The terrace - 1

He looked at his mobile screen and saw her message.

"What is happening tonight Raymond?" - Akira

He thought for a while and took a deep breath for he was unable to summarize what he wanted to answer for that question.

She got impatient when she didn't get any reply from him and instantly asked again.

"What is going on Raymond? Will you tell me clearly. I am getting worried here" - Akira.

"Just trust me Akira and wait for a couple of hours more. And promise me no matter what, you are not going to leave my side" - PRIVATE NUMBER

"You are scaring me now Raymond. I don't have much time. Vikram will come back soon and he is taking me somewhere. If you want, I can stay back and make some excuse" - Akira

"No need Akira. Just go with him. I will manage" - PRIVATE NUMBER

"Promise me that you will stay out of trouble !!!" - Akira

"Fine !!! I promise" - PRIVATE NUMBER

She saw his message and felt a bit relieved as she knew that he would never do anything to break away from his promise.

She put her phone back in her clutch and finished her apple juice and just when she placed the glass back on the table, she saw Vikram approaching towards her.

"It's time !!!", he said and removed his jacket and placed it over her shoulders carefully.

"You might need it. It's going to be windy", he said and smirked.

"Windy ??? Where are we going Vikram? You know I don't like surprises", she said and looked up at him, reprimanding for an answer.

"Just follow me. At least for once can you just trust me and not keep asking thousands of questions Akira?", Vikram said and extended his hand for her to hold.

She held his hand grudgingly as she badly wanted him to disclose what the surprise was but anyhow she just obediently followed him.

As they walked down the stairs, Raymond turned and went to a corner and texted,

"They are on the move. Secure Terrace !!!" - PRIVATE NUMBER

Vikram took her to the private lift area and pressed the button to go up.

"Are we going up to the terrace because that's the only place that will be windy right now?", she asked.

"Ok, this the final time I am asking you to just shut up and follow me. Else the only surprise that you will get is a duct tape on your mouth", Vikram said and then pulled her inside the lift.

Meanwhile, Raymond started sending text messages to everyone who was a part of his plan.

"Where are you, Kat?" - PRIVATE NUMBER

"I have reached here with Shawn, we are in the parking lot" - Katherine

"Quick, there isn't much time" - PRIVATE NUMBER

"Just give us two minutes and we will be there" - Katherine

Katherine kept her phone down and got down from the car. Then both Shawn and her rushed towards the lift to reach the terrace. While they were waiting for the lift to come, Shawn asked,

"Katherine you can still re-think about it and ask someone else to help you. I don't think I can do a good job at it".

She looked at him and said,

"Just trust me. Do it for Raymond's sake", Katherine said and walked in into the lift and pinged Raymond,

"Inside the lift" - Katherine

"David will be at the entrance to give you the fake ID's" - Raymond

"We will get fake ID's at the entrance to the terrace", Katherine said and looked at Shawn.

"I am still not sure Kat. I am really not sure", Shawn said all palpitating.

Katherine then looked at him and said,

"You wanted answers that day at your place right?"

"Yes"

"Then I am going to give you all the answers today. Just follow my lead and say what you feel deep down in your heart", Katherine said and looked up at him.

Shawn looked at her all surprised for he couldn't understand how he would be able to get his answers amidst this chaos that was going to happen. But he knew that if she has promised then she would definitely give him the answers and that was all he wanted.

---

The moment the lift reached the terrace floor, Vikram covered her eyes with his hands and said,

"Follow me".

He swiftly directed her out of the lift and reached the exit point and slowly removed his hands which were covering her eyes.

The entire path was covered with flowers, and not just any flowers, it was covered with baby's breath, her favorite. She opened her eyes and was startled in surprise. She immediately turned back and asked,

"You did all this for me?"

He just nodded and kept looking at her without saying a word further, as he just wanted to capture the excitement and happiness spread on her face just to see the flowers. He couldn't wait for the entire evening to unfold.

And just when she was about to take a step further he said,

"Wait !!!"

He bent down and opened the straps of her stilettoes and said,

"You have already borne them enough for me. There is no need for you to wear them now", and with one loving glance at her, he removed the heels from her feet and then got up to hold her hand.

"What is all this Vikram?", she asked.

"Nothing, it's just my way of saying thank-you to you".

"But there was no need to go so overboard. So many flower bouquets !!! It must have costed a fortune right?", she asked all worried.

He smiled and shook his head unable to believe the way this girl's mind worked. Other girls will die for such an arrangement and here she was worried about his expenses when he had the capacity to cover the entire city with flowers for her.

"A bit but nothing in comparison to your happiness", he said and softly touched her cheeks with his palm.

"Don't pamper me so much now. What will happen when I go back to university after my internship is over?"

"If you want I can send you flowers every single day, if you like them so much".

"No no that was not what I meant, what I meant was..."

"Shh.... Just come with me. The night has just started for us", he said and held her hand tightly.