Written for the ONE SHOT CHALLENGE organized by Aliyagupta22

✨ Declared Winner on 27/03/2017

Love is zeal, Love is compassion,
Unsaid words, pent-up passion.

Love is a scorching flame, Love is a tender dream,
Their love was beyond eternity, an unfathomable ardent stream.

Desire to be held, caressed and cared,
Made their hearts aflutter, yet they were scared.

The inevitable ardor throbbed their soul,
Solely incomplete, hand-in-hand they were whole.

© GS_Stella

== 💖 ==

Scared and lost was what Swara felt as she threw all her belonging out of the cupboard and into her bag kept on the floor. Things weren’t meant to go that way. She was helpless and frightened thinking of her days ahead. How was she supposed to survive in this harsh and hostile world without him by her side? But she couldn’t tell him, could she? No! He would never accept.

She wasn’t supposed to feel anything for him. She was forbidden to have any sort of feelings for him but now that the damage had already been done, she was left with no option but stay as far away as possible from him… For he held the power to demolish her entire being just with a flick of his fingers.

SANSKAAR MAHESHWARI!!

Her husband!

Sometimes she really wondered how could she feel so strongly for a man. She found herself choking at every breath. The torrent of emotions that she had contained in her heart for such a long time couldn’t be helped any longer and it flowed down her cheeks in an endless stream. So, this was how everything was supposed to end!

THE END. It all at once reminded her of the day it all began almost eight months ago.

== 💖 ==

The day was just like any other usual day. Before heading out for work, Swara went to the hospital to pay a visit to her thirteen years old younger brother, Ansh. He was her life. Her everything and the only family member she had. After her entire family had died in an accident, she was adamant on keeping Ansh safe but the news of his illness had shattered her soul into innumerable pieces.

A tear drop slid down her cheek as once again she saw her brother lying helplessly amid all those heavy medical equipment. That reminded her all over again that she needed to hurry. Take as many jobs as possible, and get money for his treatment. That had been the sole aim of her life. She didn’t care for anyone else. Not even herself.

As Ansh felt the presence of his sister, he opened his eyes and gave her a smile that instantly melted her heart away, “Di, are you going to Café?”

It was Saturday and every weekend Swara did a part time job at a Café. She considered herself lucky on getting a job at a Café of such a high reputation.

“Yes Anshu! I have an evening shift today. So, I’ll be late tonight in coming here. So, be a good boy, have your dinner on time and don’t bother the doctors and the nurses”, Swara replied with a smile but her heart broke seeing a hurt flash across his face and immediately she was by his side caressing his hair.

“Ansh! Are you okay?”

“Di, you have to work very hard for me, right? It’s all not worth it. I’m not going to live that long. We can never have that much money”, even though being just seven years younger to her but Ansh was pretty much brave. Brave enough to accept the truth.

And that simply meant she had to preserve the façade of being even braver, “Shut up, Ansh! Thappad padega! You’re the only reason I’m alive and I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

Ansh could feel the desperation in his sister’s voice. He could feel how hard everything was for her. She was putting up a fight for him and he was determined to put a good fight from his side as well, no matter how long it was going to take.

== 💖 ==

“Swara. Swara. Where’s Swara?”, the manager of the Café came running clumsily to the counter looking out for her. What the hell was wrong with this guy? He was always on the hyperactive mode!

Swara walked away from the coffee maker, to the front of the counter, “What happened?”

“The customer on table number 15 is asking for the barista”, he breathed out and Swara squinted her eyes in confusion. “If the customer wants anything, isn’t he supposed to look for the waiter instead of the barista”, she got back at him.

“I don’t know about that. He’s saying there’s something wrong with his coffee. He wants to see you”, the manager said and literally pushed her away from the counter towards the intended table. Huffing, Swara trudged towards the table and found an almost knocked out man slumping on the chair with his head resting on the table. Well! His condition didn’t look that good!

Walking almost in silence, Swara stood next to him praying that he would get up without her touching him. She cleared her throat several times to get his attention but to her dismay he didn’t even budge. Was he sleeping? Swara slowly poked her finger into his shoulder and he immediately shot up. Startled she stepped back almost stumbling in her steps.

The man raised his head to look at her and gave her a sweet smile. Swara raised her brow silently urging him to say something but on realizing he was not going to utter a single word she sighed in frustration.

“You asked for me, Sir”, finally she spoke breaking the staring session after a whole one minute.

“W-Who… are you?”, he said and a foul stench of alcohol flared her nostrils.

Great! He’s drunk!

Could her day get any better?!

“Um… the barista. You wanted to see me”, she spoke in a stern professional tone and he narrowed his eyes at her. Swara almost curbed an urge to laugh as his facial expressions changed with every passing moment… from confused… to shocked… to observant… and finally settled on something that looked like anger. But that only made him look adorable.

Wait… What? Adorable?!!

Swara shook her head to get all the haywire thoughts out of her mind. And just when she opened her mouth to say something his booming voice made her flinch back, “How dare you?”

“Excuse me?”, she was confused. What had she done to get this man so angry?!

“How dare you… make such a coffee… that has the guts to… spill over… Sanskaar Maheshwari’s shirt?”, words somehow stumbled out of his mouth and she was taken aback.

Jerk!

It was official! Sanskaar Maheshwari was the craziest person she had ever met!

“Sorry to break this upon you sir, but as far as I know a coffee doesn’t either have legs or wings, so, there is no way that it’s the coffee’s mistake that your precious shirt has been ruined”, she stated the obvious and Sanskaar almost lost his cool. Not only her coffee but even this girl had the guts to get back at him.

“So, you mean to say that it’s my fault. This Café is the most useless place I have ever been to”, he roared in anger and the whole Café went silent except for Swara who glared at him and folded her arms across her chest.

“Then I think you should go to some pub or bar because apparently that’s a more suitable place for you”, she retorted and everyone witnessing the tussle gasped. The manager pulled back Swara, whispering into her ear, “You can’t talk to him like that. He’s the biggest businessman here. He’s a multimillionaire and can destroy us just within a moment. Apologize!”

“NO”, she wasn’t at fault and there was no way she was going to apologize.

“Don’t you dare shout. This place is giving me a headache. But remember, this is not over”, Sanskaar hissed at her before turning around and stumbling his way out of the Café.

Great, she was officially screwed!

Jerk! No… wait… let’s make that… Arrogant, hardheaded, multimillionaire jerk!

== 💖 ==

It had been almost an hour since Swara started packing. It wasn’t that she had too many things. Just a handful of them. But every time she started putting something in that bag all the memories came back rushing to her hitting her like a whirlwind. He was everywhere. His presence lingered in each and every thing she had. His fragrance engulfed her like a soothing blanket. He was her solace. Her paradise.

Swara shuddered just at the mere thought of being away from him. She wasn’t that strong. But she had to. That was for the best. Brushing off the still flowing tears she made her way back to the cupboard pulling off the last few things in there, when all of a sudden the things in there came tumbling down to her feet.

Her heart sank down and her breath stopped!

Right next to her feet was sprawled the witness of the day everything in her life changed. Bending down she slowly traced her fingers across the fabric and sequins of the red lehenga she had worn on her special day. Their wedding day!

== 💖 ==

Swara was thankful that she wasn’t fired the day before for messing up with the craziest person she had ever met. She had almost lost her job and she was determined on staying clear of the whirlwind named Sanskaar Maheshwari. She needed that job more than anything.

It was Sunday and she just wished not see ‘his’ face ever again. Taking a deep breath, she stepped inside the Café only to find the whole place in a great chaos. Her heartbeat picked up on seeing the frustrated yet terrified faces.

“What’s wrong?”, she held the arms of a waitress, Shivangi. “The hell has broken loose”, Shivangi replied in a panic filled voice.

“What?”

“Sanskaar Maheshwari has bought the Café and being the new owner he’s firing everyone”, Shivangi replied hurriedly and ran away to only God knew where.

What. The. Freaking. Hell.

Swara ran inside and was shocked to see none other than the mighty Sanskaar Maheshwari leaning against the counter with a smug look etched across his face.

‘Well, he definitely looks much more handsome when he’s sober’, Swara’s inner self chimed.

Shut up!

That was not her main concern now!

As soon as Sanskaar’s gaze met hers, he leisurely strolled towards her, grabbed her wrist and just like that pulled her towards the same table no. 15 demanding no one’s presence around. He didn’t want to get interrupted.

Sitting down, he offered her a smile before speaking, “Well! I guess you know that I’m your new owner.”

Swara took a deep breath keeping a straight emotionless face, “Why are you firing everyone?”

“Oh! Only you can save them now”, he said casually leaning against his chair with a carefree smirk on his face.

“What do you mean?”

“I won’t fire any of them if you agree to do what I ask you for”, he said and Swara furrowed her brows in confusion. What was this guy up to?

“And what is it that I’m supposed to do”, she spoke her mind out loud and Sanskaar’s smirk grew wider.

“MARRY ME… FOR A YEAR. And I won’t fire any of your friends and colleagues.”

“What the hell?”

“And I’ll bear the entire expense of your brother’s treatment.”

He knew about Ansh?! To say Swara was shocked would be an understatement. “H-How… do you know about him?”, she managed to blurt out and Sanskaar chuckled, “Come on, Love! Don’t you know who am I? I’m the Sanskaar Maheshwari. It isn’t that hard to find a little information about a simple girl. Swara Bose. Twenty years old. Dropped out from college after the whole family passed away in an accident. The only family member alive is a thirteen years old younger brother, Ansh Bose who is in a dire need of a heart transplant surgery… Are you still planning on denying to marry me?”

What was he? A stalker?

Damn! Swara was beyond shocked, staring at him dumbfounded with her mouth hanging open rather unattractively. Sanskaar slowly brought a finger under her chin pushing her mouth close, “Close your mouth, Miss Bose. So, shall I take it as a yes?”

“But why me?”, Swara asked the question that had been bugging her since the beginning of this conversation.

Sanskaar shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, “Well, my parents have been bugging me to get married as soon I’ll be twenty five years old and obviously I don’t want any limitation so soon. You want money and I want a girl who hates me. I can’t risk anyone falling in love with me later on. From yesterday’s incident it’s pretty clear that you’re not a very big fan of mine. You’re perfect. Just like I want. We’ll pretend as husband and wife for a year and after that you’ll be free to go your way and I’ll be a free bird again. And in that one year…  No developing of feelings, no falling in love and absolutely no sexual relationship. So, win-win.”

He was definitely crazy! Swara gave him a disbelieving look and opened her mouth several times to say something but couldn’t form any coherent reply.

Sanskaar scoffed, “And yes, just remember, your brother needs a treatment as soon as possible. I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t want to lose your only family member, would you? So…”

“I… I need time to think”, Swara finally managed to speak out and Sanskaar dramatically looked at his wrist watch, “Well, considering how generous I am… I give you exactly two minutes.”

“What!! No. That’s… But…”

“One minute and fifty five seconds…”

“This is not playing fair!”

“Stop complaining, Love… and think. One minute and fifty seconds.”

And with that a dead silence prevailed all around with the only sounds being Swara’s ragged breathing and Sanskaar’s ticking clock, reminding her that time was slipping off her fingers.

“Time’s up”, Sanskaar exclaimed pulling Swara out of her thoughts.

“FINE. Fine. I’ll marry you”, she blurted out and he once again smirked.

That was just for Ansh!

== 💖 ==

Holding the lehenga against her chest, Swara cried her heart out. What was she going to do? She never expected things to turn out like that. She wasn’t supposed to fall in love with him. But she did. How couldn’t she? Behind all that façade of rude and arrogant jerk rested a soul worth loving. Who wouldn’t fall for such a soul?

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t hide that loving being from her for much longer. She still remembered that day when she saw his caring side for the first time.

It was almost a month after their marriage and Swara had insisted on cooking her own dinner and refused to have it from the chef’s kitchen. No matter how much Sanskaar denied, she went to the kitchen anyway and somehow ended up cutting her finger hardly five minutes later. Within moments she found Sanskaar next to her. He held her hand under the running water, scolding her like she was some little kid, but all Swara could feel was the care he was developing for her. An unknown joy tugged inside of her as his voice made its way to her heart, “I told you not to do that, Swara. Ab lagi naa itni chot tumhe.”

And that was when she realized that he was not what everyone thought he was. He was so much hidden underneath those superficial layers.

Why Sanskaar? Why? He shouldn’t have showed his true self to her. Maybe then leaving him would have been much easier.

Wiping away the trailing proof of her hidden emotions away from her cheeks, Swara took a deep breath before getting up and packing the lehenga inside the bag. Giving one final look at the cupboard she pulled the chain of the bag all the way up. She was done! Nothing was left here… Except for her heart. That will forever be his.

He wasn’t at home, so, Swara took that as an opportunity to take a quite round around the house before leaving. She had made several precious memories in around that lavish penthouse apartment where she had been living with Sanskaar for last eight months.

Walking out of her room she made her way towards the living room and found herself reliving the memory of her another big day, four months after their marriage.

== 💖 ==

Sanskaar had brought in the best cardiologist around the globe for his brother-in-law and after a successful heart transplantation Swara finally had her little brother back in her arms.

A day after Ansh’s operation…

Packing a quick lunch for her brother, Swara hurried out of the apartment to head towards the hospital. She was walking across the living room, checking her bag just to make sure that she had everything she needed, when she felt a gentle grip on her arm. Turning around she was shocked to find Sanskaar there. He was supposed to be at the office at that time, so she asked the most obvious question, “What are you doing here  Sanskaar?”

He shrugged, “I’m coming with you to the hospital.”

“No. Y-You don’t need to.”

“But I want to”, he smiled looking at her and once again her heart skipped a beat. Why was he so sweet?

“Plus… I want to give him this”, he added pulling out an envelope from his formal tux blazer.

“What’s this?”

“See for yourself”, he forwarded the envelope towards her. The moment she opened it, Swara gasped and her hand flew up to her mouth, “Sans… Sanskaar. T-This… You don’t need to. This was never the part of our contract.”

“Just like I said Swara. I don’t need to but I want to. Ansh has already lost so many days because of his illness. He needs to go to a proper school and I know he loves mountains. So, what would be better than, the Doon School”, he said with a smile and Swara couldn’t stop as her a tear drop rolled down her cheek. Without giving it a thought, she immediately wrapped her arms around him thanking him profusely as tears of joy kept pouring down her orbs. She had never been that happy and her heart escalated the moment she felt his arms on the lower of her back holding her firmly against his chest.

And at that moment Swara knew what home actually meant. He was her home.

== 💖 ==

The ticking clock broke the eery silence of the surroundings and pulled back Swara to the stark reality of her life. All those beautiful moments were stabbing her heart mercilessly. Looking at the clock, she realized that Sanskaar would be back in an hour which meant she had to leave before that.

Slowly but hesitantly, her eyes traveled to the only room she had been forbidden to enter. Sanskaar’s room! When he said no physical relationship, he meant two different rooms. But she couldn’t stop her feet. It was as if each and every part of hers just wanted to feel him once again. Her hands touched the cool metal knob and she turned it around to enter the room for the second time in last eight months.

The moment she entered, his fragrance embraced her senses and she could feel herself go weak. Her knees wobbled and she stumbled down to the floor. That night. Was it a mistake?

== 💖 ==

Swara had been quite worried that night. Sanskaar had never been so late ever since she started living with him seven months ago. But it was past midnight and still there was no sign of him. She kept pacing to and fro across the living room when the doorbell rang. Hurriedly, she ran to open the door and the next moment Sanskaar stumbled in closing the door behind.

He was drunk! Not that much that he wasn’t in his senses but still he was. But he hadn’t had a single drink ever since they were married, so, what happened then!

“Sanskaar… you’re drunk”, Swara whispered and a tear drop shone at the corner of her eyes.

Sanskaar lifted his head to look at her and the next moment Swara knew she was pushed up to the nearest wall entrapped with Sanskaar’s body pressed against hers. One look in those mesmerizing orbs and once again Swara lost herself in their depths.

“Sanskaar…”, she whispered trying to comprehend what was happening but immediately Sanskaar’s finger was placed against her lips and he whispered back, “Shh! You’re so beautiful, Swara.”

A foreign sensation engulfs Swara as she felt his thumb tracing her lower lip so tenderly that she almost felt that she was imagining it. She closed her eyes as her breathing escalated and Sanskaar’s eyes took in the ethereal beauty in his arms. But her eyes immediately shot open as she felt his lips giving feather like touches on her cheeks and his thumbs started making some soothing circles against the skin of her bare waist.

She should stop it. But she couldn’t!

No matter how much she wanted that, she knew he’ll regret it. That was against their contract.

“Sanskaar…”, she called him to get his attention but instead a moan escaped her lips and the next moment Sanskaar’s lips were pressed against hers with an undeniable urgency. She found herself so weak in the embrace of the man she loved that she almost felt everything breaking inside of her. She would regret it. She definitely would. But for once she wanted to forget that she was his wife just for a year. She was his wife and she loved him. That was all that mattered to her. Throwing all the cautions away, she wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him closer to her as she responded back to his kiss with everything she had.

She surrendered herself to him as his touches engulfed her in swirling intense euphoria. The whole night he made her feel that she was the most beautiful woman in the world and she couldn’t have asked for more. His lips worshipped each and every inch of her being and she gave herself to him. He made her complete.

And when the next morning she opened her eyes, she found herself alone in his bed. He was gone!

== 💖 ==

An impatient knock at the door broke Swara’s reverie and she looked at the clock. It had been just fifteen minutes that she was in his room. But what she heard next shook the ground underneath her feet.

“Swara…”, Sanskaar called her urging her to open the door. He was back! So soon? His presence would only make it more difficult.

Wiping off her remaining tears, she sprinted off to her room, picked up her small duffle bag and ran to open the door. The moment Sanskaar’s eyes landed on Swara’s tear stricken face he forgot everything. Every damn thing because nothing seemed more important to him now.

Sanskaar immediately held Swara’s shoulders, “What happened Swara? Why are you crying? Is everything alright? Is Ansh…”

“Ansh… is fine, Sanskaar”, she whispered and Sanskaar got even more worried. Then what must be the reason that she was crying. The moment his eyes landed on the bag in her hands his eyes widen.

“W-Where are you going?”, he was scared. Was she leaving?

“I’m leaving, Sanskaar”, she confirmed his suspicion and Sanskaar stumbled back.

“What?”, that was only thing he could say.

Swara looked at him with tear filled eyes and spoke for one last time, “I’m leaving, Sanskaar. I can’t do this anymore. I know there are still four months left for our contract. Trust me, I won’t disturb you or come in front of you…. Or…”

“Hey! Hey! Hey! What’s wrong? Tell me. We can sort this out together”, he said patiently as if making a kid understand. He held her hand trying to pull her inside but she yanked her wrist out of his grip and shouted, “No. Nothing could be sorted now. I can’t take this anymore.”

And before Sanskaar could react back, Swara stormed out of the apartment leaving him shocked and broken behind. She left. She left? He questioned himself and he had let her leave! No, she couldn’t leave just like that. He wouldn’t let her go.

Without thinking for any other minute, he too rushed after her. There was no way he was letting her go!

== 💖 ==

Swara kept running aimlessly on the streets when she heard Sanskaar calling her. She turned around only to find him running towards her but the look on his face broke her heart again. Was he scared?

No, Swara! You must go away from him!

She turned back to run but the next moment her body froze and several gasps could be heard as a speeding car crashed into her body. She sensed her limbs giving up, and her head swirled around as her skin teared open and blood oozed out of her body. But what terrified her the most was the reason she was leaving him. A part of him that was now breathing inside of her. The token of his love that she was secretly taking away with her.

THEIR BABY!

Please be safe!

She prayed as her arms wrapped themselves around her stomach and the last thing she heard was Sanskaar’s strangled scream before darkness tightened its merciless fist around her and she fell down almost lifelessly.

== 💖 ==

After what felt like several hours, Swara opened her eyes and winced feeling the searing pain shooting up her body. She blinked several times before adjusting her eyes to the bright white surroundings. Several beeping instruments around her made her head throb with pain.

“Aah!”, she winced and the next moment several doctors were by her side examining her and testing her vitals. But what the head doctor spoke next made her gulp down in fear, “Congratulations Mr. Maheshwari. Your wife is a fighter. Even after four days of unconsciousness, we find her vitals pretty good. She and your ‘baby’ both are safe now. She just needs a little rest.”

Shit! Four days! Baby!

In short, she was dead!

“Can I have a moment with my wife then?”, Sanskaar’s voice was still so calm that Swara wondered what was wrong with him. She almost lost the child. She silently prayed the doctors to deny his request but giving her a small smile each one of them walked out of the room. What useless doctors they were? Couldn’t they understand what their patient wanted?

The moment they left, Sanskaar closed the door and locked it from inside. Swara looked everywhere but him because his calm demeanor was literally freaking her out.

With quick steps, Sanskaar made his way towards her bed and once again Swara found herself trapped by him, with both his arms on either side of her torso as he hovered dangerously closer over her. “What the hell were you thinking”, he finally broke the silence with his grave voice and Swara found herself speechless.

“I… I…”, she tried making some coherent reply but nothing made sense with him so close to her again.

“DAMN IT! What if something would have happened to you? What if something would have happened to OUR BABY?”, he roared in anger but Swara could find the traces of fear in them.

Was he really that scared?

“I… thought…”

“What did you think?”, he shouted again.

“What I would have done, Sanskaar. I knew you regretted that night. It wasn’t supposed to happen. You never wanted any limitations. And this baby… What I would have said when I knew that you hated me… Wha…”

Her ranting was immediately cut off as Sanskaar placed his lips over her. Again. But this time it wasn’t out of need. It held passion… passion that he felt for her and in a blink Swara found herself responding back to him. This was what she always wanted and she just hoped that moment to stop right then and there. With two urgent nibbles on her lower lip Sanskaar pulled back, resting his forehead against hers, “Is this enough to prove that I don’t hate you?”

Out of breath, Swara couldn’t help but just nod her head against his forehead. This guy was crazy and was now driving her insane. She needed him just like she needed her next breath and that thought terrified her beyond measures.

“Sanskaar”, she whispered and he hummed still resting his forehead against hers.

“Thank you for being there.”

“Always without even asking.”

“Mr. Maheshwari”, she whispered again and he chuckled before pulling back. Caressing her cheeks, he kissed her forehead, “Yes, Mrs. Maheshwari!”

“You’re going to be a father”, she smiled as she found his eyes filled with adoration for her. His hearts leaps inside his chest on this new sensation. FATHER! Though it was a lot of responsibility but he knew he would make it as long as she was by his side.

“And you are going to be a mother! Together we’ll become the best parents for our baby.”

Our baby! Those words rolling out of his lips sounded like music to her ears and she finally said those magical words after which there was no turning back, “I love you, Sanskaar.”

Sanskaar smiled the most genuine smile she had ever seen gracing his lips, “And this arrogant, hardheaded, multimillionaire jerk loves you with all he is and all that he’ll ever be, my love.”

“Damn! You knew. That I… um… called you that”, Swara looked away. Gosh! That was so embarrassing.

Sanskaar laughed tilting her head back to himself, “Yes I did! God, I love you so much.”

With that his lips found hers again sealing their ardent declaration of love with yet another passion filled kiss.

=== 💖💖 ===

A/N

Finally, I finished it. Sorry, it took longer than expected. I never expected it to become so long. I still can’t believe I wrote the whole shot in one single day, considering the fact how lazy I am. But I hope I haven’t messed it up in a hurry. I wish you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Finally, a happy ending. I’m not that ruthless that I’ll kill Swara in every story. 🙈🙈😂😂

Now an important note for my readers. As you all asked me I have entered three of my stories in the NEW AUTHOR AWARDS organized by NewAuthorAwards and the voting lines for the same have been opened today. Thank you so much for all those who have voted for my stories and those who don’t know about it yet then three of my stories have been nominated :

-THE HIDDEN HALF in Mystery / Thriller
-TO YOU, MY HEART I SURRENDER in Teen Fiction
-THE LAST LETTER in One Shot. But while voting you’ll find FIREFLIES over there as that’s the book’s name.

So, if you think that my stories are worth it then please do vote for me and help me enter the second round. That would really mean a lot to me.

See you all soon! Till then stay blessed and happy reading!

With love,
Stella ❤️