest hesitation or fear for her life, Priya hurled herself forward and barged through the door. "Kush!!" Priya called out his name in every room that she scanned from top to bottom, wiping it clean with her eyes. There was no apparent sign of Kush, not a rattle or a ball or anything at all, which would suggest he was ever in any of the rooms. The despair and defeat from what had appeared to be a sure shot victory knocked the air out of her windpipe repeatedly until she could no longer breathe. "What's happening to me?" Priya tried to mumble while her legs melted, her kneecaps crumbled and before she knew it her back met a hard surface. Staring up at the ceiling, she knew she was on the ground.
"Kush say bye to mommy." Priya heard a hoarse voice followed by a faint whimper... 
"Oh my god," She thought, "Kush is here..." Twisting her lean torso, Priya made a fruitless attempt to get up and find him. But it was as if her body was nailed to the ground, she was rendered motionless. Whoever had done this to her chuckled at a distance apparently proud of his vile accomplishment. She couldn't see his face and even if she could there was no way she would have identified the man given her hazy vision. With nothing more than a prayer left in her deck of cards she pleaded to the man above to send help quickly, atleast before anything happened to Kush. She lay there like a corpse, forced to hear Kush whimper, drowning in his pool of tears. "I am glad you could join us Priya, I must say it took you a while to get here. What led you on?" He asked sarcastically mocking her voiceless state. "Actually," The voice paused clearly feasting on her helplessness. "Hold that thought... I just remembered that I had to call my boss to share this good news. Be a darling and make yourself comfortable..." This man was a psychopath and he had Kush for over 12 hours, the thought alone was suicidal. What had her baby gone through? She was mortified to even imagine the depth of his pain. Priya was paralyzed, numb to the outside world, but the feeling of hate and anger still boiled in her heart on full force. Her eyelids felt weightier as time passed but Kush's soft whimpers helped her fight through the urge to close her eyes. Right now she couldn't hold him in her arms, and if no one came to their rescue fast than perhaps she would never get another chance to. But atleast she could stay with him throughout this nightmare, having missed 12 hours already she was not about to leave him alone.
"Hey Love... What?? No... no... Darling the police have been here since the morning. They don't know that I am holding Kush here... WHAT? That bloody Gupta and his drinking problem." Priya heard the man's ego shatter giving her a morsel of a reason to celebrate. "So what do you want me to do than?... Wait... we have come this far, let me just finish them off than I will leave..."
Priya's heart quivered, "no!!! Please!!" She pleaded in silence not knowing whether she had it in her to hang on. Just than, another ray of hope surged through her when she heard a stampede of footsteps moving closer to her at a rapid rate. "Shit!!" The voice cursed and threatened, "This isn't over Priya..." Despite being as vulnerable as she was lying there, she couldn't take his threat seriously. The way in which this man had attacked her from behind was proof of his spineless character. Priya's vision was blurry and as the time passed it only got worse. However, she knew that the excuse of a man who subdued her had scurried like a cockroach to hide in some corner or crack of the apartment. "It was over..." She thought, as she felt a rush of relief run through her body. "Priya!" The voice vibrated unclearly in her ears.
"Kush, my baby!!" Another voice screeched from somewhere around her and although it was an irritating pitch she found comfort in the annoyance provoked because it was a confirmation that Kush was going to be just fine.
She didn't feel herself letting go until the murky voice from earlier commanded, "No! Priya open your eyes dammit..."
The last thing that she heard before her mind had eased to a shut was "Vikram call a doctor fast... I am going to take Priya downstairs."

Priya could see the glee quite clearly in her husbands' expression as he wrongly inferred her silence. But the fault was not entirely hers, she hadn't said a word to confirm his allegation, of course she hadn't denied it either.  Feeling a subtle nudge against the fleshy pad of her index finger Priya sighed silently relieved that the hook of her blouse had finally wrapped around the tiny looped rings on the other side. "No more interrogation" She thought staring at her handsome man in the mirror with lustful eyes and a blissful smile that only his innocence was capable of invoking. Taking an elusive side-step towards the open door, Priya's lips couldn't help but twist and curl in display of her wittiness. However, Ram was the expert of her emotions, the philosopher of her expressions, by now he understood her ways and lived by them as if her life was his cherished bible and he need not have faith in anything else. So if she thought she would get away without so much as a protest from him she had another thing coming. Just as fast as she had dashed towards the door, Ram had quickly clasped her arm and with a tug that wasn't rough but strongly tenacious she was hurled back to where she previously stood. Priya was at a loss for words but her eyes, which willingly drowned in the steamy depths of his deep brown gaze, glimmered like they had something to say. While Ram's hands travelled to the groove where her back seamlessly fused with her buttocks Priya's palms unconsciously made its way up to the sweet, resting spot on his broad chest. Ram continued his journey along the border of her waistband teasing her with a sinister temptation and leaving her with no feasible option other than to surrender. Ecstasy danced on the brim of her eyelids rendering her sight useless and intensifying the pleasure in his promiscuous touch. Tilting her head on an angle Priya left the smooth skin on the arch of her neck at the mercy of his fantasy. Ram knew from the moment that her eyes were lulled shut he was given the silent go ahead. And so with a mischievous smirk on his face to set the tone of his intentions Ram proceeded to unraveling step one of plan payback'. Gently pushing her to rest, without any resistance, on the ledge of the ivory sink Ram cupped her face in the pouch created by his warm palms. He than licked his lips and inched towards hers like a vulture, an enduring, torturous predator. Ram's hot breath splashing against her lips was the sign of the impending kiss for which she had been waiting for what seemed like an eternity.  Yet what seemed like a long time coming was about to arrive and so she parted her lips a smidgen in anticipation but to her surprise he simply whispered, "Liar..." and than he traced his fingers slowly down her face before releasing it. "What?" Priya replied breathlessly as she opened her eyes squinting at first to adjust to the light in the room. Ram took a step back with a smile plastered on his face concealing his desire quite perfectly because the withdrawal was as hard for him as it was for her. 
Clearing his throat, Ram crossed his arms on his chest and repeated in less of a hushed tone, "Liar, Liar..."
"I don't understand...what did I lie about?" She asked frowningly, the frustration beginning to illustrate in her expression...
"Acha Madam, now I have to tell you that too! Nice try but you know exactly what you did... Leading me on when your real surprise is something completely different...How does it feel to be on the receiving end?"  He joked not keying in on her scrunched eyebrows, which was usually the first sign that he was about to have his ass handed to him.
"First of all Mr. Kapoor!" Priya snapped stating the second clue that he was in trouble, outright. Although, he had picked up on her refusal to call him Ram, it was too late for him to intervene before the lecture of how wrong he was to have done what he did, began. "I didn't lie to you about anything... You lied to yourself... I never even revealed my surprise to you but somehow you had made up your mind that you knew with certainty what it was going to be..."
"But you didn't deny it either na?" He opted in his defense trying to be cute with a statement, which he promptly wished he could have taken back, the minute he realized that it had only served to aggravate her further.
Brushing him aside she walked hastily to and through the open door into the master closet. He followed her like a lost puppy unsure of what was going on or anything for that matter. Priya's mind was clearly captive in the dome of her rage as she paced to the trail of clothing on the floor, picking it up and discarding it in the plastic hamper. Ram was like her shadow hovering around her every which way that she turned. "Come on Priya! Are you really angry? Come on yaar... The driver you called has arrived and is downstairs." Much like an inflated balloon with its ends set loose Ram exhaled his worries in one frantic breath flying across the room behind her. Finally clearing the floor of the clutter Priya ignored Ram's sincere request for an answer as she began to make her way into the bedroom. She halted suddenly in her step remembering that she needed to grab her purse from the wardrobe deciding silently to torture him further with the idea of leaving.  Having followed Priya like a hawk Ram bumped into her from behind when she had randomly stopped walking. As a result of the collision Priya lost her footing and instead plopped into the caress of soft cushions, which were embedded in the nearby sofa. "Dammit Ram!" She spilled the beans unintentionally of her true intentions. Luckily for her, Ram was to preoccupied trying to figure out a way back into her good books to have noticed her slip up. However, he was quick to capitalize on the fact that she had landed flat on her back, vulnerable, which meant he had some chance to take control of the situation. Within a flash of a second he had propped himself up with his hands on either side of her body not giving her much room to move. And she dared not speak a word staring into the lustful depths of his thirsty eyes, which only she could quench. Sitting beside her, his arms unmoved, Ram brought his upper body closer to Priya's knowing he had won her attention. "Priya listen to me..." His voice was sincere with a soft edge, the kind that was potent enough to straighten every nerve in her body on end. Ram continued, the proximity of their bodies combined with the firmness in his voice churned hot lava in the pit of her stomach. "I am so sorry if I hurt your feelings that is the last thing that I would ever want to do...I love you." He hissed in her ears dropping endless kisses around it. "Is there anything that I can do to make this up to you so that you're happy?" The sweet tone of seduction garnished her eardrums leaving her mind no choice but to shyly take shelter behind her ever so ready heart. Priya was buried in thoughts of his colossal promises, drowning her wits the further she went under. It was beyond control, so much so that when he whispered, "Are you still mad at me?" whilst grazing her skin with the tip of his nose. Priya spoke without a thought, "I was never mad at you to begin with." in a similarly soft voice of her own. Feeling his body stiffen, Priya mouthed, "Shit" realizing what she had just revealed and uncertain of the effect her confession would invoke. She felt his hot breath harshly collide with the side of her neck as he scoffed, before a breeze swept the same spot when he sat up. "Priya dammit!" Ram stood up and ran his fingers through his cutely ruffled hair. Priya simply laid there trying to catch a hold of her breath for a moment before she followed suit and stood up too. Straightening the creases in her saree with her palms Priya was about to voice her defense but Ram was to wound up from the earlier events to allow it. "This is not fair! You always do this to me." Ram whined evidently frustrated but not to the point of being pissed off.
"Did you really think that I would let you have the last laugh?" She joked, thoroughly amused by the enticing blend of frustration and confusion that was painted on his face. "Besides..." Priya began, bottling her laughter. "You started this war now take it like a man..." Priya sidestepped in an attempt to walk past him, anticipating his next move. With much ease Ram tugged her hand pulling her against him until her palms rested on that sweet spot on his chest once more, which triggered his arms to slither along the curve of her waistline. Apparently that was all it took to reignite the fluttery sensation at the pit of her stomach as a million tiny butterflies tussled against it. "So Mrs. Kapoor," Ram spoke in a husky voice, not aiding the least bit in subduing the brewing storm of heedless lust, which stirred inside of her. "You think this is a war that I started? Might I remind you that it was you who teased me downstairs on the sofa? It was you who willingly brought me down to my knees sowing seeds in my mind of unrelenting pleasure, which, might I add, you have yet to fulfill. And than the clothing on the floor... A not so innocent scheme to lead me into thinking something else, isn't that right Mrs. Kapoor?" Ram had a glare of intent in his eyes, this man meant business, running circles in her mind. She was helpless with need; he was able to read that clearly in her eyes. And now that the iron was hot for the striking, Ram struck putting his best foot forward.
Kneading his chest with the pads of her fingers Priya sought for something to grip onto but his shirtless body worked against her in that quest. Ram guided her into his soft yet passionate embrace, setting the tone for the final blow. "Priya." He whispered her name seductively in a way that he knew she had liked to hear it being said. Ram's breath was hot like the desert sun, a kind of chilling heat that urged the fine hair on the back of her neck to stand on end. "Let's cut to the chase..." Shifting at a snails pace from the base of her neck to her ever eager ear Ram nuzzled as he spoke. "I want you!" His voice mimed the boldness in his blunt confession, bringing her closer to losing her wits. "But before we do anything, you need to prove to me just how much you want me too..." Sliding his hands down her back and off her waist Ram observed with a mischievous grin as the full effect of his words sunk in. Shaken from place of pleasure that he had cunningly guaranteed, Priya shook her head in utter disbelief. He had done it again!
"Ram you have lost it I tell you.." She bent her elbows, crossing her arms.  
"What?" He screeched excitedly barely containing his amusement. "I am crazy because you are afraid of a little challenge." 
She flashed him a sarcastic grin! "Haha very funny! For your information Ram, I called you crazy because you actually think that you have a fair chance of beating me in this challenge."  Priya added with a smirk! "That's hysterical!" 
"Oye Mrs. Kapoor, no need to get full of yourself! I admit you're cute, in fact you're gorgeous but you're forgetting that I am not far from sexy either, let's see how you can keep your hands off me." He completed his sentence over her laughter. 
"Wow Ram, that's the best joke that I have heard in a while!! Now stop before you kill me and go get ready." Ram mocked her amusement with a fake, exaggerated grin.             "Laugh all you want now Priya but I will have the last laugh." He started to make his way towards the wardrobe, when he suddenly halted and turned around. "By the way when I win this challenge we will spend the whole day in front of the TV watching cricket as the prize not going on some dumb ride when we could be inside doing something productive." Appalled she opened her mouth to yell at him but keying in on her verbal attack he wisely raced into the walk in closet, closing the door behind him. 
Priya couldn't help but yell out. "And hurry up Ram don't take hours getting dressed."
In response Ram yelled back, "Excuse me missy, you never hear me complaining."  
"Crazy man!" She muttered to herself, smiling ear to ear. 

Ram carefully placed Priya on her bed. By now she was unresponsive, laying lifeless at the mercy of god. Acting on instinct Ram had placed her head on his lap, rubbing her palms in an attempt to awaken her but he remained fruitless through countless tries. Vikram called the doctor whose instructions were valid and clear, "Get her to the hospital. This could be very serious." Once again Ram lifted Priya in his arms, his face pale from fear of loss, a reaction he had no control over. The darned elevators remained lazy as they were, refusing to work. But even if they had functioned Ram was already down two flights of stairs. "Priya wake up dammit! You owe me!" He repeated meaning nothing of the sorts; he just wanted her conscious, fighting with him as she did countless times before. The stretcher was prepped for Priya's arrival, that's the power in Ram's name. They wheeled her in to a room with bland green doors, which shut automatically as the medical team entered. There were a million questions to which only time held the answers. Kush was assessed by the best pediatrician in Mumbai and aside from being shaken up by the incident; he appeared to be just fine. There was not a single scratch on his body and to the Sharma family that was a blessing. However, as Ram watched Kush cause a fuss in Shipras arms he couldn't help but wonder why Priya was the one injured. It was almost as if Kush's kidnapping was a front and Priya was the real target all along. But the pieces in his mind refused to fuse to yield an answer. It drove him insane, not knowing but before he lost it the doctor came out through the set of green doors removing his facemask to reveal a reassuring smile. Before anyone had a chance to ask, the doctor immediately got down to business, reporting on Priya's condition. "Priya is absolutely okay!" The certainty in the doctor's tone was promising as he calmly stated, "Who ever the assailant was must have snuck up from behind her and injected the narcotic into her body to incapacitate her. The needle mark was noted at the back of her neck upon assessment. Fortunately, in this day and age, we have reversals to most drugs and after one dose Priya began responding. It's clear that who ever did this to her did not want to kill her, he wanted her to suffer." Shifting to a more positive note from a drastically chilling revelation the doctor concluded. "Don't worry! Priya is absolutely fine. She is awake, but drowsy, which is expected. We have shifted her to Room 102 you all can see her at your leisure." 
As soon as the doctor finished his spiel and walked away, Sudhir paced anxiously down the corroder reading the numbers on each door until he reached 102.
"I need to go find Kush." Priya argued insistently with the nurse who maintained her order.
"M'aam, you have to rest."
"Rest? How the hell can I rest?"
The squabble continued escalating in pitch and at the exact moment in which Priya had decided that she had enough of it, Sudhir entered the room.
"What is going on here?" He yelled in a pitch loud enough to rise above the commotion.
"Sir, I am telling her to stay in bed, she is not allowed to get up just yet but she insists that she must find Kush..." Priya was hush listening to the fitting statement.
"Papa..." She began but was immediately silenced. "Kush is here Priya!" Priya heard the voice of a woman and followed it to the door where Shipra stood with Kush in her arms.
The sight of Kush, an anxious mess, brought bittersweet tears to her eyes. She didn't know if she would have ever seen her baby again. But there he was in front of her, leaping forward in Shipras arms just as excited to see her, as she was upon seeing him safe and sound. Handing Kush over to Priya, Shipra stood witness to the unconditional bond between the pair. There was an aura of relief that engulfed every bit of tension that had prevailed before. Kush was no longer fussy; in fact he was evidently comfortable in the safe haven of Priya's embrace, sucking his thumb while slowly drifting off to sleep. Priya was in a bliss of her own, feeling blessed to have this moment to cherish. 

Meanwhile, in the corridor of the hospital outside Priya's room, Ram sat planted on the nearby bench. There was neither lush nor lavish in the setting but Ram appeared uncharacteristically undeterred. Vikram had volunteered to pick up the medication for Priya from a nearby pharmacy figuring his buddy, who was awfully spaced out, needed a little time to think. In fact, he had asked Ram if he had wanted to tag along but it was futile. By now the Sharma's had left the hospital taking sleepy baby Kush with them. Priya waved them off with a brave smile, which expertly sheltered her hospital phobia. Unfortunately, her wise attempts and desperate pleas to the doctor left her a failure each time. There was no way out of it! She had to stay the night under observation and she had to do it with a smile so as not to alarm her already ill papa who would not have left her bedside if he had known. Hospitals equated to loss in her mind, a reality that was instilled in her from such a young age. There wasn't a moment as powerful as the one in which she lost both her parents. The hospital was the same, the walls had been painted over but no amount of colour could spruce up the bitter realities it stood witness to. Priya gazed at the walls in the places where the paint had chipped and suddenly she became unsure of whether the night would ever be over. 

***

Vikram finally arrived back at the hospital with the medication that was prescribed for Priya. It took longer than anticipated but the line up at the pharmacy was a challenge in and of itself. Perhaps it was the snippy bite in the brisk air that had everyone feeling chills. Walking up to Ram he spoke breathlessly, "Damn Ram it took forever. You should have came, things move at the speed of lightning when you're around."  Ram remained silent as if he never heard a thing, a possibility that stood a good chance of being true. 
Vikram placed his hand on Ram's shoulder. Startled, Ram jumped out of his seat and stammered, "V-Vikram yaar when did you get back?"
"Ram I have been standing here for so long talking to myself." Vikram responded, slightly exaggerating the truth. "What's on your mind Buddy I know that look far too well."
"Nothing, I was just thinking about something." 
"Something? Or someone?" That subtle probe earned Vikram the classic raised eyebrow, 'be careful what you say next' look. But as always Vikram blatantly ignored the unspoken threat in his expression... "Priya is okay Ram you don't have to worry! In fact, you should be proud of yourself. It's because of you that she is safe!"  
"Oh please Vikram. I don't give a damn about Priya." His overly anxious objection screamed in opposition to the words he had spoken. 
"Accha!!! So you don't care about Priya huh? Well in the years that I have known you I have never seen you run up or down the stairs putting aside the fact that you performed this miracle with Priya in your arms."  
"Oye just shut up yaar!" Ram quickly intervened knowing exactly where Vikram was headed with his banter. "I was just thinking about what happened tonight. It just doesn't make sense that Priya was the one attacked. You know what Vikram," Ram put his hands in his pant pockets. "It's almost like Priya knows this person... All this time I thought this was about Sheena but what if Priya has something to do with this. After all how well do I know her?"
"Baas Ram!" Vikram objected, his tone of voice vaguely tainted by frustration... "How can you doubt Priya after all that she has done for your brother and his son?"
"That's it Vikram!! She has kept my brother and his son alive as insurance to get to the Kapoor fortune. There must be some reason as to why she even bothered." Ram added, fueling the fire of conspiracy that blazed in his mind.
Shaking his head disappointedly, Vikram spoke as if he had lost hope. "Ram you will never change. Tell me one thing yaar! Why didn't you just go into Priya's room and vent out at her? Why are you sitting out here contemplating theories to disprove her innocence?" He asked rhetorically, not interested in his half ass response. "You know why you are doing this Ram? Let me tell you... You are afraid that finally you have found someone worth trusting. It seems too good to be true and that's why you are making up these stupid stories so that you don't have to trust her anymore. But Ram you need to understand that not all women are like Sheena. Priya is different; she makes you want to believe. Stop finding reasons to hate her and just admit that you are starting to like her."
"Ho gaya?" Ram stated calmly before discharging his frustration with Vikrams blunt accusations, which he was too keen on disproving. "I don't need to talk to her. I don't need to see her. And most importantly, I don't care about her." Ram emphasized the last few words. "I am going home. See you in the office tomorrow!"

***

Ram was halfway home, driving with a disturbed mind and a headful of jumbled thoughts when he received a call from the hospital. At first he ignored it but after it rang a few more times he felt the need to answer it, atleast to curse the person calling. The deep treads in his fresh tires screeched, scratching the pavement at the side of the road as he pulled over. Sliding his thumb across the screen on his phone, Ram answered with a script in his mind, ready with what he had to say. But beyond hello, he had no chance to squeeze in any further words until the person on the other end of the line finished. "What do you mean?" Ram finally spoke, clearing his throat free of the words that choked him.
"Priya is missing from the hospital and you are telling me this now?"   
"Sir we tried calling many times..." The doctor spoke in fear, his voice trembling.
"Yeah whatever... When was the last time you saw her? And have you told anyone else?"
"About an hour ago when we checked on her she was restless in bed. And yes sir we contacted Priya's home first but no one answered."
"Okay, well you keep searching and let me know if anything comes up. I am on my way there..."
Ram spanned the streets surrounding the hospital with his hawk like gaze for any signs of Priya. The worst thoughts rushed through his mind and suddenly the conspiracies he had hatched to hate her was an afterthought that slowly dissipated to non-existence. "Had the man who hurt her return to finish what he had started?" Ram thought against his will hoping he was wrong. But unfortunately the possibility was to strong to disregard and like a broken record that hideous thought replayed in his mind in a treacherous loop.
"I have to tell someone." Ram hit his fist hard on the steering wheel and his foot on the brakes simultaneously. Grabbing his phone he began dialing the commissioners number when he caught a glimpse of a woman that unmistakably looked like Priya. She seemed to have had her right arm stuck out calling for a taxi but to no avail.  Much like a machine Ram stepped out of his car, unaware of his actions. He walked towards the figure, blinking his eyes constantly to loosen the raindrops caught in the prison of his eyebrows. As he approached the lady hearing her curse in a familiar voice, he knew it was Priya. Ram placed his left hand on her shoulder and instinctively she spun around with her guard up like any woman alone in the dark night would, until she recognized someone she knew.
"Mr. Kapoor?" Her eyes wandered in search of some excuse to justify her presence on the street and not in the hospital bed where she belonged.
 "Maybe he doesn't know that I need to be in the hospital overnight." She thought, sheltering her hope in the fragile walls of optimism. But that safeguard crumbled in his fist when he grabbed her by the arm dragging her to a nearby bus shelter as if a drop of rain was his kryptonite. Tousling his wet hair by running his fingers through it a couple times, he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. She watched him unsure of how he would react. Luckily for her, she didn't have to spend any more of her time guessing under the gray umbrella of ambiguity. "What the hell are you doing out here?" He finally asked, dusting his suit with his hands as if it would aid in drying it. "ummm..." She stated, starting her lie. "I was just discharged to go home, so I thought I would take a cab or something." She muttered hoping the splatter of raindrops would to some degree dilute her lie making it slightly easier for Ram to consume. But unfortunately for Priya, Ram was well aware of the truth that she was desperate to hide. He stepped close to her and she found herself reversing her steps until her back was nudged by one of the poles that kept the roof upright. "Do you think that this is all a joke? I don't have time for your fu**king games Priya!" At first she was startled by his raw vocal expression but than her response slowly spawned in her mind and she was back in battle. "Than leave... Leave me alone... I don't need you nor did I call you for help. Leave me to do as I please." Acting wisely she decided to leave the shelter first, but just as she took one step away from him, he pulled her right back. "The doctor called me when you went missing. So it is my responsibility to get you back to the hospital. After that you can do whatever you please. Stay there, run away or better yet jump off a cliff. I don't give a damn. Just kindly let the doctor know to not involve me in your stupid stunts..." Ram finished and than immediately grabbed her arm again, dragging her like a rag doll to his car. She hated when he manhandled her like that especially since he had no right over her. Although his hold was tight to a point where it was painful, she still struggled to break free using everything in her power to do so. "Mr. Kapoor, leave me... I am not going back there." She pleaded, commanded, requested and begged but he continued pulling her along with him playing deaf. The rain no longer drizzled, it poured on the nearly abandoned sidewalks. There was no one to call to for help but truthfully, Priya wasn't afraid of Ram, she feared the hospital where he was going to take her and that too for her well-being. Finally, Ram relinquished his hold only to open the door to his car. To her surprise he ordered her to get in the car as opposed to pushing her in, himself.
"I am not going back there, Mr. Kapoor!" She screamed, hoping that this time he heard her. "Why not? Dammit why is this such a big fu**ing deal to you?" He screamed back slamming the door shut with the same momentum. "Because that's the same hospital in which my parents died!!!" Priya revealed her reason, releasing the burden on her heart. Ram gulped, his arms went numb like logs on either side of his body. He wanted to say something to console her as she wept covering her face in her palms. However, failing constantly to come up with words he resorted to following his heart. Priya felt the heat from Ram's body as he slowly took steps towards her. "Priya..." He spoke softly uncovering her hands from her face before whispering. "I am so sorry." Ram wrapped his arms around her tenderly and without a squeak of an objection she rested her head on his chest and wept.  "Gosh Ram, you are truly an idiot..." He thought to himself, holding her tighter.



Hey guys I wrote this one really fast so please excuse any errors that I might have missed. What do you think? Is Ram falling for Priya in this story or is this just sympathy?

Kuch Mere Dil Ne Kaha Part 13

Part 13

Seconds ticked to minutes and each 60 was fitted niftily in the hours that past waiting for Ram. It had been long since dawn, the sun began to dip as it yawned nearing the end of a hectic shift. Priya remained seated stiffly in her office with the note from Ram clutched in her hand nestled into her palm. There was no doubt in her mind that she was wrong and the constant guilt that washed her conscience refused to let her forget it.

“Where the hell is Ram?” She recited to herself while glancing at her watch as if in it was lodged some clue to the puzzle of his whereabouts. Averting her gaze to the clock that hung on her wall Priya confirmed that her two sources for time were in line. “Three hours and there is still no sign of him…” She complained, trying foolishly to hide the anxious tone of concern in her voice, fearing it herself. The note slipped from her hands gliding gracefully down the tips of her fingers while she gripped and lifted the phone receiver and stretched to punch in Jenny’s extension for the fifth time in that hour alone. However, the door was thrust open in that moment and Ram quite conveniently intruded on her loosely knitted plan to determine his location. There he stood in front of her and she looked at him dumbfounded. The door continued to creep until it clicked behind his sturdy figure. This confrontation was what she had been waiting for, atleast for the better half of the day and now that it was going exactly the way that she had wanted it to, her words failed to convey, playing in the field of her lost mind beyond the reach of her thoughts. “Umm.” she stuttered plastering a few letters together and mustering the courage to slowly ease up on her feet. It was quite clear to any overseer that Priya was flustered from the inside out or was it from the outside in. Whatever the order, this situation was sort of like writing a story knowing exactly where to end but no clue as to how to begin.

Stepping out from behind her desk she took fragile steps towards Ram as if she were walking on a bed of eggshells. This was the moment for which she had conjured up several scenarios in her mind as to how it would play out. She was eye to eye with the man whom she had erred only to realize after the fact that there was no actual sweetness in bittersweet revenge.

“Mr Kapoor…” She spoke up hesitantly, unsure of her words as if she had just learned to speak. Had that been the case than Ram’s next statement was without a doubt the fatal blow to her already flaky confidence. “Priya I don’t want to hear a damn thing…” The look of sheer shock on her face was the ignition to her realization that this was not going to be as simple as simply saying I am sorry. Judging by the size of his already inflated ego Priya knew that she would have to hike up Mount Everest insulted and belittled while carrying his pride on her brittle shoulders. And when she reached the tip at the top she would have to scream at the top of her lungs, “Mr. Kapoor I am sorry.”

“Priya why haven’t you been answering your phone?” Priya smirked slightly amused that he had just asked her that question so seriously because it was the same one that was at the top of her list of things to ask him.

“I was just about to ask that exact same question…” She confessed, her amusement clearly slipping through to her tone.

“Priya I am not bloody joking…”

“There we go, now that’s more like it…” Priya thought to herself momentarily before proceeding on a more serious note, taking a stab at an apology for the second of god knows how many times to come. “Mr. Kapoor, I have been meaning to talk to you about…” Ram grabbed a hold of her arms and jerked her gentler than she had anticipated from the moment his fingers had curled around her flesh. 

“Priya…” Ram had a scary determined presentation in his voice, one that seemed shaky yet sure at the same time… He continued carrying his tone in a consistent pattern… “Kush is missing Priya…” Sploosh… her heart sank into her stomach, she could feel her insides sloop and swirl in an attempt to digest it along with the side of his words. “Leave me Mr. Kapoor… That’s not funny…” Apology? What’s that? The rage that was conceived by his news engulfed any remorse that she had for her behaviour earlier towards him. “I hate you Mr. Kapoor … You think that this is funny… Is this your sick, twisted way of getting back at me? I am not having any of this… Screw you…” Priya spoke hardly and screamed more, squirming and snaking in his relentless hold. “Listen to me dammit!” Ram demanded in his usual manner… “Everyone has been trying to get a hold of you for about an hour… Your cell is turned off and your work number keeps coming up as busy… Sid called me about half an hour ago and I came to the office as fast as I could…” If this were a joke, a revolt of some sort, Priya would have Ram’s throat in her bare clutches. But Ram was serious; his concern filled gaze was undeterred from the moment he had stepped into her private cabin. “What? How?” She asked, exasperated. Priya forfeited the struggle using his hold as leverage to prevent herself from slipping to rock bottom.

Ram’s answer was true and to the point, “ I don’t know Priya but we have to find him… Let’s go…” He grabbed her by the hand and she didn't protest, instead she just went along with his steady nudges trying to digest that her precious Kush was kidnapped and she couldn’t protect him.

Ram tiptoed on edge to his bedroom, an anxious grin plastered on his innocent face merely pondering the idea of a surprise like a child on Christmas Eve. "What could it be?" He thought gripping the side of the open door and peeping his head in for a quick glance at any clues. There was nothing or no one in the room sparing his white dress shirt that lay lathered on the floor, which he didn't think too much of until he stepped in and saw a trail of discarded clothing leading up to the walk in closet. Picking his dress shirt up off the floor he walked over to his red tie that he had on the night before. “What the hell?” Ram mouthed audibly, his eyebrows knotting in display of his obvious dismay. By now he had gathered that this arrangement was purposeful it was too perfect of a trail to be considered a coincident. Priya must have done this as part of her surprise but the aching question remained why?

“Ram is that you?” He followed her voice to the bathroom where she stood struggling with the hook on her blouse, her hands scrambled behind her back. The sight was envious, pleasurable and playful all jumbled into one messy ball of a certain uncertainty. Bringing his arms to a fold snuggly around his exposed chest, Ram leaned against the doorframe, completely sold on the sight. "Let me guess." He started his sentence meeting her annoyed gaze in the mirror. "You got dressed up so I can undress you and we could play into a sexy fantasy."  Priya raised her right eyebrow, amused but adamant she refused to let out her true emotion. But somehow, judging by his next remark Ram felt like he knew exactly what she was up to.  " Aha! I was right." With uncoordinated haste, Ram paced until he was standing right behind her in the bathroom. The composure that usually resided on his face had been hijacked by a surge of excitement. Priya could see the glee quite clearly in her husbands’ expression as he wrongly inferred her silence. But the fault was not entirely hers, she hadn’t said a word to confirm his allegation, of course she hadn’t denied it either.

Time flew at its own arrogant pace unearthed by the disappearance of Kush, the heir to the Kapoor throne. However, 6 hours later it seemed that even if the hands of time had halted for their sake, it would have made no difference. By now the sunrays had been splattered and smudged across the fluffed tainted clouds. There was a blanket of civilians trickling out and about on the streets but none were the least bit resourceful when it came to finding Kush. At this point hope had slowly gained its new name, desperation and with its conception the blaming game was bound to take place.

“Priya…” Ram steered his gaze off the road momentarily staring helplessly at Priya who sat next to him in the caramel beige leather seat in his dark blue Benz. “I think we should go back to your apartment and re group. We have been at this all day and we’ve come up empty. Everyone, including the police commissioner is at your place. Perhaps they have some new leads.” Staring outside the tinted car window, which thawed a fog circle from the heat off her breath, Priya sat quietly, her mood unaffected by his suggestion. “Priya?” Any other time, Ram would have given her a piece of his mind for her sheer neglect. But as cold hearted as he appeared to the world, Ram understood the hopeless pain that came along with losing someone you loved. So when Ram called Priya’s name again and she reacted in the same emotionlessly mute manner he simply remained levelheaded and drove in the direction toward her home.  However, untold to Ram somewhere beneath the trenches of her silence there was a storm stirring mayhem in her already uneasy soul. “Stop the car Mr. Kapoor.” She imposed suddenly. Closing her eyes Priya donned an expression of disgust leaving Ram startled by her unexpected statement and confused at the same time with her request. 

“What? Why?” He continued driving, glancing at her periodically, anticipating her response.  

“Just pull the damn car over Mr. Kapoor.” There was much more force in her voice this time around. Priya clicked open her seatbelt and leaned forward in the seat, there was a flicker of adamancy in her eyes, which in the night could only be seen when passing by a row of glowing streetlights. Not given much of an option by her insistence Ram pulled over to the side of the road and almost immediately as the brakes kicked in Priya stepped out of the car, slamming the door in his face as he looked on.

“What the F…” Ram, whom all this time had pain strikingly kept his cool was now beginning to run on fumes nearing the end of his much tested patience. He kept reminding himself that Priya was not in her right state of the mind and with that mantra he followed her to the edge of the sidewalk where she stood staring at the long narrow road in front of them.

“Priya?” She remained silent. “We will find Kush, don’t worry.”

“How can you be so sure Mr. Kapoor?” She piped up with her back to him.

“I have a feeling. I can’t explain it, but I just know.” He answered the best he could with the limited knowledge he had about Kush’s whereabouts. Whatever he said must have worked to calm her because when she turned to face him, Ram felt as if he had remedied her breakdown. “Rajat was right…” However, the thought of having settled her was short lived. “You took Kush didn’t you?” Priya clutched his collar, feeling tough in her blind frenzy she screamed… “This is payback for yelling at you isn’t it?”

“Have you lost your mind?” Ram shouted back at her staring achingly in her blazing eyes.

“Where were you for three hours this morning Mr. Kapoor?” Letting go of his collar she nudged him in the process but given his build he didn’t even budge. Instead, Ram gripped her arms tightly in a fit of rage and tugged her towards him until they were face to face.

“I don’t have to give you any explanation. This is your mother’s fault for leaving Kush unattended in the Park. So don’t you dare turn this one on me.” Priya scowled and scrimmaged trying to break free. “Let go of me… I said leave me…” He opposed her demand and instead he held her tighter and tugged her closer.  She hissed and screamed, “Mr. Kapoor you are hurting me!” For a second it seemed as if Ram wasn’t bothered it was like he wanted her to feel the same pain that she had caused him with her suspicious remark. Despite knowing the most intimate details of his life, which he hadn’t shared with anyone besides Vikram, Priya had chosen to tear his identity apart with her baseless doubt. “Just leave me Ram…” She reiterated fiercely not expecting the immediate surrender that followed. Priya heaved a sigh of relief feeling the clamp of his fingers loosen enough for her to wriggle free. It was a mystery to say the least as to what had caused him to oblige so quickly. But opportunities seldom repeat and Priya was not about let this chance slip like quick sand through the slits between her fingers. Wisely, she tamed her overly keen curiosity; her conscience gave rise to caution while she stood on guard watching a parade of emotions as they were displayed on his face. The backdrop in his eyes was like a battlefield after a war because aside from pain and misery there was nothing more in his gaze.

“Get in the car… I am going to drop you home.” There was disappointment in his voice, a shrilling dissatisfaction that only she could have evoked. Without uttering a word Priya walked obediently to the car feigning compliance to avoid another confrontation that may not end as peacefully as the first. Reaching the car at exactly the same time, Ram and Priya exchanged quick enraged glares before pulling open the car door. Seating himself first Ram stared straight ahead waiting for the passenger’s side door to shut so he could drive off. However, Priya had another plan in mind, there was no way that she was about to climb into a car with Ram. “Go to hell Mr. Kapoor.” Priya cursed, reeling in his focus as she slammed the door. With her purse dangling off her left shoulder and a picture of Kush stuck to her phone in the clutch of her right hand, Priya began walking off on her own tangent. She heard the roar of his engine behind her followed by the screech of his tires as it bit into the ground and immediately she prepared herself for the gust of dirt that she was sure would stir when he blew past her. The best-case scenario would be for him to get off her back and so she waited patiently to feel the aftermath of his speedy take off. But alas, some plans have no shot at reality crafted only to crash while destiny sits back and laughs at your pathetic attempt to do its job. The powerful purr of his engine hummed against her eardrums at a distance as she began walking further away from his car. It’s soft echo was so subtle yet potent that his exit from the vehicle had eluded her awareness. It wasn’t until she felt a familiar set of large lanky fingers clamp tightly around her arm that she realized her escape and his defeat was nothing but a fable that her subconscious had stuffed into the wailing mouth of her ego. Priya had no chance to process the situation otherwise she would have surely screamed sometime along the line as she was dragged and roughly shoved into his vehicle with the door slamming shut on her perplexed ridden face. Ram took three long strides and he was in his car with not so much as a glance in her direction he impaled his foot on the gas pedal enjoying the fear in Priya’s demeanor. “Mr. Kapoor, have you lost your damn mind?” She screeched gripping the leather on either side of her seat. “Slow down.” Priya bit back tears with dual intent, she refused to appear weak in front of Ram and she was determined to deprive him of any pleasure his twisted mind would savour from seeing her cry. However, it seemed by the way that Ram was swerving between cars in light traffic he had his mind set on shattering her already dwindling emotional sanity. “Mr. Kapoor, I said slow down. Please, slow down…” Priya pleaded desperately, pushing the soles of her feet against the floor of the car. Ram played deaf to her sincere request; his blind rage was both selfish and paralytic, he had no feelings of remorse or fear of any consequence that may follow. Priya, out of fear, had accepted defeat. Without so much as a sign or warning her otherwise boisterous ego resigned, shattering the dam, which once housed the tears of a rightfully proud woman. “Mr. Kapoor, I am scared… Please slow down… I am begging you, please…” The crack in her voice was the whip that snapped his conscience back into action. Ripping the reigns forcefully out of the hands of his enraged pride, Ram slammed on the brakes, an act which hurled Priya forward in her seat and catapulting towards the dashboard. Rather calmly Ram stuck his arm out holding her back in her seat, interrupting the impact that would have otherwise occurred. With her eyes shut tightly she absorbed the fact that she hadn’t crashed into the imminent dashboard simultaneously with the thought that she was unharmed despite being deliberately spawned onto the path of destruction. “Get out of my car.” She felt him withdraw his arm from her midsection, finally piping up to break his vow of silence. “No way.” Priya thought to herself as she opened her eyes, a surge of sudden bravery overtaking her senses. “Have you lost your damn mind?” Resorting to rhetoric she glared at him with sheer focus as if she aimed to scorch a hole in his soul. And Ram was not denying her access; instead he coaxed her further into the realm of his mind daring her to hold true to her unspoken yet implied threat.  Engulfed in the depth of her fiery Priya had failed to realize that Ram had abruptly halted in the driveway of her apartment. However, at this point even if she was aware that escape was but a mere step away from captivity she would not have cared enough to bail.

"I hate you so much Mr. Kapoor...How could you do this to me? You're a monster." Ram simply watched her lips move paying no mind to her revolting rant but instead conjuring up a verbal comeback of his own.  "You know about how my parents..." she paused and shook her head in frustration before continuing. "Never mind..." Priya pulled at the lever on the door and stated as she stepped out. "You need a heart in order to understand and that’s something you’ll never have." And for Ram that was the wicked blow that crumbled his patience unleashing his inner demon. Following suit, Ram stepped out of his car too. She never saw it coming even though she should have. But she had just flipped the top off her bottled up rage intoxicating the better half of her brain. Before she knew it she was propped up against the side of his car encaged between it and his large frame. The tension in his eyes read like a book but it was like Priya’s sight was illiterate, she didn’t understand a single word.

“Who do you think you are talking to me like that?” Ram asked not at all interested in her response; he had already decided that she was an ungrateful piece of work. Nonetheless, she parted her lips trying to slip in a few words but he remained adamant and cold in his approach. “Shut up!” Ram commanded before she even spoke. “You think I took Kush despite everything that I told you about my past?” She stared at him in wonder, her curiosity blemished by a grimace, which was sparked by his grip. “Do you really think that I am capable of such a low act?” He questioned, not really asking though, just laying out the facts. “Fine! I’ll make a bet with you… If you can prove that my three hour whereabouts was directly linked to Kush’s kidnapping and Rajat in fact has correctly summed up my character than I will bow down to your every request.” Priya’s right eyebrow raised, saluting his almost too good to be true proposition while a more practical side of her listened up for a drawback to the same suggestion. “And if I find Kush first and I am able to account for the same three hours than you will have to marry me…” That was the dagger that she would have rather not heard but having heard it she had to choose between Ram’s innocence and Rajat’s almost certain words. “Your life is mine to ruin if I can prove that I am innocent. And if Rajat happens to be correct than of course I will be in jail on top of giving you whatever you want. Is that a deal?” Priya pupils swung from side to side, undecided in her approach. Ram shook her by her shoulders, “I am asking you a question Priya… Do you accept my deal?” Breathing at an abnormal rate, Priya’s chest heaved while her eyes searched his for some hint, which would suggest that he had truly lost his mind. “Marriage?” She thought. “Was this man really that sick to propose the idea of marriage simply to ruin me?”

“Is that a deal?” Ram reinforced, amused by the glaze of vulnerability in her gaze.

Kick started by his shrewd insistence on an answer Priya’s ego got the best of her judgment, without a guess as to what his bold suggestion implied Priya accepted his wager. Impressed Ram examined her expression just for the heck of it before backing off and walking brazenly to the right side of his car. The fact that Ram had confidentially got back into his car with the most arrogant smirk on his face as if he was destined to win his proposed bet edged Priya to the core of her rage once again. His demeanor made her question whether she was right to believe Rajat’s assumption, a doubt that had never crossed her mind until now. Had she acted out of impulse, taking on something for which she would have to pay a steep price? It was too early to say but with the way that Ram drove away in a rush it seemed that Priya was in for the ride of her life. Deep in the trenches of her mind, worrying about Kush’s whereabouts and fearing Ram’s challenge, Priya dragged her feet up the stairs to her apartment.  She robotically stepped into the elevator completely numb to her surroundings when she was brought back into the swing of things by a voice with a convincing edge of urgency. “Hold the elevator please.”  A man called out, and if she had paid any attention to the tone of the voice she would have known it was Vikram before he had gotten in to the elevator.

“Hey Priya, where’s Ram?” Vikram remarked immediately noticing that she was in the cavity between the three walls all by herself.

The snappiness within her wished to declare her disregard of his absence but she played it safe and simply stated in an audibly irritated tone, “I don’t know.”

“Wait?” Vikram scrunched his eyebrows in wonder straightening a pile of papers in his hands. “Weren’t you guys both looking for Kush?” Noting the distress in her eyes Vikram ceased his interrogation closing the door to the elevator as soon as it began beeping. Not to Priya’s knowledge, Vikram had assumed that Ram had eagerly made his way up to the Sharma house. So making small talk, Vikram stated harmlessly, “As soon as Ram found out that Kush went missing, he directed all his energy into finding him. And whatever Ram puts his mind to, he gets. So don’t worry Priya, Ram will make sure that Kush is found…We are all trying” There was a small spark that dangerously grew within Priya, hearing the praise of a man whom she despised for no valid reason other than what was speculated about him. Vikram continued to fuel the fire, giving credit where credit was due and in a sense hoping that his faith in Ram would grant Priya a certain level of confidence that Kush would inevitably be found. He ranted about the kind-heartedness of his buddy whose true identity seldom surfaces past his active ego. Vikram safely assumed that his strategy to soothe Priya’s quelling heart was working effectively albeit in silence.  However, when she reached her floor and walked out of the elevator, she screeched “Enough Vikram!” And it was clear to Vikram that the effect he thought he had achieved was nothing more than a silently raging storm.

“Ek minute Priya.” Priya stopped walking towards her home out of respect for Vikram who had always stood by her like a big brother even in the limited time that they had known each other. So even though she had no interest in hearing about Ram’s so called heart, which she didn’t know he had until now, Priya turned to face Vikram figuring she owed him atleast that much. “What is your problem?” Priya sighed and replied more calmly. “Vikram you have always been nice to me. I respect you a lot. But I can’t stand here and listen to you talk about Mr. Kapoor as if he did me a huge favour.” Vikram listened keenly, his forehead rippled in confusion, not sure where the conversation was headed. Priya continued, reciting a clear blueprint of her thoughts. “ Mr. Kapoor was missing for three hours today. I called him numerous times and he wouldn’t answer his phone. And than suddenly he came back to the office and said that Kush was missing.”

“Uh… Wait a minute…” Vikram interrupted promptly, gaining a sense of what she was postulating with her words. “Priya you think that Ram did this?”

“I don’t know Vikram, Rajat suggested that as an idea and I think that he is right. We got into a huge argument before Ram disappeared and he knows that Kush is my weakness.”

“Please just stop it Priya…” Now it was Vikram’s chance to mum her, fully grasping the depth of her misunderstanding. “I can’t believe that you of all people could come up with such a cheap thought.”

“But vik-.” She tried to justify her stance but the friend in him trumped his brotherly affection.

“No Priya… Let me finish.” Teary eyed and distraught Priya observed without remorse as Vikram continued his strict lecture. “ You are the one person besides myself who Ram trusted enough to disclose his past to and despite that fact do you really think he has it in him to do this? Just because Rajat told you that it could be possible? I know that Rajat is your good friend, but perhaps you don’t know that Ram is my childhood friend. We grew up together… I have seen him at his worst along with the rest of the world, but I have also seen his remorse, his caring nature that he hides behind a mask so he doesn’t get hurt. And after what you did today, he was right to do so for all these years.”  

Infuriated, Priya remarked, “If you have so much faith in him than can you explain where he was in the morning during the time when Kush went missing?”

“Yes I can… But you are so blinded by rage that you wouldn’t believe me if I simply told you. Evidence? You need proof right? Well here…” He handed her the file that he had in his possession, which she hadn’t noticed until just now. “What is this?” Priya questioned, looking at the file and than back up at Vikram. “See for yourself.” That was his obvious advice, which served as a fitting solution. She delved into the text contained in the file, her mind already miles ahead of her eyes. Skimming through the file, paper after dreaded paper, her soul headed face first into the emotionally charged spirals of guilt. Even she knew that there was no fair explanation for her overboard reaction. In fact, she was now able to rip through to her stitched up sense, which she had knit on the context of flimsy presumptions. The file that she had held in her hand was concrete evidence that Ram and Vikram were with company lawyers at the time of Kush’s abduction. She was back to square one; Now it was twice in 24hours that Ram had proven to be a man of honesty, a man of his words and a worthy combatant to her doubt. Without even so much as a speck of effort he had slain her ego. The red in her eyes was no longer telling tales of rage it was now the defeated display of shame, a plea for forgiveness.

Barely able to make any eye contact with Vikram Priya asked through a screen of guilt, “He transferred everything in my name? I don’t understand.” She knew that somewhere in that statement was a lie because although Ram’s action wasn’t clear as day she had now began to make sense of his earlier threat. The idea of a marriage to ruin her image was a sham, a cover up to a much larger plan, the same one that was outlined throughout the documents in her hand. Vikram could have played the situation in any, which way that he wanted. He could have belittled Priya until she was pushed by her guilt into the same ditch that she had dug for Ram. But being a man of morals, a gentleman at his best

he comforted Priya on the premise that her judgment was most likely depressed credited to the array of stress from the events of the day.  

“Priya,” She refused to look up at him, not finding the courage in her to do so. “Ram respects you a lot, if he didn’t he would have never done this…” Gesturing to the file that remained clutched in the confines of her fingers. “If you two get married than he will transfer everything in your name… Remember, Sheena is still beating around the Kapoor Mansion bush because she needs Sid’s million dollar shares in the company. But Sheena didn’t expect Sid to name Ram as the beneficiary to his shares. She thought that the web of lies she had woven prior to Sid’s death was efficient in gaining his trust enough for him to list her name in the will but of course she was mistaken. Once you two are married, Ram will adopt Kush as his son. Essentially, you will become the guardian of the wealth until Kush is of age to take charge in financial matters. This will seriously screw with Sheena and her boyfriend because the years of work they put in to gain Ram’s trust will be a waste, Ram will have no say in the allocation of the wealth. You would play the bad guy to beat them at their own game. It will turn the tables on Sheena, she will have to consult with her boyfriend and maybe even meet him. Hopefully we will catch her in the act. You will be an immediate threat to Sheena so she will not be snooping around to find out whether Kush is Sid’s son, even though she has her doubts…But don’t worry Ram and I will make sure that you and Kush are safe…” 

The plan was solid and Priya had no qualms about playing the role of Mother Theresa with a certain rough side to her character, of course. Besides, now that the cloud of doubt had cleared her mind about Ram, there was only one person who was capable of orchestrating the kidnapping of Kush… Suddenly, a chilling afterthought struck her, “Kush!” She stated in a panic feeling a shrilling trail of Goosebumps from her spine running up the back of her head… “Vikram…Kush!” She gripped his arm for support feeling the ground being drawn up from underneath her feet. It wasn’t that she had forgotten about him that would have been impossible. But in her moment of doubt and uncertainty she had wasted time and energy, which she could have put to better use finding Kush. Her subconscious taunted her and rightfully so, “If anything happens to Kush Priya, you are most responsible.”

 “ Vikram… Ram didn’t do this I know but doesn’t that mean…” Priya shuddered at the thought unable to catch her breath in a state of worry. “Priya… Please…” Vikram held her by her shoulders feeling her crumble under her own weight as she cried uncontrollably. “Try and relax Priya…”

“How can I relax?” She cried, her voice elevating involuntarily. “I have to find Kush right now…He is definitely in danger.”

“ Priya listen to me…” He shook her gently… “Ram has left no stone unturned in the search for Kush… We have eyes on every corner… Someone, somewhere will spot him…”

“So we just wait?” She stepped back; perplexed and frazzled. “It’s my fault Vikram… Mr. Kapoor was right… I wasted so much time pointing fingers and if anything happens to Kush, Vikram it will be my fault… Mr. Kapoor…” Her voice cracked abruptly as a light bulb was switched on in her head. “Mr. Kapoor.” Priya repeated roughly brushing her cheeks with her palm. She scrambled through her purse for her phone and pulled it out past a pile of junk. Turning her phone on she immediately saw a list of five missed calls all from one person, Ram. Before she could call him back, her phone vibrated in her palm prompting her to answer. “Hello, Mr. Kapoor… I am so sorry…” Priya stated all in one unsteady breath. Vikram observed preoccupied with the fact that Ram had called several times. “Perhaps he has some news on Kush…” His interest peaked on that hopeful note.

Priya continued apologetically, “Mr. Kapoor you were right…”

Ram interrupted squeezing in a couple words to break her anxious cycle, “ Priya, hold on… I have something important to tell you…”

“What happened?” She jabbed in two quick words and waited with baited breath for his response.

“I know where Kush is…”

“What? Where is he? Is he safe? Mr. Kapoor is he hurt? How is he?” Vikram gulped enticed by the news he stepped closer to Priya who put the call on speaker waiting for the answers to her slew of questions.

“Priya just shut up for one second and listen to me… I was at the bar near your apartment and there was this drunken guy buying several rounds of drinks for his friend. He claimed that he had been part of a deal where he was going to be a guaranteed millionaire.”

Vikram finally pitched in… “Ram? It’s Vikram… Where are you getting at with this? How is this related to Kush?”

“Vikram that’s the thing, I wouldn’t have thought much of it until he mentioned Sheena’s name… She is the one who he mentioned would be paying him for his deed.” Vikram and Priya shared a nervous glance. “Shit!” Ram cursed…

“What happened?” Priya asked, the news had her feeling as if she had swallowed her heart and it was lodged in her throat beating frantically.

Ignoring Priya perhaps intentionally Ram continued, “Vikram I am on my way there… I have seen this man before… He lives in the same building as the Sharma’s… Mr. Gupta?  I think that’s the name that the security guard had used to address him...”

That was all that Priya needed to hear before she made a mad dash for the stairs handing her phone to Vikram. Mr. Gupta was a new tenant, he had moved in about a week ago and Priya had always sensed a bad vibe when she was around him.

“Priya wait!!” Vikram called out after her but it was too late, she had already started on her way up the stairs…

“Vikram? What’s going on?” Ram asked…

“Ram you are right… This must be the guy… Priya must know where he stays…”

“Well follow her then… Don’t let her go there by herself; this man most likely has a partner… Priya could get hurt… Inform the commissioner and follow her! I will be there in another two minutes…” Ram commanded Vikram who stuttered, “Uhh Ye-Yeah… Yes… I-I will do that now…”

“Oh and Vikram make sure Sid stays in the apartment, he can’t blow his cover…” Adding that last part Ram hung up and threw his phone on the passengers seat as he shifted gears and pounced on the gas pedal.