FF:Destiny's Children (Pgs 1 to 5) Also ck Pg 84

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Opti

@Opti

Stunner

+ 5

Posted: 16 years ago

#701

XLIV(3)

That morning Ayesha received a call from Milind asking her to meet him for lunch at a restaurant near her office. Ayesha informed Neev about her luncheon appointment with an old friend. Neev wondered whether it was a male or a female friend but was too polite to ask. He couldn't help feeling a pang of jealousy, although he tried to shrug off the feeling.

Milind was waiting for her at the restaurant. One look at his face told her that the guy was fuming within. She braced herself to face the barrage of questions which will be hurled at her. She barely took her seat when he started off his tirade.

"Just what do you think of yourself, leaving the chawl without so much as a word?" he asked angrily.

"I did inform your wife that I was moving," she said calmly. "I tried your number too but it was constantly engaged."

"Yes, you informed Prachi on the day you left. I am sure you were aware that you had to leave much before that, were you not? Why did you not tell me you were being evicted from the chawl? I would have spoken to the members and asked them not to throw you out."

"Milind, you no longer live in the chawl, so under what authority would you be allowed to interfere in the chawl's dealings? Moreover, the condition that I return back by 9.30 p.m. every night was something I could not follow, given my erratic working hours. So I decided to leave the place instead of vitiating the situation further. I searched for an accommodation but could not find one, try as I may. Finally I decided to move into my boss's residence as a paying guest till I find an alternate place to stay."

"Could you not have asked me to look out for a place for you? Would I not have done that much for you?"

"What difference would that have made? Milind, it is very difficult finding a place if one is a single working woman with unpredictable working hours."

"You could have stayed with us till you found a place."

"Don't you have your hands already full taking care of your business and Prachi? Why would I want to trouble you further?"

"You call this trouble?" he raised his voice in indignation and realising that they were in a public place, he lowered it down.

In a voice which betrayed his hurt he said, "I am disappointed in you, Ayesha. I thought we were friends. What are friends for if they are not there to help each other out in times of need?"

"You call me your friend, Milind. Then don't you know me by now? Don't you know how much I detest asking for help or receiving it? Don't you know that I value my independence a lot and would not wish to compromise on it unless I had no other choice? I would have come to you if the worst case scenario was to be left on the streets but my boss offered me a paying guest accommodation. Under the circumstances that was my only acceptable option. "

"So you would rather stay as a paying guest with a boss you barely know than stay with a friend you know since childhood?"

"Milind, I would have only cramped up your apartment had I moved in with you. And I do not know how long it will take for me to find an alternate accommodation. What if I could not find something for months on end?"

"I could have put you up in one of my hotel rooms."

"And my furniture and other household articles?"

"I would have found a place for those too."

"And how much would I have to pay you?"

"Pay me? Are you crazy? I will not accept any money from you," he said with finality.

"That is precisely the point. You will not allow me to pay and I will not agree to be a free rider, even if the person is my friend. So where does that leave us? With my boss, I have a strict business deal. I pay for my boarding and lodging. So I don't feel indebted to anybody."

Milind continued to sulk. Ayesha placed her hand on his and gently pressed it.

"Look, Milind. I know that you mean well. You are highly protective of the people you love and care about. I appreciate that but I don't need your protection. We are very similar in that way. We both value our independence too much to give it up. We like to be in control of the situation rather than let the situation take control of us. That is why we would have been total misfits if we had got together, as both of us would have tried to dominate and take control. It is good that destiny intervened and brought Prachi to you. The two of you fit like a glove. God bless you both and the three little ones you are expecting. As far as I am concerned, let me make my own choices, let me lead my life as I think best. I am not saying that my choices are always right but if they go wrong, I will have only myself to blame and no one else. I am too rigid to bend now, Milind. If you value our friendship I think you will respect my wishes."

Milind realised that what she said was true. As a true friend he needed to respect her wishes. He cannot impose his views, his wishes on her. He nodded his head and called the waiter to place their order. While having their lunch, Milind asked her who her boss was.

Ayesha hesitated for a moment before saying, "Neev Shergill."

"What?" Milind sputtered out his food and looked at her incredulously.

Ayesha nodded her head solemnly and said, "You heard me right."

"You mean you have moved in with Neev? Are you out of your mind? What did his family have to say to that? What about his gori wife?" he asked in a high pitched voice, inviting a kick on his shin from Ayesha to remind him where they were. He looked around and seeing a few heads turned in their direction, he lowered his head.

Ayesha then gave him a short life history of Neev, ending it with his divorce.

"You have moved in with a divorcee, then?" Milind persisted, clearly annoyed with his friend's choice of residence.

"Stop saying that I have 'moved in' with Neev. You make it sound like I have gotten into some illicit relationship with him. I have merely moved into one of the many rooms in his house - a room which is farthest from his, if I may add," she said, her lips twisting in a smile.

"What will Prachi say if she comes to know with whom her dear friend is staying?" he asked. "The woman would not even look in his direction when we briefly saw him at the airport on our return from Bangalore."

Ayesha looked at him apprehensively. "Milind promise me that you will not tell anything to Prachi just yet. I myself will break the news to her soon enough. Before that I want Neev and Prachi to meet and have a heart-to-heart talk. I am sure if she hears him out she will forgive him."

"So why are you so keen to bring about a rapprochement between the two childhood friends? Have you by any chance fallen for the guy?" he asked jocularly.

Ayesha's cheeks flamed up but she quickly masked it and pretended to be cross with him. She hit his hand and said in a sharp tone that there was nothing between Neev and her. All she wanted to do is to help clear all misunderstandings between Neev and Prachi so that they can renew their bond of friendship. Having such a wonderful relationship with her own childhood friend she wanted the same for Prachi too. Milind smiled at that and pressed her hand in acknowledgement. After they finished their lunch, he settled their bill and she took leave of him saying she needed to get back to her work.

"So, is this Neev a hard task master?" he asked curiously.

"No, he is not. He is quite a sensible, sensitive and generous master," she retorted.

"So there is something brewing between the two of you," exclaimed Milind. "I have not heard you praise anyone so much."

Ayesha hit his shoulders hard as she hurried out of there before he could catch sight of the deep flush spreading across her face. Milind smiled at her retreating back but then sobered almost immediately, wondering how Prachi will take the news of Ayesha working for Neev and living in his house.

(4)

The same morning, Saket went to meet Alaap at his office. He informed him that Alaap needs to sign some documents for the loan he was taking from Saket's friend so that they can obtain the money to make the payment for the hotel lease. As Alaap was busy on the phone chatting up his girl friend when Saket came in, he was in a hurry to get him out of his cabin as soon as possible. So he hurriedly signed on dotted lines without reading the documents carefully. Saket held his breath while Alaap was signing, hoping that he will not read them. The minute Alaap put his signature on the last of the documents, he heaved a sigh of relief. Shuffling the papers, he thanked Alaap and promised to take care of everything from now on. Little did Alaap realise the connotation of Saket's words.

Later in his office, Saket received a call from Prachi who wanted to know what he was up to and why did Milind lose the Alibaug hotel lease to Alaap. Saket assured her that it was all part of the plan to topple Alaap. Alaap has ended up quoting a rate which was more than 10 times the value of the lease because he had misled him into believing that the property is worth that much. Milind will get back the lease soon enough for the price he quoted. He asked her not to tell anything to Milind just yet. This was only a temporary setback for Milind which will soon be made good. Prachi hoped that Saket knew what he was doing and Milind will indeed get the lease he so wanted.

****

That night Neev and Ayesha returned late from work and found their dinner on the table. Nandu kaka seemed to have gone to bed early. Neev did not want to wake him up. After freshening up, they had their dinner in silence as both felt pretty exhausted after a hard day's work. Later they wished each other goodnight and retired for bed.

Ayesha woke up a couple of hours later, feeling thirsty. She got up and went to the kitchen to drink some water. As she came out of the kitchen she heard a rustling sound. She immediately became alert and approached the direction of the sound. It was coming from outside the front door. As she neared the door she heard the key being turned in the door lock. Alarmed that there was a burglar in the premises, she quickly took position near the closed door, waiting to attack him the minute he stepped in. The door creaked open and a shadowy figure entered in. Before the figure could turn around and close the door, Ayesha swung her hand up and hit the back of the neck with the side of her palm. As the figure buckled up, she lifted her knee up and hit the figure in the stomach. Even as the figure let out a loud groan, she rained punches wherever she could land them. The figure collapsed on the ground and writhed in pain. She quickly went to the switch board and turned on the lights. The sight that met her eyes froze her blood, for in the middle of the hall lay Neev curled up and moaning, his body beaten up black and blue. She rushed to him, pulled him up on her lap and examined his wounds.

"Neev, its you?" she asked incredulously. "I am so sorry for beating you up like this but I thought you were a burglar," she cried out remorsefully.

Neev looked up at her with dazed eyes. She gently lowered him and rushed to get the first aid kit from her room. Pulling him back on her lap, she unbuttoned his shirt and removed it slowly. He winced as the material rubbed against the bruises on his chest and arms. Taking the bottle of Iodex, she gently rubbed it on the bruises.

"What were you doing at this hour of the night?" she asked worriedly.

He looked at her and raised his eyebrows as if to ask her the same question.

She replied, "I came to drink water when I noticed someone trying to break into the house. Assuming it to be a burglar I attacked you. But why were you out of the house?"

He tried to speak but his words were slurred. She noticed blood dripping from the side of his mouth. She quickly took some cotton wool and dabbed it on the wound. She got up again and returned with ice cubes which she applied on the swollen portions of his body. As he moaned in pain her face contorted to reflect it. Seeing that, he tried hard to suppress the moans as he could not bear to see her hurt expressions. She tried to raise him up but noticed that his knee caved in as he was unable to stand on his own. She put his arm around her shoulder and led him to her room as he was in no position to climb stairs to his room. She made him sit on her bed and gently pushed him back to lie down. She asked him to remove his pants as she needed to examine his legs. Neev felt embarrassed and said that he was alright. Realising the delicacy of the situation, she assured him that she will turn around so that he can undress in privacy. He hesitatingly removed his pants and covered himself up with a blanket. Still with her back to him she asked him to flex his legs, knees and toes. After being assured that he could move them, she heaved a sigh of relief that there were no broken bones. She then stretched her hand and gave him the Iodex bottle. She asked him apply it on the bruises on his legs and left the room. Neev examined his legs and finding a couple of them on his thighs and knees, he rubbed the medicine on them. When he was done, she returned with a glass of water which she made him sip. After he regained half his composure, she asked him again what he was doing outside. Neev then said that he was unable to sleep, so he went on a night stroll in the gardens when he heard Nandu kaka coughing in his outhouse. As he had a duplicate key to the outhouse, he entered in and found that Nandu kaka was running a high temperature. He went to the pharmacy and got him the medicine. After administering it to him and making sure he was warmly bundled up, he returned back home only to be welcomed with blows.

"I did get a royal reception!"he joked. Ayesha bent her head in guilt.

Lifting her chin with a finger he said, "Hey, don't feel bad. You did warn me that you are trained in martial arts. I got a sample of it tonight. Anyway I need not worry about your safety any longer. You are more than capable of taking care of yourself. In fact I can use your services as my bodyguard too!"

She gave him a mock angry stare before smiling at him. She asked him to go to sleep saying that she will sleep in the next room and he can call out to her if he needed any help getting up.

Stretching herself on the bed, she thought back on the day's events. With every passing day she was seeing a newer facet of Neev's character. While she already knew that he was a compassionate human being, she did not expect him to be concerned and caring of even his man-servant so as to go out in the middle of the night to get him medicine. Even in his bruised and battered state he did not get angry with her but instead joked about the entire episode. She blushed recollecting the texture of his skin under her fingers as she had rubbed the medicine on his chest, his shoulders and his strong arms. The blush deepened when she remembered how thoughtlessly she had requested him to remove his pants so that she can examine his legs.

Was Milind right after all? Was she slowly but steadily falling for Neev? She had not met anyone like him before. She would have considered him too chocolate boyish for her taste but somehow the same guy seemed to look increasingly attractive to her the more she got to know him as a person. His soft eyes and his charming smile evoked feelings in her she never thought she possessed. She did not know if she was in love but she had to admit that the guy did hold a sway over her thoughts. She drifted into a restless sleep, wondering where they were headed to.

Back in Ayesha's bed, Neev too was immersed in thoughts about the beautiful woman who shared his house. She is one brave lady, risking her life to safeguard his property, even though he ended up bearing the brunt of her valour. The minute she realised her mistake, she immediately transformed herself from a hard-to-crack nut to a soft and malleable fruit pulp, tenderly yet efficiently taking care of his bruises. This was the second time she had taken care of him, the first being on his visit to Bangalore when the trade union leader and his gang thrashed him. She never let anything distract her from the task at hand, so much so that she even asked him to strip in order to have a look at the extent of damage.

He has never come across a woman like her - beautiful, intelligent, caring, responsible, honest, efficient...the list seemed endless. Whoever gets her as a life partner is a lucky man, he thought. While at some corner of his heart he hoped he will be the lucky one, he knew he did not deserve a wonderful woman like her. He prayed that she soon finds the right man who will harness all her talents and give her all the happiness in the world. Still thinking about her, he slipped into a deep slumber.

The next morning Ayesha got up early to prepare breakfast. She made tea and took some bread and fruits. She went out to the outhouse to check on Nandu kaka. His fever had come down but he still felt weak. She made him drink the tea and eat the bread and fruits. She then gave him the medicine which was lying by his bedside. Tucking him in, she returned back home to check on Neev. Neev was up and was slowly limping to the hall. She rushed to him to help him walk but he stalled her saying he can take care of himself. She then served him toasted bread and omelette. It is only when he was struggling to munch the bread did she realise the wound on his mouth made it difficult for him to eat the hard bread. She dipped the bread in tea and served it to him. While having it, he thanked her for all the trouble she had taken for him. She shrugged it off saying that she owed atleast this much for putting him through so much pain the previous night. Although she tried to get him to rest for the day he insisted in going to work. So they soon got dressed and left the house. On reaching the garage, she volunteered to drive the car, assuring him that she was a licensed driver. He nodded and they drove to work to begin another busy day.

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Opti

@Opti

Stunner

+ 5

Posted: 16 years ago

#702

XLV

Three weeks later

It was Christmas again. This time Milind had arranged a grand Christmas eve party as he was doing well in business. Although he lost the Alibaugh hotel lease he managed to acquire the lease to the MTDC hotel in Murud, a beach resort. Bankers who were earlier reluctant to lend him money were only too willing to extend him loans seeing the wonders he had done to the Garodia hotels. He was able to avail of the loan at the most competitive rate. Although his rise in business was meteoric, he never forgot his roots. He still visited the chawl and mingled with his friends. He regularly visited the orphanage, Ashadhan and fully sponsored their expenses. On this occasion, he had invited all the inmates of the orphanage to the party and had arranged a special bus to transport them to and fro the hotel. A huge, colourfully lit, and tastefully decorated Christmas tree was put up in the centre of the banquet hall. The children had gathered around it, closely examining the trinkets hanging on it. Milind escorted a hugely pregnant Prachi to the hall. Although he had tried to dissuade her from coming, she insisted on taking part. So he brought her along under the condition that she leaves early.

When she approached the children, they turned around and looked at her mountainous stomach curiously. As her babies had stretched their legs out in one direction, there was an obvious bulge on one side of her abdomen. Seeing that, Guddi stood on her toes and reaching up to her stomach, she gingerly put her finger on the lump, trying to figure out what it was. She looked up at Prachi with questioning eyes. Prachi smiled and holding the back of her raised head she said that there are three little babies in there. Guddi's eyes, widened in excitement and she grinned, revealing two small milky white teeth at the top. Overhearing her, the other children too wanted to feel her babies. Alarmed to see his wife being swarmed by children who kept prodding her tummy, Milind immediately stepped in and holding his wife by the shoulders, carefully led her away, telling the children that the babies and their mother were feeling tired.

The children sang the carols and Santa Claus came to distribute gifts to them. Prachi turned to Milind and asked him why he did not dress up as Santa. Milind replied that he had his hands full being her Santa that he had no time to be everyone's Santa.

After an early dinner, Milind took Prachi back to their house. Prachi felt exhausted after the party and slumped on the bed the minute they stepped into their room. Realising that his wife was fatigued, Milind helped her change into her nighty before changing his own clothes. Although she desparately wanted to sleep she was unable to do so. After the initial experience of feeling her babies' movements, Prachi has been feeling their movements every day at different intervals. Although the babies had periods of rest and periods of awake throughout the day, they seemed to not coordinate their schedules. As a result they kept Prachi constantly awake and aware of their movements. It seemed like they were constantly bumping into each other and nudging each other for extra room. Seeing her squirm in discomfort, Milind made her lean against him and massaged her back to ease the pressure on it on account of the growing uterus.

When she continued to remain disturbed by the enhanced activities of her babies, he bent his head forward and cupping his palms over her tummy, he loudly said, "Hey Petal, Ice and Ribby! I know you are beautiful babies who are generally well behaved, but if you do not let your mama sleep now, your dada will get very angry. I have loaned you my wife for a few months so that she can cocoon you in her womb and bring you safely into the world. But don't you dare take advantage of that and trouble her often. Is that understood? Now go to sleep all of you!" There was a wave like movement and soon the movements diminished before calm settled. Pointing to her tummy, he looked up at Prachi who couldn't stop giggling.

"Don't you go scaring my poor babies even before they can see this world," she admonished mockingly and slapped his hand.

"So this is what is called motherly love, is it? Mommy will not tolerate anyone raising their voice against her babies, will she?" he smiled, shaking his head and kissing her lips tenderly before settling her comfortably on her side so that she can go to sleep. Soon sleep took over and Prachi slept fitfully that night.

(2)

On the same evening Ayesha was at Neev's office discussing with him the designs that would be selected for their spring collection when she received a call from NIMHANS, the hospital her mother was being treated. On hearing what the caller had to say she turned death pale and slumped on the nearby sofa. Neev was alarmed to see her reaction and rushed to her side asking her what was wrong. She whispered that her mother had tried to commit suicide but was saved in the nick of the moment. With tears streaming down her cheeks, she looked at him pleadingly and asked if she can go to meet her. Neev assured her that she can and said that he will accompany her as he did not want to send her alone in this distraught state. He buzzed his secretary and asked her to cancel all appoints for the next three days. He called in his chief accountant, financial adviser, designing head, marketing manager and legal adviser, assigning them the tasks that they need to carry out in his absence. He also called Mr.Jaswal to inform him that Ms.Singhania will not be there for some days and he will have to assume her responsibilities in her absence. He then escorted her to his car. The company driver was waiting for them and he drove them to the Shergill residence.

On reaching his house, he quickly alighted and opened the door for her. As she stepped out, he asked her to pack her clothes and rushed to his room to pack his own. When he dropped in her room later he noticed that she had still not started her packing. She sat stiffly on the bed with a picture of her mother in her hands, staring at it with tearful eyes. He opened the wardrobe and picking up an airbag from inside it, he quickly took whatever clothes he could lay his hands on and stuffed them into the bag. He realised she would require undergarments too. Asking her to pack them along with the rest of the clothes, he turned to leave. She did not respond but sat rigidly on the bed, tears still streaming down her cheeks. Shaking his head, he looked into the wardrobe drawers and grabbed a few pieces of under garments and stuffed them in the airbag and pulled her up. He slung both the bags on his shoulders and dragged her out of there. She still had her mother's picture tightly clutched in her hand. He told Nandu kaka that they will be away for a few days and took her to the waiting car.

As the evening traffic was heavy it took them an hour to reach the airport. Asking her to wait at the gate he rushed to get their tickets. They checked in and soon they were on the flight to Bangalore. Although her eyes continued to stream, she maintained a cold silence throughout the journey. Neev understood her pain and did not press on.

Once they reached Bangalore, he took her directly to the hospital. Before he could pay of the cab driver, she ran down the corridors towards her mother's room. Neev followed close at her heels with both their bags. When they reached Amrita's room they realised that there was nobody there. Ayesha panicked and ran to the reception with Neev in tow. She tried to ask the receptionist where her mother was but she was choked for words. As she stood there gasping for breath, Neev stepped in and asked the receptionist where was Mrs.Singhania, patient in Room No.302. The receptionist checked her monitor and said that Mrs.Singhania was still in the ICU.

The two of them then rushed to the ICU and through the glass door they saw Amrita strapped to various medical gadgets. The doctor attending to her had just then come out of the ICU. Ayesha asked her what had happened and was told that Mrs.Singhania had been emotionally depressed of late and kept asking to meet Monty. When she was served the breakfast that morning she refused to have it and threw the plate down. Suddenly she got into a frenzy and started throwing things around. The nurse attending to her rushed out to get help to calm her down but before they can get to her, she had slashed her wrists with a blade which they did not know from where she got. She had lost quite a bit of blood but was out of danger now after being given blood transfusion. They wanted to keep her under observation for another 12 hours before moving her back to the ward. After that she will be on anti-depressants for some time before they decide on the next course of treatment. The only permanent cure, however, would be to find Monty and bring him to her.

After the doctor left, Ayesha crumbled onto the nearby bench and let out a heart wrenching cry. Seeing her in this emotionally distraught state, Neev's heart went out to her. He had never seen Ayesha lose control of herself before. She had always been bold, facing all challenges with a brave face but seeing her lost and defeated like this just sliced him up. Not knowing what to do, he sat beside her and tentatively put his arm around her shoulders to comfort her. She buried her face in his chest and wept uncontrollably. Soon his shirt was drenched in her tears. He patted her head comfortingly and whispered that everything will soon be alright but she was inconsolable.

"Neev, I can't afford to lose her. She is my only family, Neev, she is my only family," she kept repeating between sobs. "I need my mother, Neev. She may not have been a perfect mother but the fact that I have a mother who needed me kept me going during my most difficult times. I need her as much as she needs me. Neev. I can't imagine a life without her. I lost my father, Neev, I don't want to lose my mother too."

Neev did not know how to console her. Holding her face between his hands, he wiped her tears with his thumb pads.

"I will not let you lose your mother, Ayesha. I will do everything there is to keep her safe. You can trust me. I will find Monty and bring him to her. By the way who is Monty? Is he your father?" he inquired.

She nodded her head. "What is his full name?" he asked. She shook her head saying she knew nothing about her father other than his nick name. He knew that it was not the right time to keep pressing for more information. He said that as she would require energy to take care of her mother when she comes around, she needs to have some food. Leading her to the hospital canteen, he bought her dinner and coaxed her to eat. She looked listlessly at the food but did not eat. He finally had to feed her forcefully. After having his dinner, he took her to the company guest house. The next morning they returned to the hospital. By that afternoon, Amrita was shifted to the ward. Ayesha broke down seeing her mother's unemotional face as she lay stiffly on the bed. She buried her head on her chest and poured out her anguish. Amrita kept staring at the ceiling unresponsively.

The next two days were pretty traumatic for Ayesha as she witnessed her mother's lifeless existence. She knew that her mother was suffering deep within although she did not display any emotion or feelings on the outside as a result of the medication. Neev tried his best to cheer her up but to no avail. He consulted all the doctors in the hospital about her mother's condition. The doctors said that they will do their best and keep her away from harmful devices but they unanimously felt that the only way her suicidal tendencies can be expunged for good is to bring Monty back to her.

When Ayesha was reasonably composed, Neev tried to again find out as much information about her father as he could. Ayesha told him the circumstances under which her parents got married, her grandfather's suicide, her father setting off for the Gulf to seek his fortunes, leaving her mother and her behind with her maternal grandmother and their coming to Mumbai when she was barely two years old. She mentioned that her grandmother had once told her that they were from a small village by the name Hasampura in Ajairajpura panchayat which was a part of Jaipur district in Rajastan. Neev felt that this information could help him unravel the mystery about her father, although he did not tell her anything, lest she gets her hopes up high.

Ayesha was back to her old self in three days but Neev asked her to stay back as long as she wants in Bangalore and he made arrangements for her stay at the company guest house. Ayesha insisted that he gets back to work and he left for Mumbai with the assurance that whenever she needed him he was only a phone call away. Ayesha then called up Milind and informed him what had happened to her mother. When Milind volunteered to come to Bangalore to help her, she forbade him from coming, saying that his wife needed him more at this juncture than she did and she can manage on her own.

As soon as Neev returned to Mumbai he set the ball rolling in tracing the whereabouts of Ayesha's father.

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Opti

@Opti

Stunner

+ 5

Posted: 16 years ago

#703

XLVI (1)

It was New Year's day. Prachi woke up early in the morning to find her handsome husband's protective arms around her huge tummy as he held her close to him from behind. She turned back to see that he was still fast asleep. Looking at his tired face she guessed he must have returned home very late after the New Year's Eve Party he hosted in his hotel. After the experience with the Christmas Eve's party, Milind refused to take Prachi along saying that she needed all the rest she can get in her condition. Prachi could not protest because she too felt pretty fatigued. So she turned in early the previous night. Since she felt refreshed after a good night's rest she thought she will do the puja for the well being of her family and friends on this auspicious day. She gently lifted his arms off her, careful not to wake him up and finished her morning routine before doing the puja. As she took the puja thali to Baba's bedroom she noticed him struggling to sit up on the bed on his own. She rushed to help him up but he stopped her and said he wanted to do it on his own. And sure enough he managed to sit up on his own although he had to struggle a bit for it. Prachi was elated to see the vast improvement in his condition. She then extended the puja thali to him and later received his blessings for a safe delivery and a happy life with her husband and children. Baba told her that he was eagerly looking forward to running behind his three grand children and he was getting himself fit enough for it, faithfully following the exercises the physiotherapist taught him. Prachi nodded her head in agreement as she had noticed the enthusiasm with which he was exercising in the past few weeks. Father-in-law and daughter-in-law were merrily chatting about the babies when Milind made his appearance. Prachi informed him of what Baba managed to do that day. Milind was happy to see his father progress well.

After breakfast, Milind and Prachi went to Shah House where PL and Sukriti were waiting for them. Alaap had already left for work, so thankfully both of them did not have to see him. Sukriti hugged her brother, who gifted her a silk saree, and enquired with Prachi about the progress of her nieces/nephews. On being assured that everything was fine, she patted Prachi's stomach gently and said she was eagerly awaiting their arrival. Milind and Prachi took the blessing of PL. Milind gifted her a beautiful off-white silk saree with red border and pallu. She thanked him and in turn gifted both of them new clothes. Milind protested, saying she has done so much for them already but she wouldn't take no for an answer. Milind did not want to offend her, more so because he was aware that PL was a little upset with him for repaying the money she had spent on Baba's treatment. He decided to let her have the small pleasures of giving her daughter and son-in-law gifts on special occasions.PL wanted him to stay on for lunch but he excused himself saying that there were a lot of pending items of work awaiting his attention at the hotel. He left Prachi behind though and said that he will pick her up that evening.

Prachi was in the garden chatting with Sukriti when Neev dropped in at the Shah House to meet PL and receive her blessings. Despite the broken engagement and the subsequent death of Inder, Neev still maintained cordial ties with PL, visiting her every New Year to receive her blessings. The previous year too he had come to take her blessings, but Milind and Prachi had not seen him, as he came very early in the morning and had left long before they had come over to the Shah House. PL still had a soft corner for him inspite of everything that had happened. Soon after the funeral he had met her and explained to her the circumstances that had led to the unfortunate chain of events. As PL is a woman who believed in not holding grudges, she readily forgave and accepted him. She had heard of his divorce and the disintegration of his family and felt sorry for him. Her maternal heart ached for him and she hoped that someday he will find a woman who would make him happy.

Seeing him that day though, PL was a little worried as to what Prachi would say if she saw Neev in the house. Neev had heard that Prachi was in the family way and had brought with him a huge parcel of maternity clothes which were manufactured in his factory unit. He had personally selected the fabric and had his best designer design them. Handing her the parcel, he asked her to somehow give it to Prachi without telling her it was from him. PL was about to inform him of Prachi's presence in the house when at that precise moment Prachi entered in. Her face first drained of colour before flaming up red with anger. Not wanting to stay in his presence, she turned to leave when PL pleaded with her to grant Neev a chance to speak. Although Prachi was livid with anger, she stayed back for her mother's sake. PL discreetly left the place to enable the two childhood friends to have a heart-to-heart conversation and thrash out everything. Neev hesitatingly walked up to Prachi and extended his hand, "Congratulations, Prachi," he said, trying to sound cheerful although deep within he was apprehensive of how she will react.

She turned her fiery eyes at him and ignoring his extended hand, she asked him why he had come to her father's house. He told her that he had come to take PL's blessings for New Year as he always does. She was shocked to realise that PL had entertained him in the house even before. Has her mother forgotten that he was responsible for her losing her husband, her sindoor, her mangalsutra? Even if her mother has forgotten everything, she cannot forget that he had robbed her of her father. She cannot forget that he broke her trust. She cannot forget that he failed to confide in her the most important detail of his life when she had shared with him even the most innocuous detail of hers. Why did he mislead her? Why did he mislead his parents? Why did he wait till the engagement day to break the news that he was already married? Now what did he want with her? To see whether she was happy? Yes, she was happy. She was happy with her husband and his family. She was glad that he broke her trust for she does not want to be associated with such a self serving, secretive, traitor. As she lashed out at him loud and hard, pouring out all her anger, anguish and disappointment, he stood tamely, his head bowed down. When she was finished, she was panting. She suddenly felt dizzy and weak. Seeing her sway, Neev was alarmed and he rushed to her, holding her before she lost her balance. He led her to the sofa and immediately called out to PL. Hearing his call, PL and Sukriti rushed in and attended to Prachi. In the meantime he enquired who her doctor was and called her on the phone. Sukriti gave her some water to drink and massage her forehead which was throbbing by now. Both Neev and PL were feeling very guilty. While Neev's guilt stemmed from inadvertently provoking such an extreme emotional reaction from Prachi, PL was weighed down by the guilt of letting Prachi face Neev alone in her condition. She had not expected that Prachi would still feel so strongly about the past events. She thought that with time her emotions would have mellowed down. She completely misread her daughter, though. The doctor soon arrived and checked her up. Luckily there was no cause for concern although she advised her to be more calm and relaxed as undue anxiety and stress at this stage of pregnancy is not good for either her health or those of the babies. After making sure she was alright, Neev left Shah House, not uttering a word in his defence. PL was in two minds to call Milind but decided against it since it would only serve to accentuate his concern. Sukriti tried to divert Prachi's thoughts from what happened between Neev and her by showing her the sweaters and stockings she was knitting for her nieces/nephews. She asked her if they had found out about the gender of the babies. Prachi shook her head saying that they would like to be surprised. Soon the unpleasant incident which had occurred earlier in the day was forgotten and Prachi returned to her old self.

That evening when Milind came to pick her up, PL took him aside and told him what had happened that morning. Milind was alarmed to hear this but she reassured him that the doctor had examined Prachi and there was nothing to fear. She, however, requested him to gently explain to Prachi Neev's side of the story because she felt that Prachi might still be bottling up a lot of resentment subconsciously and this was not good for her or the babies. She tried to tell him about Neev's life but Milind raised his hand saying that he already knows about it. PL was surprised that he did, but he did not elaborate that Ayesha was the one who told him about Neev. PL also gave him the parcel of maternity clothes Neev had brought for Prachi and asked him to give it to her at an opportune time. Milind nodded his head and assured he will take care of everything. Returning back to Prachi, he asked her to take leave from her mother and his sister and slowly led her to the car.

Quote

Opti

@Opti

Stunner

+ 5

Posted: 16 years ago

#704

I have posted parts on my fic from earlier pages following complaints from people who could not open Pages 3 and 4. Hope this addresses the problem. Please let me know if you are still having problems.