"So.. what are we gonna do about Gunaa?" I asked the million dollar question, as we lay on the bed, hugging each other.
Since last night, after the 'patch up', we were trying to ignore the Gunaa topic, ignoring all the dangers that lay ahead and just enjoying the moment. But I knew that it can't go on forever. We have to face it, and the sooner the better.
"We are not gonna do anything, I will do what has to be done." He said, as he gazed at the time.
"Haaw.. kyun?" I asked as I raised myself on my elbow looking at his face.
"Haaw... kyun nahin? You, my lady, have you forgotten who Gunaa is and what he wants from you? Do you seriously think I'm gonna let him be in a 10 mile radius of you?" He asked as he got up from the bed.
It was nearing 1' and he had just come after helping Prabhu sir at the woods. Today was our last day here, and I was already feeling reluctant to leave.
"But.. I want to help.." I said looking at his back as he walked around the room, flexing his chest.
"You will be doing a very big help if you stop being reckless and just stay away from him. " He said as he turned to look at me from the window. I pouted, earning a smile from him.
"But what if I can be of real help? Like I come there and distract Gunaa or his men, then your job will be easy." I said, not giving up.
"And how do you think you are going to distract them?" He asked raising an eyebrow, his head cocked to the side.
"Let's just say you bring them to a waterfall and I'll do an item number?" I asked, teasing him. His eyes went blank for a second, imagining me probably, before it darkened and met with mine. I smiled sheepishly, raising my eyebrows, teasing him.
"Yeah that is a pretty good idea, also then I'll have a pretty good motive to kill them all. But you need a rehearsal you know, to make sure I won't be distracted." He said as he walked to the bed, looking me from head to toe.
Okay, bad idea..
He knelt down on the mattress, crawling on his knees, inching close to me.
"Cherry... What are you doing?" I asked as I suddenly got conscious of my stupidity. Pulling the thin cloth we shared as a duvet, I began to cover my face, hiding from his deep stare.
He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a knock on the door, drawing his attention from me. I sighed inward, feeling relieved to be stopped from whatever was going to happen.
"Beta... Come on.. lunch is ready, and I've cooked something special for you." It was Bhabhi who looked elatedly at the both of us, and I immediately rushed to her side, only to be stopped by Cherry, who caught me by my arm.
"Haa.. we are coming Bhabhi, bus ek minute, we'll be there soon.." He said, as pulled me to him, smiling at Bhabhi.
She gave us a meaningful smile and left closing the door behind her, murmuring something about "newly weds". As soon as the door was closed, Cherry pushed me to the wall, circling his hands around my waist to trap me there, within his hold.
"Cherry.." I tried to get away from his strong hands, but in vain. His iron grip was too strong to break, and he walked forward, pushing me to the wall.
"You want to do an item number in front of them right, and that too in the waterfall, wet and sexy, huh?" He said in my ear in a really really low voice, dangerously low.
I gulped down, feeling helpless under his touch. My body was pressed against his, and I knew better than to provoke him. So I shook my head, making him smile.
"If you want to do that, my shower is always open for you, where only I will see, and no man will ever see you that way.. and if he does.. My gun is always loaded.. Okay?" He said as he traced his nose along me cheek, leaving a hot burning trail.
"haa.." I managed to say as he kissed the hickey he had given me last night.
"Okay.. so we'll go eat?" He said, suddenly smiling, all traces of danger gone. I gawked at him with open eyes, confused at his Multiple Personality Disorder.
With a small peck on my lips, he left the room leaving me there, eyes wide, mouth open.
"Is he a villain or a hero?" I said to no one in particular.
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Lunch was grand. And by grand I meant, we had chicken, egg and many dishes Bhabhi had specially made for us. And we sat outside for a few minutes, feeling content and happy. The light breeze was playing with my hair, and Cherry sat near my leg, his hand rested on my knee.
"When I'd seen you two in the road that night, alone and stranded, I never thought I would come this far to seeing you as a son and daughter. The three days went so smooth and it pains to imagine you leaving." Prabhu Sir said, as he looked at us with love.
"Haa.. We've never had anyone with us like this. I've never had anyone to cook food or teach cooking. When that baby in your womb comes out, tell the child that there is one grandpa and grandma praying for his well-being." Bhabhi said, her eyes watering.
I gave Cherry a knowing look, feeling guilty that we had lied to these innocent couple. He squeezed my knee, giving them a warm smile.
"Sure bhabhi, as soon as it happens." He said, giving me a knowing look that threatened to burn me inside out. I smiled and they laughed at me, teasing me for my over sensitive cheeks.
Time went on and finally it was time for us to leave. We were to accompany Prabhu sir to the city where he will drop us off. The dark evening was a benefit for us to stay under the radar. It was hard to leave, but with promises of coming back later, we finally left the place, with the food she packed for us.
The trip to the city was silent. Cherry insisted on driving, and Prabhu Sir was in the middle seat, while I sat myself on the other side, the windows drawn down, the wind stroking my face.
I couldn't help but think about my parents. Where they safe? Is Kiran taking good care of them? What about Uncle and Aunt? Who is with them?
And the final question was, how will my parents take the news of me and Cherry being back together? How will they react?
Will Papa forgive me? Will they understand me? Understand that I can't live without this man they found for me? That I am willing to go to any lengths with him?
But I can't blame them for thinking this way, because they don't know the depth of our love. We were caught many times, but only in front of his parents, never in front of mine. His parents know how much he loves me and how much I love him, because they have seen it many times with their eyes, but what about mine? No, they have never seen us together and they clearly don't know how much we feel about each other. Maybe if I can convince them of my love for him, they will understand. Yes they will, they surely will. We will live together..
And the thought of being together took me to memories we just had at the house. Three days with him. Safe, happy..
Wasn't that the kind of life I always expected? No dramas and definitely no guns and threats.
But still there was happiness in it. He was my happiness... And that fact kept me going.. And I was sure I will continue to go anywhere that he takes me..
And that left me with one thing - Gunaa. What about him? What is Cherry's plan? Did he really mean it when he said that he will deal with Gunaa himself, without my help?
But I do want to help.. It matters to me too... What if something bad happens? What if Cherry.. what if he is harmed? What if.... Stop Dhruvika.. nothing is going to happen.. You and him.. Whatever happens, it will always be you and him forever..
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The day got more dark as we reached the city. Dhruvika was sleeping and Prabhu Sir was sitting quietly. Edging the car to a corner in front of the bus stop, I stopped and engine and sat there. It was finally time, time to leave. Time to leave this fantasy and enter the reality. The reality of guns and murders.
Getting off the vehicle, I stretched my limbs, Prabhu Sir following me out of the car. Smiling at me, he gave me a nice warm hug, patting me on the back, and I hugged him back.
"Take care of yourself, and your wife. And come back with the kid. We will be waiting." He said, and a twinge of guilt shot through me.
"She is not pregnant." I said , looking down. It took him a few seconds to respond.
"What?" He shot back, confusion clear in his face.
"And she is not my wife, though she will be soon." I said expecting a slap which I clearly deserved.
"What do you mean?" He asked clearly taken aback.
"What I mean is, she is the woman I love. And I only said she was pregnant so that you would help us. But when I heard that you.. you two didn't have any children, and after seeing you and Bhabhi so happy with the fact that she is pregnant, I didn't want to let you down." I said, looking at him guiltily.
"Then why say now?" He asked, voice blank.
"Because.. because you are more than a host to us now. And I didn't want to make you wait a few months to watch us come with our kid, because that won't happen soon. We will come again, but it will only be just the two of us for a little while longer." I said and I nodded his head.
"Why were you in the road that night if you weren't here for a vacation?" He asked, getting serious.
"Well before that, I'm Ram Charan IPS, Assistant Commissioner of Police. And that is my fiancé, and we are in danger. Someone wants me dead, and he wants her too. We were staying near Suharnag before they followed our trail and ambushed us. There were two of them and they got hold of Dhruvika before I could. She was harmed and I lied to ensure that you will feel pity for her, a pregnant woman who is bleeding. We are still in danger, but I have to fix things before it starts chewing up our lives." I said, and he listened attentively.
"Sir, I'm really very sorry for lying but I was helpless. And I am also so very thankful to you for taking care of us, for seeing her as your daughter, we will always owe you our lives. And as promised we will back soon after everything is fixed." I said as I took a step forward, holding my hands in front of him.
I've never apologized to anyone like this, but this time I just had to. Cheating them felt so wrong it was eating me from the inside.
"It's okay, I can understand your situation. And I've seen the way you two look and behave with each other, so I'm sure you two will end up together. But I say that Kanchi doesn't know of this. She'll be sad. She is really thrilled to know about the baby." He said and I once again thanked him.
Waking a dizzy Dhruvika up and saying another round of thanks and byes, we got into a bus that could take us out of this place, where she slept for another half an hour, cocooned in my arms.
"I feel really sorry for lying to them..." She finally said after waking up.
I gave her a smile, pulling her close to me. The window was up and the chill air was making her skin go cold.
"I told him." I said rubbing her shoulders.
"What?" She shot back. That was twice in a single day.
"I told him the truth." I said back.
"When?"
"While you were sleeping."
"Then why didn't you wake me up?" She asked, glaring at me.
"Because you were sleeping.." I said confused.
She lowered her head, and glared at me through her eyelashes and when I still looked confused, she sighed dramatically and looked outside the window for a few minutes.
"How did he react?" She asked, looking back at me.
"He was angry at first but when I explained, he kind of understood. Though he insisted Bhabhi never know any of this and that we really come back with our real baby." I said, pointing to her tummy, and she blushed, her hands automatically going to rub her stomach.
Smiling, she looked at me and rested back inside my hands, this time clutching my shirt tight inside her fist.
"Cherry..." She called out after a few minutes.
"Hmm.." I murmured against her head.
"What are we going to do about our parents?" She asked in a low voice.
Sighing, I sat straight, pushing her head to look at me.
"I'm going to tell your parents that if Gunaa doesn't end up killing me, I'm so going to marry their daughter." He said, and she smacked my ribs, making me laugh.
"Don't speak like that... I'm already scared." She said, looking out of the window, a tiny bead of tear stirring in the brink of her eyes.
"Hey... I promise you.. Nothing bad is going to happen. I'm not going alone, Kiran will be there. And also half of the police force, though I've made it clear that only I will encounter that son of a - I know, sorry - him. That only I will encounter him. It's kind of personal now." I said, and she sat back in silence.
"What about after that?" She asked again.
"After that, I'll march off to my house, pick my parents, come to your house and ask for your hand in marriage which I will demand to be held as soon as possible." I said smiling.
"Yeah, very easy. What if my Papa says no?" She asked looking at me with her puppy eyes. Bad move.
"Papa will say yes. Now sleep, its late, and we won't be there in the next 4 or 5 hours." I said, leaning my head against the cushioned seat.
"But Cherry.." She started.
"Sshhhh... Goodnight." I said, making her go silent. After a few minutes I felt her relax in my hand.
As soon as making sure that she was fast asleep, I took out my spare phone and switched it on, before sending an text to Kiran.
"We are on the way back. Be there by late night or early morning."
"Same plan?" Came the reply.
"Yes." I typed, and switched off the phone, hugging her closer.
Even though I had assured her of a future, there was still a small part of me that was scared.
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Merry Christmas..
-Amaira..