Important announcement :-

I'll continue this book in Goodnovel, if you want to read the further chapters you can go to Goodnovel and search with the book title you may get it.

If not, then you can find the book link available in my wattpad and Instagram profile.

Or else, just dm me for the book link. 😄

Folks, as I just published the book on Goodnovel a week ago I don't have enough ratings there. So whoever has a Goodnovel account/app, do reviews the book on Goodnovel if possible :) I really need ratings for the book on Goodnovel! 🥺

Let's get back to chapter

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Author’s POV

He tried to open his eyes and failed before realising they were open. The darkness around him was heavy, oppressive, almost supernatural, it was darker than any other nights, as if someone shut off the stars and moon.

But the silence was so loud that he could hear his own breathing. Roaming his eyes around he tried to figure certain shapes in that nothingness of pitch black. Except the rediating  white satin curtain of the window he could see nothing.

Lifting himself up from the bed he looked around to find the source of the disturbance which broke into his peaceful slumber, just a minute ago.

Not finding anything strange he closed his eyes to get back to his sleep, but the moment he closed his eyes he felt someone’s hot breaths falling on his cheeks.

In a trice he opened his eyes wide and analysed the surroundings nonetheless he caught nothing in that darkness. Feeling extremely fretful he moved his hands around and felt something strange moving around him that he’s not able to see.

Fidgety kicked in when his eyes went wide and his whole body stiffed seeing the black and grey fog forming a shape near the radiating white curtains.

The grey black forming fogg reached him in the blink of an eye , not allowing him to scream. The grey black fogg consumed him at a stroke.

“ uhh …uhh….uhh…..uhh “ breathing unevenly Ryan wiped off the sweat from his forehead as he hazily looked around to make sure he’s not a part of that nightmare anymore.

THUMP…THUMP….THUMP….THUMP….THUMP

It was his rapid heartbeat sound that awakened him fully.

Reaching for the water bottle, he emptied the whole bottle in one go and felt his heartbeat falling back to normal rhythm.

The brightness present in his bedroom made him feel more relaxed. Rubbing his face in frustration, Ryan got up from bed throwing the  duvet aside.

Nightmares become a routine part of his morning to deal with. And the best way to avoid getting his mood spoiled in the morning due to the nightmare is, stop thinking about the nightmares he sees.

He knows why he’s seeing this kind of nightmare, and yet he can’t do anything about it. The fear and inferiority complex inside him never let him anywhere near the cure of his traumas. He’s exhausted till an extent now, where he doesn’t feel the urge of doing something to stop all this. He started to live with it, and this way it seems less stressful for him. 

Splashing water constantly on his face Ryan breathed in between the gap of splashing and looked himself in the mirror. He felt his skin coming to life as the cold water washed off the dirt and sweat.

After being done with his morning chords, Ryan took a refreshing warm bath and got changed into white polo shirt pairing it with a grey textured blazer and pants. Setting his hairs straight using a hair gel, Ryan got ready for his office.

Walking down the stairs he found his mother waiting for him to join her in breakfast which sent him an alarm that there’s something serious that she wanted to talk about with him. Usually his mother would have breakfast after him since he would leave for office early and his mother is used to have breakfast passed nine. She would around the breakfast table this early only if she has something to talk about.

“ good morning Mom “ greeting with a cheery tone Ryan gave a quick and gentle back hug to his mother before taking his seat.

“ Good morning , you seemed to be in a good mood today, “ said his mother with a warm smile while passing him coffee and breakfast, which is avocado toast-his favourite.

Only if she knew how good his mood is after brushing off the thought about his nightmare.

Now he’s damn sure that his mother definitely is up to something and he secretly hoped for a positive thing from her, just in case it  makes his day even better.

“ can’t say that as being  in a good mood “ he trailed off  recalling how his morning started and continued sipping coffee “ but you can say that i’m a bit relieved as today the meeting with investors got fixed “ he stated the fact, after working days and nights and now when he’s finally seeing the improvements in work he’s bit relieved. Adding to that he’s going to work with Mr.Oberoi which is like an icing on the cake. 

“ ohh that’s great, i know you’ve been working hard for this project “ she said remembering his day and night over working schedule.

“ yay “ munching the toast in between sipping the coffee Ryan was waiting for his mother to start the matter that she is preparing mentally sitting beside him. He could notice her shifting gazes and playing with her fingers which she usually does when she is nervouse or unsure about something. 

“ Good enough ? “ asked his mother, looking at him, who was chewing the toast with delight.

“ yup,  I love it….you should take a bite Mum “ he replied, feeding her bite, which she didn’t deny.

“ So I was thinking that…..” Here comes his mother’s real talking point.

“ There’s this… girl….Jessica…she is an doctor and i know her well as she is my friend’s daughter…..trust me Jessica is a gem of person Ryan…..i prefer you should meet her at least once ….” the hope in her eyes was shining bright as she spoke about her friend's daughter who has impressed her a lot that she couldn’t stop herself from requesting her son that he should try dating her. Well, that’s what she meant.

Her son will be turning thirty soon, and in a few months she will be into her sixties, both are getting old though.

But now, the context is his mother wants him to start focusing on his personal life. Being known of the fact that after her, there won’t be no one for him whom he can call as his family Ryan’s mother is afaired to leave him in forlornly. She would die happily if she saw him having his own family, or at least him having an idea of shaping his family. Neverthless, seeing his disintrest in commitments and relationship she lost the hope from him that one day he will bring someone to his home to introduce her as his girlfriend or someone who’s close to his heart.

After not seeing any signs from him, she took the matter into her hands now and began her bride hunt. Before Jessica, she saw six to seven girls who couldn’t make it up to her to the best list. With Jessica, it was best at first site. She found this girl best in every possible aspect. Jessica is a well practised doctor, sweet and genuine girl, she is caring and values family and relationships, she is beautiful and she is interested in her son….what else would she need ? and adding to that she is the daughter of her friend, which is a plus point.

Now the only hurdle that could stop Ryan getting married to Jessica is Ryan himself.

Yes, everytime she begins with marriage and family, Ryan would excuse himself using lame excuses. At first she thought it must be due to his workload that he’s postponing his personal life settings, but now when he’s somewhat settled with his business and he still behaving reluctantly  when the topic of marriage enters the chat makes his mother suspicious about his intention on his future plannings.

Ryan didn’t showed any reaction till he was done with his breakfast, and taking that as a clue his mother kept going “ i’m sure once you meet her, you would never say no to marriage….i mean she is so sweet and genuine Ryan….you will… “ she stopped adding more to Jessica’s prising as Ryan got up finishing his breakfast.

“ Okay, see you in the evening….love you mom “ he hugged her in a swift and walked out completely ignoring his mother’s yelling back to him.

It was hard to ignore her, especially when she just wanted him to be happy and sound. Not anything for her, she has been always a loving mother to him which he finds more than for him to live. Yet as a mother she just wants to see her son having his own family and Ryan has been escaping from this topic whenever his mother asks him about relationships and marriage. Few years ago he had a solid reason to deny commitments and marriage as he was still a struggling entrepreneur in the business world. Watching his hardship his mother stopped nagging him about this topic for some time. But not anymore because according to his mother, Ryan has achieved the heights of success in his professional life that anyone could ever think about and now she wants him to think about his personal life as well.

He knows he can’t tell his mother the truth that he has genophobia and thanks to his father for giving him such a phobia.

He was in final year of MBA when he got to know about his phobia that forbids him from getting involved into acts of intimacy with any woman, who would touch him sensationally. He wasn’t aware about this until he met Sarah.

Sarah, The girl whom Ryan met during his MBA final year. She was a charmer with that soul pleasing smile of hers. From exchanging notes with each other to exchanging each other's number only to talk till late at night, both had such an intense liking for each other. Sarah was a girl, who seems to be born to be liked by every single life on this earth. Such a sweetheart she was, and Ryan couldn’t help but start liking her more. She was the only girl who really got his attention apart from books and money. When he was with her, all his traumas and past memories would disappear and for that reason he began to like her more than he should have. He really thought that she was his saviour who helped him to get out of his depression and fear until the day when she left him unsaid.

It was random night when they went out for a refreshment and enjoyed the cold and windy whether with each other’s presence. As time passed, Sarah decreased the distance between them and initiated a kiss as she put her hands sensually on his chest that was the moment he got introduced to his phobia. Jerking her hands away Ryan pushed her aside when the fear of being touched kicked in making the situation worse than it was before. He had panic attack which scared the shit of Sarah. Till that moment, he himself never knew about his phobia. He always that the reason behind him disliking and disaproving the idea of sex and intimate acts was because of his Father, who made Ryan’s living worse with his doings. Besides, Ryan really never got a chance to realise his phobia as he was more concerned about his grades and studies that he never had a girlfriend nor he had crushes during his teenagings. Sarah was his the first about-to-be-girlfriend of him, who made him meet his another fear- Genophobia.

The next day when he woke up in hospital, he found some hospital reports along with a sorry letter from Sarah. He knew she wouldn’t be there when he woke up, and it’s not like he was complaining about it.

Being taught from Sarah's perspective he understood her deliman of going on with this meaningless relationship with him. He never complained.

After that day, he did not try to contact Sarah. Along with that he made a firm decision of never letting another woman in his heart, in his life. Never.

“ Sir, we’ve reached “

Ryan’s deep thoughts got interrupted by his driver’s gentle reminder.

Looking out through the glass, he saw his destination and smiled.

“ Oberoi Industries “ he read the bold letter written on the entrance of building As today’s first meeting of him  is fixed with Jennifer Oberoi

Ryan unknowingly smiled when the name of Jennifer Oberoi flashed in his mind.

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