Chapter 4
Time seemed to escalate in a series of collapses, faults, and waves of tremor and shock. The thought of the bonds he shared with his children provoked Neil greatly, to such an extent that he found himself questioning all his past and present decisions. Today Ragini's effort to heal the bonds with her children left him feeling rather lost and left out. He did not understand these new feelings within him, perhaps they were of remorse, guilt, or frustration yet he failed to r exactly pinpoint them. His lungs seemed to burn and he did not understand why Ragini's attempt to fix her mistakes with her children unsettled him.
The night seemed to settle gloomily over the room and the sun's glow vanished leaving absolute darkness to linger. The silence settled with the night, hand in hand yet it was contradictory to the uproar of conflicts that emerged in his mind. He somehow was lost in his past and he clung on to each memory desperately without truly understanding what it was that he was holding on to.
He thought and as the night burned away ruefully, Ragini's conversation the other night crossed his mind.
She had explained to him that she could not trust him because he did not trust her. What did she mean?
Natcheket felt a wisp of understanding settle where confusion reigned.
When Roopali had asked him to keep a secret from Ragini, he did not think twice about it. He did not argue nor think that Ragini was his wife, that she had the right to know. He lied to his wife infringing all his promises and yet expected her to trust him blindly afterwards. His secret meetings, his constant lying, it had driven them apart. He had always called Ragini a stubborn egotistic woman who was solely responsible for their divorce yet he failed to see where he was wrong. He left Ragini, allowed his children to be divided, never looked back once and never returned to clear the misunderstanding. What would one assume?
He left his family for his friend. Truly his priorities were far from straight.
Even after arriving to America, did he make any progress with his children?
No.
He was so distant from his kids, he was there but never really there. Was that what was bothering him? His kids expected so little of him yet Nishi and Aarav expected so much from Ragini. Why was that? His kids would become happy if he would just make an appearance at their birthday party yet if Ragini did not cognize Aarav or Nishi, did not visit them, did not display her emotions to them verbally or physically, they would become immensely upset. They would yell at her, scream, behave rudely but why was that? If he did that to his kids, they would not as so much as utter a word about his behavior yet why was Ragini's behavior always considered?
Neil had gotten up and was pacing around the room frantically.
Why? He wondered.
"Because she was always there for her children." His heart whispered. Neil stopped in his tracks and his breathing came shattered and his chest felt constricted.
She was always there! She was with her children the entire 15 years he was away from them. She was always involved in their life, she guided them, supported them, chastised them, she was everything to them.
uske daanth, uska laad, uska pyaar, unke saare zindagi isse mein hi tho guzre thi. Jab bhi muskhil mein khud ko paaya, ek uska hi chehra unne nazar aaya.
It was no wonder they expected more of her. He was barely there and thus their expectations for him were pitifully low. This truly hurt him? He didn't want his children to think and expect less of him.
Ranbir, Aagham, Nishi, Suhani, Aarav, they were all his children too.
Aarav...
That name sent tremors down his body and he sat blankly, staring at the opposite wall.
What had he done?
Aarav...
All Ragini's accusations dawned on him and he felt far worse than what he had minutes ago.
He had supported Aarav in his business despite Ragini's warning. She had told him that if his business failed, Aarav would be heartbroken yet he did not listen. He did not care about the consequences. Aarav was an inexperienced youth with barely contained temperament and desires yet he did not consider this nature of his. He continued to support him blindly; he did not bother to check up on him or examine the state of his business on any occasion. If he did he would've realized the disarray his son was in financially, he could've saved him.
No, he didn't.
When Aarav had come, beaten, broken, hopeless for his life, instead of staying with him, assuring him, he had told him to run away and instead focused on his romantic date with Ragini.
Was he mad?!
How could he have been so careless?
When Ragini had asked the reason behind his distress, he did not once give her a proper answer but continued to feed her lies after promising not to.
What was he doing? What had he done?
He always supported his children but did that make him a good father?
If he was a good parent, he would've guided them, dissuaded them from risky and problematic decisions yet his poor guidance overwhelmed with egotistic decisions sank his children, ruined them completely.
He fought with Ragini that Nishi should get married to Jignesh without even considering that Nishi was only 18, had not even completed her education or established her own identity. Nishi was far from independent, her experiences, skills, and understanding were barely adequate to run a household.
Ragini had understood this, understood that her daughter's nature was to be reliant on others and yet he overlooked it. She had told him, warned him that Nishi would have problems settling at such a young age but did he pay heed to her words? No, after so many years he only wished to taunt her, make her feel the pain he felt over the course of their separation.
What had he done?
When Ragini came to him telling him that Ranbir had a hand in Aarav's catastrophe, he brushed it aside. He did not investigate nor ask Ranbir or confirmed her theory.
He did not believe, nor understand his children's nature, their desires, and the lowly extent to which they can reach in the thralls of their jealousy, love, ambitions, desires, and dreams.
His consistent compliance to their demands caused a riot in his children's lives.
Yet what was worse of all was when it was time to own up to his mistakes, to apologize, to stay here and fix his mistakes, he ran away.
He disowned his kids. His ego was so bruised that he did not stop to mend what was broken.
Perhaps if he just did...
A heartbreaking cry erupted from his throat and his breath came ragged. He did not wish to think, did not want to remember, he felt a terrible sense that he could not breathe and as if he was suffocating in the dense air.
He had failed Nishi.
He had failed Aarav.
He had failed his children.
He was a terrible father.
...
He calmed himself down and after what seemed forever, he wiped his tears and stood up. Inhaling deeply, he decided to attend dinner. His lack of presence might raise questions that he unfortunately was not ready to answer.
He was almost there, as he took a sharp turn down the narrow hallway he came across Ragini's room, his footsteps slowed. As he crept closer to the door an absolutely heart wrenching sob reached his ears and he stopped dead in his tracks.
...
Ragini entered her room, not wishing to attend dinner she decided to go to bed early. She sat on the bed and sighed a relief as if a burden that had been resting on her chest was lifted.
The tapes, their conversations, today's morning incident, everything was threatening to overwhelm her.
For the first time in so long she felt the essence of relationships returning to her life, felt the bonds connecting her with her children stronger than ever. She felt it and her heart was pumping madly in her chest.
No doubt there was satisfaction in today's event yet it was tainted with sadness and restrictions. This healing process had begun with her children yet she was nowhere done.
She had promised Aagham and Suhani that tomorrow she would go with them to the mall and shop for clothes. She knew for a fact that Aagham would drag Ranbir and Suhani would drag along Nishi. She smiled, all her children will be with her tomorrow.
Then it hit her, it hit her hard.
Not all.
No, how could she forget?
Aarav...
The name, the familiarity of the name dragged her to the pits of darkness where she nursed her remorse and self-hatred.
Aarav, she could only imagine how angry he would be. Her son, how could she forget?
She allowed her own memories to drown her at bay.
One by one, the memories flashed across her eyes.
When Aarav had first confided her about his love for Shilpa, what had she done? She knew that it was wrong, he was barely of age yet she had handled the situation insensitively. She refused to understand or respect his emotions for Shipa forgetting that at one point, she too had fallen in love around the same age.
How could she forget, that while she understood from her own experiences the troubles and sacrifices love requires and that too at such a young age, her children did not.
How could she forget? That water was stronger than rock, that love was stronger than force. If she had only tried a different approach, one that still respected his feelings and still conveyed to him that this was not the right time, maybe he wouldn't have strayed so far. Maybe she wouldn't have lost him.
A few tears had escaped her; her internal emotions locked for so long began to overflow as she fell deeper into its depths.
When he had told her that he wanted to start a business, she did not understand this aspects of his either. How could she overlook her child's desire to succeed in life? She knew that it was wrong, that a shortcut to success did not exist yet she had failed to make him understand. Her children, they did not always see from her perspective and she was unable to convey them in a simpler way.
All her words, concerns, came as demands because she did not know any other way to express them, she had forgotten that love and compromise was still an approach that over the course of years she had abandoned. This is why her barrier with her children existed, this lack of miscommunication where they were talking yet she did not hear them. Her children's, demands, wishes, and thoughts were normal for a teen yet they desired for their mother to understand them, sympathize with them, not act in a robotic and insensitive manner towards what they felt was important in their lives. They wanted some sort of assurance, they had always received it in their earlier years yet as time passed; this inability to connect with their mother developed their bitterness to emerge. She made herself appear an emotionless woman who did not love her children. How could she let them continue thinking that she did not care for them? Did not love them?
Were they wrong when they accused of her not understanding?
No, she never showed them her emotions, did not understand their pain? No, she felt pain for them but never pain with them, unke dhard, sab kuch dhek ke bhi na dhek paaye.
When she finally understood what they wanted from her, what their hearts were yearning for, their bonds were so severe that they no longer trusted her.
Jab palat ke rona aya, jab unne galay lagane ka dil huwa, unne apne se koso mil dhoor paya.
They thought it was impossible for her to understand them. This hurt her.
When her children could not even speak, she knew by heart what they wanted. Even when words had failed to express them, she knew what her children desired. She knew! She always knew! Then why when she needed to handle them with love and affection and understanding of their nature, she acknowledged them as strangers and from where her lips should've provided sympathized guidance uttered only orders and commands.
Uska vajood thak uska na raha.
She was an ethical woman and as far she knew there was nothing wrong with that. Without ethics, moral, understanding of right and wrong, an individual was nothing, they had no identity. However she once again forgot that being true to her morals did not mean that she had to refrain herself from loving, sympathizing, and expressing her gratitude for her children. No, when did she mistake being strict for being emotionless.
Why?
"Because you thought less of love." Her mind whispered back. The bitterly familiar words crossed her mind.
She thought less of love ever since Natcheket and her divorce, she had only considered it as a lie and as time grew, this hatred for love slowly poisoned her life over the years. This was why she could not sympathize with Nishi's love for Jignesh nor Aarav's love for Shilpa. She had given the practical and ethically right response however never once expressed sympathy for this concept. It lived inside her buried and denied, she was numb to love and she promised herself that she would never succumb to it ever again. Her children never understood her hatred for love.
Once Natcheket returned, the love that she denied for so long demanded to be felt. She deprived the love from reaching satisfaction, deprived herself from it and instead clung to her ego and hatred. When Natcheket had taunted her about controlling her children's life, she had become so frustrated and hurt that she had agreed to Nishi's marriage and allowed it to happen knowing fully the dangers and consequences of the situation.
While she provided all that was in her power for her children and sacrificed for their life endlessly, her hatred, ego, pride ruined everything. Natcheket's taunts, every single one of them ignited such hatred that her own identity was no longer her own.
She had turned a blind eye towards all, especially Aarav.
Aarav...
Not once she had visited him, for her own selfish reasons. Her own inability to emotionally stabilize herself refrained her from her visiting her own son and that too in jail.
What had she done?
When Ranbir was in jail, she knew that while it was ethically correct, she could not ruin his future and thus had requested Shipa to change her statement. She could save her son there but what could she do here? Absolutely nothing that could take her son out of jail. He threatened to kill another man and that too in a public place. Even in the reign of emotions, he had committed a grave act and some sort of punishment was inevitable.
How dejected he felt that day, he was hopeless of his life and she still could not save him from taking his own life if the gunshot was not heard before his own.
Her child.
He had watched the love of his life die in his arms. Even now, she could not bear to see Neil hurt even the slightest and to lose him, to see the light fade from his eyes, she was sure it would kill her too.
It pained her to even think what her child would've felt.
He felt like nothing, worthless and her continuous avoidance of meeting him had only enforced this point in his mind. Her disappearance had killed her son from the inside, he sounded broken, isolated on the phone, completely dead. He was traumatized, his future seemed in ruins and with little hope. It would take her son a lifetime to regain his life back, to get back on track.
He was an ambitious boy driven by desires yet it seemed that he had nothing left, that his ambition had died entirely throughout his time spent in prison, trapped, and constricted.
She could love him with all her being but she could not make him love her again. He would never. Not after what she had done to him.
She had failed her son.
She had failed her daughter.
She had failed her children.
She was a terrible mother.
...
The cries and sobs extracted from her throat and she felt completely broken. Her head hung in her hands and she wished that life itself would end for her. Her breathing came ragged and she hastily wiped the tears away and attempted to breathe.
"Ragini," Her name was uttered but she did not hear. She heard a door close and footsteps creeping closer but she did not move nor turn to the direction of the stranger. She silenced herself however little did she know the stranger had heard her distress.
She felt a hand rest on her shoulder and a hand tilt her chin upwards. Piercing blue eyes met her own and she could see a tear stained face similar to her own looking back at her.
"Natcheket." It was a whisper. She felt the bed shift beside her as he sat down and leaned closer to her.
"Tum jaante ho na, mein tumhe rothe huye nai dhek saktha." He cupped her cheek, stretching his thumb to wipe away a stray tear.
Ragini did not hear. Her voice croaked out a small "Aarav," before it fell silent again. Pain, bitterness, longing, yearning, remorse, all those emotions were evident in the single name.
For a long time Neil did not know how to respond. The name itself provoked his internal guilt and the memories which he suppressed moments ago resurfaced.
"I know." That was all he could say. He knew what she was feeling, he knew all too well the pain, the sense of absolute despair and the failure to complete one's responsibility as a parent; he knew these feelings all too well.
Yet his company and assurance did little to retrieve Ragini. His words were ignored, she did not hear them. She was lost in her own world of anguish and self-loathing. She did not see the helping hand that was extended to her.
She continued to speak in a trance-like state, no longer aware of his presence.
"He must be in so much pain. Mera bacha." Her voice was hoarse and her eyes wide and near insane. "Woh kya katha hoga? kya uska peth bartha hoga us khanay se? He loves to eat? Do they give him enough?"
Neil had never his whole life seen Ragini so helpless and it truly in the sense broke him from the inside. Ragini seemed out of control, no words nothing reached his ears and her words seemed drunken and desperate.
"Woh kaise zameen pe sotha hoga? Mera bacha, he's not use to sleeping on hard things. Ek din, I got him new pillows but they turned out to be too stiff. He couldn't sleep all night because of it ..." She was trembling and shaking and Neil did not know what to do.
"Ragini." He whispered and lifted his other hand to wipe another tear but Ragini pushed it away.
"Tumhe pata, woh apna sir mere godh mein akhsar rakhtha hota tha aur kehta tha ki yaha uske saara tension chale jaathe thi"
Tears escaped her and she angrily wiped them away.
Ragini had stood up and paced around frantically.
"Aarav."
"I sould've listen to him. Mera bacha. Now I lost him! Sab mere galthi hai. Ab woh humesha mujhse dhoor chalgaya hai."
Her words were recklessly paced and soon turned to rambling and ranting. The words spilled out no longer making sense but repeating the same words over.
Repeating the same name over.
"Aarav...Aarav...Aarav..." She chanted the name over as if it was air to her, as if without saying it she could not live, as if someone was suffocating her and this name was the only way left in which she could breathe.
Neil was breaking, his own confidence was deteriorating. He saw her completely broken, maddened, and each emotion was swallowing her and driving her to brink of insanity. She was wrecked and he was the reason behind it.
He got up, no longer wishing to see her this way, see the love of his life in this pain.
In a heart throbbing moment, despite her resistance, he pulled her into his arms. She collided with his chest; taking an advantage of her confusion and shock he encircled his left arm around her waist; holding her in place and closing the little space that separated them. She attempted to push him away but he placed her fist stubbornly against his chest as she struggled against his chest. Moments passed and he did not let go of her, before log the resistance had subsided. Her hands clutched his shirt tightly, her voice was ragged and she lay a trembling heap in his arms. Her words came to a subtle end and she lay completely silent.
She looked tired and drained, no longer wishing to fight with the world and this made his heart twist.
He did not say a word and simply held her close. It was moments later when he felt her relax completely in his grip. He moved his hand from her wrist and intertwined his fingers into her hair, running his hands through them gently. The persistent movement had a soothing effect on Ragini which caused her to slump completely against his chest. He continued to comb and twirl her hair absentmindedly, lost in his thoughts, her warm breaths and the feel of her body against his offered him a forgotten comfort.
He sadly smiled. When they had reunited, she had told him that she was tired of running, of hiding, and yet in these years she had found no comfort, no solace. When he held in his arms once again, she had said, "Kitna sakoon hai yaha." Unknown to her, she had claimed to the entire world, confessed to the ground, to the sky, to him that her peace, her comfort was in his arms. Even the heavens must have been astounded with a statement like that. 15 years and this woman found no amity in life but when she rested her head on his chest, on his beating heart, she had claimed that it was the only moment where she was living, where she was safe, where she found relief and comfort in.
15 years... a love that had been awaiting him every sunrise, every sunset, when the sky would turn a fiery orange of flames and passion, it had stood out in every aspect, in every season, in every moment and all it asked of him was honesty, all it asked of him was the truth. And he could not give it.
Yet despite his inability, this love refused to be named someone else's, refused to be conquered and for years remained stubborn in its act. It had rotted in its wait, it had become bitter in its desperation, yet wait it faithfully did only to find that its ripened fruit over the years was another separation. How the world adored and mocked a love like that? Beautiful in its wait, longing, love and scorning in its arguments and dishonesty driven by ego and mistakes.
Natcheket shook his head.
Sometimes he thought that her love outmatched his by lifetimes. How could this woman continue to love him after all he had done? What did he do to deserve her?
A whimper erupted from beneath him and Natcheket stopped in his movements.
"Aarav..." The name came again, barely audible.
"Shh," His voice was met with another sob.
"Mere bhi galthi thi. You are not alone responsible for his outcome. I was his father, I did not do my part either. After supporting him in his business, I did not as so much check up on him. After he came to me injured and hopelessly frightened for his life, I told him to run away and..." Natcheket felt his eyes water and he felt too ashamed to finish that sentence.
"I left him alone." That was all Neil could say. He wanted to ask for forgiveness but he did not know how. He had asked for forgiveness before, apologized before but he did not want to apologize today. Regrets and apologies were not enough today, he wanted to fix his mistake first and then rightfully, pride fully, worthily ask for her forgiveness. It was the only way left.
He looked at her. "I am equally, if not more at fault for his condition." He tilted her face up towards him but his gaze was met with blank stares.
"Mein bohot buri hoon." That was all Ragini said. She looked at him searching for confirmation, some indication that this lowly portrayal of what she thought of herself was somewhere in his eyes as well but finding nothing of that sort she curled against him bitterly and resolved to clutching his shirt tightly.
At first Natcheket continued to look at her with disbelief not believing how she could ever think of herself like that. Yet as time passed, it dawned on him that Ragini was not listening to a word he was saying. She was far too hurt, far too drowned in her memories to register the words that he was saying to her.
He stood silently for another few minutes, putting his other arm around her back hoping that what once she found her only comfort in life would at least provide her some solace tonight.
Yet in his mind he knew it wasn't enough. Today Ragini was feeling unworthy, undeserving, a failure as a mother, wife, and overall as a person. She felt broken from all relationships, hurt in all aspects, today as a woman she felt helpless, broken, tired. She needed someone to remind her that she was still strong, that she was still worthy, and foremost that she was still loved. She needed to be reminded that everything will be all right...in the end.
He knew what he had to do but he needed to be careful. One wrong move and Ragini would push him away. Carefully entangling his arms and separating from her, he held her at arm's length.
Ragini was at first shocked from the absence of the physical touch and looked at him questioningly yet dared not ask. Natchket smiled softly and cupped her cheek. "Aise hum thak jayenge. Chalo beth the hai." They were standing in this position for quite a while and his bones were beginning to ache. He grabbed Ragini's hand and slowly pulled her towards the bed, guiding her by her shoulders he told her to lean back against the headboard. Once he adjusted the pillows, he too sat beside her on the edge of the bed.
He looked down at her and for a moment he could've sworn that he saw Ragini blush. His confidence returned slightly and he began to stroke her hair again. Ragini at first did not comply with his gestures but before long she placed her head on his chest again.
Natcheket was surprised to say the least yet it was pleasant nonetheless. He contemplated where he could touch her and where his hands would at least be limited but he knew internally, that the position they were in already crossed the limits of the relationship they shared. He was sitting upright against the bedpost, his legs firmly planted on the floor on the edge of the bed with Ragini's frame curled against his chest.
He sighed and carefully pulled her on top of him. There was little resistance and once when he felt her settle and no voices of protests were evident, he draped his arms around her unadorned back. Ragini lay motionless on top of him, her hair covering her face and her hands laying numb on her sides. She was stiff, rigid, and perhaps uncomfortable in this position. He was indecisive of his next move yet his hands had own their own accord began to massage the nape of her neck. His cold hands caused shivers to run down her spine and he felt her hand clutch the bed sheets below them but no words were said to him. A whimper escaped her.
"Shhh" He hushed her.
His hands were slow in their movement as they moved skillfully down her back, kneading all the muscles that his fingers encountered; taking time to trace the arc of her shoulder blades. His hand drowned lower and smoothly across her flesh to where it indented. With both hands he massaged the skin on either side of her spinal cord before allowing his hand to dip and close at the indent of the concave flesh. He intensified his grip and he heard a ragged breath reach his ears as he intertwined his fingers at the where the curve of her back dipped.
Ragini was biting her lips causing it to redden in hue.
He found the sight absolutely endearing.
Oh how he wished she could see herself from his eyes. Only then will she realize how beautiful of a sight she was to behold.
He tucked a stray lock behind her ear and in the process tilted her chin to get a better view of her face. Her brown eyes were wide, she refused to meet his gaze and he felt more warm tears cascade down her cheek and fall into the palm of his hands.
His own eyes began to water, his own frustration was begging for release, his own heart was weeping. He didn't know what he could do that would make her feel better, that would somehow erase her pain. All he was doing, nothing seemed to get through to her.
Not knowing better, he did the only thing that he could do.
He cried with her.
His own voices came ragged as his cries erupted and he quietly wept with her.
"Natchket?" It was the first word Ragini uttered so close to him. Neil opened his eyes and looked down at her.
With almost a childlike innocence she asked him, "Tum kyun rorahay ho?"
Natcheket smiled miserably, "Kyunki tum rorahi ho." He answered.
Silence followed his last words and Ragini's gaze focused on him.
What seemed forever she stared at him; contemplating her own decision before she finally raised her hand, hesitantly and wiped the tears that marked his face.
What did I ever do to deserve him?
She wondered ruefully.
Natcheket smiled, he had her attention now. It had worked. He knew she could never she him in pain, just as he couldn't see her.
He grabbed her hand in his and placed it over his chest comfortingly.
"Khuda bhi jab tumhe mere paas dekhta hoga
Itni anmol cheez de di kaise, sochta hoga!"
Ragini blushed and diverted her gaze.
"Jo bhi zameen tere paaon tale aaye
Kadmon se chooke woh aasmaan ho jaaye"
She placed her head onto his chest, now gripping the fabric of his shirt tightly with both hands.
"Khuda bhi jab tere andaaz dekhta hoga
Itni anmol cheej de di kaise, sochta hoga!"
Her eyes closed exhaustingly and quietly he pulled a quilt over her.
"Tere aage pheeke pheeke saare shringar hai
Main toh kya farishte bhi tujhpe nissar hain"
He smiled. It was far too tempting. He raised his index finger and placed it on her temple, descended downwards brushing against her eyelashes, affectionately circling her cheeks. Ragini stirred and the blush on her cheeks darkened and her lips parted slightly.
"Khuda bhi ab tujhe din raat dhoondta hoga
Itni anmol cheej de di kaise, sochta hoga!"
He traced her jawline before his finger stopped abruptly at her lips. He bent his head slightly and his fingers outlined the plump soft lips that adorned her face. She wore the faintest shade of pink lip gloss.
"Garmi ki shaam hai tu, jaadon ki dhoop hai
Jitne bhi mausam hain, tere karzdaar hain"
"Tere karzdaar hai"
Ragini's breath evened out and he could tell that she was in a deep slumber. Her body relaxed on top of him and his hand lazily gripped her waist from underneath the blankets.
He did not know what drove him to do it but whether it was because she could no longer hear him or whether she could no longer could stop him from doing what he desired but he felt ecstatically empowered.
"Aankhein hain ya afsaana, jism ya kitaab hai
Aaja tujhe main padh loon, dil mein utaar loon
Hothon se dekhun tujhe, aankhon se pukar loon"
Her lips were merely inches apart from his own.
"Khwahishein ye kehti hain, kehti rehti hain
Leke tujhe baahon mein shaamein guzaar loon"
He decided against it. He carefully pressed his lips to her forehead instead and kissed it softly. Ragini stirred in his embrace and he adjusted them both into a more comfortable position before he closed his own eyes.
"Leke tujhe baahon mein shaamein guzaar loon"
The last of his words echoed into the night.
It seemed as if they were pulled out of time itself. The difference between reality and dreams were no longer evident and life itself seemed to stop. It seemed as if they were captured in a hypnotic trance and the world outside did not exist. The night was a stolen moment from paradise, away from everyone, it was too passionate, too drunken in overwhelming emotions. All limits, relationships, restrictions, were forgotten in each other's embrace. The rhythmic motions of their heartbeats in unison was the only remaining resonance that could've been said to be the undisclosed souvenir of the night.
Closed away from the world's eyes
Oh, how they wished that the world would not bother them tonight.
Love Azka
Author's note: I am so sorry for being this late, I told you I'll post the chapter two days ago and unfortunately my laptop's charger was broken due to the renovations going on in the house and my own carelessness by leaving it out knowing that there was going to construction in the morning. Long story short, I bought a new one a few hours ago and now came home and decided to finally post the story.
Anyways, next chapter will be earlier (3 -4 days...yes it will be long...long as in 6000-7000 words or maybe more knowing me) and this is where Neil and Ragini go to meet Aarav and the course in which they will meet and try to convince aarav will be divided over the course of 3 days and three different sessions. I was first going to add it to this chapter but then I realized that these revelations deserved their own chapter and the ending in which they both cried and reconciled, away from the world would be a better ending for this chapter.
Anyways, I have a unique Neira idea in my mind, quite unusual and because I realized this chapter was so emotional that I need to add a light hearted chapter to accommodate it. It is a funny thing...I can't explain the idea without giving it away but I don't even know how you will react but I would like to test it out.
Lastly please excuse me for this chapter's grammar and with its overall editing, again I write in parts and the flow sometimes is broken.
Oh, and the bold parts were song lyrics...
The song is "Khuda bhi" by Mohit Chauhan
Here is the link for it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSezP3Dnh4A
One last question: Who do you want to wake up first in the morning, Neil or Ragini?
Shiv Shakti
