~*~* Tera hone laga hoon *~*~
PART 13
Armaan woke up and saw that it was early morning, he looked down at Bharti who was still in his arms and sleeping soundlessly. He carried her in his arms and put her in the bed to sleep before Tamanna and Jiya woke up. He knew much teasing would follow if they found Bharti and him in the lounge. Armaan showered and went to prepare some breakfast for everyone. Tamanna woke up and joined him in the kitchen. The first thing she asked him was what happened to his forehead. Armaan dodged the question and just said that he fell down last night.
Tamanna: "Oh, how was last night, did you'll get back quite late? And Armaan, were you a little drunk."
Armaan: "Stop winking at me, I wasn't drunk. Last night was alright and yeah, it was quite late. Was everything okay with Jiya?"
Tamanna: "Oh yeah, she is a real sweetheart, so easy to look after."
Armaan: "Yeah now she is, she wasn't like that before."
Tamanna: "Yeah, those first few years were tough, but don't think about that. Hey listen, you know Karva Chauth is in two days time and it'll be Bharti's first one. "
Armaan: "Oh I completely forgot about that...Do you think mum will send all the stuff?"
Tamanna: "I don't know, I'll phone her later and ask her. Armaan don't look so worried, if there is any problems, Aman's mum will send the 'sargi' for both me and Bharti. You know she loves doing things like that, she's like your typical filmy mother-in-law that insists on being your mum."
Armaan: "Yeah, well you've always been quite lucky, I mean look at the wonderful brother you've got."(winking at her)
Tamanna: "Yeah yeah... anyway, do you think Bharti knows what to do?"
Armaan: "Um, I don't know, she probably doesn't with this being her first. But whatever happens, just hope everything goes well and it's special for her."
Tamanna: "Awww, you're such a sweet hubby, I'm not the only lucky one, I think Bharti's quite lucky too. Don't worry, I'll make sure it's very special for both of you."
Armaan went over to give Tamanna a hug. Just then Jiya appeared and she too joined the hug. She asked where her Bharti Mama was and Armaan said that she's still asleep. He thought of going and waking her up later, since she must be quite tired from last night. Tamanna, Armaan and Jiya all sat to have their breakfast.
Meanwhile Bharti was just waking up in the room. She sat up in bed and thought about everything that happened last night. She went out onto the balcony that was joined to her room so that the others wouldn't hear her and she called for KK. She was really angry with him and kept on calling him until he showed up.
Bharti: "What the hell was all of that last night?!"
KK: (smiling)"Still haven't mastered staying calm, I see...Good morning to you too."
Bharti: "Oh please. Save all your lectures for someone who actually cares. What was that whole thing with Mr Mehta, huh?"
KK: "I don't know, I don't have any control over what he does."
Bharti: "Yeah right. I mean you're only...God!!"
KK: "Look, I accept the fact that I always cause problems for you, but I had no control over that. You know I don't have control over people, else I wouldn't have let you break so many hearts."
Bharti: "Ok fine, yes I was a casanova, I didn't treat women properly, I left Geeta at the altar, yeah I know all that..but KK, I never ever forced myself on any women! That is just sick!"
KK: "I know Bhaskar, it happens, now you can see everything that happens in the world when you're a woman."
Bharti: "I see that, but why did you have to create all that drama last night??"
KK: "Look, I know it's terrible..it happens. There is no shortage of men in the world that will look for opportunities to take advantage of a woman. But remember, though maybe few and far apart, there are men who will always fight for women and protect them...like you saw with Armaan"
Bharti: "And if Armaan wasn't there? What about all those other women that have no-one to protect them? Why don't you spend your time preventing all of that instead of causing problems for me!?"
KK: (sighing)"Anything else Bhaskar? Can I go and save the world now?"
Bharti: "Aaargh!"
Bharti just turned around and went back inside. She looked down at her wrists, which looked considerably better than last night. It also didn't hurt as much and that was probably due to the ointment Armaan applied and the way he looked after her. Thinking about Armaan, she remembered how she felt so upset, so weak and so vulnerable last night. She thought about how Armaan had put his arms around her and how she had hugged him so tightly. She didn't want to let go and she remembers falling asleep in his arms. Only there did she feel safe. She then realised that they must have been in the lounge the whole night and Armaan probably brought her to the room this morning. Just then Jiya came in and hugged her, wishing her good morning.
Bharti: "Good morning my angel, and how are you?"
Jiya: "I'm great, but what happened to your hands?"
Bharti: "Oh it's nothing, I just removed my bangles in a rush, you know I'm not used to wearing all of that."
Jiya just laughed when Bharti winked at her. Armaan came in and smiled at them. He told Jiya to quickly go and get ready as he was going to take her shopping to go and get the things she needed for her project.
Jiya: "Okay Dada."
Jiya left to go and get ready and Armaan came to Bharti and set the breakfast tray on the bed. He had brought Bharti her breakfast and Bharti smiled and thanked him.
Bharti: "Um Armaan...I'm sorry about last night, I don't know what happened....Sorry."
Armaan: (smiling at her)"Don't worry about it, just try to forget about last night, okay? Did you sleep okay?"
Bharti: (Nodded)"And what about you, I'm sure you were really uncomfortable because of me..."
Armaan: "No, I slept really well, don't worry. Okay you have your breakfast and I'll just take Jiya to get her stuff. Tamz is in the lounge if you need anything. See you later."
Armaan hesitated slightly, but then leaned foward and kissed Bharti on the head before turning to go. Bharti couldn't help but smile. She took her breakfast tray to the lounge to give Tamanna some company.
Tamanna: (smiling widely)"Good morning sunshine. Come sit."
Bharti: (sitting next to Tamanna)"You seem to be in a very good mood."
Tamanna: (sighing)"That I am, I can't help it. I'm going to see my hubby in two days, so I 'm really looking foward to that. I haven't seen him in about two weeks and it feels like forever."
Bharti: "Oh how sweet."
Bharti started eating her breakfast and Tamanna continued reading her magazine. Occasionally she looked up and just watched Bharti. She noticed Bharti's bruises on her wrists and she wondered what exactly had happened last night.
Tamanna: "Hey how was the party last night?"
Bharti: "Um, it was okay..."
Tamanna: "Did something happen? Both you and Armaan seem so quite about the party and I saw the plaster on his forehead and now I'm noticing the bruises on your wrists....so..?"
Bharti: "Well..."
Tamanna: "You can tell me..."
Bharti started telling her about the previous night, how it had started off so well and then she told Tamanna everything about Mr Mehta.
Bharti: "I hope you don't mind me telling you all this, I just had to tell someone and I can't really talk to Armaan about this because I know he will just get angry about it. I've never seen him like that."
Tamanna: "Wow, what a disgusting man..I'm glad Armaan was there at the right time. And you can always tell me anything at anytime. In fact, I've always wanted a sister, I'm sure if I had one, she'd be a lot like you."
Bharti: "That's very sweet of you to say."
Tamanna: "It's true. And I can imagine that Armaan would get really angry about this topic. I saw his expression when I brought up the topic of the party and he just changed the topic. He would get really angry to see you upset and I know he probably feels guilty..."
Bharti: "Guilty? About what?"
Tamanna: "Well, of the fact that such a thing had to happen with you and he wasn't around.."
Bharti: "That's just silly, I mean he came in time, else..."
Tamanna: "I know, but you know Armaan, he has that sort of protective/caring streak. I'm sure you've seen how he is with Jiya."
Bharti: (Thinking about when Jiya went missing and the Vasooli incident)"Oh yeah, I know.."
Tamanna: "Yeah, so Armaan was really angry?"
Bharti: "Yeah, I didn't know what to do, I had to call some other guys to get him to stop fighting."
Tamanna: "I can imagine...I've only ever seen him get really angry about one topic. Other than that, he is really calm. But when he gets really angry, there is little you can do."
Bharti: "What is the other topic that he gets really angry about? If you don't mind me asking..."
Tamanna: "Oh...don't worry about that..."
Bharti: "Oh come on, you have to tell me now that you've started..."
Tamanna: "I don't know if I should be telling you this...okay, you have a right to know. The topic of Priyanka, Armaan's first wife, gets him really really angry..."
Bharti: "Priyanka?"
Tamanna: "Oh, don't you know about her?"
Bharti: "Well, I know he was married, but I don't know much about the woman..."
Tamanna: (laughing sarcastically)"I don't know if you can call her a woman..."
Bharti: "Why do you say that?"
Tamanna: "Well....okay my opinions may be biased, but I never liked her. From the start I knew something was strange about her..."
Bharti: "Okay...well just tell me whatever you think, I'm sure I can form my own opinion..."
Tamanna: "Okay then..you see Armaan met Priyanka when he was doing this photography program and he was out of the country. She is a...well I don't know exactly, she had some corporate position. When Armaan met her, she was quite low on the corporate ladder and well, she was quite ambitious. Her career was everything to her. But I guess I can't take the fact away that she did love Armaan, in the start anyway."
Bharti: "Okay...so what makes Armaan so angry when it comes to her."
Tamanna: "Well that is much further in the story. I'll shorten the whole part of them meeting, falling in love etc etc. So Armaan decided to marry her and everyone was so excited in the family..you know 'only son's marriage', imagine my mother...I didn't have a problem with it then, as Armaan seemed to be happy."
Bharti: "So then what happened? You know when I met Armaan, I would never imagine him as the type of guy who would just give up on his marriage and get a divorce..."
Tamanna: "Yeah, that is true. Believe me, Armaan loved her a lot and he tried really hard to make things work, but Priyanka, like many women, changed quite a bit after marriage. She became even more career obsessed and well, in my eyes I feel she took Armaan for granted. Armaan was always the one making the sacrifices and well over the months, he seemed to be...less happy."
Bharti: "That's terrible.."
Tamanna: "Yeah it was, I felt so helpless watching my brother go through all of that and I could do nothing. He would still always defend her and he still always loved her, even through all the fights they would have. You know, she even became quite controlling over him - a grown man, her husband!"
Bharti just put her hand on Tamanna's knee to calm her down.
Tamanna: ""Well, the major fight they had was about children. Priyanka refused to have children and Armaan, always having loved children, hoped to have his own one day. He was willing to wait of course, he thought they could spend a few years together, it just being the two of them and she could further her career. He wasn't the husband who expected her to have kids in like a year. But she refused to even discuss it with him and she just could not see reason. This made Armaan angry, but more than that, he was disappointed. It was like all his dreams of having a family were being shattered, one by one, and all by the woman he loved deeply..."
Tamanna sighed and Bharti was quiet, she just looked at Tamanna intently and listened.
Tamanna: "But he waited, he thought that she would eventually change her mind after a few years, but I guess fate favoured Armaan and what he wanted the most. Towards the end off their second year of marriage Priyanka found out that she was pregnant. (smiling with the slightest hint of tears in her eyes) You know, I don't think I've ever seen him as happy as when he found out. We were all together at a family gathering when she got the phone call from her doctor. All of us were just as happy as it was to be the first grandchild in the family...But you know what that woman told Armaan?! She was saying that she couldn't understand how it happened and that it was all a mistake. She told Armaan that she was making an appointment for an abortion at the start of the next week. I cannot even explain to you how shocked we all were - how shocked Armaan was! I mean she was talking about it as casually as if she was telling us that she was going to cut her hair or something! Armaan was so angry, he just pulled her out of there and I don't know what he told her, but thankfully she didn't go through with it. Only later on, a few years later did Armaan explain to me that he told her that he just would not let her go through with it, it was his child too and he told her that she can do whatever she wants to, but she cannot go through the abortion. Armaan also told her that once the baby was born, he would divorce her and she was free to do as she pleased, she could continue her career guilt-free and would have no obligation towards the baby at all...Bharti, you okay?"
Tamanna looked at Bharti who was just in shock, she would never have guessed that so much had happened with Armaan, he seemed so happy now. Bharti put her finger to her eye and realised that tears had formed in her eyes.
Bharti: "I ..I can't believe so much happened, I mean, how does someone make it through all of that. And how can she..a woman..want to kill her own child??"
Tamanna: "I know, it really is hard to fathom..but some how or the other, Armaan made it through those next months, he did whatever he could to look after her, or at least the baby, while she was at home. He would make sure she was as relaxed as possible, he made her take all her vitamins and he did all the work. I don't think he let her do any work in those eight months or so. He also made sure that she went to all her pre-natal classes and he accompanied to each and every visit to the doctor. You know other woman who have husbands who love them and who are pregnant sometimes aren't even that lucky to have their husbands with them through every step of the way. But I guess Priyanka just never cared, we all looked after her and the baby as much as we could, but none of us knew what she'd do at her business parties. She would be out until late at night in parties filled with cigarette smoke and I guess she would never refuse a drink at any of those parties. Armaan would wait up late for her all the time, but I suppose he never knew what she used to do. We only found out when it was too late. You see, Jiya was born premature, at about 8 months, and she had a blood disorder due to the alcohol Priyanka consumed when she was pregnant. Armaan was completely shattered by that point, he was so angry at Priyanka, but at the same time, all the more scared for Jiya. Of course he kicked her out after that and they were divorced, but those first few years, especially the first few months were the hardest. Jiya was in and out of he hospital and was constantly on medication. Armaan even stopped working for a while to take care of her. Thankfully Jiya recovered completely, she is absolutely fine now, but I don't think any of us will forget how it was initially. I helped Armaan as much as I could, but most of the time he had to handle everything alone."
Tamanna pulled out some photo's of when Jiya was a baby and Bharti could just see from the pics how very much Armaan loved her.
Tamanna: "One thing I cannot understand is that my mother still thinks that they belong together...I mean after all of that!?! "
Bharti: "Ahhh...I see why she doesn't seem to fond of me.."
Tamanna: (laughing)"Yeah, sorry about that, don't take it personally, she'd be like that with anyone he married. So you see, the topic of Priyanka and anything and everything related to her makes Armaan really really angry. Especially when my mother says stuff like 'they belong together...' But I can see how much Armaan loves you, I can see it in his eyes, the way he speaks of you and the way he behaves with you. And believe me, it's nothing like how it was with Priyanka. I honestly feel like he is truly and deeply in love with you....Awww, you two are so cute! Both of you blush whenever I saw things like that...But I can see that you'll keep him happy."
Bharti: (softly to herself)"I hope I can..."
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Anupamaa
