Feeling peculiarly sluggish, Nandini rose to her feet. Her disoriented mind didn't register the rain falling lightly on her numb body, or her little friends squeaking loudly and running off, or the chalk dropping from her hand. Her heart was evidently the only living organ in her body at present. It was thumping hard and loud...
And yet, the shock wasn't as severe as it should have been. She had sensed his presence acutely, hadn't she? Just like she always had in the past. He was a disease in her psyche...
And as the astonishment subsided, rage began building within her.
He had done this. She couldn't fathom how he had pulled it off, but it was obvious he had manipulated events to bring her here.
But why did he look so stunned...
He had succeeded in forcing her to meet him. He should be grinning smugly in triumph. But there was no infuriating smirk. No sign of self-satisfaction or arrogance.
He was pale, and the disbelief on his features was stirringly real. He seemed to be preparing himself for the moment when she would vanish in a puff of smoke.
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She was going to vanish any moment, Prithvi mulled in a stupor. He would blink and she would disappear. He'd go back to house in a state of crippling despair and then spend the evening trying to locate a good psychiatrist in the area.
Despite his efforts, his lids closed momentarily. When they opened, he could still see her.
A slender girl with hair tied neatly and tightly in the precise fashion that he loathed. Disbelief, uneasiness and the beginnings of a tantrum writ on her features. Her body so motionless that she could be mistaken for an enchanting figurine in the lightly falling rain.
She's here... she's actually here, his mind repeated in amazement as a fierce elation thundered through him.
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Nandini unconsciously clenched her fingers as she watched him take the first step in her direction.
She had imagined this scene countless times since he had left Shamli. This moment when he would return and she would inform him that she was ending the relationship.
She'd believed she was completely prepared for the confrontation. But she hadn't expected to see him without forewarning. It had thrown her completely, and the frenzied efforts to compose herself were not working at all. Her heart continued to pound and there was a painful cramp in her stomach.
And the while, he kept coming closer and closer...
Mentally, she angrily demanded that he stop and go away. But her lips didn't part to utter the words. She hadn't known it was possible to feel angry and panic-stricken at someone's arrival, while also feeling concerned about the person's health, she mulled hazily. But she was experiencing it firsthand at the moment.
A part of her mind victoriously pointed out that she could give vent to her anger at last. But mere words wouldn't be sufficient. The harshest of them would fall short in this case. She wanted to hurt him physically. She wanted to inflict a wound that would cause an agony as deep and lingering as the pain she had gone through mentally for more than a month.
Simultaneously....and ridiculously, she felt worried about his drawn and exhausted appearance. He had become leaner, and in spite of the beautiful light in his eyes, he looked almost ill.
Why did he look so unwell? What had he been doing all these days, she thought distractedly as he covered the last bit of distance between them.
And then he was unexpectedly close, gazing down at her with part wonder and part uncertainty, as if he was still not entirely sure that his mind wasn't playing tricks on him.
She felt surer than before that he shared her shock at the encounter. Was this meeting a coincidence? No, it couldn't be. She no longer believed their bond was forged in some heavenly dimension and was orchestrated on earth by a higher force. The truth was that their relationship was pitifully fragile and superficial. Not worth nurturing or mending.
But that conclusion didn't stop her from fervently staring at him.
She had forgotten how overwhelming his presence could be... how magnificent he was...how he could make her feel giddy and breathless with that ferociously intense gaze...
In the cool, damp stillness, an uncontrolled exhilaration swirled between them...within them...
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In a daze, he hungrily absorbed the haunting beauty of her delicate features.
He cautiously reached out and gently grazed her cheek with an unsteady hand. Her skin was warm and soft. Captivated, he watched an exquisite colour burst and spread on her lovely face at the first touch of his fingertips.
Then without warning, she drew back sharply, severing the connection. She looked at him frostily, and then began to walk past him. Startled, he gripped her forearm and turned her around.
A flash of discomfort on her furious face told him he was holding her hand too roughly. He instantly let go of her arm, and she used the freedom to turn and dart towards the house.
"Nandini! Wait!" he said quickly, swiftly following her.
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Nandini stopped abruptly in surprise as soon as she reached the corner of the house. A little out of breath, she gaped at the males approaching the door.
Uday Singh Rathod was just about to enter the porch. Sumer Singh was some feet behind him. The intimidating guard was back at his position near the gate, holding a folded umbrella. The rain had stopped, she realised absently.
The men also halted and gawked at her. Dumbfounded, she instinctively turned to Prithvi, and jumped slightly on seeing him right at her side. He seemed as baffled as her to see the men.
Uday Singh rapped the tip of his wooden cane once on the ground and groaned, "No, no! This was not how I envisioned your meeting!"
"You did this?"
"You did this?"
Rapidly conquering his surprise and disappointment, Uday studied the astounded couple. He'd been prepared for this twist in his plan, since he had put up Nandini in the guest house. But Prithvi wasn't supposed to have halted his search operations at this hour. According to Sumer Singh, he seldom returned to the house until night had fallen. For the pattern to break on this particular day, and for events to unfold in this manner... it was mystifying indeed...
Then again, the youngsters evidently shared an interesting connection by all accounts. Even now, they had asked the same question at the same time. However, there was a major contrast in the tones.
Nandini's voice had wavered with pure shock. Prithvi's query had reverberated with immeasurable happiness.
The girl too had apparently noted the joyous ring in the other question, Uday mulled warily.
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Nandini glanced angrily at Prithvi, who was grinning.
He looked at her, and instantly realised his mistake. His exultant smile vanished. Subduing a host of unholy impulses, he hastily attempted to appear solemn, innocent and displeased about the best - the most unbelievably beautiful - surprise he had received in his life so far.
It didn't take.
Nandini speedily stormed to the side of an alarmed Sumer Singh and stood slightly behind him, using him as a barricade between herself and Prithvi.
Striding ahead, Prithvi nervously spluttered, "I didn't know! I swear! If I had any idea, I wouldn't have allowed it," he lied unashamedly as he halted beside Uday, looking uncharacteristically anxious.
"Throwing me under the bus eh?" Uday asked dryly under his breath.
"I'll do it for real if it makes her happy," Prithvi admitted in a mutter, his attention hungrily transfixed on Nandini.
"Atta boy," Uday murmured proudly.
Uneasy about the whispered conversation, Nandini suspiciously surveyed the two men, and then incredulously asked a clearly uncomfortable Sumer Singh, "Uncle, you knew?"
Sumer Singh guiltily looked at the ground. "I wasn't involved in the plan but I suspected."
"I didn't even suspect," Prithvi claimed hurriedly.
She came horrifyingly close to laughing, but managed to control the urge and did her best to infuse scorn into the look she directed at him. She had to be strong... she had to resist the pull of the quietly blazing fervour in his gaze that could devour her if she let her guard down...
Directing her words to the only person with whom she still felt some kinship, Nandini rigidly said, "Sumer uncle, please ask Prithvi to leave."
"I'm not leaving until I talk to you," Prithvi stated bluntly.
"You'll have to wait here for eternity in that case," Nandini snapped.
With an oddly rueful smile, Prithvi replied, "I can wait longer,"
Uday astutely examined Nandini's expression. It was difficult to say if the blush on her cheeks and abrupt silence were caused by pleasure or fury. He sensed it was a bewildering combination of both. But on the whole, it was easy to see that she was highly upset, and considering her sweet and angelic looks, the antagonism she was exuding was quite daunting. This was obviously not a time to make an appeal on Prithvi's behalf. This was a time to offer an explanation that would pacify her temper, offer medicine for her bruised self-respect and concede to all her demands.
He looked at Prithvi and softly said, "Do as she says."
Prithvi shot him a coldly intimidating glance. "I will not."
"If this gift meant anything to you at all, you will leave," Uday murmured serenely.
Taken aback, Prithvi stared at him, and then his face darkened ominously.
"You have to trust me in this matter, Prithvi," Uday requested in an undertone. "I will smoothen the road ahead for both of you," he promised. For a tense second, Prithvi glared at him. Then without looking at the girl again, he wordlessly strode away.
Nandini heaved a sigh of relief. She didn't know what Uday Singh had said, but it had worked. Prithvi was leaving.
It was a small victory. And she would be able to think coherently hereon. She was just relishing a tiny sense of triumph when Prithvi halted at the gate and looked at her again.
A stark, heartbreaking desperation flickered in his eyes. Then he turned and left.
Shaken by that glimpse, Nandini wrung her fingers mechanically. She had never seen him look so forlorn and depressed before.
Suddenly, the reasons for her anger and bitterness were starting to seem utterly frivolous...
"Sumer," Uday said carelessly.
Immediately, Sumer Singh bowed his head, spun and offered her a highly apologetic face, and exited the compound before she could protest the loss of an ally.
Feeling more perturbed by the minute, Nandini waited uncertainly as Uday Singh approached her with the help of his cane. She had not behaved well in the past few minutes. Regardless of her feelings about his trickery, she should have been respectful towards him instead of sulking like a bad-mannered brat and hiding behind Sumer Singh. She didn't know if she had created a good impression during their last visit. If she had, it was probably destroyed by now.
But Uday Singh didn't seem to have taken her behaviour to heart. He smiled and bowed gallantly.
"I apologise for the deceit, Nandini. But I am sure you will understand and forgive once you hear me out," he said earnestly. "You see... Janki is a dear friend of mine. I heard she was taking you to her home in Vishranti Nagar, and this town is on the way...so I requested her to make a short halt here. She didn't know my actual purpose. Neither did Prithvi. It was wrong of me to manipulate events, but I had the best of intentions. I hope you will let me explain," he requested humbly.
Thankful that he had overlooked her impoliteness, and wishing to redeem herself, Nandini quickly nodded.
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