She held onto the pendant and whispered,

"Can you mend my broken heart?"

Her eyes were glued on to her laptop screen, hoping against hope for an answer. She just needed one affirmation, an indication that he was there, one hint that he could hear her out although deep down she thought it was insane on her part to even harbor such wishful thinking.

A few seconds went by, but there was no reply.

She sighed and shook her head out of disappointment assuming her thoughts to be unrealistic and pathetic to some extent.

But he had heard her.

He had heard every bit of what she had whispered.

But he was at a loss, unable to phrase what he wanted to tell her. He wanted to just open his heart and tell her that there was no need to be in this pain, there was no need to hide behind those shields, for the battle that they were trying to fight was non-existent in the first place.

How badly he wanted to tell her that it was all well planned doing of Vikram, but there was a lot at stake. His company, his people, her safety and above all her trust. He didn't want to jeopardize anything because he was confident that he could unfold his cards when the time was right. And right now was the time to just wait and watch the tricks played by the mastermind and to track his moves. He didn't want Vikram to have any clue that he was a step ahead of him, so he couldn't risk telling her anything directly.

Everything was being monitored by Vikram, from phone calls to email. So this blog was the only medium via which he could talk with her. So after much contemplation, he wrote,

"Trust your stars for one day they will shine.

Fear not for I will tear away the fake masks,

And make you all mine.

This is something that I have written for my thesis. How does it sound?" @RodeoMaverick

Her heart was filled with remorse when she didn't get an instant answer from him, but seeing the reply her eyes gleamed with happiness and she replied back instantly.

"So tell me should I come out,

or shall I keep hiding behind,

Just tell me and clear my doubt" @Akira

Raymond read her message and muttered,

"That's my girl !!!"

A smile spread on his face, knowing the fact that she understood that she had to lay low. She was smart enough to communicate via poem lines instead of direct messages.

"Just bear some-more for my sake,

I promise I will bring justice,

trust me for my words are never fake" @RodeoMaverick

She felt like her heart was healed. It was him, it was always him.

She didn't want to text anymore, she wanted to hear his voice.

She didn't want to call him, she just wanted to meet him and ask him all those questions buried in her heart. But she didn't know where to start.

She held on to the pendant and said,

"Can you hear me? Um... All this feels really weird, but I guess you are trying to hide something. I don't know what, and I don't understand what is going on, but just tell me that you love me. Just give me a hint, just something", she said and sighed.

He heard her say those words and his heart was filled with immeasurable warmth. It enveloped him like a warm blanket making him feel all comforted and secure.

"Have you read the book Like the flowing river? If not then read page number one hundred forty-three. That's my favorite. That's all, I will log out now" @RodeoMaverick

Akira read his answer and got shocked. That was the book which she was reading for the last couple of days.

"Probably he saw that book, that night in my room", she thought and flipped for page 143. But then she couldn't find any hint on it. Then she stopped flipping and thought.

Page 1 --- 4 --- 3

I LOVE YOU

Her face flushed red like he was there in front of her, saying those words.

She couldn't believe that it was happening for real.

She braced her heart and her torrid breath and composed herself and then lifted her pendant a bit up and said,

"I love you too Raymond"

Then she hesitated for a second but then took the pendant and pressed it on her lips, giving a soft kiss.

Her face turned all shades red like she had kissed him for real, but her feelings were true and he felt it. He felt it all and her tiny little kiss ran under his skin like fire, igniting his heart, his mind which had almost lost their desire to live.

Finally, she felt alive.

Finally, he felt alive.

Then she thought of something and screamed,

"Wait don't go, wait !!! I am going out for shopping in the evening"

---

Around 6 pm Vikram arrived at Akira's place to pick her up as promised.

"Hey"

"Hey !!! You look fantastic !!! So not like the Akira I met today morning. What happened? Don't tell me you had Kombucha?", Vikram asked in surprise.

"Well NOTEBOOK happened", Akira said and shrugged her shoulder.

"Oh, God !!! You watched it again", he said and sighed.

He opened the car door for her.

She looked really pretty in her short peach dress, which he really liked on her. Her lips looked really kissable with that gloss game going on. He glanced at her again and sighed.

"Where are we going?", Akira asked.

"Avenue mall first and if you don't like anything there then we will go to Emporio", Vikram said and started the car.

"So we are going to Avenue mall first?", Akira asked.

"Yeah !!! That's what I just said Akira". Vikram said and looked at her in surprise.

"Aah, I was just confirming", Akira said and smiled inside her heart.

She was hoping for someone to listen.

She was hoping for someone to come and meet her, even just for a second.

As they entered the mall, Akira pulled Vikram's hand and dragged him towards the left side.

"What what what? Where are we going?', Asked Vikram in surprise.

"There is ALDO store in this section. I want to check there first", Akira said and pointed her finger in that direction.

She tried a couple of shoes there and then she looked at Vikram and said,

"I need to run to the washroom. These are the ones I have selected. Don't let anyone come and try them ok", she said and left.

Vikram laughed at her stupidity and then started checking his emails on phone.

Akira rushed towards the washroom side and stood outside the men's room.

A couple of seconds passed but there was no sign of him

She started getting all fidgety and whispered,

"Are you here? Where are you?"

"Can you hear me?"

Suddenly the door of fire exit opened and her waist was wrapped from behind firmly and then with one swift move she was lifted and taken through the open door.

The fire exit door closed behind her with a thud.