Iridescent

CHAPTER 2

As it's an early Sunday morning and my mind is on overdrive, I decide to go to the gym and kickbox. It's a great stress reliever, trust me, and I really need that.

One of Dad's friends recommended it to me when Rupali left the town so many years ago and I'm glad he did. Kickboxing has become a major part of my life now.

After working my butt off for six continuous days, it's the perfect relaxant for me.

When I walk out of the gym, my body aches but in a good way. It is satisfying and I find myself in a better mood than in the morning.

I park my car and head to my apartment but bump into my new neighbor.

"Hey, " she says cheerfully.

"Hello, " I reply back equally cheerful. "Where you headed to at-" I pause to look at my watch. "Eight-thirty in the morning?"

"I'm exploring the town today."

"Oh! Good."

"Yeah. You coming from the gym? And here I thought you had a naturally fit body, " she jokes. I notice the different accent but don't ask.

I laugh. "Okay, I gotta go take a shower now. Bye."

I turn to leave, but she stops me with, "Hey I never got your name."

"Jai. Yours?" I ask now realizing that I don't know anything about her, not even her name.

"Amy, " she smiles.

"Okay, see you around Amy. Bye!"

"Bye!"

. . . .

I look at the photos in my laptop after the shower and see that I hardly have five pictures that don't include Rupali.

I smile and continue looking at the pictures, my eyes distant, recalling the story behind each. One manages to get my full attention. It's a picture of Rupali grinning and me staring at her with a soft smile on my face. I hadn't even realized someone was clicking a picture at the time.

Hell, I wouldn't understand even if a meteorite fell three feet away from me. That's how distracting she was.

That evening was an unforgettable one. It was our fifth anniversary as well as Rupali's twenty-fourth birthday.

You would think the love, the affection, the stolen glances, and secret smiles would have been decreased by now. But no, I and Rupali were still going strong at the time. Each day was like the first day of dating her. My heart would leap in my chest, just at the sight of her, and judging by her expressions, it was the same for her as well.

And what made the evening even more important was that I was going to ask her hand for marriage.

I recall being nervous as hell, even though I was sure she would accept my proposal.

My idea was to take her to a restaurant, taking up the excuse of celebrating her birthday, and ask her.
I had already made reservations at a cozy but really expensive restaurant. But money didn't matter. Everything was going to be worth it.

I had invited all our dear ones- my parents, Aditya and his fiancee Tara, who was also Rupali's best friend, Shlok, Rupali's parents and her friends.

Everything was going according to the plan. All of them knew about it. But I had told them to act clueless so that Rupali doesn't sense it. That girl is really smart I tell you.

So yeah, everything was going normal, except Aditya who was hyperactive. I had personally told this asshole to act 'Normal', and he had silenced me with, "Shut up Jai. I know how to act normal."

And now here he was, finding it hard to sit still for a minute as well. I saw him taking deep breaths and folding his hands into a fist as if finding it difficult to keep it a secret.

To add to that, he would occasionally and totally out of the blue, ask Tara questions like, "Did you know I was gonna propose you that day?" and all that shit.

Tara smacked his head so many times, I lost count.

Rupali raised her eyebrows and I thought she knew. But she kept quiet.

The cake was brought to the table and we sang the birthday song.
When she was about to cut the cake, I stopped her.

"What?" I could see her frustration at delaying eating her favorite cake.

I smiled.

"Rupali, I've been in love with you for nine years. The moment I saw you near the lockers, grinning at Tara, I knew that if I were to date someone, it would be you. But you ignored me. So I had to go with my last option of getting your attention by hurting you. I swear hurting you was never my intention. I'm sorry I did. And then you left the town. Those two years were the most horrible years of my life."

"Oh yes! He was such a pain in the ass that time. Thank you for coming back!" Aditya interrupted, earning a whack on his head by Tara.

"But you came back and I'm so glad you did because we wouldn't be dating and so in love if you hadn't. You have me- my body, heart, and soul- wholly. And I want yours to be mine."

I took a deep breath and asked the question which had Rupali's eyes widening. "Will you marry me and make me the happiest man on Earth, Rupali?" I held my breath and waited for her answer.

Her eyes started watering, and she ran into my arms. I hugged her tightly, already knowing her answer by then.

"Yes, Jai, yes! Of course, I'll marry you. I love you so much! You've made this day of mine, the happiest!" she cried into my neck. I hugged her tighter and felt her do the same.

After a while, she pulled away. I hadn't even realized I was crying until she wiped my wet cheeks.

"I love you, " I whispered, dazed by the shine in her eyes.

"I love you too."

I leaned in and kissed her, kissed her with all I had. Because all that I had, belonged to her. It was hers even before she knew it.

When we pulled back, there were cheers all around. We cut the cake together. It was really peaceful and it was all that I wished for at the moment.

The ring which I had bought for her was perfect. Everything was when it came to her. She made everything perfect by her mere presence. And I was the lucky guy to stand with her, and admire and appreciate her beauty.

That night, I became the happiest person on Earth.

I look at the ring on her hand now. She hasn't removed it once.
And that's why I love her.

She values relationships, you know? I'm important to her.

"I love you. So much, " I smile, kissing her cheek.

I continue looking at random pictures and talking about them to Rupali, and smiling, as they bring back happy memories.

When I turn the laptop off, it's already late evening.

Damn, time flies when you are doing something you love.

I have dinner with Rupali and when I'm washing the dishes, my phone beeps with a message. It's from my assistant.

Good evening, Sir. You have 4 meetings tomorrow. First one begins at nine.

Here begins another hectic week.

***

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