A/N: AAAAANNNND this is it folks!
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Waking up, my body ached and creaked. I groaned, trying to stretch my arms, my brain disoriented about where I was and what I was doing.
"âIt's probably everything that happened. It took a toll on both of us."
"She's awake."
Muffled voices became clearer and I rubbed my eyes to clarify the blurry images. My feet had been elevated, placed on a white pillow at the foot of the couch I was laying on. Then when seeing Dhruv kneeled in front of me everything hit me like the metro trains I had only ever seen pass by overhead.
He was so close to me that I could smell the faint scent of pine. His eyes peered into mine, a frown of worry drawn on his face. He sat me up slowly and only then did I pull away. Not because I didn't want to be anywhere near him but because I really did and I didn't trust myself to be so close.
He moved away from me a second later. The air was quiet, the tension choking me. I had faintedâhow embarrassingâbut there were still unanswered questions.
"I should probably take her back home," I heard him say to Rani.
"Are you sure you don't want toâ"
"It isn't the right time." Dhruv turned to look at me, and did a double take when he found me staring right back at him.
The blood in my veins were pumping full force, the tips of my ear reddening at the thought of what he had said. I was so shocked, so...taken aback that I hadn't known how to respond. I didn't want to cry, but my body and soul was so shaken by everything that it had been forced to endure that it was the way it reacted.
In truth, as much as I loved Dhruv, was I ready for this? Did he truly love me? There were so many questions that I had to battle in my mind. I for one had seen first-hand how much he had loved Rani.
Would there be that same love toward me? Was I being silly? Probably. I had never experienced these specific feelings before.
Dhruv reached out his hand for me to take. I let his fingers curl around mine as he helped me get up. I waved to Rani, who pulled me into a deep hug, one that I returned. I didn't want to dwell on it but it somehow felt like a goodbye.
We would see each other soon, but not as frequently as before. It was bittersweet. We had both gotten what we wanted, but both had not, either.
The car ride home was quiet. He didn't put the radio on. He looked straight ahead. Was he mad? "Do you feel lightheaded?"
"Huh?"
"Do you feel dizzy or lightheaded?" he repeated. There was no trace of anger in his voice from my lack of an answer. Only concern. He was such a kind man. To answer his question, however, I did feel a little woozy. Whenever I blinked, I saw white and green stars and my body felt unsteady, despite being in a car.
"A little bit," I answered. He immediately stopped by a small place with a blue sign called 'Juice Junction'. "I don't want anything to drink, Dhruv. I'm fine."
"You're dehydrated. Getting some sort of liquid in you will help."
I didn't argue and let him leave. He was indifferent to all the heads that turned to see him jog over with only wet jeans on. A few minutes later he was back, a tall plastic cup of yellow liquid in one hand. Is thatâ?
"Mango juice," he answered as if reading my thoughts. "Your favourite."
He remembered, I thought, taking it with a shaky hand. I took a sip, letting the tartness of the mango juice and the cold cool me down. I was starting to feel a little better. "Thank you," I said as we went back onto the road. "I'll pay you back, I promise."
"For juice? Don't be ridiculous, Mouna."
It was quiet between us again and my feet tapped the carpeted floor of the car. I wanted to tell him how I felt but how could I do that without sounding silly? I had never done this before. It was the most intimidating thing in my life. The closer we reached my apartment building, the smaller the chances seemed to be.
He dropped me off, a half-smile on his face, though if anyone looked closer, they could see the hidden pain behind his eyes.
I blurted, "Would you like to come inside?" He stilled. "Mohi would like to say bye to you, I think." I made it sound as if it was goodbye. I didn't mean for those words to come out. Why was it so hard to say three simple words?
His face fell, but he nodded, nevertheless. We walked soundlessly through the greasy front doors and the creaky old stairs. I could feel the faint heat of his hand briefly grazing my lower back, a support in case I fell, and my skin prickled.
Opening the door with my key, I poked my head in to see Mohi wasn't there. The bedroom door was closed, so I could only assume she was inside taking her nap. That plan had fallen through, as well.
"Sorry, I didn't know she was going to sleep now," I mumbled.
"It's fine. I'll come by another day."
"Wait!" He was about to step out into the hall. He stopped but didn't turn. "Dhruv." The heavy yearning in my own voice was palpable. I cringed as he slowly swivelled. "Please don't go."
"Why?"
"I want you..." Something flashed across his dark eyes and I fumbled to correct my misslip, "...here."
I had never seen that darkened look on his gentle features. I could only imagine how flushed my face was in that moment. I hadn't intended to say I wanted himâit had slipped, honest.
He began to move toward me. Each step echoed the thundering in my chest, beating in my ears. I trembled when he was an inch away from me. "Is there anything else you want to say to me?"
I raised my eyes to his hopeful ones. As if in a trance, however, I said, "I want to tell you that I..."
"That you?" he urged.
"...want to watch Devdas."
The corner of his lips fell and his brows straightened, and despite the situation, I giggled. He bent down so that his nose touched mine, wiping away the laughter entirely. His lips brushed mine ever so slightly and I could feel my lips quiver, my chest tightening. "And what if I don't want to watch Devdas?" he whispered, so deep, so hoarse and laced with desire.
"Iâ"
"What if I want you, instead?"
I couldn't stop myself. It was like I was bordering on being a completely different person and those words were enough to throw me over the edge. The jacket held tight around me fell as I grasped the back of his neck and pulled him down so that his lips covered mine. If I couldn't say the words, I could show them.
A surprised noise left his mouth and reverberated in mine. It didn't take long for him to relax and respond, his one hand cupping my cheek and tilting my head back to deepen the kiss whilst the other brought me closer to him by the waist. His lips were so velvety soft, it was almost surreal to have them moving against mine.
I breathed in the scent of pine that tickled my nostrils, fisting the wet strands of his hair in my hands and feeling his lips draw out all the love I had for him, over and over. He pecked every single feature on my face before trailing his lips back to mine and capturing them again, not leaving me any space to speak or breathe.
When we finally pulled away, my lips tingled. We had kissed. My heart was in overdrive, the sides of my head throbbed and my chest heaved. I wanted more.
Who was this person? I thought about myself, watching Dhruv lick his red, swollen full lips and wanting to kiss them again. His pupils were blown out making his eyes look almost black, and my mouth dried up.
"Does this meanâ?" he whispered, forehead resting against mine.
"I love you," I confessed. When he leant in a second time, it was cementing a promise.
We pulled away, his face stern, and just as I thought he was going to say something romantic, he said, "Did you eat?"
"Dhruv!"
"I'm just asking. You fainted."
"The juice helped."
Pecking my lips, he wrapped his arms around my waist. "Then what do you say we honour your wish of watching Devdas?"
"You and I are both wet. We should get changed." His eyes flickered and I buried my face in his chest to hide the heat creeping on my skin. "Separately."
"I don't think you'd have anything that would fit me," he said, amusement lacing his tone. "But yeah, you should go get changed." I realised I couldn't do that without going inside the bedroom and possibly waking up my grandma. I didn't want her to wake up and cut this moment short.
"Never mind," I whispered. "I'll do that afterwards."
"You'll catch a cold."
"I care more about spending time with you." I really did. Having his lips on mine until Mohi woke up didn't sound so bad.
We put on Devdas, but neither of us was watching. We were too busy wrapped up in each other, his arms woven around my waist and my fingers tangled deep in his thick locks as we sat on the bench, conveying every unsaid word of love through our lips.
And I probably wouldn't have pulled away for air until Mohi came out of her room and gasped. "You kids can't wait until I'm dead to do such a thing?"
We untangled ourselves, reluctantly. "Mohi," I whined. I'd have never thought I'd be feeling more disappointment at being interrupted than embarrassed she'd caught us. "Why do you have to ruin this?"
She put her hands on her hips and eyed us. "Massage both my feet and I will leave you two alone for the rest of the day."
"What a bargain," Dhruv remarked with a chuckle. He intertwined my hand with his and kissed the back of it. "You do one leg and I'll do the other," he whispered in my ear.
"Really?"
The smile flickering on his face, and the crinkling of his eyes as he looked into mine told me that he felt as happy to do that as much as I was. As long as he was with me. "Really," he confirmed.
"Oh, and if I find out she is pregnant anytime soon," Mohi sent Dhruv a venomous glare, "you better watch out, young man."
My voice caught in my throat and my cheeks flared as I heard Dhruv chuckle from behind me. His hand twitched in mine, tightening his grasp. "Mohi!" I screeched. "Why would you say that?"
"A precaution."
As I shook my head and watched my grandma hobble over, the mortification turned into simple contentment. The answer to my above thought of who I was, was simple.
I was Mouna. Not Rani.
I was my own person, a woman who had her own worth. Worth that I now saw. Worth that Dhruv saw, too. Worth that my grandma saw this entire time.
As Dhruv and my grandma laughed while I complained, there was a joy there. A love there that I had been missing. I would never know why I was lucky enough to be chosen by that old man or who he even was.
But I never questioned it because I was grateful.
Dhruv and I had a lot to learn in our budding relationship, but this was our beginning. I may have started out as the wrong woman, but in the end, I was right in my own way.
***
A/N: I thought this was the perfect place to end it instead of dragging things along. Thanks so much guys for reading this book! I love how you always support me no matter what kind of stuff I write x Your words and presence is why I'm still here on Wattpad and I love reading every single comment of yours.
Since this was my first book in four years I'm still a little rusty and this was more of a first baby step to writing and becoming better.
With that said, I've got so many more books planned! I'm gonna be publishing a YA romance book called 'Between Us' starting from next week so look forward to that and please support me like you always do â¤ï¸