Strings Attached ✨

15. Izhaar aur Inkaar

And for the first time in history, ruh was derailed....into thinking .....that maybe .....he was somehow .........cute.

she snapped out of her dreamland reminding herself that it was nothing similar to that. the man in front of her was a beast, and associating him with anything innocent is stupidity at its peak. maybe she was stupid after all. 

" kyu? pyaar agaya humpe ?" ...he said with a devilish smirk painting his face. Ruh realized that she had been quietly staring at him for quite a while now. 

she blinked furiously and turned her face away immediately. Her cheeks  displayed a light hue of pink. 

"aap par pyaar aane se pehle kutte pe pyaar aa jayega hume" ...she replied with indifference. 

"aap ke liye kutta ban jane mein bhi kaisi sharam"....he whispered to himself. 

" what did you say?" ....ruh said as her ears perked up. she was sure she misheard something for something else. 

" don't you think you should be a little kind to a would-be-king ?.".....he covered up quickly. 

ruh looked at him with a skirmish-smile. 

" ban to jaayo pehle, uske baad dekha jayega."

" aur ban gaye toh ? " ...he started coming closer as ruh instinctively bent backwards. 

"toh? kehna kya chahte hai ?" ....she asked being uncertain. 

" yahi ki ...ban gaye toh ? uske baad kya karogi ?".......he went further close till ruh was full bent back on her seat and his face was inches closer to her. 

" kya karenge? jo karte hai wahi karenge."...she said unsure of what kind of question it was and what kind of answer he expected for the same.  hints of fear were evident in her orbs which made Agastya want to tease her more even though he was seconds away from breaking out in laughter. 

He maintained a serious look on his face and went closer till their breaths mingled and there was no space for even air to pass through. 

" aur kuch naya nahi karna chahengi aap?"...he said and felt her hands coming up to land on his chest so as to create a distance. 

" aur naya kya karwana chahenge aap humse ?" ...she said as her brows creased. 

" karwana toh kaafi kuch chahte hai, khair aap bataiye." ....his smirk widened and he looked into her eyes like he was a man who just found out the purpose of having eyes. 

ruh decided she had enough. she pushed him with all the power she could muster up which was only able to move him by an inch. 

well, atleast there was some space to breath and decide on the step she was finally about to take. 

she took in a deep breath and her eyes turned determined. 

" do you like me ?" ...she said and could feel her cheeks heating up as she waited in anticipation. 

agastya's smile dropped and he raised his brow, amused beyond measure. 

" what if i do?".

" toh izhaar kar dijiye. yu humare saath kheliye nahi." 

" lo kiya izhaar."

" aur agar hum inkaar kare ?" 

" jitni dafa inkaar karogi utni dafa izhaar karenge. baaki aap kab tak inkaar kar sakti ho woh dekha jayega"

ruh felt herself melting into the warmth which he radiated. she was speechless. agastya futher added. 

" aur jaab izhaar kar hi rahe hai, toh aaj keh hi dete hai."

her lips trembled as she struggled to form words.

" kya?" 

" yahi ki aapko apna bana na chahte hai. yahi ki aapko khush dekhna chahte hai lekin humare alawa kisi ke saath nahi. yaahi ki aaj tak hume koi fark nahi padhta tha ki hum kya kar sakte hai kya nahi. lekin aapki nigahe mujhe har wo cheez karne pe majboor kardeti hai jo aapki aakhon main khusi laye."

her eyes widened and she bent down further as he touched his forehead to hers.

"yahi ki aapki muskurahaton ke liye jaan de bhi sakte hai aur jaan le bhi sakte hai. yahi ki har pal aap humare dimaag ke saath khelti rehti hai aur hum chahkar bhi kuch nahi kar pate. yahi ki aapki har wo hasi jo humare siwa kisi aur ke liye ho hume pagal kar deti hai. aur yahi, ki mohabbat hogyi hai aapse. paata nhi kyu pata nhi kaise pata nhi kab. bas itna hi pata hai ki hogyi hai. aur iss kadar ho gyi hai ki ab chahe kuch bhi hojaye, aapke raaton main,chahaton mein,hasi mein, khayalon mein aur har wo chiz jo aapse judi huyi ho. sabkuch humara hai aur humara rahega. aur jo bhi humse yeh sab cheen na chahega, usse uski zindagi cheen lenge hum." 

ruh blinked her eyes once, twice, thrice and then proceeded to stand up suddenly in a jerk. as she tried to run away, she was pulled back as Agastya got a hold of her dupatta. 

"running away like that is not a sign of bravery. I hope you're aware." ...ruh looked at him and realized that she was actually running away and not facing the situation.

"I was not running away. I was just........" ....her words drifted off.

"mhm? you were...?"....Agastya inquired with a raised brow. 

"I was....whatever. why are you bothered. leave me!".....she said as she found herself unable to form words. the reason for which, obviously was that she was going to do nothing. infact she was running away. 

Agastya loosened his grip on her and smiled to himself. 

" toh hum isse inkaar samjhe?"....he asked suddenly. 

"huh?..I don't know".....she pursed her lips and looked away. 

"toh inkaar hi samajhte hai. lekin ek baat zrur yaad rakhna. yeh aakhri izhaar nhi tha. jaan.".....he said as he smirked slightly and let her go. 

ruh ran away immediately towards her chamber, reminding herself that her decision to be of some help to neela had caused absolute ruckus, and she didn't even know how to escape it. 

(the king's chamber)

" I cannot be let this happening. we need to take immediate steps to stop this. aksh, remember your oath of loyalty to the royal family? its time to fulfill that now.".........the rough voice echoed through the chambers.

" you've put me in a difficult position my lord, but I'm aware of my inability to resist your orders. therefore, you must order and I must fulfill."...

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another update!

I know this is way small but hey you guys are tooo silent. please vote to encourage me and comment to let me know where i can improvise or improve. your feedback is necessary. 

please don't be silent readers. 

also, I will try my best to update frequently. thanks for giving the story a try !