LRL: ’The Ties That Bind’ Upd pg 41 - Page 21

hey too good

sorry for the late reply


was out of town

waiting for the next part

excellent FF

hey andrea its been ages since u updated yaar.....plz continue soon 😭 😭

Guys I'm really sorry about the delay in the update! actually it's due to a few things, I've been very busy with work, had to shift my house and have also been unwell!

To make up for it I'll post a part tomorrow as well!

**

The academy seemed emptier without Raj and Naina, and as much as she would never admit it to anyone, Sherry was actually happy when she was called to the phone on the second day of their honeymoon, and told that it was her brother.

"Hi Bhaiyya, how are you?" she greeted him, "How's the honeymoon going?"

"It's going great," Raj replied, "How are things at KMA? Are you alright?"

"I'm perfectly fine," she told him, "And so I don't want you calling up again before you come back. Just enjoy yourselves and don't worry about anything here."

"But Sherry…"

"I said don't worry, Bhaiyya! Now pass the phone to Bhabhie."

She could hear the sound of the phone being passed and then Naina's quiet hello.

"Hi Bhabhie!" she greeted her, "Just wanted to check that you're actually having a good time there, how's the Shimla weather?"

"It's beautiful here," Naina told her, and Sherry could easily hear the happiness in her voice. "We'll have to bring you here with us one day to show you."

Sherry laughed at this, "Thanks Bhabhie, but I don't think I want to be stuck in the middle of a honeymooning couple. You two enjoy yourselves and I'll see you when you're back! Bye!"

She hung up the phone quickly before Naina could say anything else, wanting to ensure that they only did spend their holidays relaxing and not worrying about her or anything else.

"Raj and Naina calling to check on you?" A voice asked her from behind and she spun around, turning to face him.

"Apparently both of them have forgotten the fact that I'm almost exactly the same age as Naina and more than capable of looking after myself." Sherry responded with a raised eyebrow, "I thought I would talk to them this time, but if they call again then I'm going to refuse to come to the phone."

"Good idea," Abhimanyu told her with a warm smile, "I'll answer it for you instead and tell them both to stop acting like a worried old couple."

Sherry laughs at this, picturing her brother and sister-in-law as an aged, worrying couple. "I would never tell them…" she says, "But sometimes… it's nice to know that they care enough to worry about me." She smiles a bit wistfully and then looks at him in surprise as if she hadn't meant to admit so much.

"Well if that's the case then even I'm happy to tell you that I care enough to worry about you." Abhi tells her, suddenly becoming serious, "There are more people that do than you might think."

Sherry stares at him for a minute and then shakes her head slightly, "You shouldn't…" she tells him, "You'll have more worries than you could ever want. It's better not to." And once again her smile is more wistful than happy.

"I can deal with a few worries," Abhi tells her, "It's more important for me to know that you're happy."

"My happiness isn't important…" Sherry tells him, her expression changing, "And I've realised a long time ago, that perhaps it's not written in my destiny."

"Then I'll write it there," he tells her, incredibly serious, reaching out one hand to rest on her shoulder. "You might be willing to give up, but I promise I won't until it's written in."

There is a moment when Sherry does not move, gazing briefly at him and then at the hand on her shoulder. Then she smiles, the saddest smile he's ever seen. "Don't promise me things like that when you don't know what it would need." She tells him, her gaze steady, unblinking. "Or in trying to rewrite my destiny you might end up affecting yours as well."

Then without explaining her words, she steps to the side, giving him one last look before she walks away.

Abhi is left staring after her, unable to quite process what it is that she's just said. Every time she seems to come close to telling him something, hinting at it, before she stops and walks away. More often these days he has found himself thinking about it, wondering about it, worrying about her. In a short period of time her happiness has come to be incredibly important to him and more than anything else right now, he worries that he will fail her somehow.

**

"Well at least she seems fine," Raj remarks after Naina has hung up the phone, "But we've been banned from calling again before we get back."

Naina laughs at this, having expected exactly this reaction from Sherry. "Don't worry," she tells him, "We can always call either Shalini or Abhimanyu to check that she's okay. For now I think we should take her advice and enjoy our honeymoon."

Raj nods, holding out his hand and she takes it immediately, smiling as he enfolds her fingers in his own.

They've decided to go for a short hike today up to The Glen, one of Shimla's most scenic areas. Both dressed in suitable clothing with comfortable clothes, they walk slowly, chatting on the way. Raj finds himself telling Naina about his early childhood before his parents had died and then afterwards how he had come to live with Lala Saheb, his wife and Sherry.

"They never allowed me to miss my parents growing up," he tells her, "Lala Saheb was away a lot but his wife always looked after me as if she was my own mother. I had everything that I could ever ask for. If it wasn't for them… then I could never have become what I am today."

"Then I'm grateful to them," Naina tells him, "For making you what you are today." She smiles at him, and he returns it before she continues. "I wish I could've met Sherry's mother, she sounds like such a wonderful woman. But I don't know why I feel so nervous about meeting her father, I'm worried that he won't approve of me."

Raj had never told her about the phone conversation with Lala about her, and he never intended to either. As much as he respected his godfather, he wasn't going to allow anyone's opinion about his wife to affect him or her either. He didn't like concealing things from her… but he knew that while she hadn't said anything again lately she was still worried about his marriage to her affecting his career and reputation.
"Don't worry, Naina," he tells her brightly instead, "I thoroughly approve of you." He grins down at her, pulling her closer to his side and slipping his arm around her shoulders, and she blushes.

"Only approve of me?" she asks mischievously after a moment, "Nothing else?"

"Many, many, many other things as well." Raj tells her, "Would you like to me to tell you now or…" He trails off deliberately, waiting to see her reaction, hiding a smile when she again blushes.

"Not now," she tells him, "At least we should finish the walk first."

When they eventually arrive at their destination, they look around them, admiring the natural beauty of the place. Raj places his arm around her shoulder again, while Naina leans her head on his, indescribably happy that she's here with him in this place.

They find a secluded spot away from the other honeymooning couples and families, and Raj indicates for her to sit down, before joining her on the grass, half lying and propped up on one hand.

"Am I finally allowed to tell you what else?" he asks her, reaching out the hand that he isn't leaning on to take hers, entwining their fingers, "No objections now?"

"None at all." Naina tells him, settling down properly beside him, "You can tell me whatever you want to…"

"Then I will," Raj promises her, letting go of her hand to brush back some hair that has escaped from her plait.

He's perfectly happy to spend all afternoon telling her.

**

Finally Ritu had found the perfect opportunity to complete another part of her work, waiting until the dead of the night when there would be nobody to see her, she made her way to Raj and Naina's room, picking the locks there easily. She searched carefully for any documents that might help her, making certain that nothing she did could be detected, but there was nothing there.

She cursed in frustration, angry that he hadn't left anything behind and wondering where it was hidden. She supposed that Captain Rajveer wouldn't be such a fool as to leave everything behind when anyone could find it, including his wife. Seeing the picture of them together on the bedside table she sneered, such a picture perfect couple made her feel sick.

Making her way back to the outer room, she quickly fixed the bugs in places that they wouldn't be able to be found easily, expertly hiding them.

Now, if Captain Rajveer said anything of interest, it would be directly transmitted to a team of her people who would analyse every word.

Checking that everything was in its place again, she left the room, locking it and heading back towards her own. Her first work was now completed, the second still remained.

**

While Abhimanyu is having his morning coffee in the mess, Ritu walks up to him, sitting down opposite.

"Good morning, Ritu." He told her, "How is everything going with you?"

"Actually I thought that I should catch you before you made any other plans," she tells him sweetly, "I wanted to ask if you would like to accompany me to a movie tonight."

"A movie?" he asked her, surprised, "Why?"

"Why not?" she asks him, resisting the urge to roll her eyes, "Why can't we go to see a movie together as friends? It's doesn't have to be a date." She adds, in a teasing tone.

There is no good reason at all for Abhimanyu to refuse her, nothing he can think of to say that would justify him refusing to go. But two things stop him, the first is the knowledge that with Raj gone, he's the only one left in the academy to protect the triggers. The second… is the memory of Sherry telling him not to trust Dr Ritu… and his promise to make her happy.

"I'm really sorry Ritu, I can't today." He tells her, "Maybe we could go another night?"

"Well that's fine," she tells him with a disappointed expression, "What's the reason? You're got another date lined up for tonight?" She hopes that she has put exactly the right mixture of disappointment and slight jealousy in her voice that she hopes for.

"No, nothing like that." Abhi tells her, hurriedly searching for a reason. "It's just… Raj isn't in the academy right now, and you know I had promised to look after his sister while he's gone. It wouldn't be right of me to abandon my duties."

"Abhimanyu… Cadet Sherry is not a child." Ritu informs him, trying to hide her annoyance as she says the name, "She can certainly cope without you for one night, and I'm sure that she would want you to go and enjoy yourself as well."

"Actually I can't," a voice interrupts and they both look up to see Sherry who has apparently overheard their conversation, "You see I have this fear of abandonment… you know, first my mother died, then my father had no time for me… and now my Bhaiyya and Bhabhie have gone off somewhere. I'm afraid if Captain Abhimanyu goes off and leaves me too I might go into a coma out of the shock." She gives her best helpless look to Ritu, as she drums her fingers on the tables.

"Oh come on now Cadet Sherry," Ritu continues, attempting to still be sweet, "Dr Shalini is still here with you. Will you really refuse to allow me to have company for the movie?"

"I've got a suggestion," Sherry tells her in an equally sweet tone, "Why don't you take Dr Shalini to the movie? That way you'll have company and I won't be at risk of having to deal with my fear of abandonment. I mean, as a psychiatrist, you wouldn't want to endanger my obviously already fragile mental state, would you?"

Ritu opens her mouth as if to speak, but nothing comes out, she tries several times before she succeeds, "Fine then," she finally says, "We can postpone our plan until after Captain Rajveer comes back, but then there'll be no excuses for not joining me." She manages to make the last bit sound flirtatious before giving Abhimanyu a small wave and walking off.

Abhi stares at Sherry in something that seems like amazement, "I'm still not sure why it is that you're so against Dr Mishra." He tells her.

"Because I've seen her type before," Sherry replies, "Usually hanging around my father. Everything she does is calculating, she definitely wants something from you. I don't know what it is… your money, your kingdom… perhaps she's always had a secret dream to be a princess." She suggests, one eyebrow raised.

"I really don't think…" Abhi starts to say, "Okay, I admit that it's possible, but how can you be so sure?"

"You don't have to listen to me if you don't want to," Sherry tells him seriously, "I have no rights over you. If you really want to go to a movie with her then go ahead."

She sounds perfectly calm but he suspects that this moment could either make or break her trust in him, cement the fragile bond he's begun to share with her or tear it apart.

"I trust your judgment." He tells her, "If you say that I should be careful then I believe you. As for rights… we're friends aren't we? That gives you more than enough rights."

A look crosses her face, as if she has found something that she had lost, and then just as quickly it passes.

"You really are too kind to me." She tells him bluntly, then turns around and walks away without another word.

**

On their third day in Shimla, Raj and Naina wake up late, she burrows her head into his shoulder, pretending that she can't see the light where it streams in through a crack in the curtains.

"Let's not get up just yet," she murmurs as he strokes her back, "We can sleep for just a bit longer…"

Raj laughs at this, "And I thought you were worried about what to tell people when they ask what Shimla was like?" he asks.

"I'll tell them that the hotel room was very nice and make the rest up," Naina tells him, and he can feel her smile against his skin.

It takes them another hour to get up and be ready to go out, taking their breakfast in their room leisurely. Today they plan to see some more of the tourist attractions, such as one of the oldest churches in North India and the famous Jakhu Temple.

They take their time to do both, stopping at the church first to offer prayers. Raj can't help but watch her as she prays, offering his own silent prayer that whatever she wishes for be granted and that she might always be happy.

Opening her eyes to find him gazing at her, she shakes her head slightly at him. "You didn't ask for anything for yourself?" she questions him.

"I have everything that I could ever want." He tells her, planting a kiss on her forehead, "So I asked for your wishes to be granted instead."

Naina laughs at this, "Then we're not going to end up with anything." She tells him.

"Why?" Raj asks her.

"Because I was also asking for your wishes to be granted." She replies, and they laugh together.

"Well aren't we a hopeless pair?" he asks her, "At least one of us should learn to be a bit selfish."

"I'm selfish enough already," Naina replies, "I plan to make you spend the rest of your life with me, think of all the girls disappointed because of that."

Checking to make sure that nobody is watching them, he leans down to plant a soft kiss on her lips, ensuring that it lasts just long enough to be a promise of what is to come.

"Forget about other girls," he tells her, "I could never love anybody as much as I love you. Just promise me that you'll always be with me and I'll be happy."

"I would do anything to make you happy," she tells him, "I'll always be with you."

And she had better be, because there is no way that he can possibly live without her.

another amazing update...............
I can wait for weeks to read these amazing parts...
👏

hey andrea.......that was another wonderful update 😊 ......take ur own time for the next one....and "ur" own time means within the next 4 days 😉 ...coz that's the max. i can wait 😳

**

On their fourth day in Shimla, Raj wakes up to find Naina sitting on the bed looking down at him, softly humming a song as she combs her wet hair. Sitting up, he stretches, yawns, and then grabs her hand playfully, taking the comb away from her.

"Why are you awake so early?" he tells her, "Usually I'm the first one to wake up."

Naina smiles at this, trying to get her comb back only to have him hide it behind his back. "I'm used to waking up early now from the routine at the academy, it's difficult to break that routine now."

"But still, I have no idea how I didn't wake up when you got out of the bed." He tells her, now twirling the comb around in his hands.

"Well it's possible that you were quite tired," Naina suggests, "After all…" and she starts blushing again.

All Raj can do is gaze at her, because she's at her most beautiful when she's blushing, a shy smile on her lips and colour in her cheeks.

Unable to resist, he leans forward to kiss those lips, gently caressing them with his own, then reaches out and pulls her into his arms so that she's now sitting in his lap, her arms around his neck. Leaning forward he nuzzles her neck softly, rubbing his cheek against it, and then sighs a bit dramatically.

"What is it?" Naina asks him at the sigh, slightly worried.

"I was just thinking that if I had tried romancing you when we first met…. Then we could have had a whole two years of this by now." Raj tells her, "What an idiot I was…"

"You weren't an idiot," Naina tells him laughing, "Or else we both were. Even I should've done something, talked to you on the phone sometimes…"

"I was the one who was never brave enough to ask to talk to you." Raj says wistfully, "I should've come to visit, even if it was just once, but I kept convincing myself that maybe you didn't want me to, that you were unhappy with our marriage…"

"That was definitely my fault." Naina told him, "I could've written to you, talked to you, explained how I really felt about it. The whole time the both of us were fearing what the other thought without bothering to find out."

They laugh at this, and Raj gazes at her a little wistfully, as if thinking of the years he could've already had with her if he'd only been braver.

Leaning forward, he kisses her again, applying more pressure to her bottom lip until he feels her sigh, then kissing her neck, her shoulder… and trying to push her kurta further down her shoulder in order to access more of her skin.

"You're going to mess up my clothes," she murmurs to him, half in a daze already, "And my hair too…"

"Your clothes will only get messed up if you keep them on," he tells her seriously, "As for your hair, I'll comb it myself."

And with logic like that, how can Naina refuse?

**

And so quite awhile later, when they're both finally dressed again, he combs out her hair gently, loving the feeling of it between his fingers.

"Your hair is so soft," he tells her, before bringing a handful of it up to his face to smell it, "And it smells great too."

Naina laughs at this, "Do you want me to recommend you some shampoo?" she teases him.

"No," Raj tells her, "Just let me keep combing your hair and I'll be happy."

It takes him a good deal longer to finish than it should, but Naina doesn't mind, loving the feeling of his hands combing her hair, gentle and sure. When he's done, she turns around to give him a quick peck on the lips before getting up.

"Shall we go out now?" she asks him, "It's almost lunch time and we haven't even left the room…"

"If you want to go then I think we should go right now," Raj tells her, "Because otherwise…"

Blushing, she grabs his hand and takes him towards the door, not allowing him to finish the sentence.

"Tum bhi na…" she tells him sounding slightly embarrassed, and Raj struggles not to smile.

"Alright then, let's go and do some more sightseeing." He tells her, "If we don't get some more photos then everybody really will think we spent our whole honeymoon in the room."

He grabs the camera and they make their way out, holding hands.

Today they make their way towards Summer Hill, walking the five kilometre distance slowly, sometimes in silence and sometimes chatting. When they arrive the place is so serene that neither feels like talking, instead wanting to simply take in the scenery. They visit the house where Gandhi once stayed before continuing to roam around, occasionally stopping to take photos.

Naina grows embarrassed by Raj insisting on taking as many of her as possible, making him give her the camera instead so that she can take some of him. Afterwards they continue walking slowly to Chadwick Falls, where they sit for awhile to watch the waterfall.

Both of them take their shoes off, enjoying sitting on the ground in the sunlight, just enjoying the peace and quiet. Lying down, Raj places his head in Naina's lap, and she begins to stroke his hair slowly, amazed at how peaceful she can feel simply by sitting in this position with him.

"Do we really have to go back?" Naina asks, "We could just stay here… it's such a beautiful place."

"Unfortunately we do have to go back," Raj tells her, taking one of her hands, bringing it to his lips and kissing it, "But I'll do my best to try to take you for holidays more often."

"I would like that," Naina admits, "And you know I've always liked traveling, I won't mind moving around with you from base to base on your postings."

"Good," Raj tells her, "Because otherwise I would probably be court martialled for running away to meet you."

Naina can't possibly describe how this sentence makes her feel, because he's the sweetest husband that anybody could ever want. She'll spend the rest of her life with him happy and trying to make him as happy as she feels.

**

At the academy, somebody was not so happy. In fact Yudi had begun worrying that any moment now, Ali might finally lose his patience and punch Huda, something that he had been tempted to do himself on many occasions. Their Jat friend has continued to flirt with Pooja on every occasion possible, and even Pooja is starting to look very sick of it, turning to her friends for help.

"Don't ask me for any," Sherry tells her straight out, "This is like a holiday for me. Let me enjoy at least a few days without him targeting me."

"But I'm worried that these constant missed calls of his are going to drive away my true connection." Pooja told Sherry, "What if Ali thinks there's something really going on and…"

"Don't worry Pooja, Ali isn't an idiot." Sherry tells her, "He might be a fool sometimes… but he's definitely not an idiot. He can see for himself that you're not encouraging Huda."

"Well then why isn't he doing anything about it?" Pooja asked, obviously frustrated by the situation, "Can't he tell him something, or at least tell me something…"

"Pooja, I think that the very sad fact, is that if anything is going to be done, you're the one who's going to have to do it." Sherry tells her, "Ali is going to be trying to work up the courage to propose to you until he's about fifty years old."

"Well… I suppose that if Ranjha won't come to Heer, Heer can always go to Ranjha." Pooja said thoughtfully, "What difference does it make who the person is that makes the call, as long as we're connected?"

"Exactly," Sherry tells her, "Now go and do it right now before you lose the courage."

"I will!" Pooja declares, "I'll do it right this instant!"

And with a determined look on her face, she marched off to find Ali, almost knocking Yudi over in the process as he came around the corner.

"What's up with Pooja?" Yudi asked Sherry, "Is she running away from Huda again?"

"Nope, she's running towards her Ranjha." Sherry told him, "All the best to Ali, because I don't think there's anyway she'll take no for an answer today."

**

Finally tracking Ali down in the library, Pooja made a motion for him to join her outside, which he did, laying his book down quickly and then following her to a more secluded spot.

"What is it, Pooja?" he asks her, worried. "Did you need me for something?"

"Look, Ali, don't pretend." Pooja told him, sounding a bit upset, "All of this time Huda has been flirting with me and you haven't done anything about it. Now tell me right now, do you like me or not?"

Ali looked shocked at her phrasing the question so straight forwardly, and turned red, stuttering slightly as he replied. "Pooja… I mean… I… you… I…"

"Just tell me yes or no, Ali!" Pooja told him in a no nonsense tone, "Because I have been waiting and waiting, and…"

"Yes!" Ali yelled suddenly, "Yes I do!" And then abruptly shut up as if surprised with himself for saying it.

Pooja squealed in delight and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "Oh I knew you did!" she told him happily, "You were just having some trouble making the call… I'm so glad that today we've finally made a connection!"

"Then you… you also…?" Ali asked her shyly, unable to say anything else.

"Of course I do!" Pooja tells him, "I've deleted the unwanted caller from my phonebook, and now I know who it is that my network should be connected to. Trust me Ali, I honestly like you a lot."

Hearing this, he hugged her briefly in happiness before stopping, blushing and looking around to see if anybody had spotted them."

"Haiiiii, you're so shy, my Ranjha." Pooja commented a dreamy look on her face, "Now next time that Jat makes any unwanted calls you can tell him that my number has now been removed from the listings."

Ali nods at this, looking serious, and she goes to take his hand wanting to walk back that way together to the academy. Seeing his reluctance to display any affecting publicly, she sighs and decides that she won't force him to.

After all, she's already gotten a lot out of him for one day.

**

Abhi is walking down the hallway when he sees Sherry and Pooja laughing about something, exchanging a high five, and he smiles to see them both looking so happy. While Pooja is usually cheerful it's the first time he's seen Sherry like this, and her smile lights up her whole face, making her look like a different girl altogether.

As he approaches, they both stop laughing, although Sherry continues to look amused, Pooja now looks a little embarrassed.

"It's good to see you both looking so happy," he tells them cheerfully, "I hope I'll always be able to see you this way."

"Yes Sir… I mean… now you will… I mean…" and blushing, Pooja ran away.

"What happened to her?" Abhi asked, now thoroughly confused.

"Well common sense finally happened to her and Ali, and they are now very happily although very shyly a couple." Sherry informs him, still smiling. Because really, she is happy for them both. They're perfect for each other, anybody would be able to see it, and at least somebody in this world should get some happiness.

Abhi smiles at this, "Well it's about time," he tells her, "I've been watching those two for ages and they make a good pair. It's funny the way things work out," he continues, "If somebody didn't know the two of them they wouldn't believe that they could fall in love. But it works out like that often, look at Raj and Naina's case…"

Sherry nods, still smiling and then suddenly her expression becomes serious. "I've been meaning to ask you something…" she tells him, "You can answer it however you like, but if you're honest, then I would appreciate it."

"Ask me," Abhi tells her, "You know you can ask me anything."

"Then tell me, if you had been in Bhaiyya's place, if you had been the one to visit Naina's family and been asked to marry her, what would you have done?"

Sherry watches him, an air of expectation around her. Somehow Abhi feels that the answer to this question is important, that it might mean a lot to her, but he has no idea why.

"I've never even thought about it before… never considered it." He tells her honestly, "And to be truthful, I'm glad that it wasn't me, not only because Raj and Naina are perfect for each other, but also because I don't know if I could've done what he did."

Sherry nods at this, almost as if she had expected it, but her expression changes ever so slightly, a strange look coming into her eyes.

"Raj made the decision on the spur of the moment…" Abhi tells her, "And perhaps it was easier because he wasn't answerable to anyone. I would've helped Naina's family in whatever way I could've supported them, but to marry her… I would've had to think of the effect on my family, on Balmehr…"

"Because of who Naina was…" Sherry remarks quietly, "Because she…"

"Yes," Abhi admits, almost ashamed to say it. "What Raj did took a lot of courage… and I'm not sure whether I would've had the courage to do the same thing or not."

And as Sherry looks at him, he sees her face fall for a moment, a look in her eyes that he's seen before, when she's been particularly upset about something. Then she covers it up quickly, and a wry smile appears on her face, almost as if she's laughing at herself.

"I've disappointed you, haven't I?" Abhi asks her quietly, "I wish that the answer was something different, but I wanted to be honest."

"No, you haven't disappointed me." Sherry tells him, the same sad smile still on her face, "I'm glad that you were honest, it was the answer that I needed to hear."

She looks at him for a moment as he stands there staring at her, confused by the rapid change in her behaviour, and then with a slight shake of her head she leaves him standing in the corridor.

He knows that he's failed her in some way, but he has no idea how.

And somehow he thinks that it won't be so easy to fix this, especially when he has no idea what it is that's broken.

Hey!!!
great part....pls continue soon....ur really makin d story interestin....keep it up.....n pls pls pls...continue soon dear.... 😉

hey too good



pl continue soon

For once I'm at a loss - what was Sherry expecting Abhimanyu to say? Hope you'll update soon to clear that up, Andrea 😉 😛 . Thanks for the update.

somethings cooking b/w abhi-sherry...huh.. 😉 ......FINALLY!!! ali-pooja r a couple....yay..i'm so happy!!!looks like raj-naina r really enjoying their honeymoon 😳 ......they r a hopeless pair for sure 😆 😆 😆 .....gr8 part andrea....update the next one ASAP 😊