Chapter 4: chapter 4

Rakesh went up to the terrace, stood at the last step before getting on and watched Rakshita. She was wearing a black salwar kameez with loose hair dancing by the wind. His intuition told him that something is bothering her and he wanted to just hug her from behind until all her uneasiness fades, yet he approached her slowly and cleared his throat. Rakshita turned back to see him standing and looked at the floor with some sort of disturbed look. Rakesh asked whether it's okay for her to talk to him now or can he just leave. She nodded and said ,no problem and he can talk with her. But Rakesh couldn't find anything to start with, so he said the most casual thing "nice view", she just looked over from terrace and nodded because there isn't anything nice other than the neighbouring houses and their terraces😂.Understanding his intention to have a conversation, Rakshita decided to tell him about her, though she doesn't know anything about him, she don't want to start a relationship or enter a family with false note. Though she is determined to not have any relationship with him, although she gets married because of her parents, she doesn't want to force him into this. She would tell the truth and it's his wish to accept her or walk away from her.She slowly started, " I don't actually know, why you came here or what you want to tell me, but I just want to tell you something", Rakesh was both glad and bewildered at the same moment but said that he was glad to talk. Rakshita started, "Actually I was in love for more than ten years now", and faced Rakesh to read his reaction but he just stood casually, so she continued,     " his name was Rathish, a best buddy of mine. One day when we were persuing our bachelors degree he proposed. I too liked him a lot, so I agreed. It was an easy and convenient relationship, but I thought it was true love and imagined he was my soulmate. Only later I came to know that he had cheated on me. Not just once or twice but the whole time when we were in a relationship. I caught him red handed one day and finally walked away from him. But I was only able to walk away from that circumstance but cannot move on in my life. My parents knew nothing about it. They knew him only as my buddy since they had known him for a long time. Sometimes the question pop up about him at our dining table and I simply tell them he moved abroad. So with no idea about what actually happened to me, they had arranged for this marriage. It's been a year now that I broke up with him, but still the emotions and pain are so fresh. I am in no state to enter into any relationship especially not something sort of marriage which is a life-long bonding. I agree to this because of only one reason that I don't want to disappoint my parents. They have been with me in all my ups and downs, supported all my dreams, they were the best parents one can dream of having. So only for their sake I agree to this. ", She looked at Rakesh who was listening to all this, his hands crossed over his chest. She couldn't read anything from his face. And she finally said, "You may wonder why am blabbering all this to you, but the only reason is I don't want to cheat you or your family, you should know the truth, what you are getting yourself in to. Atleast, it's your cue to drop this engagement and get back to your routine and find a girl who would suit you. ", Rakesh smiled at her . He came closer to her and stood in front of her just inches away. She is shorter than him, if he hugs her, she would certainly fit his frame and her head would be on his chest level. Wondering about what he was thinking, he formulated a reply and extended his hand asking , "Friends?", she was astounded by his reaction. She had nearly narrated him about half of her life, yet he wanted to be friends. Knowing she is confused, he said, "Listen, I can understand what you have gone through, so let's drop all that and start something fresh, okay?". There was still a question mark evident in her face but  she shook is hand and stated, " we can start freshly, but know that I am not ready for any commitment, not again in this life time", he smiled at her statement and said, "no hurry, we can just go with the flow and see what's our destiny", 😊 with that he smiled and turned back to leave but he again looked at her said, "Pink and white suits you better than black", stating this he left the terrace. She stood there thinking that he had mentioned about the saree she wore today but then she realised there wasn't any combination of white in it. Wondering about his mentioning, she headed downstairs to her room.When Rakesh went to the terrace, he wanted to know so much about her. But now he is very clear about the fact that he wanted to spend rest of his life with Rakshita. Whoever this Rathish guy is, he wanted to both crush him as well as thank him. Crush him for breaking Rakshita's heart, her hope about love and dreams to achieve anything. Thank him for doing so, only because of that he met Rakshita today. If not she would have been married to Rathish by now. Now he wanted to show Rakshita what true love is and make her realise how special and amazing a human being she is. When he first met her at that park, she was full of life but now her eyes don't twinkle. They looked lifeless and tired of crying. He promised himself to bring that Rakshita back and see how it is to fall in love with her. He is determined to make her agree that they are made for eachother. With all this thoughts and all those crazy things he is planning for her, for the upcoming days, he reached the front garden with a smile. His brother Sachin, who was seated on the tea table, raised his eyebrow as if asking what has happened. He just nodded his head as nothing and sat near their father. But both Sachin and Nikita could see the mischievousness edged on their brother's face.Rakshita reached her room and laid on her bed. Looking at the ceiling she thought to herself, Rakesh seemed to be a nice guy. But one cannot judge the book by it's cover. Just like how she had experienced it in real life. But she is relieved that she hadn't hide anything from her future spouse to be. A big burden has left her heart and she felt light and it felt right because it wasn't that difficult to share about her past or her experience about love failure and all. Though, she agreed to be his friend, she cannot move any further in that relationship, especially not fall in love. Because falling in love means, giving an access to someone to break your heart and she is not ready to commit the same mistake again. ------------------------------------------------------------Rakesh: Determined to make her fall in love. Rakshita: Determined to not fall in love ever again in her life.How their journey is going to merge? And what their marriage is going to put them through? Wait to have a peek about it in the next chapter.