Only if god has chosen to be merciful to let the poor soul rest, but...
The moment Sophia walked past Alex, he held her arm, applied a bit of force, pulled her toward himself, making her do a three-sixty degree turn [ inspired by indian tv serials], the palm of her other hand and her face landing directly on his chest.
She blinked, then lifted her head, while still trying to process the situation at hand. Their eyes met, and for a moment, time stopped flowing; the world ceased to exist. It was just them, the fluttering of their eyelashes, the sound of their breaths, the cute height difference, him towering over her, holding her wrist gently, her looking at him with those doe eyes, as if he were her world, her face lifted completely, facing him.
They were drawn to each other as if some magnetic pull towards each other was sucking them in. They kept blinking, their faces emotionless, mind blank, and yet their eyes were conveying countless emotions that might not even carry a name to describe them.
It's like their eyes met, giving birth to this magical moment. [ With the lyrics playing in the author's mobile ;
'Dheere dheere, tu mere lafzon mein aaya re,
Tujhko hi to chupke se mann mein laaya re..'
The lyrics of the song humsafar, movie Saiyaara (Now, you know the reason behind the magical moment. Lol. These songs will be the doom of mine.]
{ The magic Sachet, Parampara, Irshad and Prasant have cooked, it's more dangerous than the addiction of drugs itself. Anyway, time to focus on the story. }
Alma cleared her throat, and finally, the magical spell was broken. She pushed her hand away from Alex's clutches, who let it go and then she created some distance between them. He let her.
She stared at him, but this time, her eyebrows were frowning, as if questioning him about his actions and intentions, making him smile lightly, before he turned serious and decided to delve into the business.
" Where were you?" He finally asked, his voice calm, gentle, but carrying the edge of coldness in it, showcasing his personality as the CEO. Sophia just frowned harder.
" Excuse me!" She asked, thinking she might have heard it wrongly.
" Sigh! You left the dining table, and only now have you arrived. So, where were you? What were you doing? Did you have anything all this time? Did you have money to take care of yourself? Whose car is it? Whose bags were those?" Alex asked calmly, word-for-word, the questions of every person present in the household to Sophia, even though he felt it was a bit too much and completely unnecessary, as nobody cared what he did, why he did, how he did, when he did, despite him being the son and grandson of this house. Then, why her?
But then, it's better to play the devil's advocate, instead of leaving her in the devil's lair, right? Who knows what they would ask or do to her? If they can force their one and only heir to marry a stranger, after knowing about his love story, then who knows what they would do to a stranger?
A stranger, to whom they claim to hate and despise.
"Didn't my parents inform you?" Sophia asked, confusion building in her mind. Wouldn't those oldies have handled this for her?
"Inform what?" Alex asked, as gently as possible, as he could feel the gazes of people boring holes in his back.
" I work with an NGO. Actually, there were many things I wanted to do, but my father was against it. Saying girls of respectable households have to uphold the pride, dignity, and respect of their families, and they shouldn't do things that could risk it.
So, after completing my schooling, I joined an NGO. At first, father was against it, but later, when he saw me sitting on the sofa doing nothing, the whole day and night, he reluctantly agreed.
I spend my days doing countless things, mostly running errands. But as long as I can contribute to society and bring pride to my family, that's all that matters. Right!" Sophia explained, while offering self self-mocking, self-deprecating smile.
She has always wanted to pursue graduation; there were countless things she wanted to do, countless things she wanted to experience, but her father never agreed. As a result, she just gave up on everything. She decided to breathe until she can and then sleep forever. That's what she concluded her life to be.
But then came a beautiful angel dressed in black, Anaika Di. She saw her, actually saw her, she talked with Sophia's father, she convinced that bullheaded man, she assured him, and even placed her goodwill as a guarantee, only then that evil guy allowed her to step outside the house.
She still remembers how Anaika Di changed her depressing, suicidal life, filling it with love, care, memories, and experiences. She was the one who took Sophia to The V International for an interview. Since then, it has been their secret. Their sweet, little secret.
The secret, they swore to take to their grave.
Alex noticed how she formally addressed 'father' instead of dad or papa lovingly. He also noticed the hint of sadness, the hint of 'I've given up' in her voice and her smile, it said countless things her words could possibly have never.
Sophia didn't give her tone or her expression or her smile much thought, since in her family, people loved to be blind and deaf to her feelings and emotions. But this was Alex. Alex Raichand. The guy who reads people like books. The guy who can predict a person's present, past, and future with a mere handshake and eye contact.
He knew something was wrong with the Rajputs, for they wedded their only daughter the moment she turned eighteen. But the problem seems much severe than he had given it a thought, previously. Unfortunately, it's none of his business. At least, yet.
Only when she trusts him enough, when she shares it all with him, when she asks him to meddle, then it will become his business, and he will be the judge of the Rajputs' destiny.