Chapter 341

“Diya. Are you there?” Pryag asked. She came back from her thoughts and gave a meek smile. “Looks like you were in deep thought. Probably in some other Universe.” Pryag said. She drank her water and smiled again. Pryag asked, “What do you want to do? It is your birthday and how ever you want to celebrate I am game. Maybe we should first get out of her. Looks like lot of people are waiting to be seated.” She looked around and said, “Oh ya. This is a crowd.” She signaled for the check and told Pryag, “This is my treat and you are not touching it. I mean it.” He laughed and raised his hand as if he was asked to get out of the car by a cop and said, “What ever you say madam” Within a few minutes they were out of there and walked over to the perking lot. The weather was very pleasant and the breeze was pleasing. He took her hand and kissed her and said, “It feels wonderful when I am with you. I guess that is one of the reasons I love you no matter what. “ She smiled with sparkling eyes. “You are exceptionally sweet Pryag and I love you too. And thank you very much for having lunch with me. I am really sorry for all the things that happened before…..” She paused and with a sad tone said, “I really didn’t mean to hurt you. But apparently I did and I regret it so much.” He said, “Why don’t we go over to the park there. It might be a nice change. What do you say?” Diya replied, “That is a good idea. And I would love to spend some time with you and it so beautiful today.” He said, “It better be beautiful, it is the birthday of the most gorgeous girl and I am so happy that I have the privilege of holding her hand and walking with her.” She couldn’t help but blush and her cheeks turned a slight red. Her grip on his hands tightened and they walked towards the park.

As the weather was good, it looked like a lot of people preferred to spend the day out. It was a small park and the kids were running around the play area and the parents were at the picnic tables near the barbeque. Most of them seemed relaxed and some were still enjoying their lunch. They found an isolated spot far from the crowd and sat down. They sat there and watched everything that was happening around them. Diya took his hand and said, “This is very nice. Thank you. I thought I have lost you forever.” He patted her hand with his and said, “My feelings haven’t changed. I love the same way I loved you before. At the same time I still feel hurt. It is not easy to deal with the fact that the girl of your dreams agreed to marry you because she felt pity on you. I also know that you don’t love me the same way I love you. You are not ready for marriage; actually you are not ready for anything, not even a simple commitment. I believe you need more time to sort things out on your own. Your priority is your career; your ego also plays a part in whether you intend it or not. I do believe you have feelings for me. You might love me but it is the same as you love everything else that is precious in your life. You love me but you are not in love with me. “She starred at him in disbelief. She forgot where she was and what was going on around her. All she heard were his words and it felt like her head was spinning and she was going to faint. He learned forward and kissed her on her cheek again, “I know this is a lot to talk about, especially today but sometimes things just come out and there is not much one can do about it. All I want to tell you is that I understand better now. I am still hurt but I have not given up on you. To be precise, I have hope, I have not given up on the two of us and our future together. I will not pressure but I will be in your life waiting for you to fall in love with me.” She starred at him but with a meek smile and rested her head on his shoulder and they held each others hands.