WILL YOU MARRY ME
A/N: This is for KK on her Birthday. Happy Belated Birthday to you dear… Hope you'll like it…
But before I start I want you to remember one thing in mind—This story is totally from Dr. Tarika's point of view. So I'm only describing her thoughts and only what Abhijeet says.
Tarika stretched her tired limbs and took a deep breath as she entered her house. She threw her bag on the sofa and headed towards her room. She had a long tiring day at the bureau and at the end of the day, she was tempted by the idea of some well-deserved rest.
Suddenly, her phone rang up. She dragged her tired feet back to the sofa again. And pulled the phone out of her bag. As she checked the caller's name, a smile spread across her lips. It seemed as if her tiredness has vanished in a moment.
"Hello!" She said picking up the phone.
"Tarika-ji, kya aap mujhe dinner ke liye mil sakte hai aaj raat?" He asked. Today he wasn't in a mood for flirting like he always did whenever she was around. In fact, his voice was so serious that she couldn't help but wonder what the matter was.
"Kahan milu tumse?" She asked.
"AAp taiyar rahiye. Main ek ghante ke andar pahaonchta hu aapke ghar, aapko pick up karne ke liye." He said and disconnected the call without giving Tarika a chance to speak.
She shrugged and headed back to her room. This is not the first time that he is giving her a surprise. She thought that maybe this time too he was planning something like that.
After an hour,
The doorbell rang and she went to answer it, feeling nervous and excited at the same time. She wondered what surprise he had planned for her this time. As she opened the door, he smiled at him. But she noticed that his smile wasn't a genuine one and wondered what the matter was.
"Chalein?" He asked.
"Haan. Chalo." She said.
For the first time in their relationship, she felt uncomfortable. Not because he said anything, but because he did not. Once or twice Tarika had tried to strike up a conversation, but he gave only short answers indicating that he was not in a mood for any chitchat. Suddenly she realized that they were not on their way to any restaurant. Instead, the car was running on a highway, which was almost deserted. And she felt scared. Scared of her own Abhijeet.
"Abhi, yeh hum-"She started but was immediately cut off by him.
"Kya Tarika-ji?Mujh par itna bhi bharosa nahin hai kya?" He asked but his tone was still dead serious.
After sometime, they reached a cliff and Abhijeet got out of the car. He came around to the passenger seat and opened the door for her. He held out his hand for her, which she took gingerly, eyeing him with a look that revealed that she was scared of him. He just gave her a smile in return.
"Abhijeet! What are we doing here? This place seems deserted." She said nervously.
"Don't worry. I've got my gun with me." He assured her removing his blazer a little to show off his Beretta to her.
"But I'm scared of you, Abhi!" She thought but didn't have enough have enough courage to voice her thoughts. She just gave a meek smile to his words.
"So… shall we?" He asked clearing his throat. She came out of the car and started following him.
He took her almost to the edge of the cliff. There she saw a table surrounded by two chairs. Only then did she realize why he had brought her here. In an instant, her fear was replaced by happiness. She felt as if she was on cloud 9.
"Actually it's a very special day. I want to tell you something that I always wanted to say. So, I thought that maybe we can do with some privacy." He said with a smile as he pulled out a bag, which he had hidden under the table. She knew what he meant and had always waited for it. However, now she acted as if she didn't understand what he meant.
"Kya bataoge mujhe?" She asked, a mischievous smile appearing on her lips.
"Arre! Yaad hai? Main tumse kaha tha ke jab shaadi karunga toh sikh jaunga khana kaise banate hai…" He said, for the first time allowing some warmth to seep into his voice.
"Haan." She said, dismayed that he decided to change the topic.
"Aaj yeh khana maine apne haathon se banaya hai. Aap chakh kar bataiye key eh khana meri hone wali biwi kha payegi ya nahin." He said arranging the table and laiding out the dishes.
"Abhijeet toh phir yeh khana pehle ussi ko khilana chahiye tha na jo tumhari biwi banegi?" She said knowing full well what his answer would be.
"Haan. Lekin aap meri dost hai na, is liye maine socha ke pehle aap ko hi khilau. Aur waise bhi kya guarantee hai ke agar khana achcha nahin hua toh who mujhe chhod ke bhaag nahin jayegi?" He smirked.
However, she was not happy with his answer. She had been expecting something else- something very different.
She was about to say something when Abhijeet spoke up.
"Yeh lijiye. Khana serve ho gaya hai. Aiye. Baith jaiye." He said pulling out a chair for her. She obliged with a smile and they started eating.
The moment Tarika put a spoonful in her mouth she realized that Abhijeet had prepared the dishes himself this time.
"Mmm! Khana toh sach mein bohot swadisht hai Abhijeet." She said before the latter could say anything.
"Toh phir main pass ho gaya?" He asked, a smile lighting up his entire face.
"Who bhi 90% per cent marks leke." She said. "Achcha chalo iab iss khushi mein bata do kaun hai who ladki."
"Woh hai ek. Aap nahin pehchanti." He said matter-of-factly.
This time she was sure that something bad was on its way- something that she had always dreaded.
"Waise Abhijeet, tum shayad mujhe kuch batane wale the. Right?" She asked her tone serious this time.
Abhijeet thought for some moments, as if weighing his options, and then said, "Baat toh bohot hi important hai. Batana toh padega hi. Bas yeh samajhme nahin aa raha hai ke shuru kahan se karoon."
"Arre, Abhijjet! Tum mere saath baatein karte hue itne sochne kabse lag gayi? Chalo batao baat kya hai." She coaxed him to speak his mind.
Noticing that he still hadn't got over his dilemma she said, "Abhijeet, ab batao bhi baat kya hai. Main bhi bura nahin maanungi."
After some more bthinking he finally spoke up, "Dekhiye Tarika-ji mujhe aapke saath aise chup chup ke milna pasand nahin hai." He said.
Tarika felt sick. She wanted to run away from there. Still, she decided to stay there and listen to what Abhijeet had to say.
"Ab meri shaadi hone wali hai. Main chahta hoon ke hum iss tarah se na miley. Waise toh hum CID walon ko duty ke baad zyada waqt milte nahin hai, phir bhi main chahta hoon ke jitna bhi waqt miley who main sirf apne wife ke saath bitayoon." He continued.
Tarika couldn't take it anymore. She wanted to cry. But at the same time she didn't want Abhijeet to see her tears.
TARIKA'S POV: Main yeh bilkul bhi nahin keh paungi ke main tumhare liye khush hoon, Abhijeet. Kyunki main khush nahin hoon. Ab iss baat ko deny karne ka koi fayda nahin hai ke main tumse, sirf tum hi se pyar karti hoon. Mujhe laga tha ke shayad tum bhi mujhse pyar karte ho. Lekin main galat thi. Phir bhi maine tumse pyar ki aur chahti hoon ke tum humesha khush raho. Bhale hi who kisi aur ke saath ho. Main promise karti hoon ke main kabhi bhi tumhare khushiyon ke beech mein nahin aungi.
But it seemed as if Abhijeetwas not done yet.
"Ek minute rukiye. Main aapko uski photo dikhati hoon." He said.
However, it was more than enough for Tarika. She could not take it anymore. She knew that if she had to stay there any longer then she would start crying righty in front of him.
"Abh-Abhijeet, kya hum jaa sakte hai? Mujhe ek report complete karke kal subah Salunkhe sir ko submit karna hai." She said, trying her best not to cry.
"Lekin aapne to kuch khaya hi nahin!" Said Abhijeet, surprised.
"Nahin. Who mere pet bhar gaye hai." She said, getting up from her chair.
"Achcha. Thik hai, chaliye. Main aapko ghar chhod deta hoon." Aid Abhijeet softly.
For a moment Tarika felt as if Abhijeet loved her too. But at the next moment she thought, "Aisa kaise ho sakta hai?" Who toh kisi aur se shaadi karne jaa rahe hai." Again, this thought brought a lump to her throat.
They walked to the car and Abhijeet held the door open for got in and and looked out of the window. Abhijeet went around and got behind the wheel. But he didn't start the car and just kept on staring at her.
When Tarika realized that the car hadn't started yet she looked at him and found hiom staring at her.
"Kya hua Abhijeet?" She asked, confused.
"Aapne seatbelt nahin lagaye." Abhijeet pointed out.
"Oh! I'm sorry." Said Tarika, fastening her seatbelt and Abhijeet started the car.
Again, there was an awkward silence but this time Tarika didn't try to break it. She just kept on staring out of the window. As the car came to a halt she realized that they had reached her home.
"Thank you Abhijeet." She mumbled unfastening her seatbelt.
But before Abhijeet could say anything, she opened the door and dashed inside her house. She closed the door as soon as she entered it and broke down in tears, leaning against it.
She didn't try to stop herself this time and just let her tears flow. She sat down on the floor with her back against the door and buried her head in her knees. She didn't even realize when she fell asleep.
The Next Morning
She opened her eyes and looked around.
She sat up with a jerk when she realized where she had slept last night. She looked at herself and realized that she was still wearing the dress that she had worn for dinner last night.
She got up and opened the door. For reasons unknown, she expected Abhijeet to be there, in front of the door, waiting for her.
She was glad when she found his car still parked in front of her gate. As she went near it, she found him sprawled across the backseat, fast asleep. His coat was on the headrest of the passenger seat. He too was wearing the clothes that he wore for dinner last night.
Tarika realized that he had been waiting for her the whole night. She felt guity for this.
"Abhijeet!" She called out softly, but he didn't wake up.
"Abhijeet!" She called out again, a bit louder this time, knocking on the door of his car.
"Huh?" He woke up with a start.
He looked around rubbing his eyes. His smile came back on his lips when he saw her standing outside his car.
"Tum yahan kya kar rahe ho?" She asked.
"Arre! Kal raat hamare baat khatam hone se peh;e hi aap andar chale gaye. Toh maine socha ke main yehi ruk jaoon taki jab aap bahar aaye toh khatam karlenge hamari baatein." He explained.
"Abb aur kitna baaki hai?" She thought.
"Oh! Thik hai tum andar aao main coffee banati hoon." She said, turning back and heading inside her house.
Abhijeet came out of the car and followed her inside without uttering a single word.
Once inside, Abhijeet spoke up. "Tarika-ji main aapko us ladki ki photo dikhana chahta hoon. Agar aap iss rishte ko sweekar karlenge toh hi main yeh shaadi kar paunga." He said, pouting like a kid.
"Mujhe koi photo nahin dekhna hai Abhijeet." Tarika declared showing no interest at all.
"Lekin mujhe dikhana hai." Whined Abhijeet, thrusting a small box in her hand.
Sighing, she opened the box. She was surprised as soon as she opened it because the box didn't contain any picture, but just a small mirror.
"Yeh kya hai Abhijeet? Iss mein toh koi photo nahin hai." She said.
"Hai! Aap thik se dekhiye na!" Saying this he went behind her and held the mirror in front of her face.
Tarika saw her own reflection in it.
"Yeh kya hai Abhijeet? Yeh toh main hoon." She said.
"Haan. Aap hi toh hai." He said showing her puppy eyes. It took her a few moments to realize what he meant.
A relief passed through her when she realized what he meant.
"Aapne bataya nahin ke main is ladki se shaadi karron ya nahin." He asked once again.
"Mujhe kya pata? Tum us ladki se hi jaake pooch na." Tarika said with a shrug and a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Arre! Wahi toh main kar raha hoon." He said, taken aback.
"Achcha?" Tarika teased.
'Tarika-ji please bataiye na." He asked for the third time, getting restless.
"Haan. Abhijeet tum is ladki se shaadi kar sakte ho." She said with a smile.
"Thank you Tarika-ji." He said, pulling her into a hug. "Waise main hi shayad pehla insaan hoon jise apne girlfriend ke dinner pe le jaane ke baad use propose karne ke liye puri raat uske ghar ke bahar bitana pada." He teased, raking his fingers through her hair.
Suddenly, she pulled out of the hug and gave him a tight slap.
"Ouch!" He exclaimed. "What was that for?" He asked rubbing his cheek.
"For being an idiot. You almost gave me a heart attack last night." She said.
"Oh! Kehte hai jiske ek gaal par thappad padta hai uska kabhi shaadi nahin ho sakte hai. Iss liye behtar hai ke aap mere dusre gaal par bhi ek thappad maar dijiye." He said, turning his other cheek to Tarika and closing his eyes tightly shut, expecting another slap.
Tarika stepped closer and kissed his cheek. Surprised, he opened his eyes and Tarika put her arms around his neck.
"And what was that for?" he asked flirtatiously, pulling her into a hug and looking seductively at her.
"For being the sweet guy that you actually are." Said Tarika, lightly rubbing her hand across his cheek, which she had slapped moments ago. Abhijeet lightly hit her forehead with his and with that they spent some nice moments together.
A/N: Whew! I actually completed it. I know it's all crap still I'd like it if you all drop a review saying what you actually think of it. And thank you for reading.
Thanks,
Take Care,
ABBY.