Thank you to everyone who read my first post! Here is the second part--I hope you enjoy it! 😊
Please leave your comments; I would love to learn and improve from your feedback!
Part 0B
To the surprise of Nishi and Aarav (and most of all, Nachiket) Ragini broke their family hug. "Mein...mein abhi aayi..." she fumbled, moving towards the door.
"Ragini, kahan jaa rahi ho? Aarav abhi abhi aaya, itni badi baat ho gayi, aur tum aise..." cried Nachiket, unable to understand her.
Ragini turned and her eyes met Nachiket's. Oh, that's the issue. Nachiket should have known; in the very few times he couldn't understand her behavior, 99% of the time it was related to Dr. Aman. Yeh admi bhi na...
Ragini wiped her tears and headed outside. "Aman sir! Aman sir!" she yelled, trying to get his attention. Aman turned to look at her, surprise written clearly on his face.
"Ragini! Tum yaha kya kar rahi ho? Tumhe toh vaha hona chahiye, Aarav aur Nishi ke pas!" Aman chided. "Nai sir, aap aise achanak bahar aagaye toh mein...kya baat hai sir?" Ragini proded.
Aman sighed. "Ragini, I didn't want to discuss this now, but... Ragini, jo bhi andar ho raha tha--"
Ragini cut him off abruptly. "Oh! Sir, voh mein...Nachiket Nishi aur Aarav ka papa hai, toh isliye voh aisa--" How could she be so insensitive! Hugging her ex-husband in front of her fiance! Ugh, she had to control herself, at least in front of Dr. Aman...
For the first time since he had known her, Aman cut Ragini off. "Nai Ragini, aaj tum kuch nahi bologi." Ragini stood there, slightly shocked. This was the second time someone had said this to her in the last 15 minutes. With Aarav, it had turned out to be excellent news, but this time...Ragini was unsure what Aman was going to say.
"Ragini, jab tum aur Dr. Neil apne bacho ko gale laga rahe the, tab tum log ek accha khasa parivaar ki tarah dikh rahe the. Vaha khade ho kar mujhe ye ehsaas hua ki mera uss parivaar me koi jaga nahi he, aur nahi kabhi hoga." Ragini opened her mouth to speak, but Aman interrupted her. "Maine bola na, aaj tum kuch nahi kahogi." Normally in such a situation, Ragini would still say what was on her mind. But this time, unable to find the words, she closed her mouth with guilt.
"Ragini, tumhe yaad hai jab maine tumhe pehli baar propose kiya tha?" Aman looked off into the distance, remembering the past. "Ek din, hospital ke chhat par. Nishi ke kehne par maine woh kadam uthaya tha. Uss din tumhe kitna gussa aaya tha Nishi par--jaise koi toofan aa gaya ho!" Aman exclaimed, waving his hands around for emphasis. "Tumne Nishi ko data kyunki usse laga ki uski maa ko kisi aadmi ki zaroorat hai. Tab tumne usse bola tha ki tum bahut strong ho. Aur tum bahut strong thi. Ragini, maine galti ki thi tumhe propose karne mein. Tumhe sach mein kisi ki zaroorat nai tha; tum apne aap ji sakti thi aur jeene mein kush thi." Ragini smiled slightly, still unsure where this was going.
Aman smiled too, gaining confidence as he continued. "Uske baad tumhari zindagi mein Dr. Neil phir se aa gaye." Aman frowned, remembering Ragini's intense irritation whenever she came face to face with Dr. Neil. "Phir, tum dono ka patch-up hogaya tha aur tum ek doosre ke saath bahut khush the."
He paused, looking at Ragini for confirmation as he spoke. "Tab, Ragini, tum pandra saal mein pehli baar khud ke liye ji rahi thi, apne bacho ke liye nai. Tumhare paas ek tarah ki strength aur confidence thi," Aman said. He paused for a moment enjoying Ragini's smile and then added on "Jo Dr. Neil ke US chale jane ke baat gayab ho gaya tha." Ragini smile instantly disappeared. She avoided his eyes and tried hard to mask the sadness that she knew would be evident on her face. Aman's heart sank just a tiny bit.
"Tab maine tumhe doosri baar propose kiya tha, taaki woh strength, woh confidence, mein tumhe lauta sakhta hoon. Tumne haan bhi kaha tha aur aaj..." Aman paused, looking at his ring. Ragini looked at her ring too, and felt a deep and consuming heartache. "Aaj hum engaged hai," he said with a pang of guilt.
Aman looked at Ragini and continued. "Par andar jo hua...usse dekhne ke baad mujhe pata chala ki doosri baar bhi mein galat tha." Ragini looked up at him, shocked. Yeh kya ho raha hai?
"Tumhare iss shaadi ke liye haan karne ke piche ek hara hui, tooti hui Ragini thi. Aur woh Ragini Aman se shaadi karne ke baad khush nahi hogi; woh sirf aur sirf Dr. Neil ke saath khush thi, aur unke saath hi khush hogi." Ragini remained startled. Ek hug se yeh itna affect ho gaye hai?
"Ragini, tumhe propose karne ke baad meine bahut socha ki tumhe khush kaise rakhoonga. Kuch der sochne ke baad maine ye realize kiya ki tumhare bache tumhari zindagi hain. Jab woh khush honge, tum khush hogi." Ragini smiled, knowing that this was true, especially today, in light of the recent events. Still confused as to where Aman was headed, she listened on. "Tab mein sochne laga ki Nishi aur Aarav ko kaise khush rakhoonga." Aman turned his head to look back at the center, where Nishi and Aarav were waiting. "Par tumhare sirf do nahi, paanch bache hai--Ranbir, Agam, aur Suhani ka kya? Unhe mein kaise khush rakh sakta hoon?"
Ragini's brow furrowed. Aman sir kyun Ranbir, Agam, aur Suhani ke khushi ke baare mein soch rahe he? Unke liye mein aur Nachiket hai na. She mentally slapped herself. Phir se, Ragini!
Aman frowned. "Mein chaakar bhi Ranbir, Agam, aur Suhani ko khush nahi rakh sakta, Ragini. Woh haq sirf tumhara aur Dr. Neil ka hai. Aur aaj mujhe ye ehsaas hua ki Nishi aur Aarav pe bhi, mujhse pehle, unka haq hai. Ragini, jitna bhi mein koshish karoon, woh dono hamesha Dr. Neil ko papa' kahenge, mujhe nai. Mein sirf unke maa ka boss, unke maa ka accha dost hoon. Woh dono bhale hi mere saath acchi acchi baatein kare, mujhe darvaso ke picche kos te rahenge ki maine unko unke baap se, unke maa ko unke pyaar se, door rakha. Aur jab mein tumhare bacche ko khush nahi rakh sakta, mein tumhe kaise khush rakh paunga, Ragini?"
Ragini's mouth opened slightly as she finally figured out what he was doing.
"Ragini, aaj mein tumhe azad karta hoon. Mein ye tumhare liye nai, apne liye kar raha hoon. Mein ye samajh gaya hoon ki tum mere saath kabhi khush nahi reh paoge, aur mein ye bojh ke saath nahi jee sakta ki maine apne swarth ke liye tumhe apni khushi se door rakha."
Aman reached for Ragini's hand, and seeing that she was too shocked to make any effort to stop him, carefully slid their engagement ring off her finger. Then he took off his own ring.
"Ragini, mein jaanta hoon ki tumhare aur Dr. Neil ke beech differences hai. Par pyaar bhi hai...aur paanch bache bhi. Mein ye nahi kahoon ga ke tum unke pas vapas jao. Par ye zaroor kahoon ga ke kuch bhi faisla lene se pahle, dus baar soch lo, sabki nazar se. Tumhare bache ko bhi unke papa ki zaroorat hai, Ragini." He laughed a little. "Mein bhi na, of course tum sabki nazar se socho ge. Tum toh Ragini ho!"
"Toh that's it, Ragini! Aaj se tum meri hospital ke admin head aur meri bahut achhi dost, bas." said Aman, stuffing the rings into his pocket. "I'm sure iss baar tum apni dil ki baat suno gi." With that, Aman turned and left to his car. Ragini stood watching as he sat in his car, waved cheerfully, and drove off.
Ab...mein kya karoon? Aman sir saach mein...? Ek tarah voh theek hi to ke rahe the, par... Mein Nachiket ke saath phir se? she thought to herself.
Ragini felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to a teary eyed Nachiket. In an instant, she knew he had heard everything. Their eyes locked as she questioned. Now what?
He answered by wrapping his arm around her waist, making her involuntarily close her eyes out of pleasure. When she opened her eyes again, he answered with a smoulder. Now we are finally free. Just you and me...
Ragini could see the playfulness in his eyes and she blushed. And the kids... she tacked on, silently. Nachiket leaned down, smiling. He wanted to brush his nose against hers and capture her soft red lips in his own and prove to her that he would love her, forever.
But she pulled away. Ragini looked at the ground, nervously; she hoped he wouldn't misunderstand. As much as she loved Nachiket, she just wasn't mentally ready today. Aarav had just come out of jail and both Nishi and Aarav had just accepted her again. She wanted to spend this time with them; of course, Nachiket would be there too, but there would be another time for the two of them to reconnect. Nachiket took a step back, respecting her space. He wasn't going to push, not this time at least. Instantly, Ragini looked up. Thank you, she seemed to say, for understanding, for supporting...for loving me.
As Ragini walked back inside to Aarav and Nishi, Nachiket followed her. Third time's the charm.
Fan Fictions
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
