Chapter 147 - 146

Charan, on the other hand, was in awe with her. While his heart ached for her simultaneously. He knew when she lost her parents, she was barely 25 years… the fact that she had to deal with all this along with the agony of losing both her parents. He did not even have the proper words to describe how strong she should have been or how strong she was right at that moment.

Charan brought her back into his arms and confessed, "I love you. I don't know what good deed I did in my past but I am really grateful for them if they brought you to me. I am so proud of you…" he said emotionally.

"You… you are… you are not going to leave me then??" Shreya asked timidly.

Charan pulled away and looked at her with a frown and asked, "Why would you think I would leave you??"

"I just… I know all this is scary… especially since Akira has gotten taken like that. I just thought…" Her voice trailed painfully as she muttered with her head hung down.

"I am not some college kid Shreya… who is going to run away when going gets scary…" Charan said gently caressing her face.

"I know Charan… but then you are not alone. You should also think of Akira and your family… so I just… I know things are not exactly ideal. I should have probably told you everything before I started… but I was just… I just couldn't bring myself to… I was scared…" Shreya confessed as if she was confessing some sin.

"You want to break up with me??" Charan asked.

Shreya looked up at him panicked and shook her head frantically.

"No… no… no… of course not. It's just… I just thought you would want to once you heard this. But this is not all… the kinda things I had done… This version of me you see every day… this person who throws tantrum and goof around… that is not all that there is to me. There is a part inside me that had did unspeakable things to get to the place I am in now. Malicious�� ruthless things… I have never taken a life… but that's probably the only saving grace I have to defend myself. Rest and all, I did everything knowing full well what I am doing with full consciousness. And I am not going to sit here and make excuses that I had no choice… I did have a choice… So, I just don't want to keep you in the blinds and deceive you more…"

Charan put his fingers below her chin and lifted her face to look at him, "Hey… I am not some delusional teenager who thinks the person they are crushing on is an angel. I am not blind. I know how the world works. And I knew you should have gotten your hands dirty to get to where you are… but that doesn't change a damn shit. That sure as hell doesn't change the way I feel about you. You should know me better than that to think about me…" He said resting his forehead over hers.

Shreya felt as if a big weight had been lifted off his shoulders. She buried her face at the crooks of his necks and mumbled, "Sorry… I did not mean to sound as if I am doubting you… it's just…"

"Shhh… You talk too much sometimes…" Charam murmured against her forehead annoyed and pulled away facing her.

"Sorry… I will shut up now…" Shreya said and pursed her lips shut firmly to prove herself.

"Now, come on. Let's go home." He said dragging her by her hands.

Shreya followed happily until she reached the entrance of the office and suddenly she remembered something.

"No… no… no. You… you go home now. I… I… I have… I have work still…" Shreya said stopping on her feet.

Charan frowned at first unconvinced. "You still have work?? Are you sure??" He asked unsurely.

"Yes… of course. I have piles and piles of files rotting away in my table. I have to go through them before Monday. You go home. You have to teach Akira for her exams, right?? So you go and get some rest now!!" Shreya lied through her teeth and ushered him out of the office.

Charan peeped at her empty table collecting dust but still did not comment on it. He just pecked on her and bit her a goodbye.

"Andrew will drive you. Don't worry… he will have a ride home…" Shreya said texting Andrew from her phone.

And once again, Charan did not protest. As soon as Charan was out of her doors, she flopped straight in her office bed and said groaning, "God… it's so hard to stay away. Abstinence is hell!!"

But then a slight smile adorns her face when she smelt his scent from his shirt. She wrapped herself in it and went to sleep too lazy to go to her empty apartment.

On the other hand, Charan entered his house as quietly as possible but to his surprise, Akira was actually still awake.

"Dada… You know I will get a 100 in maths today…" She said excitedly after climbing on his laps.

"That's my girl!!" Charan encouraged her beaming.

"Dada… what happened to your shirt?? Why are you wearing Shreya's clothes?? Did you see her?? Is she good??" Akira suddenly piled up questions while staring at his pink sweatshirt with a frown.

That is when Charan actually realized that they did not change back to their own clothes.

"No wonder Andrew kept staring at me peculiarly! Argh!!" he groaned murmuring to himself embarrassed. When your girl wears your clothes, it was kinda s.e.xy and extremely attractive. But he wasn't so sure it would have had the same effect if the opposite happens. But his embarrassment did not really last long as he started talking to his daughter. But then again, it all came back when Akira spilled it very innocently in front of his family the next day. But that was for tomorrow to deal.

He picked up the sleeping Akira and put her in her bed. She had slept midway mumbling something about her friends at school. He then changed out of his clothes and went to bed.

But sleep was a long way from him. He thought of everything he had heard from Shreya today. He might have played it lightly in front of Shreya… But then again, everything she said… he knew they were not light matters. So it took the whole night to just understand the full extent of things and understand them.

And it was scary… but he still did not want to put distance between them. It was not really rational. But something felt right about it.