Immobilised with shock, Nandini didn't move for a moment, aware only of the searing heat of the lips against hers and the immense strength of the arms coiled fiercely around her waist.

Then the raging emotions she'd been warring against since morning...since years...broke free of their prison and erupted into riotous life, making her senses swim uncontrollably.

She kissed him back with a fiery passion while sliding her arms up to mesh her fingers into his hair, mindlessly savouring the pleasure of being in his arms again.

Exultant, Prithvi deepened the kiss while bringing her as close to him as he could, trying to restrain his aggression while being lost in her exquisite sweetness and softness...and quietly elated by the confirmation that what he had sensed that afternoon in Ayodhya had not been a figment of his imagination - the desires that tormented him were burning just as strongly within her...

A long time had passed before he lifted his head by a fraction.

They gazed at each other wordlessly for a while, intensely shaken...their breaths rough and unsteady...

The insanity that had made him seize her was subsiding now, and the aggressiveness that had spiralled wildly was now coming under control.

So he didn't have an excuse any longer to continue holding her...and that was a pity, Prithvi thought idly while placing a warm hand on her left cheek and caressing her reddened lips with a thumb.

The action made Nandini's already jumbled up insides do sharp somersaults, and she automatically closed her eyes. She was starting to become indistinctly aware of the voice of reason, but the words were drowned out by the noisy pounding of her heart.

Eyes smouldering, he instantly captured her lips again in a kiss that was gentler but still hard and demanding.

Her head was spinning and her limbs felt weak. She clutched him tighter to remain steady. Her heartbeats were racing madly, and she could feel his heart pounding too...

Somewhere in her consciousness, she felt his fingers digging into her waist painfully, and with a startled burst of bashfulness, timidity and a beautiful, secretive thrill, she realised he was struggling to restrain them from wandering...

Dazed, Prithvi raised his head for the second time and studied her flushed face. He wanted to be reckless and foolish for some more time until rational thought and common sense regained their control over him. He could already feel their hateful pull, battling to help him remember the horrific pain of the past...

But today, for once, he was finding it shockingly easy to ignore it.

There would be more than enough time later for him to despise himself for being so weak-willed. But after the torment he'd endured over the last few days, there was some regrets that he refused to endure again...

The regret of not holding her for a bit longer... of depriving himself of a little more time in the overwhelming peacefulness and warmth of her embrace... of not kissing her for a few more moments.

The rosiness on her skin deepened at the stirring intensity in his eyes, and she lowered her gaze blushingly.

The index finger of his right hand propped itself under her chin and adamantly lifted her face for him to resume his absorption in her radiantly beautiful face...the entrancing shyness on it, and the intoxicatingly tender emotions in her lovely black eyes.

He kissed her again...

And again...

Very soft kisses...but they burned ferociously against her throbbing lips, making her giddy with an electrifying pleasure that annihilated the tiny tendril of sense that had sprouted in her head shortly ago.

When he finally lifted his head, she weakly leaned into him, pressing her hot and crimson face against his chest, feeling limp and shivery.

He hugged her close with a fierce gentleness, arms wrapped snugly around her upper back and waist, his face buried in a delicate shoulder.

The black, destructive emotions that he'd bottled up over the years stirred again faintly, trying to remind him of their existence...or maybe they wanted to warn him that he was hurtling towards self-destruction again, and he would repent for this profoundly in a few hours.

But just for this moment, nothing could surpass the strength of his pure and simple need for her presence, which had only grown in intensity with every minute and every hour since he had left Shamli...

Enveloped in the purest of emotions, they clung to each other without moving or speaking, indifferent to the increasing darkness and the steady drop in temperature.

It was Prithvi who stirred first, instinctively pushed into awareness by the thought that she wasn't used to being outside in such cold weather, and that the Garewals would be getting worried about her.

Loosening his clasp on her, he unenthusiastically murmured, "We should go" while stroking her hair.

Nandini didn't move for some moments. She didn't care about the cold or darkness. She didn't want to go anywhere, least of all to a place where he wouldn't be with her. But the Garewals would be waiting for her...

As she unhappily parted from him, Prithvi grasped her left hand securely, and began to walk back to the road.

She followed his lead unthinkingly, quietly enjoying the feeling of her hand being wrapped in his. It was so dark now that she could barely see what was on the ground, or around her. But she couldn't have focussed on the path even if it was broad daylight and she knew the ground was teeming with dangerous creatures...

He didn't leave her hand until she had settled into the passenger seat, and even then, he only let go reluctantly.

Prithvi got in behind the steering wheel and closed the door, but he suddenly felt unable to reach for the ignition.

Without warning, the quietness in the vehicle became dense with an agonising heaviness. It was if something pristine and beautiful been torn out of its safe cocoon and thrown out again into an unforgiving world.

For a pitifully short time, they'd been allowed to forget the ugliness that had tarred their relationship and lives, and to briefly return to the spellbindingly beautiful world that they had created for themselves years ago.

But now, they were heading back to reality...where they weren't supposed to have any place in each other's lives...

Hit hard by an overpowering grief out of the blue, Nandini looked tearfully out the window, and keeping her elbow on the sill, she pressed the back of her fingers against her quivering lips. She could feel his gaze on her, but she didn't dare meet it.

She prayed that he shouldn't speak to her. If he said anything, even if they were the kindest words, she was afraid that she would break down.

And if she broke down right now, she was afraid she would say things that would come solely from her heart...things she would regret horribly when her mind was in control again.

Swallowing hard, Prithvi looked at the road again and started the ignition.

In some moments, the vehicle was gliding smoothly again on the road, albeit at a faster pace than before.

Inside it, the silence throbbed in pain, tortured by words that yearned to be spoken and emotions that desperately sought to be expressed...

*****************

After asking his team to go back to the car and wait for him and Aruna, Rajesh walked back to his wife, who was standing right in the middle of the large plot of land that he was thinking about purchasing.

This was the third such property they were viewing today, and she had been very peaceful and friendly throughout.

And that was very fishy, considering he had done many things to rouse her anger during the day, Rajesh thought warily. And she had not put up as fierce a fight as he'd expected when he'd stated his decision about Taravan, given how fanatical she was about her outlandish plans for Nandini and Prithvi.

But he wasn't going to celebrate. He knew her well. She would not let him off the hook this easily. The repercussions were going to hit him when he least expected it. But he could enjoy the peace until it lasted.

"So...what do you think, Arunaji?" he asked on reaching her, "Should we buy it?"

Aruna, who had been surveying the property, looked at her husband and gave a shrewd nod.

"I think it will be a good investment. It's a great place to build a big house...or a small resort."

"Agree," Rajesh smiled, and then started to jab at his phone's screen. "I'll ask the driver to bring Nandini here."

"What? Why?" Aruna asked in a high-pitched tone, highly alarmed.

Rajesh glanced at his wife with confusion and doubt. "I want to know what she thinks of it. She's like her father and grandfather...strong instincts run in the family."

Struggling to mask her panic and agitation, Aruna smiled weakly and said, "Rajeshji, you've carried out your business for decades without asking them for their opinions. Why do you want to start doing this now?"

Rajesh frowned at his wife as his doubt solidified into suspicion. "What have you done? Where is Nandini?"

Looking away, Aruna nervously made some fidgety adjustments to her hair.

She was prepared for this fight, but she had expected it to start after they had reached home. But that was evidently not to be.

Sighing, she mumbled, "She has gone on a drive with Prithvi."

Rajesh looked at his wife in shock, and then all of a sudden, his face turned red with anger.

"Have you lost your mind," he said furiously. "How could you send her on a drive with him without asking me? So, this is why you agreed to cancel the dinner plan...you had already decided this, hadn't you," he fumed. "You did this deliberately to disrespect me!"

"You disrespected me several times today," she snapped back. "It's good for you to know how it feels to have your feelings and opinions ignored."

"So you used Nandini as a pawn in this stupid power game against me?" Rajesh asked wrathfully.

Aghast and enraged now, Aruna asked, "How could you think I would do something like that! I sent her because I wanted her and Prithvi to spend a little time to get to know each other so they can become friends."

"And did you stop to think for a moment how her mother and grandfather would feel if they find out about this?"

"They don't need to find out," Aruna said brusquely. "And I don't think they would overreact like you, because unlike you, they have complete faith in Prithvi."

"This is not about faith. I trust Prithvi completely, but -"

"But you think he's not good enough for Nandini."

Rajesh took a few deep breaths to calm down, and then grimly said, "Arunaji, I've spoken to you about this a hundred times."

"Yes, you have, and we had agreed that I would be given some time to make it work," she reminded him angrily.

"I'd agreed because I thought you would come to your senses once we visited Vrindavan and you realised the stark differences between the families," Rajesh replied exasperatedly. "Do you remember the palace at Devgarh? We've been to many luxurious places, but have you seen anything like that palace? And that is just one of the hundreds of properties they own! How can you even think of an alliance between them and the innocent, simple family we just visited."

"I wouldn't have considered it if I thought riches and status were important to Prithvi," Aruna said loftily. "He loves the Bharadwajs. They love him. Every little thing is absolutely perfect."

Frustrated, Rajesh said, "Have you forgotten Nandini doesn't like Prithvi? And you still forced her to go on a drive with him!"

"I didn't force her to do anything," Aruna rejoined fiercely. "I asked her if she would like to go...and she agreed. And if she has any dislike towards him, it's probably because he used to be a very introverted boy who didn't like to be around people. He's not like that anymore. Once she finds out how much he has changed, I'm sure she will change her mind about him," she insisted.

"And Prithvi is just waiting for her to change her mind, is it?" Rajesh asked sourly.

Undeterred, Aruna said, "Prithvi hasn't had the chance to see how perfect she is for him. And if we can give them some time with each other, I know it can happen."

Rajesh looked heavenward with aggravation. "It's pointless to have this conversation with you. Now listen to me," he said sternly. "If Nandini is not back in an hour, I will call her up and ask her to return immediately."

"An hour? Nandini must have left the house hardly fifteen minutes ago," Aruna fibbed shamelessly. "And in which world does a drive get over in an hour's time? You have to give them at least two hours. If she's not back by eight, I will call her up. Alright?"

Rajesh looked at his wife infuriatedly, and said, "Fine, but if I see any sign of displeasure in her after she returns, you will have to drop this whole idiotic plan and never speak of it again."

Aruna scowled at him, and then countered, "And if she gives the smallest indication that she liked spending time with Prithvi, you will not stop me from doing anything in this matter for the next four months."

Rajesh thought about it swiftly. He was sure that Nandini had agreed to go on the drive only to please Aruna. Considering whatever he had seen and heard so far about how Nandini felt about Prithvi, the odds were wholly in his favour. And this was a great way to bring this nonsense to an end.

"Okay, it's a deal," he said grimly, holding out a hand.

They shook hands with all the solemnity of sealing a business agreement.

"Now smile a little, please," Aruna commanded, wrapping her arm around his. "And let us walk about this lovely place for a while..."

***********************

Nandini felt her throat constrict painfully as the car started to slow down. In a few seconds from now, she would be separated from Prithvi.

She didn't know how many hours had passed since she had left the house. It was natural for darkness to fall earlier in this region, but she had a feeling it was much past seven, which would mean she had been away for over three hours. But she had not checked her phone during the drive, let alone give the Garewals a call to inform them that she was heading back. And the mere thought of being asked any questions or giving any explanations for the long drive was making her feeling exhausted...

After the car stopped, Prithvi unlocked the doors, but she remained seated for some minutes. He didn't move either.

Then with a shuddering breath, Nandini opened the door of the car. She got down without speaking to him, but as she walked towards the house, she realised he too had disembarked and was walking along with her, albeit at an arm's distance.

Joyful hope filled Nandini's heart out of the blue. Why had she assumed he would just drop her at the house and drive off? He would naturally come to the house to meet the Garewals. Maybe he would even stay for dinner. If only that could happen...if only she could get a little more time to just be around him...

But her growing hopes died when he halted at the foot of the slope that led to the house.

Nandini looked at him tentatively, but the lights on the road were too dim for them to see each other's faces clearly.

"You're not coming in?" she asked hesitantly.

"No, tell them I need to attend an important meeting," Prithvi muttered. "They'll understand."

"Okay," Nandini mumbled, trying not to sound disappointed.

This was the juncture at which she needed to bid him goodbye and walk up to the house. There didn't seem to be anyone at the gates now, but the guard could arrive any second and see her standing like a statue here, staring at Prithvi.

But the usual words of farewell wouldn't come to her lips, nor could she look away from the shadowy lines of his face.

He too remained unmoving, gazing at her. Then all of a sudden, he moved closer and kissed her cheek softly.

It startled her, and then an intense pleasure flooded her heart, taking away the overwhelming sadness in an instant.

She smiled shyly, looking down, and then unwillingly turned to walk up the gentle slope to the house.

When she reached the partially open gate, she turned back to look at him.

He was still standing in the same spot, gazing up at her silently.

Nandini heard Aruna calling out to her excitedly. She spun towards the house to see Aruna and Rajesh, both wearing mufflers and sweaters and shawls, hurrying towards her. They had apparently been sitting in the garden.

She looked back down at the road quickly, but it was empty now.

Squelching a sharp pinch of unhappiness, she looked at the Garewals and tried to smile brightly. Thankfully, the golden lights in the garden were gentle and faint enough for her to escape any scrutiny.

She was covered with a shawl and a muffler as the three of them walked back to the house.

When Aruna concernedly asked her why Prithvi hadn't come to the house, she offered the excuse that Prithvi had given.

Aruna nodded understandingly, then she began to hurriedly urge Nandini to freshen up and have tea. She was a hundred percent sure that Nandini wouldn't have anything negative to say about Prithvi. But the risk in the situation was too huge. She had to make sure that Nandini wouldn't say anything detrimental to Rajesh about Prithvi...or all her plans would be ruined. And she just needed some minutes alone with Nandini to ensure that nothing that could be even remotely unfavourable about Prithvi was said by the innocent girl.

Rajesh's face turned grimmer than it was moments before they had seen Nandini at the gate. He knew the reason for his wife's nervous chattering.

"So, Nandini, how was the drive?" he asked her genially, his loud voice overriding Aruna's babbling.

"Rajeshji, let her go freshen up," Aruna glowered at her husband. "We can hear all about it later."

"I just want to know if my child had a good time," Rajesh retorted with a determined glitter in his eyes.

"It was wonderful," Nandini mumbled, unaware that she was smiling happily.

Taken aback, Rajesh paused a few steps away from the door of the house.

Positively euphoric, Aruna joyfully asked, "So you enjoyed yourself?

Puzzled by the strong reaction, Nandini looked at her unsurely, and then nodded with a hesitant smile. "I did."

"I'm so happy you did!" Aruna said delightedly, clapping her hands together once. "Okay, now you go upstairs and freshen up," she beamed.

Nandini smiled and nodded at her and hurried into the house, relieved at the chance to spend some moments alone and regroup herself.

Aruna waited until Nandini had gone up the stairs, then she ecstatically raised her arms in victory.

She looked at her appalled husband with a broad smile of glorious triumph. "Mr. Garewal, please start preparing yourself to call Prithvi your son-in-law," she mischievously whispered.

Rajesh groaned and slapped his forehead.

Laughing gleefully, Aruna did a joyful dance. "Look, this is how I'm going to dance at their wedding..."

*******************