Contrasting Hearts: The Two Worlds Intertwined

CHAPTER-43"DIFFERENT EMOTIONS"

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With a "thud," the room door opens, and Raman enters, closing the gate behind him. As Raman turns, his gaze falls on Ciashi, who is sleeping on the couch with her eyes closed. A faint smile appears on Raman's face. He folds his hands to the chest, leans against the wall, and tilts his head slightly to the side, admiring her with a yearning look. His cheeks flush, his pupils appearing larger, he looks at her, barely blinking, with glossy and bright eyes.

POV by Raman:

My stomach is fluttering as I haven't eaten anything for a few days. My heart rate picks up slightly, beating with a pulse racing like horses. Breathlessly feeling my pulse in my throat, my lips parting. At the moment, I don't care about anything; I am looking at my only world. I am with my love; she is right in front of me, with the sindoor I filled in her hair partition, with the mehndi of my name in her hands.

She is wearing the same dupatta I wanted her to wear, in the same room where I always wanted to see her and spend time with her at this special place. Ciashi, no!...... my "Cia," looks incredibly beautiful at this moment. My heart desires to sweep her hair strands behind her ears, and I want to continue gazing at her lovely face. The world might see Ciashi's flaws, but I see none.

How innocent her face is, like that of a 6-year-old child-pure innocence, the same simplicity, and that same naivety. She is sleeping so peacefully. Giggles escape from my mouth; how can someone sleep so comfortably by placing their head on their knees on the couch? I take a deep breath before moving towards Ciashi. I slowly advance my steps, standing at an appropriate distance from Ciashi, leaning slightly toward her. But my heart does not want to disturb Ciashi from her beautiful sleep, only just because it's our first night.

I can spend the entire night just looking at Ciashi, even without waking her up, not only today but I can spend my entire life watching her like this. After all,........ looking at her brings me a sense of peace and tranquility, like nothing else matters, and nothing else makes a difference. A wide smile appears on my face as I can't stop myself continuously looking at Ciashi's face.

Ramans's gaze falls on the ring lying on the floor, probably dropped when Ciashi was taking off her bangles. Raman bends down to pick up the ring, and at that moment, Ciashi's eyes open wide as she sees Raman in front of her. Before she can comprehend, she quickly gets up from the couch, startling Raman in the process.

Both of them lock eyes, and Raman's eyes glow even more, with raised eyebrows, focusing solely on Ciashi's eyes. Ciashi blinks her hot and gummy eyelids and looks at Raman with a distant, dull, empty stare, taking a few steps backward.

Due to the haste of getting up from the couch, Ciashi, balancing herself in the cocoon of her heavy frill lehenga, struggles a bit. The red chunni also twirls along with the lehenga, creating a graceful sway from one side to the other as Ciashi gently moves backward.

Clutching her lehenga into her fist and parting her lips, Ciashi's heart rate gradually increases. Raman, with a light-toned voice, asks, "Why were you sleeping on the couch?"

Ciashi replies with a breaking voice, "I was waiting, and my eyes got heavy."

"I am so sorry; they were not letting me come. They were making me perform various rituals and customs." Raman explains, then adds, "Are you upset with me?"

Ciashi casually shakes her head, and a large smile appears on Raman's face. He lowers his gaze for a moment and then looks directly into Ciashi's eyes.

"By the way, if you want, you can change. This attire seems quite uncomfortable," Raman suggests gently after examining her outfit. However, despite Raman finding Ciashi stunning in the attire.

 she surprisingly shakes her head, saying, "It's okay; it's not that uncomfortable."

"Okay! You might be sad, maybe missing your family," Raman remarks.

Ciashi lowers her head in grief with a slack facial expression, feeling tightness in her chest.

"It's okay if you don't want to answer. I think we should sit," he suggests, guiding her to the bed. Ciashi sits, curving her legs towards her chest.

"You know how much happy I am today, and the reason... is you," he expresses himself to Ciashi. "Thank you for accepting the marriage proposal, thank you for accepting this house, and thank you for accepting me,"shifts his gaze to Ciashi.

he asks seriously, "I don't know why you agreed to marry me, but I want to ask you something...... Is there someone in your life, I mean, someone you still really like? I hope you understand?" looking directly into her eyes.

She shakes her head in fear, with a dry throat. Although she never liked someone, Ciashi is scared at the thought of Ashok. She also wanted to tell him about the love letters sent by Ciashi's classmate, but Aarti didi's words stop her from doing so.

Raman starts, "But today, I'll tell you about myself. My parents had a car accident when I was a child, and since then, my Buadadi took care of me like her own child. My family consists of my Buadadi , dadaji, and Lakshay. I started handling Dadaji's business at an early age, and everything I have today is because of him."

"I have some friends who matter a lot to me. I tried cigarettes and drinks with them, but it didn't suit me, so I gave it up. Now, I drink occasionally, but after that, my condition gets really bad," he chuckles. "And... I am not a virgin. I have been intimated with few girls. But from now I won't even look at any other girl with any intentions except you," he ends, raising his eyebrows.

"If I briefly talk about myself, that's it. You'll get to know more about me slowly. I don't know much about you either. We never got the time to know each other."

He continues, "I will never judge you. Whenever you want, you can tell me about yourself, share all your pain and sorrows with me."

"And yes today, because of our wedding night, you're still wearing this lehenga and jewelry for me. There's no need for these formalities. I won't want to be intimate with you until you are completely comfortable with it. You can take as much time as you need; it doesn't matter," he says, looking into Ciashi's eyes.

As he speaks, Raman's gaze becomes fixed. Ciashi's eyes widen in surprise, her lips parting. She can't believe what Raman just said. Tears are difficult to hold back, and she recalls Aarti didi's words. She thinks about how Aarti didi described men, and Raman's behavior is the opposite. Ciashi couldn't have imagined that this night would be so peaceful. She remembers how Ashok tried to dominate her, and she realizes that Raman's actions are different.

Ciashi recalls the awkwardness of her meetings with Ashok and how he made her feel uncomfortable. Raman has shared all about himself, good and bad habits, but he hasn't asked Ciashi anything. He hasn't made any demands.

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