Prithvi...(Vol. 6)

Chapter 146

In a shocked stillness, the eyes of shopkeepers, shoppers and passersby swung from the clearly furious young man to the girl who had responded peacefully to his frightening summons, and back again.

The traffic sounds seemed unnaturally loud to their ears as they waited tensely. 

Some of the men felt a strong push to jump to the rescue of the lovely female. But it was followed by a fervent hope that they would not have to pick a fight with the angry, imposing young man who gave an impression of a power that was being held in check for now but could be unleashed any minute...

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Nothing about Nandini's serene face indicated to the onlookers that she was trembling on the inside.

She tried to focus on the fury raging in the black eyes that were drilling into her own. Maybe it would drum up unpleasant memories from the past, and help her also feel angry.

Rage...hate...hostility...any of those emotions would be better than feeling as if something had flung her off a cliff and she was plummeting towards the ground. She was so deep in shock that she couldn't think coherently, let alone have a conversation...and that too with him of all people.

She felt grateful that her eyes were dry but wished she could know if her face was composed. Concealing her emotions wasn't usually difficult for her, but today...she wasn't sure if she was pulling it off. Her heart was crashing against her ribcage, unable to recover from the two shocks she'd sustained in quick succession.

The first blow had made the ground fall off beneath her feet, and put her into a stupor of numbness. But the second one...the second one had nearly robbed life itself from her...

When she'd seen him across the junction, she'd only been numbly aware of a burning, maddening urgency to get away somehow and avoid having to talk to him or even look at him.

And then she'd heard the vehicle screeching.

Somehow, even before looking around, she had known that it was related to Prithvi. Between that instant and the moment that she had seen him standing unscathed in front of the truck, she had known the icy embrace of death as starkly as it was possible to do so while still breathing. Life had slammed back into her body on seeing that he was uninjured, and the relief had almost made her legs fold beneath her. She'd stared at him unblinkingly until her heart was wholly reassured that he was fine, and then she'd wanted to go to him.

But, without warning, she'd felt all her energy leave her, and a terrible sense of weakness...of helplessness had made her halt abruptly. And the thought of talking to him or letting him see her in that state had felt unendurable.

She had managed to ignore his first call, but he'd left her with no choice the second time. And now she had to face the ordeal of a conversation with him.

But she forced herself to hold his gaze impassively...until she saw his expression begin to change.

Very slightly...very subtly. But it was happening...

It couldn't be, Nandini thought with a sudden, piercing dread. He couldn't – couldn't be seeing through her...

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The furrow on Prithvi's forehead didn't smoothen out...but the cause for it was shifting unexpectedly from rage to intense confusion.

If he'd only heard her tone without seeing her face, he might have accepted it the way it was said...as a calm, unconcerned response to his fury.

But the paleness on her face was narrating a very different story.

And although her features were tranquil, she looked intensely fragile and defenceless. And something in those expressive eyes was warning him that one single harsh word could break her.