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Chapter 46:
The news that Raj and Naina were finally going to tell her parents the truth and that they would soon be getting married, spread quickly through all of Naina's friends, and their responses were varied. Pooja and Neelu were just trying to support Naina, knowing how difficult it was for her when she didn't know how her family would react. Huda immediately went out and ordered laddoos before distributing them to the whole regiment. Ali went to the local dargah to offer a chador and some flowers and to pray for their future happiness, Yudi immediately started telling anybody who would listen about how he always knew it would turn out like this, and for once Alekh couldn't stop smiling. The moment he heard the news he went to see Raj, and immediately hugged him.
Raj was a little taken aback, Alekh wasn't usually the most emotional of the cadets and didn't display affect very often.
"What's this for, Alekh?" he asked him, a bit confused.
"Just keep her happy, Sir." Alekh told him, "You both deserve some happiness after everything. As long as you keep my Naina happy, I'll follow you into any battle, no matter how dangerous."
Hearing this, Raj's eyes almost filled with tears. He was glad that Naina had such true and loyal friends, and he knew that Alekh would always be there for her, no matter what.
"And besides," Alekh added, after he'd stopped hugging Raj, "It was about time. I kept wondering when you would finally get around to doing it."
Raj just thanked god that Alekh didn't know all of the reason behind why he and Naina had finally decided that it was time to tell her parents, otherwise he would be a dead man.
"What about you?" Raj asked him, "When are you going to propose to Neelu?"
Alekh just shrugged, "It's a brother's duty to get his sister married first. Hurry up and have the wedding and then we'll see about me."
**
Barely a day after Raj had arrived back, he got a call on his phone, recognising the number as being from KMA but not knowing who it was, he picked it up curiously.
"Hello?"
"Now I know that you must have been just about to call me and tell me the happy news, but since I already found out, I thought I might as well call you instead."
Raj laughed, incredibly happy to hear the voice on the other end of the line.
"Shalini, I swear that I was going to call you tonight." He told her, "How did you find out so quickly and who spoiled my surprise?"
"I'll give you three guesses." She told him.
"Yudi." Raj replied immediately, knowing that he was the one among the group of friends that was most likely to be in contact with Shalini.
"Exactly," she replied, "So how did this all happen? I thought you were going to wait until they forgave you. Why now instead?"
Raj had to think very carefully before he spoke, despite the fact that Naina was officially no longer his student, it was always possible that Shalini still might murder him as well.
"Shalini, being apart from Naina for six months has taught me that it's incredibly hard to live without her." Raj said very simply. "And I don't know if I can stand to wait until her parents eventually give in. We made the decision together and we think it's the right one."
"I'm very proud of you, Raj." Shalini tells him, "Have you thought about exactly how you're going to break the news to them yet?"
Raj sighed, "That's exactly what I'm worried about, I'm fairly sure that they're not going to take the news well and I really don't want Naina's heart broken." He paused, feeling slightly guilty, "Shalini, sometimes I wonder whether I'm doing the right thing by making Naina choose between me and her parents."
"Raj, if I know Naina well then I know that she made that choice a long time ago, the moment that she chose to have a relationship with you." Shalini reassured him. "Now let's talk tactics to try and work out how we can break the news to them without them throwing you out of the house."
Raj was grateful, he knew he could use all the help he could get.
**
As the time drew closer to telling her parents, Naina became more and more nervous. She had already arranged with them that she would come home that weekend to visit, which was nothing unusual because she did visit her parents about once a month.
Neelu and Pooja tried to keep her distracted and Naina concentrated even more on her studies, glad to be doing something that kept her from thinking about the confrontation that was going to happen. The only thing she was happy about was that Alekh would be arriving on leave the day after they planned to tell her family. Whatever happened, at least he would be there to support her.
Finally one night before she was due to leave for Nainital, Pooja and Neelu were trying to convince her to eat something while Naina kept refusing.
"I just can't," she told them, "I think it I eat anything right now then I'll just vomit it right back up."
"Oh god," Neelu said with a mischievous twinkle in her eye, "You're not pregnant are you?"
Naina just gaped at her, her face turning red. "Neelu, of course not!" she exclaimed, "I mean weā¦" and then she abruptly stopped, far too embarrassed to say anything else.
"You what? Used precautions?" Neelu said with an eyebrow raised, "Or were you about to lie to me that nothing happened between the two of you that night?"
Naina just kept silent, but by the way that her face kept turning red it was obvious that it was the first option she had been about to say.
Pooja cleared her throat to try and lessen Naina's embarrassment, "It's been three months, I think she'd have figured out if she was pregnant by now, Neelu." She added, trying to be helpful. Naina just groaned and hid her face in her hands.
"Are you two trying to make me feel better or worse?" she asked.
"Well, didn't you forget about your parents for a moment there?" Neelu asked her in reply.
Naina realised that she had, and gave her friend a small smile, knowing that no matter how embarrassing Neelu's methods were, at least she meant well.
**
When Naina arrived at her parents' house the next day, she hugged them both as closely as she could. If things went badly then she didn't know when she might be able to see them again or when they might forgive her. If they hadn't forgiven Raj until now, then would they really forgive her for what they would see as her betrayal? She had a day left with them until Raj arrived and she tried to make the best of it. She helped her mother with cooking, played chess with her father and had long talks with them about her college and her friends. Never once did she mention Raj, or try to figure out whether they had forgiven him yet. She was too scared to. That night Naina went to bed fearing the worst and she could barely sleep all night. She tossed and turned, thinking about all of the possibilities for the next day.
Raj was due to arrive at 2pm the next day, and from 10am onwards she looked at the clock at least every fifteen minutes and sometimes more often.
"Are you waiting for something?" her mother finally asked her, confused, when Naina looked up from the potatoes she was preparing for lunch for about the tenth time.
"No Ma, not at all." Naina replied guiltily, and promised herself that she wouldn't look at the clock for at least another half an hour.
She tried to treasure the time she had left with her parents knowing that from 2pm, everything would change forever. She didn't know whether it would change for better or worse but she knew that nothing would ever be the same.
As soon as the clock struck two she started counting, she didn't even get to one hundred before there was a knock on the door.
Noticing the panicked look on Naina's face, her mother stared at her curiously. It was obvious from Naina's expression that she had been waiting for somebody to arrive, but who? Naina had turned so white that her mother was afraid she was about to faint, and quickly hurried over to her. "Are you alright, Beti?" she asked her.
It was at this moment that Mr Ahluwalia opened the door.
**
Raj doesn't think he's felt this nervous before in his entire life. Even confessing to Naina's parents that he was the one to kill Navin was nothing compared to this. His heart is hammering against his ribs so hard that he can barely even think, and its beats are practically drowning out any other noise. Then Mr Ahluwalia opens the door and for a moment, everything goes still.
"Major Rajveer," he greets him coldly, "What are you doing here?"
"I need to speak with you about something important, Sir." Raj told him, glad that he was actually able to speak.
"I can't think of anything that we might have to say to each other," Mr Ahluwalia tells him, "Everything that needs to be said has been said already."
"There's something that hasn't been said yet, Sir." Raj tells him, "And it's very important that I say it to you today."
Mr Ahluwalia thinks about it for a moment, and then reluctantly steps aside to let Raj in before leading him to the lounge room where Mrs Ahluwalia is bent over Naina.
"Meera, we have a guest." Naina's father announces in a very unhappy tone, and Mrs Ahluwalia turns around. Suddenly she thinks that she understands everything, and she turns back to stare at Naina. But Naina isn't looking at her, instead her eyes are fixed squarely on Raj, as his are on hers.
Finally, Raj sits down and Naina's parents sit on the couch facing him.
"Aren't you going to say hello to Major Rajveer?" Mr Ahluwalia asks Naina, growing more suspicious by the minute.
"Hi Raj," Naina says, her voice barely above a whisper. If nothing else, Naina's use of his first name confirms what Mrs Ahluwalia has been suspecting ever since he walked in the door. Naina's hands are clenched tightly in her lap because she can't stop them shaking, and looking at her in such as state, Raj decides it's best to get it over with as quickly as possible.
"Mr and Mrs Ahluwalia, we haven't seen each other since Naina's graduation, which was more than six months ago." Raj tells them, "I had hoped," he glances at Naina then, "We had both hoped, that eventually you would understand why I had to do what I did, and that you would forgive me. It was then that we were going to tell you the truth."
He takes a deep breath, trying to remember exactly how he practiced saying it, and how Shalini had coached him. "I can see clearly that you still haven't forgiven me, and I can't blame you for that, but I have to talk to you today because it concerns both mine and Naina's futures."
Mr Ahluwalia looks as if he has finally figured out what this is all about, Raj can see a muscle twitching in his jaw.
"I've come here today," Raj tells them, "Because I love Naina and I want to marry her. I know I can't expect you to accept me happily but please for your daughter's sake, at least think about it."
He stops then, knowing that he's said enough and that he should give them an opportunity to speak.
"If I'd known that this was what you wanted to say," Mr Ahluwalia tells him, "Then I would never have let you inside." Then he turns to Naina, "Naina, you're an adult and you can make your own choices, but if you choose to go with him today then we'll think that we never had a daughter at all."
Raj stares at Mr Ahluwalia in shock, he can see Naina looking to her mother for support, but Mrs Ahluwalia is stony faced, she's not going to challenge her husband.
Raj can feel his heart breaking for Naina and for the choice that she's being forced to make. Tears appear in her eyes as she struggles to speak. She wants to beg them not to do this, because when they've already lost one child, why are they so keen to lose another one?
"Ma, Baba, please don'tā¦" she begins to say, but Mr Ahluwalia holds up a hand to cut her off.
"Just make your decision, Naina." He tells her.
Naina takes a deep breath, she has been preparing herself for this moment for more than one and a half years now, always aware of the possibility.
"I love Raj," she tells them, "And I can't live without him. And I know, that Navin Bhaiyya would support my decision, and if you think about it, then you'll also realise that he would." She knows that her tone is practically begging but she can't help it.
"Then you've made your decision." Her father tells her, "You can go and pack up the rest of your things. After today there's no reason to come back here."
"Baba, please, Iā¦" Naina tries to say.
"Don't call me Baba," he tells her, "Just get your things and go." Then he leaves the room.
Naina looks at her mother, begging her silently to say something, anything to let her know that she has her support, but Mrs Ahluwalia turns her face away and follows her husband out.
"I'm so sorry, Naina." Raj tells her, "I hoped that it would turn out alright, that maybe they wouldā¦."
"It's okay, Raj." Naina replies so quietly that he can barely hear her, "Let's go to my room and pack my things."
They pack quickly, Naina chooses to take only the things that are really important to her, some family photos and mementoes, things that can't be replaced.
As soon as it's done, she looks around the house for her parents but they're both gone. She knows they won't come back until she and Raj have left.
They both climb into the car along with her bag and Raj starts it, they manage to get two streets away before Naina starts sobbing, crying so hard that she's practically in hysterics, breathing in huge gulps. Raj stops the car by the side of the road and pulls her to him, rubbing her back while she cries into his shoulder, murmuring soothing words into her ear and kissing her hair repeatedly. He knows that there's nothing he can do to make the pain better and he worries that this will haunt Naina throughout her life.
It takes awhile but eventually Naina calms down, and he starts the car again. They drive back to Delhi in silence, Naina still crying, but quietly now, less hysterical. When they arrive, instead of taking her home, Raj drives her to his apartment, leads her upstairs and then once she's sitting on the couch with a hot cup of tea, he calls Pooja.
She picks up at the first ring, obviously having been waiting to find out what happened.
"Pooja I've brought Naina back to my place," Raj tells her, "I think she'll stay here tonight with me."
From his tone of voice, Pooja can guess that it didn't go well. Neelu is sitting nearby her, and realises that something has gone wrong by the changed expression on Pooja's face.
"Is there anything we can do?" she asks him.
"Nothing at the moment," Raj says, "I'll bring her back tomorrow, she'll need you both then." And he hangs up.
For the rest of the afternoon, Naina keeps crying while Raj keeps soothing her. He barely keeps hugging her, she's in such a state and occasionally he cries with her, unable to stop himself when he sees her in such pain. He convinces her to take a shower and put on some fresh clothes, hoping it will make her feel better, and then gives her some herbal tea before bed hoping it will help her sleep. Eventually he puts Naina into bed and climbs in beside her, putting his arms around her, telling her to go to sleep and that it will be better in the morning. He doesn't sleep himself until he hears her stop crying and her breathing become more even, knowing that she's finally gone to sleep.
Raj is still asleep the next morning when he hears the doorbell, removing his arms from around Naina, and getting up as quietly as possible, he sneaks out of the room, trying not to wake her up. Rubbing his eyes tiredly he opens the door, not really knowing who to expect.
"Where's Naina?" is the first thing Alekh says to him, barging in impatiently. Raj thanks god that at least he's properly dressed.
"She's still asleep," Raj tells him, "She was up crying until late last night, I don't want to wake her up just yet."
Alekh nods, and Raj gestures that they should go into the kitchen. Once there he makes them both some coffee, knowing that even if Alekh doesn't need it, he definitely does.
"It's done now." Alekh tells him, "You don't need to feel guilty about it, Sir. If they don't accept it then it's their problem."
Raj still feels guilty, but Alekh's words do make him feel a little better. At least somebody understands how he feels.
"Now that it's done," Alekh continues, "There's no way to undo it. You two should still get married as planned, as quickly as possible."
Raj nods, he's been thinking the same thing. Now that Naina is separated from her parents, she's going to need him even more. "I agree," he tells Alekh, "We'll arrange it for as soon as everybody can get leave together at the same time. However that might be some months awayā¦"
"You don't worry about that, Sir." Alekh tells him, "We'll make sure that we get leave, you just concentrate on looking after Naina."
Suddenly the door to the bedroom opens and Naina wanders out, looking pale and tired. "Raj I thought I heardā¦." She says, and then suddenly spots Alekh.
Quickly Alekh stands, and then quickly crosses the room to hug Naina, as she begins to cry again, he pats her back and her head soothingly. "Shhhh baba," he tells her, "It will all be alright now, we're all with you. Everything will be fine."
Watching Alekh with Naina, Raj feels an immense sense of relief. They'll all get through this together, soon, they'll make it perfectly alright.
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