"The car will be here in sometime. I will drop you home." Salem said and walked closer to her and carefully took away the knives.

"As much as I like you with knives. I don't want you to get hurt or hurt anyone anymore." Saying this, he cleaned the blood on it with his handkerchief and put it away.

In the quiet night after the chaos, the both of them stood together not knowing what to say.

To Salem, it reminded him of the first year in college. She was beautiful from the first glance but he was mesmerized by her when she bravely threatened the goons with rocks. He had never seen a girl do that. So brave and fearless. Today, she reminded him again of that time. His love for her resurfaced. She was unique, unlike anyone he had met before. Sure, he had multiple girls as friends and they all were precious to me but none of them made him feel like Pari did.

Pari was beautiful and a badass. A rare combination. And she never had an ounce of pretense in her. A lot of other girls he had dated were pretentious or just too good for their own good. He wanted someone who was equally strong like him. Strong didn't necessarily equate to physically strong but her spirit. She seemed unbreakable.

Both of them sat in the passenger seat as Salem told the driver Pari's address. She was shocked that he still remembers!

"You remember?" She couldn't help but say it out loud as a shock.

"Ofcourse, I do. My memory is sharp. I never forget." Salem said. Pari nodded knowing how he was good at remembering all the last minute notes she helped him study.

For Salem, having a sharp memory helped. As an actor, it became easier to remember lines as well as his schedule.

"How has life been? I mean acting looks so glamorous." Pari asked. She was not a huge fan of the movies but she liked them, especially songs.

Salem was surprised that Pari initiated a conversation and asked him a question.

"It's good. It's hectic. It can drive you crazy but I love it." Salem answered in short. Sure, it looked glamourous and it was in some aspects with all the good looking people surrounding you, the night parties hosted by other actors but it was also much beyond that. The work hours were crazy, you get no holidays and no excuses. As an actor, you need to look good all the time and not fall sick or injure yourself. But he was ready to work around the clock. He loved to act and he wanted to make it big.

The car ride was quite until Pari's area came. Salem asked the driver to stop on the main road. He knew Pari wouldn't like him to drop just outside her residence. He got down from the car to walk Pari home. Pari told him it's okay and there is no need from him to walk but he made her quite with his glare. There was no room for argument about this. It was too late and he wasn't letting her go alone.

"We don't want you harming any more people." Salem joked lightly, which reminded her of her knives.

"Can you return my knives to me?" She asked Salem.

"No, they had those bastar*s blood. I will get you new ones. Smaller and sharper ones, okay? Good night." He said and left her.

She stood there for a few minutes thinking about him and his behaviour.
Pari didn't tell Priya about the incident that happened. She just mentioned how she saw Salem again but he wasn't the same flirty guy. May be, he had moved on from her.

Huh, why would he think of me when he has so many girls surrounding him?
But it was for the good, wasn't it? She told herself.

The days passed. As promised, he had come to personally give her new knives which were smaller and sharper. But he never talked to her beyond that.

She felt hurt at the lack of the attention given by him. She was used to him being around her, pestering her.

The schedule of the movie shooting was over and there was no chance of her seeing him again. She felt like a fool for missing all that.

Another 6 months passed, the movie starring Salem & Shonali was released and it turned out to be a big hit! It was a heartbreaking love triangle. The songs were on every radio and television show. Salem became a household name. People across age groups started recognising him. He was on more commercials than before and even appeared on newspaper ads on the front page. Girls and women were equally charmed by him. Priya even went to the theatres for this movie but Pari denied coming along.

In these months, Priya's marriage was almost fixed. Varun was a middle class guy working in a bank. He also had a younger sister named Varsha. Pari says 'almost fixed' because the families like each other but nothing was official yet. But she was happy for Priya. Varsha had told Pari how Varun was into Hindi movies, just like Priya. Overall, Pari approved of Varun. She even applauded her aunty for finding a suitable guy for Priya.
The plan was to have roka next week and it was a chaos at home. The shopping list was never ending.

Pari had bought herself 7 new outfits in total. Her mother had to reprimand Pari from buying anymore clothes.
She got herself 2 sarees, 3 new kurtis, 1 anarkali and one jeans. Pari's mantra was shop till her mother says no!

Tonight was also the success party of the movie at the hotel. She was a little excited to see Salem again. But what she didn't expect was the security at the hotel. It was too avoid crazy fans crashing the event. She saw the event from distance. There were unlimited food and drinks for the stars. She also got her plate of share and it was delicious!

Salem had come late to the party and he looked busy with all his friends and posing for the camera. She assumed the photos were for page 3 and other movie magazines. The public loved to read about film stars and gossips. Priya was too much into these things while it never interested Pari to dive deep into the world of movies and actors.

She changed from her work uniform to her kurti and left the hotel earlier than usual. As she walked a distance from the hotel to the bus stop, she saw Salem's car stop beside her. The passenger door opened and she saw Salem's hand stretched out for her. She stood there for a minute and took his hand in hers as she stepped in his car.

The touch of their hands felt electric. It brought back so much from their college days, the time they had spent in the library, Oliver's cafe and their date.

"Will you come on a date with me?" He asked, never leaving her hand.

"Now? It's too late." She referred to both - the time of the day and the timing in the life.

"Nothing's too late if we want it." He answered.

"I know your shift doesn't end for some more 45 minutes. Till then, we can go to the beach. Have you been to the beach at night?" He asked and she shook her head.

He asked the driver to take them to the beach. As usual, she never initiated the conversation. It was him who asked her the questions or told her about his day.

"Pari, I don't want things to be like this. It seems like I am forcing you to spend time with me. But I know, you want it as much as I do. Why do you always deny your feelings and never respect mine?" He asked her and she was not ready for such a serious question from him.

"You know the answer." She replied.

"What? Is it that you don't trust me? Pari, again, if I didn't want you, I would have stayed at the party amongst them. Not be here with you." He explained.

And she had nothing to answer. Indeed, he was here. He didn't need to check if she was reaching home safe or not but he did.

Pari didn't answer and looked away.

The reached at the beach. Salem gave her his hand and she took it to get out of the car.

As they walked on the beach, they never left each other's hand. It was comforting for the both of them. So many unsaid things between them just found their medium.

"Not replying to me isn't the correct way. You are also denying your feelings to yourself. You didn't give me a chance then." Salem said and continued.

"It hurts me. I busy myself in work and I love it with all my heart but when I go home, sometimes, it's your thoughts that haunt me."

"I may not be the best. I may not be able to give you all my time. But I want to give you everything you want."

He stopped walking and made her look at him.

"I deserve a chance. We deserve a chance. Don't you think so?" He asked her but she didn't reply.

He touched her forehead to hers and confessed, "I hate to admit it but I missed you so much."

"Why do you make me feel this emotional when I am with you?"

"I promise I won't hurt you."

"Give me a chance, please."

She sniffed. A tear falling from her eyes. All her buried feelings were coming to the surface with his confession.

He held her face and they kissed under the moonlight at the beach. It was straight out of the movies.

"I won't hurry you in accepting me as your boyfriend or this relationship. I just want us to spend time and you give me a chance. Okay, my love?" He said.

Unlike before, his shooting schedule was hectic and he was honest with her about not being able to give her the time.

He dropped her safe at her home and kissed her forehead wishing her a good night. She smiled back and said bye to her.

She went in quietly to her room. It was 11.30 pm and slept peacefully.

The next morning, she was woken up in haste. Priya shook her up until she sat on the bed.

Pari glared at her for making her wake up in disastrous manner.

"What the hell? Why did you wake me up?"

Priya's face was red signalling her in extreme anger.

She slapped Pari on her face and threw the newspaper on her page.

Pari was about to recover from the slap when she turned the newspaper and another wave of shock hit her.

_______

Feb 6, 2024

Guys! Please vote and comment.

Not edited at all.

Byee!!