Little Hearts❤❤❤

50. Minus × Minus= Plus

So sorry for the delay! My exams were going on and it's really tough to balance actually🤡 anyways here's the next chapter.....
.
.
.

Ram caressed Pihu's cheek softly and placed a kiss on her forehead before leaving the room in search of Priya, noticing that she wasn't there.

He didn't have to search for long. He entered Pihu's playroom and saw Priya organizing Pihu's toys which she, of course, scattered around the whole room. Priya didn't notice him as she was too focused on her task. But sometime later, she saw him gazing at her, standing at the doorway. He seemed to be in deep thought.
Priya: Mr. Kapoor?
This break his train of thoughts and he slowly walked upto her.
Priya: Kya hua aap aise kyun khade huye the wahan? Sab thik hai na?
Ram: Haan sab thik hai Priya. Umm...woh...
He started fidgeting with his fingers feeling anxious.
Priya: Haan?
Ram: Woh I have something for you.
He pulled out a jewellery box from his pocket. Priya shook her head sighing deeply at the sight of it.
Priya: Mr. Kapoor kya hai yeh sab? Aapko pata hai mujhe...
Ram: Gifts pasand nahi hai. Pata tha mujhe tum yeh hi bologi.
Priya: Toh kyun karte hai yeh sab jab pata hai aapko?
Ram: Tum shant ho jao. Baitho pehle.
He held her hand softly and made her seat on a stool and then sat next to her. Priya looked at him with slight anger. He swallowed hard, searching for some  courage to give his reasonings. Finally he took a deep breath and started talking.
Ram(looking downwards): Priya umm... there's a tradition that you gift your child something when you see them for the first time. Isiliye maine Pihu ko woh stars wala chain pehnaya aur woh ring.
Aur phir mujhe laga tum usse iss duniya mein lekar aayi ho, tum bhi toh pehli baar mumma bani ho. So you also deserve a gift. Toh isiliye main yeh laya hoon.

Priya didn't know how to process her thoughts or what to tell Ram. She felt herself drowning in extreme guilt and embarrassment. She could feel her throat getting choked. Above all when she looked into his eyes, she saw them holding immense love and admiration for her. At that point of time she felt like she's the most selfish person in the whole damn world for snatching away his rights on Pihu. She wanted to die a thousand deaths in that moment. The bitter memories of her pregnancy phase where she was completely alone in jail came in front of her eyes.

Ram saw Priya's eyes getting more teary each passing second as he said those words to her. The more he looked into them, the more he understood the pain they held in them.
Ram(very softly): Priya?
As she heard him calling her name, she wanted the earth to swallow her completely. She wasn't able to take it anymore. She hid her face with both her palms as tears started flowing down her eyes continuously.
The moment Ram tried to remove her hand from her face, her cries got louder and she started wailing in grief.
Tears trickled down Ram's eyes seeing her in so much pain. He didn't know how to minimize that, how to handle her.
Ram: Priya? Please tum rou mat. Batao na mujhe kya hua?
Priya shook her head, still crying her heart out. He caressed her head to comforting her, waiting for her to calm down a little.

Some time went by and he again tried to remove her hand. This time she let him do it and he saw her face totally red due to all that crying. He tried to make her look at him but she plainly refused to look up.
Ram: Priya...please...meri taraf dekho. Baat karni hai mujhe tumse.
Priya was blankly looking at the floor, tears still flowing down her eyes.

Finally with no other option left he sat on the floor, keeping his arms on her knees, looking at her. He slowly brushed her hair which had almost covered her whole face and tuck them in behind her ears. Then he pulled out a tissue from his pocket and softly dabbed it on her face, wiping her tears away. He waited for her to respond a bit but she didn't do anything.
Ram(teary-eyed): I'm sorry. Main tumhe hurt karna nahi chahta tha.

Suddenly she looked at him seeing that he started apologizing for no reason at all. He was just being sweet to her, caring for her whereas she was the one who left him alone and chose to protect Ishaan.
Priya(almost inaudibly): Main aapka pyaar deserve nahi karti Mr. Kapoor.
Fresh tears trickled down her eyes as she said those words. Ram felt his chest getting heavier each moment.
Ram(softly): Tum khud sunn rahi ho jo baatein bol rahi ho? Priya meri taraf dekho...(he finally made her look at him) Tum meri poori zindagi ho. Haan hum dono ne galtiyan ki, ek doosre se dur ho gaye par alag nahi ho paye. Jaanti ho kyun?
Cupping her face, he touched his forehead with hers.
Ram(closing his eyes): Kyunki hamare Dil nahi maante. Mujhe pata hai main tumhe deserve nahi karta. Par yeh saala dil toh bass tumhe chahta hai! Tumhe nahi lagta hoga par mujhe pata hai ke main kaise raha hoon yeh 5 saal. I'm nothing without you. Sunn rahi ho meri baat?
Priya nodded slightly but Ram could feel that she strongly believed that she didn't deserve him.
Ram: Thik hai chalo...mann li tumhari baat. Tum mujhe deserve nahi karti. Thik hai? Khush?
Priya's face fell again. She started fidgeting with her fingers.
Ram: Tum bhi yeh mann lo ke main tumhe deserve nahi karta.
She again looked up at him with a frown.
Ram(goofily): Minus multiplied by Minus equals to Plus.
It took Priya 3-4 seconds to actually understand what he just said and she couldn't help but smile seeing that he was comparing their relationship with a mathematical formula. That smile soon turned into a chuckle. This made Ram smile with tears in his eyes.
Ram(holding her hands): Jaane do Priya. Jo ho gaya bass ho gaya. 5 saal humne bhi toh khoya hai na...mujhe woh 5 saalon ki khushi chahiye woh bhi 30% interest pe. Uss Honolulu ko 22% de sakti ho toh mujhe toh usse zyada de hi sakti ho.
Priya couldn't stop herself anymore. She started laughing her heart out.
Priya: Honolulu......(laughing hard)....Honolulu nahi tha unka naam. Oh my God! Aap kabhi uss 22% ko mention karna nahi chodenge na?
Ram: Tch. Never.
Priya shook her head smiling and embraced him keeping her head on his shoulder. Ram kissed her hair and held her more tightly.