Suvarna's POV.

"Suvi!"

I ignored the voice and kept walking.

"Suvi, Stop!"

I most certainly shall not, I assured myself silently.

"Suvi. This is not funny!"

No, it most certainly is not! Just like it was not funny when this madman had been trying to sneak into the shop while I was shopping for my-'essentials!'

How dare he keep referring to them as 'titbits'?

I will certainly not stop walking. Let him scream out his lungs for all I care!

"Suvi! You could get lost."

He has a point there.

I took the next bend on the sidewalk and slowed my speed considerably and pretended to look into the shops around. I heard his footsteps get closer and pretended to not notice him – till he walked right past from where I was standing!

I turned to look in that direction and my heart almost missed a beat when I realised that person was not Shishir!

I gave a hurried look in the direction I had been walking from. There was no sign of him! I looked around frantically trying to catch a glimpse of his dark jacket.

Why do so many people have to wear dark coloured clothes! I started feeling panicky till I heard a mobile phone ring beside me.

Of course! How silly of me. I should just call him. I know he had been right behind me so he cannot be far and he must also be undoubtedly trying to look for me right now.

I put my hand into the pocket of my coat and frowned when I did not find it. I checked the other pocket. My heart gave a painful lurch remembering I had given my phone to Shishir to hold before I had gone inside the shop.

Shit.Shit.Shit.

Why did I do that? Why did I not slip it into a pocket like I usually do?

Should I just stand where I was and wait- rather hope for Shishir to find me? Or maybe ask someone to help me?

But how will anyone help me? I don't even have an address or the name of the hotel where we would be staying.

Why did I have to be so silly and do something so insensible like walking away in an unknown city! I do not even speak French.

Where did he go? I had heard him call out to me constantly.

He must have missed seeing me taking the turn at the bend I thought feeling myself go close to tears.

Maybe I should walk back in the direction I had been walking? I felt some eyes on me. I gulped in fear when I saw a burly man- very tall and hefty was staring at me from a few yards away.

Suvi, take hold of yourself. Don't look scared and let him guess you are lost. I closed my eyes in my attempt to calm myself.

My eyes snapped open when I felt an arm on my shoulders followed by a strong smell of chocolate.

I turned my head sharply and almost cried in joy.

Shishir!

I squeaked my happiness and flung my arms around him.

"Careful Suvi!" He said and I then realised he was holding two cones of ice cream. Chocolate and the other vanilla.

"I did not mean to make you so angry Suvi." He said pushing the chocolate one towards me.

"I thought I was lost." I said with my hand still around him.

"I was right in front of you Suvi. How could you think you were lost?" Shishir said pointing in front with his chin.

I turned and saw a few yards away was an ice cream vendor, right where the burly man was standing.

I realised Shishir must have been just behind him, covered by his burly frame.

Silly Suvi, I almost smiled in relief. I got so scared that I did not even see around properly.

I saw Shishir raise his hand with the Vanilla ice cream and wave at the burly man. I gasped when the man smiled and waved right back and gave him a thumbs up sign.

"Why are you waving at him?"

"I had to take my eyes off you for a couple of minutes while paying for the icecream so I had asked him to keep an eye on you- lest you walked away again!"

"You could have called out to me instead!"

"Where you responding to my calling you since past few minutes?" He retorted.

Feeling sillier by the minute I pouted. "Sorry I over reacted." I said and reached for the vanilla cone.

"That you did." He laughed and pushed the chocolate cone again towards me. I shook my head reaching again for vanilla.

"You are my boyfriend. I really over reacted."

"It's all right for me to tease?" He asked, finally successfully handing me the chocolate cone.

I eyed him suspiciously not missing the twinkle in his eyes. I raised my eyebrow in silent question as we started walking, his arm firmly around my waist.

"Bubble-gum titbit." He barked out a laughter. I groaned in distress realising he must have sneaked into the shop at that moment when the enthusiastic sales woman had been telling me about shade options!

His phone rang just then saving me from further embarrassing conversation. "Yeah Paresh, have you all reached?" He asked into the phone "We are down at the shopping arcade of the hotel. Wait at the reception we are coming.

My mouth formed a surprised 'O' on hearing the words 'shopping arcade of the hotel'.

I almost shrieked when I saw what was visible in the distance. Shishir looked at me at my obvious reaction and grinned when he realised the reason.

Eiffel tower! "We are staying in front of it?" I said almost jumping as he pulled me along.

"You have a better view from the upper floor, where we are staying." He said pulling at an almost stagnant me as I stood rooted staring at the majestic monument in the distance.

"Suvi we will go near it in some time." Shishir said laughing as he lifted me up from the ground holding my waist. He was still laughing at my expression when he placed me down back again a few paces ahead.

His phone rang once again before I could finish squealing my excitement. I saw Shishir scowl at the phone and disconnected it.

It rang again almost immediately and Shishir  once again disconnected after glancing at the screen.

"Shishir  take the call." I said, confused why he was disconnecting.

"Not important." He said shrugging casually.

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Break time!

Suvi has to do something so typical of her even before they can start their trip properly. LOl!

I had planned to update this chapter earlier but then took time in looking up into google for bits of information, other than the commonly known facts about the places they will visit.

And ended up getting too engrossed in reading! Haha!

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Raghunath's POV.

I stared at the phone disbelievingly. Shishir has been disconnecting my calls.

He never does that!

I understand he is angry with me but what happened cannot be that big a deal for him to react like this. They had just been some letters written in childhood, for God's sake.

He had left without telling me where he had gone. I had come to know from Charles that he and Paresh had gone off to a Europe trip, along with Suvarna.

I would not have stopped them had he told me. I have always been fond of Suvarna. After all she is the daughter of my childhood best friend, Prachi.

I doorbell rang and I went to answer it to see Nimmy on the other side of the door.

"Thank you for coming." I said stepping aside for her to enter. When she had agreed to come and talk about Aditya yesterday I had been surprised.

In the past years she has hardly spoken to me after she had walked out on me, no matter how much I had tried to.

I was trying to get Aditya out of prison in my attempt to get back into her good books again and with the hope that she returns home, comes back to me.

I cannot change the past, no matter how guilty I feel but surely for that one mistake I don't deserve to be punished so harshly.

"Did you talk to Shishir?" she asked me right away as she stepped inside.

"No he left for a trip around Europe without informing me." I said and saw disappointment on her face.

"I had hoped to meet him." She said looking sad. She had been really disappointed when Shishir had not even come to acknowledge her yesterday.

"I have been trying to call him but he is not answering my calls." I said feeling my temper rise. "I never thought he would over react in such a stupid manner for something so trivial."

"Emotions have always been trivial in your books Raghu." She said her lips twisting.

"How long will you taunt me for that one mistake Nimmy?" I blurted raising my voice.

"You know very well what path you had chosen, no matter how briefly in your attempt to succeed Raghu. And it had been a whole lot of mistakes, not just one."

"It was wrong, I agree. I did rectify on realisation." I said taking a step closer to her.

She stepped back "No matter how much you rectify Raghu, it will not bring Prachi back to life." She said looking into my eyes.

I froze. I closed my eyes tightly shut trying to ease the pain of this harsh reality.

If only- I shook my head, knowing it was too late to think on the lines of 'if only'

"Call me when you speak to Shishir." I heard Nimmy say as she moved towards the door.

Shishir's POV.

I tried not to think about my father's attempts to call me. The hurt is too deep for me to shrug it off lightly. Above all, his actions had created a rift between Suvi and me for years, and that was unforgivable.

"Shishir  you booked a suite?" Suvi frowned as we stepped inside followed by Danny and Paresh.

"It's better Suvi than multiple separate rooms." I explained. "Are you two okay with sharing a bedroom?" I asked Paresh and Danny.

Both nodded immediately. After all since it was a suite they need not be restricted only into their room.

As they walked towards their room I stepped towards Suvi. "If you are not comfortable with sharing a room with me, I can sleep outside. There is space enough and I can get an extra bed put up here."

She looked at me for a few moments. "No it's fine. We can be in the same room." she said softly.

I smiled and leaned to plant a kiss on her forehead. I had somehow not liked the idea of her being alone in a separate room.

I know the hotel is safe but still was not comfortable with the idea. That was the reason why I had booked the suite, knowing I could easily sleep in the hall if required.

"Come on. Let's unpack! I am dying to see around Paris." She said sounding excited at the prospect.

I grinned at her "I can help you unpack." I said eyeing the packages she was still holding in her hands..

She glared at me as she marched ahead into our room and I laughed at her expression.

It was a delight to tease her!

***

"You mean there are shops inside the tower?" Suvi asked her eyes big with the surprise of realisation.

She beamed at us happily when we laughed at her comment.

"We will eat at Jules Verne, but before that let's take you shopping." I said pulling her along.

"Eat inside the tower!" she said clapping her hands enthusiastically. Making us laugh out loud again. Her excitement was contagious!

I knew the night view from the tower would be amazing and loved the idea of being here with her. I had been to Paris a number of times over the years but never had felt the enthusiasm to see around much.

Now with Suvi back in my life things were different and I felt excitement of seeing new places pulse through me.

"Suvi, what did you buy in the afternoon?" Paredh asked suddenly and I had to hold back the chuckle that threatened to erupt out of me.

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Break time!

Raghunath does seem to have a big reason for doing what he had over the years. More on his big mistake and what had happened years back in the consequent chapters.

Enjoy the visit to Eiffel tower!

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Suvarna's POV.

I groaned at Paresh's question. I had evaded it when they had reached earlier in the evening, but trust him to bring it up!

"Nothing! Why would I shop right after arriving here?" I said trying to change the topic.

"Bhaiya had texted that you need to but some things and he is taking you shopping, so we should call him once we arrive here." Paresh said as I glared at the now guilty looking Shishir.

"Um – nothing Paresh as Suvi said." He said and I almost smiled at him. Almost. "We just bought some -er candies – like bubble-gum etc."

He did not just say that!

"Suvi you mean girl. You did not want to share your goodies so you were hiding." Paresh  said.

I pretended not to have heard him and concentrated on a tiny replica of the Eiffel tower like it was the most fascinating object I had ever come across.

"Sorry. I thought that will distract him." Shishir said softly into my ears and I elbowed him on his tummy pushing him away.

He thought he would mention food to Paresh and he will ignore it??

"Suvi check this out." I heard Paresh's enthusiastic voice and went upto him to see he was standing in front of some shelves with various sizes of the Eiffel tower. On seeing closely I realised they were chocolate casings shaped as the tower!

I looked around amazed as almost every shelf at that part had replicas of the tower and many actually were just casings of chocolate cookies etc.

"Pushy, how will you carry everything back to London?" I laughed at him and he glared at me for calling him 'Pushy.' He had a huge pile that he had already selected to buy.

"We will eat them here while in Paris, woman. They are chocolates and cookies!" He rolled his eyes at me as though I was a child who could not see the simple obvious fact.

"Danny you don't want to buy anything?" Pushkar asked from behind the pile he was holding, his face almost hidden completely behind it.

"You are buying enough for an army." Danny laughed at Paredh's face, barely peeping out from behind the mound of chocolates and cookies.

"I am not sharing." Paresh said immediately and I exchanged a grin with Danny.

Where is Shishir? I saw him approach us and from his face realised he had been upto something.

He did not say anything but instead looked at his watch and said "It's already past 6 , let's head towards the upper floor, before heading for dinner. They start at 7.P.M"

He turned and started walking towards the counter. Paresh was not at all happy when Shishir made him reduce his pile considerably.

"Come back tomorrow if you want more. How will you move around with that pile?" Shishir insisted to the grumpy looking Paresh.

***

It felt like we were in heaven! The view was breath taking and the lights of the beautiful city added to the magic.

We were right now at 3rd level and I had never seen anything so mesmerising before. I had wanted to take the staircase built inside to reach up, but unfortunately it was no longer accessible for public use.

'I felt a movement just behind me and felt Shishir's hands hold my wrist. He pulled out the charm bracelet and I saw he had the tiniest replica of the Eiffel tower in between his fingers.

He attached it to the bracelet. "A memory worth remembering?" He asked softly.

My breath hitched as I admired the tiny perfection. I nodded at Shishir feeling too overwhelmed to speak.

This visit had not only been unexpected it had been more than I could have ever imagined. "So this is what you had been upto back at the shop?" I asked him teasing him, loving him more at this moment.

He grinned. "Tomorrow I have some special plans for us."

No matter how much I asked he refused to give details. He just kept saying 'sight seeing around here.'

When we at last came down from the tower I was most reluctant to let go of this magical experience. "We will come again." Shishir promised as we stood just in front of the tower.

I posed for a selfie and that triggered our photo session. I don't think I have ever clicked so many photographs in my life!

Laughing as we saw each other's mobile it felt great and I felt so free and happy.

"What is that?" I asked pointing towards one side of the tower at the base.

"There are two gardens here adjacent to the base. We will come back and visit them during day time before we leave Paris." Shishir said.

I had absolutely no idea this majestic tower had so much to offer by way of sight seeing!

"Shishir where are we going tomorrow?" I tried and once gain all I got was a grin.

"Let tomorrow arrive Suvi. " He said as we started walking ."Right now we need to sleep, we have to wake up early tomorrow.

Shishir's POV.

Once back in our suite Paresh and Danny went to their room almost immediately. I cannot blame them. All of us were really tired at the end of this eventful day. I asked Suvi to go inside telling her I will be coming in a few minutes.

I wanted her to relax and prepare for bed. Besides I had some details to be fixed for tomorrow.

I was taking her to a vineyard and also for sightseeing on rural regions. I knew she would love that.

I glanced at the screen of my mobile seeing a call come in.

Papa. I almost disconnected it then thought of getting it over and done with. I knew he would keep calling till I spoke to him.

"Yes, Papa." I answered without a trace of emotion in my voice.

"Shishir! I have been trying to call you whole day! How can you leave just like that?" I heard my father's voice.

"Did you want to talk to me about something?" I asked.

"Yes! How can you be so careless and leave without taking care of Golu's case? I want you to withdraw the charges immediately." He ordered.

"That will not be happening Papa. I am not withdrawing the charges."

"Shishir." Papa said his tone held a warning note. "You will come back immediately, first thing in the morning. Enough of this childish conduct from you."

"Papa, I am not coming back tomorrow. I will be away for the next few days though you are welcome to stay at my house even when I am away." I said pointedly, feeling more anger than any feeling of guilt right now. "And Regarding Aditya's case, my suggestion to you is, please save your time and mine. I will not be changing my mind."

I could almost feel his anger vibrate through the phone.

"Shishir you are daring to stand against me?" Papa asked.

"I am simply doing what is right. Is there anything else you want to talk about?"

"Shishir. Do you realise you will be against me in the courtroom if you do not give up on this stubborn attitude."

For a brief second I felt a stab of hurt. He was ready to go to that extent?

"If that is what you want Papa. I will see you at the court then."

"Aren't you getting a bit too over confident here? You know I will shred your case in pieces in no time." He warned.

"I have enough evidence Papa." I said not wanting to get into any war of words on this.

"Don't be naïve Shishir. You know you don't stand a chance against my experience." He scoffed, obviously wanting me to get discouraged and change my mind.

"We will see about that. Good night." I said and disconnected the call without waiting for any response from him.

I sat down on the sofa nearby and leaned back with my eyes shut. It was almost like I was seeing a side of Papa that I never knew existed.

Why is he so determined about this? I opened my eyes to see Suvi stand in front of me. From her expression I knew she had heard