FF: Fire and Water (Ch. 26-A Updated on Pg.145!) - Page 83

Riya said nothing, but hugged him back.

"Main aapka saath kabhi nahin chodungi sir.. Kabhi nahin. Iss sab ka saamna hum milke karenge. Uss Sikender ka saamna aap akele nahin karenge. Taayi ko insaaf milega. Aur woh unhe hum dilayenge!" she said to herself.

Arjun parted from Riya and wiped her tears, "You okay?"

Riya nodded. "Main abhi aaya.." he said and walked out of the room.

Riya was still trembling. His embrace.. that was what she had always wanted. The sense of security and warmth was what she yearned for. And today, he was there for her, when she needed him the most. His touch still lingered on her skin. She embraced herself trying to capture the feel and never let it go. Her face became warm as the colour that drained away, returned to her face.

But there was something that tore her apart, her Taayi was no more in this world. She remembered the day she was separated from her Taayi..

She saw her Taayi running back into the house after hugging her and her piercing screams, "Taayi! Taayi!"

"Taayi…" she cried, her head buried in her hands.

15 minutes later:

He stood on the terrace staring at the setting sun. He realized what he had done. He could still feel Riya in his arms. It was like all those emotions that were bottled up until then had suddenly come out. His invisible wall was finally broken and all barriers vanished into thin air. He felt serene. The sunset appeared to him not as the end of a day but as a hope for a new morning…

"Rawte," Arjun heard Rathore calling out his name.

"Rathore. Tumhe aaraam karna chahiye. Hamein aaj raat ko nikalna bhi tho hain," Arjun said as he walked towards Rathore.

"Ab Riya kaisi hain?" he asked. He was worried for the both of them.

"Theek hain," he said and turned away from Rathore.

"Tum pehle se jaante the Riya ke baare mein?"

"Haan. Lekin aaj jo hua, aise hona nahin chahiye tha. Main usse khud batane waala tha. Pata nahin usse kaise shak hua."

"Maine mention kiya tha Roshni ka naam uske saamne.." Rathore said as Arjun looked at him frowning, "Sikender ke case ke baare mein discuss kar rahe the hospital mein. Tumhare bahar jaane ke baad.."

Arjun sighed. "Khair, jo hua so hua. Riya will be fine Rathore. She will be.."

"I know Rawte. Iss baar woh akeli nahin hain," Rathore said putting a hand on Arjun's shoulder, "Tayyar raho. Ek ghante mein nikal rahe hain."

Rathore smiled at Arjun and left.

"Haan Riya. Iss baar tum akeli nahin ho. Main tumse vaada karta hoon.." Arjun said as he stared at the horizon.

***

Riya washed her face and came out of the washroom, to find Shree and Chotu sitting on the couch in her room waiting for her.

"Ri, are you fine?" Shree asked worried.

"Haan. Theek hoon. Itna tension mat lo tum dono.." she said with a faint smile on her lips, but her pain was still evident in her voice.

"Tum aur theek? Kitna theek ho dikh raha hain.." Shree was about to say something when Chotu nudged him, and signaled him to shut up. He walked towards Riya and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Riya tumhe jaldi se theek hona hoga. Tum jaanti ho kyun. Isiliye ab aur rona nahin.." he said looking at the fresh tears in her eyes.

Chotu turned towards Shree and Shree walked towards her and made her sit on the bed, "Riya main samajhta hoon ki ye tumhare liye ab kitna mushkil ho gaya hain. Lekin we promise, tumhe jab bhi hamari zaroorat hain, main aur Chotu tumhare saath hain.. Hain na Chotu?" Shree said looking at Chotu. "Bilkul Riya, it's a promise," Chotu said. Riya smiled through her tears and wiped them away.

Arjun and Rathore who were watching the entire scene standing at the door were moved by their friendship. It wasn't just a team anymore.. it was much more than that. They will have to stick together now; there would be tough times ahead. Arjun and Rathore knew this very well.

***

It was celebration time in the Rathore family. Their daughter in law and their granddaughter returned to the house after eight years of separation. Saumya was running around the house playing with Shivam's ten year old son. They'd already become best friends!

***

Avantika was however not her lively self. Her happiness was superficial, and Sameer knew it. She had lost her family in just two days. The doctors said that Bhagwat's chances of survival were very less. Aditya would be charged for murder. Avantika's Bhabisa refused to meet her and severed all ties with her.

Jagdish Rathore asked Sameer and Avantika to meet him in private.

"Hum kal subah Mumbai chalenge, Bhagwat ko dekhne. Tum bhi yahin chahti ho na bahu?" Jagdish asked Avantika.

Avantika was surprised, "Aap Mumbai.."

"Haan, Sameer humse keh raha tha ki Bhagwat ki haalat bahut naazook hain. Iss waqt tumhara wahan rehna hi sahi laga hamein. Hum aur Shivam bhi tumhare saath honge. Isiliye Sameer tumhe uski phikar karne ki koi zaroorat nahin hain," he said turning towards Rathore.

"Mujhe bhi wahin theek lag raha hain Bhabasa. Maine pehle socha ki Avantika yahin rahegi lekin.." he turned towards Avantika who had tears in her eyes. That man would have ruined her life, but he was still her father!

***

Three hours later:

The ETF team was waiting for their flight announcement. Rathore had gone to inquire about the delayed flight. Shree was busy with his laptop, while Chotu went to get something to eat. Both he and Shree were starving. Riya refused to eat anything. Her apetite wasn't going to return anytime soon.

She sat alone a few chairs away from Shree, telling him that she needed some time alone. Arjun had been observing Riya for a while now. He spotted an empty chair beside her and decided to take it.

Riya didn't realize that Arjun had occupied the seat beside her and continued staring into nothing. The void in her eyes shattered his heart into a million pieces all over again. He was in no better condition, yet he hid his pain and wanted to soothe hers.

He snapped his fingers in front of her eyes and she came back to her senses. She shook her head and looked to her side wondering who it was. Seeing Arjun sitting there beside her, brought back everything she was trying to forget. But, there was something that she remembered too; her 'dream', wherein she promised her Taayi that she would always be with her Arjun. Riya didn't know what to make out of it, but it felt so close to reality that for once she felt it was her Taayi indeed.

Her tears had dried completely, leaving the pain behind. She managed to bring a smile onto her lips, but that was for his sake.

"Sach mein has rahin ho Riya, ya sirf mujhe dikhane ke liye kar rahin ho?" he asked without any hesitation.

The smile vanished and she sighed, "Mushkil hain sir. Bahut mushkil hain. Mujhse nahin hoga.."

She said as she turned away from him, to hide the tears that welled up in her eyes.

Arjun placed his hand on hers and said, "Tumhe apne aasu chipane ki zaroorat nahin hain Riya. Mujhpe bharosa rakho, tum akeli nahin ho."

Her eyes widened as she tried to decipher his words. She slowly turned towards him and this time a genuine smile appeared on her lips as she realized that he was indeed with her.

But there was something that troubled her, what was it that was binding him to her? What was it that brought about the change in him, the change she had been seeing for the past few days? Was it love or was it guilt?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm extremely sorry for keeping you guys waiting for so long...

But my exams are finally over and I now you're gonna be getting lots of updates! I'm going to make up for all those days of wait!

So here's the next chapter. I hope you guys like it. I'm preparing the scenario for something very big, so right now it would feel a little slow paced, I'm sorry.

DO LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS 😉

I'm going to post my new FF: Destiny in a about half an hour and tonight I would post the next chapter of F&W. 😊