"Sanyukta...." Randhir called her out while his eyes were still stuck on the book he was reading. Sanyukta was sitting on the opposite couch, much to his annoyance. What was she trying to do? Keep a safe distance? He mentally chuckled.

"Hmm?" She answered, not even sparing him a gaze.

"I guess, we could work on this pattern.. It's quite uncommon.. They would surely keep such unique plots for the hunt..." He remarked walking upto her couch and slopping down beside her making her jump a little in surprise. She looked up to see Randhir sitting inches away from her. His legs found their way above the centre table while she had her legs folded. She snorted yet again watching his manners.

He shifted towards her to show her the plan he got from the book which he was reading whereas Sanyukta's mind alerted her to keep a safe distance. She shifted back, unnoticed by him.

"This..." He pointed in his book and looked up only to scowl. He saw her adjusting herself on the end of the couch and trying to look at the book from that distance, while he seemed to be in a position of straddling all over the couch.

He sighed and straightened his frame.

"Now now, what is it Sanyukta?" He stared at her with a straight face.

"Nothing..." She licked her lips and looked away.

"Okay..." He huffed and the next instant, she found herself pinned on the couch with Randhir hovering over her.

"What the..." She screamed while squirming under his hold.

"Wha... What ar..aree you doing?" She stammered looking into his eyes as his orbs penetrated deep into hers.

"Feeling comfortable now.. Are you?" He snapped preventing the movements of her hands by pinning them on the arm rest over her head. Her teeth jabbed together in nervousness while her heartbeats fastened.

"Leave.. Me.. Leave I said.. You.." She tried to widen her eyes with an angry expression but his stare was something unavoidable for her. She couldn't move an inch under it. At that moment, she saw his charming chocolaty brown boyish orbs turn dark with an unknown passion and she shivered under him. She felt his face inching towards her with the passing seconds. Her mind screamed at her not to give in. But her limbs felt paralysed. She involuntarily closed her eyes, as a sign of permitting him to go ahead.

*tuck*

And something slipped off his back pocket which made them duck their heads down instantly towards the supposedly slipped object. Randhir immediately stood up from above her and hurriedly grabbed the thing before she could gaze upon it. He was going to thrust it inside his pocket when she caught his hand abruptly.

"How dare you..." She growled. Randhir gulped feeling ashamed.

"I... I have an explanation..." He stuttered while sweat beads erupted all over his frightened face.

"How dare you steal my diary..." Her voice was cold and cruel. She seemed to be in a startup of a rageful encounter. Her face grew red with anger.

"I.. I dint steal it.. For God's sake Sanyukta listen to me once..." He tried to touch her shivering hands and she jerked back drowning him into a pool of guilt. He saw her eyes moistening gradually as she held the pocket diary fimly in her hold, almost crushing it's dull leather cover. He felt like killing himself then and there for bringing that diary in order to return it back to her that night. At that point of time, he could have seen anything but not a single drop of tear in her twinkling orbs.

Sanyukta felt her limbs getting terribly heated. She couldn't believe her eyes. Randhir Singh Shekhawat, the brat was afterall a brat! He did all those to just trigger her weak points and now that he had got a complete summary over her distressed life, he was simply playing around? She felt a strange pain across her heart as if it had been stabbed hard. She never ever felt that way. It was so unusual. And the feeling of hurt she was going through at that particular moment was something alien to her. She wasn't angry on him for keeping her diary without her knowledge but she felt like being deceived. He was
doing all those things just for the sake of sympathy! He felt pity on her devastated life and she could take anything in this whole world but someone's pity on her condition. Of course, she could tell he had already read that diary. His behavior had been so strange for few days which made her think otherwise. She thought he actually had grown to like, being around her. He not only invaded her privacy but literally forced her to believe that he could never change.

"How could you?" She banged her fist on the couch hand rest before collapsing down on the floor, leaning onto the couch. Her eyes held a tinge of moisture and she fisted her hair tight in her palms. She wasn't crying, but felt like thrashing on him. Strange it would be to tell, she was supposed to feel broken, but rather she was feeling strong, ragefully strong.

Randhir sat down on the floor in his haunches and tried to touch her hand. She reflexively swatted them away and turned her face away from him, feeling moisture dripping down her right cheek.

"Sanyukta listen to me once..." He held her arm before pulling her towards him. Sanyukta tried to shift away from him as much as she could before banging her right shoulder on the side table.

"Shut up... Go away... You don't deserve a chance of any explanation..." She closed her eyes shut tightly.

Randhir took a deep breath and pulled her forcefully, in between his legs, settling her right in front of him such that her back hit his chest with a thud. She tried to unlatch the cage of his arms in which she was trapped then, as close as humanely possible. She hit his arm and even tried to bite him, but his hold remained intact, strong and powerful. He didn't wince a bit when she almost gnawed her sharp teeth on his skin, instead his hold became tighter, pulling her more closer to him such that she was almost straddling on his lap. Tired, she halted her failing attempts and relaxed on his arms at a point of time. Randhir sighed, parting his eyes which were closed tightly, to refrain from the pain of her bite. He saw her inhaling sharply before melting down on his arms. Her tightened up posture then relaxed over his chest and her arms fell lifelessly on her lap. His arm which held her stomach then, loosened up its hold before grabbing her palms in between then. He intermingled their fingers and placed a soothing kiss on her left ear and she sighed.

"Why did you do this Randhir?" He heard her whisper which clearly held hurt.

"I never had anyone whom I could trust completely.. Why did you break my trust Randhir? Why did you unleash the thing which I was hiding from the world just because I hated being pitied? Why couldn't you just keep your curiosity away for a while? I...I was going to tell you everything... I thought,.. I thought you'd understand me..." She stuttered while hiccupping, drowning Randhir into a pool of guilt all over again.

"Sanyukta.. Sshusshhhh..." "Listen to me once..." He whispered into her ear and placed his chin on her left shoulder.

"I was going to give it back to you... I know I shouldn't have read that.. But... The day it dropped down from your bag, I was the one who fetched it.. At first I thought I could get something to trouble you with from that diary.. But believe me, I was wrong... I mean I just couldn't bear what I read Sanyukta.. How can you be so secretive? So disguised? How do you manage to hold that fake happy facade over your broken soul?" Sanyukta sniffed a bit at his words while his voice kept on lowering with every word. "I know I had done wrong and I totally deserve punishment for that... I'll accept whatever decision you take wholeheartedly, after listening to this.. But truly speaking, please don't try to seperate me from you... You have grown to be a part of me during these days.. A single moment wont be like, I dont think about you.. I just want to be by you side in every situation.. And I definitely dont pity you.. We pity those people who have nothing.. You have me Sanyukta.. As your friend, as your wellwisher, as anyone who is interested in being with you all the time.. I dont know what I am feeling or why even, I just know one thing.. It's you whom I want to see, to protect, to help, to be with, to... Keeping yourself away from me or isolating yourself would be more painful than any punishment for me... Please.. I can bear anything but your indifference towards us" He whispered the last line with a broken voice and rested his head on her shoulder from behind. Sanyukta was statued to her place. She didn't know how to react. A part of her heart screamed at her not to fall for his trap again but another part, bigger one melted down that instant when he said he didn't pity her.

They were glued to their seats as if they were petrified. Several thoughts were surging through Sanyukta's mind. Most of them were regarding whether he was actually feeling what he voiced out. She could hear her heart crying out loud to believe him but her brain forced her to reminisce their ego clashes and banters, to believe otherwise. She never knew when she fell asleep in his warm embrace, thinking hard.

TBC