TASTE OF FREEDOM- A ASTHA-SHLOK FF(ch 17 Part 2 updated ON Page 47) - Page 13

This chapter is dedicated to all my reader active or passive, all my buddies from the buddy list and special thanks to lechu a new and very dear friend of mine. I hope you all like it😊😊😊Enjoy readiny

CHAPTER:9

"Shlok, are you okay? What happened?" asked Varad next morning while bailing him out looking tired travelling like crazy. "Nothing happened. I just lost my cool but the guy was coming between me and my wife" said Shlok still in his clothes from yesterday slightly smelling by being in the cell for the night with three gangsters and one creepy drug peddler. "That's it. You are coming back with me to Pune. Clearly you can't be left alone here. That nasty temper of yours is going to cost you someday" said Varad in his usual reasonable tone. "No, Dada I am not stepping into that house alone, without Astha by my side. First when I was faking to be in love with her I promised her our dream house where all will happily live after but now I am serious about giving her a home where all love each other without lies and any deceit" said a slightly agitated Shlok making Varad think about his marriage vows to Sojal and about his genuine efforts to fulfill any of them or rather lack of it filling him with regret and guilt. "Okay. You come home whenever you want with or without Astha just promise me you won't loose your temper and do something stupid" Said Varad to which Shlok noded while hugging his big brother.

Astha blinked hearing her phone ring and looked at Shlok's name blinking at the screen. She looked really tired due to lack of sleep as she kept on tossing around the bed whole night thinking about the events unfolded during the day like Shlok bashing Vishwas and breaking his jaw when he punched him on the cheek. Poor Vishwas had to be admitted to the same hospital where they first met, where he works as a Resident pursuing his M.D in Pharmacology. His parents lodged a complaint against Shlok and rightly so but still she felt as if Shlok was not himself when he hit Vishwas just like when he hit her once when she called herself as his mistress. It was almost like his body was possessed by someone else but that sounded like a ridiculous excuse to her mind but this stupid heart still believe him. When the phone rang for the 13^th time Astha suddenly couldn't take it anymore and swiched it off. The bell on her door rang and when Astha asked who it was the person answered back that it was for laundry. As soon as she opened the door Astha regretted doing so when she saw Shlok on the door realizing it was late to slam the door in handsome face as he put a foot between on the threshold. "Look I know you probably don't want to talk to me or even see my face but I just had to see you to say I am sorry. You don't know how sorry I am. If you want me to apologize to the boy and his family then I will do that too. It will be hard for me but I will do that for you. Please, baby talk to me." Said Shlok with desperation in his voice sounding almost broken as his face which always had fierce and hard expressions were replaced by guilt, desperation and fear. Fear of loosing her suddenly realized Astha when he knelt in front of her on his knees as her heart started melting by seeing her pround husband reduced to bundle of lifeless ghost at her feet. But, she hardened her heart and controlled her emotion with the fear of once again loosing her head in the heady mixture of his vulnerability and her feelings for him and once again falling prey to his manipulations and lies.

Astha knelt down to him and helped him get up saying, "Look Shlok you have done some very terrible things to me which I can never be forgive you for. I think you should give me some space and time before I can forgive you. Also you have some very serious anger management and control issues. I think you should get some help to sort them out." Shlok very calmly noded agreeing to what Astha told him promising her "I will come back for you Astha as a man worthy of you, dealing with my problems but wait for me. You belong to me. Only me." Shlok very possessively took Astha in her arms and pressed his lips to her in a almost whispering kiss and very gently kissed her forehead, both her cheeks and then the spot between her neck and shoulder which he knew was her weakness and murmured in her ears making her involuntarily gasp and moan "Miss me sweet heart. I love you and this time I really mean it. Bye."

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FOUR MONTHS LATER, MUMBAI

DR. MANDIRA MEHRA was revising her notes for her favourite patient Mr. Shlok Agnihotri prior to his appointment sitting on her luxurious couch and enjoying the sea facing view from her clinic located in a posh building at Nariman Point, Mumbai. Recalling her first meeting with Shlok she smiled thinking how much he had progressed by opening up to her in previous few months and how far he had come by following her therapy for which he was reluctant at first. It was like watching a different person rise up from ashes of phoenix totally changed, changed for better. He was now much more relaxed and comfortable with her

"So tell me Mr. Agnihotri what brings you here? I mean why you are here?" asked Dr. Mandira Mehra assuming her professional tone which he was sure was practiced to hear crazy people complaining endlessly about their crappy life. For a moment Shlok processed her question in his mind asking himself the same already regretting coming here to see this Physchtrist as per the suggestion of his family doctor. After weeks of drowning himself in alcohol and self pity he was finally sober and in any condition to talk to any other human being. For weeks he was nursing his broken heart immersing himself in the memories of Astha and the time they spent together. He gave this a lot of thought and finally came to conclusion that it wouldn't hurt him to try this therapy once. "I don't know. I guess my family GP thought it would be better for me to come to a shrink and waste my money for sitting on a couch while a doctor would wipe my tears" said Shlok sarcastically to which Dr. Mehra just smiled without even flinching hearing about Shlok's opinion of her therapy as she had heard this a millions of time by reluctant patients ridiculing her treatment at first but then thankful for her help. "Okay so I guess you have some anger issues" expressed Dr. Mehra frankly. "Oh, my god. You are so smart Doc. You just dignosed my problem in like a second. You must be a mind reader. Now if you don't mind I don't want to waste any more time. So please just write some hobo jobo medicine to calm me down" Said a frustrated Shlok. "Why don't we get to the root of your anger? It will help us to control your emotions and channel it in a positive way. Let's start at the beginning. How was your childhood? Were you a happy kid? How were you as student in school?" asked Dr. Mehra ignoring Shlok's earlier barbs.

After a few sessions and testing her patience a lots of time Shlok finally started trusting her and replied "Ya let's" his voice dripping with sarcasm continuing "My childhood was pretty normal. I was a very happy kid. I got everything I wanted as a kid sometimes even before I asked. I was bright a bright student both academically and athletically." "Okay. What about your parents? How is your relationship with them?" asked Dr. Mehra in her signature tone. Shlok lost his temper hearing this and said in a deadly tone which scared his staff and most of the competitors but the Doctor didn't even blink as she was used to dealing his anger patiently for quite a few sessions now "What parents. I am an orphan. I thought I had parents but turns out I was stupid to think so." "What do you mean by that Mr. Agnihotri? Can you elaborate?" asked Dr. Mehra making a note in her notebook making Shlok conscious when she hurriedly said "Don't worry. This is all confidential as I am your Doctor. Whatever you say to me here stays in this room."

Shlok said in one appointment with her abruptly after a few days and lots of assurance from Dr. Mehra honestly "I meant what I said about being an orphan. My father whom I had idolized all of my life and who I believed was a hero turned out to be a narcissist bas***d who is also a cold blooded killer. The woman I thought was my mother and hated for being a cold ice queen, stuck up in 18^th century household tradition ruining my life by driving away my first love turned out to be a battered woman abused for years by my sadistic father and was a puppet all along doing whatever my father wanted her to do. She was just a pawn used by my father to control lives. Just a convenient mask to hide behind so no one can see him for real with Mrs. Agnihotri doing all his dirty works and taking fall for everything just for me and my brother's sake so that we don't bore his burnt" said Shlok silencing Dr. Mehra for a minute after which she said "So you mean to say that your father abused your mother and to protect you people your mother did his bidding." "See that's the thing Doc Mrs. Anjali Agnihotri is not my real mother. She is someone who for all these years acted as our mother. My real mother is Sanskriti Agnihotri or rather was. Anjali was just stand in who took care of us and our home with strict discipline for Niranjan and escape his anger by keeping us in toe" said Shlok by then very comfortable in opening up to Dr. Mehra and trusting her with his deep and darkest secrets which he never talked about.

"Shlok you never said another thing about your biological mother after last time. Where is she now? Did you try to find out about her?" Asked Dr. Mehra giving him some time for recovering from his previous outburst. "Well it's actually a funny story Doc about how I found I even have a biological mother other than the fake one. About a year ago I found an old autopsy report on a woman named Sanskriti Agnihotri in an annual report file at the trust which I thought must have accidently landed there. To cut the long story short I read

COD: Blunt force trauma to the skull.

TOD: 23rd June, 1984 at 12:46 am.

Specifics: Bruising patterns and cigarette burnts observed over fore arms and shoulder suggesting that the victim was abused and tortured very cruelly.

You are a Doctor too you must have guessed by now what all this mean. I was confused about the identity of the woman and was about to ask that low life when Mrs. Agnihotri came to me that night and told me everything. My father killed my mother and replaced the original autopsy report by a fake one in the police investigation. The police closed the case thinking it was an accident according to the fake report. I had no idea that the man I trusted and believed more than God killed my mother for just a piece of land. He tortured her, hit her and burnt her using ciggerete and I never even felt a hole in my heart as people always say when they loose a parent. Infact I felt as if someone just sucked out my soul and left a dead man walking with no feelings but only anger and hatered. My every waking I just thought about one and only one thing -How destroy to Niranajan Agnihotri and punish him for what he did. Taking revenge from him was my only goal in life and for doing that I was ready to do anything and to pay any price I could. I even stoop low enough as him and married Astha just so I could take revenge on him."

"Tell me Shlok you last time you mentioned that your mother I mean Mrs. Anjali Agnihotri raised you, took care of you, saved you from your father's brutality and even helped you in taking him down so why are you angry with her? Why do you still hate her so much? From what you have told me I believe she genuinely cares about you so why this empathy towards her?" asked Dr. Mehra trying to pick Shlok's brain in her next session with him. "I am truly grateful to her for what she did for me and my brother but I am just angry at her for keeping quiet and hiding the truth from us. If she just could have come to us sooner we would have been able to help her. But she just kept on tolerating everything and let us blindly trust Niranjan when she could have made us see the mask he used to wear before the society. I like her now as a person but I just don't know if I can ever accept her as a mother." Said Shlok with repressed anger. "Have you ever tried talking to her about what you feel and clear things with her?" asked Dr. Mehra to which he said "No. I don't want to dig up the grave and talk about the past right now. May be after some time I can listen to her reasons and try understanding her but I doubt she can convince me about her past behaviuor."

During next few sessions Dr. Mehra talked to Shlok about his compulsion for control and his trust issues. They together talked his anger problem with some simple solutions like walking away, counting in reverse, taking deep breath and Shlok's personal favourite laughter therapy.With Dr. Mehra's help Shlok started channelizing his energy positively and keeping himself busy with the trust and with his dream project of opening an All Girl school and college of international level all around India where bright girls from needy and poor background can study and reach heights through a national level scholarship programme under the name of his mother "Sanskriti Funds". Shlok made up for lost time which he wasted for fuelling his anger and hatred towards his father in his succeeding in his business. Now was the time for Dr. Mehra to teach Shlok his last lesson in his last session today and that was to make up for ruining the one precious thing in his life- Astha the love of his life.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Do express your views on the update. Don't forget to hit like and comment and keep reading😊

Originally posted by: LECHU123

reserved i want the one the one 2 cmt first

Originally posted by: meerab147

nice update

Originally posted by: khuwahish

Hmmm... Very well written...
Loved it!!!

Originally posted by: Serviana

Beautiful update..like the fact she did not forgive him just like that..👏