Dedicated to all the CF Readers, especially Ifra..

Randhir could feel her breath hitting his nostrils.. There was this sense of calmness between them.. So much had happened in their lives so far that they have never experienced such a calm night in the recent past.. Sanyukta freed herself from the outside world, she wasn't shivering anymore.. Her lips were craving for something she had never experienced before.. Randhir leaned forward and inched more closer.. He was almost there, when she heard her murmur something.. He missed it the first time when she said.. She repeated "I am scared.." she whispered in his ears, her eyes still closed.. A lone tear escaped her eyes, travelled through her cheek and landed safely on his hand..

Randhir opened his eyes in a jolt.. "Scared? Why?" he cupped her face, his eyes full of concern. He was actually cupping her face like a mother would do to her cute little child that's scared of something.. "I am afraid of this darkness around me.. " she uttered, and flew into his arms in a jiffy.."Please don't leave me alone.. Please don't.. I am so scared" she kept repeating the sentence.. Randhir hugged her back, he was not in his senses too.. That moment, they felt complete.. Some small part in his life had a big vacuum, he felt as if it had just been filled.. She completed him.. Not sure, how or what to call the relationship they shared between them.. But that moment, was just a bliss.. She hugged him more tight, as if she had been waiting for this moment.. Her hug, symbolized how deserted her life was so far.. He could understand the unsaid pain.. Why would he not? After all, they were on the same boat.. Slowly, he heard her sobbing.. "I loved you... Why did you do that to me?" she mumbled.. Randhir couldn't comprehend what she was saying.. He retorted with a "What?" She continued murmuring 'Yes.. I loved you.. I loved you so much but you did such a thing in return.. " Her voice slowly raised its intensity, thus creating more tension.. "Now I hate you.. I hate Men.. I hate you Arnavvv...!" she squealed.. That hatred in her voice got Randhir out of his trance. He pulled himself back, in a hurry.. Randhir rushed towards the switchboard and turned on the lights.. Sanyukta opened her eyes slowly, to find her and Randhir trapped in an awkward position.. He was staring heavily at her, his eyes were looking for a lot of answers. Sanyukta couldn't recollect what had just happened, she only knew that something unusual had happened.. But what? She couldn't recall.. She turned the other way, trying to avoid Randhir's eyes.. "Did I do something?" she muttered.. "I mean, did I say something?" she repeated, this time, her tone was a bit audible..

Randhir stood there speechless.. He was like the only witness of what had happened there, between them.. He had almost kissed her. He had let her come so close to him.. How on earth did he allow someone to break the stone wall he had built around him? Was my defense so weak? He wondered and the fact that she had taken some other guy's name was bothering him somewhere down the heart.. His ego wasn't ready to accept it though.. He pulled a pillow from the bed and rushed outside.. Sanyukta blocked his way, "Where are you going? Why aint you answering? Meine kuch kiya kya?" she seemed scared.. Randhir immediately wore his "I don't care.. Go to hell" attitude.. "Kuch nahi.. I feel asleepy.. I don't have much time to waste on you.. Just pull yourself together and hit the bed.. I ll go and lie outside.." he turned to leave, when she held his hand.. He looked at her astonished.. She pulled her hand back in a hurry.. "Its okay.. You can sleep here.. I trust you.." Having said that, she locked the door from inside and proceeded towards the bed.. Pulled her bedsheet and covered herself completely.. Randhir stood there, amazed.. That "I trust you" thing was doing something inside him.. He hadn't heard such a word in a long time.. He left the lights turned on, as he didn't feel like frightening her anymore.. It had already been a long night.. Not willing to stretch it anymore, he helped himself in his sofa and turned the other way round so as not to face her, even by mistake.

Silence prevailed the whole night, early morning to be precise.. Sanyukta tried hard to close her eyes and forced herself to sleep but all she ended up doing was to have her eyes wide open, thinking about a person she wished she had never met in her life. Randhir, on the other hand, was wondering what had been going on with him.. "She is afraid of darkness but why? She seems to be a nightmare herself, what could possibly give her a creepy nightmare? Why did I hug her? Why did I go for a kiss? Why did I get angry when she uttered another name? Why why why?" There was a "Why" in almost every sentence of his, but he never understood the answer. All he knew was, she was somehow like him, she was portraying something to the outer world in order to hide something that's buried within, deep within.. "I cant let her come close to me.. I cant lose myself in something that has given me this wound.. Not again.. All women are fake " when he uttered that, it reminded him of her scream 'I hate MEN..!" he tried not to think of her "Whatever it is, I should stay away from her.. " he decided.. He closed his eyes tight. "Is she in pain? I think she is.. Should I stop bothering her???" his eyes were wide open the next minute.. The moment he realized that, her tight slap reminded him of the revenge he was about to take.. "Shit.. She is your enemy.. You have a challenge to win, you fool.. You need to throw her out of the office within a few days.. You got to do it.." his mind shouted back at him.. He screamed, silently.. "Yes I have a revenge to take.. I have to throw her out of the office" he mumbled and covered his head with the blanket.. His heart whispered "But why? Whats the purpose of your revenge?" He had no answers to the questions his heart threw at him.. He shut his ears tightly "There's no reason.. I need revenge and I ll take it.. Bas" ..

Sanyukta kept shuffling in the bed.. "He isn't good that is for sure but he isn't that bad as well" her lips curved into a slight smile.. She had no idea that she would regret what she said, the very next day..

TO BE CONTINUED... To all CF readers, you ll get the next update of CF kal it's a compensation for not updating CF for the past 2 months Don't forget to leave your precious comments.. Do visit my FB page - https://m.facebook.com/aishwaryaravipage?ref=bookmark to interact with me Love you All #Ash