Knowing him

Chapter 5

"Oh God! I..... I.... I am so sorry! I..." Shreya jumped from her sitting position and backed away from Sultan as fast as she can. She feared he would hurt her for slapping him. It was stupid of her to do so, she concluded. In response, he could just watch her take small yet quick steps towards the end of the room in fear. It was evident that she was afraid. 

He titled his head in confusion as she spoke her next plea.

"I was not ...not thinking properly. Please don't hurt me! I am so s.s.sorry!" Shreya begged. Her hands joined in a begging position. 

It amazed him how she was able to speak completely while stuttering so badly. He had interrogated many people in ways that made them shit their pants. And they never spoke so fast while stuttering as badly as Shreya could.

He face palmed himself imaginarily for thinking such nonsense when she was so scared. But why was she even scared? It was not like he would hurt her for slapping him! But she didn't know it.

He stood up from his position as well and approached her. It made her more scared if possible.

"Why are you so scared? I have told you already that I won't hurt you!" He consoled as he stood right in front of her and brought her begging hands down.

Shreya had to double check if he was lying or telling the truth. She just slapped him and he was not even an inch close to being angry! Weren't terrorists bad people. Aren't they expected to be unforgiving and aggressive. He was supposed to get furious as she had hurt his self esteem or whatever it was. But he wasn't. Instead he appeared as if her scared features hurt him. 

"You aren't..."

"Yes. I am not angry! Any sane girl would have done that. My confession was at the wrong time and wrong place.... Plus, it didn't sound romantic either. " He chuckled at the end.

Shreya concluded that he was playing a really nice game here...with her. He was behaving oddly. Why was he so calm and .... nice in terms of behaviour. Everything confused her.

"You are a terrorist!" She accused as if reminding him that his behaviour was unlike expected.

The statement caught his attention like the last time she said that.

He had to wait before he asked. 

"And?"

"You are being too nice to me. And as for being a terrorist, you should not be behaving like this." She almost accused.

"I didn't know there were rules for being a terrorist!" He said and his confusion sounded genuine. "Seems like you have watched too many movies!" He chuckled again.

In response, she just stared at him with wide eyes. She wondered if he really was someone who thought he was. Or is he lying. Now that she thought about the other possibility, she could feel the odds. His behaviour, posture, lifestyle, everything was unlike bad men have. He was too gentlemanly. And his room was clean as well with beautiful painting and quotes. 

Before she could actually analyse her question, she found herself asking him.

"Are you really a terrorist? Or are you lying to me?" She asked.

If she wasn't looking at his eyes intently, she would have missed seeing the hardening in them. He appeared conflicted.

What was going on his mind? She wondered.

"To the world, yes, I am a terrorist. I am 'the sultan'. But, for you? No, I am not a terrorist." He spoke. His words confused her again. Either he was bad with words or she couldn't really decipher their real meaning. 

"What does that mean?" She asked again. He smiled.

"For now, just understand that I will not harm you or your loved ones. I am protecting you and I will go to any extent to do that." He said, finality clear in his voice.

Shreya felt uneasy under his intent gaze. She licked her lips to ask another question. She had surely become a question paper. 

"Will I be able to see my parents?" She asked. Her voice described how much she really missed them.

"Ofcourse, Shreya. I will arrange a meeting with them soon. Perhaps a month later when this issue will cool down."

"What will I do for a month, here?" 

He smiled and ran his hand along her hair freely. She ducked lightly as if asking him not to. And he stopped...respecting her demand. After all, he had a lot of time to gather a place in her heart.

"Whatever you like to do. I have everything in the apartment. All you need to do is ask. You can always ask me to escort you to wherever you wanna go in the apartment. I know it's big and it will take a lot of time to get to know every place here. In your room, there is an intercom by which you can contact me. But if I am not in the premise, your guard will attend to it. Until then, I request you to not pull any stunt. Not everyone knows you here. They might mistake you for a prisoner. "

"PRISONER?" She asked horrified by the term.

"Ummm.... I was just joking." He said running his hand along his hair. And she could tell easily that he was lying. God, what was this man into. She wondered.

At that moment a knock sounded in the room and he allowed entry.

"Sultan, Mr. Singhania is here to meet you. " The informer said.

Shreya noticed the stiffening in his posture as he heard the informer. 

"Shreya, can you find your way back to your room? " Sultan asked as he expected her to know her way back.

Ofcourse, she didn't. It was like a maze. And she was about to say, 'no', when her reflexes came into use. If she says 'no', he would send someone with her and she won't have a chance to find exit. And the possibility of running away would be lost. Atleast she can make use of this opportunity.

"Yeah. Sure. " She said. And he agreed knowing very well what she was upto. But he was nonetheless concerned. She couldn't escape even if she tries to fly. He smiled and opened the door to let her exit.

Shreya stopped right when he was about to close it behind her. 

"I wanted to clear one thing." She said.

"Okay?"

"If...If you think I will change my views about you after you have confessed your feelings, then you are wrong. I can never have positive feelings for a terrorist. " She said boldly making him smile in return. 

"I know."

"Good." She said hesitantly and turned around to leave when she heard his closing statement.

"But, that doesn't mean that I won't try!" He said and winked when she looked at him. 

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Hey everyone.

Happy New Year... May this year bring prosperity and happiness to all!

-Purnima.