15. Stuck in terrace with Darling

Happy New Year to my amazing reader, Wishing you love and laughter in 2025.

Note - My exams are from 3rd to 25th Jan, so I may not post chapters in January.

I’ve shared updates in December, even if the target wasn’t met, to make it up.

Target - Votes 55

Comments 180

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~Ishaan Pov~

Making coffee?

Not a big deal.

But here’s the catch—I have no idea how to do it.

And why should I?

I don’t drink coffee; it’s too bitter for my sweet personality.

But Aaditya?

That man is practically a coffee machine. He guzzles it like water just to stay jinda (alive) during his all-night study marathons.

So, Aaditya was necessary for this mission.

I burst into Aaditya’s room without knocking.

I know he will beat me for it but who care, my darling is first.

He was still on a call, probably with Miss Childhood Bestie, Varsha, but I didn’t care.

My mission was urgent.

I grabbed his arm, cutting off whatever science lecture he was giving her. “Oh, Sanskari bhabhi ke pati dev, let’s go!” I declared dramatically.

Aaditya frowned, clearly annoyed. “What now, Ishaan?”

“My darling needs coffee,” I said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

He blinked at me, confused. “But—”

“No buts! Let’s go!”

Before he could protest, I dragged him along and barged into Ridith’s room next.

Ridith was, of course, glued to his laptop like it was his life support.

I called him too because why should only Aaditya and I suffer?

No, no, no.

This is a team effort.

“Ridith!” I called out, clapping my hands to get his attention.

“Hmm?” he murmured, not even looking up.

“Get up, my darling needs coffee!” I said, pulling his chair.

“Tere aashiqui ke chakkar mein ek din pitwaega hame" he said

(Your love life will get us beaten one day)

--------

In the kitchen, we got to work.

Well, I supervised while Aaditya and Ridith did the actual work.

“boil the milk!” I ordered Aaditya like a head chef.

“I know how to make coffee, Ishaan,” Aaditya muttered, rolling his eyes as he poured milk into a pan.

Ridith stood by the sugar jar, grumbling. “Ishaan, why am I here? I have work to do.”

I waved him off. “Tere bhai ka romantic scene set karna bhi toh kaam hai!”

(Setting up your brother’s romantic scene is also work!)

Meanwhile, Aaditya measured coffee powder with the precision of a scientist conducting an experiment. “Is this enough?”

I leaned over, pretending to inspect it. “Thoda aur daal. Itna ki Darling ko raat Mai nind na aye, aur wo mujhe yaad kare."

(A little more lentils. Enough so that my darling can't sleep at night and remembers me.)

Ridith snorted. “She’s gonna throw it in your face.”

Ignoring him, I stirred the coffee vigorously, spilling a bit on the counter.

Aaditya sighed and wiped it clean.

“You don’t even drink coffee, Ishaan,” Aaditya said, raising an eyebrow. “So why all this drama?”

I grinned smugly. “Aapne darling ke liye toh kuch bhi!”

(Anything for my darling!)

With that, I marched out of the kitchen like a soldier heading to the battlefield.

As I climbed the stairs, carrying the coffee cup like it was the ultimate symbol of my love, I felt victorious.

Bas ek sip leke, Ruhi mujhe apne dil mein basaa legi.

But reality has its own way of keeping you humble.

The coffee started shaking slightly in the cup, probably because of my overexcitement—or maybe my shaky hands.

Suddenly, some of it spilled onto my hand.

"Aaaaaahhh! Garam hai, garam hai!" I yelped, dropping the cup in reflex.

Thud!

The cup hit the ground, shattering into a million pieces.

The sound echoed so loudly, it felt like the whole neighborhood heard it.

My dreams for the night lay in pieces, just like the cup.

I froze, looking at the mess, when I heard footsteps and payal sound rushing from the terrace.

Darling aa rahi hai!

My panic levels shot through the roof.

Before I could react, those two intelligent creatures—

Aaditya and Ridith—did the ultimate betrayal.

"Main ja raha hoon," Aaditya whispered to Ridith, immediately making a U-turn towards his room.

Ridith, the ever-serious one, glared at me before following Aaditya at lightning speed.

In the blink of an eye, both were gone, leaving me to face the situation alone.

Wah, kya dosti hai.

Ek minute me chhod gaye yaar.

As the sound of Ruhi’s payal (anklet) grew louder, a strange mix of fear and anticipation crept over me.

Each chan-chan of her anklet was like the countdown to my execution.

Ab kya explanation dunga?

All I could think was, Darling, aaj ka coffee mission fail ho gaya!

As she came near me, her eyes fell on the battlefield I had created—

the broken cup, the coffee all over the floor, and me standing there like a guilty child caught red-handed.

Before I could think of an excuse, I extended the second coffee I was holding toward her in a full-on proposal style, with my most charming smile.

She didn’t melt.

Nope, instead, she gave me a dead stare that could have made a tiger retreat.

I quickly straightened up, clearing my throat, hoping she’d at least appreciate my effort.

Ab toh yeh safai karegi

(Now she'll clean up the mess).

But instead, she grabbed my hand.

“Hath dikhao,” she said firmly, her voice leaving no room for argument.

That’s when I noticed the burn marks on my hand and remembered—

oh yeah, haath toh jal gaya tha

(my hand was burned).

Now I realized why it was hurting!

She dragged me to the nearby sofa, made me sit down like a misbehaving kid, and pulled out a first aid kit from the corner. I opened my mouth to protest, but she silenced me with a glare.

“Chup raho, warna maar padegi” she snapped.

I chuckled at this.

(Stay quiet, or I’ll beat you more)

She carefully applied ointment on my burn, all while delivering a tedhi-meethi (bitter-sweet) lecture.

“Kya tumhare paas dimaag hai ya bas yeh kand karte rehne ka talent?”

(Do you even have a brain, or is your talent limited to causing trouble?)

“Pata bhi hai kitne careless ho tum?”

(Do you even know how careless you are?)

“Agar kuch serious hota toh kaun sambhalta tumhe?”

(What if something serious had happened? Who would take care of you?)

"How much trouble you cause, idiot" she said again and continue.

While she scolded me, my focus shifted entirely to her face.

Her eyebrows furrowed slightly, her lips moving with quick, sharp words, and her hair occasionally brushing against her cheeks as she leaned closer.

Her final scolding broke my trance. “Kuch toh dhyan rakho apna!”

(At least take care of yourself a little!)

I grinned like an idiot.

"You care so much," I teased.

She rolled her eyes, muttering, “Tumse nahi sudhroge.”

(You’ll never improve.)

She got up without a word and walked toward the kitchen.

A few moments later, she returned holding a dustpan and broom

arre wahi jo safai ke kaam aata hai

(the thing used for cleaning.)

Without even looking at me, she crouched down and started picking up the broken glass pieces.

Guilt pricked at my heart like one of those glass shards.

Man, I made coffee for her, and now she has to clean my mess.

Determined to make up for it, I knelt beside her to help.

“Let me do it,” I offered, starting to pick up the pieces.

But my attention kept drifting toward her.

The way her hair framed her face, her focus completely on the task—it was mesmerizing.

Haye, iss safai mein bhi itni khoobsurat lagti hai yeh

(Wow, she even looks beautiful while cleaning).

I was so lost in admiring her that I didn’t notice when one of the shards nicked my hand.

“Ouch!” I exclaimed, pulling back instinctively.

In a second, Ruhi dropped everything she was holding and rushed to my side.

“Show me your hand!” she demanded, grabbing it to inspect the cut.

Without waiting for my reaction, she brought it close to her lips and blew air on the wound.

Agar dard ke badle yeh sab mile toh mujhe har din chot lagane mein koi problem nahi hai.

(If getting hurt means this, I don’t mind getting injured every day).

Her brows furrowed, and she looked at me with that mixture of worry and annoyance that I was starting to love.

“You just can’t sit still, can you?” she scolded. “Go sit over there. There’s no need for you to do anything!”

“Par—”

(But—)

“Abhi ke abhi!” she said, pointing to the sofa like I was a naughty kid.

(Right now!)

I sighed, holding back a grin. “Okay, okay. Bossy much?”

As I sat back down, I couldn’t stop my thoughts.

Darling ke saath chot ke naam pe itna pyaar mil raha hai.

Ek din yeh pyaar lifetime ke contract mein badalna hi padega

(With this much love for a small injury, I’ll have to make this love a lifetime contract someday).

Ruhi cleaned up everything quickly, and just as she was about to leave, I called out to her.

"But... the coffee?" I asked hesitantly, my voice almost a whisper.

“I don’t want to drink anymore,” she said without turning back.

Ouch, that hit straight to my heart.

All I wanted was to make her drink coffee.

That’s it.

My Mission Coffee was failing miserably again.

My face dropped, and I must’ve looked like a kicked puppy because she stopped and sighed.

“Okay, come on. Let’s make coffee again,” she said, finally relenting.

Wait, what?

If she’s asking me to make coffee, what am I supposed to do?

Main toh coffee banani hi nahi aati!

(I don’t even know how to make coffee!)

In the kitchen, Ruhi rolled up her sleeves and started making coffee.

“I can make it,” I offered confidently, but deep down, I was praying she’d say no.

“It’s okay. I’ll do it. You just stay silent,” she replied, focusing on the task.

Thank God, mujhe banane nahi bola.

Warna sugar ke badle namak dal deta

(Thank God, she didn’t ask me to make it. Otherwise, I might’ve added salt instead of sugar).

She moved with ease, and within minutes, the coffee was ready.

I tried not to look useless standing there, but hey, I was the moral support!

Soon, we headed back to the terrace because I kept pestering her about it.

As we sat down under the moonlit sky, we sipped the coffee together.

Well, she sipped; I stared.

Her beauty was glowing, her hair gently flowing with the breeze.

Yeh chandni bhi kya kar legi jab meri Ruhi yahan hai

(What can moonlight even do when my Ruhi is here).

But then I took my first sip of the coffee, and my whole world turned upside down.

It was... bitter.

My face contorted into something between a grimace and a frown, and Ruhi noticed immediately.

“What happened?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at me.

“It’s so... tasty,” I lied through my teeth, forcing a smile.

There was no way I was going to hurt her feelings.

She had made it with so much effort, after all.

So I took another sip.

And another.

With each one, I felt closer to meeting my creator.

But I didn’t give up.

How much more can I tolerate?, Par mein apni Darling ka dil nahi todunga!

(But I won’t break my darling’s heart!)

Summoning every ounce of motivation, I downed the entire cup.

Yes, I did it. I was a hero.

A hero who was now contemplating the nearest washroom.

But hey, all for love, right?

I stared at her, trying to keep the conversation alive. "Thanks for saving me from my mom," I said casually, hoping she'd talk more.

Ruhi arched her brow and smirked. "You’re such a troublemaker, na?"

I couldn’t help but laugh at that. Yeh ladki mere liye hi bani hai! (This girl is made just for me!)

But her words took me back to evening everything went haywire at the farmhouse.

------

Flashback~

We all, the boys and the girls, were standing like school kids caught cheating during an exam.

Sanskari bhabhi (Saanvi) had already left for her room, probably thanking her stars she wasn’t involved in this chaos.

But we were left to face the music.

Ridith’s mom was the first to start the scolding session.

And what did my oh-so-loyal brother Ridith do?

Point his finger at me.

“It was Ishaan’s idea,” he said, his voice deadpan as if handing over a police confession.

Oh, and guess who joined in?

Aaditya.

“Yes, Ishaan forced us,” he added, nodding like an obedient student.

Wah re bhai log! Ek number ke gaddar!

(Wow, my brothers! What backstabbers!)

Ridith’s mom continued her tirade, but it was nothing compared to the volcano that was about to erupt.

My mom. She stood there, arms crossed, her glare sharper than a knife.

She looked straight at me.

“Ishaan!” she said in that tone that could make grown men cry.

I lowered my head immediately, ready for the lecture of a lifetime.

"Tujhe toh main—" (You’re going to—)

Before she could finish, Ruhi stepped forward.

"Actually, aunty," she interrupted with a calm yet confident tone, "we girls, umm... actually, especially me, forced him to call everyone here. It was all my idea, not Ishaan's."

Wait, what?! Darling, you're saving me? Bhagwan ka shukr hai!

(Thank God!)

My mom squinted at Ruhi, clearly unconvinced. "Tum?" (You?)

"Yes, aunty," Ruhi continued, nodding earnestly. "We thought it would be fun to have everyone together. Ishaan didn’t want to initially, but I convinced him. Please don’t scold him."

But my mom wasn’t giving up so easily. "Ruhi beta, I understand, but this Ishaan is always up to something or the other. Last time, he—"

Ruhi cut her off again, smiling sweetly. "Aunty, I promise, he didn’t mean any harm. And if anyone should be scolded, it’s me. Next time, I’ll make sure things are better planned. Please don’t be mad at him."

I stood there, blinking in disbelief. Darling, tum toh mahaan ho! (Darling, you’re extraordinary!)

My mom sighed, finally relenting. She looked at Ruhi, her expression softening. "Theek hai, beta. Bas agle baar dhyan rakhna." (Alright, dear. Just be careful next time.)

Ruhi nodded, looking like a perfect angel.

My mom turned and left the room.

As soon as she was gone, I whispered to Ruhi, "Darling, ab toh officially tum meri wife ho!" (Darling, now you’re officially my wife!)

Ruhi rolled her eyes. "Bas, chup raho! Next time, don’t drag me into your mess."

Haye, mujhe toh tumhare daant bhi pyare lagte hain!

(Oh, even your scoldings feel sweet!)

~Flashback Ends

Ruhi's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. "You really are a troublemaker, aren't you?" she said, smirking.

I chuckled. "What can I say, darling? Trouble finds me wherever I go."

"But now you are with me to pull me out of trouble"

We talked a little more, her voice as soothing as the night breeze.

But then, my attention shifted to a few strands of her hair that had escaped her braid, fluttering across her face in the wind.

Without thinking, I raised my hand and gently tucked them behind her ear.

Her eyes widened for a second, and my heart skipped a beat.

The softness of that moment was enough to leave me speechless.

She looked away, pretending it was nothing, and I quickly cleared my throat.

After a few moments of silence, Ruhi stood up. "Chalo, it’s late. Let’s head back," she said casually, as if nothing had happened.

I nodded, standing up too.

As we walked back to our rooms, I couldn’t help but glance at her, my heart racing. Darling, you're a storm I don't want to escape from.

I stand up and my hand went to open the door of terrace, but it couldn’t open.

It's lock front outside.

A grin spread across my face as I turned to Ruhi. “Darling, looks like the universe is finally on my side.”

Ruhi gave me a suspicious glare. “What nonsense are you talking about now?”

I leaned against the wall, casually folding my arms. “We’re stuck here. Just the two of us. No one to disturb us. This is destiny, Ruhi. Pure destiny.”

Ruhi’s eyes narrowed. “Destiny, my foot. Move aside.”

"Why don’t we just enjoy the night sky for a little longer?" I suggested, leaning casually against the wall, trying to look cool.

She shot me a look. "I’m calling Aarna."

My heart sank. "Arey, there’s no need for that! We can spend some quality time—"

Too late. She was already on the phone. "Aarna, we’re stuck on the terrace. Come open the door."

Within minutes, we heard Aarna’s voice from the other side. "Ek minute, yeh door kyun jam ho gaya?" (One minute, why is this door jammed?)

After some effort, she managed to unlock it. The door creaked open, and Ruhi turned to me. "Chalo," she said, walking away with Aarna.

I stood there, watching them leave, feeling like my dreamy terrace date had been stolen.

After a few moments of sulking, I finally left too, muttering to myself, "Darling, ek din yeh kismat mera saath degi. Tab dekho."

(Darling, one day fate will side with me. Just wait and watch.)

---------------

I couldn’t sleep.

The night felt endless, my thoughts constantly drifting back to her.

Ruhi. Her words, her touch, the way she looked at me earlier—

it was all so... distracting.

I tried to push it all out of my mind, but it was like she had taken over my thoughts.

I tossed and turned for what felt like hours, but eventually, I gave up.

I swung my legs off the bed and opened my bag, hoping to find something to occupy my mind.

My fingers brushed against a small wooden box hidden in the corner of my bag.

I pulled it out, examining the smooth surface.

It was old but well taken care of, with faint carvings of flowers along the edges.

The latch clicked open easily, and inside, nestled carefully in the velvet lining, was the hair clip.

It was the same one Ruhi had left behind in my room that day.

I couldn’t even remember why I’d kept it, but every time I looked at it, my heart skipped a beat.

I picked it up, running my thumb over the tiny rhinestones that shimmered in the dim light of the room.

For a moment, I imagined how it must have looked in her hair, framing her face as she laughed.

I stared at the clip for what felt like an eternity, lost in thoughts of her.

I could still feel the warmth of her hand when she’d touched me earlier.

The way she’d scolded me, then cared for me… it all felt like something out of a dream.

I couldn’t help but smile to myself.

What was this?

What was happening to me?

I sighed, still holding the clip.

For some reason, I didn’t want to let it go.

It was a connection to her, even if it was just a small piece.

Eventually, my eyelids grew heavy, and despite everything running through my mind, I fell into a restless sleep, the clip still in my hand.

~To Be Continued

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~Chapter Aesthetic~

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~Spoiler Alert~

Aaditya scolded, "Are you a child? Can't you see?"

As soon as she heard those words, tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to spill over.