••

"Suhana " Ashish whispered-yelled at her ears, asking her to move aside and allow Vikram inside.

Vikram walked past her, as Ashish walked him to the dinning where everyone was there.

"Why is he even here??

One day.

Just one day, I wanted to live in peace.

And this guy already showed up to spoil the small fun we were having." Suhana mumbled to herself with a pinch of drama on her face.

Rolling her eyes, she trudged behind tracing their path.

"Let me have a word with Suhana for a minute" Vikram excused from Ashish on their way, and traced his steps backwards.

With his stern hold around her wrist, he dragged her to the garden in the front yard.

"What are you doing here?" Vikram halted, as he raised his eyebrows and dropped her hand.

"First tell me, what are you doing here?" Suhana retaliated back with his question.

"I am not the one who came here without informing. Everyone's scared there at home" He said in a cold tone, gritting his teeth.

"At home? Who? Why?"

"What? Everyone!

If you were planning to stay here, why couldn't you just leave a message saying that you will come home late?"

"What--? Why wouldn't I do that? Of course I informed Rohit. I don't know why he didn't inform you" His creased eyebrows relaxed, realising something.

"You left a message to Rohit?!" He interrogated as she nodded.

"Then I guess, that brat didn't inform purposely " He facepalmed.

"And Mr.I-am-Serious fell for his act? So lame" she rolled her eyes and continued, "You could have just called me. Unless--you deleted my number "

"He told me...Nevermind" He shook his head in dismay, not wanting to explain his brother's act on wanting to play cupid.

"So--?" Suhana crossed her arms.

"Huh-I am leaving home now, it's almost an hour now" He turned back.

"Wait-you were searching for an hour?" Suhana asked curiously.

"Huh-Of course not, Rohit was searching and just asked me to check if you were here. So as I was returning from the office, I thought of just checking here." Vikram said with a straight face.

"--and turns out that he just lied " He sighed.

"Wait-You had your dinner?" She raised her eyebrows in curiosity.

"No-"

"Vikram?" Kaashvi stated in confusion on seeing her daughter and her husband chit chatting in the front yard.

"I was just--I am leaving now" Vikram turned towards the door and was dragging his words.

"--Vikram why don't you join us for dinner" Ashish came forward requesting him, while Megha was shooting bullets on him with her eyes.

It was 10:30 at night.

Suhana hadn't informed her mom that she would be visiting her today.

And on seeing her, she wouldn't stop preparing fancy and mouth watering dishes for dinner and by the time she had finished it, it was late night and Vikram was here.

"No, it's okay. I will join another day" Vikram nodded his head.

"No, you should come in" Kaashvi nodded with a smile, though Suhana knew that her mom was still a bit worried about everything that happened.

Not able to win, refusing with them, Vikram had no other choice but to agree on having dinner with them, half mindedly.

As they were dragging chairs, Suhana took her seat next to him, not wanting him to feel left out.

That was probably the most silent dinner ever. No word was exchanged during the whole meal. Nobody dared to open his or her mouth except to pass on dishes.

Vikram dodged his glances at everyone whose eyes were fixed on the plates except for Megha who was still staring at him with a straight face.

Coming to a conclusion that everyone was still uncomfortable with him, because of everything that happened a few weeks before, Vikram cleared his throat to initiate a conversation.

"I am sorry for everything my mom and my family put Suhana and your family through. It shouldn't have happened this way." He addressed everyone, as Suhana choked on her food.

"If only, if he could be this sweet to me." Suhana murmured under her breath.

Ashish and Kaashvi were exchanging glances not knowing what to reply.

They were indeed upset with his family for everything they had put them through.

But they didn't expect such a move from him, which left them speechless. No matter if they like him or not, he was now their Son-in-law, their daughter's husband, and he deserves the love, respect and affection.

"I never wanted my mom to blackmail or put such a condition, but I am-"

"-No son it's okay. Let the past stay in the past" Ashish smiled gently.

"If you both are happy, why would we have any hard feelings? Everything depends on your happiness only" Kaashvi smiled nervously, scared of not knowing what was happening between those two souls.

Two confused souls, still not understanding the meaning of a beautiful relationship they are committed to, and yet being small innocent kids.

Suhana didn't need a second to realise what was running in her mom's mind.

Immediately she entangled her left arm around his right and tilted her head and placed on his hard triceps from beside.

"Of course we are happy, you don't have to worry mom, right Vikram?" Suhana smiled, as she turned and looked into his eyes.

Not clearly understanding the situation, Vikram nodded furiously at her mom and gave a confused smile at Suhana.

The rest of the dinner had moved on with an exchange of smiles filled with satisfaction.

"Thank you Mr & Mrs.Sharma for the dinner" Vikram thanked as he stood from his seat, after a round of chit chat after dinner.

"You can call us Uncle and aunty. This is--huh-formal"Kaashvi grimaced.

"Yeah sure--" He paused, not able to call away fluently.

"You are leaving now?"Ashish asked doubtfully.

"Yeah I got to go" Vikram shrugged.

"But It's late night night. You can stay here and leave tomorrow " Ashish suggested.

"Yeah, Ashish is right, It's not safe to travel late at night. Stay here, take rest and you can leave tomorrow "Kaashvi continued.

"No--" Vikram decided to deny as Suhana who had facepalmed this whole time, interrupted in between.

"-Come on mom, He has lots of work unlike us. It will be difficult for him to stay here. He has to go and start planning on How-to-be-self-satisfied and How-to-destroy-lives-in-this-city.

So he has to go now, right Vikram?" Suhana directed her gaze at Vikram, mocking him.

"Well Mrs.Sharma, On a second thought, I would be glad to stay here" Vikram narrowed his eyes at Suhana, with a smirk playing on his lips.

"Well Suhana. Enough of jokes take him to your room. He must be tired." Kaashvi smiled.

"My room?" Suhana's eyes grew wide, with her jaw dropping to the floor, as Kaashvi nodded.

Somewhere deep inside, Kaashvi was feeling way better on seeing them both together than she earlier was.

The past few weeks, she had been cursing herself for everything she had put Suhana through because of someone else's mistake.

But now after the small family dinner, they had, she was satisfied that Suhana was in safe hands.

As her mother, she knew her daughter was faking to be happy with Vikram in front of them but still somewhere she knew that there's still hope for them.

"You were supposed to go and stay in that huge mansion of yours" Suhana whispered-yelled at him, as they ascended the small narrow stairs.

"Say something!! I had asked you to leave!" She glared at him, "Yeah that's exactly why I am staying " He gave a smug look as they both entered the room.

"Well I thought you had a bad taste,but--Not bad" Vikram stared around her room, walls painted in light coral blue, with scented candles around, as Suhana walked past him inside.

"Thank you Mr.Judgy, now have this" Suhana said with a straight face as she dumped a huge blanket and a pillow on his hands.

"What's this?" He glared at the blanket in his hand.

"Well, I don't have a couch in my room. So--yeah, you can sleep on the floor." Suhana faked a smile, as she returned to bed.

"What?"

"What what? If you aren't comfortable, you can sleep in the bathtub. I hope that will be fine for you" Suhana pursed her mouth in a self satisfied smirk and moved towards the bed.

With a pair of eyes staring at her bewildered, she jumped on her bed, self satisfied.

Perplexed, Vikram was still staring at the pillow and blanket she had dumped on him as Suhana switched off the lights.

Standing there still for another 15 minutes, he decided to take the move and do the deed.

He picked up the glass of water beside and poured it on the beautiful single bed.

"What the hell" Suhana jumped out of the bed as cold water touched her toes and arms.

"Come on stop shrilling, I poured only on the bed" Vikram said with a conceited smile on his face.

"And why would you even do that?" Suhana rolled her eyes.

"Guess- now we both have to sleep on the floor"

"This water--will be dry within a few minutes and then--" Suhana paused as her jaw dropped down as Vikram poured the whole jug of water on the bed.

"Hmm, so what now?" Vikram narrowed his gaze at Suhana, whose hand was on her hips and forehead cursing her fate.

• • • • •

Suhana had eventually fallen asleep on the huge chair at the foot of the bed while Vikram was seated opposite to Suhana on a chair which was brought from Megha's room.

Gazing through a magazine that was lying around, Vikram had an eye on drowsy Suhana in constant intervals.

Suhana's head was often slipping off her hand that was resting on the chair.

As it slips off, she wakes with a jerk, stares at him and dozes off into a slumber, unknowingly.

As she woke up with a jerk again, "You should go and sleep with your sister" Vikram said with his eyes fixed on the magazine.

"Huh--" Suhana rubbed her eyes trying to remove her sleep off.

"She wouldn't allow me to sleep without asking me certain death questions. I am fine here" She mumbled as she relaxed back on her chair.

"Talk something, I am bored." Suhana claimed on seeing him interested more in the magazine, as she rubbed her eyes furiously.

"This magazine is quite interesting " He said with his gaze still fixed on the book.

"Haha, now it won't " Suhana mocked as she grabbed the magazine and threw it aside as Vikram sighed.

"What? Stop staring. Now talk about something. You won't let me sleep on the bed, neither peacefully on the chair. So you better talk something"

"Ugh, Fine, what do you wanna talk about?"

"Something! Anything. Huh--Fine let's do this. I will ask you a question, you have to answer that and then it will be your turn. Okay?"

"Huh--Not interested " He leaned to grab the magazine again as Suhana hit him with another book.

"Stop being a spoilsport and say yes" Suhana shrugged.

"Fine, what's your question" He leaned back on his chair.

"Hmm--let me think." Suhana dragged.

"Yeah-Tell me who do you love the most in this whole world"

"Definitely not you" He rolled his eyes as Suhana interrupted, "Well I know that Mr.Narcissist. Now don't dodge my question and answer it" Suhana leaned forward with her palm supporting her face.

"Hmm...I don't love anyone." He said coldly.

"What? Why--huh.

Why would you even say that?

Everyone in this world loves someone in their life.

Your mom? Or dad? Or someone else" Suhana shrugged finding his answer weird.

"Sometimes it's better not to love anyone."

"Well I strongly disagree that" Suhana said with a straight face.

"There is no use loving anyone, If we are going to lose them the next minute.

So the best way is 'Stop loving, and we don't have to lose anyone!' " He said candidly.

His answer had completely scandalized Suhana's mind.

How could someone not love anybody? She had met people who were rude like him and being narcissistic at times like him, but why would someone hate the term and the beautiful feeling of Love?

Unknowingly, Suhana's was lost in his words, meanwhile staring at him blatantly as her mouth had parted away, perturbed.

"Well, now it's my turn" Vikram said loudly as Suhana jumped off her trance, not wanting to revolve deep into his words.

"Yeah--huh--well ask yours," Suhana settled back.

"Well--Where would you go if you want to feel alone? Or if you're bored?" Vikram asked with an open, inquiring mind.

• • • • •

~2200 words~

Hey guys, My University Exams are approaching, so I won't be available till February 7th. Will be back soon.

ILY all!